Oh so we are a runner now? Is that what we are doing?

[Run4Bacon17]

Introduction
Hello RunDisney people! This is my official training journal because why not? I am fairly new to running, especially road running. I am 46 and live in Texas. I used to be a runner(?) in high school/college, mostly due to being an athlete (Field Hockey/Lacrosse/Track). I wasn't good at sprinting so my coach made me sign up to do the longer distances with our track team. Honestly, I can't remember if I loved it or hated it...lol
I went through a large portion of my life where I was very inactive, majorly depressed, stressed out all the time, and just miserable. Then I got out of my toxic relationship. It didn't make me suddenly want a "revenge body" but it did improve my mental health! The past couple of years I've worked on figuring out who I am and what I like to do. I picked up actual hobbies, like photography and working out. I'm a much happier person than I was 5 years ago.
I am also a huge Disney fan. Growing up part of my life in California I got to spend a lot of time at Disneyland, then when I became a parent we started going on trips to WDW. Our last trip was during the summer of 2021!
Other hobbies I have include costuming for theatre and entertainment, I have a part-time job at a major amusement park on the weekends. I am also a friend of Taz, even at 46 we still hang out sometimes. I love doing event photography, festivals, concerts, conventions, etc. Love it all. I also will do the usual senior photo/family photo job for close friends. My next two events are shooting the Lion Dance Nationals and an anime convention.

Goals
Ultimate: Run a full marathon with my cousin who just finished #20.
2023 Princess 1/2 Marathon - 2/23-2/26
Disney Wine & Dine Virtual 5 & 10K

Training Plan
Running (M/W/F) - I currently run 3 days out of the week using the RunKeeper app with the 5K training plan, once I finish I will move on to the 10K.
OrangeTheory (T/Th) - the first gift I gave myself and I love my two days a week. My road running has definitely improved my base/push paces on the treadmill. The days switch around depending on my schedule or if the early intel sounds horrible (burpees...yuck).

Upcoming Races (Signed Up)
Run for the Rose (like the wine) 5K - May 7th
RunDisney Wine & Dine Virtual 5K - November

This is either the best idea I've ever had or the worst. I guess we will all find out.

 

[Run4Bacon17]

3.22.22

Training so far this week - I finished D3 of my training program. Thanks to OTF I haven't really had an issue with the intervals, 1 minute run:3 minute walk. It's almost too slow for me but there is a method and I'm a sucker for following directions. The first week I had some shin pain, mostly from running on pavement but I also noticed the track I run on is uneven on one length so I just moved down to the flat part and it was so much better. I really want to find some more scenic running or a trail, that involves driving a bit.
Today was my planned OTF day but they were using minibands and doing burpees so I ✌ out. It ended up working out because I forgot the first Steve Aoki workout is Saturday, so I just swapped my Tuesday for Saturday.
Tomorrow is D4 and it's 24 minutes. What bites is I have to get up pretty early to get it done because I have meetings all day starting at 8am. If I don't do it at 7am, it won't get done. The good news is that it is the LAST run I am doing in my New Balance because my brand new HOKA Bondi 7's will be here!! These won't be the shoes I wear for the Princess 1/2, I will buy a lighter pair for racing.

Quote of the Day
"Sometimes breaking is making, even iron can start again, and there are many things that go through fire and find themselves much better for it afterward." - Kerreck, Critical Role C1 E69

 

[Naomeri]

Welcome to the addiction I love your username—bacon seems like an excellent reason to run!

 

[Run4Bacon17]

3.23.22
I swear that moment from when your alarm goes off to actually getting out the door is the hardest 10 minutes of the morning. I was supposed to be out the door by 7 am but it was closer to 7:15. This run started W2 of my 5K program so it was shorter walk intervals which I was fine with, I think my struggle will come when the run intervals get longer. Right now I can run up to 5 minutes at my base pace on a treadmill. Out on the pavement, the impact gets to me way before I get winded so I'm hoping my new shoes (WHICH COME TODAY) will help with that. I wish all sidewalks were made out of the same material running tracks were.

