Marathon Training….. And, What a Product Snob!

I started WEEK4 of Marathon training through Nike+ (www.nikeplus.nike.com). I was going to go through Hal Higdon (www.HalHigdon.com) marathon training program. He is the king of teaching marathons. Once you get into running and ANY kind of racing - marathon, half marathon, etc. you will hear his name - a lot. And you should. He has amazing tips and he follows a lot of marathons plus he has books and well… a lot of experience. And I hear he is also a great guy! I do follow him on Facebook and I do enjoy his tips and information about training. The only reason I am using Nike+ and not Hal is because his app is new and with Nike+ I KNOW it works on a treadmill. Although I use Nike+ I am still reading up on Hal stuff and anything else I can find about preparing for marathon - I'm into research. Big. Time. 

I first want to say that I love Beachbody and I love Shakeology and I love all their products. Beachbody is an amazing company and I am very happy to be part of this company. I love all the people I have met and they have all in their own way changed my life for the better. And I will always be a life long fan AND customer of Beachbody.

That being said. Ive been quite a little product snob. Ohhhhh yes. I have turned up my nose to many many products. Well, I was talking to my friend at the gym and she said she has been using a products from a company that I have heard about, oh about a MILLION times and I have in fact resisted. So after talking to my friend and doing research on my own Ive decided to try out these products. So from May 1st- May30th Ill be testing this company out to see how well these products work. I'm still going to be drinking my Shakeology of course because it is THE BEST drink EV_ER. Im just trying not be a total product snob. I want to see if I can have some success with new products. Marathon training is no joke and I'm taking it very seriously so I have to be serious about all aspects of health including food and supplements (other healthy stuff).

At the end of my little experiment/experience I'll give my full review. 

Ciao

USMCdaffy

Five Miles.

A marathon is 26.2 miles. Today. I did my second five mile run. My first five mile run was horrific to say the least. It took forever. I struggled the whole time. My pace was about 17min mile. I left that run discouraged and really questioning the whole marathon idea. How was I supposed to run 26.2 miles when I could BARELY squeak out five miles? I know I can't run 26.2 miles YET and that is the whole purpose for training for a marathon. I'm training steadily to get to the point where I CAN run a whole marathon. It takes time and a lot of dedication especially if you (like myself) haven't run in a very long long time. Running is just different then other cardio. And the real key to running a whole marathon is to respect the distance. A marathon is NO JOKE. Its a long way and your body has to be prepared to run that far. Its a lot of mental, can't psych yourself out which is exactly what I did on my first five mile run.

Today. I ran five miles. After working all night and getting little sleep the day before plus being sick earlier in the week! I not only ran an entire five miles I ran it at 11.42min mile pace. This is a personal best. It gave me confidence to believe I CAN do this marathon. The last mile was a bit rough but I powered through it and got it DONE. And I felt amazing when I was finished. I needed this run to go well to prove to myself that I am on the right track and that it CAN be DONE!!

Ciao
USMCdaffy

Updates…. P90X2 Round2

Im in week 2 of 10K training with PearSports. Today was a four mile run. It went okay. I really like the app from PEARsports but I can't use it for a distance run because the GPS doesn't work on the treadmill. So I used Nike+ app and that works just great but I really miss Coach Jenny! I'm weighing my options about this app training situation. I think it will be fine once I start running outside but I'm not quite there yet. 

I've decided to start Round 2 of P90X2. I started on Tuesday. Its still a tough workout BUT its so much fun. Much more fun then P90X. The workouts are slightly shorter and there is more balance exercise included in P90X2. My favorite is Plyocide which is actually death by jumping. It has four rounds of five exercises. It goes by very fast and it's very intense cardio. It's Tony Horton so depending if you like him or not will decide if you have fun. I LOVE it! I enjoy it even though I'm sweating beyond belief.

I've started clean eating again. It's hard work but it's what I think has been holding me back from getting to the next level of fitness. Planning is key for me!! 

Ciao 

USMCdaffy

ALSO! Don't forget to donate to my page on http://www.active.com/donate/semperfifundmcm2014/SFFCGoddar 

All the proceeds go directly to SemperFi Funds Wounded Warrriors! 

