GusGus's Running Journal

GusGus16

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Hi all, I'm new to this section of the boards, I typically spend most of my time on the budget board. Stumbled down here the other day, and thought this would be a good place to journal my progress and hopefully keep me accountable to my plan.

A little about me, I got into running about 4 years ago. I was training to walk a half marathon with my mom. She wanted to complete a half for her 60th birthday and show her younger coworkers that she could do it. During one of my training walks, I thought that if I could walk these distances then I could run them. One of the biggest motivations to start running was to be able to reduce the time of these training walks, as they were beginning to be hours long.

My mom and I finished our first half marathon, which gave me the confidence to sign up for the Princess half. I completed the princess half, it was a rough race for me in several areas, most likely secondary to some under training, partly due to falling off a treadmill a few weeks prior. Since then I've done one other half and have been in and out of training since and having trouble staying consistent with my work outs.

Which brings me to this journal, my mom and I are signed up for the same half marathon and this will be the 4th year we are walking it, so to train I decided to follow the training plan and complete all the distances running. I am following a beginner's plan as I have not been running consistently in some time. The plan has me running M/W/Sat and I plan to strength train 2 times a week as well, and typically a Saturday yoga class. The plan is as follows:

Week 1-4: complete.
Week 5: 3, 3.5 and 6 miles.
Week 6: 3, 4, and 7
Week 7: 4, 4.5 and 8
Week 8: 3, 2.5 and 5
Week 9: 4, 5.5 and 8
Week 10: 5, 4.5 and 9
Week 11: 5, 5 and 10
Week 12: 4, 4.5 and 7
Week 13: 6, 5 and 9
Week 14: 6, 5.5 and 11
Week 15: 3, 4.5 and 6
Week 16: 2, 4 and walk half

Comments welcome!
 
Not much to report today as it was a rest day. Preparing to be successful tomorrow by getting my gym stuff together tonight. It has been hot and humid here, hopefully it will break soon so I can run outside.

I need to get a new pair of running shoes, have been wearing saucony and bought a new version of my previous shoe, tried them on and they felt good, but when I wear them to run my feet hurt, never had a problem with the previous version, so need to get to a running store and try on some different shoes. I have been wearing some Adidas shoes that I had been wearing for cross training and those have been working fine, but they are getting up on miles now.
 
3 mile run this evening went well, was on the treadmill, 12 minute pace with a 1% incline. I'm seeing some results from consistently running, mainly in my perceived effort and maximum heart rate so that is very positive.

Need to get my gym bag packed for tomorrow, as work was super busy today and I can see multiple excuses to skip my strength training. Last week I tried a tabata circuit, probably going to keep it a bit more simple, ideally I would just attend one of the strength classes my gym offers but I probably won't get out of work early enough to attend one. I try to hit most major muscle groups...not sure if I'm successful at it but try to always include some planks, squats, lunges and a mix of upper body with plyometrics.
 


Well, no gym tonight, crazy few days at work and had to get at least partially caught up before tomorrow. Plan to add in strength training after my run tomorrow and then probably some sort of cross training on Thursday and strength on Friday with my long run yet on Saturday. The humidity finally broke here so maybe be able to get a run in outside. No real big updates, I should pack my gym bag so I have no excuses to head to the gym straight from work tomorrow!
 
Got the 3.5 mile run in tonight at the gym, 1% incline and 12 minute per mile pace. The run tonight was more about the mental aspect, I was fighting against myself the entire run, and wish I could have just let everything go. At about 1.5 miles I just wanted to be done and add some GI distress at about mile 2 and I knew if I got off the treadmill I was not getting back on. Happy that I finished, but didn't get the strength training that I had planned. Tomorrow another very busy day and then a long weekend at least. Still planning to do some sort of cross training tomorrow but probably will hold off on strength training until one of my favorite classes on Friday morning.
 
