Adventures with an Average Ironmom

 I was really looking forward to my long run today. It was set for 7 miles according the the Jeff Galloway Dopey Training Program and all indications looked as if it was going to be amazing. My body battery was charged up at 10. I've had at least 8 hours of sleep per night for 6 nights straight...including 9 1/2 last night (although it was going to be 8 1/2 so I could get out at 6am to run, but since I had all day and nothing else on the agenda but preparing for the week, I decided to indulge a little and sleep in.) Because I was getting a little later start, and it's Sunday, I decided to complete my 7 miles on the street in front of my house. It's a .1 mile strip with a cold-a-sac on one end. It's not ideal for a long run...better suited for hills and drills, but hey, I've done the Virtual Goofy Challenge on it (Half Marathon Saturday, Full Marathon Sunday) along with countless other runs so what's one more time. I am actually getting into more of a marathon tr...

 It's funny how things workout sometimes. I have a little morning routine that helps me start each day off right. This practice helps me achieve my big goals, stay positive and remember not only what I'm working towards, but where I've been and how many things I have to be grateful for. During this routine I flip through a binder I've created to streamline the process. It includes a collage on the cover, my short and long term goals, my mantras and affirmations, notes from the important people in my life and clippings that inspire me. I've always loved inspirational quote calendars, especially those highlighting leadership, wilderness or both. I have one such page clipped from an Alaska Time calendar one of my clients, Joan Jackson gave me, from the first week of May 2016. On the front it has a mother eagle flying into her aerie with two baby eagles awaiting her arrival. The quote reads: "Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly ...

What’s the number one rule in injury prevention? Listen to your body. There’s a difference between being sore from an increase in exercise and feeling the onset of a potential injury. When your body is giving you red flags, you’d better listen to it, especially when increasing volume, intensity or time/distance of exercise. That’s exactly what I had this weekend. A Red flag. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I had three solid run/walks, and was into my Run Disney Springtime Virtual Challenge Weekend. Friday night I felt a weird pain in my right foot that persisted into the morning…like the bone was out of place or something. I haven’t experienced anything like it before, and I wasn’t sure I should run on it. And while it wasn’t that bad, I could imagine that if there was something slightly wrong I could probably make it worse, and maybe make it really worse if I tried to run on it. I waited to do my 10k until later in the day Saturday, and finally made the call to wait until Sunday to con...

 The Tuesday workout plan is 10k Tempo Runs. Because I've been mostly walking, I want to gradually up my game with running to avoid injuries while having a fun system to follow to keep things fresh. So my plan for the next few weeks is to go from a one hour interval run on Tuesdays, to a sub 60 min Tempo Run by my first race day in Florida, which is 266 days away. Intervals are repeating increments of a faster and slower pace. You can make the intervals the same or varied (fartlek), and have a casual tracking system like a rate of perceived effort or use a timer for more precise tracking. This morning I used the speed bumps on my Pine Trees run. I ran to one, walked to the next for one hour. I like a place to do intervals or tempo runs that has a slight incline but that's not too hilly.  You can really use anything to run between. I might use the light posts on a road or the highway, trees on the Ane K or even painted parking stall lines at Home Depot or Costco when I need to ...

  Today feels like a great day for a new adventure. And I’d like to take you along with me on this one. It’s an adventure of truly Ironmom proportion. A fitness endeavor that will take months of preparation, facing fears and achieving lifelong dreams. In 275 days I will toe the starting line of the first race in a seven race challenge. I’m not sure I will be able to do it. But I sure am going to try. I’ve had the dream of doing a RunDisney live event since childhood. I would rip RunDisney ads out of magazines as inspiration to one day wear a costume and run through the park. Tinker Bell. Princesses. Mickey and the Gang.  For years I have participated in Run Disney Virtual races from here in Kona, not having the time or priority to check this one off my bucket list. Not to mention how hard it is to even get into these races these days. For a while, the live races were suspended during the pandemic, which is why the Virtual races became so popular. This year, both Orlando and An...

 There you go marathon training: 7 miles. The truth? I didn't feel like running at all today. But it's a really busy week and this was the only day to get in my long run. I ended up running on the Malino Mile. The .2 mile lap that is my dead-end street, with the boys playing in the driveway with the hose. I knew if I didn't get it in today, my momentum would be gone and I'd pay for it later. I would get it in this week...but by squeezing it in. Today was the day. So I found an old pair of headphones (mine were at the gym), tuned on my Mountain Climbing Music (yes, I was in THAT MUCH need of motivation) and started running. One of the earbuds didn't quite work but gave out enough static for me to keep thinking someone was trying to catch up to me. Not ideal. A few times Evan or Jason was there chasing after me to ask one of their 20 questions, so it really kept me on my toes. It wasn't pretty, fast or fun. But it's done. 7 miles in 1:29. That's a 12:29 pa...

  With races opening up again and deferral registrations being activated it's time to start training for a marathon! Honolulu Marathon has reminded me I registered in 2020. So while I didn't plan on competing this year, I cashed in my deferral chip and will be toeing the line on 12-12-21 in Honolulu! While my 10 marathons in 2020 to celebrate my first ever Portland Marathon (on 10-10-10) was a bust-boo COVID-I was still able to get a marathon accomplished on 10-10-2020 on the IM course here in Kona.  Plus, the boys and I ventured off to Portland for a fun bike ride around the city to celebrate the race this past Mother's Day. But now, it's time to get back in the saddle and lace up my tennis shoes. I've been walking for most of the year but it's time to run. My Go Big Fitness goal for 2021 was to accomplish 2021 miles walking or running. I'm adapting that goal to hit 2021 miles walking, running and riding so that I can train for a 4 hour marathon instead (wh...