It’s really amazing how fast time flies. It literally feels like it was only yesterday that I had this one fantastic run (5 mi w/ 3 at tempo). But when I look at my calendar, I see that that fantastic run was back on February 4 =O WTH!

So this is what happened…

After that run, I experienced some soreness/pain in my right knee that lingered for a day or two. I decided to take a few days off because I’ve learned my lesson, my friends. I ain’t gonna push when it doesn’t feel right. Then I got sick so I decided to lay low until I got a little better. Then things got super busy… and here we are.

Since then, I’ve only managed to squeeze in a set of 2x1600m speedwork. Those went as well as 1600m speedwork can go. I hit my goal times and felt great. I think I’m finally back on the speedwork bandwagon! Then yesterday, I did a set of 5x400m. Those went really well. I hit each about 15-20 secs faster than my time goal. Me thinks it might be time to adjust my target pace!

In any case, I’m now in my cut back week. Although, honestly, there’s really nothing to cut back from =P

I’ll be running the Firecracker 5k this weekend. I’m totally not ready to race this, but that’s ok because I wasn’t intending to race it anyway =) Just wanted to get my feet wet with racing again. I’m looking forward to the Chinese New Year celebrations: the fireworks, the lion dance, and of course, the eating (in moderation). And most importantly, I’m looking forward to seeing how well I tackle those darn hills!

Or should I say, that one big ass, steep hill =)

So my IT band saga continues. I’ve been rolling and stretching religiously since it started acting up again and it’s finally starting to feel back to normal. I haven’t run a single mile for fear that it might get worse. I think I have to face reality. I need to get a new pair of shoes… something with a lot more support.

At first, I was hoping that I’d be able to use the LunarGlides as my new shoes (free replacement!). Unfortunately, I can only use them on my short runs. They don’t offer enough cushioning to last me through runs longer than 6-7 miles, and I also don’t think they give enough stability for my feet for the long haul. So, they’ve been relegated for speedwork, which I’m sure will be awesome with such light shoes, and tempo runs.

Today, I visited my local Road Runners and got refitted. Turns out that I still need to be in a pair of neutral shoes (not stability, like I’d been wondering), but I need more stability than the insole I’ve been using has been giving me.

Today, I tried on a pair of Nike Vomeros, Nike Pegasus +26, and the Asics Nimbus 11, all with the blue SuperFeet insole.  In the end, I ended up really liking the Vomeros.

pretty in pink!

I really liked these shoes the moment I put them on. And when I started running in them, I noticed an immediate difference in how my left leg felt. It felt a lot more supported, and it wasn’t rolling in anymore. Perfect!

Now, I just gotta deal hunt ;)

Man, today was a doozy.

I woke up at around 9 and I found an email from Chris, asking me if I’d like to go running at Newport Beach today. How could I resist?

We met up at RR at around 1ish where she got some new running essentials and I got a chance to chat with one of the sales associates about my IT band issues. I had a huge suspicion that the source is my Nimbus 10s, and he confirmed that today. I tried on two pairs of shoes, a pair of New Balances (don’t remember the model), and the new Nimbus 11, which fit like a dream… almost exactly the way my Nimbus 9s felt.

I’m trying to decide whether I should get them or not. I’m currently using my Evolutions, which is a stability shoe, but I’m still getting some slight IT band complaints. Thankfully, the pain is not nearly as bad as it was earlier this year, prolly mostly due to the foam roller and retiring my Nimbus 10s. My long runs have generally been complaint free with maybe just a shadow of the pain. I did have to do 1 stretch stop during my 5 miler on Sunday. But after the stretch, I was complaint free for the rest of the run. yippee!

So, after our trip to RR, we headed over to Balboa Island for a run. The beach was PACKED, and we had to dodge children, skaters, bikers, walkers, you name it, to get in a 3 mile run. It was the hottest freakin’ run ever. The sun was relentlessly beating down on us, and if it weren’t for the ocean breeze cooling us off a bit, that run probably would not have ended well at all.

Stats from our run:
Split 1: 13:29
Split 2: 14:21
Split 3: 15:50
Split 4: 8:22 (mostly walking)

Total Mileage: 3.43
Total Time: 52:04
Calories Burned: 312
Avg HR: 149 (24% in Zone 2, 50% in Zone 3, 24% in Zone 4)

After the run, we had lunch at Mother’s Market & Kitchen where we satisfied our hunger with an avocado, spinach and steamed veggie omelet, potatoes, and hempeh burger. mmmm

When I got home, I totally crashed. My body was seriously radiating heat. I slept for a good 2 hours and was still feeling hot when I woke up. I lounged around and drank lots of water before I went out to the gym to do my scheduled speedwork for the day. I said goodbye to my dear 400m sprints last week because this week had me doing 3x800m at 10:25 pace. I was still feeling tired, but didn’t want to skip the workout so I gritted my teeth through the whole thing. I didn’t think that I’d make it through the last 800m interval, but I dug deep and managed to get through it in once piece. My heart was definitely working hard.

