Weekly Running Recap: August 25-31

I'm kind of excited to actually be back to writing running recaps! I know they aren't the most fun thing to read, but when I'm writing about running, it means I'm actually doing it.

I feel like I've gotten to a place (for the first time ever!) that I'm starting to see running as an outlet. There are several times over the past couple of weeks where I would have just procrastinated the run or not done it at all because I was dreading it. Now, my initial reaction is, "Oh, man, I have to run today!" but when I stop and think about the run itself, it starts to sound good.

I like that I don't have a "real" schedule or any particular goals when I run. Sometimes I really need that structure, but at this point, I like doing things without a plan. I already wrote about my run from last Thursday, so I'll just go through the last couple of runs.

Sunday

Sunday's run was pretty funny. I started off going at a leisurely pace, just enjoying that I wasn't home cooking dinner. Running on Sunday evenings is kind of fun because you get to see all the stuff that people are throwing away--Monday is garbage collection day. (I mean it's fun to see things like furniture; I'm not digging through trash cans or anything!)

I'm going to try and do a little drawing on this satellite picture and hope it's not too confusing. The little yellow star is me and the little red star is a good-looking man running with his shirt off. The red arrow will come into play in a minute. (The other colors are just my running route.)

The guy was running downward on the map toward that little loop. The loop is at the end of the peninsula, so I like to run down there and circle the loop (which is exactly 1.5 miles from home, so it's a perfect three-mile run from my house) and then continue--only I stay to the left instead of the right in order to circle the whole peninsula.

Well, on Sunday, when I was at the spot where I placed the yellow star, I saw the shirtless guy (turquoise star) running the same route I just did. I knew, I just knew, he was going to circle the loop and then continue his run behind me. The red arrow is basically just where we passed by each other going opposite directions.

I was not delusional enough to think that I'd outrun him, but it would be embarrassing for him to circle the loop and then catch up to and pass me. So, I naturally picked up my speed--I couldn't help it! See where my route goes from blue to green? That's where I picked up my pace to pretty much what I could stand.

Inevitably, he caught up to me right at the two-mile mark. I called over to him that today is my easy run day; if I really wanted, I could crush his pace and run laps around him, hahaha. He laughed and then kept going, getting farther and farther ahead. Then my goal was to keep him in my sight; and after a few minutes, I didn't even see him anymore. He was definitely running fast! Although, it looked like it might have been an easy run for him, too.

Anyway, I had picked up the pace so much that I just kept going. When I got home, I saw that I'd definitely moved a little faster when trying not to get passed by a boy.

It's funny that you can see exactly where my pace went from about 12:30 to 10:30

I was exhausted after that! When your first mile is 12:39, and then you third mile is 10:20, that's a LOT of time to make up. I was pretty impressed with my 11:34/mile pace when I was done.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I did three more miles outside. At first, I really didn't want to do this! I had been working in the garage and in my bedroom, I had to go to Lowe's for some stuff for that, I hadn't cooked dinner, and I was just exhausted. However, I started to think about how it would feel to go out for a run and I found I was kind of looking forward to it. 

This time, I figured that since my pace was almost 13:00/mile last time, I'd try to go faster. My main goal was to beat my total time from my previous run--which was 35:20. So, I ran the same route and consciously tried to run faster. 

My first mile was 11:53, and I could have SWORN I was going 10:30-ish! My legs felt so tired. So, I picked up the pace to a point where it felt like a tempo run--I knew I could finish, but it felt so hard. My second mile was 10:45--I was happy to see sub-11:00!

I kept going at what felt like a tempo pace, and then I saw that my overall pace was 11:30 (with at least half a mile to go). I knew I wouldn't be able to hit sub-11:00 for my overall average (I was already pushing myself pretty hard). But then I decided to aim for sub-11:20. It doesn't sound like much of a difference from 11:30, but I was making up time from the first two miles as well, and it was so hard! I kept glancing and seeing the numbers going down so slowly.

When I turned onto my street (I had two houses until mine), I saw that my pace was exactly 11:00 and my distance was at 2.99 miles. I ran as hard as I could for the last moment--even going a little farther than three miles, just in case--and when I was done, I saw my overall average pace was 10:52! I was really surprised, but then when I saw my third mile, I was even MORE surprised: I ran it in 10:02. I wish I'd known it was so close, because I would have pushed for that sub-10.

The whole goal was to beat Sunday's time of 35:20; well, I crushed it with 32:57. I was thrilled with that! It's funny how my weight really doesn't have anything to do with my pace. In 2010, I could run a sub-30:00 5K at 180-ish pounds (as a beginner runner). Now, I'm under 135 pounds and it's a struggle to stay under 11:00/mile. It actually makes it kind of fun so I can see myself getting better.

When I first started running, I kept trying to beat my previous times, even if it was just by one second. I almost wrote that I'd like to try that, but then I'd have a goal and that would put more pressure on me, so I am just going to stick with running however I feel like it. This week went really well!

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Running Recap: August 18-24

Since it seems like I might actually be getting back to running regularly, I'm going to just start calling these recaps by their dates. I'll start my running week on Thursday and end on Wednesday (so that I can write Thursday's post after the week ends). Since I already recapped last Thursday's run, I'll just skip it and only have two today.

I'm going to keep these posts short and simple. Since my goal right now is to be a "hobby jogger" (a friend of mine calls it that and I think it's perfect for my goal!) I am not going to go into heart rate or speed work or tempo runs or anything like that. My plan is to just run three miles, three times per week; the only real rule is that I can't go more than two days in a row without running. I did this years ago and it was super helpful to keep me from waiting until the end of the week to do the runs.

I did both of my runs outside this week--even though it was midday and it was hot! The older I get, the colder I get; and I'm able to tolerate the heat much better. It's about the only time I'm not cold.

I actually chose to wear a tank top for my first run this week--really! I don't even like wearing short-sleeve shirts but it was so hot that I didn't even car who saw my arms flapping in the wind (if there was any wind, haha).

It felt hard! I was running really slowly, but my legs felt like lead. I went down the road that leads out of the peninsula, which is kind of busy (for around here, anyway) and people drive about 65 in a 45--and they're always distracted. I like that route sometimes, when I'm looking for something different, but I have to be careful. Anyway, I had negative splits (getting faster as I ran) so I thought that was cool.

I felt really accomplished when I was done. So sweaty! In a good way.

Today, I really didn't think I was going to run. I wanted to skip it! Brian came over to work on the bathroom some more and I helped him with that. We got the bathtub set and while we wait for the "stuff" to cure (I have no idea what it is, but it looks like mud and it holds the tub in place once it dries and cures), I just have to pick up some more 2x4s and the water fixtures for the shower. He may come back tomorrow to add the surround to the shower.

After that, I worked on more sewing stuff (my pile of clothes to mend or alter is growing way too big). Then I went out to the garage and finished building a work table for my jointer and planer. Then I learned Eli hit a pot hole and blew out a tire on Jerry's car, and I don't even want to write how expensive it is for tires. He really needed new ones as it was, but this expense couldn't come at a worse time.

At that point, I thought for sure I wouldn't get a run in, but I did--I changed my clothes and went out into the heat and humidity, and I sweat loads during a three mile run.

I felt like I ran so much faster than the previous run because it felt so much harder! But I think that's because it was hotter. (I just realized this run should have gone on next week's recap--whatever! I'll recap on Thursdays with whatever I've got, how 'bout that? Haha.

Anyway, I'm going to watch a movie with my two boys--I'm excited they both agreed to watch one with me! ;)

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3-3-3 Running: Done! A Recap of the Last Three Months (and moving forward...)

Well, I made it!! I ran three miles three times per week for three months.

I missed doing a recap of Week 12, and since I was already halfway into Week 13, I figured I'd just wait until I was done and put it all together.

For anyone new, 3-3-3 running (in a nutshell) is: Running 3 miles, 3 days per week, for 3 months. My friend Thomas suggested this to me when I expressed interested in running again (after a two year hiatus), but was having such a hard time committing to it. He had to take a year off due to psoriatic arthritis, and when he got back into running, that's how he did it... 3-3-3.