1.58 miles
24:59
15:46min/mi

I was smart and ended my RunKeeper even though I had to walk a bit back to my car to get a better idea of my pace. I was leaving it on so my distance was higher but the walking was driving my average pace down and I was getting down because I thought I was going so slow. My fastest pace today was 13:36, if I could do a whole 5K at that pace? It's good I stopped it because I got distracted by some Canadian Geese that were poking around the field and watched them through the fence for a bit...lol
I do really need to find some other places to run because while I love how close this track is, it's pretty boring. Maybe Friday I'll run in the opposite direction? Tomorrow is OTF and we are doing a signature workout "The Chipper", should be fun!

 

[Run4Bacon17]

3.24.22
I'm exhausted. Got up and out the door on time but the workout today was suited for Hell Week. I don't know why they scheduled this one after this whole month we've had nothing up Dri-Tri prep workouts. Here is what we went through:

Tread Block (I started here. I always try to start on the treads because if I do the rower/floor first I'm done by the tread and end up not doing well. I'm adding my mph so I can keep track. My base was always 3.5, which I was being slow because I can usually do my base at 4mph, it's whatever.)

• 3 min push (4.6mph)
• 1 min base
• 2.5 min push (4.6mph)
• 1 min base
• 2 min push (4.8mph)
• 1 min base
• 90 sec push (4.8mph)
• 1 min base
• 75 sec push (5mph)
• 1 min base
• 1 min push (5mph)
• 1 min base
• 45 sec push (5mph)
• 1 min base
• 30 sec push (5.5mph)
• 1 min base
• 30 sec push (5.6mph)
• 30 sec base
• 30 sec push (6mph)
• 30 sec AO (7mph)

Floor Block - 22.5 minutes (This just was horrible and I didn't finish all the exercises but I think I did better than the last time.)

• 40 x bench tap squats (Okay this is fine. Cool. I love squats)
• 400m row (Shut up.)
• 35 x bench straight leg raise (Really? I did these with bent knees because I wasn't about to hurt my back this early in training.)
• 350 m row (Shut up. I hate you.)
• 30 x sumo squat to upright row (I think I disassociated here. I just stared at the wall counting the little orange spots.)
• 300m row (I hate it here and I want to cry.)
• 25 x TRX low row (Okay this is bad. Cool.)
• 250m row (I don't like you and I don't want to do this again.)
• 20 total x palm to elbows (At this point I was too tired to be up in a full plank but I couldn't figure out how to do them modified so I just struggled the whole time.)
• 200m row (The coach called out that we had 90 seconds left and this is where I gave up on life. I basically laid in child's pose until he called time and I wiped everything down.)
• 15 x chest fly
• 150m row
• 10 total x step up to bicep curl
• 100m row

Positive points: I ran almost 2 miles which is a PB for me at OTF. I also ran all of my pushes. I did get more than halfway through the exercises. My new shoes are fantastic and I can't wait to see how they feel on the road tomorrow!

OH AND TOMORROW IS THE SIGN-UP FOR THE WINE & DINE VIRTUAL RUN!!! I'm so excited! I haven't decided if I will do the 5K or the 10K. If we do the virtual run on the same weekend as the in-person event I may do the 10K because by then I'll have run a few 5Ks but I've also thought of just signing up for both?

 

[Run4Bacon17]

3.28.2022

I ended up taking off Friday-Sunday for rest days. Friday I was still feeling the OTF workout from the day before, then went to a birthday party and was exhausted Saturday, had to work, then had to travel to East Texas on Sunday. It kind of ate up my weekend and any training plans. The important thing is I got back out there today.
This morning I just felt off while running. It was windy and later than I usually go out. Then my favorite running spot was covered in trash from a youth sports event over the weekend and it made me irritable. Finished the run to see that RunKeeper hadn't tracked ANY of my movement. Luckily it acknowledged my training day and unlocked my next one but not seeing my pace or distance just made me more upset.
I'm also super tired today for no reason.

Positive Points: My new shoes are still perfect. I love them so much for running outside. I also got signed up for the Wine & Dine Virtual 5K. I'm now contemplating the summer virtual series, at least the first one. I may also go back and sign up for the 10K because I really want to do at least one longer run before the 1/2 in February.

