Sunday Run

 Today's run was 11 miles weaving through the neighborhoods of South Burlington, doing everything in my power to avoid hills. For some reason when it was Melissa's turn to push she managed to get some inclines. Sorry about that. Overall, the pace was comfortable and it was so much fun! Alice was a diva for a couple of miles but did a good job for the most part. Sometimes after longer runs I experience stomach problems throughout the remainder of the day but today had none of that. It felt awesome to feel so good after a double digit run. I'm not so nervous for the Mad Half after all.

I thought I learned my lesson.

After last week's blazing hot run, I vowed not to run midday anymore. Today I headed out for my planned six mile run at 11:30 and it was HOT! I ran four (hilly hilly hilly) miles with Jack and Alice in the jogger to my mom's new house. It's three miles there but I looped around to make it four so that I'd only have two to do after. Clearly math isn't my strong point because we still live three miles away so I ended up running seven miles. I took a few walk breaks during that last mile and for sure walked up the steep hill in our neighborhood. Melissa and I are planning on 11 tomorrow. I just mapped out a new - and flat - route. It's sort of similar to my go-to long run route that always keeps me a couple of miles from home but this one goes in the reverse direction. I'm anxious to do it - I think I'll feel more comfortable about the Mad Half next weekend once I have a run longer than ten miles (since my last half in May) under my belt.

Week 3 Marathon Training

This was a step down week as far as training goes, but all of the runs still felt really difficult!

• Monday:
  Reformer Pilates
• Tuesday:
  Bodypump at lunch
  3 miles after work
• Wednesday:
  5 miles - 4 with coworkers and 1 on my own - they stopped at 4. I completed the run in under 50 minutes, which I'm happy about.
• Thursday:
  3 miles after work - it was hot!
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: Hard-ass 5 miles with Melissa
• Sunday: 6 miles with both kiddos in the jogger

22 miles for the week! Can't believe I'm going to be running more than that in one day! This week my long run gets bumped up again, reaching 11 miles. I'm starting to get a little nervous because I have a half marathon next weekend on a difficult and hilly course, but I haven't run more than 10 miles in a month. Overall, feeling good!

No Redemption

After yesterday's hard-as-hell run, I was hoping for an easier time with my six miles today. It's a step down week, so I was looking forward to my last "short" long run for a while. I made the mistake of waiting until 11:00 to head out. It was 81 degrees. I pushed J and A in the jogger, which equals over 80 pounds. To say the run was hard would be an understatement. I finished with an average 10:58 pace - the last mile was a run/walk combo. I'm praying for some forgiving runs this week!

Well That Was Hard

Melissa and I met this morning to run six miles on quiet dirt roads in Charlotte. I had a hard time getting up this morning - I'm sure the gimlets we were drinking last night had a little something to do with that. We headed out and right away I was struggling. At mile 3.5 I had no idea how I was going to finish. We hit mile 4.5 when we were a mile away from the car so we were going to have to make a turn to add on a little distance but after a quick exchange we decided to head back. Then about about a tenth of a mile later we decided we'd stop at 5 and walk the rest of the way. I was worried I was holding her back but luckily we were on the same page today. There was no way I would have been able to run another mile. Even Sirius was smiling when we finally stopped to walk!

Garminless

Today's workout:

Bodypump 

3 Miles

Bodypump was difficult, as usual but because they have a 50 minute time slot at work, one track gets skipped and today it was lunges. I need the lunges but was happy to leave them out today.

I forgot my Garmin at home so before heading out for the run I mapped out a semi-new 3 mile route and it felt pretty good to run not knowing my pace. I kept checking my phone, though, to see the time and was trying to guesstimate. Old (bad?) habits die hard, I guess. 

And because it's my blog, here's a picture of Miss Alice riding a tricycle. Happy Tuesday!

