Week 4 Marathon Training

Yesterday marked 1-month in my marathon training. So far I'm doing pretty good and have only missed one day of running. It was Sunday's active recovery day of 3 miles and I preferred to rest.

I have, however, incorporated 2 more days of weight training into my program since my body responds well to strength training. If you see my original marathon training schedule there is only one weight day on a Wednesday.

It works out perfectly because I now do weights on Monday (normally a cross-training day) and Friday (normally a rest day). So I don't do weights on days that I run.

To check out my current weight routines look at:

- the New Weights Routine post

- the Metabolism-Boosting workout at Fitness Magazine

- the Firm and Burn workout also at Fitness Magazine

These workouts are great because they help me switch it up a bit so that I don't get bored. It also helps to make sure that I'm working all my muscle groups. Each group of exercises works each muscle group in a different way. I'm loving these workouts so far. 

In about a month or so I will probably revamp the workouts to avoid the plateau.

Henna Gloss and Summer Hair Routine

HENNA GLOSS

I took the advice of a friend of mine and decided to try a henna gloss treatment courtesy of CurlyNikki.

While my application still "needs some work," this time around my Henna experience was great! It was so much easier and FASTER to apply. It probably only took me 10 minutes to do my entire head, maybe less.

Again, the application wasn't perfect, but it was much more uniform than my previous two applications. I can definitely see myself sticking with the Henna gloss treatment. I won't do this every month (because I don't feel like it) but I will do it more often.

To make this mix you just prepare the Henna as you would any treatment. Here's what I use:

1 100g box neutral Henna (meaning no color)

1 cup (250ml) green tea (I use 3 tea bags)

1-2 Tbsp. honey

Then you add the "gloss" factor, which is  1 cup (250ml) of your favorite conditioner. The one I have is a Tresseme product. It should be protein-free but I say use what you have because that's what I did!

I only lasted 4 hours with this stuff on my head because I was hot even with the air conditioning. If you do Henna for the color benefits you should leave it on for at least that much time. 

I usually leave it on for 8 hours. I wanted to try sleeping with it on, since that assures it will be on for a good amount of time, but I can't do it! I like to be comfortable when I sleep. What can I say?

So I just put on a plastic bag over the hair, lined it with some cotton-ball like material and then covered it with another plastic bag and some more cottony stuff. (To catch the leaks)

I know, not the best photos. But I had to take them myself as the hubby was occupied with his bike. 

After the 4 hours were up I proceeded to rinse out my hair really well. This is another step that is made easier with the Henna gloss recipe. I used more conditioner to rinse but I made sure to shampoo my scalp. I like a clean, itch-free scalp!

Then I deep conditioned and put in some seriously chunky twists in my hair. That's it! I seriously recommend this treatment to all newbie Henna people out there. 

SUMMER HAIR ROUTINE

My summer hair routine consists of protective styling and low-manipulation. That means I leave my twists in for as long as possible before taking them down to detangle and remove shed hairs. This time around I left them in for three weeks.

After the first week I condition wash and do a quick deep condition treatment with my Aussie 3-minute miracle product. 

The 3-minute miracle is the product on the far left.

This is mainly to make sure I have a clean scalp. I then moisturize and oil my scalp.

The second week I shampoo and do a more thorough deep conditioning. Then I moisturize and oil my scalp. 

All of this is I do with the twists still in my hair. I also make sure to moisturize my hair throughout the week as needed. 

The third week I take them down, detangle, remove shed hair, and prep for the shampoo. I was nervous, but the take-down was so easy! My hair tangles easy, especially when it's frizzy, so I was worried there'd be a long struggle.

But I took the advice of a youtuber (BeautifulBrwnBabyDol) and used some coconut oil and shea butter to help me. I just applied it to my twists then put them all up in a ponytail.

I removed each twist individually, detangled and removed shed hair. I then clipped it out of the way to work on the next twist. Definitely check out the above link if you want detailed information. 

I also took the opportunity to give myself a good trim because I haven't done one in a looooooong time!

This was about how much hair I cut off in total.

I then put my hair in about 5-6 sections and sprayed each one down with a mixture of: 

water

aloe vera juice (to establish a pH of 5)

conditioner

10 drops rosemary essential oil

coconut oil

My hair was dry and I didn't have the time to apply the Henna treatment that day. So to keep each section nicely stretched and moisturized I sprayed them and then twisted them back up until I could do my hair the following day. 

I ran in the morning and while I was showering rinsed my hair with some conditioner (still in the same sections). I put on a shower cap (actually a plastic bag!) to keep my hair moist until I applied the Henna treatment.

