Belated post...but now it's T-11 days til Hatfield McCoy!

Last week : 

M : hill fun 7 / 7:49 / 505 ft

T : yoga class 1 hour

track 8 / 7:54 / 98 ft

(3200, 1600, 800, 400)

W : TRX circuit 30 x 45/15

R : group 7 / 7:20 / 400 ft

F : rest

Sa : 10 / 9:08 / 856 ft

Su : rest

total miles : 32

My week started strong and was going really well.  I meant for Monday's run to be easy, but once I started up the first hill, I caught hill fever...and the rest is history.  I had to go find more hills to run hard.  It felt so good...  On Tuesday it was POURING rain but it was Track Tuesday and I wasn't going to let the stupid weather be an excuse to quit.  So I picked a short ladder, and we did 1 lap walk recovery between each run in an attempt to keep our legs warm.  My shoes were soaked and sloshing by the time I got to the 800.  For Wednesday's TRX, I did 5  warm-up exercises, a 3x8 workout, and then finished off with a plank.  On Thursday it was raining again, but at least not too hard this time.  I picked a loop with a nice hill in the middle, and set out with Ben & Corey.  I intended for it to be marathon-ish pace.  It ended up being a bit faster for me, but it felt really good to be able to keep up with the guys, even with some conversation.  A few months ago, I couldn't do that, so this was huge for me!  My lungs are definitely a lot stronger now, and of course all my dedicated training is paying off and I am getting faster as well!

Sadly, my strong week crashed about 3 miles into my run on Saturday.  I was in Lewisburg, and had planned a 12 mile run on all my favorite mountain-y hills. I planned to get all or most of it at marathon pace.  But 3 miles in my legs decided they were done for the week.  They just didn't want to move.  So, I jogged the loop instead, and finished out the bare minimum loop at 10 miles, instead of adding on at the end to get 12.  I was disappointed to feel so bad on this run, but I've been really lucky to have so many good runs lately, and am hoping that tired legs was the only thing wrong.  I'm counting on not feeling like that on marathon day as long as I am super careful for the next 11 days!  

Meal Prep : 5/22-5/26 One Pot Meal

Chicken

Veggies

Quinoa

Ingredients : 

1/3 onion, chopped 

2 B/S chicken breasts, chopped

1 c chicken broth

honey mustard

3/4 c quinoa

12 oz frozen broccoli

12 oz frozen cauliflower

garlic powder

salt

corn starch

Brown the onion in a large skillet on medium heat with some olive oil.    Next add the chicken, garlic powder, and salt, and cook til most of the pink is gone.    Then add all remaining ingredients except the corn starch.  Cover and simmer until the quinoa is done.  (10-15 minutes).  If there is too much liquid left, mix a teaspoon of corn starch with a bit of cold water, then add to the skillet and stir til thickened, then remove from heat.  

Notes : The broccoli had lost it's bright green color by the time the quinoa was done, so I know I overcooked the veggies.  They should probably be added a bit later.  

post-long run

This week: 

M : bike w/Chuck 20.3 / 16.2 mph / 1385 ft

T : bike w/Chuck & Joe 20.4 / 14.7 mph / 1207 ft

W : TRX 3 x 10 @ 45/15

shakeout 1 / 7:54 / 0 ft

R : yoga class 1 hour

group run 4.7 / 7:53 / 253 ft

F : rest

Sa : run w/ Mollie 7.1 / 8:39 / 154 ft

Su : workout 15 minutes

total run miles : 12.8

total bike miles : 40.7

It was hard not to run for so many days in a row...but I managed!  I tried to wait til Thursday, but after Wednesday's TRX in an 80 degree apartment I really wanted to feel a breeze.  Also, I went overkill on the squats and lunges and I wanted to shake out my legs.  At least I only did a mile, and I skipped the inhaler so that I couldn't go too far or fast anyway.  It felt good though, and so Thursday I felt good about going for a good 4-5 mile run.  In the meantime, my bike got some good use while I was resting my foot!  

On Thursday I started with the guys.  They were running faster than I wanted to go, but I let them carry me for a few miles, and then I split off to jog back to the brewery while they continued on, since they wanted more miles than me anyway.  My foot hurt a little bit, but it's unavoidable as the roads I was running on had the same camber that hurt it to begin with!  

On Saturday, Mollie and I headed to Damascus where we ran around town and up and down the Creeper Trail while people-watching at the Trail Days Festival.  We ran the first 4.5 ish miles together, then she stopped and I picked up the pace and got a few more miles in.  It was hot and sunny, but I felt pretty good.  

Creeper Trail on a gorgeous day.

I ran 30 miles and it was amazing

Jumping for Joy at the conclusion of my 30 mile run!

I am in awe of how well my 30 mile run went!  I knew I was in shape for it, and I didn't really have any doubts about my ability to finish it, but I didn't expect to feel good during it.  I'm not saying the whole thing felt like a jaunt in the park, but it almost did.  And for how far I went and how many hours I spent running, it basically did feel like a jaunt in the park.  I have felt a lot worse than that on runs that were a lot shorter!

