No Training...

Man, no matter how many months in-between races I go I'm on a continuous "tapering" schedule. I've only run a few times since Gnaw Bone and Mohican is sooo close. I've been keeping up with the P90x stuff but that leaves little time (more like desire) to run. I'll probably keep doing the P90x for another week and a half and then stop so I don't overdo it.

Yesterday I ate a bunch of chocolate, napped for an hour, then tried running a measly six miles in 88 degrees. Ugh; I stopped once for water and almost puked and considered turning back home. That chocolate needed a lot more time to digest.

I'm sitting here at work debating running right now...I'd like to get in another six miles but the temp is not cooling down. :( Help!

3 Cardio and 3 Showers

Today was cardio-mania! Woke up at 4:50am and did P90x's Plyo, then showered. Went to work and did Beachbody's Insanity at 12pm, then showered. On way home from work I stopped and did Zumba at 5:30pm, then showered. That can't be good on the skin.

Btw, my new favorite cardio is the Insanity. I've only done it three times and I love it! I've never sweat so much in my life.

DWD- Gnawbone 50 Mi Race Report

Well the good news is that I finished with no knee pain!! I ended up taking four ibuprofen throughout the race as sort of a preventative measure but I'm feeling fine today so that's all I care about.

Bernie and I planned on meeting up and running the race together and we didn't know if we'd see Bryan (who we ran some with at Green Swamp) or not. At the start we ended up seeing Bryan and also met his friend, Chris. I also saw Greg who I ran the same race with in '09 so that was neat.

So Bernie and my plan had been to finish sub-10, if possible. That would be cutting 19 minutes off my '09 time. That would be great. So Bernie, Bryan, Chris and I got together at the start and ended up running the entire 50 miles together. That is the first that I've stuck with that big of a group for an entire 50 miles. It was great having different conversation and also having different people support you when you're feeling weak, and vice versa.

From miles 1-30 we ran at a 12:2 interval pace (as well as walking hills) and then around 35 switched it to 10:2 and then I think around 38 or 40 we switched it to 8:2. It was working great the whole time and I felt like we were strong and not all tired and slow at the end. There were a lot of hills like I remembered but I didn't mind them as much and I felt like we made good progress. From roughly mile 25 on we didn't pass anyone and no one passed us; that was weird.

So anyway, what I'm really confused/surprised/disappointed about is our time. Once we knew we couldn't make sub-10 I was hoping for at least a sub-10:19 so I could beat my previous time. Nope. Somehow we finished in 11:12. I guess the time was okay overall since we were like 12th/80 entrants but I'm still confused as to how it took so long if we felt so good. Did the intervals end up screwing us? We did them at Green Swamp and felt like it was working and I felt like it worked this time...but maybe not. It seems like in '09 I was feeling good but that the hills were really hard on me. So how come I felt better this time but with a slower time? The trail/temp conditions were very similiar.

Another thing that bothers me is that I got 2nd female in this race and the first female finished in 10:19. That was my '09 time which means I could have beaten or tied her if I was in the same shape. What happened?? I'm confused and concerned. Am I more out of shape this year? If so, what does that mean about the people I ran with? I know that Bernie and Bryan were putting in more miles than me and we stayed together.

Oh well. Oh well.

Here's us coming in the finish line (Thanks for the pics, Angel).




Enough about that. Post-race we jumped in the lake and it was glorious.



More post- race:

So, next on the list is Mohican and unfortunately this race kind of made me more scared of it. I just had all these memories of aches and pains and trying really hard to finish it. Ugh! I have to finish...I don't want to try to have to finish this race a million times. I doubt I'll get in a lot more training because of the P90x so it'll have to be 99% mental strength. But about Mohican- Bryan said he's probably going to run the 100 with us and Chris might pace us so that'd be tight. It'd be Bernie, Bryan, Chris, and good ole Señor Bill.

Vamos a ver!

Well looks like I got one run in this week again! How crappy. Oh well, it won't be the first time that I've been low before a race. My legs are starting to feel achy again for some reason so this morning I did some of the P90x stretching for 30 minutes. I took the last two days off of P90x so that I won't be sore at all tomorrow. I'm determined to finish this thing, with or without meds! This is a great race and I need to do it.

Change in Workouts: P90x

Well last Sunday, May 1st, my husband (Josh) and I decided to give P90x a real try for three months: the diet and the 6x/wk exercises. I've done the exercises before but never noticed a change, since I didn't do the diet. Everyone says that you get the most results if you do both together, so we want to make the most of it.

The best time to do the exercises for us is in the mornings before work, which means waking up around 4:45am (they last 1-1.5 hours). Uhh, I am so tired! So anyway, I am no longer running with Jon in the mornings and I'm trying to fit my runs in after work. I know that my mileage will be cut back even more. For example, today is Friday and I have only run ONE TIME this week- which was a measly six miles yesterday. Too many things get in the way, especially when work is busy.

Speaking of things getting in the way, the P90x diet has been the hardest thing so far. Not the change in food but the time it takes to plan out your meals to make sure you're eating enough! You have to get so many proteins (five servings for me) and carbs and veggies in a day. It seriously takes Josh and I at least an hour to plan our dinner and our lunch. For example we each had six egg whites and two pieces of turkey bacon for breakfast this morning. For lunch we'll have six ounces of tuna with an egg and cottage cheese and almonds. Ay ay ay!

But anyway, I've never really done any strength training or any other regular exercise for the past five years except running (which can be the cause of many injuries, so I hear). So, I'm definitely interested to see how this will affect my overall health and endurance and such.

I'm nervous now for my 50 miler, DWD Gnaw Bone, because I've been sore from these exercises and I noticed it yesterday in my run. Ugh, I'm in this dilemma- do I cut back on my new P90x exercises so I can complete the race well or do I keep them up because I want to give P90x a full 100% try? :(

Worse comes to worse- at least I'm eating a lot better now and staying active; err something like that....