I chose to do heart rate training based on Dr. Phil Maffetone's 180 formula. I used his method in 2015-2016 when training for a 10K PR and it worked so well that I wanted to do it again. However, since I was so out of shape to begin with three months ago, I decided to do ALL of the runs at my MAF heart rate and no speed work at all (which is actually what he suggests--the idea is to build your cardio system by training at a low heart rate, even if it means walking.)

The data from all this is going to be screwed up a little lot, so I'll explain that as I go.

First, I started on September 30th with a MAF heart rate of 143 beats per minute (180 minus my age, which is 37). However, I listened to Dr. Maffetone on a podcast explaining that the formula can be slightly off from that for various reasons, and since I had such good results with a heart rate of 146 bpm in 2015-2016, I ended up changing it a couple of weeks into this current training period.

So, my pace was slower for the first couple of weeks due to the fact that I was keeping a lower heart rate. Once I changed the MAF heart rate to 146 bpm, I felt more comfortable with my stride and I was able to go (slightly) faster.

The biggest problem with all this data is the discrepancy regarding running on the treadmill versus running outside. The distance on my Garmin is completely inaccurate when I run on my treadmill (on my Garmin, running at 5.0 mph will show the same pace as running 4.5 mph, for example, even though I can feel a big change in the speed).

Also, I was never sure if my treadmill's distance was correct. I did a test recently, which I feel is pretty accurate based on the way I did it, but rather than correct the distance after each run, I decided to log the distance that is on the treadmill. If the test I did was, in fact, accurate, I was actually running slightly farther and faster than the treadmill showed; but to be safe, we'll just call the distance on the treadmill at face value.

The timer on the treadmill, however, is too fast. For every 10 real minutes that pass, the treadmill will show that roughly 10:10 has passed. That's a big difference! So, I used the timer on my Garmin (which is 100% correct) and the distance on my treadmill (which is close enough) for the results.

HOWEVER, making it even more complicated, I did not do that for the first few weeks. I was assuming my Garmin was more accurate than the treadmill, so I didn't log what the treadmill said; I just logged what was on my Garmin. I have no idea how far the actual distance I ran was, except that it was most likely more than what my data shows.

Basically, what I'm saying is, the treadmill data from the whole month of October is garbage 😂

I feel that the most accurate data comes from outdoor GPS runs, and unfortunately, I didn't do many of those. For some reason, I developed anxiety about running outdoors and it causes my heart rate to be higher.

Here is a chart of all the data from when I started the 3-3-3 plan (you can click to enlarge it, but it's basically a bunch of numbers that aren't at all helpful; the yellow highlighted runs are the outdoor ones):

You can tell when I started watching the TV show 24 while running because I started running more than my required 3 miles, hahaha. I wanted to finish the episodes, which are roughly 40-42 minutes long.

When I did graphs of my pace (separately for the indoor and outdoor runs, just to be more consistent) it wasn't very helpful either. There IS a slight trend of my pace getting faster, though, which is encouraging. The red line is the overall trend, and the slope downward means I got a little faster.

This first graph shows just the outdoor runs, and begins with the first outdoor run on 10/4/19. My median pace outdoors for the three months was 13:13/mile. (I thought median would be more helpful than average in this case.)

And here is my mess of treadmill data (which I started counting from 10/31, after I started logging the distance shown on the treadmill).  So, this is only the last two months of data. I'm glad to see the overall trend being faster, but I guess it's a lot like weight loss--many ups and downs due to different variables. My median pace for the treadmill was 12:50/mile.

Unless I consistently run outside using GPS, with similar variables, it would be very hard to get accurate, helpful data.

Thoughts about the last three months:

I definitely don't dread running as much as I used to. I still have the "I don't wanna" feels before a run, but it's nothing like before. Occasionally, I look forward to it! And I always feel good afterward.

I hoped to see a bigger improvement, but like I said, the data is so inconsistent that I can't really put too much thought into that. I've been reading Dr. Maffetone's Big Book on Endurance Training, and I'd completely forgotten about doing the MAF test run. I wish I'd have remembered. I'll write more about that later.

Running at such a slow pace was frustrating at times--I felt good most of the time and wanted to speed up, but as soon as my watch beeped that my heart rate was too high, I'd have to slow down. I did not "cheat" on that part at all, however. I consistently did everything in my power to keep my heart rate below MAF.

Despite the slower pace, I really enjoy using the MAF method because it's not miserable. I don't have to gasp for breath, and I don't feel like my legs are going to buckle. While it doesn't feel like a cakewalk, it definitely feels like I could keep going for a long time. Besides, it's nice to have an excuse for a slow pace ;)

Doing this 3-3-3 running plan has made me want to continue running. I didn't look at the final run of the third month as an "end" to the goal. It was the beginning of refreshing the old habit I used to have--running regularly. I feel better about myself when I'm "a runner".

Moving forward from here...

After diving into his book, I want to jump in with both feet for January as far as the MAF method goes (this includes nutrition and lifestyle). This is going to be a HUGE challenge, but I feel ready to take it on. It's going to take an entire post for the explanation, so I will do that later this week.

As far as the running goes, it will continue very similarly to what I've been doing. I definitely want to keep running, and after reading more about the MAF method, I've changed my mind about how I'd planned to do things (adding in speed work). At least for a while. But I'll still continue running at MAF heart rate (running 3-4 days per week).

I'd really like to do more outdoor running, so I'm going to try to make myself do that at least once a week. It's going to be really hard in January and February here in Michigan! I've turned into such a baby about the cold.

Anyway, I'm very glad that I did this 3-3-3 plan (thanks, Thomas!) and I feel good about continuing to run into 2020 :)

Here are all of the (mostly) weekly recap posts of 3-3-3 in case you're interested.

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Recent Running Audiobooks and Week 11 Recap of 3-3-3 Running

I can't believe it's been 11 weeks since I got back to running regularly! I had tried several times over the last couple of years to get back to it, and other than training for the Martian Half-Marathon, I just couldn't find the motivation to do it more than a few weeks at a time. I really like this 3-3-3 plan that Thomas suggested (running 3 miles, 3 days a week, for 3 months). It's very minimal, but I think that's what I needed to adjust to the new habit.

Once I started running again, I became more interested in reading about running again. I used to love to read running books, and then once I took a (very long) hiatus from running, I just lost all interest in it. When I started the 3-3-3 plan, I also decided to finally read Born to Run--I liked that book so much that I wanted to read more.

I still love working on projects around the house, and I find that's a great time to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. While it's not quite the same as reading a book, I love that I can check out audiobooks from the library right from my phone, and within 30 seconds, I can find, download, and start listening. Listening while working on a project is the best!

I've listened to a few audiobooks about running recently, so I thought I'd write a little about them here. Listening to them motivated me to keep going, and made me actually look forward to running! (Not easy to do.)

All three of these are memoirs--not fictional or training type books. (Note: I didn't include spoilers here. Links are Amazon affiliate links, but I listened to these on Hoopla, so check if your local library supports Hoopla and you can listen for free!)


Reborn on the Run - by Catra Corbett

I've always loved reading memoirs about overcoming addiction, for some reason (I also love watching shows like Intervention). Catra is a former meth addict who started running after she got clean. Throughout the book, she describes parts of her past drug use and eventually what caused her to stop using.

She had to change her entire lifestyle (moving back in with her mother, losing her friends and boyfriend, and basically start an entire new life in order to stay clean). A friend suggested running a 10K with him and she discovered that she really loves to run. It seems to come very natural to her, also.

While I liked that she took up running so whole-heartedly, it was definitely intimidating to read about her extreme running feats. She didn't just run the occasional 5K, half-marathon, or even full marathon. She went on to run ultramarathons, including 100-mile races. As if that wasn't enough, she became the first American woman to run 100+ miles on more than 100 occasions. Crazy, right?!

And she doesn't just run long--she runs fast. She even holds the fastest known time for the John Muir Trail, which is 425 miles long. She ran that in 12 days 4 hours, and 57 minutes. I can't even wrap my head around that.