I went to my strength class on Friday, and it was really good, focused a lot on lower body and was sore the next day. Planned to do my 6 mile run yesterday, but took a quick weekend trip and ended up walking almost 19 miles by the end of the day. Run is not going to happen today either, so I'm going to have to revamp my schedule for the week. Going to plan on doing my 6 mile run tomorrow, strength Tuesday, Wednesday 4 miles, Thursday strength class and 3 miles. Friday rest day. Saturday 7 miles and hopefully yoga class. Sunday rest day and then I'll be right back on track.

I also really need to get those new running shoes sooner rather than later!
 


Yesterday my legs weren't ready for my 6 mile long run after my weekend trip, so today I got on the treadmill and completed the run. It was a very good run, 12 minute/mile pace, first 4 miles at a 1% incline, then had to break the treadmill (can't run more than an hour on them at a time) and ran the last 2 miles at no incline. Legs felt strong and positive self talk got me through! I may need to strategically skip the 3 or 4 mile run this week so I'm not over doing it and if I end up doing that will add an additional run next week Thursday.

I have a Garmin forerunner 235 and use the indoor treadmill run option, recently it has been very accurate up until today's run. I know the watch just updated this weekend, but it was almost a whole mile off-so I ran 6 miles 12 min/mile pace and my watch has an average pace of 10:21 with 6.98 miles. I think when I have a chance to do an outdoor run it should calibrate to my pace. Anyone else has problems with discrepancies like this?

In other good news got out of work early today and went to the running store. Was really impressed with the staff and I walked out with a new pair of running shoes and a pair for my cross training. Now to go through all my shoes and get rid of the ones that have no miles left in them. Oh and this running store gave me a $10 dollar off coupon so now I'm debating going back and just looking or getting a new pair of shorts...

I'm hoping to run 3 miles tomorrow and skip the 4 mile run on Thursday but do a strength training class and swim. Friday rest day and get after that 7 mile long run on Saturday followed by yoga if I have the time.
 
Feeling really good about my day, completed the 4 mile run per plan, originally was going to run 3 miles but was feeling strong so decided to get back on track with the 4 miles. On the treadmill 12 minute per mile pace, no incline tonight. Overall, very good run, finally the consistency is paying off! Wore my new running shoes and they did well! I'm going to see how I feel tomorrow, maybe the 3 mile run with the strength class and then I'll be right back on track. My garmin forerunner is still off, hoping to get a run outside, the humidity is breaking tonight...so maybe tomorrow, probably not my 7 mile run on Saturday (I really can't stand my hydration belt, and don't know if I will find one that works for me). So, 7 miles is too long for me to go without water, since it is 84 minutes with my pace, so unless I figure out a loop to go by my house, I'll probably stick to the treadmill.

Much better place in my head then I was last week, it is amazing how much running is a mental game. Love that the only person I'm competing against is myself. Need to work on my mental toughness. I think the journal is helping as well!
 
I have a Garmin forerunner 235 and use the indoor treadmill run option, recently it has been very accurate up until today's run. I know the watch just updated this weekend, but it was almost a whole mile off-so I ran 6 miles 12 min/mile pace and my watch has an average pace of 10:21 with 6.98 miles. I think when I have a chance to do an outdoor run it should calibrate to my pace. Anyone else has problems with discrepancies like this?

It's possible since the Garmin uses arm carriage as a method for estimating pace, that because it recently updated and hasn't had an outdoor run to calibrate to that it's just off. But I agree with you that once you have that outdoor run, you should find things get better. Although those indoor run equations can get finicky.
 
Day off today, so always a good day! Ran 1.25 miles on the treadmill at 12:30 pace 0% incline before my awesome strength class. The strength class is with a very positive instructor and always high intensity. Lots of squats, lunges, upper body, core, and intermixed cardio. I think I may be sore tomorrow. I'm 1.75 miles behind the plan for the week, but overall very happy with my runs. Tomorrow I plan to take a rest day or potentially a yoga class if I can make it after work. Then Saturday 7 miles-current plan on the treadmill. Then back on track for next week!
 
