Real Life Marathon Training : Road to Boston

Road to Boston : a/k/a marathon training by barely running a marathon a week. In which I came to the conclusion that 20-30 miles a week, in 3 runs, is my body's running happy place. Much more than 30 miles or 3 runs is too much for me while working a full time job and trying not to fall asleep on the couch at 8 PM.

I can make all sorts of grand plans for marathon training, but the truth is they never work out.  Life always gets in the way.  I didn't get nearly as many long runs as I wanted to in this training cycle, but it all worked out in the end!  My primary goal for Boston was to feel "good" during the race, rather than feel like I was dying the whole time like I did at Pittsburgh.  Despite my training hiccups (cough that lasted 3+ months), I DID achieve my primary goal!  Hatfield McCoy still wins as the marathon I felt the best in (hello ALL the long runs, including a 30 miler), but Boston gets to go down as the 2nd best!  The other three were mostly misery.

This training cycle came out to 22 weeks.  I didn't actually know how many weeks long it was until I counted them the week of Boston.  Basically, marathon training started the week when I knew I had achieved the proper fitness to run 10+ miles, 3 times a week (or 30 miles in 3 runs).  The very first week I did this, I knew it was the right plan for me.  My body felt so much better on each run, even though they were longer, because of the extra rest days I had.  I was probably supposed to bike 1-2 times a week along with the 3 runs, but I rarely did.  I did strength train 1-2 times per week though.



Week 1: 11/12-18
36.8 miles : 11, 12, 3.1, 10.6
The extra 3.1 this week was a women's 5k that I walk/jogged with the 7 year old.  Made the last run of the week a tempo run : 3 up, 4 tempo, 3+ down.  The tempo portion included hills and paces ranged from 7:04-6:50.

Week 2 : 11/19-25
39 miles : 12, 10.4, 16.6
First official long run of this training cycle.  Not as easy as I'd hoped for, but I kept the pace under 8:00 the whole time so I felt pretty good about it!  I completely ignored the fact that my knee started hurting 2-3 miles in, and just kept on going.  Luckily, it turned to be fine and I didn't put myself out of training by being stupid in week 2.

Week 3 : 11/26-12/2
25.3 miles : 8.1, 8.7, 8.5
After the 16 miler, I decided I should back off for a week.  The cold rainy weather also helped influence this decision.

Week 4 : 12/3-9
22 miles : 10, 12
The 12 miler was an impromptu 8 mile tempo, hills included, with paces from 7:31-6:59. Then the Snowpocalypse hit, the roads weren't clear, and the snow was too deep to run through.  So I hit the bike trainer for an hour instead of getting my 3rd run.

Week 5 : 12/10-16
34.6 miles : 8.5, 6.3, 10, 9.8
Our road finally got plowed.  I wasn't confident enough in the state of the roads in general to drive anywhere, so on Monday I ran laps around the neighborhood.  ~1 mile figure 8 laps.  I wanted 10 miles, but called it quits at 8.5 because I was losing my mind.  I ran again the next day to make up for it.  My legs complained the whole time because "I don't run 2 days in a row anymore." I probably would have quit for the week after the 3rd run, but some friends offered to run with me on Sunday.

Week 6 : 12/17-23
32.3 miles : 8.3, 14, 10
10 mile run was 3 mile tempo, 2 mile tempo, 1 mile sprint, with 1 mile up, recoveries, and down.

Week 7 : 12/24-30
8 miles : 8
I took 6 days off to spend time with family over the holidays, and to see if the random pain on the top of my right foot would go away.

Week 8 : 12/31-1/6
30 miles : 8, 10, 12
Developed a head cold somewhere around this time.  Tried to run a marathon-pace 8 miles anyway (10 mile run).  Paces ranged from 7:39-7:04 on mostly flat road.

Week 9 : 1/7-13
23.6 miles : 8.6, 15
New orthotics this week, hooray!  Still dealing with the cough and trying to take it easy so as to get better.

Week 10 : 1/14-20
39.2 miles : 10, 5.6, 5.5, 18.1
4 runs this week because I revisited Track Tuesday and didn't want to run 10+ 2 days in a row.  Ran the 18 miler with a friend and didn't feel too bad, although didn't feel super strong either, and it was slower than I would have liked.  Cough still lingering.
Track Tuesday : 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400.  400 walk recoveries.


Week 11 : 1/21-27
26 miles : 6.4, 11.5, 8.1
The first run was short because it was a recovery run after the 18 miler, and because I forgot my inhaler... I felt great on the other two runs this week and was happy that both were around 7:35 average pace.  Still coughing.

Week 12 : 1/28-2/3
31.2 miles : 10. 8.1, 13.1
Slower runs this week in frigid temps, debated about doing the half marathon on Saturday given my head cold/cough, but decided to do it anyway.  Didn't push super hard but finished in 1:36:27 and felt great about it!