I enjoyed the entertainment aspect of this book, but I couldn't relate to it at all (not a bad thing; I just find books more interesting if I can relate). I have absolutely no desire to run that far, especially after reading how torturous it sounds in the book! haha. If you've ever wondered about running ultramarathons, though, this is a great read/listen.


My Year of Running Dangerously - by Tom Foreman

When I started reading this, I didn't realize that Tom Foreman (the author/narrator) is a well-known CNN correspondent. If I had known that, I probably wouldn't have chosen this book. (With a couple of exceptions, I don't typically like celebrity memoirs; I'm not sure why that is, but I usually skip over them when looking for a memoir to read.) However, I'm glad I listened to this audiobook--I enjoyed it.

When his daughter was 18, she asked him if he'd like to run a marathon with her. He had been a runner in the past, but he chose to focus on his career and family, putting running on the back burner. To bond with his daughter, he agreed to run a marathon with her, and while she was away at college, they trained and discussed their runs on the phone.

Tom didn't just tentatively step back into the running scene... he dove in head-first. He ran four half-marathons, three marathons, and an ultramarathon in the span of the book--I can't remember the exact timeline, but I believe he ran his first ultramarathon less than a year after starting his adventure.

He spends a LOT of time training (while juggling his career and family). Again, I didn't find this very relatable because of the long distances, but it was an entertaining read/listen.


Depression Hates a Moving Target - Nita Sweeney

Out of the three audiobooks, this one was definitely my favorite--and probably because I could relate so much it was scary! Nita is a middle-aged overweight woman with bipolar disorder who begins running to help combat her depressive episodes as well as lose some weight. (Already sounds very familiar, right? The events of the book were even during the same time period that I was losing weight and started running.)

I love Nita's descriptions of her early running--to start running while depressed and overweight is very challenging, and she perfectly described the self-consciousness she felt. She began by running around her neighborhood, in spite of worrying about what the neighbors would think if they saw her. She also described how, during her depressive episodes, it was hard to push herself to get out there when all she wanted to do was play solitaire at home.

Nita is super relatable (and likable!) as your average woman who starts running for health and weight loss. She describes throughout the book the things she learns about running (what to wear, how to train, etc). She joins a running group to train for different races and forms a bond with the others as they train. She doesn't have children, but she has a husband who is super supportive as she makes running a huge part of her life. She also has a dog that she takes for runs with her.

This book is great if you're a new runner or someone who wants to start running. It's motivating to see the positive changes running can have on your life without taking it to the extreme. It may sound boring to read about an "average" runner, but I loved the details about going from couch potato to runner one small step at a time.

I suggested this book to my friend Emily (who also has bipolar disorder and wanted to start running). She loved the book, too. She said she was glad she listened to it instead of reading it because she found the run talk to be a bit on the technical side; her opinion was interesting, because it was that "technical" part of the book that I loved! However, she found it motivating enough to start running--and now she is doing Thomas's 3-3-3 suggestion as well.

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Speaking of 3-3-3, Sunday concluded Week 11. Just a couple more weeks and I'll have reached three months! This week was a pretty good one. I ran twice on the treadmill and once outside.

Wednesday
(treadmill; 3.65 miles in 40:48; 11:11 per mile; average HR 142)

This run blew my mind. I must have been having a very good day, because this was the run I'd been dreaming about since I started this 3-3-3 plan! I started the treadmill at 5.0 mph (which, according to my treadmill accuracy test, is actually 5.37 mph; I'll write a little more about this after I describe my outdoor run).

I fully expected to have to reduce the speed shortly after I started running in order to keep my heart rate at or under 146 bpm. Usually, I can do most of my run at 4.6-ish, and then end up having to lower it down to 4.3-ish; it's frustrating, but that's what I have to do to stay at my MAF heart rate.

For this run, I decided to use the manual lap button on my Garmin to see each mile split (when the treadmill read 0.94, 1.88, and 2.84).

Surprisingly, my HR monitor wasn't beeping at all to signal that my heart rate reached 147. I kept running and running, and soon, I'd hit a mile at 5.0 mph without going over my MAF heart rate. I tried so hard not to think about it and to just run, hopefully keeping my heart rate low and not jinxing it.

Two miles. Still nothing!

At that point, I started to wonder if I might be able to do the whole run at 5.0. I was very skeptical, because it's usually in the last mile that I have to reduce the speed a lot.

2.25 miles. Nothing.

2.5 miles. Nothing.

2.75 miles. Nothing.

I was stunned! I was SO SURE that it was going to beep in my final quarter mile, but it never did. I finished 3 miles at 5.0 mph, without a single beep from my HR monitor! I wanted to finish watching the episode of 24 that I was watching, so I kept running. At the end, I'd run almost 41 minutes without going over my MAF heart rate even once. I was so excited! This was huge progress, even if it was just due to a good day.

Below is the time spent in each heart rate zone. The goal is to stay in Zone 2 (my personal MAF zone), trying not to get into Zone 3 at all.

Interestingly, this run was on the 11th of the month; my splits for all three miles was 11:11/mile (making my overall average pace 11:11/mile as well). And 11 happens to be my very favorite number! All coincidence, but pretty neat.

I remembered doing some runs on the treadmill in January where I set the speed on the treadmill at 5.0 mph and just let it stay at that speed for 30 minutes while I ran. I was doing a sort of reverse heart rate training (training a specific pace and then hoping to see my heart rate get lower over time at that same pace). I didn't stick with the training, of course, but I'm glad I did that, because this was a good comparison.

In January, at 5.0 mph for 30 minutes:
Jan 17: average HR of 150 bpm
Jan 20: average HR of 151 bpm
Jan 22: average HR of 150 bpm
Jan 24: average HR of 147 bpm
Feb 4: average HR of 153 bpm
Feb 6: average HR of 149 bpm
Feb 8: average HR of 151 bpm
Feb 11: average HR of 157 bpm

And that's when I quit. No runs until May, where I only ran once. Then July. So, while I can't say anything for sure after this specific run on Wednesday, it's nice to see the difference from January. Those runs were also just 30 minutes, and on Wednesday, I ran for 41 minutes.

I also read my notes from a run in August on the treadmill, which is encouraging for now:

"Started out at 5.0 and was miserable. Decided to run by heart rate. MAF is 143 bpm. Had to 'run' at 4.1-4.3 mph on the treadmill to stay at MAF." (That run had an average HR of 143 for 40 minutes, where Wednesday's was 142.)


Saturday
(treadmill; 3.54 miles in 41:17; 11:40/mile; average HR 144 bpm)

Not quite as good as Wednesday, but I wasn't expecting such a good repeat. I wore my Altras (still only doing that once a week to adjust to them). I also had a horrible, relentless headache that had started shortly after my run on Wednesday.

I started the treadmill at 5.0 mph, but after half a mile lowered it to 4.9 and then 4.8. I ran at 4.8 for a long time, occasionally switching to 4.9 or 4.7. Not as steady as Wednesday, but still a big progression. Again, I wanted to finish my episode of 24, so I ran longer than necessary.

Sunday
(outdoors; 3.03 miles in 37.25; 12:21/mile; average HR 145 bpm)

This is the run that leaves me with doubts about the stupid treadmill again! I was very confident with the accuracy test that I did; the tool I used was the same type of tool that is used for measuring sports' fields, race courses, etc. Known for accuracy! However, considering my outdoor pace was over a minute slower than Wednesday's pace, I wonder (again) about the treadmill's calibration. I think I'll start taking the distance on the treadmill at face value, rather than adjusting later. If I'm wrong, it'll just mean that I'm running a little longer and faster than the treadmill shows. I'd rather err on that side.

Anyways, the higher heart rate and slower pace could be because my anxiety was really high for this run. I have no idea why I was so anxious about running outside! I felt like I do before running a race, and for the first mile or two of a race. Super dry mouth, very weak, wobbly legs, and feeling like my throat is closed up. I wonder if I was nervous because I worried I might not see any progress from the outdoor runs, which would negate the progress I thought I was seeing on the treadmill.

I don't know why it was, but I was very nervous during this whole run. I didn't look at my watch at all, but my heart rate monitor beeped several times (maybe eight?) throughout the three mile run. This run also seemed SO much longer than my runs on the treadmill. It wasn't entirely miserable, but it wasn't enjoyable until it was over.

