Keepin at it! (Week 4 of Half-Marathon Training)

Me and my faithful running buddy (my awesome boyfriend) are still at the running thing.  The half-marathon is in May and one month of training has passed us by!

This past week we ran 3 times.  Monday we ran 2.5 miles..although the goal was 3 miles.  Wednesday we were on schedule with 2 miles.  More 3-2-1 running (see previous post) which went great.  I didn't feel too sore or anything, but both times we ran I realized...I was getting a good workout.  Because when I went into the locker room and looked in the mirror...it was not pretty.  Bright red face, hair matted, frizzy and just plain gross-looking.  I was shocked because I work out regularly, about 3 to 4 times a week and I am usually glowing but not like this. 

Then my thoughts flashed to runners getting pictures taken of them while they are running...during the race AND at the finish line...

I picture a sleek, buff me crossing the finish line..similar to this girl, who has obviously not run more than 3 steps for this posed photograph...



But now I am worried that I will be a hot, sweaty mess at the end of the race...

Me and the boyfriend were going to run Saturday but life got in the way so we moved it to Sunday, therefore switching the schedule for this week to running Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  It seems weird, but I was very wary of changing the schedule because I had gotten used to running Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, but I will survive the day changes.  :-)  We will see if the early Midwest February weather will permit this!  Not even running outside...but driving to the gym!  Currently it is snowing AND icy out and my work has been cancelled for the morning...not a good sign.

Sunday's run was going okay until I STOPPED for a drink of water right after the second mile.  If you run on a treadmill, you will know that sometimes to stop, you don't slow the treadmill down, but put your feet on both sides of the treadmill and instantly stop.  Well when I stopped, all the blood rushed to my head and I was this close to either puking or passing out.  Boo on my body!  So I walked for half a mile all discouraged and grumpy and feeling like a failure because we were supposed to run 3 miles.  My boyfriend finished his 3 miles and when I said I wanted to try running again, like the amazing guy he is, he encouraged me and I ran the last half a mile. :-)

I was talking that night to a former-marine friend (who likes to run miles with a 50 pound pack) and he told me that you shouldn't stop when running AND that he usually doesn't drink at all when he runs.  Is this normal?

I ran 7 miles this past week AND I haven't gotten sore!  I drink a very small protein shake after working out as well as making sure to stretch and I've felt awesome afterwards!  I will probably have to up my protein eventually, but for now I just use half of a scoop of protein powder and 5 oz of soy milk.

So tonight I am just praying I can keep up the running!  3 miles Tuesday, 2 miles Thursday, and a 5K run on the treadmill planned for Saturday!!
Any comments AND TIPS are welcome!
Happy running to all and to all a good night. :-)

Fiber One Banana Muffins with a little Somethin Extra

Hello everyone,

I love Fiber One products.  I usually pack a Fiber One Bar as a snack when I'm going to work because they are yummy and filling

I really like the Fiber One Banana Nut Muffin mix.  Mixes like these are easy because there's no measuring dry ingredients and all you usually need is an egg, water, and some vegetable oil.  I am one to play around with adding different things to these mixes to change it up and I found a combo that is and I quote "perfect" by my boyfriend's manager.

You will need what the box calls for EXCEPT only one tablespoon of the oil because I also add: 2 ripe bananas and mini chocolate chips!  I actually made the last batch with half chocolate chips and half without and they both tasted super yummy!

Another Fall twist on Banana Nut Muffins: Add Pumpkin

Nutrition Facts (found on the back of the box):

Why I like Fiber One Products:

• In case you didn't know...fiber is good for you!  

• It adds bulk to your digestive track to keep it working therefore promotes regularity (thank you anatomy class).  
• It also helps you to feel fuller longer so when you eat something with a substantial amount of fiber, you are more satisfied and won't be grabbing for a snack in an hour.

• I also like that whole wheat flour is the second ingredient in the Banana Nut Muffins.

What I don't Like:

• The long ingredient list.  But they are a processed food, so I'm not sure I'd expect anything else.

Adding the bananas to the mix is a bonus because it extends the amount of muffins you can make as well as adding potassium.  The chocolates just make them plain delicious and are best when they are warm.

  

I microwave them for 10-15 seconds before eating..unless of course they are fresh out of the oven!

Let me know what you think about the Fiber One Banana Muffins! 