Week 13 : 2/4-10
17.6 miles : 9.5, 8.1
My legs/body were tired and dragging this week so I cut both runs short and didn't run a 3rd time. I did bike twice though, once outside on a random warm day, and the other on the trainer. Cough still not gone.

Week 14 : 2/11-17
40.7 miles : 11, 8.7, 21
STILL COUGHING.  Woke up feeling even sicker on Saturday morning but was determined to get the long run anyway.  Was afraid to put it off and never get it.  Run didn't feel too bad, other than the random foot cramp that kept coming and going.  Almost had to call it quits several times but then the pain would go away.


Week 15 : 2/18-24 
0 miles
Took the whole week off, trying to get this stupid cough to go away!  Also, I've learned that sometimes my legs really appreciate a week off.  It's hard on my mental game, but it definitely never hurts my legs to get a break in the middle of a long training cycle.

Week 16 : 2/25-3/3
17.3 miles : 5.1, 6. 6.2
Gave up on every getting rid of the cough, went to the doctor.  Got put on a steroid to help get rid of it.  Was told I could go straight back to running if I felt like it. Could have run forever on Tuesday, but called it quits at 5 because I wanted to be smart.  Cough still wasn't gone by the end of the week.

Week 17 : 3/4-10
26.1 miles : 9.5, 8.5, 8.1
On Monday my legs felt great for exactly 8 miles and then they not so politely requested that I stop immediately.  I crawled through the last 1.5.  On Saturday, I attempted a tempo progression run, but had the wind in my face going out, and at my back coming back, so that influenced my paces quite a bit... I killed the last tempo mile in 6:31.  Still coughing.

Week 18 : 3/11-17
22.2 miles : 8.1, 8, 6
Legs were feeling sluggish, but then I ran a 4 mile race on Friday evening and it felt SO GOOD to run fast! Averaged 6:43 pace.  Still coughing.  I'll be coughing for the rest of my life.

Week 19 : 3/18-24
32 miles :14, 8, 10
I felt GREAT this week!  14 miler was under 8:00 pace, the 8 miler was a 2x2 mile tempo, and the 10 miler was an unplanned tempo run because I just felt so good.  Yep, still coughing.

Week 20 : 3/25-31
30.7 miles : 8.1, 12.1, 10.5
On Wednesday, I decided to revisit the track.  I was 3.5 miles in when I got to the track.  I was thinking about doing 1 mile repeats.  At the end of the first 1600, I felt like I could hold the pace for another 1600...so I kept going.  And then I went down by 2 laps at a time, with my final interval being 800.  400 walk recoveries in between each interval.  Cough is still here, but at this point I'm just pretending it's not. Life goes on.

Week 21 : 4/1-7
25 miles : 18, 7
I know it's awfully close to race day for a long run, but mentally I needed one more long run before the big day!  I felt pretty good for this 18, and that made me feel much better going into Boston!  Cough?  Oh yeah, that's still here.  Whatever.

Week 22 : 4/8-14
20.1 miles : 8, 6.1, 6
Trying to take it easy this week to be as well rested as possible for Boston!

April 15 : Marathon Day!
26.2 miles
3:34:37 What an incredible experience!  Race recap coming soon.

Thursday Thoughts : marathon training...or not.

My thoughts towards marathon training have been all over the map lately.  There's the part of me that says my body clearly does not want to handle the level of training that my mind says I can handle.  There's also the part of me that says I am not a quitter and I'm not going to let anything get in my way. 

Maybe I keep having setbacks because my goals are beyond what my body is capable of.  Maybe I keep having setbacks because I am just too enthusiastic about training and I keep upping my mileage/pace too quickly.  Maybe I keep having setbacks just because life happens and luck has not been on my side.  It's probably a combination of all 3 scenarios...

Now that I've lost a full month of marathon training, I was seriously considering deferring my Pittsburgh Marathon entry for a year.  Not because I think it is impossible for me to be ready for the race in May, but more just to take the self-induced pressure off myself for awhile.  And also because I will be chaperoning a week-long field trip to Tybee Island/Savannah with my middle school students the week before the marathon and so I will already be exhausted when I hit the starting line.  The timing of this field trip + marathon will not be kind to me.  BUT, it turns out the Pittsburgh Marathon does not give you the option to defer entry for a year, like some races do.  So, I'm going to run the race this year, but am currently working on convincing myself not to care about my finish time, but just to run the race for love of the run. 

I know I still have plenty of time to prepare for the race and maybe I will magically manage to get adequate sleep on the field trip and arrive in Pittsburgh well-rested and ready to crush the race, but realistically that is unlikely. 

After several weeks of just a few 3-4 mile runs per week, I have successfully run two 6 mile runs so far this week, and my foot seems to be doing ok.  I have new orthotics to help take pressure off my tendonitis, and today I test-ran a new pair of Hokas that are nice and stiff to help reduce the bending in my foot as I run, which should also help.  It's still too early to go back to planning long runs, but I'm starting to feel more optimistic about being able to resume training rather than needing to take a month completely off. 

