RnR: Week 1 Day 6

Hubby and I did our routine weekend long-ish run starting at Campbell Park all the way to the 5 mile marker at the Los Gatos Creek Trail. The out and back is about 5.27 mile which we did at 54:37. It started off pretty slow since my left shin was a bit painful and it took awhile to warm up. Once we got it rolling though, it actually felt like I did a decent pace throughout the run.

Here's our mile splits:
Mile 1 - 11:14
Mile 2 - 10:36
Mile 3 - 10:44
Mile 4 - 10:12
Mile 5 - 9:41
extra .27 mile @ 9:20

Today's route

Today's elevation

It was kinda humid out there today but not too bad. We arrived to the trail at 9AM. If we had gotten about an hour earlier, we could have enjoyed a cooler, nicer run but that's what I know I have to deal with since it was my fault I don't wake up early enough.

RnR: Week 1 Day 5

Today's schedule called for a 3 mile run + strength, and that's what I exactly did. I hit the gym earlier than I normally do so I will make it to the Harry Potter and Deathly Hollows - Part 2 showing at 7pm with the family.

Below is the breakdown of my run on the treadmill:
1/2 mile warm up @ 5:45
Mile 1 @ 10:04
Mile 2 @ 10:00
Mile 3 @ 10:27
1/2 mile cool down @ 7:01
Total of 4 miles @ 42:37

For strength training, I did my usual weight routine and did the following:
Chest press 30 lbs 5x 10 reps
Lat pull 50 lbs 5x 10 reps
Leg pull 40 lbs 5x 10 reps
Ab Crunch 40 lbs 5x 12 reps
Bicep Curl 20 lbs 2x 10 reps/ 1x @ 6 reps

I love following up my run at the gym with weight lifting. I believe that by combining cardio and weight training together that I have become a better, stronger runner.

RnR: Week 1 Day 4

Week 1 of training is half way over and I have been tweaking the routine according to what my schedule has allowed me to. Today is scheduled for a 3 mile run + strength but this will have to move to Friday since I did 5x800 interval training a.k.a fartleks this afternoon. My pace time for the intervals are: 5:07, 5:31, 5:27, 5:26, 5:26 for a total of 4 miles and then added another extra easy mile @ 11:34. I did a total of 5 miles @ 54:10. I am careful not to overdo it when I am doing intervals or fartleks because for some reason it messes up my left shin. I could feel a little soreness and the leg felt a bit heavy while running but it didn't bother at all. I followed it up with a nice stretching right after the run and iced it when I got back home.

I added another 12 minutes or so of weight training before heading back home for dinner. I could have added a couple ab crunches to my repertoire but the machine got stuck somehow.  Here's what I did:

• Chest press 30 lbs 3x 10 reps 
• Lat pull 50 lbs 3x 10 reps
• Bicep Curl 20 lbs 2x 6 reps

Then before heading to bed, I did a 20-minute yoga from Exercise TV On Demand called Zen In Your Den by the same yogi from last night named Jennifer Galardi. She did an even simpler and gentler movements on this one compared to Yoga Refresh. This one's definitely a nice way to ease into a relax mood before bedtime.

It was another busy day today spending all afternoon bonding with my little miss. I took her to the movies to watch Monte Carlo then hang out for awhile at Santana Row. It was a blast but totally wore me out by the time we got home. One thing that still amazes me is how exercise changes my mood. No matter how tired I get if I just get my butt off to workout, even a short easy one, I always feel like a million bucks afterwards.

RnR: Week 1 Day 3

W1D3 is supposed to be 5 x 400 5-K pace intervals but will have to move it to Friday since I ran a hard 5 miles yesterday. A friend and her little 9 month old also visited late in the afternoon for a dip in the pool so I was preoccupied prepping up for our little rendezvous. We had dinner by the pool and took the kids, her baby and my little miss, for a swim. It was a bit cooler and breezy compared to the last couple days but manageable and we had a lot of fun in the water.

So, all that fun stuff drained some of my energy. I wasn't planning on working out today anyway but felt like doing a quick and simple exercise before calling it a night. It was very tempting to just crawl in bed at 9PM, which by the way is definitely not my normal bed time, but I sucked it up and went ahead for a quickie. I found this 30-minute yoga routine on Exercise TV On Demand called Yoga Refresh by Jennifer Galardi. The routine is very simple and easy to follow which is perfect for a yoga noob like me. I felt refreshed and re-invigorated 30 minutes later. I like it a lot and will try to incorporate more yoga in my fitness schedule.

