Marathon Training Weeks 4 and 5

Whoops...somehow a quick trip to California, and the Happiest Place on Earth (but not the warmest place on earth...at least not last week...hello rain and cold and Mickey ponchos for the whole family!) got me a bit behind in my posting. However, a few days off running (due to the quick vacation, a sore throat, pink eye, and some other weird eye rash) made me sort of re-evaluate my plan. Even after several consecutive days of not running, my legs were still sore. I'm afraid if I keep this crazy pace up, I'm going to end up with a stress fracture or other injury. So...I'm going to continue posting my schedule, but I'm probably not going to stick to it 100%! A few little tweaks will hopefully get me to the starting line healthy and happy.

After talking to lots of fellow runners, apparently I found the hardest training schedule out there! Probably not meant for me...probably meant for the 10-year Boston Marathoners...or even the one-time Boston runners. My first and only marathon was over six years ago BEFORE three babies each lived inside of my body for 10 months!

I'm not saying I'm going to give up completely, but each week I'm going to probably skip an easy run and substitute it with a spin class. Also, my Saturday long runs have been killing me (after teaching an hour of Zumba). I'm also just having a hard time giving up so much of my family day! So early-Friday-mornings will be my long-run day, and Saturdays will be a nice, easy run day (if I decide to run at all...let's be honest!)

For the integrity of the training schedule, however, I will continue to post it as is. Please tweak it to fit your own individual needs/level!

WEEK 4

Monday: Interval--7 to 9 miles, 5 x (1,000m) at 10K pace, 2 minutes recovery

Tuesday: Distance--4 to 7 miles

Wednesday: MLR--9 to 10 miles

Thursday: Distance--4 to 7 miles

Friday: Tempo--6 to 8 miles, (1 x 15 minutes, and 1 x 10 minutes @ marathon tempo, 5 minutes recovery)

Saturday: Long Distance--12 to 14 miles, easy, long run

WEEK 5

Monday: Interval--8 to 10 miles, 3 x (2,000m) at 10K pace, 3 minutes recovery

Tuesday: Distance--5 to 8 miles

Wednesday: Tempo--7 to 9 miles, 1 x 20 minutes at marathon tempo

Thursday: Distance--5 to 8 miles

Friday: Tempo--4 to 6 miles

Saturday: Long Distance--15 to 18 miles, running middle 3 at marathon tempo

Happy training! When I get a free-not-running-or-zumba-ing-or-mothering minute, I have lots to blog about! Especially a cleanse my husband and I are (sort of) doing, and my new blender love! And maybe about how the Master Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland is actually worth the cost of your ticket if you have any little boys in your life... See you soon!

Marathon Training Week 3...I run because I can

So far, I've done a pretty good job of following my training schedules for weeks 1 and 2. The hard thing for me about marathon training, is that I don't always want to run when I work out! But I'm too competitive to not run. I can't not train. I have my running schedule in my phone, so if 14 miles is staring at me from the daily calendar screen, not checking it off will drive me crazy! So run I will. (But that doesn't mean I'm going to skip my favorite classes each week...a little cross-training never hurts, right?) Hopefully I end up at the starting line ready to run, and not completely haggard from over-training and exhaustion. Is it bad that I'm already excited for the marathon (at the end of May) to be over so I can chill out a bit?

Life is constantly full of reminders (for me) that there is much more to life than getting in a good workout. A week and a half ago, our cute little niece received a phone call the family had been waiting for for 6 months. She was getting a new liver! So less than 3 months from the time our little baby nephew was leaving Primary Children's Hospital, our 10-year old niece was entering.

In church today, we learned about "giving service." I couldn't help but think of the family that made it possible for our cute niece to get a new liver. At the time my sister-in-law received the phone call, Little C's "donor" was still alive...on life support. This individual's family had made the decision to take their child off life support, and were giving the liver to our sweet niece. As they sat tearfully anticipating saying goodbye to their loved one, we were all cheering--so excited that Little C. was finally getting another chance at a healthy life. My heart aches for that family, and I hope they know that they were an answer to a lot of prayers in our niece's behalf.

