“At first an ordeal and then an accomplishment, the daily run becomes a staple, like bread, or wine, a fine marriage, or air. It is also a free pass to friendship.”
~ Benjamin Cheever, Strides

Monday, May 21, 2012

Rainier Training: 50 LBS!


Quick Look Weeks of May 14-May 20:
# of Workouts:  14
# of miles ran/walked/climbed:  31.5
Starting Weight: 220.8
Current Weight: 170.8 (Down 4.4 lbs from previous week!)
Total Lost to date: 50.0 lbs
Chest: 39" (Down 1" from previous week)
Hips: 44"  (Down 1" from previous week)
Monday: Ran 3 miles pushing stroller; 1 mile Sanity walk; ST with Adam 40 min
Tuesday: 5 mile AWESOME run; 1 mile walk with Bjorn; MT on elliptical (33 lb pack)
Wednesday: 2.2 mile walk with Bjorn (18.5 lbs)
Thursday: Arms ST workout 1 hr; 2 mile horrible TM run
Friday: Rest day; 1 mile walk with Kelty pack (26 lbs)
Saturday: 6.1 mile MIT run, 4 mile Bonus run for RAC
Sunday: 2.2 mile Kelty pack (26 lbs); 2 mile MT/TM 12% (33 lbs)
I'm fairly certain that last Monday's weight reflected some TTOM bloat, since on Tuesday I weighed 173.  Regardless, officially, I lost 4.4 lbs since my last weigh-in!!!

I'm excited about this particular weigh-in for two reasons.  (1) I leaped off that plateau.  (2) It brings me to EXACTLY 50 lbs lost since I first weighed myself post-kiddo being born.  FIFTY POUNDS!

In other words - even though my mountain pack at 33lbs last night felt ridiculously heavy....it doesn't weigh as much as the amount of weight I've lost.  It's 17 lbs lighter.

It also feels great to be back at a full strength training week (even if my trainer had to cancel our Wednesday session).  I had one workout that felt bad this week, but otherwise I feel strong!

I returned to normal running mileage this week, had at least 3 Rainier focused workouts (and even more times of carrying weight), and did my first official 2-a-day run day for the relay.

That doesn't mean that I didn't want to quit about 10 minutes into each Rainier focused session!  HA!  I keep reminding myself of this quote from RM"Training for mountain climbing should be neither easy nor comfortable because mountain climbing is neither."  I'm not sure that the quote is exactly "encouraging" so to speak...but it gets me through the hard parts for some reason.

Saturday was the kickoff of my running group's spring/summer session.  The full marathon group was running 6 miles.  The group dynamic for my 12 minute pace group was simply awesome.  I haven't had a run that awesome in a long time.  The weather was cool (until the end), the conversation was continuous and I fueled properly.   Major win for the official start to my full marathon training!
Our group pre-run, photo from the Fleet Feet Facebook page.  I'm on the far right in the pink tank.
The second run that day (RAC prep) was HOT.  
Car thermometer pre-run.  Does this count as a blog mirror shot?
Luckily, some genius decided we should meet at Sharon Woods for the run, where there was lots of shade on the path. I won't name names or anything.

I'm looking forward to another full-steam week.  The bonus being that a good friend that I've known since I was 8 years old comes to visit (from Texas) on Thursday for Memorial Day weekend!  WOOHOO!  

~Mandy

How was your training week???

Any fun plans coming up for this weekend?  For those local to central Ohio, suggestions for fun things to do when my friend arrives?

What's your perfect outside run temperature?


8 comments:

  1. 50 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You go girl! That is awesome!!!!

    My perfect temps would be about 60... but as you know in OH-- that's a rare morning in KY too! It's either much colder or much more hot and humid!!

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  2. Congrats on -50! That is epic!
    Sounds like marathon training is off to a great start! My perfect race temp is probably 50.

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  3. Congrats to you, Mandy!! 50 pounds is definitely something to celebrate! Have a great time with your friend visiting. We don't have set plans yet, but are hoping to go blueberry picking over the weekend!

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  4. That's awesome on all counts, Mandy! Ranier here you come!

    My favorite running temperatures are 40 to 55 degrees. As long as it's in that range, I'm not picky. Oh, and as little humidity as possible.....

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  5. Congratulations on losing 50 pounds!! That's a great accomplishment!

    It was definitely hot here too this weekend, I prefer 50 degree temps for running but I'll get out there anytime.

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  6. Your weight loss is amazing! Congrats on the 50 lbs gone!!!

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  7. All I can say is WOW, you amaze me!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations on your 50 lb loss!!!

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  8. I agree with Sarah - WOW MANDY!!!!! WOW!!!!! your weight loss is awesome and I think the weight aside - all of your workouts are admirable! who cares what you weigh when you're doing those crazy climbs and weighted backpacks! WOW!!!!

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