Today, I'm grateful for a fabulous test-run in my new Clifton 4s, with a last mile fast-finish of 6:56.

I'm also grateful for shorts weather twice in one week, in February.

And, of course, I'm grateful for my running buddies!

Christmas Vacation Week 2

I'm sending off 2017 with a bang!  After staying healthy all month, I let myself jump the gun by a week on marathon training, because I felt good and I wanted to take advantage of it!  And see how many more miles I could squeeze into this highest-mileage-ever year!

This week : 

M : run w/Coby 3.1 / 7:51 / 174 ft

T : run 7 / 8:02 / 620 ft

W : circuit training 36:00

R : run 13.2 / 8:35 / 876 ft

F : TRX 20:00

Sa : run w/Jaime 10 / 7:35 / 505 ft

Su : run 7 / 7:23 / 518 ft

total miles : 40.3

Thursday was absolutely frigid ("20 feels like 10") but I had planned for a long run, so a long run is what I dragged myself out the door to do, wearing many layers of fleece and wool.  It was hard to get moving under all those layers so I really didn't even try to pick up the pace, I just let myself slog along.  It's gotta be better for my body to take the longer runs slow anyway, especially after taking it easy for a month.  

On Saturday I really enjoyed finally getting to run with Jaime!  It's hard to work our schedules out since she normally trains while her kids are in school and I'm teaching at that school so... but we finally found a time that worked for both of us, and had a great run.  It's rare that I get to run with a female my speed!  We're hoping to work out some more weekend runs, as I marathon train and she trains for the marathon portion of an Ironman.  

I had more than my 30 miles for the week after Thursday's run, but I was still feeling really good and of course wanted to squeeze a few more miles into the year so out I went today to bring my week up to 40 and my year up to...1584.9... If only I had known, I would have gone that extra 0.1!  But of course it doesn't really matter.   And there are bits and pieces of cool downs that didn't get recorded so of course I ran that 1585+ this year anyway.  

and then it snowed

...but I didn't let that stop me from getting my mileage!  AND apparently my lungs are finally recovered because I survived a very chilly run with the guys today, at a pace that was definitely a struggle for me, and I didn't cough at all afterwards!  Hooray!

This week : 

M : group run 4 / 7:53 / 171 ft

T : circuit training 35:00

W : group run 8.5 / 8:02 / 397 ft

R : run w/Beth 6.6 / 8:12 / 338 ft

F : rest

Sa : TRX 40:00

run 6 / 7:48 / 433 ft

Su : group run 7.6 / 7:43 / 495 ft

total miles : 32.8

I decided to check out the Bristol running group this week.  It's hard for me to get motivated to study after driving home from work, so I decided that on the days of the Bristol run group, I would go to the library after work and study til run-time.  It worked really well for me this week.  On Monday I actually got to study outside in one of the city parks because it was so nice out (a little bit chilly, but just barely warm enough, and possibly the last warm day).  Some of the group members were the same ones I see in Abingdon, but there were a few different members as well.  It was really nice to run somewhere different for a change!  And added bonus, the brewery we meet at has a really awesome firepit to warm up by after the run.  

On Friday it snowed pretty much all day, although hardly accumulated, and then it snowed more Saturday.  And Saturday night.  I never had more than 1/2 inch to brush off my car as most of the snow didn't stick, but it did make the roads slick so I had to be a bit more careful while running!  

Today I just wanted the 5 I needed to get to 30 for the week, but I picked a loop I thought was about 6 miles, and it turned out to be 7.6.  Oops.  I let the boys set the pace for most of the run; it was a struggle to keep up at times, but I decided it was ok to make myself work a bit.  Once we hit 6 miles though, my legs were fatiguing, so I decided to slow it down the rest of the way.  It's not often that I run 5 days in one week, and I did put in some really good miles this week especially considering how easy the past two weeks were.  My next planned day off is Thursday, but I expect tomorrow's run to be short and easy with the Bristol group.  

New month, new plan

I spent most of November in and out of a bad head cold, resulting in no running for the entire last week of the month.  The violent coughing finally subsided enough for me to resume running on Friday of this week.  Thankfully the afternoons have been in the high 50s, if it was much colder I probably would have had to wait even longer before running again. It's supposed to get cold again this coming week, I'm hoping I'll be able to continue running without bringing back the cough but I will be taking it one day at a time and trying really hard to stay healthy!

While running over the past few days, and thinking about the past month, I made the decision not to start marathon training until January.  I wanted to jump straight in, but I've decided that's not the smartest decision.  I need to make sure I am fully healthy before I start putting the demands of marathon training on my body.  So, December will be about running for fun.  I still hope to keep my mileage at 25-30 miles a week, but I'll run whatever feels good distance and pace-wise.  I think I'm going to try to get to 5 days a week of running so that each run can be a bit shorter, but I may or may not manage to fit 5 days into the schedule.  Really, I'll be taking it one day at a time! 