Another reminder that struck close to home for me, was the passing of a dear friend's mom last week. Around the time my baby was born last year, Caroline Rober was diagnosed with ALS--Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis--commonly called Lou Gehrig disease. If you want to learn about what's REALLY important in this life, read this blog about her journey. The most recent posts are the remarks given at her funeral. If nothing else, read my friend Mark's talk about his mom and the parable of the Christmas Lace. Incredible woman who never lost sight of what really matters, and left the best legacy for her children.

Life is so very precious. And for me, my health is something I try not to take for granted. I push myself to the limits because I want to be around for the long haul. I don't have control over a lot of things, but I do have control over how I choose to take care of the body I've been blessed with.

So this week I will run because I can. Will you?

Monday: Interval--8 to 11 miles, 2x (800m-600m-400m-200m), at 5K-10K pace, 1 minute recovery, 3-5 minutes between sets

Tuesday: Distance--5 to 6 miles

Wednesday: Tempo--8 to 10 miles, 2 x 15 minutes at marathon tempo, 5 minutes recovery

Thursday: Distance--4 to 6 miles

Friday: Distance--5 to 8 miles

Saturday: Long Distance--15 to 17 miles

More about strengthening the pelvic floor

In case you don't all read the comments, here are a few that I thought would be helpful from my last post. Can I just say that Bonnie is amazing? Her health and fitness knowledge is incredible! Lately as I've read her blog, I've been completely awestruck at the success her clients have found with the Tupler technique!

Here are her comments, with a few links to posts she's written with even more info. Thanks so much Bonnie for added info!

The pelvic floor is something I was trained extensively on, along with the Tupler Technique to be licensed as a prenatal/postnatal trainer in the Tupler Technique.

I read both of the articles - found some of the information to be in line and some things described a little inaccurately.

Squatting IS fantastic, and is a great place to kegels, as the 2nd article states. I do this with all my prenatal clients.

One thing not looked into much, but WAS somewhat commented on in the comments section was using the transverse also in conjuction with the pelvic floor. In fact, one of my clients tried for years to strengthen her pelvic floor with the StepFree system (like a tampon but for strengthening) but it would always fall out UNTIL she started doing Seated Tupler exercises. Her story is awesome:

Another thing that is recommended is the GYNOFLEX - which allows you to strengthen and get bio feedback and a good mind-body connection with the muscle:

Goes into the different modalities that can be used.

One thing I would correct Katy on is her understanding of a lengthened vs. tight muscle. A shortened muscle does not need to be a tight muscle. You CAN tighten a weak muscle. A lengthened muscle has been stretched out - like the recti during pregnancy, as well as the pelvic floor which goes from long and narrow, to short and shallow. The short and shallow factor is why people are prolapsing. If the vaginal canal is long and narrow it holds in the bladder, bowel and the uterus.

Also, when pushing out a baby, if the transverse is used rather than forcefully blowing out the pelvic floor, much of the ligament laxity damage is minimized and the bowel bladder and uterus won't "hang out" in the prolapsed position.

One side note is that the pelvic floor is one of the 5 muscles automatically used when the transverse abdominus is being used. Many people tell me they feel like they are working their pelvic floor while doing the seated tuplers, which is another reason why the client I mention above had great results.

However, when a client is pregnant, we have them relax the pelvic floor while doing transverse work to prepare for labor, where you use the transverse strenghth for pushing and totally relax the pelvic floor so baby pops out. We call this technique PERFECT PUSHING®.

I could go on and on about this - I have also seen Dr. Kegel's original work - including videos full of clients, and small children who had bed wetting problems (although not a good video to watch during a lunch break!) - and these clients who showed marked improvement were not just clients who used his device, but utilized the slow and fast twitch muscles of the pelvic floor. The one GREAT point was that relaxation NEEDS to be a part of the pelvic floor - and that squatters have strong pelvic floors.

No More Kegels!?!? How to REALLY strengthen the pelvic floor...

