Marathon Training Log #3

10 miles. Seems short after 14...

We decided to meet at 7:30 Saturday morning. I slept-in until 7:00!!!! Didn't really give myself enough time to eat and use the bathroom...

About 7:10: ate a 4 oz cup of yogurt topped with Kashi honey sunshine cereal. Drank about 8 oz of coffee along with it. Sipped on water too.

Took my two 10 oz. waters in my belt and a Snickers Marathon Bar (found them at Wal-Mart in boxes).

Ben ran ahead of Chris and me since he wanted to go a little farther than us. Chris and I were both feeling yucky this run. It was just one of those off-days. But, by mile 5, we had gotten into a groove and it seemed like our aches and cobwebs had loosened up. I ate 3/4 of my marathon bar at the halfway point and had a few sips of Chris's electrolyte drink. Had to stop for a bathroom break around mile 8, and I was worried that my stomach was going into "dumping." All was fine after the stop, though, and I finished strong. It was a great run this week.

Ben and I both drank a 32 oz Gatorade when we finished. My stomach was very unsettled the rest of the day. Not sure if it was related to the run, though, because our baby girl had tummy trouble yesterday too. 

We got to eat a delicious and satisfying dinner at a wedding reception. Ben and I were both very hungry, so, of course, we over-ate. I can't say that I regret it, though. Plus, we had some great company.

My friend, Brittany, and me at the reception

15 miles scheduled for this weekend, and we are taking a family vacation.  We may have to reschedule the run for the following Monday. We'll see!

9 weeks to race day!

Marathon Training Journal

After running 3 half marathons since December 9, 2012, I have decided to tackle training for a full marathon. It is 10 weeks before race week (7 Bridges Marathon in Chattanooga), and my most recent half was 6 weeks ago.  My running partner, Chris (female), had been "toying-with" a full marathon training plan already. I asked her to send me the plan and we calculated where we needed to pick up in order to be ready on October 20. Here is the plan:

We started our training at the end of week 7. We had already done both a 3 and 4-mile run during the week, but I had not run any real distance since June 22. Really--- starting with 12 miles?! And to add insult to injury, neither of us could run on Saturday, so we had to do the 12-miler on Sunday. So, for us faithful church-goers, that meant getting up extra early in order to get back home and ready for church. It's just too hot here in East Tennessee in August to run in the afternoon. 

Chris (left) & me volunteering at a 10K

So, our plan was to get started running at 5:30 a.m. (I had already been getting up at 5:30 all week in personal effort to spend more time in prayer and Bible study), meet at our usual spot, and run a familiar route. 

The thing that I want to really keep track of in this training is what I eat right-before and during a run. In all three of the halves that I have run, my body, i.e. my intestines, goes into "dumping" mode almost as soon as my feet slow to a walk. There is very little research &/or factual information out there for this problem, and I am guessing that each individual case is very different. This only happens to me after races, and rarely after a training run. I suspect that it has something to do with adrenaline??? So, I need any help I can get--- if you have any advice, please share in the comments section.
 

Here is my food log for my first marathon training run:

5 a.m. Coffee (black) and water

1/2 Cinnamon-raisin bagel with peanut butter

5:20 Advocare (from Chris) Spark energy drink mix 

During run:

~15 oz water & 10 oz. Gatorade

1/2 Clif bar (coconut chocolate chip)

In my running belt I had one water and one Gatorade (10 oz. each) along with a Clif bar and Clif gel (I hate gels, but they seem to work well).

I felt fantastic the whole run, despite not getting to "go" before I left my house. We didn't have any strategy for this particular run; we just wanted to finish. We stopped and walked while we shared my Clif bar around mile 8. We stopped soon after so I could (finally!) go to the bathroom. Glad there was one close-by! I never used the Clif gel shot because my energy was still good after the Spark and Clif bar (coconut chocolate chip=amazing!). I drank my whole water and a half (Chris refilled while I was in la latrina) and my gatorade. When we finished, we walked for about 5 minutes (which is new for us; we usually walk only about 30 seconds because we have babies waiting for us at home and husbands that need to leave for work), then stretched and headed home. As soon as I got back in my mini-van (yes, you read correctly!), I started drinking a Gatorade that I had planted purposely for my post-run drink. The post-run sport drink is something I do per the advice of a well-read/fitness-knowledgeable (and beautiful and amazing!!!) friend regarding my stupid "dumping." View her blog here. 

I had a few nibbles of the other half of my bagel and a couple bites of banana with lots of water when I got home. I ate several raw almonds on the way to church, and 2 mini candy bars after Sunday school/before service. No tummy problems after this long run! Wahoo! 

