Last Monday was the first day of my first 10 Miler training. I was peered pressure by some of my running friends but I'm really glad I a going to do it. This will be a great and new challenge in my running career and I am looking forward to it. I am hoping to be posting weekly updates on this journey.
Last week was the first week of training and it was pretty easy. I did not follow my training to the T because I was busy with work and other things so I switched things around and did the workouts.
Since it is January in DC, I barely run outside so 3 out of my 4 runs where at the gym. Also, I try to make one of my runs a walk so I can put less pressure on my legs and knees.
So here it goes.
This was the plan I had to follow:
Monday- 2 miles
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday - 5
Thursday-2
Friday- rest
Saturday-7
Sunday- off
Total- 16
This is what I did:
Monday- 3 miles treadmill
Tuesday- Rest bud did Zumba
Wednesday- Rest because of a work training
Thursday- 3 (was supposed to do 5) because I had to wait for a treadmill at the gym
Friday- Rest (was supposed to do 2, but got caught up on wedding stuff)
Saturday- 2 mile walk
Sunday- 5.5 mile run at the C&O canal with our group.
Total- 13.5
I will be changing my training days because I now work Monday nights so I will not be able to run.
Overall I felt good to be back into a running routine, because I feel like I've hit a plateau and I need to get away from that.
My goal for this 10 miler is to finish it. I do not want to have a PR, but I will because it will be my first one.
I'm really looking forward to accomplishing such a great goal.
Stay tune for this week's update next week!
Until Next time, Keep your feet traveling...
Nats
Monday, February 4, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Engagement!
For Christmas 2012, my now fiancé and I decided to go visit his dad and girlfriend in his native Rochester, New York. Since we are avid runners we wanted to go running somewhere around the Rochester area while visiting his family and friends. On December 23, 2012 James and I decided to go for a morning run at Mendon Ponds Park. He told me he wanted to take me there because his grandpa had planted a lot of the trees in that park and he had done a lot of his Cross Country meets in High School there. Since I have taken him to most of my significant places in my native Puerto Rico, why not return the favor. We woke up super early to drive to the park. When we got there I realized that it was a little colder than expected and I knew it was going to be a rough run.
We set off on our run and 1/2 into it I was struggling. James, who runs way faster than me, stayed with me through the entire run (which is rare). While running he started to talk to me about a conversation he had with his mom about finding his perfect match. I found it odd that he wanted to talk about this during a run, and I certainly did not want to talk because I was cold and struggling to run in 20 degree weather. He kept talking about even though we fight and disagree in certain things he knew that he couldn't have found a better match for him. Although I was flatter by his words (now) all I wanted to do at the time was turn back and go home. We decided to turn around and only run for about 2 miles. When we got back to the parking lot, I told James I wanted to take pictures of the pond and the park. He told me to go ahead that he was going to put the jacket I borrowed from him back in the car (he actually went to get the ring from his car safe).
I started to take pictures of the pond and of us there. All of a sudden I see James coming towards me and he started to talk again. This time he said, "the reason I was not worried about your grandma's ring getting stolen last night it's because I have it right here" (The night before our neighbor texted us to see if we were home and we automatically thought we aware being robbed). At that point he got down on one knee and asked me the question I have been waiting for a while "Will you marry me"? Needless to say I started to sobbed and it took me a little while to realize that I had to answer him. Obviously, I said yes.
Soon after I posted on facebook and texted all my closest girlfriends. We got countless messages from people congratulation us.
Later that day, we went to the Genesee Brewery to watch the Bills football game and to celebrate our engagement. It was truly a great day and everything I had thought about this day being.
It's funny how things turn out. Now I'm looking forward to our wedding happening in 182 days (August 3rd). Maybe that will be another blog entry intself and hopefully will include some running in it...
Until then, keep your feet traveling!