This week : 

 M : rest

T : circuit training 35:00

walk 1 mile

W : rest

R : TRX 30:00

F : run 4 / 8:09 / 210 ft

Sa : run 6.7 / 7:53 / 341 ft

Su : TRX 40:00

run 5.1 / 744 / 384 ft

total miles : 15.9

I realize that running 3 days in a row after 7 days off may or may not be the smartest choice, especially given how sore my legs have been from Thursday's TRX, but I just had to go enjoy the warm(ish) sunshine!  It was hard to keep the runs as short as I did, but I did manage to contain myself and not run 10 milers.  

6 days til Star City!

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

T : yoga class 1 hr

run 10 / 8:34 / 906 ft

W : trainer ride 11.1 / 46:57 / 14.2 mph

TRX 10 minute abs

R : rest

F :  run 9 / 7:18 / 679 ft

Sa : run 6.1 / 7:50 / 482 ft

Su : TRX 35:00

trainer ride 12 / 48:37 / 14.8 mph

total run miles : 25.2

total bike miles : 23.1

Thankful to say my cough is almost entirely gone!  I've definitely been taking extra good care of myself lately, and maybe that special homemade chicken soup helped too.  

I hadn't originally planned to run fast on Friday, but I felt good starting out and my legs really wanted to go, so I ended up deciding to let them.  I didn't look at the pace while I was running, just ran as fast as I could maintain comfortably without getting too out of breath, then picked it up even faster for the last 2 miles (7:08, 7:06).  It felt really good, and was a great boost of confidence for me as I enter the final week before Star City!  

In other news, today is exactly 6 years since I ran my first marathon!  I've been thinking lately about how grateful I am to have had Jim as my running partner back then.  When I came up with the crazy scheme to run a half marathon, he trained and raced with me.  He did the same when I decided to be even crazier and run a marathon 11 months later.  If it weren't for him encouraging me, training with me, and traveling to those races with me, who knows where I'd be now.  Maybe I would have eventually run these distances anyway, maybe I would have kept running a 5k a day forever.  But I bet I wouldn't be about to run my 33rd half marathon in less than a week, or planning my 4th marathon in 6 months.  My running fitness has come a long way in the last 6 years, and I can't wait to see how much further I can take it!  

Flashback!  11/12/2011

PS : I can see my abs.  They aren't super 6-pack defined yet...but they are definitely there.  Exciting. 

and then I got sick for the first time in over a year

I really need to learn to acknowledge/heed the warnings my body sends me so that it doesn't have to hit the self-destruct button just to get my attention.  I know that I can fight off head colds when I'm doing everything right, and it's not hard to figure out exactly what I did wrong in the last 2 weeks. My nightly sleep slipped down from 8-9 hrs/night to 7-7.5, which is probably what hurt me the most.  And then there's the fact that I let myself freeze in my apt, while bordering the underweight line, instead of just paying the extra $20/month it would probably have cost me to keep the heat higher.  My body wasted so much energy trying to keep me warm, it couldn't fight off the head cold.  Lesson learned: it's not worth it to save $20 a month.  I'm two weeks out from my race and now I have a cough that is unlikely to be gone by then, since it usually takes me an average of a month to fully get rid of a cough.  The only good side to this is that I'm being forced to take it easier in these weeks leading up to the race, when I would have kept training hard until the last week.  So the forced easier runs will probably help in the end.  But, depending on the coughing situation, I may not be able to get the PR I've been working so hard for.  My lungs have been the only thing preventing me from getting one before this, and they are now compromised.  I haven't completely given up hope yet, and I know there will be other chances next year, but this PR is what all my training has been leading up to for the last year, so it will be really hard if I show up to race day knowing it's not in the cards.  BUT I've been taking extra good care of myself since Wednesday, and even made chicken soup from an entire chicken for the first time ever today.  All I can do now is continue to take extra good care of myself and hope for the best!


The plan this week was a 4 mile tempo on Tuesday and 10 miles on Thursday.  But Tuesday we got out of school at 1 for Halloween, so I decided to take advantage of the extra time and do my long run.  After making plans to run a few miles with Chuck in the middle, I decided to push the first few.  I'm glad I ended up getting those fast miles in, because when Thursday came around I was too sick to do a tempo run.  The last mile was my fastest at 6:50, and miles 2 & 3 were also under 7:00, so I definitely got some tempo miles in this week.