7 mile long run done! Feels so good to be back on schedule. The run was on the treadmill, 12 minute/mile 1% incline, short break at 4.5 miles to restart the treadmill. It took about the first 2 miles to really get loose, my right calf was pretty tight, then I had a great 3+ miles, felt free and good about it. The last 1.25 miles or so my right foot started to give me some grief but finished strong! So very good run! No yoga today, maybe tomorrow.

The plan for the rest of the week, Monday 4 miles, Tuesday strength training, Wed 4.5 miles, Thursday strength class, and Friday rest day.

Everyone have a good weekend!
 
Things are going strong into week 9, feeling much better about staying on track.

4 miles today, on the treadmill, started 1% incline 12 minute/mile for the first mile, 2nd mile 11:45 minute/mile, 3rd mile 11:33 min/mile, and 4th mile ~11:19 and increased the speed for the last quarter mile up to about 10:45. Nice strong run, I think I can increase my pace for these shorter runs, didn't max out my heart rate and didn't feel exhausted afterwards. Went to a lower body strength class that was a half an hour, my gym is doing a competition for attending classes so need to go to 10 more by the end of August. Tomorrow's plan is to do some strength, maybe make it to a strength class depending on work or just do it by myself.
 
Strength training today. Tomorrow will be the 4.5 mile run and I'm looking forward to it, maybe will be able to run outside but we need rain. Working the weekend so need to make my long run a priority on Saturday. Pretty boring week so that is good!
 
4.5 mile run complete, on the treadmill 1% incline 12 minutes/mile. Not a good run, broke my routine and went home before the gym which I think contributed, then had GI distress half way through and had to get off the treadmill. Glad to have the run done feels good to continue checking runs off the plan. Tomorrow is my favorite strength class of the week and my day off. Hoping to be very productive.
 
Things derailed this weekend, worked and it was crazy busy, and my fur baby had to go the ER, thankfully he is better now after antibiotic and steroid shots. So I missed my 8 mile long run on Saturday and did it today on the treadmill, 12 minute/mile pace 1% incline, with short break halfway to reset the treadmill. I felt really strong during my run up until the last mile when I just wanted to be done, overall good easy run, will be increasing my pace on my shorter runs from now on, will start with 11:33 pace and see how my next two runs go this week. Will back off my pace to the 12 minute pace for my long runs. I'm going to plan on running 3 miles tomorrow and the 2.5 miles as planned on Wednesday and then back on track for my 5 mile run on Saturday. With a strength class tomorrow, I'll have to skip my usual strength class on Thursday because of work, but planning on doing something on my own. Overall, feeling really good about my training and that I'm on track for week 8!
 
I'm caught up!!! Completed the 3 mile run today after an awesome strength class. Again treadmill, it is raining and humid here, but it is supposed to break tonight, so I might be able to get the 2.5 mile run tomorrow done outside. The entire run felt awesome, I started out at a 12 minute/mile with 1% incline pace given the kick butt strength class . I wasn't sure if my legs were going to be able to handle bumping up my pace, but they were strong the whole way through, so I ended up increasing to 11:45 at the half point then progressively increasing to 10:54 to end, and I could have done more, so end all be all I need to know that I can do these runs and not be afraid to try to increase my speed at least for the short runs. Considering incorporating speed work into my plan, but starting this plan was all about consistency and staying on track so for now just going to stick with getting the miles in.

It is nice when the work starts to pay off and I haven't been running this well in a long time. Need to just keep with the plan. Still looking for a goal race. Another run Disney race is always tempting, I know Princess opened today, just don't know if I can swing it with work, maybe a long weekend, but it would keep me motivated to keep my running and fitness up... Maybe I'll at least get a 10k on the schedule for POT, and then see how scheduling works out.