Nats
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Right before the engagement
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My grandma's right, now my engagement ring
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James and I right before the engagement
We set off on our run and 1/2 into it I was struggling. James, who runs way faster than me, stayed with me through the entire run (which is rare). While running he started to talk to me about a conversation he had with his mom about finding his perfect match. I found it odd that he wanted to talk about this during a run, and I certainly did not want to talk because I was cold and struggling to run in 20 degree weather. He kept talking about even though we fight and disagree in certain things he knew that he couldn't have found a better match for him. Although I was flatter by his words (now) all I wanted to do at the time was turn back and go home. We decided to turn around and only run for about 2 miles. When we got back to the parking lot, I told James I wanted to take pictures of the pond and the park. He told me to go ahead that he was going to put the jacket I borrowed from him back in the car (he actually went to get the ring from his car safe).
I started to take pictures of the pond and of us there. All of a sudden I see James coming towards me and he started to talk again. This time he said, "the reason I was not worried about your grandma's ring getting stolen last night it's because I have it right here" (The night before our neighbor texted us to see if we were home and we automatically thought we aware being robbed). At that point he got down on one knee and asked me the question I have been waiting for a while "Will you marry me"? Needless to say I started to sobbed and it took me a little while to realize that I had to answer him. Obviously, I said yes.
Soon after I posted on facebook and texted all my closest girlfriends. We got countless messages from people congratulation us.
Later that day, we went to the Genesee Brewery to watch the Bills football game and to celebrate our engagement. It was truly a great day and everything I had thought about this day being.
It's funny how things turn out. Now I'm looking forward to our wedding happening in 182 days (August 3rd). Maybe that will be another blog entry intself and hopefully will include some running in it...
Until then, keep your feet traveling!
Nats
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Saturday, January 12, 2013
Running 600 Miles in 2012
As must of you know I only started running 2 years ago. In 2011, I pledge to run 365 miles for the year, equaling to 1 mile a day. When it came time to come up with a running goal for 2012 I had to think long and hard to settle on a number. The number at first was 500 miles. As soon as the new year started I started training for the St. Patrick's Day 8k and the Kingstowne Striders 6 race series (Bunion Series) first race.
Soon I discovered that I was running 50 miles a month and that if I kept on that pace I was going to actually run 650 miles instead of 500. Right there and then I decided to settle for the 600 miles goal, that way when the racing season ended in November, I could keep running, but take a break at the same time.
I kept my normal training of running 5 days a week, doing a long run during the weekend. I tried to keep to my schedule as much as possible, but I was flexible with it because things always happen since I am a teacher and I have a life outside of running.
During the summer I ate, breath and slept running, I wanted to make the most out of my time off. I either ran inside or at the gym, but I always made time for running, even when we went on vacation to Puerto Rico. Also, we did track workouts with our running club.
I have to say that when I had to go back to work on August I started feeling the effects of running exhaustion, but I kept at it, because I knew what the results of it would be.
Needless to say when December 29th came and I reached that amazing goal, all I could think was, I can't wait to start running toward my new running goal: Running 700 miles in 2013.
Here are all the races I did in 2012:
St. Parick's Day 8k in DC-March
Striders Fest 8k- May
Race for the Cure- June
Post 4th of July 5k- July
Happy Haunted Trail Run 5k at Disney- September
Columbus Day 5k-October
The Color Run-October
Fill the Shoes 5k- November- New PR 28:57
Girls on the Run 5k- November
Jingle Bells 5k- December-
Keep running!
Until Next Time,
Nats
Soon I discovered that I was running 50 miles a month and that if I kept on that pace I was going to actually run 650 miles instead of 500. Right there and then I decided to settle for the 600 miles goal, that way when the racing season ended in November, I could keep running, but take a break at the same time.
I kept my normal training of running 5 days a week, doing a long run during the weekend. I tried to keep to my schedule as much as possible, but I was flexible with it because things always happen since I am a teacher and I have a life outside of running.
During the summer I ate, breath and slept running, I wanted to make the most out of my time off. I either ran inside or at the gym, but I always made time for running, even when we went on vacation to Puerto Rico. Also, we did track workouts with our running club.
I have to say that when I had to go back to work on August I started feeling the effects of running exhaustion, but I kept at it, because I knew what the results of it would be.
Needless to say when December 29th came and I reached that amazing goal, all I could think was, I can't wait to start running toward my new running goal: Running 700 miles in 2013.