I had expected to see a pace in the 13:00's, so I was pleasantly surprised to see 12:21 average. My splits were very even, too--12:18, 12:23, and 12:23. Pretty good for not even looking at my watch!

Looking at the zones below, you can see that I kept hitting Zone 3, so I had to slow down whenever that happened.

I'm so glad that I saw some progress this week. Even if Wednesday's was a one-off for a while, it was encouraging to do that!

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My New Niece! (and Week 10 recap of 3-3-3 running)

Last week was kind of crazy, so I didn't post. Whenever I had a chance to take a breather, I just didn't feel like being on the computer, so I read my book or worked on a knitting project for a friend. I kept taking mental notes about things I planned to write about on my blog, and now I forget most of them!

First, though... I have a new niece! Laura, Jerry's sister, had a baby last Monday. It was quite the ordeal. Laura was set to be induced into labor on Saturday evening, and I was ready to head to the hospital as soon as she called. She said I could be in the delivery room, and I was so excited--I'd never witnessed a birth before, and I always thought it would be such an amazing experience.

She didn't get settled in until Saturday night, so I knew it'd be a while before anything was happening. I didn't make plans on Sunday because I wanted to be ready to go. On Sunday afternoon, Laura said that she still wasn't having regular contractions and she was only dilated to 4 cm. A few hours later, she said the contractions were a lot stronger and that I could head up there anytime.

I drove up to Ann Arbor on Sunday at around 7:00 pm. When I got there, I could tell it would be a while (or I guessed, rather, based on my own experience with being induced twice). They had Laura lying on her side with a huge bean-shaped bouncy ball between her knees. The baby was facing the wrong direction (not breech, but she was facing Laura's belly and not her back). So, Laura's back was hurting pretty badly.

I pulled up a chair next to her and chatted for a couple of hours, and then the doctor came in to check her cervix, so her mom, mother-in-law, and I went to the waiting room. By this time, it was around 10:00 pm. The nurse told us we'd have a wait a while because the anesthesiologist was going to give her an epidural.

A couple of hours later, the nurse came to the waiting room and told us that they'd broken Laura's water to get things moving faster. Laura was super tired, and since it would likely be several hours before the baby would come, her husband asked us to go home and let Laura sleep if she was able.

I was wide awake and actually went grocery shopping on my way home at 1:00 am. Grocery shopping at that hour was a new experience for me, and I was surprised at just how many people were there. I took a sleeping pill when I got home because I was still wide awake and I knew I'd want to get some sleep before going back to the hospital. The nurse said she guessed Laura wouldn't be ready to push until 7:00 am.

At 4:00, Jerry's mom called to say they were going back up there, that Laura was dilated to 9 cm. I wished I hadn't taken the sleeping pill because I was too tired to drive at that point. I hoped that after a few more hours of sleep, it wouldn't be too late for me to go.

At 8:00, when I woke up, Laura had been pushing for nearly two hours(!)--so I quickly dressed and went back to the hospital (about a 55-minute drive). I was driving around the parking garage, hoping I would make it in time, and then I got a text saying that they were going to do a c-section.

I was super bummed! Since we wouldn't be able to see Laura or the baby for several hours, I just went back home. In the afternoon, I got a picture text:

This is Shelby! She was born healthy, 7 lbs 9 oz, via c-section. The night before, everyone had written guesses as to Shelby's weight and length on the whiteboard at the hospital, and I guessed 7 lbs 10 oz--so I was the "winner" ;)

Jerry stopped at the hospital after work, and we planned to go (with our kids) to visit Laura and Shelby once they were settled in at home. However, shortly after Laura got home, she developed a fever and a rash all over her body, so she went back into the hospital. The doctors had no idea what was wrong, and she ended up staying for two nights while they tried to figure it out and get her fever down.

She was able to go home yesterday, and I'm not sure what they finally determined had happened. Shelby stayed with Jerry's parents while Laura was back in the hospital, so I feel bad that Laura had to miss a couple of days with the newborn baby. I'm glad she's doing better, though. I'm hoping that we'll get to visit sometime this week.

I miss being around babies! Luke and Riley are growing up way too fast.

---

Sunday finished off Week 10 of my 3-3-3 running (running 3 miles, 3 times a week, for 3 months to get back into the habit of running regularly).

I suspected that one of my medications was causing a higher heart rate during my runs, so my plan for the week was to run in the morning and then take my medication afterward rather than waiting until afternoon or evening to run. I used to be a "morning person", but for the last few years, I am definitely NOT. I don't really feel awake and motivated until late morning.

Each morning this week that I woke up early to try to run right away, I just couldn't do it. And because of that, I put my runs off until I only had three days left in the week--Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I really didn't intend to do that, but because I am super determined to get in three runs a week every week, doing it three days in a row is better than skipping it altogether. (But I am not going to do that again.)

It's interesting, though--I didn't dread running at all this week. I feel like this 3-3-3 plan is finally starting to help me get back in the habit. I prefer the treadmill right now (I just feel more comfortable staying at home to run, for some reason), but maybe I'll start taking it outside once in a while.

My only complaint is that in order to keep my heart rate at or below my MAF target (146 bpm), I have to run very slowly--so slowly that it's actually difficult to do. I wouldn't mind this so much if it didn't take so long to finish three miles! I used to count on roughly 10 minutes per mile when figuring out how long my runs were going to take. It's a nice round number and was pretty close to my average easy pace. Now, however, it takes roughly 40 minutes to do three miles. On a bad day, it's 42-43 minutes, and a good day, 38-39 minutes.

This week was better, though--I was able to run faster at my MAF heart rate. I'm really looking forward to the day that I can set the treadmill at 5.0 mph and leave it there for a whole run! Or to start doing speed work--it's so crazy to me that I actually miss intervals and tempo runs. I think holding off on them until after the three months is a good thing, though, because it makes me look forward to adding those runs.

(Note: The miles per hour and pace don't match up because the treadmill's distance displays slightly shorter than the actual distance... when the treadmill reads 1.00 miles distance, its actual distance should read 1.06.)

Ever since I started running again, I noticed that my feet feel different than they used to. After just a few minutes of running, I get a pain in the side of each foot, but mainly my right foot. I had started with my old pair of Ghosts 8, the model that I was wearing for a couple of years before I stopped running. I tried a new pair of those (I still had a brand new pair that I'd bought before I quit running) and they felt better than the old ones, but I was still getting that pain.

I thought about why that would be happening, and my theory is that my feet have gotten used to less support over the last two years. After I stopped running, I wore my Converse Chucks almost exclusively--and those are completely flat without arch support or cushioning. After reading Born to Run and learning more about why our feet grow accustomed to the support shoes, I wondered if the bones, ligaments, and tendons in my feet strengthened and toughened up from not having the arch support.

I thought back to when I wore Altras, which are meant as a middle ground between support shoes and bare feet. They are flat on the bottom, so they don't offer arch support, but they are cushioned. They also have a foot-shaped toe box so that your toes can spread out while running. (I have a long post about them here.)

When I first switched to them, it was because Golden Harper (the founder of Altra) was at a Runner's World event that I attended as a blogger, and he gave us a detailed demonstration of why he developed Altra shoes. I loved the idea, and his explanation made so much sense to me!

He warned us bloggers that we should definitely allow for an adjustment period of a month or so to transition into using Altra shoes exclusively. When going from a support shoe to a zero-drop shoe (flat) with unsupported arches, you can get injured because your feet rely on that support that they are used to. You are supposed to gradually introduce the new shoes so that your feet have time to strengthen and get accustomed to them.

I was likely hypomanic during that time, and very impulsive. Of course, I didn't listen to Golden's warning, and I wore them immediately for all my runs. Several months later, I got a stress fracture in my fibula. Whether it was due to the Altras, I have no idea; but I switched to Brooks Ghosts after allowing my fracture to heal.

With the pain I've been getting in my feet over the last couple of months, I decided to try Altras again; only this time, I would transition properly. I bought the Altra Escalante model. As soon as I got the shoes and tried them on, I LOVED how they felt!