It's 14 miles this weekend and guess who's joining us? BEN- my husband! I am so excited that when I said that I MIGHT be interested in training for a marathon, he said he would train with me as much as possible.  Ben is a great runner and has run one marathon already. I am thrilled that we are working toward this goal together. I plan to journal all the long training runs, so I'll be updating weekly.

I'll leave you with a passage of scripture that Ben and I committed to memory a month or so ago. It reminds me that relying on my strength to do anything, no matter how big or small the task, gets me nowhere. I have asked God to use this training process and marathon to bring glory and honor to Him, not me.

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31

You Can Do It!

I have been thinking about blogging a lot lately, but just haven't made the time to do so. I truly enjoy "journaling" the happenings of our family. It is refreshing to reflect on what God has done in our family's life. This is another reason why I love keeping a prayer journal. If you don't have one, start one. You will love reading back over your prayers and seeing God's providence over your life.

On to the update....

We have had more showings on our house recently, so I have been using my free time (ha!) to clean. I got to do a couple of deep cleaning things that have been on my mental list:
1. Do a self-clean cycle on my oven. It gets used a lot (you know how I love baking!), so it was pretty scary, but it is shiny and pretty inside!
2. Shampoo the carpet in the kids' rooms. So much spit up and throw-up happens in those two rooms... enough said.
I also accomplished the dreaded changing of the season closet swap right before we had a cold spell! Life is so funny sometimes!

The kids are sick right now; one with an ear infection and one with something viral. I am coming down with something as I type... so I guess you could call us the Sickly Family Mills. :(
This is not good because for some reason I let my running buddy talk me into training for another half marathon that I only have five weeks left to train for! I need to stay healthy!

Speaking of staying healthy, I want to brag on Ben. If you know Ben, you know that he is a naturally athletic guy; strength and endurance come easily to him. But he is human, and humans need consistent exercise to maintain a state of physical health. Ben works a long day, and most days comes home right after work and immediately helps me get the kids to the table, fed, bathed, p.j.'ed, read to and tucked-in, all (usually) by 8:00. At this point, you parents know you're next to exhausted, not just physically, but mentally too. We usually spend the rest our our evening cleaning the kitchen, taking care of miscellaneous household chores and unwinding by reading together and/or going through our memory verses, or playing guitar and singing. But if you try to call Ben around 12:00 in the afternoon the next day, he probably won't answer. He will most likely be out running around doing pull-up's on tree limbs, push-ups on sidewalks and whatever else he and his work friends can come up with to challenge each other! I really admire their commitment to exercising. And I am thankful that Ben works in an environment that encourages that lifestyle. If you care about something enough, you will make time for it.

Segue alert!
With that last sentence in mind, I want to update you on my New Year post. I had challenged myself to start getting up earlier in order to make time for being in God's Word every day. Not tooting my own horn here, but I do want to encourage you and say, it can be done, and if you truly care, you will make time. I have been getting up between 6:00 & 6:30 most mornings to have some quiet time with The Lord. It has not been easy, and I have had to forgo some exercise time, but I know that God will bless through the sacrifice. I have no secret for success, but my two personal "biggie" motivators that get me out of bed are 1. I set my coffee maker to brew automatically at 6:00 a.m. And 2. I do not ever calculate how much/how little sleep I will/won't be getting. I truly look forward to this time each day.

Make time for exercise... it's good for you!

Make time for The Lord. You and your family will be blessed by it!

Exercise with Baby!

It's hard to find time to get out your hand weights when you are a stay-at-home-mommy. Here a few SIMPLE ideas for getting in some toning without the gym. All you need is your baby (with semi-head-control)!

While holding your baby, lie on your back with your knees pulled in to your chest. Place baby on the front of your legs so that you are facing each other. This alone makes my little ones squeal with delight! Start simple: try just lifting your upper body off the floor (like a crunch). Each time you come up close to baby's face, say something: boo!, hi!, their name, you can count. While you're raising up and down, keep one hand on your baby's back and the other hand behind your head.
Make it a little bit harder by lifting your rear a little each time you "crunch" up. This works your lower abs more.

In the same position, keep one or both hands on baby's back and raising & lowering baby on your legs (like you're straightening & bending at your knee). You may not feel it working right away, but your hamstrings will definitely get tired after a few sets. Of course, you can keep your upper body raised up for extra abdominal work too!

Holding your baby, lie on your back and raise baby straight overhead. Try raising baby past your face toward the top of your head with your arms straight. Slowly bring baby back to the starting position. This is a good shoulder & triceps toner.

To work your biceps, while standing, simply hold your baby high on the waist or under her arms; bending at your elbow, raise and lower baby with a slow & controlled pace. Do a few sets of a least 12.

Hold half sit-up position while holding baby. Try twisting side to side.

Will ad more later!
Do you have any ideas/suggestions?