Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate!

I took some time out to enjoy the holidays with my family and with Sean. I also had the distinct pleasure of losing my job on December 23 (sense the sarcasm?). My former employer certainly had a sense of humor when it came to handing out pink slips.

But the good news is that I always come up swinging. I have been working on a huge project and it's finally a done deal! I am going to be working with a big name company, their marketing reps, and a big city marathon. As soon as I have permission to share all the details I promise I will!

I also scheduled my ACSM Certified Personal Training exam for the end of January. Thanks to this I may have a job at my gym. They hope to be hiring a new trainer in February so the timing may just work out perfectly!

Last but not least, I have applied to be an adjunct instructor at a career school. I'm awaiting a review of my qualifications and transcripts but hopefully I will also be teaching classes such as Kinesiology and Anatomy & Physiology in February!

 Post-Christmas lunch cuddles

I've still stuck to my plan through all of this. I started week 8 today and Sean has been going with me every day for the most part. It's been hard being surrounded by treats and junk food. I can't say I haven't fallen off the nutrition wagon a few times but I'm still doing the best I can. I have 4 weeks to make the best of my lean out phase after this week and I intend to kill it.

Christmas Selfies at the gym

On a final, and much funnier, note I saw the weirdest and coolest thing ever while at the gym yesterday. I was on the treadmill doing my long run and I glanced up out the window to see a man with a leash in his hand. Attached to the other end was a large, brown animal. I assumed it was a dog at first but then I realized it definitely wasn't!

I thought maybe my pre-workout was the problem or maybe I was hallucinating. And then the man on the elliptical behind me exclaimed, "That man is walking a deer!" I let out a sigh of relief and then tried to get Sean's attention so he could come see. I didn't succeed so I did the next best thing and grabbed my phone!

Merry Christmas! Here is a pic of a man walking a deer! 

She Get It From Her Mama!

It's been a week from you-know-where. Nothing has gone right and I've felt like a total failure. I still ran a good bit more than I had in the last few weeks but nowhere near what I was hoping. Thankfully my mother had the cure for my melancholy!

I bought us a family membership to the YMCA so we could all enjoy a year of health and wellness. My mom had yet to use her membership so she asked me to go with her today. I was more than happy to have a reason to head to the gym and not be accompanied only by my iPod.

My mom's always been there. And I've always looked just like her!

 

We decided to do some cardio first and took side by side treadmills. She walked, I ran, and we chatted about anything and everything while we got our endorphin rush going. Thirty minutes later we headed over to the weight machines. I'm just going to admit that I had never used the machines at the YMCA prior to today.

 

Intimidation is a horrible feeling. There's always a couple high school or college athletes lifting the whole stack. And then there's me... I know I'm not that strong. And I know I won't get stronger without lifting. But it still didn't overcome my fear of being laughed at (just like what happened at the globogym I used to go to).

 

My mom was always active (and pretty hot too!)

 

But today, with my mother by my side, we walked over there and explored the equipment. Then we made a plan for our workout and went to it. And the best part is we could still pass for twins, at least when it came to strength. We went set for set and rep for rep at the exact same weight, neither of us able to outdo the other.

 

I think I've found my new workout partner (who's been there all along).

 

 

Is fitness a family affair in your home too?

Finding Motivation

I'm slowly rebuilding myself from my three months of apathy. I used some frustration today to push myself to a new 'long' run, a whopping 6.32 miles. While it would have been a short run just a few months ago, it is now the longest I've gone in 3 months. The good news is I feel fine and I even averaged a good (for me) pace.

I also found a new 'game' for passing time on the treadmill:

After every third song I increased the speed by 0.1MPH. I started at 6.1MPH and continued until I was at 6.8MPH. Then I was less than 5 minutes away from an hour so I just started mashing the up button. If I remember correctly I finished at 7.2MPH. I ended up with an average pace of 9:29 so I was pretty happy with that and I was never really bored because I was counting songs instead of miles or minutes. I think I'll keep this as a progression run game!

