Tag Archives: Marathon Training

Squat & Diet

Posted by hellyontherun in Healthy Eating, Marathon Training, Running and tagged with , , , , ,

Yep that’s pretty much what’s been going on over here….

I’ve been running, but what I’ve really been doing is squatting like I’ve never squatted before and trying to eat better. I have no idea who I’ve become.

So my coach right now is really focusing on pre-habbing (you know, doing the stuff people do when they get injured but BEFORE they get injured). Every Tuesday and Thursday I’m supposed to cross-train/strength train and like a good student, I’ve been doing all of my assignments. There’s more that I do besides squatting, but there’s def more of those than anything else. My Moms Run This Town chapter also has a month long squat challenge so everything has coincided quite nicely (or not? lol!).

Nothing has humbled me more than single-legged squats. Holy shit, those are hard.

I’ve become one with squats. After almost a month of squatting, I no longer dread them but accept them as part of my daily routine. While I have two scheduled days of strength training, I’ve found myself squatting and doing core work every single day. And after almost 4 weeks, I can finally begin to feel the hard work paying off.

It took me longer to get as motivated for the diet part, though. No surprise. But, last week was my first full week of being mindful of what I was putting in my mouth. My coach gave me a list of food ideas–this I love because I’m totally a person who likes being told what to do, in this case, eat.

Tuna has become my best friend. I’ve made this quite a few times. I’ve also been making a lot of smoothies which pairs great with our 105 degree temperatures 😀

1 cup almond milk
1 banana
mixed berries (to your liking)
spinach (or kale–I switch b/w them)

and voila! A yummy smoothie! Sometimes I’ll throw in chia seeds or Greek yogurt for funsies but with or without, it’s yummy.

I’ve been easing myself back into running. My coach has given me a break from speed work and tempos to concentrate on getting everything healed (foot feels amazing!). I finally feel like I’m getting back to normal with everything. I definitely felt my mojo drop a little and now that summer is arriving (my happy season), I’m ready to get to work.

100+ degrees? No sweat!

–Do you like squats? (They were seriously my death but now I don’t hate them as much anymore) Am I the only one who dances around trying to hold a single legged squat?

–What’s in your favorite smoothie?

–Your thoughts/feelings on summer approaching?

Two Week Food Logging…..Read At Your Own Risk

Posted by hellyontherun in Healthy Eating, Marathon Training and tagged with , , ,

Happy Marathon Monday!!! Wow, how incredibly inspiring was this morning? I was lucky to be able to watch on t.v. and track friends online. I could tell that the heat affected many but there were some who still rocked it despite of. Congrats, Boston finishers!!! #jealous ❤

Okay, for those of you have been reading for a while, this will not come as as surprise. Two weeks of logging my food intake was…..not pretty. I’ve always been incredibly honest about my eating bad habits. It’s the hardest part of fitness for me by faaaaar. I can workout like no tomorrow, but when it comes to food, I have THE WORST self-discipline ever.

why tho?

My coach wanted me to log two weeks’ worth of food entries to see what she was working with. I’m not sure to what capacity she’ll help with this part of my training, but you’ll soon see that ANY help at this point is well needed.

I’m not this bad anymore, I swear. I’m down to a single row of just Coca-cola

I wanted to be honest, and I was from the beginning when I told her my diet sucked. I didn’t try to really “clean” up my food intake during the two weeks because I wanted her to see how I really eat. I was definitely embarrassed some days, because I knew she’d be seeing that entry at some point, but maybe that was a good thing? I also was forgetful, not because I didn’t want to put in what I ate (I swear!) but having to input all my meals was tough in what’s always a hectic day in my life, lol!

(I used MyFitnessPal, btw.)

Okay, here’s a peek of what we’re dealing with here. (These are not consecutive days, btw–but they might as well be, lol)

forgot to input dinner

 

You’ll start to notice a theme here….

 

coffee for breakfast, again…..and believe you me, I wanted more than 4 slices of pizza for dinner

 

Another winner of a day below….

But wait, there’s more!

Forgot to input dinner…was likely pasta….

 

Well, I like pizza…as you can tell. The thing is, there’s this place called Barro’s Pizza that has uh-mazing lunch specials–like 2 huge slices and a drink for $4.25!!!

I know, I know….

In all honesty, I feel like logging in my food has actually helped in a way. I see first hand how many calories each thing is which is new to me. It does make me a little more conscious of what I put in my mouth.

