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Tag Archives: workouts

Training: Another Week Down…

August 13, 2018 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Training: Another Week Down…

August has continued the trend of boring running.  It seems the weeks are going by quicker and I’m just moving along. The first two weeks have been busy with life and I know the second two will be similar, but that’s okay!  You can’t be full out training all of the time.

Many people have asked, but I haven’t picked out any goal races for the fall and won’t until mid-September.  Yes, later than probably appropriate but that is really my only option right now.  I know I have a decent base that I’m nowhere near “starting from scratch” training for a new race.  Until then, I’ll just keep cranking away at mileage.

Monday: Easy 60 minutes
Tuesday: Easy 45 minutes + 5 mile hike
Wednesday: 12X400s averaging 6:01
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 45 minute run+3 mile rainy hike
Saturday: 60 minutes easy
Sunday: 15 miles with last 7 averaging 7:03

My easy runs were just that, easy.  I say that every week but for the most part, there isn’t anything thrilling about them.  I don’t use a Garmin for pace, I either use a route I know the mileage (IE this is 5 miles) or just use a start/stopwatch for 45 minutes (or whatever).  I could go 8-minute miles…or 10…but the world will never know, including me.

I did quite a bit of hiking this week as well.  On Tuesday, I had only meant to go about 20-30 minutes in a new park but got lost and ended up going 5 miles.  As I said on Instagram, it was my own fault because I chose to “trust my gut” versus look at the park map.

Then on Friday, I needed to be up near Allentown.  I arrived with a few hour hours to spare (mostly to avoid rush hour Philadelphia traffic) and so I decided to do a short hike in Hickory Run Park.  It started downpouring quickly into the hike, so it was nothing but an adventure.  It was fun, and I look forward to going back when it’s not pouring rain and flooded out.

Wednesday: 12X400s at 6:01 pace with 400 rest

I do my workouts on the roads since that is where I race.  To be honest, I felt much better than I anticipated.  That workout went much better than I thought and I have zero complaints.

Sunday: 15 miles with last 7 at 7:03

As I mentioned on Instagram, long runs have become one of my more favorite runs.  I enjoy getting out there and having a short workout in them.  My favorite are fast finishes, and I try and do the second half faster than the first.  It gives me something to “look forward too” as well as keep it interesting.  Sunday’s pace surprised me.  It was humid in the northeast and the due point high, so I wasn’t expecting to be able to work into some sub 7-minute miles.

Thoughts:

In all, I’m happy with the week.  My summer has been awesome regarding life.  It has been uneventful regarding running.  Yes, I’m running, but I’m not actively training for anything.

Posts from the Week:

 Top Benefits of Collagen

Factors You Never Knew That Play a Role in Your Running Shoes

New Balance 1080v8 Shoe Review

Questions for you:

Are you training for anything?

Do you have a fall goal race picked out?

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Training Log: Rest and Cranking Away

August 6, 2018 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments
Training Log: Rest and Cranking Away

Another week of summer training in the books.  As I mentioned in my July training log, August would be busy.  Last week proved that to me already.  I’m not complaining but it’s meant putting other things in front of running including sleep.   Like the week prior, I only meant for 1 rest day but ended with 2 as well as missing both a workout and race.  I ended with a solid long run so ending on a high note is always nice.

Since August is a low key month in regards to training, it’s not a big deal to miss runs.  I don’t want to start missing every run, but 1 or 2 a week is not a problem.  While I was sad to miss both a race and workout, the weather on Saturday was thunderstorming and pouring rain, so it wouldn’t have made for a fun race anyway!

So where to start?

Monday: Easy 45 minutes
Tuesday: Easy 60 minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Easy 60 minutes
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 15-mile run with 2X5k at 7:11

My easy runs were just that, easy.  I say that every week but for the most part, there isn’t anything thrilling about them.  It seems repetitive but easy miles are there to build a base. I wanted to race on Saturday but something popped up in the morning which made it impossible.  I could have squeezed a run in, but I didn’t feel like it between the weather and exhaustion.

Sunday:

I ran a 15 mile long run with 2X5k at 7:11 pace.  I personally like to add some of speed into my longer runs because they can get “boring”.  Some weeks I go with a faster finish but this week I decided to do a workout.  The workout itself is around a marathon pace versus half but I have no complaint of effort.  It was a feel like temp of 93 and dewpoint of 71.

Other then that, not a lot going on.  The next two weeks will be busy in life as well as work.  I’ll still log summer miles and hopefully workouts.  I’m looking at a few fall races as well.