I took that moment of motivation and ran with it. I registered for the Lt. J.C. Stone 50k on March 22, 2014. I have 99 days to get myself back from 6 miles to 31. I feel like it's a very achievable goal and it has a sentimental value because this race was my first 'real' ultra (since the Rachel Carson is not billed as a race).

J.C. Stone 50k 2011

 

I haven't chosen a plan yet. I don't even know if I'll follow one. It will be hard to run long on the weekends that I have both girls. I'm guessing I will have to alternate long runs with tempos and hills on the weekends in between. Then there's the problem of the midweek longer run. My gym imposes a 30 minute time limit on equipment when they are busy. I usually feel like I'm getting weird looks after an hour even when there's fewer people. And with New Year Resolutioners just around the corner, I just don't see 10 milers happening during the week. It's going to be a challenge but it's one I'm looking forward to.

 

Hopefully this is what I needed to find the willpower I built over the 9 months of Burning River training! See you on the roads!

Treadmill Troubles

As a mom of two and wife of a night shift worker, not to mention Pennsylvania native, I am often confined to the treadmill. This week was the end of my poor hamster wheel though. *insert sad face here*

Between Shane and I the treadmill has survived 3,500 miles of pounding in just three years. Sometime last night it decided to expire. I called the manufacturer and took off the hood to access the insides. What I found was complete carnage. Our newly replaced drive belt is already fraying apart. The roller pins are bent, almost broken. The walking belt is destroyed and ready to break at any moment. And the electronics are going haywire. It only turns on every few tries and in between it flashes random numbers and words, even while in the off position.

 Little pieces of our new drive belt everywhere.

 

 

Bent roller and more shredded belt.

 

So now we are relegated to outside running or no running at all while we search for an industrial strength treadmill that won't break our budget. Hopefully we will find one soon!

 

 

In the meantime, the outdoors is offering up challenges of its own. Oh boy!

 

 

Only The Strong Survive

"I will not be forgotten.

This is my time to shine.

I've got the scars to prove it,

Only the strong survive.

 

I'm not afraid of dying;

Everyone has their time.

Life never favored weakness.

Welcome to the pride."

~Five Finger Death Punch

 

 

You may not be a fan of heavy rock or alternative or whatever you want to classify 5FDP as. However, this song went on my playlist because the lyrics SPEAK to me. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't be weak this training cycle. I swore that I wouldn't make excuses to quit or lessen the burden of training. I promised that I would find out exactly how deep I can dig and just how strong I am. I wanted to be one of those runners. You know, the ones who run in the pouring rain at 4am because it's the only time they could run? One of those runners who never gives up because life throws them a curve ball. I think they could justifiably be called a 'pride'.

So when I got called into work unexpectedly Wednesday night I had to make some quick adjustments on the fly. A planned 10 mile run got swapped with cross training. I banged out 40 minutes worth of strength training before I raced off to work the 4 to midnight shift. I promised myself that I would run my 10 miles as soon as I got home even though I had been up since 6am already. I moved 10 foot long pipes back and forth through our shop all night. I dealt with a major crisis with a radioactive source that could have proved dangerous but thankfully didn't. I wondered every minute how I could survive a run after this but reminded myself that I will feel worse at Burning River and probably have more than 10 miles to go at that point. I needed to be strong!

Then my boss put another wrench in my plans. Two of our guys are down sick so I needed to come back in at 8am and put in another shift. That meant getting home at 1am, sleeping for 5 hours, and then going back to work. No way to put 10 miles in unless I wanted to be in a coma by lunch time. I dragged myself back into the shop and loaded all of those 10 foot pipes on a truck for our customer BY HAND because we're not allowed to touch them with a fork truck or crane. I loaded heavy castings for another customer and then started working on some different castings we had in the lab. I was exhausted. I was starving. And all I could think about was running.