As always, comments are welcome!  Happy fiber-filled baking!

*~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~*

What is your go-to snack item? 

I ran yesterday! And it was awesome! 3-2-1 method

Hey all,

Posting TWO days in a row!  Although it was accidental (since I forgot to post the last one until 5 days after writing it...), I still feel like I am more dedicated to this blog.  Woo-hoo!

So after two weeks of feeling terrible for not keeping up with my running schedule, I ran 2 miles yesterday!  And I didn't die!

I tried the 3-2-1 running method and it went surprisingly well.  Not that I doubted my runner friend who recommended it, but it seemed challenging.  This method is running at three different speeds: the first 3 minutes at a comfortable speed, the next 2 minutes at a more difficult speed, and the next 1 minute at a challenging speed (or as fast as you can).  This method really works for me because I tend to get bored running...especially when all that is on the gym TVs are gloomy news shows and sports... My boyfriend ran next to me too, so that helped to have someone to semi-race, although he is way faster than me.  I blame my short legs.





 

I ran 2 miles in about 20 minutes, which keeps up with my goal of a 10 minute-mile.  Here's my 3-2-1 run:

3 minutes of 5.5 mph (about 11 min/mile)
2 minutes of 6mph (10 min/mile)
1 minute of 7mph (8:34 min/mile)

And I just kept running until I made it to two miles. :-)

I also tried to run most of the time hitting the balls of my feet first because I tend to be a heel-first runner.  I'm not really sure why, but I have heard its better to run balls first...that came out wrong.  But however you want to say it, that has at least helped with the balls of my feet falling asleep.  Yes, weird thing, apparently sometimes when you are small like me, your feet can fall asleep while working out/running.  It is a pretty weird and kind of scary feeling especially when running.  I keep picturing myself falling on my face because I can't feel my feet.

Tomorrow (Monday) I need to run 3 miles to keep up with the schedule.  I was supposed to run 2.5 miles yesterday...but taking two weeks off I thought it would be better with just 2 miles.


 

Well, thanks for stopping by!  I still need to try the Nike chip while running and I will also be coming up with another food post...if you have any ideas let me know!

As usual, comments are welcome!!

Happy running! :-)

Update on Half-Marathon Training (This post is from Monday but for some reason I didn't hit "publish")

I should have known SOMETHING would happen to ruin my streak of running..although it was only a week, I was proud of that week.

Well I live in a place where we experience all four seasons in ALL of their glory.  We got a few inches of snow over the weekend...and it just kept on snowing. 

By the time I woke up monday, I realized the probability of driving anywhere in my modest car was very slim.  As the day went on, and my dad shoveled the driveway about 4 times because it
KEPT SNOWING...


I decided I would just do some cardio of my own.  I did intervals of jumping jacks, running in place, and running stairs.  It was a pretty good workout! 

The next day, still snow galore, but it had stopped.  The thing is, I woke up with terrible lower back pain!  Since it was a day of "rest/easy run or walk" I decided to opt with the "rest." 



This brings us to Wednesday when I went to my coffee catering job.  I got there bright and early with my co-worker and we had to dig out our vans to get to our event.  My back was still hurting, but I'm pretty sure that all of the digging and all of the heavy lifting did nothing to help my lower back!  I was in such pain that by the time we were making drinks...it hurt to move left to right!  I was supposed to do another event that day AND run later, but I had to have someone else cover my shift and I went home and had to lie down the rest of the day.  Boo on my body!



After resting wednesday night and thursday morning I worked at my restaurant job thursday night and friday morning.  Incase you haven't worked at a restaurant job as a server, as long as you have tables, it is constant speed walking for 5 or 6 hours.  Since I handled that well, I thought I may as well run Saturday right?

I went to the gym with my sister on Saturday and we decided to warm up on the ellipticals, but I was feeling a little tired even doing that so I went over 3 miles on the elliptical at a 10 mile an hour pace.  I will be the first person to tell you that working out on an elliptical IS NOT the same as running, so I was just going to mark down that I did 40 minutes of cardio.  I did think it was weird, however, that I was really tired afterwards, since I have always worked out regularly even before I started running.

I went home to get ready for my boyfriend's dad's surprise b-day party.  I was all ready to go but my stomach was so upset that I decided to lay down a bit.  Long story short, that turned into having the chills, muscle aches, and a temp of over 101!  I haven't been that sick in soooo long! 



