REcharge your battery with some exercise and a raw diet.

It's summer time so much fun and excitement, but we are tired, burnt out from chasing kids or just the hot sun, whatever it may be.  If you are craving just anything to give you more energy and that little extra boost, stay tuned.  My good friend Wendi has a plan and I bet it will only leave you wanting more.  We are going to post a 45 runnning schedule to get you feeling fit and the best diet ever!!!  Guaranteed to put you back in your skinny jeans and have you feeling 10 years younger.  You have to want this, but what at first might feel like work will turn into a welcome part of your day.  I'm so pumped and I know you will be too if you give this a try.  Come on what do you have to lose?

Saturday (that's tomorrow) Group Run

Ok my racing chicks, tomorrow 8am meet at Sandridge Park, we are going to run/walk seven miles.  Everyone is welcome, can't wait to see my ladies there.  Go, fight, win!

My apologies...

...to my friend Marie.  I haven't updated the blog, as you can see, and she kindly pointed it out.  I have been a complete blog slacker so here we go, only six more weeks until we run the Ogden Marathon relay, that is coming fast.  Next year we are going for the full marathon (I might wimp out and do a half) so this should be a good start for us. 

Here is our training schedule for this week;

Monday~Run 20 to 30 minutes in Zone 2 (see prior post for zone explanation)
Tuesday~Run 40 to 50 minutes in Zone 2
Wednesday~Run 30 to 40 minutes in Zone 2
Thursday~Run 35 to 45 minutes in Zone 3
Friday~Rest or Crosstrain (remember low impact, especially with this heavy running week)
Saturday~Run 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes in Zone 2 (group run/walk for those who want to come)

"Zones"

Here is what I will be referring to as far as zone intensity for the weeks to come;

• Zone 1 is what I like to call "Tra~la~la", meaning a pace at which you can jog and sing at the same time.  This is your recovery pace, you can always come back to this point if you need a break. 
• Zone 2 is our "Chatty" pace, it is comfortable and you can carry on a conversation, but if you are still singing then you're not pushing hard enough for this zone.  If you hit the target on these runs you will be successfully building up your aerobic capacity. 
• Zone 3 is our "Kung Fu" pace in which we can only manage choppy sentences.  The goal in this zone is to push moderately hard, but sustain the pace for a long period of time.

As you add minutes and reach your target zone, the Racing possibilites are endless Divas!!!

9 Weeks and Counting

• Sunday~Rest~Recharge Mind and Body
• Monday~Run/walk for 20 to 30 minutes (Zone 1)
• Tuesday~Run/walk for 20 to 30 minutes (Zone 1-2)
• Wednesday~Rest
• Thursday~Run/walk 20 to 30 minutes (Zone 1-2)
• Friday~Rest or Cross Train
• Saturday~Run/walk 30 to 40 minutes (Zone 1-2)

See "Zones" post for the explanation on intensity.  Don't forget to tell us how it's going, log your miles here and tell us how you feel.  Happy racing!

Blog Slacker

Ok between sick kids and just plain laziness I've been failing my Racing Divas and for that I am sorry.  I did plan out a training schedule for the next 9 weeks leading up to our Ogden Marathon Relay, woohoo!  I will share this schedule on a weekly basis so I don't get lost trying to keep up with it daily.  Even if you aren't part of the relay team or are unable to join us for group runs, you can still follow the schedule and let us know how you're doing.  I think you all rock!

~Day 29

It's time for a new training calendar.  I know that everyone has had a rough couple of weeks so I'm taking a poll.  Tell me if you want me to continue adding minutes or do a repetition of the last two weeks training.  Today I ran to Cafe Rio (I know it sounds counterproductive), it is 3 miles from my house and I made it in about 40 minutes jogging for the most part.  It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to make that same run in 30 minutes or less.  

~Day 28

Our favorite, rest day! 

~Day 27

Group run was a single run for me on Saturday, but that's okay I understand things happen.  I ran just over a mile without stopping, after not running for the last two weeks I was happy with that. 

~Day 26

Our run is shorter for today, just 20 to 30 minutes since we have a long group run tomorrow of 60 minutes, who's up for it?  With two weeks away from the gym, it sounds like a long time, let's see how it goes :)  Plan to meet at Sandridge Park if the weather is nice, otherwise we may go run the track at the awesome Gold's Gym in Ogden (I wish is was in Layton, our Gold's sucks in comparison). 

~Day 25 and Relay Team Update

Another crosstraining day for tomorrow, don't you love it :o)  Get in 30 to 60 minutes for the day to keep building that superwoman strength. 

I am no longer looking for runners for the Ogden Marathon relay, but we will be doing other races, a 5K or two and maybe the Bear Lake half marathon, this summer so there is plenty o' fun to be had.  I have two "mights" for the last spot so I will figure that out and then we will get the pace plan in place.