Thoughts:

As someone who blogs about running, it can be difficult to talk about just down weeks or even months.  That is what the summer has been for me.  I don’t “need” to be training for anything right now.  There are just periods of time where you’re healthy and living life, but not training for anything.  That’s where I’m at right now.

Posts from the Week:

July Training Recap

Under Armour Sonic HOVR Shoe Review

200 Diner Review Recap

Training: Rest and a 5k

June 18, 2018 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , 3 Comments
Training: Rest and a 5k

Last week I took Saturday through Thursday off.  It was the best thing I did for myself.  My body needed a longer break.  As I get back to building into running, I’ll slowly build mileage.  Last weeks rest was important, but not jumping back into higher mileage is just as important.

Not much to say about not running right?  You don’t run, and life goes on.   The rest was great, and it allowed me to recharge both mentally and physically.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Easy 30 minute walk at Maurice River
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Easy 30 minutes
Saturday: Easy 30 minutes
Sunday: Fathers Day 5k (20:06)

Friday and Saturday were just easy runs.  There wasn’t anything too exciting about it.

Fathers Day 5k:

On Sunday, my husband asked if I wanted to run a 5k.  I said not really, but we still went.  He hasn’t been running a lot either but wants to get back into shape. The race benefited a charity associated with prostate cancer.  Unfortunately, we’ve known a few people with this.

I knew it wouldn’t be a fast time for me, but I decided to run and see where I’m at.  The last time I raced a 5k was nearly 2 months ago and the last time I considered myself actively training was around Broad Street.  It was definitely hot, but I’m happy with my race.

Posts of the Week:

Why You Don’t See Many Negative Sponsored Posts

Rest is Best

Saving Time Shopping for Essentials

Next week, I’ll continue easing back into running.  I would like to race most weekends, with minimal expectations to get some speed back.

Questions for you:

How was your week?

Do you like taking breaks from running?

Rest is Best

June 14, 2018 By in Running, Running Reads, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , 8 Comments
Rest is Best

Telling someone to rest is a lot easier than doing it yourself.  Telling someone to do ANYTHING is easier said than done.

Throughout my blogging journey, many people have emailed or asked my thoughts on topics including running, life, and you guessed it: rest.  If there is ever a question of should, I give my honest advice to rest and see how you feel.  If you are injured with a bone-related injury, always rest.  If you injured with a muscular related injury, sometime rest will help but sometimes it won’t.  Rest will never hurt you, and missing an individual run or even a week is nothing in the long scheme of things.

running Rest is Best

Anyway, I’m not a coach or doctor, so giving medical or training advice is not what this post is about.  I’m just a woman telling people to rest including myself.

In my training recap on Monday, I talked about my personal needs and why rest was best for me right now.  I’m often out of my house for 12+ hours a day.  That isn’t the whole day, and many people are out of their house longer.  I wish I could squeeze running in, but I would be more tired and more exhausted. Realistically, there wasn’t a point.  It was better for me to take a few days off, get quality sleep, focus on things currently going on, and regroup from there.

So this week, that is precisely what I did.  I definitely feel much better because of it.  I do think I might do a short run tomorrow and see how I feel.

Here are a Few Important Reasons to Rest:

Refocus Goals:

Right now I have no idea what I want to train for. Do I want to train for another marathon? How about a 5k PR? Maybe even try and better my half marathon PR? I have no clue.

Sometimes you just need to take time off regardless of whether you reached your goal or not.  With training, you put your body through a tough period.  It doesn’t matter if your body ends up in a PR or not, you still put yourself through tough training. Taking time off allows you to reflect, and think about what you want in the future.

Emotional Break:

As hard as it can be to admit this, running and training can be exhausting.  For me, running has never been a therapy of any kind.  It is never been my way to “escape the world”.  Training for a goal race can be exhausting.  I need time away from the sport to fall in love with it again, and I think we all do.

While it has only been a few days, I have already felt fonder of the sport again.  Today, Thursday, I want to run.  Last Thursday, I had no interest and even loathed the idea of running.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder:

For me, I like to crave running again.  I want to feel like I want to run!  Along the same lines of mental recovery, it’s important to want to run.  If you don’t start running again feeling “refreshed,” you’ll end up in a burn out longer and faster.

Recovery:

If you don’t allow your body time to recover from training stress, you will continue to feel worn down and it will take you longer to recover from runs (I began to feel this).

