Thanksgiving Week means running?

Like everyone else, I love Thanksgiving.  I love the gathering of family and friends to celebrate those things for which we are thankful as we share a joyous meal.  In my family, we always light the baptismal candles for our three children at the dinner table as a visible sign of how thankful we are to God for the gift of each one of them.

Last year, I went through the Thanksgiving Week with a goal of not gaining more than 2lbs.  I was doing Weight Watchers then (I still am), and I wanted to stay 'on plan' while still enjoying the traditional Peete feast.  My plan was to only have ONE plate of food (no seconds), and only one slice of pumpkin pie (without whipped cream).  I was successful as I only gained 1lb over the weekend and by the time I weighed in the following Tuesday, I was down 1lb!

So what will be different this year?  Two things.  First, only Ryan will be home with Christi and me during Thanksgiving this year.  My oldest daughter Suzanne will likely be celebrating with her boyfriend's family this year; and my middle daughter Laura is in San Diego this fall and will be celebrating Thanksgiving with her mother out there.  This is the first Thanksgiving where our family will not be together.  Yet another sign that times, they are a-changin!

The second thing is that I am spending a lot of time this week on my feet, doing my training runs and participating in two races.  And in addition to that, doing several strength training sessions at LifeTime Fitness.  If someone had told me last year that the following year, I would be focusing on physical activity rather than my stomach on Thanksgiving Week, I would have been very skeptical (perhaps rolling on the floor laughing).

I started my week with a Long Run early Sunday morning with my friend Mike Rice.  It was a bit chilly and dark at 6AM on Sunday morning as we met by the path we were going to run.  My training schedule called for a 10-Mile run at a steady, slow pace.  I planned on running at a 11:00/mm pace to keep my heart rate in Zones 1-2 (between 142-160bpm).  This is the best level for training the body to draw upon fat stores for fuel rather than glycogen (sugar).  It is also great for toning the heart muscle for endurance running.

So Mike and I hit the path while we proceeded to catch each other up on all the goings-on in our lives since the Hot Chocolate 15K race.  I was glad I brought my headlamp, because we needed it for the first 2 miles.   It was really awesome spending time with someone on a long run.  The run just flew by as we talked, laughed, and enjoyed the scenery of the run/bike path.

At Mile 5, we took a water and GU Energy break, and then turned around to head back.  The run was really smooth and comfortable -- the legs and body were in the groove that day.  By the time we got back to our starting point, we had already gone over 10 miles.  So we took a cool down 'walk around the block' twice before getting back to the cars, bringing our total mileage to 11 miles for the run. That is the longest run I have completed so far! Nice!

Then we had our only bad luck of the day -- Mike's car had a flat tire!  So I drove him home to get his air compressor, and then headed to my Weight Watchers weigh-in, where I stayed the same weight as last week.  That is a good thing in my book!  :)

On Monday, I went to my TEAM Fitness strength training class where the trainer, Mike, really kicked it up a notch.  We did core work, lots of step-ups with hand weights (bicep curls and shoulder presses), planks, push-ups, supermans, "V" crunches, and various striders.  The legs complained but they made it through.  Man, was I beat after all that!

Today, I did my interval training (in a light drizzle).  Two sets in 56 minutes, where each set was a 1/2 mile fast run (between 9:00-10:00/mm pace) followed by a 5-minute recovery run.  I ran a 5-minute easy run after each set.  Including my warm-up and cool-down time, I put in 4.90 miles this morning.  The legs felt pretty good considering my 11 Miler on Sunday and the Cross Training on Monday.

Tomorrow will be another TEAM Fitness workout.  And then I get to run the first of two 5K races on Thursday -- the North Shore Turkey Trot.  I am going to shoot for a sub-30 minute finish, which would be a new PR for me (and a goal I want to reach before the end of 2011).  I think I can do it this time (I missed it in October by 44 seconds)!

Saturday morning, I run the Schaumburg Turkey Trot 5K race.  This will be my second chance at finishing with a sub-30 minute 5K time.  But if I accomplish that on Thursday, then I will just run this one at an easy pace rather than my race pace.  I don't want to injure myself so close to the Half Marathon!