Here are all the races I did in 2012:
St. Parick's Day 8k in DC-March
Striders Fest 8k- May
Race for the Cure- June
Post 4th of July 5k- July
Happy Haunted Trail Run 5k at Disney- September
Columbus Day 5k-October
The Color Run-October
Fill the Shoes 5k- November- New PR 28:57
Girls on the Run 5k- November
Jingle Bells 5k- December-
Keep running!
Until Next Time,
Nats
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Rest Day Workouts
Hey everyone!
It's been a while! Although is summer and I was off I was still busy traveling and having family coming to visit and best of all running and enjoying lazy days at home.
Lately I've been obsessing with Pinterest and all the cool stuff they have there. I really like looking at food, fashion and I'm always on the lookout for new workouts that I can do. Right now my workout consist of 4 days of running followed by abs. I tried Nike Training Club (which is similar to insanity) but I was super sore after and my running performance decayed. So in the efforts of doing something extra that does not involve running I decided to do some research and see what else I could do. Today, while looking at the Health and Fitness part of Pinterest I came upon a cool idea:
A bucket full of different workouts that I can do on my "rest days" and not get bored or hurt while doing it. I think this will be the perfect thing for me because I think I won't get bored since there are completely different workouts each time. So here is what I did:
I went to Walmart and bought craft sticks, then, I thought about workouts that I have done before and I enjoyed doing in the past and decided to put them in. After that, I went on Pinterest and found workouts I would like to try. The workouts are can take from 1 min to 30 min. So I know that some days I will have simple workouts and some days I will have a full workout.
Here are the 25 workouts that I put in the jar:
30 min. zumba on the Wii
20 russian twists
10 mi abs (from 10 min Pilates)
30 flutter kicks
15 min of Ab Burner Nike Training Club workout
30 leg kicks
50 jumping jacks
30 mountain climbers
arm workout (any you want)
Level 1 abs from ABS app on iPad
Level 2 abs from ABS app on iPad
10 side lunges
10 minute legs from 10 min Pilates
10 burpess
30 minutes Pilates from 10 min Pilates ( any workout in there)
10 minute arms
Nike Training Club Crunch and Burn
Nike Training Club Stretch guide
20 squats
20 inner thigh lifts
NTC slim chance
10 push ups
3 30 second planks
Daily Workout Plan from Pinterest
Denise Austin Pilates for Everybody
I also included 5 blank ones to give my body a break sometimes.
I look forward to doing all these workouts and getting myself in better shape. My goal is to inspire others to exercise and have a better and healthier lifestyle.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to writing many more.
Until next time,
Nats
It's been a while! Although is summer and I was off I was still busy traveling and having family coming to visit and best of all running and enjoying lazy days at home.
Lately I've been obsessing with Pinterest and all the cool stuff they have there. I really like looking at food, fashion and I'm always on the lookout for new workouts that I can do. Right now my workout consist of 4 days of running followed by abs. I tried Nike Training Club (which is similar to insanity) but I was super sore after and my running performance decayed. So in the efforts of doing something extra that does not involve running I decided to do some research and see what else I could do. Today, while looking at the Health and Fitness part of Pinterest I came upon a cool idea:
A bucket full of different workouts that I can do on my "rest days" and not get bored or hurt while doing it. I think this will be the perfect thing for me because I think I won't get bored since there are completely different workouts each time. So here is what I did:
I went to Walmart and bought craft sticks, then, I thought about workouts that I have done before and I enjoyed doing in the past and decided to put them in. After that, I went on Pinterest and found workouts I would like to try. The workouts are can take from 1 min to 30 min. So I know that some days I will have simple workouts and some days I will have a full workout.
jumbo sticks 
Here are the 25 workouts that I put in the jar:
30 min. zumba on the Wii
20 russian twists
10 mi abs (from 10 min Pilates)
30 flutter kicks
15 min of Ab Burner Nike Training Club workout
30 leg kicks
50 jumping jacks
30 mountain climbers
arm workout (any you want)
Level 1 abs from ABS app on iPad
Level 2 abs from ABS app on iPad
10 side lunges
10 minute legs from 10 min Pilates
10 burpess
30 minutes Pilates from 10 min Pilates ( any workout in there)
10 minute arms
Nike Training Club Crunch and Burn
Nike Training Club Stretch guide
20 squats
20 inner thigh lifts
NTC slim chance
10 push ups
3 30 second planks
Daily Workout Plan from Pinterest
Denise Austin Pilates for Everybody
I also included 5 blank ones to give my body a break sometimes.