Injury:

As one of the most injury prone people out there, I’ve learned I do need extra rest and recovery. If you are not able to recover, your body will be more susceptible to injury. It is better to take a few days or week off early, than several months off with a serious injury.  I’m not injured now, but there have been a few times I should have rested to keep a minor injury from becoming serious.

Healing Small Aches and Pains:

Sometimes you have small aches and pains that you don’t realize you have.  An amount of time off, allows your body to heal.  Running every other day or every few days doesn’t let your body to heal as quickly.  By taking time off, your body will use more energy to recover versus recovering from daily runs as well as small aches and pains.

I never regret my running breaks.  This one will be short, but I’m getting to the point my legs and mind feel like they “want to run.”  Plus hopefully next week my schedule is a bit more forgiving to add it into my schedule.

Questions for you:

Do you take a break every year?

What are you currently training for?

Cape May 10k (41:07)

May 15, 2018 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , 10 Comments
Cape May 10k (41:07)

A 41:07 is a great 10k time, but it’s not a great 10k time for me.  In fact, I ran a 38:13 10k during the April Fools Half Marathon and ran almost 20 seconds per faster in the Broad Street 10 miler last weekend.  Not great races come with the territory and not every race is going to be “the best ever”.  I wouldn’t use the term bad because I started and finished injury free. A race I left inured, I would call bad.

Anyway, my husband and I left the house around 5:30 am on Saturday.  When we left, it was a torrential downpour.  The roads were flooded, and it looked like it would be one of the most challenging races ever.

Last year, a storm had passed through during the race, and it was so unseasonable the weather channel was down filming Cape May.  I knew there was very little that would cancel the race.

As we were driving down, the weather cleared up.  It was extremely windy along the shore but at least not raining.

We got to the race around 7, signed up and went on a short warmup.  I saw a few people I knew got to the start, and by the time I knew it, we were off.  The 5k and 10k went off together.  During the first mile, I knew I didn’t feel good.

It wasn’t the feeling where things would get better.  I didn’t feel good, and I knew I wouldn’t during the entire race. I was more tired and sore then I had been all week.  I knew the next few miles were not going to be fun and spoiler: they weren’t!

I hit the first mile in 6:18 but I knew we had a tailwind.  I didn’t know much about the course, but since it went along the shore, I assumed it would be windy. I ran the second mile alone and it was into the headwind.  I heard my watch beep and I looked down to a 6:46.  At that point, I knew there was no point in stressing about time, and I just needed to get through the race.

We ran into a straight headwind for the third mile.  I was running alone and into 35 mph headwind.  It felt magnified since we were right along the water.  I hit mile 3 in 6:58.  It was slower than most, if not all, of my half marathon miles in 2018.

After reaching the halfway point, I told myself “just a 5k left”.  We turned around mile 4 and headed back towards the start.  This time we had a tailwind for a mile, and I ran a 6:36.  I should tell you I felt magically better, but I felt no different than when I ran the first half of the race.

Around mile 5, the bottom of my feet started to burn.  It is a sensation I haven’t had in a very long time and typically happens with trainers, not flats.  I couldn’t figure it out.  I told myself, if it gets worse you will stop and NGAF that you “had a mile to go”.

The final mile went along the boardwalk.  My feet hurt, but they weren’t getting worse.   Around mile 5.5, you could see the finish, and I just wanted to be done.  My friend and local, Grace, passed me around 5.5 like I was standing still.  It was the only person I ran “with” for the last 5 miles.

I crossed the finish in 41:07.  On a “bad day,” I had wanted to run around 40 minutes, but I didn’t meet that goal.  The minute I stopped, my feet hurt.

A lot.

It wasn’t a bone or tendon hurt, but the bottom of my feet just burned.  I had to sit down for a second.  I quickly took off my shoes only to realize I never put on my racing flats.  I had worn a pair of trainers that had 500 miles on them.  I remember putting them in the donation pile at home, but I had taken them out to “wear casually”.  No wonder my feet hurt.  I had essentially run with no cushion on the pavement for 6.2 miles.

Ultimately from wearing the wrong shoes, I lost both of my middle toenails.  I’m embarrassed it happened, but oh well.  With or without my racing shoes, it wasn’t my day.  I wasn’t feeling great and it was also windy. I’m not happy with my time, but I’m happy I’m healthy.  Not every race will be your best. I’m not devastated because it’s unhealthy to think you’ll feel perfect every day.

Questions for you:

What is your favorite racing shoe?

For 10ks I like the Saucony Type A.