This week : 

M : hill run 6.3 / 8:34 / 725 ft

T : circuit training 33:15

run 9 / 7:27 / 397 

(3.6 hard, 4 moderate w/Chuck, solo finish with last 1 hard)

W : rest

R : run 5 / 9:02 / 344 ft

F : rest 

Sa : walk 1.6

TRX 35:00

Su : run w/Corey 12.45 / 8:09 / 814 ft

total miles 32.7

In other news, there are only 2 months left in the year and I am 80+ miles ahead of my goal for 1500 miles in 2017.  October saw the fewest runs of any month, but the 3rd highest mileage, 2nd highest elevation gain, and it definitely had a greater percentage of faster runs!  I've already passed last year's mileage, and the 2 years before that were each under 1000.  It's nice to be injury free!

ugh, winter is here

I made myself a training schedule to follow until Star City and I followed it really well until today, when I decided that the planned 4 miler was not in my best interest.  I needed a shakeout, but it was too cold and damp for an effective shakeout so I did yoga instead.  Turns out I would have seen the first snowflakes of the season if I had gone for that run...I have no regrets.  I am so totally not ready for winter.  I've had the heat on for almost 2 weeks now, and I know I made it til November last year.  Also, despite all the layers of sweats I wear, I keep having to turn up the heat higher and higher.  This top floor apartment has ceiling heat, who's brilliant idea was that?! And I currently have no downstairs neighbor, so no heat rising from below.  I really hope someone moves in soon... I made my budget assuming I'd manage to keep the heat around 55 like I did last winter, not taking into account the fact that I currently weigh less than I did last year, and that I have no downstairs neighbor.  I fully expect to gain some weight back after this race, but I'm thinking I still won't be able to tough out the cold quite as much as I did last winter. 


In other news, I nailed my track workout this week!  And it was a big win for my lungs.  I actually ran the whole way to the brewery to meet the guys (0.7 miles) and then started towards the track with them before realizing that I had not used my inhaler.  And I wasn't even having trouble breathing yet.  I was half-tempted to try the whole run without it, but I had mile repeats planned and didn't want to risk bombing them.  We practically run by my place to get to the track though, so we made a pit stop.  My goal was at least 3 mile repeats, at slightly faster than goal half marathon pace.  I wanted 5, but I knew I would stop after 3 if I didn't feel like I could hold the consistency.  After 4, I was still feeling really good so I went for 5.  I probably could have done 6, but it was full dark by the time we finished the 5th, and it wasn't worth it to keep running when we could barely see the track and we were getting really cold.  5 was a good workout though, I was running strong and consistent (6:19-6:22 pace), barely out of breath at the end of each one, and the 400m walk recovery was plenty. 

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

run 5 / 8:19 / 545 ft 

(easy effort hill run)

T : yoga class 1 hr

run 8.4 / 8:43 / 344 ft

(5 x 1600 w/400 walk recovery)

W : rest

R : run w/ Corey 10 / 7:34 / 502 ft 

(8 @ moderate effort (7:40 ish), last 2 hard - 7:15, 6:46)

F : TRX 45 minutes

Sa : run 8.3 / 7:57 / 650 ft

Su : yoga 30 min

total miles : 31.7

T-20 days til Star City!  

fewer runs, same mileage

This is how I would like to get my mileage more often.  Fewer, longer, runs.  It would be really nice to start getting closer to 40 miles in 4 runs, but that's too ambitious for me right now.  I am really happy with how this week's runs went however, and know that if I can stay strong and train smart for the next month, I have a really good shot at the half marathon PR that I want.

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

T : yoga 30 min

group track 9 / 9:40 / 305 ft

(lap ladder : 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4)

W : yoga 50 min

R : run w/Corey 10.2 / 7:40 / 584 ft

F : TRX arms & abs circuit 33:15

Sa : long run 12 / 8:10 / 794 ft

Su : rest

total miles : 31.2

Track Tuesday : half-time recovery on the way down the ladder, full-time recovery on the way back up.  1 lap walk + another minute or so in between the 400s.  1600s were intended to be at goal half marathon pace.  I was aiming for 6:30ish.  It's hard to run half marathon pace on the track, but at least having the thought in my head helps me not run my intervals too crazy fast.  Tried to get just a little bit faster as the intervals shortened. 

1600 : 6:27

1200 : 4:46

800 : 3:08

400 : 1:26

400 : 1:29 

800 : 3:14

1200 : 4:44

1600 : 6:24

On Thursday, I was exhausted and just tying my running shoes felt like a chore I didn't want to do.  BUT I got my shoes tied, pulled myself off the floor, and showed up to run club.  I knew I might not get more than 4 miles, and if I continued to feel bad after starting the run I wouldn't have pushed for mileage, but I also knew that running might actually increase my energy.  And it did!  I ended up feeling stronger the further we got.  I could have called it quits at 8.5 but instead I decided to add on instead of running straight home as we finished a big loop.  With 19 miles in two runs it seemed like I may as well stick with the theme and so I planned to get my 30 miles in just 3 runs this week.  

