Clearly all this running has left me spent but, yes, I did complete weeks 16 and 17 of marathon training. They looked a little something like this:
Week 16
Monday: 5 miles with Mom - 50:10
Tuesday: 5 miles - 52:30
Wednesday: 6 miles - 1:00:28
Thursday: Reformer Pilates, 5 miles with Alice in the jogger - 54:50
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 12 ridiculously windy miles - 2:05
Sunday: 1/2 mile Jack for his first race!!! Then 4 miles with Jack and Alice in the jogger - 44:07.
This gave me 38 miles for the week, which was slightly more than the schedule called for because of the five miler thrown in on Monday left over from the weekend.
Week 17
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4.15 miles - 41:13
Wednesday: 5 miles - 52:02
Thursday: 4 miles - 38:25
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 3 miles - 31:15
Sunday: 8 miles - 1:24
24 miles total! I was so ready for taper time and am pretty impressed with myself that I made it through this training cycle. I guess it's not actually complete until I cross the finish line.
Most of my recent runs have been alone in preparation for the five hours I'll be running solo on Sunday. And now, the week of the marathon is here and my nerves are starting to get the best of me. I know I'm well prepared and want to make sure I enjoy all of the journey, but really I just can't wait to have that medal around my neck.
This closes out the month with 154 miles! Again, it's all relative, but that's a lot for me.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Marathon Training Weeks 14 and 15
Weeks 14 and 15 are wrapped up the high mileage weeks of marathon training and now I am in taper mode. Here's a look at what the past couple of weeks have looked like:
Week 14
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 6 miles in 59:09 with Melissa and Sirius. We explored a part of our town that we'd never seen before knowing full well it was private. Well, barely a mile in and we got kicked out by who turned out to be the homeowner. Our guess was that it was a rehab center.
Wednesday: 5 miles (solo I think?) in 48:31
Thursday: 5 miles (solo again?) in 51:47
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 8 miles in 1:18. Cool temps helped my quick pace for this one. Finished with a 9:16 mile which made me really happy.
Sunday: 11 miles instead of the planned 12 because I ran out of time and Adam needed to get to work. Total running time 1:57 and the pace was super comfortable and the run was nice and easy.
As a step down week I ran 35 total miles and felt pretty good.
Week 15
Monday: Rest, illness approaching, loaded up on Zicam and Airborne
Tuesday: 5 mile run after work in 53:31
Wednesday: 8 mile run which involved 5 miles from hell on the treadmill and finishing with 3 miles outside. It was thundering and lightning so I brought my run indoors but it cleared up so I headed outside. Never ever again will I run on the treadmill. Awful.
Thursday: 5 miles in 51:51
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 20 miles!!! I was running a half marathon today, so I did 4 miles at an 11:15 pace before, did the race in 2:12 then closed the day with 3 more miles at a 10:10 pace. I ran the race with my amazing running family. There were five of us running the race and Melissa, Kim, and I ended up running the entire thing together. I am so blessed to have these amazing running friends in my life. The race pace felt really good and we even finished with an 8:47 mile!
Sunday: Rest instead of scheduled 5. I was feeling my cold coming back on so I decided I'd rather skip a short run than not be 100% healthy on October 6. (I ended up doing the 5 the next day.)
I was 5 miles short of mileage for the week with 38 miles but with the extra effort put in thanks to the half marathon, I think it's okay it worked out this way. I know I can't "make up" lost runs, but mentally, fitting in the missed 5 miler the next day helped knowing I got it done.
Taper has begun and of course I'm started to doubt myself, but I know I've put in the work. Aside from missing one 9 mile run early on and two or three short runs, I've done the work. Running 20 miles averaging a 10:20 pace after a week of hard running and not feeling great was a huge confidence booster and with proper taper, rest, and nutrition, I think I'll be equipped to cover 26.2 miles - in less than 5 hours :).
Week 14
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 6 miles in 59:09 with Melissa and Sirius. We explored a part of our town that we'd never seen before knowing full well it was private. Well, barely a mile in and we got kicked out by who turned out to be the homeowner. Our guess was that it was a rehab center.