Of course I won't apply the Henna gloss each time I take down my twists but I will follow the same procedure. My hair was super soft and manageable and made shampooing a breeze!

The good thing about this routine is that I know my hair is staying healthy in all this hot weather. But since I have to moisture a lot more often, my twists frizz up quicker. 

I combat that by using my Janet Collection Afro Puff.

This helps me keep my hair in the best of condition while protecting it from the harsh weather...and still look presentable! I just jazz up the afro puff when I get bored with a flower, headband or scarf.

I plan to keep this up for the rest of July and into August. It usually stays pretty hot here in September as well so we'll see.

But I'm loving the ease of getting ready when I have to go out. I don't have to worry about what to do with my hair!

When technology strikes back!

This post is not running related, training related, vegan recipe related (I need to post more recipes!) or anything to do with hair, but I had to share.

For Christmas 2011 I was gifted with a Kindle Fire.

GoogleImages

It was such an odd gift because I am really not into technology. Or, more accurately, ever since my Macbook Pro broke on me after only 3 years of use. 

(i.e. "planned obsolescence" Click here or here for more info on that. Definitely check out youtube as well!) 

My attitude towards technology became cynical.

I refused to purchase another Mac product and the iPod nano I have was another gift. The computer I'm currently using to type this post was a gift as well. 

I sold my TV last year and my cellphone is basic. It does have a camera, which tempted me to throw it away, but I guess I need one in this day and age.

So when I got the Kindle Fire I was thankful (it's the thought that counts) but had no idea what I was going to do with it. 

With the purchase came a 1-month free trial of Amazon Prime. It allows you to watch all the free movies and TV shows you want. I'm no dummy. I took advantage of it.

After that month was over my Kindle Fire pretty much just collected dust. I'd use it when the hubby was on the computer doing some work and I wanted to check my email or watch some youtube hair videos. But that was it.

Since I've been on vacation I've noticed that I have a lot of free time that I need to use up. There's only so many videos on youtube to watch in day, only so much running I can do, and, finally, only so many movies I can watch.

With all this free time I rediscovered the novelty of my Kindle Fire. I started downloading tons of free books. These were books that I would never buy in "real" life like: 

• romantic novels
• thrillers and even
•  fantasy 

I would read on that device for hours. I was having a good time.

Up until I started having this localized pain on the left-side of my upper back, right between the shoulder blades. Not only did I have that pain but I also had a painful burning sensation in my chest, above my left breast, whenever I would move. 

That pain progressed into:

• shoulder pain
• neck pain
• pain at the base of my neck 
• even pain behind my ear

My first thought was to google my symptoms and, of course, the first thing I thought was that I was having a heart attack! 

Now, it seemed pretty unlikely because of my age and my lifestyle but that's what google told me! Suffice to say I was freaking out until I really started thinking about the type of pain. 

When I would stretch it seemed to give me some type of relief and I didn't have shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea. All symptoms that are related to heart attacks. So I did some more digging.

Apparently, having your arms extended for long periods of time, or in my case, having your shoulders rolled forward or pulled up, can cause pain in the trapezius muscle. These same activities can cause your chest muscles (pectoralis) to shorten and thus cause upper back pain.

This is the trapezius muscle.

As you can see, these are the parts of the body that are affected by the trapezius muscle.

Now, I'm no doctor, but basically the chest and back muscles are connected. Who would have known? Not me!

Long story short: my extended time on the Kindle Fire was proving disastrous to my muscle health. 

Once I found out the root of the problem I stopped using the Kindle Fire immediately. Right now I'm thinking of limiting the time I use it to 30 minutes a day. 

When I do use it, I will make sure not to round my shoulders or have my head down for the entire time. 

I will practice proper posture (as much as I can anyway)!

To help loosen up my muscles I perform stretches everyday that help to lengthen the chest muscles. As well as stretches for the trapezius muscle.

The moral of the story: 

• Be careful when using technology, specifically computers and tablets!

•  Don't use them for extended periods of time

• Make sure you have proper posture 

• Stretch when you are done. 

• If you feel any pain definitely stop and stretch

While I'm still suffering from pain in those areas I know I won't make the same mistake again. It will take some time to fully alleviate the pain. But at least I'm not exacerbating the situation because I now know what caused it.

Listen to your body!

Week 1 Marathon Training: Completed

I know it's been awhile and although I've been MIA on the blog I've still been on track for my marathon training.

Today marks the start of Week 2 of training and I'm feeling great! I took off 2 weeks before starting  training (July 2nd) because I needed a break! Running was starting to feel like a chore and that's no way to start a training program.