Off to bed now. Namaste.

RnR: Week 1 Day 2

W1D2 called for an easy 3 mile run but tweaked it a little bit today. There is a regular weekly Sports Basement group run on Tuesday nights which I decided to participate. I've been to a few Sunday morning group runs with Sports Basement but have never tried the Tuesday night schedule.

Since I went all the way to Sunnyvale to run, I figured I should put in some extra miles to what was called for from today's training schedule. I ran from the Sports Basement at Kern to Agnew Rd and back for a total of 5 miles. My mile splits which includes a few traffic light stops are as follows:

Mile 1: 11:42 min/mile
Mile 2: 9:49 min/mile
Mile 3: 9:51 min/mile
Mile 4: 10:16 min/mile
Mile 5: 10:31 min/mile

My 5 mile route

I was pleasantly surprised to see more runners on a Tuesday night compared to Sunday morning runs. There were probably more or less 2 dozen runners out there tonight with diverse backgrounds, pace and distance goals for the night. The group starts the run together and then you are free to run at your own pace after. There is no pressure to keep up with runners slower or faster than you or to stick with the group. After the run, there is an opportunity to socialize and enjoy the camaraderie with fellow runners. As an added bonus, Sports Basement gives out prizes depending on how many miles you have accumulated while joining in the group runs. I think one of the prizes is a tech shirt which is cool to have.

I was also supposed to meet up with a group of local runners which a Dailymile friend suggested I join in. Unfortunately, I misread the schedule emailed to me and missed them. It was a very good run nonetheless and will probably try to make it to Tuesday evening runs as often as I possibly can.

RnR: Week 1 Day 1

This is it! My half marathon training officially starts today. I am following Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half Marathon Training program. This is going to be different from the training program I followed when I did my first half. I followed the ActionAid UK Intermediate Half Marathon program devised by Jane Wake. From the looks of it, Hal Higdon's program will require me to run more days with only 2 rest days per week one of which will be a stretch and strengthen day compared to Jane Wake's which has at least 3 days of rest in a week. I already know that I am capable of running 13.1 miles without stopping. I want to challenge myself more this time and push myself to a new PR. I really have to up my game, stay consistent and stay focused if I want to shave off some time from my last PR.

So Week 1 Day 1 schedule asked for "Stretch and Strengthen". I was a little bit busy today, the only workout I could squeeze in was a quick 20 minute Pilates via On Demand. I've been doing Nicole Stewart's 20-minute Total Body Pilates for quite some time now, pretty much since I started being serious about changing my lifestyle from being sedentary to being active and healthy.  I remember how this routine was so difficult when I first started. This is my go-to workout now if I wanted to take it easy or simply feel invigorated during one of those lazy days.

Managing my schedule will be the biggest challenge in the next 12 weeks but this program will help me stay on track and keep my focus towards my goal. Now, bring it on!

4.5 Miler in the Heat!

Here's our treat once we reached
uphill - a beautiful view of the Lexington Reservoir

The hubs and I did our regular weekend trail run this morning. As usual, I didn't get up 'til mid-morning so I was gearing myself up for a run in blazing heat. Well, the heat was actually tolerable. It's the humidity that was a real challenge. We ran at the Los Gatos Creek Trail starting from Miles Ave. all the way to Lexington Reservoir and back. It's about 4.5 miles total but with the heat and humidity, the effort seemed longer than the actual mileage. I took it easy going uphill for the most part, careful not to over do it and exhaust myself too soon. I was hoping to do a longer than 4.5 mile run but was more relieved than disappointed when the hubs told me that we are turning back around instead of climbing up St. Joseph's hill.

Nathan Quickdraw Plus hydration. Love it!

Downhill is sweet! I love this part of the run. I picked up the pace on the way back and was almost surprised that I felt strong despite the heat and humidity. The heat can take its toll on you sometimes so I made sure I stay hydrated on runs like this. Whoever invented the Nathan Quickdraw Plus hand-held hydration deserves a big pat on the back. I love this thing. This is more or less $20 but worth every penny.

This run was short but I definitely felt accomplished having to contend with warm muggy weather and a steep uphill climb but never for one second thought about bailing out.