I hoped to feel strong after coming off a big hill in Saturday's run, and to add on more miles, but I was done for at the top of the hill, so I ran it on home.  I knew I could make it the last 2 downhill miles home without sacrificing pace too much, and knew that quality was more important than quantity, so I didn't make myself add to get to 14 miles like I considered.  

I spent most of today (Sunday) debating whether or not to go for a shake-out jog, since I'm feeling pretty good and it's always tempting to try and get more miles in, but ultimately it looks like I have decided to wait for tomorrow.  I want to be able to get a few miles in after circuit training tomorrow.  As much as I love the "Fewer runs, greater miles" thing, I'd like to get a good 14+ mile run next weekend, so I'm thinking it will be better if I do fewer, slightly shorter, runs throughout the week.  

Picking up the Pace

For awhile now I have been working on including slower runs in my week, and doing a warm-up mile before running faster miles.  I've also been working hard to hold myself back in the first mile of half marathons in order not to go out to fast.  This strategy has not been working super well for me.  It was not my strategy when I was running my best races, and I do not want it to be my strategy anymore.  My best runs have always been about consistency, not about starting slow and speeding up.  So consistency is what I'm working on getting back to.

I can see how starting slow and speeding up is a good strategy for other people, especially to help warm-up the legs, but here is why I think it is not useful to me.  My legs are not my limiting factor when I run.  My lungs are.  And once I establish a pace, it is really hard for my lungs to adjust to a faster pace.  When my lungs struggle, my legs don't get enough oxygen, and then my legs struggle.  If I establish a quicker pace in the beginning, that is the pace that my lungs settle to, and so I'm able to hold it for awhile.  This doesn't mean I want to start off a half-marathon at 6:00 pace, but it does mean that I don't need to be trying to hold myself to 7:30 in my first mile.

My current training goal is to increase my average pace on weekly runs less than 8 or 9 miles.  Less 8:00-8:30, more 7:00-7:45.  My lungs don't get stronger on slow runs, they get stronger when I make them work.  I ran a strong race at the Bluegrass 1/2, but my goal half marathon time is several minutes faster.  I want to get my lungs and legs used to running faster consistently.  I know that I have to be careful not to over-tire my legs in this process, but I am trusting myself to listen to my body.

This week I ended up with 2 hilly tempo runs, a long hill run, and then another run that was supposed to be 5 and ended up being 7... I felt really good on the first 3 runs. I was getting tired towards the end of today's run, but it made sense after how hard I ran all week!

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

T : group run 7.5 / 7:14 / 413 ft

W : TRX 45 minutes

R : run w/Corey 8 / 7:34 / 554 ft

F : horseback ride 45 minutes

Sa : run 10.1 / 8:17 / 1440 ft

Su :  run w/Ben 7 / 7:40 / 367 ft

total miles : 32.6

At various times over the years when running long hill climbs, I have contemplated turning around at the top to run the hill again.  I never actually did it, until this Saturday.  I was in West Virginia to ride my horse and go for a hill run, and the run was going really, really well.  The sunshine and temperature were perfect, the turning leaves were gorgeous, and I felt good.  I was running a 3.5 mile stretch of Rt 60 that had mile-ish long ups and downs.  On the way out from the house, the road was down, up, down.  When I turned around and climbed the 1.1 mile climb, I just plain loved it.  It had steeper sections and less steep sections, but it went steadily upwards for the whole 1.1 miles.  3/4 of the way up, I knew I wanted to do it again.  I reached the top, and actually turned around to go back down.  It was just as gorgeous the second time, and I never for a second regretted my decision.  

I have been frustrated lately, realizing that I have lost some of my hill strength since leaving WV.  Being able to do those long hill climbs this weekend and feel strong doing them made me feel a lot better!  

The view at the start of Saturday's run.

Heading down the first hill on Saturday.

Enjoyed getting to see this cute Pony on Friday!

Half marathon #32!

The number of half marathons I have run is now greater than the number of years I have spent on this earth!  Today's race went spectacularly well considering all my training hiccups lately!  More about the race in a separate post. 

This week : 

M : circuit training 25:45

run 6 / 7:43 / 479 ft

T : yoga 60 min

run 5.7 / 8:07 / 226 ft

(4 x 800)

W : rest

R : TRX 30 min

run 4 / 7:48 / 276 ft

F : run 3.1 / 7:57 / 157 ft

Sa : hike 5.8 / 869 ft

Su : warm up 0.1 / 7:54 / 0 ft

race 13.3 / 6:55 / 495 ft

cool down 1.8:56 / 30 ft

total miles 33.5

I put myself through a great TRX workout on Thursday.  I was still sore on Saturday, so I decided a hike would be better for my muscles than sitting on the couch.  But then I decided to go to Grayson Highlands and hike up and down some mountains, so I'm not sure my plan worked out so well.  It was absolutely gorgeous though, and I had no regrets about my decision. 

