Extreme Weight Loss + Crazy = Marathons

Yesterday was the start of week two in my training plan. I made a few minor changes because in week one I felt like a 2 minute walk was too long.

Week 2 Training PlanTuesday 6/4 - Thursday 6/6

• 3 minute warm up
• 1.5 minute run x 2 1.5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 1 2 minute cool down

Saturday 6/8 - 3 miles

When I hit mile 2 and MapMyRun announced that my mile split was 10:40 I literally raised my right hand in celebration! I would have raised both hands but my pup was secured on my left hand. When I was finished I made a quick trip to the store to grab so more fixin's for some more Fajita-Ranch Chicken Wraps that I was craving since I made it on Saturday. Yes folks, it is that delicious!

When I got home, I turned on Extreme Weight Loss while I cooked. Last night followed the story of Meredith. Chris Powell - trainer extraordinaire - gave her a challenge of running the Niagara Falls Marathon at the end of 'Phase Two'. This course is not only done around the beautiful falls but you also run from one country to another. Yes, you read that right. This course takes you from the US across the border to Canada! How cool is that?! I had to know more, so I checked it out online and found out the only way to run from country to country would be to do the full.

Rewind back two years and you may remember that after I had completed the RNR San Diego run, I said I would never do another full marathon. Well, as of today I  have added the Niagara Falls Marathon and changed the Nike Women's Half to a Full on my goal list. Yes, I am crazy.


Question: Do you have a goal list? If so, what kind of goals have you set for yourself?

Flash Floods and Fajitas

Saturday was my first "long" run. Although it wasn't exactly long, it was the first run that wasn't planned as a run/walk. I decided that I was going to see if I could do the full 3 miles without walking any significant amount.

Erika and I met at Kreager Park to do our run. The initial plan was to do it together but as I warmed up I was picking up my pace and she was falling behind. I hate leaving people when we planned to do something together but I needed to see how I could perform over the three miles. I walked a tad bit to see which way I was supposed to go because I hadn't run at that park before.

Additionally, our run didn't go exactly to plan due to the huge storm we had on Friday night. The storm caused a flash flood warning as some places received 5-7 inches of rain in an hour. This caused part of our planned course to go under water. So we had a few spots that we did an out and back so our tennis shoes didn't get soaked.





Overall, I was really pleased with the run. My average pace was literally just under 11minutes/mile. I am hopeful that as I continue to train and put in my time/miles that I will see a faster pace.

After our run, we headed to Bob Evans for some well deserved breakfast. As always, our time was filled with many bizarre conversations and laughs. I headed home soon after to clean up and take a nap.

After my nap, I decided to get my meal planning on. I logged onto my Plan to Eat account and planned out my meals for the week and dinner that night. I had been wanting to try this Fajita-Ranch Chicken Wraps I had found earlier in the week and couldn't stop thinking about!



The recipe was super easy to make. The only change I made was to use a gluten free wrap instead of a flour tortilla... and I poured myself a glass of wine to have with my dinner. I usually don't have wine around but the bottle caught my eye while I was shopping and it paired well with the dinner. Doesn't it look delicious?!

Running the Rivergreenway

Tuesday was an outdoor run and I'll be honest, I didn't want to go. I had called my friend Erika on my way home from work to see if she would want to join me. She didn't answer. So when I got home, instead of changing into my running gear, I laid on the couch and watched some TV. I really quite comfortable and had no intention of getting up. At about the time I was almost okay with skipping my run (this is not unusual for me) my phone rang. It was Erika! Yay! She agreed to go on a run with me. We decided we would hit the Rivergreenway.

The Rivergreenway Trail is a 24 mile long linear park in Fort Wayne and New Haven, Indiana. The trail is along the banks of the St. Marys, St. Joseph and Maumee Rivers. Much of the Rivergreenway has been funded by the State of Indiana and the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Rivergreenway provides a great opportunity for recreation, fitness and conservation, as well as providing an alternative transportation network safely connecting the community.

My family used to ride our bikes on this trail when we were younger. I was never aware of how far we were actually going but I checked and it was about 4 miles - one way! It's crazy to think that when I was younger we would frequently ride 8 miles in a day.

Anyway, the original plan for the run was a 3 minute warm up followed by a 1 minute run and 2 minute walk repeated 8 times with a 1 minute cool down (not including stretching). We ended up going a little longer, and repeated the run/walk combo 10 times. I was synced to MapMyRun.com during the run and here is a little snap shot of the trail and some other cool things.

