Week Seven: What's up doc?

Newest race time
-7/11 - Run Of The Mill 5k - 25:24 (finished 16 out of 209 in my age group)

Recently, I have been busy. Really really busy. I've somehow managed to take on every project possibly available to me, including building two international websites for work, training my puppy, writing a chapter for a wellness book, going to college, and of course, training for a marathon (among all of the other things that go along with living life). Even though I am a little overwhelmed, everything that I've chosen to take on, is something that I enjoy, so I can't complain. Because of this massive work overload, I don't have that much time to put into my blog this week, but I'll just give an update.

I recently saw a sports medicine doctor to make sure that my body is in good working order to train for a marathon. I feel like I'm in good shape, so normally I wouldn't consult a doctor for any other type of exercise program. However, training for a marathon is much more extreme than any other exercise program that I've ever done before, so I just wanted to make extra sure that I'm not going to get injured in the training process.
Thankfully, he told me that I am in great shape to train for a marathon and he was slightly perplexed as to why I came to see him. (Aren't you suppose to consult a doctor anytime you start a hard exercise regimen??) However, he did find one tiny little clicking noise in my right knee. He said that this shouldn't be a problem as long as I take preventive action to make sure that this doesn't develop into something to be more concerned about later on. He suggested some strengthening exercises, that I now do four days a week. I haven't noticed any difference yet, but I just started doing them. He also suggested that I lose five more pounds because the less I weigh, the less pressure I will be putting on my joints when I run. Well, I don't know if he was not seeing straight or what, but I see myself as a decently lean person (unless I've been looking in funhouse mirrors for the past month) and once I reached 117bs (as of this week), I thought that I wouldn't have to lose anymore weight. An additional 5lbs would put me at 112lbs, which seems a bit low to me; I think skeletons weigh more than that! I've never gotten (or tried to get) that thin. However, I've never been a hardcore runner before either. I guess he is a doctor and I would hope that he knows what he's talking about. For now, I'm going to focus on strengthening and gaining more lean muscle to see if that helps and maybe try to lose a few pounds along the way if the knee clicking persists.
Anyway, that's it for this week. Back to work!

Week Seven Training
Note: since I'm running the SeaFair Torchlight Parade this weekend, I had to modify my training schedule a bit. Originally, there was a 10 mile long run scheduled for Sunday, but I'm afraid that my body would crash if I tried to run 10 miles after an 8k race in 90 degree weather the day before.

7/20 - Cross-training - 1 hour elliptical (6.5 miles)
7/21 - Rest day
7/22 - Tempo Run, 6 miles
-One warm up mile
-Four miles at a faster pace
-One cooldown mile
7/23 - Run 5 miles at race pace
7/24 - Rest Day
7/25 - Seattle SeaFair Torchlight Run - 8K
7/26 - Run 4 miles

Total miles for the week: 26.5 miles

Week Six: Childhood hopes and dreams - shattered & revisited

As a little girl, my ultimate dream was to be Miss America...second to that was dentist, not sure how the two compared. Anyway, my favorite gift that was ever given to me at this time (I was probably about 4 y/o) was a treasure chest full of princess-type dress-up clothes from my Grandma Eileen (RIP). I wore these elaborate outfits anytime I got the chance. Sometimes I would even find a way to put every item of clothing in the treasure chest on all at once. It was quite the fashion statement. One of my favorites things to do while dressed up was to dance wildly in my living room while blaring a Rolling Stones record (yes, an actual record) with my cat as my audience. I was in my own world; I was Miss America! This was my reality.
Being a child is such a surreal time in ones life. It's probably the only time when you are completely blind to the concerns about body image that you will later face, especially as a growing girl.