My first and only 10k so far was my POT for my first Princess half marathon. Was the last 10k in my area before the cutoff, and my cousin's wedding was in the afternoon, it was a crazy day, but I remember being so happy with my finish time because I wouldn't be in the last corral.
 
Week 8 complete, the 2.5 mile run went ok earlier this week, ended up running outside instead of on the treadmill, was really humid so that may have contributed to me feeling pretty crummy throughout the run. The 5 miler on the treadmill went well, unfortunately, my garmin is better after my run outside but still almost 1 minute faster than treadmill pace, prior to the most recent update was only about 30seconds faster than my actual pace on the treadmill, this week if I have some time I'm going to try and problem solve, might just need another outdoor run...

So far this journal has allowed me to be much more consistent with my running! I still have room to improve on keeping on track with the rest of my workouts and strength training at least twice a week. My next step is to also improve my diet, need to start making some small changes to improve it, my biggest weakness is eating out for my lunch during the work day and indulging too often in sweet treats-so trying to meal prep and keep easy healthy things on hand for lunch.

Onto week 9-game plan for the week: Monday 4 mile run and hoping to get a relaxing swim in afterward still going to be hot and humid here. Tuesday if I can get out of work early I'm attending the awesome strength training class otherwise it will be strength on my own (lunges, modified burpees, squats, box jumps, core and a bunch of upper body), Wednesday will be 5.5 mile run, Thursday awesome morning strength class and probably going to try to add a 2 mile run, Friday is an extra day off for me so depending on how I'm feeling I may attend the strength class and hopefully weather will be nice and I can do some swimming, and Saturday long run of 8 miles. Sunday will be my rest day. Hope everyone has a great week!
 
I'll admit tonight's run was really really rough, mental I was there, not sure why the run was so hard. I got out of work late and didn't have any afternoon fuel which I think may have contributed, also probably pretty dehydrated, and then once I got to the gym had to use a different treadmill. The entire run was a struggle, started 12 minute/mile pace with 1% incline, went down to no incline really early because I was trying to hang on. After a lot of self talk and motivation, I got through to about 3.25, and then I couldn't hang on any further and started gradually decreasing the pace, when I hit 3.5 I had to slow to a walk, walked for .25 and then finished running the last quarter mile at 12 minute/mile pace. Heart rate was up during the run. Somehow the treadmill contributed, but not sure why it would be so much harder than my typical treadmill on the same settings... my garmin is still acting funny but interestingly, as it has been almost two minutes faster on my typical treadmill, the pace it was reading varied from about 30 seconds faster to almost 2 minutes slower...

So hoping the rest of my runs this week are better. We will see how my legs feel tomorrow, strength train tomorrow and then start over on Wednesday with the 5.5 mile run. Biggest thing is I finished, keep on moving.
 
I'll admit tonight's run was really really rough, mental I was there, not sure why the run was so hard. I got out of work late and didn't have any afternoon fuel which I think may have contributed, also probably pretty dehydrated, and then once I got to the gym had to use a different treadmill. The entire run was a struggle, started 12 minute/mile pace with 1% incline, went down to no incline really early because I was trying to hang on. After a lot of self talk and motivation, I got through to about 3.25, and then I couldn't hang on any further and started gradually decreasing the pace, when I hit 3.5 I had to slow to a walk, walked for .25 and then finished running the last quarter mile at 12 minute/mile pace. Heart rate was up during the run. Somehow the treadmill contributed, but not sure why it would be so much harder than my typical treadmill on the same settings... my garmin is still acting funny but interestingly, as it has been almost two minutes faster on my typical treadmill, the pace it was reading varied from about 30 seconds faster to almost 2 minutes slower...

So hoping the rest of my runs this week are better. We will see how my legs feel tomorrow, strength train tomorrow and then start over on Wednesday with the 5.5 mile run. Biggest thing is I finished, keep on moving.
Yeah they are not all easy & euphoric that's just part of the sport. Sometimes you don't know why. But if you know you were dehydrated that's a big component. I think it can even make your heart rate go up?
 

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