~Day 24, Run, run, run

For 40 minutes today if you can, this relay is going to sneak up on us ladies ;o)

~Day 23

I put a change up in the schedule this week making today a cardio day.  Get in 30 to 60 minutes if you can, any crosstraining you want to do that's easy on those joints.  The sun is shining today so that's a good thing.  My trial gym membership is up so that's the bad thing.  Gotta figure out what to do, I have not been training like I need to with all my family stuff going on, but I have until May, right?  Ha, ha...  As you may have seen my BFF Megs has joined our Marathon team, you'll love her, she's amazing.  Also, just saw on FB that Wendi is in and I think I can hook Kresta too, but she said she'll see if anyone else wants to first.  It's going to be the best relay team ever I think :o)

Ogden Marathon Relay Team

Woohoo!  We officially have a team for the Ogden Marathon relay.  I am looking to make that a team of 5, who's in?  We will divide the cost by 5, I might look into fundraising ;o) and of course the race is divided into 5 legs of varying lengths and difficulty.  Leg 1 is 7 miles, Leg 2 is 6.1 miles, Legs 3 and 4 are 5 miles each, and Leg 5 is 3.1 miles (reserved for any sprinters among us).  As members of the team we can continue running beyond our leg, but we only one the front person to cross the finish line (others will be bussed out).  Ogden Marathon is set for May 21, 2011.  This is going to be a lot of fun ladies and gents, I'm so excited!!!

~Day 22

Another Monday, another fun run day, 30 minutes to be exact.  Try for 3 miles in 30 minutes, that would be a 10 minute pace.  I'm not there yet, but if you are you're awesome, and if you're not you're still awesome!  I found out today that the Ogden Marathon charged my credit card $261.75, (the cost of a relay team registration fee).  I'm trying to figure out if we are indeed registered because it shows our team name, but I don't see anywhere that I am registered for it.  I think I can get a refund unless people want to go for it, then I will fight to keep our spot, after all I paid for it so they should let us in.  For the relay if we have 5 people on the team, each person would run 6 to 7 miles, but the awesome thing is we can run longer if we want to.  The last person on the team to cross the finish line gives us our team time.  Let me know ASAP!

Day 20 and RESTful 21

Thanks to Marie for keeping us posted on her progress, I hope everyone else is getting some runs in.  Our group run was snowed out this morning, but hopefully this snow will go away and we will not be interrupted anymore~  I'm hoping to kick it into turbo gear next week, getting really excited for some of these spring and summer races.  We need to start signing up since they fill up fast, it's gonna be fun.

Day 18 and 19

Today was a run/walk of 40 minutes, I apologize for posting this late.  After 48 hours on only three hours of sleep, I'm a little tired and not sure when I can pick up running daily.  I hope to still make it Saturday for the group run, my Grandma is in serious condition in the hospital and I stayed with her last night.  Hoping for good sleep tonight, but I shouldn't be up so late.  I hope everyone is having awesome runs, let us know how you're doing. 

For Day 19, pump up the jam with some cardio for 30 to 60 minutes.  You're all great!!!

Day 17

Day 17 is a rest day or light cross training day, meaning 30 minutes of nonimpact cardio.  Don't forget to add strength training two days a week.  Today would be a good day for that since the cardio minutes are less.

Days 14, 15, 16

Sorry for the blog slacking, some of you have a written schedule so I get a little relaxed on this posting thing.  For those of you who don't have the schedule or are doing this at your own pace, here are the assignments for the past 3 days.

Day 14~Rest
Day 15~Run/walk for 30 minutes
Day 16~Run/walk for 30 to 40 minutes

Update on Ogden Relay

I tried to sign up without talking to everyone because I know how fast it fills up and I was surprised it said there were still spots available.  It let me sign up and I went through everything, even gave them my credit card, and then it cancelled my order....so, scratch that.  There are still 5K and Kids K spots open, well that's what it says any way :o)

~Day 13

Eva and I had a fun "group run" at the park today, I hope that everyone who planned on coming knew we switched it back to Sandridge Park.  We will keep it at this location until we get bored or nicer weather entices us to venture out somewhere else.  I just looked at the Ogden Marathon that has been full for months because I wanted to see about putting my kids in the "Kids K" and it looks like we could still sign up as a relay team.  It would allow 2 to 5 people to run in relay format for as much or as little as you feel you can run, it is broken up into five legs.  I think it would be awesome, but we probably need to do it right away, any thoughts?  We can do a fundraiser for the $250 or divide it by the number who participate.  I'm tempted just to sign up and recruit people to join me, but I would like to know if anyone is at all interested.

~Day 12

Let's go for at least 30 minutes of non-impact cardio for Day 12 up to 60 minutes if you feel super duper (resting is optional, but we've had plenty of rest this week, right?).  In case my Friday gets hectic and I don't post tomorrow, we have our group run scheduled for Saturday the 19th at 8am.  Meet in the Layton High parking lot (the one closest to the park by the L), for those of us that live close and want to, let's carpool.  You go girls!

~Day 11

For Thursday, we are going to run/walk for the full 30 minutes, push to the end even if you have to walk for a length of time.  It will feel great and it's good practice for the group run, yeehaa!!!  Come tell us how you're doing, let's stay motivated and keep going.  Post your thoughts on where to sign up for our first 5K.