I'm going to jump further into to present....way further. When I entered junior high "the big change" hit and boy did it hit me hard. It seemed that overnight I had developed love-handles (that weren't at all lovely) and these cute little red bumps randomly sprinkled over my face. Just what every young girl dreads. I went from thinking that I was the most beautiful child in the world to thinking that I'd become some kind of teenage ogre. Ya'know how the ugly duckling turned into the elegant swan? Well, I went the opposite way. It also didn't help that the other kids made fun of me constantly because I was still extremely shy and I was the perfect target for the bully-types. So how did I cope?? I ate and ate and ate mounds of junk food. Luckily, I still had a fairly fast metabolism, so I didn't gain too much weight, but I gained enough to make my body appear totally out of proportion. This is typical for a junior-high-aged kid, but I didn't realize that at the time, nor did I want it. Plus, the only (half-assed) exercise that I was getting was in gym class, which I still despised due to all of the past bad experiences I had and continued to have during gym.
As expected, my gym class exercising got cut short when, yet another, adversity happened.
One afternoon, we were practicing field football. I was a horrible catcher (and still am to this day) and was never able to catch the ball, even from the softest of throws. Then, a miracle happened, I caught ball!! I couldn't believe it! BUT the miraculous moment quickly ended when I suddenly felt a shooting pain run down my middle finger. Yep, that's right, I broke my finger catching a football. The sports gods were against me once again! Because of this, I was pulled out of gym for the rest of the semester. The teacher didn't allow me to participate in any activities (even the ones not involving fingers) due to some kind of school policy (that they clearly didn't have in middle school). Everyday after that, I would sit in the bleachers, non-intentionally flipping people the bird because my middle finger had to be wrapped straight up. Most kids would've completely took advantage of the situation, but I was completely mortified.
So, between getting hit in the head by kickballs, skinning my knees on a gravel track, and breaking my finger by simply catching a football, I had completely given up on all things fitness related, which meant I got essentially no exercise and maintained my awkward shaped body for quite some time. I wish that I had pictures so that you could see that I am not exaggerating, but I didn't allow many pictures to be taken of me at this time for obvious reasons. I had also completely thrown out my childhood dreams of ever trying to become a model.

It took me awhile (years!) to recognize that fitness was essential for good health and that there were other ways to get in shape that didn't involve catching balls or limping around on sharp gravel tracks. When I hit my twenties, I wanted to do something about this out-of-shape body that I had spent my highschool years developing. I joined a local gym where I participated in aerobics classes and used the elliptical machines. I was still slightly timid about exercising, so I never really got the results that I wanted. When I finally got the courage to take up running (fairly recently), the results were almost instant. The weight literally fell off of my body and I was feeling more energetic (and athletic) each time I went for a run. Now, after every week of training, I notice a new, positive change in my body. This is the first time in my life that I've actually felt in good shape rather than in awkward shape.

I'm not trying to brag (honestly), but since I've stuck to a strict running regimen, my body now comes close to meeting the standards of a Victoria's Secret model (well except that I'm not tall enough, but can't do much about that). Now, I don't ever plan to pursue modeling, I have my mind set on being a runner, I am just proud to say that my childhood modeling dream was not just an obscure thought afterall. I just had work harder at it. I strongly believe that if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it with the right mindset and a hard-working mentality. Now go hit the track people!

Week Six Training
7/13 - Rest day
7/14 - 4 mile run
7/15 - 3 mile run
7/16 - Speedwork, 7 miles
-One warmup mile
-3 miles sprinting with half mile jogs in between each mile
-One cooldown mile
7/17 - 3 mile run
7/18 - Rest day
7/19 - Long run - 10 miles

Total miles for the week: 27

Week Five: Eat eat eat!

In my Week Four post, I had mentioned that since I started running, I could eat more calories - more healthy calories to be exact. So, I thought that many of you might be curious as to what exactly it is I'm eating to stay fueled, stay healthy, and maintain a healthy weight while training for a marathon. Below, I've listed what I usually eat during the week while training. I don't eat the exact same thing every day (that would get old quick), but this gives you a general idea the kinds of foods that I normally consume. Of course, I eat more calories when I am preparing for a race or harder run. Usually, these calories come from protein bars or gels and meals higher in carbohydrates and proteins. On race or long run days, I eat about 2300 calories. Also, like I'd mentioned before, as my training gets more vigorous, I will have to eat more calories to stay fueled. Hooray for more calories!! (think The Decendents song, "I like food, food is good!")
Sorry, this post isn't as interesting as others, but I want to continue to stress how important nutrition is when you're following an exercise program (or even if you're not for that matter). Next time, I promise another amusing life-story anecdote.