Speedwork Stats:

Interval 1: 5:13 (Avg HR 161, Max 170)
Interval 2: 5:13 (Avg HR 162, Max 172)
Interval 3: 5:13 (Avg HR 163, Max 173)
Rest Interval Time: 2:16

Zone 1: 0:01 (0.1%)
Zone 2: 6:26 (23.1%)
Zone 3: 7:19 (26.2%)
Zone 4: 14:08 (50.7%)
Zone 5: 0:00 (0%)

I was completely drenched in sweat as I walked back to my place. I really wasn’t sure how I’d be able to do my P90X workouts tonight (Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X). I gave myself a little break by eating a light dinner and drinking more water. Then, I hit the weights.

S&A STATS

Alternating Shoulder Presses (8lbs): 12, 13
In and Out Bicep Curls (8lbs): 17, 17
Two Arm Tricep Kickbacks (3lbs): 20, 21

Deep Swimmer’s Press (8lbs): 15, 12
Full Supination Concentration Curls (8lbs): 14, 14
Chair Dips (body weight): 16, 13

Upright Rows (8lbs): 12, 16
Static Arm Curls (8lbs): 24, 16
Flip Grip Twist Kickbacks (3lbs): 20, 20

Seated Shoulder Flys (8lbs): 16, 16
Crouching Cohen Curls (8lbs): 15, 15
Lying Down Tricep Extensions (3lbs): 17, 17

Bonus Round!
Straight Arm Shoulder Flys (3lbs): 20, 20
Congdon Curls (8lbs): 18, 18

AB RIPPER X STATS

In and Outs: 25
Bicycle: 25
Reverse Bicycle: 25
Crunchy Frog: 25
Cross-leg/Wide-leg Situps: 13
Fifer Scissors: 20
Hip Rock n’ Raise: 18
Heels to the Heavens: 20
V Up/Roll Up Combos: 10
Oblique V Ups: 25 (left), 25 (right)
Leg Climbs: 14, 14
Mason Twist: 40

How I got through these workouts, especially Ab Ripper X, is beyond me.  But the important thing is that they’re done and over with and my streak is still intact! YAY me!!! =)

When I set my goal for a 2:30 finish at the Long Beach HM last year, I knew I had to follow a training schedule that worked the best for me. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way =) as usual.

My first official half marathon was Surf City (2/2008). When I started training, I was following Hal Higdon’s Novice half marathon training schedule, which I had tried to follow the best I could… for the first 2 weeks, and then I eventually started missing a ton of workouts. This led to my terrible race experience at Surf City. Despite the horrible race experience, I left Surf City with one kick ass medal

and also some key lessons:

1. I was terribly out of shape and extremely overweight. I had bad eating habits. I hardly worked out, if at all. While Hal Higdon’s program was for novices, it was obvious to me that I had yet to reach novice status. His schedule required me to work out way more than I was used to and required too much of a commitment. I needed to find a schedule that was more reasonable with its demands, but would also get me to the start line, ready for the race.

2. I didn’t have proper running gear. I didn’t have the right running shoes. This lead me to develop a bone bruise on my right heel, plantar fasciitis on both feet, and pain in both knees. I was terribly injured after Surf City. It took me about a month to recover. I was also still wearing a lot of cotton. booooooo.

3. I had bad race nutrition. I carried a couple of gel shots with me, but nothing else. No water, no nothing. I was taking the gel shots without drinking water (a no-no!). I drank maybe a cup of water at every water stop (every 2 miles). It’s not a surprise to me that I ended up bonking half-way through the race. I know now that I wasn’t drinking nearly as much as I should have and that gel shots don’t work well for me in general.

4. I had poor running form. I was running on the balls of my feet, a habit I developed during my track days in high school. This led to lots of problems, shin splints being one of them.

So, with these lessons under my belt, I went in search of a training program that would work for me.

I spent a lot of time pouring over RunnersWorld and eventually found the FIRST half marathon training schedule. Running just 3 times a week? Works for me!

FIRST took me from running 13-14 min miles to running 11:30 min miles in 7 months. =)

When I toed the start line at the Long Beach half, I was 30lbs lighter and I was the fittest I’d been in all my life.

As you know, I ended up missing my goal by 9 minutes (36 secs per mile) and I was pissed as hell. I knew that I was physically able to run the race in 2:30, but around mile 10 (so so SO close to the finish line), I let my mental game drag me down and I took a lot of unnecessary walk breaks. bah. My race nutrition was also sucky. I had Shot Bloks with me, but I was forgetting to eat them. Bonk!

LB was a huge disappointment and I think missing my goal was what triggered my running demise these past 7 months.

I’m now getting back into things, but I’m paying for all the slacking I’ve done and the additional 8lbs I’ve regained. 11:30 min miles is definitely not within my reach… at least for now. I sometimes wonder if reviving my 2:30 goal for LB will be too hard for me to reach. But I think it’s good to set my goals high. I just won’t be too hard on myself for not reaching it this time around.