I wanted to wear them exclusively, but I know better now. I have had them for two weeks, and I've worn them twice. For the next couple of weeks, I'll continue to wear them for just one run per week. Then I'll try two runs per week for a month or so. And then I'll try switching over completely.

They are very comfortable, but I can tell that they stretch my hamstring and calf muscles more than my Ghosts allowed (because my heels aren't raised in the Altras like they are in the Ghosts). This isn't a bad thing (it's a good thing, actually, because my feet are in a more natural position), but I need to get used to it gradually.

Anyway, here is my recap for Week 10:

Friday (3.36 miles in 40:05, 11:56/mile pace, average HR 143 bpm)

I actually did manage to run in the morning on Friday, because I was planning to go to the hospital with my mom (she had an ablation procedure on her heart). However, I had taken my meds right when I woke up, forgetting that I planned to wait until after my run.

I started the run at 4.7 mph, hoping to be able to leave it there for the duration, but had to lower it to 4.6 when my heart rate monitor beeped at me. However, I was able to keep it between 4.6 and 4.7 mph for all but about 30 seconds when I had to lower it to 4.5 mph. I didn't have to lower the incline at all. This is definitely progress from a couple of weeks ago!

I watch the show 24 while I'm on the treadmill and each episode is about 40-42 minutes or so. When I reached three miles, I kept running to finish out the episode. I actually did that for all three runs this week.

Saturday (3.48 miles in 41:04, 11:48/mile pace, average HR 145 bpm)

I started this run at 5.0 mph, hoping that when my heart rate hit my MAF, I wouldn't have to reduce the speed so much to lower my heart rate. I was able to go between 4.9 and 5.0 for 1.5 miles! That's the fastest I've been able to run while staying at my MAF heart rate in a long time.

After that, though, I had to lower the speed quite a bit to 4.6 mph and occasionally 4.5 for the rest of the run. I was still able to keep the incline at a flat 0%. I don't lower the incline unless the pace gets too slow to maintain decent running form (about 4.2-4.3 mph).

I felt VERY good during this run, especially during the beginning when I was able to run faster. It made my legs feel great! I think that hydration plays a big role in how I feel as well, because I was very well-hydrated Saturday. I haven't been doing well at staying hydrated lately, and Saturday's run made me want to pay more attention to it.


Sunday (3.44 miles in 40:58, 11:54/mile pace, average HR 145 bpm)

I was hoping for another run like Saturday, but I started at 5.0 mph and had to decrease speed to 4.9 and then 4.8 within the first mile. Second mile was mostly 4.6 to 4.8. And then the third mile was between 4.5 and 4.6.

I wore the Altras, so the different running form may have had something to do with my higher heart rate. I notice that I focus on my form and breathing more when I wear the Altras because I am so conscious of how they feel and whether they help with the pain. (I don't get the foot pain that I do in the Ghosts, so it's a good sign so far!).

It's interesting, though--when wearing the Altras, my right foot drags on the belt occasionally (I hear a ziiiiip noise when the shoe brushes against the belt). This makes me more aware of my running form.

While a lot of runners tend to pronate their feet when they run, I actually supinate (the opposite--it's where I land on and push off of the outer side of my feet).  You can clearly see it when looking at my shoes--the outside edge of my shoes is what wears down first. The Ghosts are meant to straighten that out, but when wearing the Altras, my feet feel more "free".

It's the outside part of my foot that touches the belt occasionally, likely due to supination from the different (more natural) shoes. Again, it's not necessarily a bad thing--I'm just hoping that by strengthening my feet and focusing on running with the proper form, I can correct it naturally rather than with support shoes.

So, Week 10 felt like a really great week, other than the fact that I squashed all three runs into three days. I took yesterday off, and I plan to run later this afternoon or evening. And... I'm actually looking forward to it! It's nice that I'm finally seeing some progress. :)

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A Treadmill Accuracy Test--Finally! (And 3-3-3 Week 9 Recap)

I finally got answers to the accuracy of my treadmill! I'll write more about that below. First, though, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Jerry was working, but my mom invited us to her house for dinner. Becky went with the kids (Brian was working) and Nathan went with his girlfriend, Alex.

That morning, I had the idea to invite Luke and Riley (my niece and nephew) to come over after dinner and stay the night. I'd invited them over for Saturday night, but on Thursday, we learned that Jerry's sister, Laura, was going to be induced into labor on Saturday evening. And I get to be in the delivery room! Of course, I was very excited about that, so I asked Becky about the change of plans, which was fine with her.

(Laura went in to the hospital last night as planned, but things are going very slowly. I'm hoping that it'll happen tonight! I'm ready to drive up there as soon as she lets me know.)

We ate dinner at my mom's, and it was delicious! My favorite dish is still my mom's sweet potato casserole. I could eat nothing but that and die happy.

Since Jerry was working, I had Luke and Riley to myself for a few hours. They are SO STINKIN' CUTE. Luke talks a mile a minute and asks so many questions I can hardly keep up. And Riley is one of the most adorable toddlers I've ever seen. She's very petite for her age--she's small but proportionate, so she looks like a little, drunk adult toddling around, hahaha.

And her smile. My heart just melts. She gets this grin on her face that stretches from ear to ear, and it's SO contagious. I tried so hard to get pictures of the kids, but they never hold still. There was one moment when Luke actually asked me to take a picture, though, which he never does. He was sitting on the floor with Riley. I wish you could see her huge smile!

Anyway, on to the treadmill... in my obsession with not knowing how accurate my treadmill's distance is (I think it's the thing I complain about the most on my blog--being a numbers nerd, it drives me CRAZY not to know!), I was doing some Googling about Garmin watches that are the most accurate on treadmills.

My Garmin is over five years old now; I don't need a new one, but I want accurate numbers on the treadmill. (When I do get a new watch, I don't want a fitness tracker or a wrist-based heart rate monitor--and they pretty much don't make them like that anymore.)

In searching, I came across DC Rainmaker's site (if you ever want to learn about fitness gadgets, he is my go-to), and he had a video that demonstrated accuracy of various tools for logging distance on a treadmill. To get a very accurate *actual* distance to compare the others to, he used a measuring wheel.

I cannot believe I didn't think to do that before! They are used for measuring long distances, typically for road marking, sports fields, paving, fencing, etc., so the accuracy is about as good as you can get. DC Rainmaker strapped a measuring wheel to his treadmill. I tried to do that, but it was very difficult to get it steady, so I had to do it the difficult way--holding it in place for a mile while my legs went totally numb from squatting on the floor.

I had Jerry start the treadmill (on 5.0 mph and leave it there) and read off distances throughout, writing down the number of feet measured at certain checkpoints--1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, then each 1/10 of a mile. I just wanted to see if it was consistent. Then when the treadmill hit exactly one mile, he told me to stop and I could record the exact number of feet that the wheel measured.

Ideally, the treadmill's distance would be spot-on with the measuring wheel. Worst case, I was hoping that the treadmill was going a bit longer than the display showed, so that at least I would know that I hadn't been cutting my runs short.

Here is what the result was:

The treadmill read 1.00 mile at the end. A mile is 5,280 feet or 1609 meters.
The measuring wheel, in the same amount of time, read 5,592 feet or 1704 meters.

This means that a mile on the treadmill's display is actually 312 feet (95 meters) shorter than the actual distance of a mile.

When I multiply that by the three miles that I run at a time, it works out to be an actual 3.177 miles that I've run. It also means that the pace I've been running has actually been a little faster than I thought!

I'm so glad to finally KNOW. I'm going to test it with a few different treadmill speeds, but I figured that 5.0 mph was a good start. Since I've been running until the treadmill reads 3.0 mph, I'll continue to do that, but I'll change the data on Garmin Connect to read 3.18 miles.

And since I'm going to do that from now on, I decided to go back to my runs over the last several weeks and change the distance for my treadmill runs to make it more accurate and consistent.

So, that done, here is my recap for Week 9 on my 3-3-3 running.