Week 2 Marathon Training

Even though I technically only started the 18 week marathon training a week ago, it just so happened "Week 1" was pretty much the exact week I had ran already. It was meant to be.
We'll see how long this lasts, but I hope to recap each week of training in addition to any posts during the week (ha) about specific runs. I'm sure it will serve me well when I'm in taper mode, freaking out, going over my training plans. So here it is, week two of Marathon training!

• Monday:
  Reformer Pilates
  I had been taking this class regularly through the winter and then stopped because it was "too easy." I quickly noticed my running was suffering and now have been making a habit to go back. It works well with my plan with Monday being a cross-training day.
• Tuesday:
  Bodypump
  Kicked my butt. whoa.
  3 miles after work, in the rain
• Wednesday:
  5 miles at lunch with two coworkers. This run felt really awesome - we went at a nice pace and ended up averaging 9:29. That paces makes me feel speedy but the workout didn't completely eat me up. Progress?
• Thursday:
  3 miles at lunch, solo.
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday:
  5 miles with this view:
  
  
  
  It was tough - I mean, I was pushing over 75 pounds, but ran the first mile in 10:58 and the other four 10:20, 10:20, 10:20, 10:18.
• Sunday:
  10 miles with the diva
  
  
  
  She was pretty congenial throughout the run but boy was it tough! We went on a super hilly route and the wind was intense. I knew going into it that I wasn't properly hydrated and ended up paying for it a little bit in the afternoon. I'm sure all the bacon I ate as soon as we got home didn't help. I completed the run in 1:50, including several stops to give Alice a toy, give Alice a bottle, give Alice my phone to play with...

So there it is! 26 miles for the week. Week two down, 16 to go. I'm still at the stage where I'm giddily excited about being registered and not quite scared yet. I'm sure I'll get there soon enough, for now, I'm going to enjoy it!

VCM

Backtracking a couple of weeks to the Vermont City Marathon... I was pretty excited to run this course again and was hoping for a PR, especially since I had just narrowly missed one at Unplugged a few weeks prior. Like any runner getting ready for a race, I obsessively checked the weather for race day and every day the forecast became progressively worse.

It poured the day before and packing my stuff (and the million things Adam would need as a spectator in the rain with two little kids) I had accepted the fact that it was going to be soggy. 

When I woke up in the morning, I really wasn't worried about the rain. I felt pretty calm, a little nervous and very excited and ready to run. 

It was a little cold waiting for the race to start, but I can't complain because I didn't have to wait around in the rain while my partner ran their leg (i.e. my mom and Aunt Mary).

The race flew by. I started pretty conservatively because I was really nervous about burning out in the last few miles. As I went through the race I really tried to take it all in. It's such an amazing day to be in Burlington and the spectators cheering their hearts out in the pouring rain was amazing. By mile 6 I felt great and picked up the pace, but it was also about this point that I realized a PR was out of the question. I had held back too much in the beginning that there was no way I could make up the time I lost. I finished strong and felt good about nailing negative splits. My last mile was in 8:55 - super speedy, for me. My official time was 2:10:58 with my Garmin time 2:12:01 for 13.45 miles (maybe too much weaving?).

It's my favorite day of the year in Burlington and makes me realize how awesome our little city is. It made me really pumped to do the 26.2 next year! 

Which brings me to the next development... My little antsy pants decided that I can't wait another full year before getting my marathon fix in. After an initial thought about the Smuttynose Marathon in October, a text from Melissa sealed the deal.

I registered! I just completed week 1 of the 18 week training plan and am so excited. I think I can keep this enthusiasm rolling, especially with Melissa running it as well. It turns out another running friend is registered, too, and I think having others going through marathon training with me will be encouraging. 

Here's to a summer of running!

Let the marathon training begin!

I have a lot to fill you in on, but in short, I registered for my first marathon! It's in October so my full training cycle begins now. I'm going to follow Hal Higdon's program and celebrated my first official long-run Sunday with nine miles. And with this smiley face:

Running Buddy

The upside of 5 am wake up calls is that we're ready to run before it gets hot!