I know I'll have a "Perfect" Training Cycle - Chicago, 2011

So, I put together a collage of inspiration and I hung it on our living room wall. Why the living room wall? Because it's right to my left and look out the window debating if I want to run or not, I see the poster in my peripheral vision and I'm forced to look at it. When I'm sitting on the couch watching TV and want to snack or just be a couch potato I have it in my peripheral vision.

It's made up of all the things I want to be running and words that inspire me to get out the door. I just hung it up today....

The words on the poster are: "We are all faced with great opportunities disguised as impossible situations", "when you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done", "faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase", The cartoon with the signs reads: "The rest of your life and one direction is Average and the other is Memorable", "Steadfast with a cross", "You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self satisfaction and sense of achievement", "Mile 20: I thought I was dead, Mile 22: I wished I was dead, Mile 24: I knew I was dead, Mile 26.2 I knew I had become too tough to kill"

The picture of the lettuce is from Michael Pollan's, "In Defense of Food" reminding me to eat healthy, 3:40 is a goal time for me, the chick is the body I am working towards.

Great idea with the collage. someone's not messing around.

Kenny B. wrote:Great idea with the collage. someone's not messing around.

Thanks Kenny! Nope, done messing around. I have little demons to battle, but that's fine (that's why I have my steadfast with cross in the collage).

Time to head out for my 5 miler....gotta stretch and foam roll now.

Mrs. Schuey wrote: "Mile 20: I thought I was dead, Mile 22: I wished I was dead, Mile 24: I knew I was dead, Mile 26.2 I knew I had become too tough to kill"

I love that!!!!

Seth Harrison wrote:

Mrs. Schuey wrote: "Mile 20: I thought I was dead, Mile 22: I wished I was dead, Mile 24: I knew I was dead, Mile 26.2 I knew I had become too tough to kill"

I love that!!!!

My wife got me that one on a singlet. And another that says, "Leave me alone, I'm in Taper."

[quote="Mrs. SchueyI have little demons to battle[/quote] We all do - through running we get to kick some of them in the ass!

Mrs. Schuey wrote:Tonight I ran 4 miles with Martin. . . We think it's a combination of both?

Basically what is going on is severe heavy legs. I can't describe it.

We got in 6 miles last night and 4 miles tonight. The paces were, for me, very slow!

Sometimes it's best to grind through it and sometimes it's good to take a day off. Keep grinding (pace doesn't matter) until you know it's time to take a day off.

I will post comments individually to each of the above posters, but I first had to say......

WOOOOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! The BEST run I've had in a long time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had 5 miles to do and I was just hoping to be able to finish it without tired legs. I thought about all of the conversations with my new and old friends on this forum, about Michael Mitchell and how he was struggling with hating running. I thought about Natalie's response to his post. I thought about Kenny and his take on attitude. I always think of my husband, who is such an inspiration to me - Martin I love you!

We headed out for our runs and Martin took off for his and I, mine. Mumford & Sons was playing (GREAT band to run to, by the way). I did not look at pace and just concentrated on getting the run in. Martin (my coach) talked with me and he tried figuring out what could be going on with my runs. He said, "we're throwing out paces for now. Just go out and run". That worked because the pressure was off! I got to mile 2 and the song, Awake My Soul came on and I just "got" it, it just "clicked". My legs felt light and I felt good. I started to run faster and at first I thought, "Ok, hold it back a bit, you still have to get home". Then I told myself, "You got it baby! Go for it! If you feel like you want to open the floodgates, do it!" I did. I just went and it felt good! It felt good to start picturing myself already the runner I want to be. For the first time on a run I didn't think negative thoughts like, "when you get lighter, you'll run faster", "you just can't run that fast yet". I just simply pictured me already at were I want to be.

Thank you all so much for your continued love and inspiration. I thought about all of you during my run tonight and I thank you!