(For anyone new to the blog: 3-3-3 running is just my plan for getting back to running regularly. I run 3 miles, 3 times a week, for 3 months. I am doing MAF heart rate training, keeping my heart rate under 146 bpm for the entire duration of the run, no matter how slow I have to run in order to do that. It's a way of strengthening the aerobic system.)


Tuesday

Usually, after a run, I immediately write notes about it in Garmin Connect so that I remember what to write about in my recaps. I was in a huge hurry on Tuesday and forgot to do that. My memory is terrible, so I can't write much about it.

I had to pick up Noah early from school for a doctor's appointment, and I had to leave at 12:15. I wrote a blog post and finished a little before 11:00. I knew that getting ready to run, running three miles, and then showering would be enough time, but I was hoping I'd have time to cook some chicken and make a salad for lunch (I'm on a salad kick right now).

I quickly got dressed and hopped on the treadmill. I vaguely remember being happy that the run was definitely better than last week's runs, but my heart rate was still getting to 147 here and there.

I felt really good after this run! Afterward, I had to choose whether to make my salad or to take a shower. I was going to try to do both, but after trimming and cutting the (raw) chicken, I only had 10 minutes left, so I hopped in the shower instead before rushing out the door.

Garmin Connect only recently started showing my time spent in each of my heart rate zones. I love this! When I start doing speed work, it'll come in handy to make sure I'm doing 80% at MAF rate and 20% in zones 4 & 5.

Thursday

This was the best run I've had in weeks--probably since the beginning of my training. I started the treadmill on 4.4 mph and then I wondered if starting it higher would allow me to run longer at a faster pace before my heart rate got too high.

Basically, I am so tired of running so slowly and I wanted to see if I could manage starting at a faster pace. After about 30 seconds at 4.4 mph, I bumped it up to 4.7 mph, expecting to hear the heart rate monitor alerting me to slow down at any moment.

But I left it there! I didn't have to lower the speed or the incline at all the entire run. After 2.5 miles, I was even able to run at 4.8 mph for a quarter mile. Running the faster pace felt so good! And my heart rate monitor only beeped 3-4 times during the whole run.

I was trying to think of reasons why this run went so well, and I think it may have something to do with my medication. I deliberately waited until after my run to take my bipolar meds. I think one of them makes my heart rate increase. I can't sleep when I take it in the evenings, so if my theory is correct, I'm going to have to become a morning runner again.

I have such a hard time getting motivated to run in the mornings! I do love how it feels to get it done early, though, and then not think about it all day. I'm going to try doing it for all three runs during Week 10 and I'll take my meds after the run. I'm curious to see if it makes a difference.

From the pic below, you can see that even though I was going faster, I was able to keep my heart rate in the correct range for 95% of the run (and only 3% was too high).

Sunday

I was excited for today's run because I got a new pair of shoes and I wanted to test them out. I'll write about them next week after I've run in them a little more, but so far, so good.

Unfortunately, I forgot to run before taking my meds. I woke up at 6:15 and took them right away. Laura texted and said that there wasn't much happening as far as her labor, so I decided to give it a few hours before running.

I still wanted to try the speed that I did on my previous run, hoping for the same result. I started out at 4.8 mph this time, and less than a quarter mile in, I had to lower it because my heart rate was too high. Ultimately, I had to run at 4.6 mph, then 4.5 mph for most of the run, lowering it to 4.4 mph for only a few minutes.

Even though it wasn't a good as last time, it was still a big improvement from last week. I think the fact that I was sick last week is what made my runs so miserable and my heart rate so high.

I went back to watching 24 instead of Jack Ryan, because I need more action. I watched the whole series of 24 years ago, and I remember it being very fast paced, which is exactly what I need when I run on the treadmill.

So, that's the recap for Week 9. Today started my third month of the 3-3-3 plan. I'm two-thirds of the way through! And I haven't missed a single run. I'm pretty proud of myself :)

Well, I hope that tomorrow I'll be sharing a photo of my new niece!

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Week 8: A Recap of 3-3-3 Running

This will just be a quick recap of my three running days this week. (I'm lying; my posts are never quick!)

As a refresher, "3-3-3" is just short for running three miles, three days a week, for three months in order to get back in the habit of running. I'm running using the MAF heart rate method--keeping my heart rate low, under 146 bpm.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I was sick all week and that threw off my schedule. I kept hoping I'd feel better "tomorrow", so I put off my runs until the eleventh hour. My running weeks are from Monday through Sunday, and I like to try to run Monday/Wednesday/Friday. However, feeling sick on Monday, I decided to run Tuesday instead. Then, I was still feeling sick, and put it off again.

Before I knew it, it was Friday and I still hadn't run! So, I had to get three runs in--one on Friday, one Saturday, and one Sunday.

I wanted to get in at least one outdoor run, because using the Garmin on the treadmill isn't accurate (I use the distance from the treadmill and the timer on the Garmin to determine the stats after each run). The outdoor runs using GPS are much more accurate, so I wanted to see how that compared to several weeks ago. I've been doing most of my running on the treadmill over the last eight weeks.

Friday

Having not run all week, I was really dreading this run. I was still feeling sick and I just wanted to stay inside to rest. Finally, at dusk, I told myself I'd better get it done before it got too dark outside. Little did I know, I totally overestimated how much time I had until it got dark.

After getting dressed and heading outside, I was less than half a mile into my run before it was mostly dark. I hadn't brought a headlamp, and I really don't like running in the dark.

For the first half mile, the run felt so easy. My feet felt springy and light. I never check my pace during my heart rate runs--I just listen for the beep that indicates my heart rate has gone over 146 bpm so that I know to slow down.

Despite the run feeling so easy, my heart rate just wouldn't go down. My watch was beeping at me constantly, and I was going as slowly as I could manage. I felt like my strides were very short because I was being so careful with my footing in the dark. I could still see the ground, because the sun hadn't totally gone down, but there was a short period where I had to cut through some grass and trees (making it pitch black), and I was scared to death of the dark, haha.

When I finally got home, I'd barely broken a sweat. I guessed my heart rate was high and my pace so slow because of running in the dark (nerves) and being sick (my heart rate tends to be high when I'm not feeling good). I hoped for a better run on Saturday.

Splits were 13:39, 14:27(!), and 14:00.

Looking at this map of the route is interesting. It shows my heart rate changes over the course of the run. From this, where the red and green markers are, I first ran upward on the map, turned right, did the loop around a neighborhood, retraced about half a mile, and then looped back around to the start.

You can see my heart rate was high almost immediately into the run. The blue sections (lower heart rate) were where it was lighter outside due to street lights.

Despite the entire run being almost completely dark, when I ran along the water, I did manage to see a gorgeous view for a moment before it was dark again.

Saturday

I wasn't dreading this run like I was on Friday. This time, I was actually looking forward to it so that I could see if it would be better than the night before (you know I love a comparison of just about anything). I chose to run the exact same route, only I ran just before noon instead of waiting until dusk.

Again, I didn't look at my watch at all. My heart rate alert starting beeping almost immediately, and no matter how much I slowed down, it beeped at me for about half of the run. It was driving me crazy! Compared to the run the night before, I felt like I was going much slower; I was sure I was "running" at a 15:00/mile pace.

I completed the same route and when I got home, I was shocked to see that my pace was actually faster than the night before. I'd felt like I was going so much slower. I wish I could say I was glad, but I was so annoyed at the heart rate alert throughout my whole run that I was just glad it was over. Splits were 13:29, 13:48, and 13:53.

Again, here is a map. I included one of my pace, too--I think it's interesting (although not surprising) that the colors on the two look almost opposite, especially in the neighborhood loop. Whenever my pace was faster (blue), my heart rate was higher (brown), and when my pace was slower (brown), my heart rate was slower (blue).

Sunday

This time, I decided to try the treadmill and see if it was any better as far as my heart rate goes. I was hoping for a good run, where I could go at a decent pace without my Garmin beeping at me to slow down. I didn't get on the treadmill until 6:00 pm (I don't know when it happened, but I am definitely not a morning runner anymore--unfortunately).

