4th week of November - Happy Thanksgiving!!

This weekend we did a tempo run on Tuesday and a long run on Sunday.

We were suppose to also through in a run on Thursday (Thanksgiving) but that just didnt happen!

Sunday's long run was ok, we did it in our neighborhood and it took 3 stops at home, but he did it - without music! He had no food beforehand, I had 2 south beach bars & coffee.

Miles 1-2, his shoes were killing him (the red ones, he already told me needed to be replaced). At mile 1.7 he took them off. I told him to go home and we would get him some new shoes, but I ended up going home and got him Matt's ASICs. We also taped the end of his middle toes that are peeling, then We headed back out.

Miles 2-5 were good! He told me around mile 3 that he would never be able to do this, he is upset that he hasn't improved much over the past 6 weeks, but I told him that #1, I have not been an evil coach, making him run as much as he should - And #2 he hasnt been all that 'into it'. I explained that most people really concentrate on their fuel, sleep, and hydration and they also adopt some type of training strategy. So we agreed to run 4 / walk 1, however, he ended up running 8 / walking 1. He got some horrible blisters - he is wearing cotton socks that don't fit well for running (at all, but you can't tell him ANYTHING). We stopped at mi 5 and I put some sports tape where he was blistering & we had some GU. He proceeded to tell me he would rather eat the Clif Shot Blocks than the GU, so that's what he will be having from now on.

Miles 5-8 were ok. We made it 1 mile before he couldnt take the blistering anymore. So we pulled our shoes off and ran barefoot the other 2 miles. I couldnt take the pounding so I ran in the grass (OMG - that is like running in SAND), he chose to run on the concrete with his barefeet and of course finished WAY ahead of me!

I feel like we made a lot of progress today. My boy always waits til the last minute to get ready for anything. This week I will be getting him some running socks, then I think the ASICs will do well for him. I will also get him some Blocks. And next long run, we will adopt the 8/1 training strategy :) Here's the schedule for this week:

Tues: 5 mi.
Thurs: 3.5 mi.
Fri: 4 mi.
Sun: 9 mi.

3rd Week of Nov

On Tuesday, we went for a 3 mi run. Our splits were 10:28 / 10:10 / 9:35.

This weekend we had planned to do a 5K on Saturday and our long run on Sunday. Well, we were dressed and ready to go to the 5K (I even dressed up for this one!) when we realized this 5K is on Sunday. So we didn't go. But we did do our long run. It was warm, and boy ran out of steam pretty quick. I tried to encourage him, but I think I annoyed him more than anything else. So much that he nicely told me so, but he knew I was only trying to help.

I think that's about it for this week. I feel like there should be more, but I should have blogged in the moment :P

2nd week of November

I will be the first person to tell you that I absolutely SUCK at consistency. Maybe this will help, at least through the next 9 weeks or so! I somehow have to make this work for us!

23 miles are scheduled this week due to the 7 mi makeup run from this past weekend.

Mon:
[Planned] 7 mi @ 12:31
[Actual] 2.8 @ 14:12
[4:15pm, 72/Wind/Humidity]

[Notes, H2O/Food/Fuel] I grabbed Boy when he just got home from school so that we could fit a long run in before I had to leave with Hannah for dance practice. This was a mistake. I should have had him drink some water and have a snack and then wait a little while. Also, he has a routine after school that he needed to work though so he wasn't 'ready' for the run at all. :( We are gong to try again on Wednesday and use lessons learned above.

I am learning patience :) I keep wanting to get frustrated with myself and him because we aren't improving at the rate that I would like to be. However, this whole exercise is to spend time together and have him finish his first half. I find myself having a hard time 'enjoying the moment' because I am so stressed about meeting a goal. This is totally out of my hands though, so I need to just enjoy by sweet boy while he is out there with me!

Wed:

[Planned] 5 mi Tempo @ 10:52
[Actual] 4.15 mi @ 11:13
[6:00pm, 75 / 78% H / wind 5 NE]
[Notes, mhr: 178 (98%), ahr: 143 (79%), cals 413]

Splits [11:34 / 10:41 / 11:04 / 11:26]

*These are "my" stats, we still need to get the kiddo a heart rate monitor or something, but he doesn't want one. He ran an extra .25 mi or so longer than me (he was that far ahead!) when I had to call it and come in due to stomach issues. We had a really good night. I felt like we moved faster than this and it must either be all of the turns (we ran the streets inside the gates, turning constantly) OR maybe because the gps kept auto 'pausing' and 'resuming' at the end of each street when we turned around. So frustrating. Not dwelling on time, we were both outside kicking as much butt as we could for over 4 miles!

Fri:
[Planned] 8 mi @ 12:31
[Actual] 5.8 mi @
[Time, Temp/Wind/Humidity]
[Notes, H2O/Food/Fuel]

On Fridays, we have 2 hrs to drive over, get started, cover our mileage, and get back. That usually means we have about 1:15 mins to run. I thought we should be able to cover 7 mi but, last night Boy told me before we ever got out of the car that his legs were still heavy and sore from earlier runs in the week. I hoped that after we warmed up the legs would feel better. But not the case. Boy did great until turn around time at mile 3....then.... I had a hard time keeping him going. We covered 6 miles but I turned the GPS off at 5.8 because we walked the rest of the way.

We didn't even stop for our treat this time. Boy said no b/c his stomach was already upset. I forgot to take a picture, but it was beautiful! We got out right before dark so the first trip over the causeway was sunset, the trip back was dark, and blue... the sky was dark blue, the water was darker blue, boats were out on the water with little lights twinkling and the stars were twinkling in the sky. Clear skys, a little breeze, not too bad, just to make it challenging at times, temp was good, probably around 70.

We were going to try the 8mi again on Sunday, but we decided to just do 4. Boy still having problems with his shins/calves.

1st week of November

This week we only ran twice. Wow, we are truly going to have to pick things up because both runs were short for Boy. (I ran a 15K with Jeanine on Saturday; see My Race Blog for details on that...) Boy knew that his long run would be alone this weekend since he chose to not join the 9.3 miler on Saturday. He chose to do his mileage on Sunday. As with everything in his life, last minute, with no margin of error capability. (I would have done it on Saturday, so if I bonked I would have a re-do day) but I digress...

Today I am feeling fine from that long run yesterday so we headed out with the understanding that he was to run, and I was going to walk, and maybe jog some if I felt good. I ended up keeping up with him because he was stopping every half mile or so to stretch his calf on his right leg. It was giving him BIG issues. He thinks this is because of the 1 mi sprint that he had to do at school when he didnt have his running shoes on. Could be. Or could be the it was freaking COLD and he was wearing a Tshirt and shorts. (Felt like 63 degrees, cold winds coming from the NW at 22 mph - brrr) Whatever the cause, he didn't do the long run this weekend, and its it now scheduled for tomorrow.

In order to keep on track. I am going to change the format here and start posting our goals at the beginning of the week.