The bright green on the map shows the trail, the red is where we did our out and back. You can also view my pace per mile to the right of the map, and below the map shows the elevation compared to my pace at that time. Pretty cool, huh?

After our run, we did some stretching and chatting so by time we departed the park it was past 8pm. Passing the fast food chains was tempting, but I went to our local Kroger and picked up some sushi for dinner and some other goodies.

Question: Do you use MapMyRun.com? If so, tell me about it! What do you like about it or dislike?

Fort4Fitness Training Plan

Well, I bit the bullet and signed up for the Fort4Fitness mini marathon at the end of September in my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. I have signed up numerous times for this event, but have yet to do it due to injuries or lack of training.

Since I signed up, that means that I need to start training. I did some searching on the internet for various training plans and kind of made my own to suit my needs. I am prone to shin splints and know I need to ease as much as possible into the amount of time I pound the pavement. So I came up with a run/walk plan that has me doing more walking than running at first. I also plan on incorporating a treadmill run to help absorb some of the shock.

The plan is to do my short runs on Tuesday - Thursday with Wednesday being the day I run on the treadmill, and then on Saturdays will be my long runs. I'm not going to include any of my cross-training activities as they are always changing.

Here is the tentative 18 week training plan that I came up with.

Week 1
Tuesday 5/28 - Thursday 5/30

• 3 minute warm up
• 1 minute run x 2 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 1 minute cool down

Saturday 6/1 - 3 miles

Week 2
Tuesday 6/4 - Thursday 6/6

• 3 minute warm up
• 1.5 minute run x 2 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 1 minute cool down

Saturday 6/8 - 3 miles


Week 3
Tuesday 6/11 - Thursday 6/13

• 3 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x 2 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 1 minute cool down

Saturday 6/15 - 4 miles


Week 4
Tuesday 6/18 - Thursday 6/20

• 3 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x 1.5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 2 minute cool down

Saturday 6/22 - 4 miles

Week 5
Tuesday 6/25 - Thursday 6/27

• 3 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x 1 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 2 minute cool down

Saturday 6/29 - 5 miles

Week 6
Tuesday 7/2 - Thursday 7/4

• 3 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 7/6 - 5 miles

Week 7
Tuesday 7/9 - Thursday 7/11

• 3 minute warm up
• 2.5 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 7/13 - 6 miles

Week 8
Tuesday 7/16 - Thursday 7/18

• 3 minute warm up
• 3 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 7/20- 6 miles

Week 9
Tuesday 7/23 - Thursday 7/25

• 3 minute warm up
• 3.5 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 6 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 7/27- 4 miles

Week 10
Tuesday 7/30 - Thursday 8/1

• 3 minute warm up
• 4 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 8/3 - 7 miles

Week 11
Tuesday 8/6 - Thursday 8/8

• 3 minute warm up
• 4.5 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 8/10 - 8 miles

Week 12
Tuesday 8/13 - Thursday 8/15

• 3 minute warm up
• 5 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 8/17 - 9 miles

Week 13
Tuesday 8/20 - Thursday 8/22

• 3 minute warm up
• 35 minute run/walk
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 8/24 - 6 miles

Week 14
Tuesday 8/27 - Thursday 8/29

• 3 minute warm up
• 40 minute run/walk
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 8/31- 10 miles

Week 15
Tuesday 9/3 - Thursday 9/5

• 3 minute warm up
• 45 minute run/walk
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 9/7 - 11 miles

Week 16
Tuesday 9/10 - Thursday 9/12

• 3 minute warm up
• 40 minute run/walk
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 9/14 - 9 miles

Week 17
Tuesday 9/17 - Thursday 9/19

• 3 minute warm up
• 35 minute run/walk
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 9/21 - 9 miles

Week 18
Tuesday 9/24 - Thursday 9/26

• 3 minute warm up
• 30 minute run/walk
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 9/28 - RACE DAY! 13.1 miles

**Disclaimer: I am not a certified physical trainer or even a seasoned athlete. This should not be considered advice; however, you are welcome to use and modify my plan if you wish. I am sharing my plan only to provide details of what I plan on doing, to help keep me accountable, and (maybe) inspire others that may not be a great runner but are interested in starting. Additionally, you should always consult a doctor before beginning any exercise regimen.**


Question: Are you currently training for a race? If so, which race(s) are you training for? I'd love it if you would share!