 

[Run4Bacon17]

3.31.2022

Two day update! So yesterday I went and ran at a different place and HATED it. I finished my run but due to taking a wrong turn I ended up doing some backtracking and then there was people just walking in the center of the run path. How can I forget THE HILLS?! So many hills and they were steep, something my AllTrails app did not warn me about. Needless to say I will be looking for a new park and will probably repeat my workout tomorrow (Friday) because I wasn't really happy with my times. I was also there in the afternoon so I'm sure I was hitting the after work crowd.

1.92miles
31:02
16:11min/mi

Not my best but just keep plugging along.

Today was OTF and things went sideways. It wasn't a particularly hard workout, I even walked my base on the treadmill and took all my walking recoveries. It was a lot of AO efforts and then a couple longer "hills" at push pace. I've definitely had harder workouts. After getting off the rower I felt this weird pressure on my chest, I wasn't out of breath, and I didn't feel like my heart rate was fast. I just felt "weird" so I left the floor to get my life together. I used my ECG app and it said I was in A Fib. Took it a couple more times because I figured maybe I was sweaty or it was just from working out. Sat down for awhile (last 10 minutes of class) and took it again, it was still showing A Fib. At this point I just left and went home. Rested, drank some water, ate some oatmeal...took it again and it was still there. I ended up sending the pdf of the ECG to my PCP and set up an appointment to get checked out.
I really don't know what could have caused it. I've been taking my BP medication like a champ, working out almost everyday with never more than 2 or 3 days rest, eating better. I don't smoke, or drink regularly. Other than being overweight I've been doing pretty good. The ONLY thing I can think it would be is I have been trying a fat burner but I didn't even take it today. Maybe I'll just lay off that. I was also doing IF when I wasn't very active and now that I am maybe I need to work on my nutrition (like eating something after running or working out even if my fasting time isn't up or just fasting on rest days).

Quote of the Day
"Cupcakes are muffins that believed in miracles."

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Welcome! Your journal makes me miss OTF— I switched to Peloton when I got a new job with a 90+ min daily commute.

P.S. thank you for showing me I can use color in my posts! How fun.

 

[Run4Bacon17]

Updates 4/1 to 4/13

Last week I did a lot of running and no OTF mostly because I wanted to see my doctor after the fun A. Fib incident. Luckily it hasn't happened since and my EKG at my appointment was normal, plus no signs of an MI. I did leave with another blood pressure med but it's really helped. My BP has been on the lower end of normal for days.
So last week my intervals in the RunKeeper 5K plan changed to 1 min run/1 min walk and from 10 intervals to 15. I feel like this was such a drastic increase from the 1 min run/ 2 min walks I had the week before. It's been pretty challenging.
On Thursday I did my run on a trail and loved every minute of it. I would rather run through the woods than on the road sometimes. What I didn't anticipate was the wind kicking up so much dust/pollen that I got super congested. I had to walk my last two intervals because of it. Yesterday I finally went back to OTF and didn't have any issues. I was also loving the 30s AO/3 min WR we did. I ended up with a little over 1.5 miles and a PR for my AO speed (8.5mph). At this point I feel I could do a 5K on a treadmill, it's just toughing up my legs to do it on road. My friend running the 5K with me keeps laughing because she's like "this isn't the NYC marathon, we could walk the whole thing, no one would care" but I at least want to run/walk it and finish in 45 minutes. That's a 15:00 mile and I'm already run/walking faster than that.
I have had moments where I wonder why I'm doing all of this, but then I know that once I finish my first I will want to collect more medals and race bibs. I've even found a medal holder on Amazon that holds both.
Tomorrow is OTF and then hitting the road on Friday, depending on weather and time I may go back out to the trail.

 

[Run4Bacon17]

Welcome! Your journal makes me miss OTF— I switched to Peloton when I got a new job with a 90+ min daily commute.

P.S. thank you for showing me I can use color in my posts! How fun.

I love OTF, I signed up before COVID and then went back in October of 2021. I would spend less money if I got a regular gym membership but I know myself and I would never go, or go and stand there because I don't know what to do. My friend got a Peloton and loves it, she works nights so she loves she can just come home, get on her bike and not have to worry about driving home from a gym.

 

[HangWithMerida]

Hey there fellow Texan! Just read through your journal. Sounds like you have been making good progress. I hope the a fib doesn't become an issue for you. Good luck with your training!