I was still getting over the cold, but I wasn't feeling horrible. I just felt tired from not getting much sleep and probably from having a lazy, sick week. I set up my iPad to continue watching Jack Ryan on Amazon. It'd been over a week since my last treadmill run, so even though I kind of forgot what was happening on the show, I just pressed play and began watching. It was a good episode during the action scenes (the scenes that make me forget that I'm running because I get engrossed in the show).

Again, my HR monitor beeped constantly. There was one point where I was shuffling along at 4.1 mph (I literally walk faster than that) and a negative 2% incline in order to lower my heart rate.

During the action scenes of the show, my heart rate is usually the most steady and at its lowest; when the show goes back to the regular non-action stuff, my heart rate usually goes up immediately because I tend to focus on my running form and my breathing. I basically need a show that is non-stop action in order to forget that I'm running.

The timer on the treadmill is fast, but the Garmin's timer is just fine. I always start the Garmin when the timer on the treadmill reads 00:10, just to let the belt get moving. Since I believe the distance on the treadmill is fairly accurate, I consider this run to be 3.0 miles in 42:11, a 14:04/mile pace (after adding the 10 seconds to the Garmin's timer).

Here is the summary for Week 8:

I'll have to check for sure, but this was probably my slowest run to date in eight weeks. I don't think I've ever had to lower the speed to 4.1 mph before. I was just as annoyed at the heart rate alert as the day before, and it made me want to forget the MAF training altogether and just run however I feel like running.

However, I saw such great results with MAF training before, and I'm pretty sure that when I am done with this 3-3-3 running, it'll get better. I'll gradually add some speed work and distance and hopefully see progress. I'd eventually like to start doing a six-mile long run every week. I don't really have any desire to run farther than that (unless I should ever decide to run a half-marathon again one day--it's been five years since I last ran a half!).

To top off Sunday's disappointing, annoying, and frustrating run on the treadmill, I finished to see that I'd watched the wrong episode of Jack Ryan! I'd only been midway through episode 5 when I last watched, but when I'd pressed play at the beginning of Sunday's run, I somehow started it on episode 8 (the season finale!). I was a little confused at the beginning, but I just assumed it was because I hadn't watched it in over a week. That just put me in a worse mood.

I took the day off from running yesterday, since I'd run three days in a row, but I'm about to hop on the treadmill. I have to pick Noah up from school early for a doctor's appointment, and I want to get it done before I leave. I'm feeling better today, so I really hope the run is nothing like Sunday! (And now I get to watch episode 6 of Jack Ryan, after having seen the finale already.)

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A Sick Week (and a fun 10-year old memory)

(I wrote this post on Friday, and only had a tiny bit to go--adding the photos--but lost the motivation to finish. So I'm only posting this now.)

Thank you for all the kind comments on my utility room makeover! Writing that post, including the step-by-step photos, was fun. It makes me wish I'd thought to take step-by-step photos for the whole house. Even if they are boring to others, I find it so cool to see how each little step adds up to something big.

It's kind of like when I was losing weight and took photos for every 10 pounds I lost. I'm so glad I did that! I hated the first photo, after losing 10 pounds, and I even cried when I saw it. I had counted every Weight Watchers Point and I was so confident that I looked a million times better. Then I saw the photo and was extremely discouraged. I wanted to quit.

I'm so thankful that I didn't quit, obviously! It's always cool to see before and after photos of weight loss, but I love to see the progression of small achievements adding up.

I do have a ton of photos from the boys' bedrooms that I didn't share (I sort of glossed over their room makeovers when I wrote about them) so may do another post that is specific to their bedrooms.

Anyway, this week has been kind of miserable. I felt like I was getting sick, but then I wasn't sure, and then I felt it again... I actually wished I'd just get sick already to get it over with! I had a sore throat for a few days, but I couldn't tell whether it was from anxiety (when I get a lump in my throat) or if I was getting sick.

I actually went to the doctor last Saturday and felt fine then. I had a tetanus shot and a flu shot while I was there, and the following day I started to feel the sore throat. So I also wondered if the flu shot gave me mild symptoms. But then Jerry and Eli felt it, too, and they were coughing and blowing their noses (meanwhile, I still just had a sore throat).

And, finally, I woke up with congested sinuses and a throat that felt like I was swallowing razorblades. My eyes were really watery and my nose and throat felt super dry. I skipped my run on Monday, thinking, I'd run Tue/Thu/Sat this week. Then I skipped Tuesday. Again, no big rush.

Wednesday and Thursday weren't any better. So, it's now Friday and I haven't run yet this week. But I insist on getting in all three days this week, so today, Saturday, Sunday it is! I have come too far over the past seven weeks (running three times per week) to quit the streak now. My weeks are Monday through Sunday, so it's not too late. (ETA: Since I'm only now posting this, on Monday, I will spoil by saying that I did, in fact, run on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, despite the sore throat. Will recap that tomorrow.)

Jerry surprised me with a custom Tervis mug, and I've been drinking lots of tea with honey to soothe my throat. I am usually aware when he's planning something, but I had no idea that he actually went through photos, picked out his favorites, and had this made:

When he gets up for work every morning, he sets out a mug, a green tea bag, honey, and a packet of True Lemon. And he fills the electric kettle with water, so that when I wake up, I just push the button to boil the water and make my tea. (I love that he does this.)

Now, I'm feeling mostly better but my throat is still a little sore, I have post nasal drip, and now I can't hear out of my left ear. I think that's the worst part about being sick for me. My hearing gets muffled, no matter how many decongestants I take, and the muffled hearing lasts for what feels like forever!

Jerry was off work Wednesday and Thursday, so we actually had "sick days" together. Despite the misery of feeling sick, it was fun to lie around on the couch and catch up on our favorite TV shows together while the kids were in school. We watch all of the Chicago shows--Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med--and we had three of each to watch!

I also finished up a few small projects I was working on. I'll post those tomorrow, because I haven't taken photos of them yet. Nothing major--I guess they would be crafts, rather than projects.

Today, Jerry has an a follow-up appointment with the gastroenterologist. He had an endoscopy done a few weeks ago, and the doctor did a biopsy for H. Pylori. We were hoping that's what it was, because you just treat it with antibiotics. The biopsy ended up being negative, so we still don't know what's going on. (I wrote about the details on this post.)

I really hope we get some answers today! Jerry is miserable and wants to just know what's going on. I've read everything I can think of online about his symptoms and I can't even come up with a guess other than GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease). However, his symptoms don't quite fit that, either, and he hasn't responded at all to taking Prilosec.

Where is Dr. House when you need him?!

Jerry and I have been talking about how much we want to get back to eating healthier and to drop some weight. I'm glad that I haven't gained anything over the past year, but I am not comfortable at this weight. Aside from the weight, I just want to feel healthier. Even if it's only in my head.

After running this week, I'm feeling pretty discouraged. I did two outdoor runs (and one treadmill), and they did not go well. I'll write a recap tomorrow (again, I haven't taken screenshots of the data or anything, so I'm totally unprepared to write anything right now! haha).

I'm hoping the bad runs were just because I was sick, so maybe my heart rate was high from that. To really see if I'm making progress, I need a solid four weeks or so of data without changing the variables--nearly impossible.

It's funny, last night (as I was procrastinating getting in my final run for the week), I was scrolling through Facebook. And look what popped up on my memories from 10 years ago!

I had attempted to do the Couch to 5K program, but I HATED doing intervals (which is why I was never successful at that program). It's funny (or not really) but it was the first day of week four that I actually quit the Couch to 5K plan. So, this Facebook post was a precursor to quitting the plan during the very workout I was dreading.

I gave up on exercise altogether until I started walking in February to train to walk the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon (13.1 miles). At that point, I had lost 60 pounds. After the race, I decided to start running, and I did my own plan (it wasn't really a "plan" at the time, but I later wrote up a plan based on what I did). It didn't involve intervals, and I didn't dread it nearly as much as I did Couch to 5K.

After I was able to run three miles, I started following Hal Higdon's Novice 10K training plan. I ran all summer long, and I can still remember my route (it was always the same) as well as the music that was on my iPod shuffle.

Now I feel nostalgic for that summer when I hear those songs or run that route. I didn't love the actual running, but I loved that I could do it! I could actually run three miles at a time without stopping--something I never imagined was even possible for me.