Breakfast:
-Cinnamon oatmeal - 320 calories
-Shake (blend 4oz nonfat milk, 4oz orange juice, 4oz nonfat strawberry yogurt) - 150 calories

Lunch:
-Turkey sandwich (3 turkey slices) on whole wheat bread with mustard & spinach - 285 calories
-Apple - 72 calories

Dinner:
-6 oz piece of grilled chicken - 200 calories
-Iced green tea - 0 calories
-2 cups broccoli - 45 calories
-15 baby carrots - 60 calories

Snacks:
-Fiber One bar - 140 calories
-8oz coffee w/ 1 tbsp creamer - 32 calories
-Banana - 110 calories
-1/4 cup almonds - 170 calories
-20 grapes: 70 calories
-4 strawberries: 63 calories
-Skinny Dipper ice cream bar - 80 calories

Supplements:
-Multi-vitamin
-Calcium + D supplement
-Joint supplement (never too young for a joint supplement, early injury prevention is key!)

Water:
-14+ oz throughout the day
Not only does water keep you hydrated, it is also a key tool in weight loss or maintenance. Try ditching the diet sodas (or whatever non-water beverages you consume) and drink at least eight 8oz glasses of water a day. You will lose excess water weight that many people carry (especially women) and believe is fat weight. This is due to dehydration & high sodium intake. You'll also notice an overall thinner appearance, especially in your face. Drinking water also helps clear your skin. Who knew something as simple as water could be so, so....magical!

Total calories: 1797
Fat: 40 grams
Carbs: 250 grams
Protein: 75 grams

Week Five Training
(this is a "set-back week," which all good training programs include. This week will give my muscles a chance to recover and prepare for harder runs next week.)

7/6 - Rest day
7/7 - Run 5 miles
7/8 - Speed work, 5 miles
- 1 warmup mile, easy pace
- 2 miles sprinting w/ half mile jogging in between each mile
-1 cooldown mile, easy pace
7/9 - Run 5 miles
7/10 - Rest day
7/11 - Run Of The Mill 5k race
7/12 - Run 5 miles

Total miles for the week: 23 miles

Week Four: Running status update

Furthest distance ran so far: 9 miles (3 laps around the outside track of Greenlake)

Newest race time:

-6/28/09 - Fred Hutchinson Shore 5K - 26:11 (Finished 9 out of 35 people in my age group)

Note: Monster hill! Again, I didn't expect it, so my time suffered the consequences. Apparently, I keep forgetting that these races take place in Seattle, home of the hills! Hill/strength training starts now.

Me after four weeks of training.

-Height remains 5' 4 1/2"
-Weight: 117.8 lbs (goal weight met!)
-BMI: 20.1

You can see that I've lost just about 4 lbs after four weeks of training and I was not, by any means, starving myself. See, this is the wonderful thing about regular running. You burn so many calories each week, that you can eat much more than you could if you were just dieting to lose or maintain your weight (dieters are usually allowed a measly 1200 cals per day to lose a pound a week). You need the extra calories to fuel your body when you run or you will burn out quickly. However, you still have to make smart food choices. I'm not trying to say that you can start wolfing McDonald's hamburgers and french fries when you begin a running routine. Poor food choices will also cause burn out.

On average, I eat about 1750 calories daily and on days when I do my long/harder runs or races, I eat up to 2300 calories. It's great! So much better than depriving myself of food for weight loss or maintenance. I never feel hungry and I've lost weight and gained lean muscle. The greater thing is, my caloric intake will need to increase as my training gets harder. As a person who loves to eat, I'm looking forward to this!

*Running added bonus: I achieved a flatter stomach just from running alone. No tedious hours spent doing a million crunches.

Week Four Training
6/29 - Rest day
6/30 - Run 4 miles
7/1- Run 4 miles
7/2 - Tempo work, 6 miles
-One warmup mile
-Pick up the pace for 4 miles
-One cooldown mile
7/3 - Run 3 miles @ 5k pace
7/4 - Rest day
7/5 - Long run - 9 miles

Total miles for the week: 26