Reflections on my training

So, my big race is over and done with.  I reached my goal time and survived.  I was really fatigued the last 3 miles, and I keep wondering if this was because I exerted myself too much from the start and on the hills, or because I tapered a little too much, or both.  I guess I will never know!  Overall, it was a successful finish to 16 weeks of training.  I have built a good base of mileage at 30 miles per week, from nothing just 4 months ago.  I have a half marathon on November 1st in Pittsburgh.  I was sure to sign up for something quickly so I wouldn't completely stop running, lol.  I don't think I will ever completely stop running, but I was getting burned out of the intense training runs.  I think after this half marathon, I will relax my training in the winter to shorter distance races.  I plan to run a winter series of a 5k in December, an 8k in January, and a 10k in February.  That will keep me moving at least.

So, what changes am I going to make to my training plan?  I would like to work on speed.  I think I'm going to incorporate more speedwork into my plan, but nothing high mileage wise.  Going to the track to run a few miles of speedwork once per week should help with that without being too taxing.  That's all I think I will change running wise.

I would like to make serious changes to my diet.  My original goal for starting this whole running expedition wasn't to become a good runner, but to lose weight.  And guess what?  After 16 weeks, I lost like 2 pounds.  How ridiculous is that?  I simply eat too much.  I eat all the time.  And it's not really that I eat bad stuff, I just eat around the clock.  I have no will power.  My stomach tells me I'm hungry all the time, and I respond.  I really think I have a problem, lol.  And I don't want to hear, 'oh, but you gained muscle and muscle weighs more than fat,' or 'you lost inches, and that's what counts'.  No, no, and no.  I weigh 150 pounds, and I'm 5'3.  I am overweight.  I can plainly see that I have plenty of excess body fat on me.  Rubbish about muscle mass and such...the muscle is hidden under fat and I want it gone!

I think there are a couple of reasons that contributed to my failure to lost weight.  One is the obvious thinking that I can eat what I want because I will just run it off.  I get that all the time from my husband and friends.  If I eat something "bad", they always tell me it's ok I will run it off.  Another reason is that I overcompensate.  I think I need a pre-run energy bar or mini meal and a post-run recovery bar, when I really don't.  I eat enough for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to more than give me enough energy to run.  I don't need to eat that darn Zone Bar before my run.  I have to calorie count.  Period.  I tried to blog my food log and failed miserably at that.  It's difficult enough to write down what I eat, much less go to the trouble to format it in a blog.  I need to keep a personal journal of my food intake.  I did it 2 years ago successfully, why can't I do it again??!?!?

Cross training.  Period.  I need to do it.  On the days I don't run, I need to cross train, not sit on my lazy butt in the evil comfy recliner.  There for a while, I did a good job of going to Zumba and doing the Wii Active, then I just stopped.  I also tried to make weight training a priority (Sorry I failed at this, too, B.o.B) but that didn't work out.  I gave my friend Barbie the advice to schedule her runs in her calendar like an appointment.  I need to take my own advice and schedule my cross training in my calendar.  Weight training is going to make a huge difference in my effort to lose weight and shed some body fat.  I just need to do it!

So, those are the things I'm going to change.  Getting faster, eating better, and cross training.  Fingers are crossed.  If I fall off the wagon, I need you guys to send me a cyber smack in the face!  I know I can count on B.o.B. for this one, lol. 

Training for my November 1st half marathon starts Monday.  I switched my long runs to Saturday because I have been neglecting my husband with Sunday long runs for many weeks.  Sundays used to be our day to sleep in together and have a big breakfast.  Then, I started jumping out of bed at 7 or 8 AM on Sunday for my run.  He misses me, and I really miss our Sundays too.