I look forward to doing all these workouts and getting myself in better shape. My goal is to inspire others to exercise and have a better and healthier lifestyle.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to writing many more.
Until next time,
Nats
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Track Workouts Pay Off
So a month ago James and I started track workouts with our local running club The Kingstowne Striders. We decided to do it because we wanted to shave some seconds of out times. Personally, I had never experience a track workout so I did not know what to expect. I came into in pretty blindly. I knew we were be going to be running fast, I just didn't know how fast. Here is the first month track breakdown and how I did in each of them.
Week 1: Welcome to 400's.
When our coach gave us our 400's time I panicked. My time was 2:10 to go once around the track. I thought I was not going to be able to run that fast. I had never run a lap in 2:10 before. Thankfully our coach match me with a partner that ran about the same time that I did.
Before and after our actual workout we do a mile warm up and a mile cool down. This is the breakdown for the first week:
We did 3x400 and then slow 400's to recover. These were my times:
1:50
1:50
2:10
So the first week I did pretty well and I was pretty content with my performance. Who knew I could run this fast right? We should also mention that the weather was nice and in our favor even on a June day.
Week 2: Welcome to 400's and 800's with minimum rest
This week our coach gave us the assignment of doing 400's resting for 60 seconds and then going into 800's. I was a little apprehensive about the little resting time, but I was ready for it. Here is the breakdown:
2x400- 2:00, 2:10
1x800- 4:30 (time was supposed to be 4:22)
So week 2 was not as bad. I am starting to get used to interchanging 400's with 800's and I am enjoying doing the workouts
Week 3: Ascend and descend into 1200's
This week our coach had us do a 400's, 800's and 1200's and back down with 400 slow cool-downs in between. I did not know what to expect, but I knew that 1200's were going to become my enemy. I decided to embrace it and get on with it. I decided to run with a new partner and that did not pan out as I wanted it to be so I ended up running by myself and being the last one to finish the hard workout. I Let's get on it:
Ascend:
400: 2:01
800: 4:20
1200: 6:50 ( Supposed to be 6:30)
Descend:
1200: 6:42
800: 4:20
400: 2:07
I did not quite get my 1200's time, but it was my first time doing them and it was super hot. I know I am making excuses, but if you have ever down 1200's there is a big different between that 2nd and 3rd lap. I tried my best and completed the workout and not gave up and for me that's what counts.
Week 4: Let's take it easy this week with some 800's
This week was completely different. The weather was great and I got teamed up with Amanda. I had never ran with her before and it turned out to be a match made in track heaven. Also we got to do only 800's with 400's cool downs in between which I have gotten accustomed to.
We did 5x800 in total. Here are the results:
4:15 (fast)
4:26 (slow)
4:49 (super slow)
4:15 (fast)
4:09 (faster)
At the end of the workout my partner and I were pretty happy with the results of our 800's and our coach started to threaten us with making our times faster and I got scared of disappointing him and myself if I don't make the new times.
Week 5: 1200 nightmares in the heat
Last week we did the dreaded 1200's with 400's cool down in between in the heat of July. When we got the invitation I was not pleased with the workout so I started to make excuses. Also, my friend, period came to visit that same day so I was already not feeling it. I decided to brace it and suck it up. What's the worst thing that could happen? I don't make the times and well we all know how I feel about 1200's already. Amanda and I got paired up again and decided to try to do out best without killing ourselves. Let's look at the results:
3x1200's time 6:30
6:50
6:47
7:00
Not my best performance but at least I tried it.
We still have some more track workouts to go. I look forward to them because the workouts and everyone else have really challenge me. I have notice a great deal of improvement in my running due to these workouts. So if you are a runner and you are trying to get faster or better at running I suggest doing a track workout once a week. They sure are challenging but they have shown me that giving up is not the answer.