I had a blog post written in my head about a COMPLETELY different subject, but I will have to save it for another day. Because I just read something that completely ROCKED MY WORLD. When I first started FitMePink nearly three years ago, I gave a little shpeel about incontinence. At the time, I had a 6-month old baby, went on a walk with my husband, started sneezing every few minutes during our walk (due to allergies), and nearly pee'd my pants with every sneeze. I urged all of you to DO YOUR KEGELS!

I have a good friend (who will remain nameless) who is also currently training for a marathon. She ran 12 miles on Saturday, and for the first time in a long time (probably since having 3 kids), ended the run with dry pants. For her (and for lots of women), even running ONE mile (or sneezing, laughing, coughing or jumping) causes major leakage. I'm a big advocate for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. And I just read something that shook the foundation of pelvic floor strength I've always stood on...namely kegels.

You all HAVE to actually read this post (and it's follow-up). I'll post the links in a second, but first I'll very briefly sum up what I read:

We all do kegels in an attempt to strengthen the pelvic floor, but REALLY what we are doing is just pulling the sacrum inward, which promotes even more weakness! The muscles that actually balance out this pull on the sacrum are the glutes! Having a lack of gluteal strength (AKA no butt) makes us much more susceptible to pelvic floor disorder (PFD) or incontinence. DEEP, REGULAR SQUATS (like the kind I had to do in public restrooms in Japan--there were no toilets, just flushing holes in the ground--betcha women over there don't have PFD!) create the posterior pull on the sacrum. You want your pelvic floor to be less like a hammock, and more like a trampoline!

ALSO mentioned--another reason not to do CRUNCHES! With crunches, you are actually bearing down on the pelvic floor, making it's health worse! It's better to do transverse abdominal stabilizing exercises, like the plank, (or like the seated tupler).

If you're at all intrigued, (which you all should be!), read this post over at Mama Sweat. And then read her follow-up which helps clarify why we were told to do kegels in the first place (and to not completely count them out!) And then check this post out about how to properly squat to strengthen your lower back, pelvic floor, and even improve your digestive health. (And also to prepare your body for child birth by mimicking what women all over the world have done for centuries!)

And then come back here and give me your thoughts! Are you as shocked as I was? Did it make sense to you? Discuss.

Marathon Training Week 2

Last week I posted my schedule for the first week of my 16-week marathon training schedule. If nothing else, blogging about my schedule at least made me feel slightly more guilty for the miles I...errrr...didn't run. Actually, I feel like I'm off to a pretty good start. I ran 33 miles total, but didn't run on Saturday (my scheduled long run). I could have fit it into my day if I'd gotten up at o-dark-thirty aka 5:00 in the morning, but by Saturday, I was tired. Who am I kidding? I'm always tired.

Last Tuesday was my second-child's third birthday. I'm actually really sad to say goodbye to her 2's. I would enjoy having a two-year old in the family for the rest of my life if he or she were as great as this 2-year old girl was. I have a feeling, however, that the 3's are going to be a whole new experience with this one. My sweet-angelic-obedient-perfect child is slowly turning into miss-independent-with-attitude-so-don't-mess-with-me-cuz-I'm-a-big-3-year-old girl. Yikes! My ever-present lack of planning led us on an impromptu trip to Build-A-Bear for the birthday celebration. We were feeling pretty brilliant as we drove home with two happy new-bear-creator-kids (and a bear-less-happy-baby...I love the ignorance phase before they realize how unfair life is!) The older two went to bed with their bears tucked away snug in their "homes." The un-planned birthday was a success, the kids were asleep, life was happy.

Until 2 am. I heard whispers. I saw lights. I walked into the bedroom and found two kids WIDE AWAKE playing with their new creations. I yelled. They got back in bed and the lights went back off. Then the baby woke up. I soothed her. She went back to sleep. The house was quiet. Until there were whispers again. And lights. And bears. The husband yelled. I threatened throwing the new bears away from my room. The husband got back in bed. We laughed. By 3:30 am, everyone was finally asleep. Until 6 am when the whispers started again. Lights were on, the bears were awake. We decided that they'd waited long enough to play with their new creations, so up we were.