Wednesday: 5 miles (solo I think?) in 48:31
Thursday: 5 miles (solo again?) in 51:47
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 8 miles in 1:18. Cool temps helped my quick pace for this one. Finished with a 9:16 mile which made me really happy.
Sunday: 11 miles instead of the planned 12 because I ran out of time and Adam needed to get to work. Total running time 1:57 and the pace was super comfortable and the run was nice and easy.
As a step down week I ran 35 total miles and felt pretty good.
Week 15
Monday: Rest, illness approaching, loaded up on Zicam and Airborne
Tuesday: 5 mile run after work in 53:31
Wednesday: 8 mile run which involved 5 miles from hell on the treadmill and finishing with 3 miles outside. It was thundering and lightning so I brought my run indoors but it cleared up so I headed outside. Never ever again will I run on the treadmill. Awful.
Thursday: 5 miles in 51:51
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 20 miles!!! I was running a half marathon today, so I did 4 miles at an 11:15 pace before, did the race in 2:12 then closed the day with 3 more miles at a 10:10 pace. I ran the race with my amazing running family. There were five of us running the race and Melissa, Kim, and I ended up running the entire thing together. I am so blessed to have these amazing running friends in my life. The race pace felt really good and we even finished with an 8:47 mile!
Sunday: Rest instead of scheduled 5. I was feeling my cold coming back on so I decided I'd rather skip a short run than not be 100% healthy on October 6. (I ended up doing the 5 the next day.)
I was 5 miles short of mileage for the week with 38 miles but with the extra effort put in thanks to the half marathon, I think it's okay it worked out this way. I know I can't "make up" lost runs, but mentally, fitting in the missed 5 miler the next day helped knowing I got it done.
Taper has begun and of course I'm started to doubt myself, but I know I've put in the work. Aside from missing one 9 mile run early on and two or three short runs, I've done the work. Running 20 miles averaging a 10:20 pace after a week of hard running and not feeling great was a huge confidence booster and with proper taper, rest, and nutrition, I think I'll be equipped to cover 26.2 miles - in less than 5 hours :).
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Marathon Training Week 13
This week of marathon training was all about balance. I struggled at times to fit all of the runs in, but managed to do it (and not go crazy). I've been keeping track of my times in my training log so I'm going to start posting them here for your enjoyment. I know I should only be worried about one or the other - distance or speed - and obviously with marathon training it's distance. But, honestly I'd like to get just a little faster. I like seeing paces that begin with a 9 and am hoping someday I'll even see some 8's. I don't, however, worry about pace at all with the jogger (unless of course I whip out some super speedy numbers) and go by distance. Perceived effort with that beast is really high, especially with all of the hills where we live. I usually hover around 11:15 with it.
Monday: Rest. It actually wasn't that tough going back to work after a week off.
Tuesday: 5 mile run (50:06) with two coworkers
Wednesday: 3 mile run (28:31) with coworkers, then 3.5 miles with Jack and Alice with the jogger after work.
Thursday: 5 miles with Jack and Alice.
Friday: 8 miles - 6 with Alice, left her at my mom's and ran two miles home (mile 7: 10:16 and mile 8: 9:30).
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 20 miles!!! Eek! It was a long run (duh) but felt totally manageable averaging 11:00 minute miles. One more twenty miler the weekend after next then it's taper time!
I feel like what I thought was going to be a washout week actually turned into a solid training week with 44 total miles. It's sort of crazy to me that I ran 44 miles in one week and I can't believe I hit 147 last month. I by no means consider myself an inspiration, but it is proof that anyone can run - and make time to run. People often ask how I train with a full-time job outside of the home, two kids, and a husband who works nights. I always give the same answer - I make it a priority. Whether it's pushing them in the jogger, getting up at 5 am, breaking a run into two parts, squeezing in a couple of miles during lunch, so be it. I make it work.
Monday: Rest. It actually wasn't that tough going back to work after a week off.
Tuesday: 5 mile run (50:06) with two coworkers
Wednesday: 3 mile run (28:31) with coworkers, then 3.5 miles with Jack and Alice with the jogger after work.