I was still feeling terrible yesterday and finally got over my fever in the afternoon.  I am sitting here wondering where the week went because I didn't run once and I realized that it's because my body has been rebelling.  How rude!

So for today, I am working on feeling better for date night tonight.  I have been looking forward to some delicious fancy seafood for a couple of weeks so I am gonna get it!

 

Bang-Bang shrimp below...yum!

On the schedule for this week is two 2.5 mile runs and one 2 mile run.  I hope hope hope my body doesn't rebel anymore!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week everyone!!

Week One of Training Complete!

Hello all,

So I started on the Hal Higdon training for a 5k and I got through this week!  But since I started 2 days later, and I still had to run 3 times that week, I decided to run two days in a row...

Big Mistake

I also started back to one of my jobs the same day of my second run.  This job involves heavy lifting and at one point pushing a large cart up a steep hill...so needless to say, I was super sore on Thursday!! 

But on Saturday I did my run, exceeding the required distance by a quarter of a mile and faster than I had the other two days.

So overall this week I ran tuesday and wednesday 1.5 miles averaging 10 minute miles, then Saturday 1.75 miles, averaging 9.5 minute miles.  4.75 miles total!!  This is good for me, but I am sure regular runners are laughing at this.  Infact, I was talking to a friend and she ran that much yesterday in 30 minutes...she credits it to interval running, which I will have to try.  But really, she ran a marathon a couple of years ago, so I'm pretty sure she is just a more awesome runner than me.

But I still have 16 weeks!  This week I have to do two 2 mile runs and another 1.5 mile run. 

By the way, running on a treadmill is pretty boring..and due to the fact there is snow on the ground with temperatures below 20 degrees, I am stuck inside at the gym.  I have my ipod, but it's weird running because the tempo of the song and the speed the treadmill is set on is different.  And there is usually just sports channels and depressing news shows on the tv...

I was looking at Nike.com because I thought they had a device to pace the running.  I found this Nike Chip Clip but I was wondering if anyone has tried it yet?  Its pretty cheap so I might just get one.  Apparently it also tracks how much you have run as well as how fast, etc.



So maybe I will buy one and let everyone know how it works!

Thanks for stopping by!

~The Semi-Health Nut

Half marathon what? A nice 13ish mile run...

Hey all,

I would say that I've been too busy to blog, but really I have just been a little too lazy.  It's been 3 months!  Don't get me wrong, I have been working a lot, and I somehow got through Anatomy and Physiology II in these past 3 months, and Christmas and New Years were crazy busy, but here I am with a possible New Year's resolution to blog more often.  We will see if this resolution ends up lost with all of the other good intentions of the New Year.

I was talking with my boyfriend's sister over Christmas and she told me that she was thinking of running a half-marathon in May.  I have always wanted to run a race, but a marathon seemed too far out of reach, not to mention all of that running is time consuming, bad on the knees and recovery is, well, not too peachy.  (I've heard horror stories of soreness lasting weeks!)

So this idea of running a half-marathon has been on my mind the past couple of weeks and I decided to look up some training schedules and with 5 months, it actually seems doable (is that a word?  It's one of those words that looks weird but doesn't show up in my spell check..)  A friend of mine who has run half-marathons told me to look up Hal Higdon to get some good training schedules. 

Hal Higdon to the left

I found this training schedule for 12 weeks:

http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

Then I read that this schedule is assuming that a person can run 3 miles comfortably.  Um, no.  But this guy is good because below that he has a training schedule for a 5k (about 3 miles).  Perfect!

http://www.halhigdon.com/5K%20Training/5-Knovice.htm

This will be a little different than my usual workouts...because my usual workouts usually don't require any running!  I did some Hip Hop Abs today (one of the cardio workouts).  I'm pretty sure I stole this set of

workout DVDs from my dad, because I don't think I have that kind of money to spend on workout stuff.  It works for keeping in shape and its fun to do when I get bored with the elliptical at the gym.  Amazing ab workout...but again, no running involved.
We will see how I do with something other than the elliptical at the gym and hip-hop abs. :-)


I am excited for this New Year's resolution to blog more and the goal of running a half-marathon in May, as this will give me something interesting to blog about!  Let me know if you have any tips on training and/or good workout foods and I will be researching this as well!

~The Semi-Health Nut