It was good for the mind but not for the body! I felt that 2 week hiatus because my body was killing me! All I did was take off 12 days but when I started back running and weight training my entire body was sore. From my shoulders to my calves, I hurt all over, no joke.

Right now I feel good. I did my cross-training today and tomorrow I have a 35-minute tempo run.

Here's my training program at a glance: 

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	CT	30 min tempo	Strength train	5 mi EP	Rest	6 mi	3-4 mi EP
2	CT	35 min tempo	Strength train	5 mi EP	Rest	8 mi	3-4 mi EP
3	CT	40 min tempo	Strength train	6 mi EP	Rest	9 mi	3-4 mi EP
4	CT	40 min tempo	Strength train	6 mi EP	Rest	10 mi	3-4 mi EP
5	CT	5 x 400 IW	Strength train + 4 mi EP	35 min tempo	Rest	12 mi	3-4 mi EP
6	CT	6 x 400 IW	Strength train + 4 mi EP	35 min tempo	Rest	14 mi	3-4 mi EP
7	CT	7 x 400 IW	Strength train + 5 mi EP	5 mi RP	Rest	16 mi	3-4 mi EP
8	CT	8 x 400 IW	Strength train + 5 mi EP	35 min tempo	CT or Rest	12 mi	4-5 mi EP
9	CT	4 hill repeats	Strength train + 4 mi EP	6 mi RP	Rest	18 mi	3-4 mi EP
10	CT	5 hill repeats	Strength train + 5 mi EP	35 min tempo	Rest	14 mi	4-5 mi EP
11	CT	6 hill repeats	Strength train + 6 mi EP	7 miles RP	Rest	16 mi (last 4 mi RP)	4-5 mi EP
12	CT	7 hill repeats	Strength train + 5 mi EP	35 min tempo	Rest	12 mi	4-5 mi EP
13	CT	7 hill repeats	Strength train + 5 mi EP	5 mi RP	Rest	20 mi	3-4 mi EP
14	CT	6 mi RP	Strength train + 5 mi EP	40 min tempo	Rest	12 mi	4-5 mi EP
15	CT	5 mi RP	Strength train + 5 mi EP	35 min tempo	Rest	20 mi (last 4 mi RP)	3-4 mi EP
16	CT	5 mi RP	5 mi EP	35 min tempo	Rest	12 mi	3-4 mi EP
17	CT	4 mi RP	4 mi EP	4 mi EP	Rest	6 mi	3-4 mi EP
18	CT	4 mi RP	Rest	4 mi EP	Rest	2 mi EP	Race!

 Here's an explanation in a nutshell:
 

Cross-training (CT): A cardio activity other than running (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer) at a moderate effort for 45 to 60 minutes. 

Tempo Run: Tempo runs help you develop your anaerobic threshold, which is critical for faster racing. For a 40-minute tempo run, for example, start your run with 5 to 10 minutes of easy running, then continue with 15 to 20 minutes of running at about a 10K pace. Finish with 5 to 10 minutes of cooling down. If you're not sure what your 10K pace is, run at a pace that feels "comfortably hard." 

Strength-train: After a 10-minute warm-up, spend about 20-25 minutes doing lower body and core strengthening. 

Interval workouts (IW): After a warm-up, run 400 meters (one lap around most tracks) hard, then recover by jogging or walking 400 meters. For example, 3 x 400 would be three hard 400s, with a 400 m recovery in between. 

Easy pace (EP): These runs should be done at an easy, comfortable pace. You should be able to breathe and talk easily. 

Race Pace (RP): After you run a 10-minute warm-up, run the designated mileage at your "marathon Race Pace". Follow that with a 10-minute cool-down.  

Saturday long runs: After you warm up, run at a comfortable, conversational pace for the designated mileage. 

Sundays: This is an active recovery day. Your run should be at your comfortable, easy pace (EP), which helps loosen up your muscles. 

I like this program because it includes many different types of running such as: tempo runs, hill training, and interval training.

I believe this schedule will help me run more efficiently while also providing me with some much needed variety so I don't get bored.

One thing I might change is the frequency of weight training since I like to weight train at least twice a week.

Last week I only weight trained on Wednesday but this week I will do some arms and abs on Friday as well. I'm thinking that every other week I will do leg work twice a week (ie Week 3, then Week 5 and so on). 

Before I run I do my dynamic stretching routine, which is amazing. I have absolutely no aches, pains or soreness when I do it. I didn't do it today because I only ran 3 miles and I noticed the difference.

So far so good. Stay tuned for more updates!