7 is the magic number

7 is the magic number.  For this week anyway.  I didn't even attempt a long run this week.  I don't think I could handle the mental side of it if it went badly with only a week to go til race day.  I hate that my last long run pre-race was bad, but I'm glad I had some really good 7 mile runs this week, and I'm going to be counting on race day adrenaline next Sunday.  Also, constantly reminding myself I don't have to race hard next weekend.  I just have to run.  It can be a long training run if necessary.  I just really really don't want it to feel like my last long run did.

I was excited all week about how low my HR was staying even when I was running faster than usual, and I hit a new V02 max of 56 on Tuesday.  Then today when I was running I spent a bit more time in Z4 and realized that most likely the main reason my HR has been lower all week has been because of the lower temperature.  It was considerably warmer today, so my heart had to work harder.  Duh.  I'm still glad to see improvements in my fitness even if they are related to cooler temps!  It says potential good things about how my fall training will go once I don't have to battle the heat.  Gotta have something to look forward to with the cooler weather instead of just dreading being cold all the time.

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

run 5.5 / 8:03 / 440 ft 

T : yoga class  60 min

group run 6.3 / 7:48 / 305 ft

W : rest

R : TRX circuit 43:00

run 7.5 / 7:29 / 486 ft

F : run 7.6 / 7:55 / 650 ft

Sa : rest

Su : run 7.1 / 7:48 / 522 ft

total miles : 34

On Monday, I taught my first after-school fitness class to some co-workers.  I'm excited for this opportunity to hep others improve their fitness, have some workout buddies, and make a little extra money!  I also do a TRX workout with Gail whenever we can coordinate schedules.  We made it happen this week, and I really loved being able to work out twice, with people, this week!  It is a lot easier for me to get motivated to work out when I have people to do it with.  This week was also the beginning of Tuesday after school yoga for teachers, so I now have that set in my weekly schedule as well.  

1 step forward, 3 steps back

I've been counting on this being the year that I PR the half marathon, but I'm starting to think I need to let go of that goal.  I still have over 2 months til my last race this year, so there's still time for my body to start loving long runs again... but I'm getting pretty discouraged.  Shorter runs are going fine.  I even had a great 2x2 mile repeat run this week.  But my long run was awful.  9:00 minute pace felt unreachable to me by the end.  And that is just not how I want to feel 2 weeks out from my next half marathon!  Sometimes I remind myself that it is possible to race well even when training isn't going perfectly.  Other times I remind myself that I haven't had a truly bad race in a long time so I might be overdue for one.

This week : 

M : run 4.1 / 7:25 / 236 ft

T : run w/Corey 7 / 7:22 / 184 ft

(2 x 2 mile, 1 mile jog recovery)

W : TRX arms 16:00

run 4.2 / 8:02 / 226 ft

R : rest

F : rest

Sa : run w/Corey 13.6/ 8:23 / 623 ft

Su : run 3 / 8:18 / 135 ft

total miles : 31.9

The long run started out fine.  We were averaging 7:30-7:50 pace which is right where I wanted to be.  I kept it up for about 6 miles and then my body just gave up on me and every mile it got harder and harder to keep moving.  The hills weren't long or steep but they took every ounce of energy I had.  I didn't feel anything like my normal hill-loving self.  I don't know if my body is stressed from being back at school, or what.  School is going really well and not feeling stressful, but it is certainly different than being on vacation.  Or maybe I should focus on more 7-9 mile runs and stop trying to throw long runs in the mix with a bunch of 4 milers.  That could be it.  

On the bright side, my 2x2 mile repeats went spectacularly.  I was hoping for 6:30-6:45 pace, and hit that pretty closely.  The first one was slightly downhill, the second one was slightly uphill.  I only had a 9 second difference from the 1st to the 2nd, which is amazing and remarkably consistent given how much the uphill direction on the Creeper Trail usually wears me out.  13:18 for the first repeat and 13:27 for the second.  

Effort-based running

This week : 

 M : TRX arms / 12 minutes

run 4.1 / 7:06 / 217 ft

T : yoga 15 minutes

run w/Ben 9.2 / 7:40 / 525 ft

W : rest

R : run 5.7 / 8:38 / 400 ft

TRX 34 minutes

F :  rest

Sa : yoga 20 minutes

run 14 / 8:07 / 853 ft

Su : yoga 17 minutes

bike w/Dan 20.3 / 18 mph / 1142 ft

total run miles : 33

total bike miles : 20.3

I've been running primarily #nowatchme for the past few weeks. This means that while I am wearing a watch and recording all my runs, I do not allow myself to look at the pace or mile splits while I am running. I decide what kind of effort I want to put in, and that is the effort I exert.  I can't look at my watch to see if my pace matches what I think it should for my effort.  I often keep my watch on the HR screen so that I can judge my effort by my HR, but not accidentally see my pace.  Some days I have the self control not to look at my watch at all.  

