Sickness and demon treadmills

This week did not go as planned. I was supposed to get in my first week of marathon training, wrap up week 5 of P90X strong, and hang out with my brother who was visiting. Instead, I got knocked on my butt by a terrible sore throat that woke me up long before my alarm did on Monday morning and only got worse as the week went on. I did manage to get in one run on Tuesday night (3 miles), before the chest coughs kicked in on Thursday, at which point I decided that running would need to take a back seat and getting healthy needed to be my focus. The doctor said it was a virus I'd just have to let pass...love that.

I spent a lot of time with these guys this week:

Cough medicine, tissues, Sudafed and OJ

Not to mention plenty of chicken noodle soup. I saw my brother for a bit on Friday since I was home sick, and on Thursday we treated ourselves to Shake Shack (that custard felt so good on my throat...the burger? Probably not the most healing dinner, but it is delicious!).

On my run on Tuesday, I was forced to wait in a very long line for a treadmill, so I took whatever one opened up first, which was not the kind I typically like to run on. (We all know we have our favorite treadmills...) I turned my iPad to my book (The Night Circus, so good!), set it to 6.0 mph, and off I went. Two minutes later, I wanted to die. I felt like I was running uphill, in the middle of the day, in 100% humidity. I somehow persevered through 1.5 miles, but I couldn't go any farther. I don't know what it is with these demon treadmills, but as soon as I switched to a different brand of treadmill, I felt like I was running on clouds. It was glorious, and I finished up the 3 miles easily.

My demon treadmill, by Precor

Does this happen to anyone else? Actually, I know that it does. My friend Lani and I have long discussed waging war on the demon treadmill. It's great because it makes you work harder, but it's terrible because you want the treadmill to spontaneously break throughout your run. I think it may have to do with the fact that it faces a wall so it gets little to no air circulation (even with the fans on), and someone suggested that perhaps I hadn't been properly warmed up, but seriously? I've hopped on a treadmill at 6am before doing anything else and had better runs than this one. I am going to be avoiding this demon treadmill at all costs in the future. Not worth it to me, especially when I can run on a non-demonic treadmill without wishing I could fall off.

Other than my single run this week, I did manage to keep up with P90X. I felt that it was easier on my body than running, and there was no cardio involved so my cough wasn't a problem. I took two days off completely, but today I doubled up with the workouts, doing Legs & Back and Kenpo X. I'm still really enjoying it, and while I'm not really seeing any visible improvements or changes, I do feel great overall and know that I am getting stronger. (I also held crane for even longer yesterday - woo!) I'm psyched to keep it up for two more months and see if there are any more changes! 35 days down, 55 to go!

That's it for this week... How about you, any demon treadmill experiences or tips for juggling sickness with working out?

Perfect day for a run

As predicted, today was the perfect day for a run! It was 50 degrees, sunny, and breezy. And it was indeed a shorts day! There was still some wind when B and I headed uptown, but it felt great. We averaged a 9:11 mile and both felt really strong. My knee had been giving me a little trouble lately after runs (not during, thank goodness) and today it felt pretty good. It's about a 1.25 mile walk back to the apartment so that helped stretch me out, and once I got home I spent a good 15 minutes stretching while sipping on my Trader Joe's chocolate soy milk. I followed that up with a PB&J and had a random, thrown-together dinner of whole wheat penne, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken and parmesan (and dessert of frozen yogurt and cookies...) -- all that really hit the spot and was just what I needed after a tough run (especially the frozen yogurt! Love The Lite Choice).

I feel like the faster pace is becoming more natural since I can speak more easily at the quicker pace. B is a great running partner, and keeps me chatting and even laughing -- makes the run go by so quickly! It's been really encouraging for me to have a running buddy whom I think of as faster -- as I've said before, she definitely pushes me in a good way and it's been nice to see myself getting faster and feeling good while doing it. Thanks B!

Here are our splits and map from today:

Pretty good! The map is nothing new, but I'm thinking I'll take B north next time and see where we end up!

I had an interesting experience last summer when I ran uptown instead of downtown: I had a long run planned and decided to go uptown through Riverside Park (so pretty!) and thought I'd see where a path I didn't usually use would take me. Turns out it led to the Boat Basin, and before I realized where I'd ended up I was running through someone's buffet lunch. Whoops! And then I couldn't find my way out! I ran in a couple of circles, sort of wishing I could take a second to grab some of the buffet food (somehow I don't think that I'd fit in -- no one else appeared to be sporting running shorts) but finally found my way out. You never know where you'll end up when you run up there! I'm looking forward to running up there again soon -- who knows, maybe next time I can really embarrass myself and end up running through a black-tie event.

What's the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you while running?