Thursday: 5 miles with Jack and Alice.
Friday: 8 miles - 6 with Alice, left her at my mom's and ran two miles home (mile 7: 10:16 and mile 8: 9:30).
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 20 miles!!! Eek! It was a long run (duh) but felt totally manageable averaging 11:00 minute miles. One more twenty miler the weekend after next then it's taper time!
I feel like what I thought was going to be a washout week actually turned into a solid training week with 44 total miles. It's sort of crazy to me that I ran 44 miles in one week and I can't believe I hit 147 last month. I by no means consider myself an inspiration, but it is proof that anyone can run - and make time to run. People often ask how I train with a full-time job outside of the home, two kids, and a husband who works nights. I always give the same answer - I make it a priority. Whether it's pushing them in the jogger, getting up at 5 am, breaking a run into two parts, squeezing in a couple of miles during lunch, so be it. I make it work.
Monday, September 2, 2013
20 miles is far. Really far.
Sunday morning started off around 6 with a set running time of 7. Melissa met me at home, and humored me while I finished my coffee and ate a piece of toast. Finally we headed out around 7:15 with 20 miles on tap. The first couple of miles were slow and I was a little disappointed when my Garmin said we were running a 12:05 pace.
Around mile 3 my bean burrito (bad choice) from the night before caught up with me and I had to make a pit stop at a gas station. We did two loops, the first being 12 miles. I started fueling early but I think I might have over-fueled and used too many gels with caffeine. I took a Gu at miles 5, 9, and then 13 before starting the second loop. Our miles hovered between 10:30 and 11:00 on the super-hilly route. We stopped to stretch at mile 10 and continued on. When we hit the planned stopped point to get more water at mile 13, Melissa made the tough decision that her run for the day was ending there. I kept telling her that I knew she could finish but at the same time I didn't want to push her too far if she wasn't feeling it.
After saying our goodbyes, I took off (with her Garmin since mine died) to finish. I went a different route than planned because there was a race going on where I was going to run and I didn't feel like getting passed for the next few miles by tons of runners haha. I did a mismatch of miles through main roads and neighborhoods, refueling one more time at mile 17.
The final stretch was tough but I was able to continue running the entire time, which was my goal. Overall pace averaged 11:00 which I am okay with. It was hot and long and I'm really glad I was able to get this under my belt.
I refueled with a giant egg burrito, chocolate milk, and a strong IPA. I feel pretty good today, other than the 360 degrees of chafing around my rib cage from my bra. Ouch. Long runs from here on out include 12, 20, 12, and 8 miles. I can't believe the marathon is so soon!
And just because, here's a pic for you :)
Around mile 3 my bean burrito (bad choice) from the night before caught up with me and I had to make a pit stop at a gas station. We did two loops, the first being 12 miles. I started fueling early but I think I might have over-fueled and used too many gels with caffeine. I took a Gu at miles 5, 9, and then 13 before starting the second loop. Our miles hovered between 10:30 and 11:00 on the super-hilly route. We stopped to stretch at mile 10 and continued on. When we hit the planned stopped point to get more water at mile 13, Melissa made the tough decision that her run for the day was ending there. I kept telling her that I knew she could finish but at the same time I didn't want to push her too far if she wasn't feeling it.
After saying our goodbyes, I took off (with her Garmin since mine died) to finish. I went a different route than planned because there was a race going on where I was going to run and I didn't feel like getting passed for the next few miles by tons of runners haha. I did a mismatch of miles through main roads and neighborhoods, refueling one more time at mile 17.
The final stretch was tough but I was able to continue running the entire time, which was my goal. Overall pace averaged 11:00 which I am okay with. It was hot and long and I'm really glad I was able to get this under my belt.
I refueled with a giant egg burrito, chocolate milk, and a strong IPA. I feel pretty good today, other than the 360 degrees of chafing around my rib cage from my bra. Ouch. Long runs from here on out include 12, 20, 12, and 8 miles. I can't believe the marathon is so soon!
And just because, here's a pic for you :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)