Here are my splits:
1 00:09:16
2 00:08:21
3 00:08:13
4 00:08:11
5 00:08:04

You have to listen to this song, the words and beat are great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2RKb3VNAOo

Mumford & Son - Awake My Soul

How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know
This weakness I feel I must finally show

Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all
But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see
But your soul you must keep, totally free
Har har, har har, har har, har har

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life

Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
You were made to meet your maker

That's it kid you really nailed it tonight. And I'm happy you took my advice on not looking at the watch and just run off feel. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy out there running and putting to much pressure on running x:xx pace. That is why I have always believed to learn to run by feel and forget all the data.

I really think the best approach for you right now is to do that everyday you run. Run by feel let your body and mind decide on what pace you should be running. Trust me if your body needs a recovery run you will run that recovery pace.

I'm so happy for you tonight! You got me when I got home from run and asked you how your run went. You suck for doing that to me!!!

great run!

I like your inspiration board, too.

Hey we have almost identical wt goals, if you have any ideas that are working for you, let me know. Totally do-able but for me, it's getting hard. Probably because my husband says "I'm thinking of snickerdoodles" and 2 minutes later I'm baking.

Julie wrote:great run!

I like your inspiration board, too.

Hey we have almost identical wt goals, if you have any ideas that are working for you, let me know. Totally do-able but for me, it's getting hard. Probably because my husband says "I'm thinking of snickerdoodles" and 2 minutes later I'm baking.

Oh no "snickerdoodles" I didn't know what those were until Lisa made them one night. Oh my those things are so so so so so so good!!!!!

Schuey wrote:

Julie wrote:great run!

I like your inspiration board, too.

Hey we have almost identical wt goals, if you have any ideas that are working for you, let me know. Totally do-able but for me, it's getting hard. Probably because my husband says "I'm thinking of snickerdoodles" and 2 minutes later I'm baking.

Oh no "snickerdoodles" I didn't know what those were until Lisa made them one night. Oh my those things are so so so so so so good!!!!!

too good! Fortunately I sent all the remaining ones with my hubby to work.

Julie wrote:

Schuey wrote:

Julie wrote:great run!

I like your inspiration board, too.

Hey we have almost identical wt goals, if you have any ideas that are working for you, let me know. Totally do-able but for me, it's getting hard. Probably because my husband says "I'm thinking of snickerdoodles" and 2 minutes later I'm baking.

Oh no "snickerdoodles" I didn't know what those were until Lisa made them one night. Oh my those things are so so so so so so good!!!!!

too good! Fortunately I sent all the remaining ones with my hubby to work.

Smart move, Julie! Haha! I snickerdoodles! Especially when they first come out of the oven.....YUMMMY!!!!!

You and I are a lot alike! Between the running, wanting to lose weight, having darn near the same weight goals and our love of cookies! I was going to ask you what works for you as well. For me, I started keeping track of the foods I eat on FitClick.com and you can also generate workouts there too. It's a happy medium between FitDay (used to use that) and Sparkpeople.com. Have you checked out the articles on Sparkpeople? It's a great site and you should if you haven't!

We should trade recipes and stuff, that could help us reach our goal. I think between the running, these new great forums, the weight loss challenge and holding each other accountable, we'll get to our goal. I'm happy I've made a new friend in you!

Good to see you had a great run today Lisa! Keep it rollin'!

The inspiration board is great and I'm also a big fan of the mile 20, mile 22 etc one!

Now, I'm no expert on weight loss, but I am about 20-25 lbs lighter than when I started running again. One of the things that helped me a lot was just making sure I had something filling/healthy for breakfast. I got into a habit of having oatmeal or Eggo waffles (the whole grain ones) most mornings and that kind of alleviated the morning cravings and got me off to a good start every day.

mul21 wrote:Good to see you had a great run today Lisa! Keep it rollin'!

The inspiration board is great and I'm also a big fan of the mile 20, mile 22 etc one!

Now, I'm no expert on weight loss, but I am about 20-25 lbs lighter than when I started running again. One of the things that helped me a lot was just making sure I had something filling/healthy for breakfast. I got into a habit of having oatmeal or Eggo waffles (the whole grain ones) most mornings and that kind of alleviated the morning cravings and got me off to a good start every day.