I begged my brain not to give my legs excuses. I bargained with myself. "Just get on the treadmill and see what you can do." Finally, my relief arrived and I was able to head home. I stopped and picked up some fish food on the way. I puttered around the kitchen sorting mail and drinking water when I got home. I fed the fish some new food. I basically did anything to avoid putting on my running shoes. Then Shane woke up and I knew it was now or never.

I asked him to get Gem off the bus and pick up Ash so I could run and he agreed. (I'm a lucky wife, huh?) I changed and headed down to the basement like a prisoner headed for the electric chair. I popped in a movie and started out slowly. My legs protested at first but then it started to feel better. The knot of worry and stress in my chest released and I felt like I could breathe again. My stride started to loosen up and I was able to get close to the pace I was supposed to hit.

I didn't push myself to hit the recommended paces. I know that being awake for close to 40 hours with only a nap in the middle wasn't the preferred state for training. I went with the flow and even paused to grab some cookies for a quick sugar hit when I started to fade. The next thing I knew:

BAM! Ten miles done!

 

And now I know.... I am one of the strong. I will survive whatever life throws at me: job, personal, or anything else. I survived crazy work hours, a long way to run on the treadmill, and my fourth ACSM CPT class. And I'll survive working again tomorrow and whatever it may bring. Welcome to the pride!

 

 

Random Thoughts and Such

I really don't have too much to write about right now. As evidenced by the lack of posts lately. I have random snippets of information that I feel might be of interest, however.

Remember how I checked the calibration on our treadmill and it is way off? Well I have scheduled an appointment for Monday to have our treadmill checked over, calibrated, and any problems diagnosed. We will then have the option of buying any parts that have worn out and either install them ourselves or have them installed during a second visit. I'll keep you posted on how that all works out. I think I'll do some research into treadmill maintenance that will hopefully prevent us from getting into this situation again.

Next awesome thing.... Shane and I are adding a second race to our resumes. On August 11, 2013 at 7am runners can meet on the Yough River Trail in Elizabeth Township, PA for a 4 or 10 mile run. It will be called the P&LE Express in honor of the railroad that used to run through here. The Greater Pittsburgh Road Runners will be the sponsor and cost will be $3 for non-members and $1 for members. No shirts, no medals, etc. Just run and be timed for cheap!

The old railroad logo

 

Our second annual Boston Harvest 5k will be on September 21, 2013. This year we will also be adding a 10k option. The 5k will start at 9am and the 10k will start at 9:15am. Cost is $15 or $10 for kids under 15 and seniors over 59. Late registration will be $5 extra. Last year we were able to raise over $4,000 for Rex Timko of Forward Township. Rex has Batten's Disease which is a life limiting disease that causes mental impairment, seizures, loss of sight, speech and motor skills. All proceeds go to Rex and his family. For more infomation on Rex visit www.rallyforrex.com. We are also still in need of sponsors and donations to cover the costs of insurance, permits, and awards. If you know of a company that may be interested in sponsoring please email TeamBrunazzi@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Lastly, I'm still continuing with Graston treatments and a few people have asked me how to find a Graston practitioner. You can search for one here. As a word of caution, make sure you don't 'suck it up' if the force is actually painful. I learned this thanks to an aggressive treatment on my quadriceps tendon that led to a huge bruise that's hung around for two weeks now!

Lesson Learned. Speak up if it hurts!

 

I guess that's all for now. Work is picking back up, I'm still working through my ACSM CPT classes (over halfway!), I need to go take a CPR/AED class, and I am still running like a mad woman! I finished January with a PR 190.8 miles! So if you find yourself wondering why I haven't posted it's probably because I'm out on a road or trail (or hopefully our treadmill again soon!).

 

How was your January? Did you let the winter weather keep you from running? Did you workout indoors in other ways?