I am so grateful that James found this running club. These people know how to welcome anyone into their group. The Kingstowne Striders consist of runners, walkers and triathletes from a range of age groups. What I like most about being part of this group is that everyone cheers for everyone no matter how fast or slow they go. So thank you Kevin ( our awesome coach), James, Jim, Antonio, Amanda, Susan and all the others that belong to this fantastic team for encouraging me into giving my best all the time. I look forward to many more track workouts and races with you guys...
Until Next Time,
Nats
Week 1: Welcome to 400's.
When our coach gave us our 400's time I panicked. My time was 2:10 to go once around the track. I thought I was not going to be able to run that fast. I had never run a lap in 2:10 before. Thankfully our coach match me with a partner that ran about the same time that I did.
Before and after our actual workout we do a mile warm up and a mile cool down. This is the breakdown for the first week:
We did 3x400 and then slow 400's to recover. These were my times:
1:50
1:50
2:10
So the first week I did pretty well and I was pretty content with my performance. Who knew I could run this fast right? We should also mention that the weather was nice and in our favor even on a June day.
Week 2: Welcome to 400's and 800's with minimum rest
This week our coach gave us the assignment of doing 400's resting for 60 seconds and then going into 800's. I was a little apprehensive about the little resting time, but I was ready for it. Here is the breakdown:
2x400- 2:00, 2:10
1x800- 4:30 (time was supposed to be 4:22)
So week 2 was not as bad. I am starting to get used to interchanging 400's with 800's and I am enjoying doing the workouts
Week 3: Ascend and descend into 1200's
This week our coach had us do a 400's, 800's and 1200's and back down with 400 slow cool-downs in between. I did not know what to expect, but I knew that 1200's were going to become my enemy. I decided to embrace it and get on with it. I decided to run with a new partner and that did not pan out as I wanted it to be so I ended up running by myself and being the last one to finish the hard workout. I Let's get on it:
Ascend:
400: 2:01
800: 4:20
1200: 6:50 ( Supposed to be 6:30)
Descend:
1200: 6:42
800: 4:20
400: 2:07
I did not quite get my 1200's time, but it was my first time doing them and it was super hot. I know I am making excuses, but if you have ever down 1200's there is a big different between that 2nd and 3rd lap. I tried my best and completed the workout and not gave up and for me that's what counts.
Week 4: Let's take it easy this week with some 800's
This week was completely different. The weather was great and I got teamed up with Amanda. I had never ran with her before and it turned out to be a match made in track heaven. Also we got to do only 800's with 400's cool downs in between which I have gotten accustomed to.
We did 5x800 in total. Here are the results:
4:15 (fast)
4:26 (slow)
4:49 (super slow)
4:15 (fast)
4:09 (faster)
At the end of the workout my partner and I were pretty happy with the results of our 800's and our coach started to threaten us with making our times faster and I got scared of disappointing him and myself if I don't make the new times.
Week 5: 1200 nightmares in the heat
Last week we did the dreaded 1200's with 400's cool down in between in the heat of July. When we got the invitation I was not pleased with the workout so I started to make excuses. Also, my friend, period came to visit that same day so I was already not feeling it. I decided to brace it and suck it up. What's the worst thing that could happen? I don't make the times and well we all know how I feel about 1200's already. Amanda and I got paired up again and decided to try to do out best without killing ourselves. Let's look at the results:
3x1200's time 6:30
6:50
6:47
7:00
Not my best performance but at least I tried it.
We still have some more track workouts to go. I look forward to them because the workouts and everyone else have really challenge me. I have notice a great deal of improvement in my running due to these workouts. So if you are a runner and you are trying to get faster or better at running I suggest doing a track workout once a week. They sure are challenging but they have shown me that giving up is not the answer.
I am so grateful that James found this running club. These people know how to welcome anyone into their group. The Kingstowne Striders consist of runners, walkers and triathletes from a range of age groups. What I like most about being part of this group is that everyone cheers for everyone no matter how fast or slow they go. So thank you Kevin ( our awesome coach), James, Jim, Antonio, Amanda, Susan and all the others that belong to this fantastic team for encouraging me into giving my best all the time. I look forward to many more track workouts and races with you guys...
Until Next Time,
Nats
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