February 1

There are a few important things happening on February 1.

First of all, it marks the first day of training for the April half-marathon:

It's actually 12 weeks long, and I think I'll probably use the McMillan running calculator (there's music so turn the volume down...unless you're looking for some good tunes!) for my pacing so I can aim to break two hours on the half-marathon. I used the SmartCoach tool on the Runner's World site for the schedule above (you need to be a member to do use it).

Here's the pacing plan the McMillan running calculator spit out for me:

Thank you to Meghann for directing me to this site! Meghann is going to be in New York for the Gridiron Classic 4M race next weekend - that's the next thing February 1 marks, the entrance into the month of my first race of 2009! I'm looking forward to meeting Meghann and some fellow runners!

Another big February 1 occurrence is ...

You guessed it, my rent check is due. Ugh, I hate the first of the month!!!

Oh yeah, and there is just one other little thing...

Yup - the Chicago marathon opens the floodgates for registration. And none other than Yours Truly will be registering. Yikes! My friend Christina will be registering too - yay!

Why the Chicago marathon you ask? Well, there are a few reasons:

1. I've never been to Chicago and I keep hearing I'd love it. I'm looking forward to actually going and seeing the city, and I think the marathon would give me the perfect excuse to go out there.
2. It's on 10/10/10. How cool is that?!
3. It's four days after my 26th birthday. So no, I won't be getting too crazy on my actual birthday, but what a celebration I'll have afterward! Woo! And there's something that I like about running my first 26.2 mile race at the age of 26. Weird? Cool? I don't know, I like the idea of it.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I was going between the Marine Corps marathon and the Chicago marathon, and even though it would be kind of easier to run the Marine Corps marathon in DC since my family lives there and everything, I just really want to go to Chicago! So Chicago it is. I'll report back after I actually register!

Uhh...brr?

I was totally planning on going on the lululemon Saturday morning run club at 8:45. I went a couple of weeks ago and met some great people, had fun running with a group, and totally loved it. And then I saw the weather prediction:

Hmm...all I can say is: No. I don't "do" 18 degrees, feels like 6 degrees. I mean, honestly, I don't have the gear! And I grew up in Saudi Arabia. I am not built for that kind of cold. I'm just not.

My Garmin

New York Road Runners gives everyone who volunteers at the NYC Marathon a 25% discount in their online store. There weren't that many things that looked good to me - there were a lot of shirts and other gear that had the NYC Marathon logo on it, and since I haven't (yet) run the marathon, I felt a little funny ordering something with that on it. I looked in all of the areas in the store and finally landed on an item I thought would be perfect: a Garmin Forerunner 405. I mean, when else can you get that item for 25% off?! Luckily, I have some wonderful parents who kindly purchased it for me for Christmas. I'm still learning all the cool things you can do with it, but so far I've been really happy with it!

You can see a summary of your run,

your splits,

and a map of your run.

I mean, how cool is that??

I'm not a wearer of watches in my everyday life, and even though this watch is bigger than any watch I would usually watch, it actually doesn't bother me at all. I'm still getting to know what all it can do, but so far so good! I'd highly recommend it to any outdoor runner. I still use the Nike+ when I go on the treadmill (though I recently lost the part that plugs into the iPod...hmm, I should look for that...), but I might get the foot pod for the Forerunner and replace the Nike+ with that.

They've been great motivators for me during my running journey over the past year. For me, it's extremely satisfying and motivating to see how far I've gone, how my speed has improved over time, and I just love racking up those miles on my shoes! 

Do you use a Garmin or a Nike+? What keeps you motivated in your running and fitness endeavors?

Totally conditioning my body

Every Tuesday and Thursday I partake in a particularly painful but totally awesome class at New York Sports Club (NYSC) called Total Body Conditioning (TBC) with Andrew. I started going in March of last year, then took a serious hiatus while I trained for last year's half-marathon and returned in October, usually going both days each week. I mention that the class is with Andrew because he is just the best instructor - on days when he's sick (which is rare, thank goodness!), the whole class grumbles and some even leave, thinking the substitute will not be nearly as good as Andrew. I usually stay, figuring hey, at least I'll get some weights in, but the instructor is never as ass-kicking as Andrew. Andrew is also one of the fittest people I've ever seen - he's probably in his 40s, and he is fitter than any 20-something in that class!