Thanks Jim! Yeah, that 20 mile, 22 etc. one stood out to me...just had to add it to it. I figured I'd put the inspiration board next to the couch so that it's always there in my face to remind me. If I had it in the room, I'd see it first thing in the morning and before I go to sleep. This way, it's constantly in my face.

I like the tip for eating oatmeal and waffles. I've noticed, too, that now that I've started eating a better breakfast that I stay satiated for longer. I did away with my morning snack and have lunch, afternoon snack and then dinner. Last Friday I weighed in at 147.6, but this time of the month I gained a few pounds of water weight. We'll see where I'm at this Friday.

Looking forward to following your training and seeing you in Chicago!

I must confess...I love this multi-quote thing!!

Seth Harrison wrote:

Mrs. Schuey wrote: "Mile 20: I thought I was dead, Mile 22: I wished I was dead, Mile 24: I knew I was dead, Mile 26.2 I knew I had become too tough to kill"

I love that!!!!

Tom H wrote:

Seth Harrison wrote:

Mrs. Schuey wrote: "Mile 20: I thought I was dead, Mile 22: I wished I was dead, Mile 24: I knew I was dead, Mile 26.2 I knew I had become too tough to kill"

I love that!!!!

My wife got me that one on a singlet. And another that says, "Leave me alone, I'm in Taper."

I would love that on a shirt...will have to get one! I also like the "leave me alone, I'm in Taper"...

John Kilpatrick wrote:[quote="Mrs. SchueyI have little demons to battle

We all do - through running we get to kick some of them in the ass![/quote]
That was such a powerful and cool comment, John! I really thank you for it. Really, the next time I'm out there and one of those blasted demons pops up, I'll remember what you said and picture kicking it's ass. Thanks for that post!

Dave Wolfe wrote:

Mrs. Schuey wrote:Tonight I ran 4 miles with Martin. . . We think it's a combination of both?

Basically what is going on is severe heavy legs. I can't describe it.

We got in 6 miles last night and 4 miles tonight. The paces were, for me, very slow!

Sometimes it's best to grind through it and sometimes it's good to take a day off. Keep grinding (pace doesn't matter) until you know it's time to take a day off.

You know, you're right. I sometimes a lot of times forget to just keep grinding. I have a tendency of getting too wrapped up in pace. I think my run went as well as it did tonight by not worrying about pace and just putting in the miles. I like that style of training...at least until I get to the point where I can balance maintaining pace and mileage at the same time.

Don't you just love it when a run clicks? Great job Lisa. I love the inspiration board and where you put it. I hope it's a springboard to a great training cycle and bigger things in the future.

Matt W wrote:
Don't you just love it when a run clicks? Great job Lisa. I love the inspiration board and where you put it. I hope it's a springboard to a great training cycle and bigger things in the future.

With the support from you and so many others here, it's hard to not want to give it my all. I'm glad you like the inspiration board....here's to a good cycle.

Ok...time for bed. We're getting up early to catch a run with Vivian!! Should be fun!

Mrs. Schuey wrote:

Matt W wrote:
Don't you just love it when a run clicks? Great job Lisa. I love the inspiration board and where you put it. I hope it's a springboard to a great training cycle and bigger things in the future.

With the support from you and so many others here, it's hard to not want to give it my all. I'm glad you like the inspiration board....here's to a good cycle.

Ok...time for bed. We're getting up early to catch a run with Vivian!! Should be fun!

Going to bed? I thought you guys stay up to post until 1 AM.

Matt W wrote:

Mrs. Schuey wrote:

Matt W wrote:
Don't you just love it when a run clicks? Great job Lisa. I love the inspiration board and where you put it. I hope it's a springboard to a great training cycle and bigger things in the future.

With the support from you and so many others here, it's hard to not want to give it my all. I'm glad you like the inspiration board....here's to a good cycle.

Ok...time for bed. We're getting up early to catch a run with Vivian!! Should be fun!

Going to bed? I thought you guys stay up to post until 1 AM.

Not tonight since we made plans today to run with Vivian. 6am run, I can't remember the last time I ran that early in the morning. Should be interesting

Glad to have made a new friend as well!