Do you like the 10k?  What are some 10k tips you have?

April Training: Snow to 90

May 4, 2018 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , , 5 Comments
April Training: Snow to 90

It’s hard to believe another month has gone by.  April wasn’t my best, or even second best month of the year, but it was a lot better than last April.

I had two goals for April and I met both of them:

  1. Finish the April Fools Half (mentally) healthy
  2. Not Burn out in April like 2017

So while I didn’t log any extremely fast times or workouts, I also didn’t burn out and that is far ahead of where I was last year.

me april fools half marathon atlantic city running

Miles Run: Around 200
Rest Days: 6
Range of Paces: 5:49-10:32-untimed
Workouts: 7
Races:
April Fools Half (1:26.08)
Making Strides 5k (19:08)

Thoughts:

As I mentioned, nothing was exceptionally fast and I’m okay with that!  I’m running healthy and that is what matters.  As most people know, I took a nasty fall during the April Fools Half (I collided with a spectator cutting across the course).  I got an X-ray to confirm I didn’t break anything but it took about 2 weeks to feel good again.  It actually hurt the most while sitting.  Luckily by the end of the month, I felt much better.

It’s funny to look back at photos and realize there was a lot going on, weather wise.  In the beginning of the month we had snow and we ended with 90 degrees!

It’s fine, it will melt this weekend.

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on

In May, I’ll be traveling a lot.  It’s going to be a busy but fun month.  My goal for the summer months is just enjoying running.  This summer, I would like to get to local tracks more since students won’t be in school.  After Broad Street on Sunday, I don’t have any big goal races of the summer.

Posts from the Month:

Running:

Last Minute Broad Street Tips
Benefits of Massages for Runners
ON Cloud Shoe Review
Rest Weeks Save Training Cycles

Hiking:

Exploring Turkey Swamp Park
What I Pack in My Hiking Bag

Blogging:

Blogging is Dying

Blossom like a Cherry Blossom.

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on

Questions for you: How was your month of training?  What are your plans this summer?

Training: Small Issues along the Way

April 30, 2018 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , 10 Comments
Training: Small Issues along the Way

Last week was the week from hell. I’ve had a lot going on, but on a personal level all of these things happened over the previous two weeks:

  • I’ve fallen on my tailbone and bruised it which takes up to four weeks to heal
  • I’ve had two corneal abrasions
  • I cut my finger open cutting beets and nearly had to go to the ER
  • I had a migraine bad enough I had aura and also puked

By themselves, none of these are “all that bad” but having them happen over the course of two weeks have been…something.  Luckily, this weekend I was able to take time for myself, and that seemed to help.

Monday: Easy 60 minute run
Tuesday: 5 mile walk around Turkey Swamp Park
Wednesday: 4X1 miles at 6:15 pace
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 60-minute run
Saturday: Making Strides 5k (19:08)
Sunday: 12 Mile Long Run fast finish

Thoughts:

My easy runs were just that, easy.  I don’t care about pace, and it’s not a race.

Wednesday: 4X1 mile average 6:15 with 90 seconds rest

I didn’t feel great during my workout but not awful either. I’ve been trying to get back to being consistent which is easier said than done.  I’ve been doing my workouts on roads which I like better because I typically race on roads.

Saturday: Making Strides 5k (19:08) 5:49, 6:08, 6:13

The goal of the race was to see how my tailbone would handle a race environment and in flats.  With Broad Street next weekend, I didn’t want to jump in a 10-mile race, only to realize by a quarter of a mile my tailbone wasn’t happy.  It hasn’t hurt during workouts, but that isn’t the race setting.

I’m happy to report my tailbone didn’t bother me at all during the race and has progressively gotten better in the last 48 hours (the first two weeks, it felt achy all of the time and the most when I sat).  I don’t want to jinx myself though!

The race itself was a mix of cross country grass, road, and even track.  I’ll have a full recap this week, but I ran most of the race alone.  While the time itself is not “fast” right now for me, I am proud of it for the terrain.  I got everything I wanted out of the race.

Sunday Long Run:

Over the past few months, I’ve been doing faster finish runs.  On Sunday, I attempted to my longest run since the April Fools Half.  It went well and my last half averaged around 7:03 pace.  My tailbone felt normal and it gave me confidence that I’ll be able to run Broad Street next weekend.

Posts of the Week:

Exploring Turkey Swamp Park

Blogging is Dying 

Questions for you:

Have you ever had “one of those weeks”?

Do you prefer road races, track, or trail?

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