Calibration Celebration

Have you ever thought, "10 minute miles on the treadmill feels so much harder than outside." Or, "Why am I huffing and puffing at recovery pace on this hamster wheel?" Or maybe even, "Wow! This feels so much easier than the same pace on the road!" If so you've probably wondered if your treadmill's calibration could be off. So here's how to find out.

Disclaimer: I didn't figure this out myself or even locate the procedure myself. However, I did decide that it would be nice to have it laid out step by step with some pictures.

Step 1: Gather the necessary supplies: Tape measure (preferably a soft one), bright colored duct tape, a notepad, a pen or pencil, a stopwatch, and a calculator. Or you can do what I did and use your iPhone/smartphone as a stopwatch, calculator, and camera.

easy peasy

Step 2: Measure your treadmill belt using the tape measure. I found that it worked best if I folded my treadmill up and then wrapped the tape measure around. Record your measurement in inches. (Mine was 112.75")

Step 3: Place a piece of brightly colored tape on the treadmill belt.

Orange worked well

Step 4: Set your treadmill to your normal running speed while you stand on the side rails or off to the side. (My treadmill takes a minute to get up to full speed so I waited to start timing until it was humming along nicely.)

10 minutes/mile according to the treadmill

Step 5: Wait for the tape to come around again and then start your timer. Start counting on the next appearance of the tape at the starting point (one rotation) and continue counting until you reach 50 rotations of the belt. Record the time it took.

Time to reach 50 rotations

Step 6: Do some math. The speed of your belt in MPH = (50 x length of your belt in inches x 0.0568) / the time you recorded.

(50 x 112.75 x 0.0568) = 320.21 

320.21 / 51.3 = 6.24 MPH

So the 6 MPH button on my treadmill actually causes the belt to spin at almost 6 1/4 MPH! I conducted the experiment again at Shane's average running speed (8.0 MPH) and found that actually runs at 8.1 MPH! 

So now I can either adjust my time/distance for what I know the actual pace is or I can remind myself that a 10 minute mile pace outside feels easier because it's ACTUALLY a 10 minute mile pace instead of 9:35 per mile. I'll probably stick with recording the treadmill's distance and time readout since I'm lazy but it's nice to know I'm not just being a baby about the hamster wheel!

Week In Review: Week 7!

Time flies when you're having fun! Ummm, training hard? Sleeping 9 hours a night? Spending double digit hours running? Yeah, that's fun right?

I've been meaning to write a post about keeping your body in top shape during blocks of heavy training (and I know what I'm doing is moderate by most standards but it's the hardest I've ever consistently trained). I'm really trying to nail down the things that make me feel better and experiment with recommendations from other runners to find more recovery tricks. So if you're interested look for that soon!

Now onto the nuts and bolts fun:

Monday: 10 minute warm up, walk at 8% incline for 5 minutes, walk at 2% incline for 2 minutes, cool down. Ab Ripper X afterwards. Total: 4.5 miles

Tuesday: 2 mile warm up, 3 x 10 minutes at 5k pace with 3 minutes recovery between, 1 mile cool down. Total: 7 miles

Wednesday: 90 minutes of 9:1 run/walks. Total: 9 miles

Thursday: 1 mile run + weights.

Friday: 1 mile warm up, 5 miles of hills, 1 mile cool down. Total: 7 miles

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: 10.6 miles of hills!

Sunday's elevation profile

Total: 39.1 miles

It's funny how that seems like low mileage to me after having a few weeks in the mid 40's - 50's. Not that long ago I would have been stoked about running this much and now I feel like a slacker for not hitting 40. The good news is the coming week is going to beat that slacker feeling right out of me!

How was your week? How are you keeping track of your training in relation to your goals?

Week In Review: Part Two

This week was another tough one but I feel like I handled it better. It started off deceptively easy with a 60 minute walk then progressed through speed work, steady state runs and a tough long run. So here's my week in review:

Monday: 4.2 miles of speed walking on the treadmill with inclines.