Now, I feel like I'm back at that beginner status. If I was to run my fastest for three miles, I'm pretty sure I'd be slower now than I was then! But I really want to give this MAF heart rate training a good try, so I'm going to stick it out. After these three months are over, I'll reassess and probably add a fourth day per week--speed work. Intervals, of all things! ;)  I actually like intervals now much more than I did back then.

Well, let's hope I actually write a post tomorrow! I was feeling so unmotivated this week while being sick. The kids don't have school Thursday or Friday, so we get a long weekend :)

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Peak! (And a recap of 3-3-3 running for week 7)

So much for writing daily in November!

My daily writing goal is like a lot of goals that I make--I miss one day and then figure I already "ruined" it, so I might as well just forget it. It's a terrible mentality! If I miss a day, I should just get right back to it.

It may not seem like an important goal (writing every day) but I find that on the days that I write a blog post, my anxiety is much lower in general. I still get very nervous about posting something vulnerable, but for even when I write personal posts like that, I feel good about writing in general. I enjoy writing!

So, I'm not going to quit trying to hit this 30 day challenge. I just have to keep starting over, haha. One of my "40 Goals by 40 Years Old" goals is to complete a 30 day challenge. And I decided that I want writing a blog post every day for 30 days to be that challenge.

Lately, I've had more time to myself, but I've been distracted. I had NO free time for about four months; now that the craziness of summer and fall is over, however, I find myself with some time to do things I enjoy. One of those is an app I downloaded on my phone called Peak.

Peak is very similar to Lumosity, which you know I love. I've been playing Lumosity for a long time now, though, and had gotten the top score on most of the games. I was starting to get bored with a lot of them. I really like mind games like the ones on Lumosity, so I looked in the app store for another one that is similar.

And that is how I discovered Peak. I have to say, I think I like it even more than Lumosity! (I liked it so much that I even paid for the subscription.) There are a few games in Lumosity that are still favorites, and unfortunately don't have equivalents in Peak, but Peak has a larger variety of games and it has goals to work toward.

There are badges to earn (it's like they knew exactly how to suck me in!):

So, I've been playing the games on Peak (probably way too much) instead of writing on my blog. It feels good to do something enjoyable and stress free, though!

I have several random things to write about (a bullet-style post would probably be best, because everything is so random) but I think I'll save that for tomorrow. Since tomorrow starts Week 8 of my 3-3-3 running plan, I want to recap Week 7.

I've still been running on the treadmill. We actually got quite a bit of snow here on Monday--enough to warrant a snow day for the kids on Tuesday!--and the roads in the neighborhoods are still icy in patches.

Also, at the suggestion of several of you Friends, I started watching the TV show Jack Ryan while I'm on the treadmill. (My rule is that I can't watch it unless I'm on the treadmill; otherwise, I'd binge watch it on the couch, haha.)

Running on the treadmill means that my Garmin's stats are incorrect (I feel like I've complained about this at least 10,000 times on my blog and I guarantee you at least 10,000 more). The timer is incorrect on my treadmill, but I feel like the speed is accurate.

So, I use the distance on the treadmill and the timer and heart rate monitor on my Garmin to get my stats. To do that, I have to adjust the distance on Garmin Connect. (Which I didn't start doing until only a couple of weeks ago.)

Anyway, this week went... fine. Nothing super notable.

Monday (Week 7, Day 1)

I felt great the first mile. I noticed that when the show I'm watching has an exciting action scene, it's easy to keep my heart rate low. When the show gets boring or people are just talking, my heart rate tends to increase (I think this is because I pay attention to my breathing and running form rather than just letting it happen; I wish I could turn off my brain to stop this, but I just try my best to stay interested in the show).

I kept track of my mile splits for this run: 13:30, 13:33, and 13:25.


Wednesday (Week 7, Day 2)

The first 1.75 miles were great. I barely had to touch the speed on the treadmill and my heart rate stayed steady under my MAF rate.

Mile 1: 13:03 (4.6 mph at 0% incline for the entire mile)

Mile 2: Lowered to 4.5 mph for about 0.75 miles and then 4.4 mph to keep heart rate down.

Mile 3: Varied between 4.2 mph and 4.5 mph, 0% to -0.5% incline. It was hard to keep my heart rate under MAF. It's also hard to "run" at a speed under about 4.4 mph, and feels like a shuffle. At 4.2 mph, I can't lower the speed any more and maintain a "run", so I lower the incline in order to lower my heart rate. I've never had to lower it beyond -1%, though.


Friday (Week 7, Day 3)

For this run, I decided to try out the foot pod again. I had forgotten that I could mess with the calibration factor percentage, so I figured I could work with different numbers until the Garmin's speed read the same as the treadmill in real time.

The factor that it was set at (from when I was running at about 7.0 mph on a regular basis) was 92%. (I have no idea what the percentage means--just that you start with 100% and depending on your stride length and all that, it may vary from the the baseline of 100%).

First, I reset the calibration factor from 92% to 100%. Then I ran the first mile on the treadmill at an even 4.6 mph the entire time, just to see what the result was. That gave me a 13:24 mile (a 4.48 mph speed), so it was slightly off.

For the second mile, I went to work adjusting the calibration factor up and down until the speed on the Garmin read the same as on the treadmill. It ended up being a 115% calibration factor! I have found that the faster I run, the lower the calibration percentage ends up being and vice versa.

I'm going to test out the foot pod on the high school track to see how accurate that calibration factor  is, and then I'll also know if the treadmill is accurate.

For the third mile, the Garmin and the treadmill read the same speed, even as I adjusted the treadmill's speed up and down a little to keep my heart rate at MAF. The average ended up being 4.5 mph (13:20/mile).

Since I'm about halfway done with my 3-3-3 running plan, I was hoping to look for some sort of pattern with my pace--to see if the MAF training is having any effect. (Ideally, my speed will get faster while maintaining my heart rate at the MAF training level. MAF stands for maximum aerobic function. I wrote more about it on this post.)

This data below isn't great for comparison, unfortunately, because of the Garmin being inaccurate with the treadmill and some my earlier runs were outside (with Joey). But here is what it looks like anyway:

Yes, that looks like way too much data, even for me. But I wanted to see some sort of pattern, so I'm looking at all of it. The yellow highlighted lines are the outdoor runs, so I know those are the most accurate as far as distance and pace (but they are also a month old).

From looking at all of this, I can't see that I'm really able to go faster yet at the same heart rate. I will make sure to do at least one outdoor run this week to compare, though.

I did find something that I think is very interesting, though: When I run outside, my stride is a little longer than on the treadmill. Also, my pace is a little faster (for most of them). The pace is likely faster due to the longer strides but near-identical cadence.

I do notice when I'm on the treadmill and my heart rate starts to get too high, I'll shorten my stride a bit to take it a little easier and hopefully bring my heart rate down. If I don't change the speed on the treadmill but I shorten my stride, I'm still going to be going the same speed. And maybe this is why my speed has to be a little slower on the treadmill than it is outside. (If I had to increase steps, then I my heart rate would climb).

Okay, I realize this is all super nerdy and confusing and I'm definitely "thinking out loud" (thinking while typing) so it may not even make sense. I haven't even looked at the data until now, actually.

But the whole thing that I've learned from this so far (7 weeks in) is that I don't have enough consistent data to make any conclusions about anything. Even Dr. Phil Maffetone, who developed the MAF heart rate method, says that you should wait three months before looking at results.

You know what the most amazing thing of all is, though?

I've run three days a week for seven weeks now! This 3-3-3 running plan is really working out well for me--with each run, I feel a little more excited about getting back into it.

I'm starting to get impatient with the slow running, though. I love not feeling like I'm going to die when I run, but sometimes it's hard to run SO SLOW. I'm going to stick it out for the full three months, and then I am going to add a little bit of speed work (80% easy at MAF pace, and 20% hard).

It's so crazy to think that I'm looking forward to doing speed work again, hahaha.

Anyway, I have to go make dinner. I'll do my bullet-style post tomorrow to catch-up!

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