November 03, 2013

November plans

I'm still having a hard time getting adjusted to NOT marathon training. My running schedule was so regular up until the marathon, and it became such a habit. Sundays were my long run day, but I did my long run on Friday, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do today.

Yesterday, I wrote up my winter/spring training schedule to prepare to PR my 5K and 10K times. The schedule is 21 weeks long, and it starts on November 25th. I wanted to give myself a few weeks of easy running before the tough stuff starts! So until the schedule starts, I'm going to run 5-6 days per week, for 3-12 miles each day. Unless I feel like running fast, I'll probably do all easy paced runs. I actually really enjoy the easy paced runs.

Today, I decided to run four miles as close to a 9:55/mi pace as I could get. That's what I'll be running when I pace Stephanie to a 2:10 half-marathon next Sunday, so I want to get a feel for it. The time change last night threw me off quite a bit today! I woke up (and was wide awake) at 4:30, but managed to fall asleep on and off until 6:30. At around 8:30, I finally headed out for my run. It was sunny, but still in the low 40's, so it was nice outside.

I felt really good, but my heart rate was really high again. My average heart rate has gone up by 15 bpm just since the marathon, which is a huge jump. I'm starting to wonder if it's just my heart rate strap causing problems. My new Garmin is supposed to be shipped in a couple of weeks, so I'm not going to bother trying to figure out if the strap of this one is the issue.

My goal was to stay as close to a 9:55 pace as possible, without going slower, and without going more than a couple of seconds faster. I did pretty well!


Looking at my heart rate chart, it's obvious something was going on with the monitor:


For the next few weeks, until I start my winter/spring training, I really want to focus on getting my weight back down. My best races were when I was about 131 pounds, and my pace is definitely affected when my weight goes up (even just a couple of pounds). So I'd love to get my weight back down, at least to my goal of 133, to make training a little easier!

To do this, I'm going to make it a focus to get in the Good Health Guidelines of Weight Watchers this month. The GHG are:

1) Eat 5 servings of fruits/vegetables per day.
2) Eat 1-2 servings of lean proteins per day.
3) Eat/drink 2 servings of non-fat or low-fat dairy.
4) Choose whole grains over refined grains.
5) Aim for 6+ glasses of water a day.
6) Have 2 tsp. of healthy oils per day.
7) Take a multivitamin daily.
8) Watch intake of sodium, added sugar, and alcohol.

Usually, I just eat what I want and count the PointsPlus for it. My diet isn't horrible, but it definitely could be better. So for this month, I'd really like to try and focus on these guidelines to hopefully help me get my weight back down. I'll still be counting my PointsPlus, obviously (26 per day, plus my activity PP, plus my weekly PP).

I also plan to go weigh in once a week at Weight Watchers. I've been weighing in only once a month all year, but I think the weekly weigh-ins will help me stay accountable. I'm not sure yet what day I'll be weighing in; probably Thursday mornings.

I like having a real plan--both for my eating and my running. Focusing on my running goals makes me excited to work on eating better, which will hopefully lead to some PR's in the spring. Even if I don't end up reaching my PR goals, I'll at least know I did what I could to make it happen!

7 comments:

  1. I really admire how dedicated you are to keeping your diet on track while you're training to meet your fitness goals. I'm training for my first marathon now and it seems like the higher my mileage the hungrier I get. I have no idea how you do it!

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  2. I am curious about your training plan for the winter... I am having post event blahs and like your idea of getting faster vs. training for a specific event... Can you share?

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  3. What are you getting for a new Garmin?? Exciting!!!!

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  4. I have been hearing that running at marathon lengths can actually damage your heart temporary and that you NEED to make sure you rest after putting your body through that type of stress. It will actually cause your heart to inflame...this may be why your heart rate has been higher since your marathon. Perhaps you need to give it more rest (which is hard to do for runners!) and let it heal. definitely something to look at!

    http://running.competitor.com/2012/06/news/how-much-running-is-bad-for-your-heart_54331

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  5. GREAT job on the pace! Maybe we should get you a little sign on a wooden stick that says "2:10" for next week, lol! You'd probably get a following! ;)

    Getting excited!!

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  6. Hi Katie! Would you mind sharing your current weight? My goal weight is 135 and I'm up about 15 pounds from this summer. I just can't seem to get back into the groove. I started counting WW points today so I'm hoping to be back to goal weight in a few months. I'm disappointed that I let myself gain weight but I know that it's a journey, not a destination! :)

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  7. Thank you for reminding us of the GHG. I was on WW so long ago that I know nothing about the new plan and it's good to see that the guidelines haven't changed! I wish I had kept up my lifeline membership so I could go back when I'm in a slump (as happens this time of year) - I moved to South America and wasn't able to keep up my lifetime membership / weigh-ins there. Congrats on all you're doing!

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