~Day 10

This was our scheduled rest or crosstraining day, 30 to 60 minutes for added cardio strength.  The more you exercise the easier it becomes and the better you feel.  I know from experience because I haven't made it to the gym a single day this week.  I am going to finish strong though and gear up for our Saturday group run, hooray!

~Day 9

Today is another run/walk day and we are going for at least 20 minutes, but pushing for 30 if you have it in you (I know you do).  Some of you have been switching your Tuesday and Wednesday task and that is totally fine.  We are just trying to build our weekly mileage and endurance slowly and as long as you get those minutes in you're doing awesome.  For this week try for 6 minutes of easy jogging alternated with 3 minutes of a recovery walk for the allotted time.  Let me know if you need anything and enjoy this beautiful spring weather while we have it.

Day 7 Rest, Day 8

I hope you all enjoyed your day of rest on Day 7 after our park walk/jog.  If you didn't make it, the weather was beautiful and it was a lot of fun.  If we can learn to pace ourselves like Julie, we will be on fire come race day.  The rest on Day 7 was so lovely that I ended up taking one yesterday...oops!  But for the rest of you amazing divas I hope you remembered your 20 minute run/walk for Day 8 (I'm sure you did since you're all so awesome). 

Day 6~ FIRST GROUP RUN

Meet at Sandridge Park (on the top of Church street in Layton) at 8am, tomorrow, February 12th for our first ever "Racing Divas" group run/walk.  Come in your most "love"ly gear for Valentines Day and get that heart pumping.  Remember to dress in layers, it will be around 30 degrees at that time so put on a few different layers that you can shed as we get our bodies warmed up, and put back on so you don't freeze when we cool down.  I can't wait to see you all there, let Wendi or me know if you need a ride or if you're close enough walk your buns over there :o)

Day 5 Catch Up

For day 5 today you could take a rest or get in 30 to 60 minutes of nonimpact cross training.  Also, if you missed a run/walk day and feel like you want to do that, awesome, but let's go for easy because tomorrow you're giving it all you got during our group run.  I hope that you had your calendars and knew what to do since I'm posting this at 6pm, but if you want to still jump on an elliptical, Marie is selling hers (ha, ha I don't know if she really is, but I'm sure you could test ride it). 

Take It Easy~Day 4 Task

Something to remember, we are just at the beginning of this journey so let's not overload our minds and bodies.  We are here to do the best we can, not push ourselves so far we quit before we even begin.  Back to a 15 to 20 minute run/walk for today (which is actually tomorrow), so pace yourself and if you get to 15 minutes and feel done, then you've still made it to our goal for today.  Let us all know how your doing and gear up for our first group run on Saturday, February 12th in the AM. 

Day 3 Task~

Take a rest day, NO shame in that whatsoever, or spend 30-60 minutes doing some form of NONIMPACT cardio.  For example take a ride on a bike, elliptical, or a trip to the pool for a swim or some water aerobics. 

As promised, link to runner stretches

Scroll down for the stretch description along side its goofy cartoon sketch in the following link (we all know Wendi can draw better ;o), but hopefully this will give you some different stretching ideas and a way to remember at least a couple.  Make sure to get warmed up and stretch before and after your run...

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/126.shtml

Ready for Day 2~

Run/walk for a full 20 minutes, don't forget you can alternate 4 minutes of easy jogging with 4 minutes of walking.  Keep it at an easy pace, with a smile on your face.  Tomorrow I will post some fun stretches for you all to try.  Don't forget to let us know how your doing!!

Keep breathing and stay hydrated

Marie keep breathing, I promise it will improve with time.  Remember these early runs are supposed to be at an easy conversational pace, let's not burn out our bodies or our minds just yet.  In through your nose, out through your mouth, and don't be afraid to go to a brisk walk if you need to catch your breath.  Sip water throughout the run, getting 6-8 oz. of water for every 20 minutes of exercise.  We made it through day one, I hope it went well for everyone.  Good job!

Day One Task~

Run/walk for 15 to 20 minutes at an easy, conversational pace.  For new runners a good place to start is by alternating 4 minutes of easy jogging with 4 minutes of walking.  Repeat the sequence until time is up, it will fly by.  Don't forget to warm up before and stretch after your run, have fun!

Mark, Get Set, Go

That's what my three year old Gehrig says when he's wants to race us (his momma, daddy, or sisters).  So ladies (and your supportive husbands), come on, let's go!  February 7th marks day one in our running adventure, so what do you say?  Grab your kicks, sneaks, or whatever you call 'em and get moving.  For some of us (me included) this will be a complete couch to 5K, 10K, and eventually half marathon (but let's not get ahead of ourselves yet).  For others it's trying a new form of exercise, getting in shape, or having a little social interaction during a weekly group run.  What ever the reason, we'll take it one step at a time, it's gonna be fun, just keep reminding yourself that.  Peace, love, run!!