The class is made up of 50 minutes of strength, weight training and cardio, and it will seriously kick your butt - literally, the most painful part of my body today (and most post-TBC days) is my butt. I'll try to post a few of the regular workouts we do, but what makes this class so great is that he changes it every time. Sure, we'll always do some abs, work the legs, do push-ups (which he fondly calls "Michels" since Michel, one of the regulars, hates push-ups so much), use the body bar and dumbbells at some point, and end with some stretching, but he does tend to throw in something totally impossible-looking in each class. I go to this class with two of my roommates, and as soon as we see that impossible-looking thing, we scoff, call Andrew crazy, then actually give it a try. Usually, it is very hard, but not impossible. He's made the class extra hard for the new year and surprises us with something new in every class. I've gotten to the point where I'm not usually sore after runs (even long ones), but I'm almost always sore after this class - today it's my shoulders, butt and lower back, but he makes sure not to make my arms, quads, calves, or hamstrings feel left out most of the time!

I'm still researching and figuring out what, exactly, the benefits that weight and strength training bring to running, but I know that there are some and that weight and strength training is an excellent complement to running! For starters, there's your core. You need a strong core for running - the muscles in your core support your trunk and hips and give you a strong base for running. A strong core helps you maintain your alignment and helps with balance and coordination. Now I can't say that I am the most devoted core-worker-outer, but I try to do ab exercises and planks a few times a week. I've even gone to TBC just to get an ab workout before I had to get into work early! I've thought about getting a balance ball to sit on at work instead of using a proper chair, but somehow I just don't think my office would go for that...

I own a couple of Pilates DVDs and I think I will start incorporating them into my workouts more, plus NYSC offers Pilates and yoga classes too. I hear yoga is a fantastic complement to running, and really helps with your breathing.

If you have any core exercises that you swear by, leave them below! I would love to see the ways you strengthen your core and improve your running - I definitely still need to strengthen my core and improve my running!

A little bit of background...

I have always believed that I was not physically built to run. Believe me, I tried when I was little, and I just couldn't do it. I was a skinny little kid and always found myself out of breath at the end of the mile you had to run in P.E. (though that may have had something to do with living in the desert of Saudi Arabia...). I thought I had asthma and was even told so by a doctor! When I moved to the U.S. at age 14 and our P.E. grade depended on how fast we ran the mile, I opted to walk the mile for a grade since I knew I could not run.

Luckily, before I hit college anyway, my genes were good enough that I could eat whatever I wanted, not do any form of physical activity, and still stay pretty small. In high school when we had to do some activity every season, I did the fall play, the winter musical, and was a coxswain for rowing in the spring (coxswains sit in the back of the boat - we don't row).

In college I rarely went to the gym, and when I did I would go on the elliptical for 30 minutes. I tried the treadmill a few times, but decided it was My Worst Enemy and I would never go on it again.

Fast forward to post-graduate life - I work at a desk job where I'm sitting for 9+ hours a day, I live with a roommate who goes to the gym religiously, and I continue to eat cupcakes and cookies whenever I feel like it! I felt pretty awesome, eating whatever I wanted and not gaining (too much...) weight, but I noticed that I had some trouble areas and got winded walking up the two flights of stairs to my apartment. Like a lot of companies, my company offers a discount at the New York Sports Club. I figured, why not? My dad just told me to MAKE SURE I USE IT!!! and so I decided to try running. My roommate did it, my boss was a marathoner, and another coworker had just started running, so what can I say? I was surrounded by inspiration to give it a go.

My first run? Half a mile at 5.0 mph, which I could barely sustain. Everybody's got to start somewhere though, right? But the pain...ohhh the pain! The leg pain was terrible. Since I must be some sort of masochist (all rowers and runners must be, to some degree), I decided to keep going. Increase the distance, go with what was comfortable, but build up my lungs and just keep running.

Half a mile turned into a mile, which led to two miles, then three, and the realization that hey, I could maybe run a 5k now! So I signed up for one. I ran the George Washington Parkway Memorial 5k in Virginia in 29:24. Not too shabby for a first-timer! I was ecstatic and instantly addicted to the feeling of racing.

My next goal was a half-marathon in September in Queens. I logged onto Runner's World and used their SmartCoach tool to come up with a training schedule for me. I followed it religiously - a mistake, I have to say - putting off social events because I just HAD to do this run the next day. It was an unhealthy entrance into the racing world, but I definitely learned a LOT from that experience. I ended up running the half-marathon in 2:06:38, which I was more than pleased with!

In November I volunteered at the NYC Marathon on the course, handing out Gatorade at mile 20. THAT gave me the marathon bug. This year, I became a member of New York Road Runners and plan on doing the 9+1 program that will give me guaranteed entry into the 2011 NYC Marathon. I do plan on running a marathon in 2010 though - either the Marine Corps Marathon or the Chicago Marathon.

This blog will follow my training for the marathon, races before that, background on my previous experiences, and anything I learn along the way. I hope you enjoy the journey with me...and maybe get some inspiration to run along the way!