Seven months of not sleeping through the night really starts to wear on a girl. But the baby is actually the easy one to get back to sleep. When the other two are thrown into the mix, I'm on the verge of becoming Monster Mom any second. Exhaustion and long runs are actually counter-productive in my mind (or at least that's how I justify skipping a run or two)! So this week, I'm hoping for more sleep, and longer runs. I also hope to make it outside a time or two...running 12-miles on the treadmill wasn't my favorite. I'm all for running outside in the cold, but it has to be at least in the 30's. I'm a California girl, not a fan of cold blustery weather. (And not a fan of the winter process of getting the kids out the door! Summer is so much easier...they can put on their own sandals, we don't need coats, we're out in 5 seconds. Winter-time feels like a 30-minute process just to get out the door and into the freezing car!) Hooray for the early-predicted Spring thanks to Punxsutawney Phil!

I'm excited about this week's schedule...if you're following along, here it is:

MONDAY: INTERVAL--8 to 11 miles, 1-mile-2-mile-1-mile at slightly slower than 10K effort, 4 and 7 minutes recovery

TUESDAY: Distance--5 to 8 miles

WEDNESDAY: Tempo run--6 to 8 miles (running 15-minutes mid-run at marathon tempo)

THURSDAY: Distance-- 4 to 6 miles

FRIDAY: Distance--4 to 6 miles

SATURDAY: Long Distance--14 to 16 miles, steady, easy-paced

Happy running! What are your fitness plans for the week?

14 Days of Valentines!

So I've always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl, so it's no surprise that with TWO HOURS LEFT on February 1st, I would decide to do the 14 Days of Valentines for my husband. I usually use the sorry-but-I-just-didn't-have-time-to-plan-anything-this-year excuse on Valentine's Day as we sit at home eating left-overs, watching the news, and going to bed early because we're (okay...I'm) too tired for romance! Life with or without kids is busy, and I ALWAYS use the kids as an excuse! Take last night for example. When I came back to bed after getting the baby back to sleep for the THIRD time (you people who have babies that sleep through the night before they turn one are my idols), and my husband offered me a "back rub" at 3 am, I really wasn't in the mood to give him any...ahem...attention. But he definitely deserves some! Soooo...I'm totally stealing most of my ideas for the next 14 days from here and here. There's not a lot of time for creativity when I have less than two hours to do the first one! Luckily my husband's gone playing basketball, so he'll think I've been planning this for weeks!

Before getting married, I actually was the type (weren't we all?) to do this sort of thing. I did the 12-days of Christmas when we were dating, and a 30-day countdown to our wedding day (since I was in California and he was in Utah). And yes--I planned that countdown the night before it started as well--all-nighters were so much more fun back then!

I guess that 6 1/2 years later, it's about time to do something romantic and cheesy for my favorite guy! If you want to play along, you have at least a 2-day window to start! The 12 Days of Valentines would be just as cute...

One of the ideas I'm going to borrow in the next 14 days is to send a pizza to work with a pepperoni heart. Sadly, this will probably be his favorite. My husband is a trooper, and rarely complains about my food experiments. This morning, for example, I got up early to make a special breakfast for my second child on her THIRD birthday. When he got up and discovered that the "special breakfast" meant breakfast sandwiches--namely "tofu eggs" and "soy maple tofu sausage" on biscuits, he was a little (okay...a lot) leery. He took his food "to-go," mostly so he could show the guys at work what his crazy wife made for a "birthday breakfast." In my mind, it actually tasted pretty good, but he couldn't get over the fact that it was actually tofu...not sausage OR eggs. So a real honest-to-goodness-cheesy-mouth-watering-greasy-pepperoni pizza (not made with nutritional yeast trying to deliver a cheesy flavor) will speak nothin' but love to my man's heart! And you know what? He's the best thing that has EVER happened to me...so if I must deliver some animal protein to let him know it, that's exactly what I'm going to do! Wish me luck!

What are your fun Valentine's Day traditions?