This week : 

M : run 4.2 / 8:04 / 161 ft

T : run 4.5 / 7:20 / 85 ft

8 x 400 (90, 88, 88, 89, 87, 88, 86, 85)

W : bike 12.4 / 18.1 mph / 768 ft

R : 60 min yoga class

run 5 / 7:14 / 203 ft

3 @ goal hm pace (6:38, 6:41, 6:39)

F : rest

Sa : run 30 / 8:27 / 1299 ft

Su : 35 min yoga stretching

total run miles : 43.7

total bike miles : 12.4

Recap of long run : 

Mentally, I felt great for the entire run.  I was cheerful, I was enjoying the experience, and I never hit a wall of any kind.  I had Tailwind Nutrition in my camelbak, sipped frequently, and never got calorie depleted or thirsty.  I had brought a gel and some chews just in case, but never used them or felt like I needed them.  Ben ran the first 23.7 with me, and then handed me off to Mollie and Joe who ran to the finish with me, joined by Jim at mile 27.5.  I am grateful to all the friends who supported me in this run, it was definitely nice to have the company out there!

The weather was overcast, high 50s, and extremely humid.

The first loop of the run went really smoothly.  Ben and I cruised along up and down the hills and kept a good steady pace averaging around 8 minute miles.  The second loop sent us down a very muddy rail trail, and then back onto the road.  We continued to keep a really good pace, with uphill miles a bit slower and downhill miles a bit faster.

I started having intermittent knee pain sometime around mile 13, but it never got too bad, and it never lasted too long, so it wasn't worrying.  Sometime around mile 22 I could no longer ignore the fact that my feet were hurting, but it was just normal been-on-my-feet-for-hours pain.  Around mile 27, I got a sharper pain along the outside of my left foot, that got persistently worse.  By mile 28 it hurt a lot.  It hurt less if I bounced along on my toes instead of keeping my normal running stride, so that's what I did.  It hurt bad enough to be worrying, but there was no way I was going to quit with less than 2 miles left to my goal!  It didn't take me long to figure out the cause of the foot pain.  The roads around here are all cambered at the edge.  For almost the entire run, I was running with my left foot on the lower side of the camber.  There were 4 miles of rail trail from 13-17, and sidewalk from 28-30, but other than that, the run was entirely on cambered roads.

I posted updates to my instagram account (@wvhillrunner) throughout my run...here they are.

This one was called : Time to get this party started.  

Taken at 6 AM. 

Shortly after I started down the Creeper Trail. 

Stopped about a mile later to top off my camelbak at a water fountain and take off my shirt.

Less than 4 miles to go and still smiling!

Other photos taken along the way:

And a photo of everyone who ran with me at one time or another!  

Ben was waiting for us at my house when we finished, 

along with Mollie's husband who took the photo.  

Now, I will have to take it easy until the foot recovers.  I desperately do NOT want this to turn into a lasting injury.  My marathon is now less than 4 weeks away!  I plan to bike until the foot pain is gone.  

Meal Prep 5/8 - 5/12

Last weekend, I made my lunches AND dinners for the week.  And it made my week so easy! I am already used to grabbing my ready-made lunch in the morning, but having dinner also ready made my evenings so much smoother and allowed me to eat earlier than 8 every night!  Bliss.

lunch

black beans

crock pot pulled pork

sauteed carrots

Black beans simmered in water until soft, then sauteed in bacon grease with garlic powder, onion, and mushrooms.

Small pork tenderloin placed in the crockpot, sprinkled with garlic powder, top covered in some barbecue sauce, and then enough chicken broth added to cover the bottom of the pot and about halfway up the tenderloin.  Cooked on low until done and then shredded with forks. 

Carrots sauteed in olive oil and garlic powder.  

I also added snacks this week, since I needed to gain a bit of weight back that I lost from my increased mileage and workouts.  I brought cashews and triscuits to work and munched a bit whenever I got hungry.  

dinner

angel hair pasta

broccoli-cauliflower pesto

veggies (not pictured)

My basil plant desperately needed to be trimmed back, so I cut off many of the leaves to make some pesto.  First, I dumped a bag each of frozen broccoli and frozen cauliflower into a pot and steamed them til almost done, then sauteed them the rest of the way.  I then put them in a blender with olive oil, garlic powder, and the fresh basil, and pureed it.  Finally, I tossed the pesto with some angel hair pasta.  Deliciousness.  I supplemented with fresh veggies on top each night, and sometimes a pouch of salmon for some protein.  

grab & go meals ready in the fridge

I have missed running alone

I love my running group and running friends, of course!  But after running alone for so many years, sometimes I really miss it.  And it is hard to figure out where I am race-pace wise when I am always running someone else's pace.  Also, running has always been something I do for me and it is really nice to put in headphones and just go!  Nothing but the pavement, my thoughts, and the music to keep me company if my thoughts shut up for a minute or two. This week I was feeling burned out on running with people and definitely enjoyed all my solo runs!