Tuesday: 1 mile warm up, 20 x 1 minute at faster than 5k pace (7:30 per mile) with 1 minute at 4-5MPH recovery, 1 mile cool down. Yes, that's right.... TWENTY repeats!

Wednesday: 70 minute steady state run.

Thursday: 0.5 mile warm up jog. 30 minutes of strength training: front squats, lunges, curls, rows, and then form drills.

Friday: 2 mile warm up, 3 x 10 minutes at 5k pace with a couple minutes recovery in between, cool down.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: 13.1 mile trail run.

Total: 39 miles

The trail run was AWFUL. It's been raining for days and the trails were nothing but mud and wet leaves and rocks. I can't believe I stayed upright the whole time!

Nothing but mud

 

Muddy Shoes

 

On a really cool note check out what I got from my Secret Santa! Nothing like a little extra motivation on the Christmas tree and my book shelf!

 

 

Crazy Busy, or Maybe Just Crazy

I'm sure most of you are aware that I've never fully committed to a training plan before. In fact I probably slacked more than I adhered in the past. I promised myself that I would not repeat that pattern this year and so far I'm keeping that pattern. I'm working very hard to find a balance between pushing through complications and taking extra rest when I need it.

"Rest is a good thing, but boredom is its brother." - Voltaire

I find myself feeling out of sorts and lazy on rest days now. And I finally understand the tweet I saw from Ryan Hall about a year ago that said, "You know you're in marathon training when you get sore just vacuuming the house." Next week is a cutback week for me and I'm looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time.

This week has been exciting for me as a runner. I've been pushing the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of and I should go over 50 miles for the week. This is a first without a marathon or ultra to 'artificially' bolster my totals. Of course, we got an ice storm last night so there's an inch of ice with 3 inches of snow on top outside today. I'm gambling with the chance that the weather will be better tomorrow and planning to switch Sunday's recovery miles with today's long run miles. I was contemplating doing my long run today on the treadmill but I'm not ready to do it if I don't have to. Too many of my miles are treadmill miles as it is!



The ferocity of my desire to complete this training and push my body to its limits still surprises me. I'm not sure where this was two years ago when I first started running longer distance races but I'll take it. If I had 'committed' to doing lunch runs a year ago I would most likely have ended up with an expensive gym membership that got used once or twice a month. Or maybe just a bag of running gear in my car that would eventually become nothing but an annoying reminder of what I wasn't doing. A year ago I would run on the treadmill in the evenings sometimes but if I was tired or hungry or it was cold in the basement I'd end up on the couch instead.

Now I find myself organizing my work schedule so I can have longer lunch runs and then coming home and finding time to get on the treadmill too. I've even started contemplating just how much sleep is really necessary and whether or not I could get in 3-5 miles in the mornings before work. I'm not ready to commit to THAT yet but maybe someday...

To top it off I've been busy blogging too. Now you're confused right?! I mean there hasn't been a new post here for a week right?! Well, sort of... I wrote a "What's in my Gym Bag" post for Running, Loving, Living. I also wrote a post for the FitFluential blog on keeping your kids active during the winter.

Of course, I'm still working hard to raise money for the IAFF Burn Fund and the giveaway/raffle is still open until the end of the month! A winner was selected for the Centrum ProNutrients giveaway and I was super excited to see that Elle from Eat, Run, Sail got her choice of supplement. Her blog is always full of great stories so check it out!

Things are about to get even crazier though. My college courses start back up full time on Monday and I have some courses that sound awesome but tough: Sports Nutrition, Current Health Issues, Anatomy & Physiology II, and Ethics in Sport. I know that my education is a great investment and it's going to help me to help others but it also feels like marathon training x 2! So please bear with me if I'm a little scatter-brained over the next couple months. I promise it's only temporary and I'll be back to blogging full steam by summer!

Happy running everyone!

P.S. I found this picture today on a camera card from my mom. I had to do a before and after just to believe how much I've really changed. I didn't know I had a problem in the before and I can't believe I actually look like the after now!