What usually works for me is when I pre-plan my day and write down what I plan to eat but put enough food in it so I'm not starving by afternoon. I weighed 144 most of last year and I think January's not running really was the biggest factor in gaining, although you'd think 4 mos now of running more I would have lost it...a big problem for me is that I run so I figure I should eat plenty, and I do need to eat to fuel my runs but I must go overboard or I wouldn't be stuck.

I think my daughter messed up my scale's calibration. She likes stepping on it so she can look into the laundry hamper...so today I weighed myself and then moved the scale and lost a lb and then moved it back and gained 2 lbs. Whatever....I still need to lose wt regardless.

Have a good run!! 17 miles is my goal this morning if I can wake up.

Julie wrote:Glad to have made a new friend as well!

What usually works for me is when I pre-plan my day and write down what I plan to eat but put enough food in it so I'm not starving by afternoon. I weighed 144 most of last year and I think January's not running really was the biggest factor in gaining, although you'd think 4 mos now of running more I would have lost it...a big problem for me is that I run so I figure I should eat plenty, and I do need to eat to fuel my runs but I must go overboard or I wouldn't be stuck.

I think my daughter messed up my scale's calibration. She likes stepping on it so she can look into the laundry hamper...so today I weighed myself and then moved the scale and lost a lb and then moved it back and gained 2 lbs. Whatever....I still need to lose wt regardless.

Have a good run!! 17 miles is my goal this morning if I can wake up.

Good morning Julie!!!!! I love the statement about your daughter, that has to be one of the cutest things I've heard of.

I like your idea of putting enough food into the plan to make sure you're not starving, that's something I will have to try. I tend to snack and that's my downfall. However, I also tend to think that because I run I can eat a lot.....hmm...it's finding that balance, you know? It's finding that balance between eating enough to fuel the run and not eating too much that you gain. That's what I'm trying to do.

17 miles! You go girl, you got it! I can't wait to hear about how great it goes!! I'm trying to wake up right now as well...I just had a plain bagel toasted with peanut butter on it and am drinking some coffee. Martin and I are meeting Vivian from the iTeam for a run at 6. I have 13 miles this morning to do, so that should be fun.

Well, it will make getting out the door and getting the run done knowing you're out there logging miles early this am as well!! Have fun!!!!

Are you addicted to multi-posting I know a good 12 step program for that! Here is to a healthy solid successful upcoming week for you with running!

Fingers crossed for two killer runs in a row! I've noticed the same thing about throwing away the Garmin. Okay, not literally, since I need my POST-run data, but during the run, I don't even look at my wrist unless it's a pace/tempo run at this point. Sometimes I average 7:20s and it's easy. Sometimes I average 8:10s at the same effort. Either way, I enjoy both of those paces a hell of a lot more than when I used to worry about them (too fast? too slow?).

Kenny B. wrote:Are you addicted to multi-posting I know a good 12 step program for that! Here is to a healthy solid successful upcoming week for you with running!

Haha! I am ABSOLUTELY addicted to the multi-posting! Seriously the greatest invention since sliced bread. I love the fact that I don't have to quote, copy, reply, paste, copy, quote, reply, paste.............ugh. I also love how you can go back and edit after 30 minutes, nice feature!

Thanks for the well wishes on my upcoming week of running. I ended this week on a good note I'll be posting my run soon!

Mike MacLellan wrote:Fingers crossed for two killer runs in a row! I've noticed the same thing about throwing away the Garmin. Okay, not literally, since I need my POST-run data, but during the run, I don't even look at my wrist unless it's a pace/tempo run at this point. Sometimes I average 7:20s and it's easy. Sometimes I average 8:10s at the same effort. Either way, I enjoy both of those paces a hell of a lot more than when I used to worry about them (too fast? too slow?).

I think that's the key right now, to be honest with you. The minute I started running without worrying about pace, like you said, too fast? too slow?, the pressure was off. Like you, I know there will be days were the paces will differ, but I will enjoy the run nonetheless because I'm not focusing on speeding up to hit a target pace when my legs just can't move. When that happens, I start to beat myself up mentally and I shut down. I run much better relaxed....there will come a day that I need to look at paces during speed workouts and such, but on a general run, I'm going off of feel.