So this Thanksgiving Week will be memorable in many ways this year:

1) I will celebrate the blessing of family and give thanks
2) I will eat sensibly.
3) I will have run a total of 22 miles for the week!
4) I will run two 5K races and hopefully celebrate a sub-30 minute finish
5) I will miss having Suzanne and Laura at the dinner table :(

So I guess my new lifestyle has redefined Thanksgiving Week to include running as well as feasting.  Who knew?

On the final stretch to Disney!

Well, I haven't posted anything on here since the Hot Chocolate 15K race. Life has been pretty busy recently between work, a weekend youth retreat, recovering from a cold, and other assorted tasks and obligations. But I have been able to keep to my training schedule, having run 16 miles since Nov 6th. Last week was a cutback week for me, which was nice because I was feeling a bit sick and did not feel up to a 10+ mile run last weekend (besides, that was retreat weekend so finding time to run a long distance would have been impossible).

Basically, with the exception of a couple of Turkey Trot 5K races around Thanksgiving, I am focusing on the final two months before my Disney World Half Marathon. It is time to knuckle down and focus on my training schedule, run smart in order to avoid injury, and build up my base/foot-time so that I am fully ready for that race. And to not overtrain! I am going to log between 56-60 miles and 10+ hours of foot-time in November and again in December. I am confident that I will be ready.

I stepped up my Interval training this week. I am now running three sets of intervals consisting of two repetitions of a "1/3 mile run at a 9:30 pace, followed by a 1 minute 11:00/mm recovery run". Between each set, I run a 5-minute 11:00/mm easy run. This comes out to a 4-mile workout, plus my warm-up and cooldown (5 minutes for each).

The 9:30mm runs were challenging but I was able to run them all; I was pleased about that. Next week, the distance for my interval runs will increase from 1/3 mile to 1/2 mile (and the 1-minute recovery run will change to a 5-minute recovery run). Hmm.... running a 9:30 pace for 1/2 mile -- should be fun? :) The good news is that I really believe these weekly Interval Trainings are making me faster, and that is something I want as I prepare for the Disney Half.

It has gotten a bit colder out here in November. I do my training runs in the early mornings before going to work, and the average temperature has been between 21-32 degrees with just enough wind to keep your face tingly! I spent a little money last week and bought a pair of Nike DryFit Running Pants, a pair of CW-X Compression pants, a nice hat with ear/neck flaps, some SmartWool socks, and a new water belt. If you are in the Chicagoland area, you definitely want to check out Running Hi n Tri in Arlington Heights. They have an awesome, well appointed store, are very attentive and knowledgeable. I tried on a ton of different brands and sizes before picking out my final purchases, and they gave me great feedback and suggestions! They were fantastic!

I really wanted to 'gear up' for the cold weather and the new running and compression pants really keep my legs protected from the wind/cold. The new hat does the same for my head and ears. I think keeping the heat from escaping my body through my head keeps my hands and feet warmer too. So even though I have been running in the cold weather, I have been pretty comfortable. I have been experimenting with layers to see what works for me at differing temperatures/conditions. If I am going to run the Polar Dash Half Marathon next January, I better be prepared for 'cold'!

Oh yeah, did I mention that I plan on running two Half Marathons on consecutive weekends? The Disney World Half Marathon is on Jan 7th, where I hope to finish with a 2:30 hour time or better. The Chicago Polar Dash Half Marathon is on Jan 14th. I figure that I should be able to recover from Disney in a week's time if I do proper post-race 'care and nutrition' and not get injured. Then run the Polar Dash without concern for finish time -- just run it to finish (and get the nice medal and fleece jacket). Doing these two would qualify me as a "Half Fanatic"! LOL.

The good news is there would be two months before my next race, and it is only a 5K. So plenty of time to rest, relax, and recover. 2012 will be the year of the Half Marathon for me. Check out my schedule via the link above and see what races I am planning to run. Five Half Marathons! That will keep me challenged, right?