This week : 

M : TRX @ GVF 45 minutes

horseback ride 35 minutes

hill run 4 / 7:38 / 315 ft

Pub Run 3.1 / 9:09 / 0ft

T : solo track ladder 8.5 / 9:01 / 98 ft

200,400,600,800,1000,1000,800,600,400,200, walk recoveries 200-400

W : 6 / 8:10 / 282 ft

R : 7 / 7:26 / 338 ft

5 miles tempo alternating goal marathon/half marathon paces 

F : yoga 20 minutes

Sa : 12.5 / 8:14 / 650 ft

Su: TRX 30 x 45/15

total miles : 41.1

I was still in Lewisburg on Monday, as I used my 2 personal days for the year on Monday and Tuesday and spent a long weekend there.  It was nice to do a TRX class at the gym where my friend is an instructor, and then I relaxed for awhile before going to ride horses with her.  That evening,  I enjoyed running some quick hills before the Pub Run, despite the crazy wind storm that was going on, and then had a nice easy 5k with a friend for the Pub Run.  

On Tuesday, the guys backed out of the track workout since they had done their long run on Sunday instead of Saturday, but I was determined to stick to my plan so I went to the track alone.  I ran my intervals by feel rather than by the watch, and was happy to be within 3 seconds on each pair of intervals especially since all but 600s were faster the second time.

200s : 40, 38

400s : 1:29, 1:27

600s : 2:15, 2:18

800s : 3:10, 3:07

1000s : 4:01, 4:00

Wednesday is normally a workout or rest day, but it was absolutely gorgeous and warm out, so I couldn't resist going for a nice easy jog.  (Especially since there was no usual faculty meeting and so I got home on time)

On Thursday I decided I wanted to run alone instead of with the group, so that I could really focus on my own pace.  The idea was to alternate goal marathon/half marathon pace, but I am really bad at running my planned paces... I would like to blame the hills for that, as they make it hard to stick to a pace, but I know it is also due to me not being quite disciplined enough.  My goal marathon pace doesn't tend to feel very fast, so it's hard to consider it a "real" workout.  Currently, goal marathon pace is 7:30, and goal half marathon pace is 6:40.  My marathon pace miles were too fast and my half marathon pace miles were too slow, but the hills were different for every mile, and definitely played a role in the pacing.  In the end, I'm just going to say the marathon/half marathon "efforts" were being exerted and call it good enough.  

Friday is usually my complete rest day, but I hadn't done yoga all week.  I really wasn't in the mood for it on Friday either though, so I did about 10-15 minutes of yoga and then did a bit of stretching, and decided it was all close enough.  

My plan for Saturday changed many times, both while planning it and during the actual run.  I believe I had originally planned 12, but at some point decided to do 14 instead.  I then played with the idea of doing 5-7 tempo miles in the middle of it.  However, at some point in the middle of the week I discovered that I was about 5 lbs under my ideal weight.  (Apparently all the extra miles + a reduction in the already-small bit of weekly alcohol I was drinking finally took their toll).  I did not want to carry water/fuel for a run of 14 miles or less.  I started out my run thinking I was going to do 14.  But then I got to thinking about how big a difference 5 lbs underweight is for me.  And about how I had run 18.5 last weekend and was doing 30 next weekend.  And how all those factors meant I should not be overdoing it this weekend.  First, I dropped the idea of tempo miles because I didn't think I could do them efficiently while underweight without fuel.  Then I dropped the 14 mile idea thinking 12 was plenty in between last weekend's and next weekend's miles.  The one goal I stuck to was wanting to keep the average pace between 8 and 8:30.  I was doing pretty well for most of the run, but the last 4 miles were really windy.  In my face wind.  I thought for sure I was going to completely lose the pace, but somehow it appears I did a good job of fighting the wind!  And I suspect I am also just stronger than I want to give myself credit for....  I have done so few long runs alone in the last few months, it is hard to know what pace I am really capable of.  I was really happy with my average pace for this run.  It was less than half of the marathon distance, but I was not trying to race it either.  It was a great solo mid-distance training run to see where I am.  

It was chilly on Saturday (it felt so weird to wear long sleeves),

but it was gorgeous out!

Upcoming

Next weekend I am doing a very belated 30 miles for 30 years (which might end up being an early 31 for 31...  I was not in shape to run 30 miles on my 30th birthday, but had thought I would either bike 30 miles or run 30 minutes.  Instead, I started celebrating the end of the school year at noon with my coworkers, and then went straight to my birthday party at 6.  Now, I am actually capable of running 30 miles, and I am determined to do it before I turn 31.  I had originally planned it for the 20th, but then I decided I should move it up a week to give myself more time to recover before my June 10 marathon.