Let the Training Begin!

So yesterday I told you about my goals for the Bad to the Bone Charlottesville Half Marathon and found a new training plan to follow. After work I went straight to the gym (after sitting in traffic for two hours when I seriously thought I might pee my pants skirt from the 16 cups of water I'd drank) and got started. And no, I didn't pee my skirt. I made it to the gym just in the nick of time, thank you.

Tuesday Night Training

Easy Run (on treadmill at 1% incline)

2 miles at 9:13 pace (6.5 mph)

Strength Training

Back and Biceps

Post Work-Out Snack

Whole wheat toast with hard-boiled egg whites and avocado slices, sprinkled with fresh ground pepper.

Comments

-Though it was an "easy run" it was hard for me to stay at the 9:13 pace for 2 miles. Usually when I run on the treadmill I'll start at an easy pace and increase the speed every 2 minutes/quarter mile. It was tough to resist the urge to go faster.

-This snack was so good - the whole wheat toast provided carbs, the egg whites gave me protein (approximately 3.5 grams of protein per egg white) and the avocado is creamy deliciousness! Add avocado to anything and it will be great!

Wednesday Morning Training

Tempo Run (on treadmill at 1% incline)

1 mile warm-up (increasing from 5.5 - 6.5 mph)

4 miles at 7:53 pace (7.6 mph)

1 mile cool-down (decreasing from 6.5 - 5.5 mph)

Strength Training

Shoulders and Legs

Post Work-Out Snack

Protein Smoothie

 

Smoothie Ingredients: 1 cup skim milk, 3/4 frozen banana, handful organic frozen strawberries, large handful (about 1 cup) organic baby spinach, and 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder.

Smoothie Stats:

Calories: 290

Fat: 2 grams

Protein: 28 grams

Vitamin A: over 40% daily requirement

Vitamin C: 75% daily requirement

Calcium: over 50% daily requirement

Vitamin D: 25% daily requirement

Comments

-I was a little bit nervous going into this tempo run - it may not seem fast to a lot of you, but I'd never maintained a 7:53 pace on the treadmill for 4 miles and I wasn't sure I could do it. Last night I went to bed at 10:15 and got up this morning at 6:00 (which is really sleeping in for me!) so I felt refreshed and full of energy when I got up. I went to the gym and hit the treadmill - the first mile at the 7:53 pace was a little tough, but I found that it got better as I went. I'm so happy that I believed in myself enough to try - a couple months ago I think I would have just assumed I couldn't do it and would have ran it at a slower pace. I do kind of think that its cheating to do this on the treadmill because maintaining this pace outside on your own is harder - I'm hoping that most of my training will be able to move outside next week once its lighter later in the day and hopefully warmer, too!

-This smoothie was so good! It really filled me up and made me feel great after my hard workout. And for those of you who are skeptical about the spinach - you seriously can't taste it! This tasted like a vanilla-strawberry-banana shake!