But at the end of the day, I know I like bad food. And I know that the only way I can better my diet is to keep my goal in front of me everyday. If I didn’t have a reason to change my diet, I honestly wouldn’t. Do I think changing my diet will be the difference between BQing or not BQing? I don’t know; but, I do know that I don’t want to attempt to BQ the rest of my life. If I can do everything I can, and set myself up for success on my first try, why wouldn’t I give it a shot?

It’ll be hard, just like trying to run 8 minute miles for 26.2 miles will be hard–but how does that saying go?

Hard is what makes it great.

–Do you struggle with your diet?

–How often do you eat pizza?

–What tips do you have for me to help curb my love of fast food and soda?

Why I Hired A Coach

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training, Running and tagged with , , , ,

I’ve always been an active person. For as long as I can remember, I was running, playing basketball, throwing a football–doing something. In that aspect, I’m a natural athlete.

BUT, I’ve never been really good at any one sport. I could do most pretty well, but excelling? Yeah, no.

There were times when I wished I was the star, the go-to one on the team, and I think maybe I did have it in me to be that person. But I knew I was the reason I wasn’t.

Self-doubt is a killer.

Basketball was my sport in high school. I was a gym rat and lived and breathed basketball. I went to every open gym and practiced my shot, and I had a very good shot (still do 😉 ). You’d think I was the star of the team.

But, when it came to game time, I would always choke. I would get so nervous that I would often pass instead of shooting.

When I started running a couple of years ago, I knew that I wasn’t the best/fastest runner out there, but I also knew that like with basketball, I could get better if I practiced. I’ve seen myself become faster as time has passed and my confidence has grown.

Yet, with qualifying for Boston being “the big game,” I’m nervous I’ll choke. Again.

I knew I needed help if I wanted to qualify for Boston. Not so much because of the time needed, but because of the belief needed to achieve it. For me, qualifying for Boston isn’t so much about running the actual race, but believing I can actually get there.

My coach is Susan Loken and her coaching tag line is Believe Train Become. When I was recommended to her and saw it on her website, I fell in love with it, and with her, instantly.

“The first step in achieving any goal is to believe – believe in your purpose, your potential, and your ability to succeed. That is the basis of BTB Coaching.”

I have trouble with believing– believing in my potential, my ability. I wanted a coach who could of course help me get faster, but I also wanted a coach who could help me see that I CAN DO IT.

Hanson’s Marathon Method certainly helped me make a breakthrough, and I considered using the plan to train for St. George and my BQ. But the confidence I had going in to NYC Marathon and the confidence I had post, wasn’t enough to make me feel like I could do it on my own.

I wanted a coach who would challenge me, not by giving me a prescribed pace, but to ask me, “What. Can. You. Do?” Because I have a tendency to sell myself short.

Before the DBacks Race Against Cancer 5k, I asked coach how I should run the race.

5k Race
Run Race by feel
-Mile 1 at 85% effort
-Mile 2 at 90% effort
-Mile 3 as fast as you can go

But, but, what pace?!? What does Run Race by Feel mean?!?!

You know what? Had she told me to run XX pace, that’s what I would’ve done. And I probably would’ve never tried for a sub 7 minute mile (and I wasn’t really trying, I was just running as fast as I freaking could because that’s what she said to do in mile 3, LOL).

This morning’s track workout was a doozy. It was a Ladder Workout, different to the ones I’ve done before (by distance: 400, 800, 1200, etc). This was by time…and by effort. Again, I wanted to know WHAT PACE I SHOULD RUN. But coach didn’t want me to worry about my watch, she wanted me to start at half marathon pace for 5 minutes, and try and go faster on each interval.

FINE

The picture below was the second set–5 minutes/30 seconds RI (Rest Interval), 4 minutes (30 sec RI), etc.

For SIX MINUTES I ran under a 7 minute pace and for ONE FULL MINUTE, under 6!!!! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could run this fast. That is the gosh darn truth.

But it’s not so much about the times, it’s about how I didn’t hold myself back. It’s these baby steps I know will help me face St. George head on–without fear.

It’s early on in the training, but I know that having a coach look after me, helping me tackle paces I’ve never done (and safely), while also helping me *believe*, will get me that BQ ticket–and something even more along the way ❤

–Have you worked with a coach before? How was your experience?

–Do you tend to hold yourself back? How/what do you do to negate self-doubt?