Run The Long Road Coaching

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Bikini-phobia

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6/9/11
8 miles easy / 1:15 / 9:22 avg pace

I’m all about honesty on RTLR so I must confess to a (long-term) case of bikini-phobia.  I know I’m in the majority here; very few women love to shop for and parade around in bikinis (or one-pieces, tankinis, etc.).  I rarely (if ever) remove my cover-up at the beach.  I feel exposed and fearful that people are looking at me.  And shopping for a bikini is a complete nightmare – those mirrors and lighting should be banned.

I know my phobia is completely irrational.  I don’t look that bad.  But my hyper-critical self sees a flabby-this or an untoned-that .  Funny thing is, when I’m people-watching at the shore (fun!), 90% of the people walk by unnoticed.  The other 10% are noticed by everyone!  You know, the women and men with the bathing suit that is completely inappropriate for their size.  Yup, those people.  But let’s get back to the other 90% that pass by unnoticed – every single one of them has a flabby-this or an untoned-that.  So why do they go by unnoticed and I give myself the hardest time?

One of the gifts running has given me (bear with me, I’m going somewhere with this) is complete appreciation of my body.  I’m very thankful and grateful that I can push my body so hard and it still gives me results.  It really amazes me sometimes…my legs especially.  They are strong and powerful and have carried me through 8 marathons.  So after many, many years of running I’m learning to accept and appreciate my body for what it is:  strong, powerful, and resilient.

The point of this post is not to elicit encouraging comments.  I’m just being honest and transparent.  Many of the healthy living bloggers I follow will post pictures of themselves on vacation in a bikini.  They have it right (and look fabulous too).  Healthy eating coupled with exercise should translate to bikini confidence.  And while I’m not there yet, I’m pretty damn close.

My bikini-phobia is slowly being conquered!  On Memorial Day weekend, I went sans cover-up at the pool.  And I just ordered 2 bikinis online.  Usually I only own 1 bikini since there was never really a need for another one.  The strength training class I took on Tuesday also has a duel purpose:  besides helping me become a better runner, toning up will help my bikini-confidence.  Winning!

Do you suffer from bikini-phobia?

I Survived

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6/8/11

5 miles easy  / no Garmin

Yesterday I took my first strength training class in ages and I lived to tell about it.  It wasn’t so bad actually.  I’m a little sore today but not as bad as I was expecting.  The class did confirm that my leg strength is >>>> my upper body and core strength.  This is what I would expect when my legs do all the work and my upper body and core are just along for the ride.

The class was set-up like a circuit and we did lots of different things:  kettlebells, pilates reformer, stability ball, etc.  There were only 2 students in the class (including me) which I liked.  I was able to learn each circuit with the help of the instructor.

It wasn’t terribly difficult but I’m not sure if I want anything difficult right now.  I do have to be able to run a lot so I’d like to keep myself somewhat mobile!

Speaking of running, I’ve been getting up at 5AM to run and I’m oh so tired.  I crawl into bed at 9-9:30 every night and pass out.  I love to run in the summertime but sometimes fitting it all in is hard.  We are away most weekends until August so I find myself squeezing in as much a possible Monday through Friday so I can enjoy the weekend (weddings, shore, etc.).

How do you fit running in around your social life (or life in general)?  I know there’s no magic answer.  I used to get pretty creative with fitting in my long runs when I would have plans on both Friday and Saturday nights.  But that was back in the day (my 20s) when I used to go out much more!

Something New

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6/7/11
6 miles with hill repeats / 58:32 / 9:45 avg pace

To go along with my “if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll get the same results” theme, I’m doing two things today that are new and one of them is outside my comfort zone.

Scary thing #1 – hill repeats
I’m alternating my speed work this cycle between track workouts one week and hill repeats the next week. In the past, my hill work simply consisted of running on a hilly course. To my surprise, it was very effective. Imagine what hill repeats can do! Today’s workout was pretty informal.  I warmed-up for 1.5 miles and picked out 3 hills along my run.  I did 5 repeats on the 1st hill, 3 repeats on the 2nd, and 4 repeats on the 3rd hill.  I would run up the hill as fast as I could, and then jog back down.  Not so scary at all.  In fact, it beats a track workout any day.

Scary thing #2 – strength training class
Scary thing #2 hasn’t happened yet (12pm). But I’m putting it out there in the blog world so I can’t back out. My yoga studio has a whole body strength class that they offer a few times a week. I can’t tell you the last time I strength trained; it’s pretty sad actually. My focus has always been run, run, run. Strength training is crucial to making you a more balanced runner (literally and figuratively!). I’m taking the “all levels” class so I don’t make a fool out of myself. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow, provided I’m not too sore to type.

What have you done recently that was new or scary?

Changing Things Up

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5/31/11
8 miles (4 at tempo) / 1:09 / 8:37 avg pace
2 miles @ 7:44 — 8:02, 7:39
2 miles @ MP — 8:42, 8:32

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“If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll get the same results”.  So very true when it comes to training for a marathon.  So what will I do differently with this training cycle?  For starters, it’ll be more challenging.  I’m still using the FIRST training plan with the following modifications:

Increase overall mileage
Since NJM was only a month ago I still have a good base built up and plan to build on top of that (starting at ~40 miles per week and going from there).  I’d like to max out at 60 mpw, but not sure if that is possible.  We’ll see.  So in addition to 3 hard runs (speed, tempo, long), I’ll be adding 2 easy runs to get my miles in.

Switching between hill repeats and track workouts
When I trained for Steamtown, I did lots of hilly runs and I felt so strong.  For NJM, I concentrated on flat and fast.  Both worked well for me but I want to combine the two for the Leigh Valley Marathon.  I need speed in order to BQ and I need hill repeats so I can maintain my marathon pace over hills.  So one week I’ll hit the track for intervals and the next week I’ll hit the hills for repeats.

Trail running
Since 12 miles of the Leigh Valley Marathon will be on a trail, I need to be able to maintain a fast pace on gravely terrain.  I’m going to try and do my tempo runs on a trail.

Cross-train
Still aiming for yoga at least once a week and maybe (gasp!) some strength training.

Long runs – some fast and some slow
Usually I do my long runs pretty close to my goal marathon pace.  I still plan on doing some of them but I also plan on slowing down my pace every now and then.   

Hopefully all of this will lead me to a BQ in September!