So, all this blabber finally brings me to the point of this whole post lol I’m tweaking my beloved FIRST training schedule.

I’m still doing my 3 day a week runs (speed, tempo, long), and as you know, I’ve also thrown in the P90X Lean workouts which gives me two days of strength training (shoulders & arms, legs & back) and 4 extra days of cardio-like workouts (Core Synergistics, Cardio X, Yoga Pilates, Kenpo). I’m now adding three days of general aerobic runs into the mix (Mon, Wed, Sat). These will be just short runs (2-3 miles) at my Zone 3 heart rate.

I’ll also be switching up my long runs. I won’t be aiming to do all of it in Zone 3. Instead, I’ll be aiming to run a couple of the early miles in Zone 3, then bumping it up to race pace (or as close to race pace I can get) for a bulk of the run, and then going back down to Zone 3 at the end.

Here’s what my typical week looks like now:

Monday: 2-3 miles GA, Cardio X
Tuesday: Speedwork, Shoulder & Arms strength, Ab Ripper X
Wednesday: 2-3 miles GA, Pilates
Thursday: Tempo Run, Legs & Back strength, Ab Ripper X
Friday: Kenpo X
Saturday: 2-3 miles GA
Sunday: Long run, Core Synergistics

It looks like a lot! But I feel confident I’ll be able to do it. These past two weeks of consistent training has really pumped up my confidence. I’m also trying not to let it get to me that I’m running so much slower than I was last year. It’s the start of a new beginning! Hopefully with more intense, steady training, I can at least beat my Surf City (2009) time, which was a dismal 2:56.

Oh, and what about weight loss?

Well, I’m now going into my third week of training and eating right but weight loss has been elusive. I’m trying not to be too disappointed. I’m wondering if maybe I’m building more muscle and offsetting the weight I’m losing in fat. I’m sure hoping this is the case =) I do feel a lot firmer and stronger since starting P90X.

Anyway, that’s it for now!

Tonight is Harry Potter night. I CAN’T WAIT!

This was another double workout day. I’m really started to learn the importance of separating my double days into am/pm workouts because I totally bonked during my P90X workout last night!

I had intended to do my 4 miler in the morning, but I wasn’t able to wake up early enough for it. And with temps going well into the 80s, I thought it would be better for me to wait to do it in the evening. This was my second attempt at logging in some time in Zone 3 (134-155) with some super slow ass mileage.

I went out for my run at close to 9pm, hoping that it’d be a lot cooler by then, but alas, it was still warm and muggy out. The first couple of miles were really warm, but it started to cool down shortly after that.

Split 1: 14:04, Avg HR 145
Split 2: 14:13, Avg HR 150
Split 3: 15:23, Avg HR 150
Split 4: 13:44 , Avg HR 150

Total Time: 57:34 (holy mother of god is this slow)
Calories Burned: 365
Shoes: Asics Gel Nimbus 9

I sped up during the last quarter mile of the run just to prove to myself that I could still run fast(er). It’s really hard running this slow, but then I just think about how I’m enlarging my lungs and heart and all that other good stuff, and I continue happily trucking along.

After my tempo last week, I noticed that my left foot is rolling inwards, from my heel to the big toe (when I walk), which I think is causing the pull in my left IT band. The Nimbus 10 isn’t giving my left foot enough stability to keep it from happening. I don’t remember having this problem with my beloved Nimbus 9s.

In fact, I remained injury free while I was running in them. But I wanted to that the Nimbus 10s were to blame, and that the IT band issue doesn’t stem from more hill work (due to a change in running routes) or due to my piss poor training earlier this year.

I laced up my 9s last night, and I noticed immediately that the 9s fit my foot like a glove and that it does do a better job of keeping my left foot from rolling in. I guess it’s a good thing that my 10s are almost up for replacement. I think I can safely relegate them to be my speedwork shoes. I’m planning on going back to RR to get re-fit for shoes. I’m wondering if I need motion control shoes, which I already have: my Asics Gel Evolutions.

I’ll be giving them a spin during my 5 miler this Sunday to see how they feel. It’d be great if I can use them as they only have 87 miles on them! In the meantime, my foam roller is my very best friend these days. It keeps my IT band relatively relaxed and pain-free =)

Core Synergistics was tough last night. I don’t remember it being this hard last week. I’m going to chuck it up to the busy weekend and having done my 4 miler right before the workout. I feel a lot stronger since starting P90X, but no weight loss to speak of yet =/ gonna keep trying to stick to the diet and the workouts. If I don’t lose weight, I at least want to lose inches! At least then I’ll know that I’m building muscle and not gaining more fat =)

On another note, I just wanted to share this (my RunningAhead.com calendar):

I’m quite proud that I’ve been sticking to my training schedule! Such a change from earlier this year. I’m hoping that I’ll reap the benefits from this training soon enough.