Marine Corps Marathon and the Semper Fi Fund Charity

I did it!! I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon. I decided to go through the Semper Fi Fund charity.  http://semperfifund.org

There are so many reasons I decided to go through a charity to sign up for this marathon. It's called the People's Marathon and this charity is for Marines. It's for Marines, about Marines, helping Wounded Warrior Marines…. And why wouldn't I?

I am a Marine. Avery big part of being a Marine is the camaraderie and that you don't leave a man behind. This a very big part for me. I am firm believer of never leaving anyone behind so by being part of this great organization I am doing my part to help other Marines. A marathon takes time and dedication with training. But I can still run and live a normal regular life. These Marines do not have that luxury anymore. Semper Fi Fund helps in so many different ways from housing to cars to even providing K9 for these Wounded Warriors.

I am very strong believer in K9 and wounded warriors. I think that in lots of situations that a dog can help someone more then medication. Dogs bring comfort and safety these Marines who feel very unsafe and anxious living in the regular world.

This isn't what you believe about war or the President or even the Marine Corps, its about helping those who need help. Please donate a few dollars, there is no minimum.

http://www.active.com/donate/semperfifundmcm2014/SFFCGoddar

The minimum donation requirement for this program (MCM2014) is $500 by August 1, 2014. I would like to raise $2,000. So lets go!!

THANK YOU!
USMCdaffy

Back to Running! 10K training has begun!

Today was my first day back on the treadmill. Day 1 of 10K training with Coach Jenny. This program is 8 weeks so I'll be done on March 28 as the plan says. I really like following a program and I really like Coach Jenny.

Once again my HR monitor didn't work so I put it back in my bag. I've emailed the company and their remedy didn't fix it. I broke a nail in the process and I really tired of dealing with this situation so I think I am going to start looking for another heart rate monitor. I could NOT find my Fitbit. I was sure I put it in my gym bag last night after I charged it. I looked when I got back home and it's till MIA. I'm gonna test out Nike+ app to see if that is a good one to use for mileage.

I ran anyway. I've been running the same amount of time for the same amount of miles so I'm guessing 3 miles today. I have my new shoes and I just returned from a week off from running so I did a nice easy pace. My music needs  to be changed up and I'm working on that today. I had to stop a couple times because of the music issues popping up but it was a nice run and I'm glad to back in the gym.

So I guess today was FULL of plot twists….

Ciao

USMCdaffy

Fail?

Today was the last run of the Zero to 5K. A virtual 5K… And it was one of the worst runs since I officially started training for Marine Corps Marathon 2014.

After wanting to rip my headphones off and throw my phone off the second floor from the treadmill, I had to go over my issues today. I have to figure out how to remedy to the issues…..

*My shoes are worn out. And this is the last time I'm using them. I have to say goodbye to my first Brooks running shoes.  I'm budgeted for new shoes in February and I have already been researching shoes.

*I realized my PEAR app (www.pearsports.com) isn't going be able to count my miles because the GPS is off when I use the treadmill vs going outside. So I wasn't able to finish my 'race' because by the time I ran 3.1 miles (according to my FitBit) PEAR said it was only 1.1 miles after 48 MINUTES! 

*My foot hurts. A lot. My shoes didn't help and I was forced to stop a lot due to pain. It's why I was so slow today.

*And I was unable to focus…… I had a very intense emotional discussion with my Battle Buddy. I'm fine and it was a good conversation. It's just not good to have one like that before a race. It makes it very difficult to focus. 

So! New plan. I'm taking a break from running this coming week. I will be focusing on yoga for the week. Im buying my new running shoes at the end of next week. Im going to decide which app I'm going to start up and Im going to work on healing my foot- hot epsom salts, icing it, and massage.

Ciao

USMCdaffy

GOAL!

GOALLLLLLLLLLL!! I am still training for Marine Corps Marathon2014 and I am on week six (5k training) starting Monday . But yesterday (Friday)…. I had my last endurance run. After weeks and weeks I finally ran four miles. I've been working on getting to four miles for awhile now and I finally made it! Goal! I only need to be able to run a 5K (3.1 miles) for the particular program but I set a goal of four miles before I finished. I made it!! Little goals are sometimes more important then the bigger goal. YAY!! 

Ciao

USMCdaffy