On Monday, my legs were itching to go.  I hadn't let myself open up to a fast pace in awhile, and my legs wanted to stretch out.  I had barely been free of calf pain for 24 hours, but sometimes it is worse to hold my legs back, so I decided to let them go.  I kept the effort somewhere between moderate and hard, and did not look at my watch until it was over, other than to check the mileage occasionally because I wanted to make sure I got at least 4.  I was incredibly happy to see my average pace when I completed the run.  7:06 average in a training run without exerting maximum effort was a huge confidence booster for me.  

On Tuesday I was still feeling good and my legs still had that "get up and go" feeling.  I wasn't quite ready to put myself back on the track, so I decided to do a long hill push.  I hadn't run the 2+ mile White's Mill hill in awhile, and I was craving a good long hard climb.  Ben agreed to go with me, so off we went.  We kept the pace easy-moderate on the downhill, and after turning around at the bottom I focused on a good steady push up the hill.  Last time I did this run, I pushed too hard on the first part of the hill and died before I reached the top, so this time I made sure I was keeping something for the final push.  I felt really strong as I pushed up that hill, and was really pleased with the run overall.  

I made myself take Wednesday off because I was afraid of overdoing it and setting myself back again when I was finally feeling good.  On Thursday I had planned to do a TRX workout for Gail in the evening, so I decided to do my run before work in the morning.  I decided it would be better for my legs to not do the run and TRX back to back.  Plus, I'm always slow in the mornings, so a morning run guarantees that I won't overdo it.  I forgot to eat a little something before the run, so my stomach was yelling at me to feed it during the whole run, but other than that is wasn't bad.  

I was hoping for a minimum of 12 miles on Saturday (although I only needed 11 to hit my 30 miles for the week so I knew I could stop there if it was going poorly).  I had a vague route planned out in my head, but I hadn't mapped it, and suspected I would have to add several miles at the end of the loop I had in mind.  A few miles in, I was feeling pretty good despite the persistent rain and had an idea for a loop to add, so I did.  Coming up on 11 miles, I had a choice to run straight home and get about 13, or add a bit and get to 14.  I decided to go for the 14.  I ended up having to zig zag back and forth between two streets to get the 14 without running past home, but I got it.  I kept the effort pretty easy throughout the run.  I noticed my HR creeping into Z4 a few times, and each time I worked to steady my breathing and bring it back to Z3.  I ended up with only 12% of the run in Z4, which can mostly be attributed to hills.   I was a bit disappointed that my average pace was over 8, but after looking at the HR data I realized that 8:07 is a good pace for me, with staying out of Z4.  I'm still hoping that comes down below 8:00 soon, but I think as long as things continue to go well, it will.  

Happy face after a great hill run!

Successful 14 miler done despite the chill and rain!

Calendar Fail

I found out today that the Blue Ridge race is not in fact on the 15th, but on the 22nd.  It's usually the 3rd Saturday, so I guess that's just what I put in my calendar and never actually remembered to verify it.  So...I just wasted 2 weeks that I could have been still doing long marathon-training runs.  And now I'm going to lose another 2 weeks or so. And I could have run the Bristol half marathon with my friends yesterday!  But on the bright side...I have more time to work on speed and lung strength for Blue Ridge.  I'm trying to look on the bright side and not just be really mad about my inability to verify a date.

This week : 

M : 6.1 / 7:12 / 82 ft

the plan : warm up, 4 miles @7:00, cool down

4 mile actual splits : 6:49, 6:56, 6:46, 6:36

T : 4.8 / 828 / 568 ft

hill repeats x5 

(0.2 miles, 112 ft of gain, average time 1:55)

W : 20 minutes of yoga

R : TRX 30 x 45/15

group run 5.1 / 8:17 / 312 ft

F : off

Sa : walk/jog 3.3 while spectating the Bristol 1/2

Su : 8.2 / 7:35 / 466 ft

total miles : 27.6

hill repeats

view from 1/3 of the way up the hill

Operation "Run Faster, Make Lungs Stronger" has Begun

...and so far so good!  I made my plan for the week based on pace instead of mileage, and I stuck to it well!  I actually exceeded all my pace goals, but that's perfect because the paces I had set ahead of time were really just minimums.  The goal was to try to stick to them so as not to start too fast and then lose the pace, and they did help me prevent that from happening.

In other news, all my hard work with TRX is paying off and 

I can see muscles in my arms now!

This week : 

M : 6.2 / 7:28 / 25 ft

yoga stretching

plan : 1 mile warm up, 4 miles @7:20 pace,  1 mile cool down

4 mile actual splits (7:02, 7:08, 6:59, 6:48)

T : warm up 1 / 9:00 / 62 ft

track workout 4.2 / 6:00 / 102 ft

cool down 1 / 9:20 / 0 ft

round-robin x 12 ab workout with group

plan : warm up, 3 x 1600 @ 6:25 pace, cool down

actual : 4 x 1600, average from 6:20 - 5:46, 4 minutes rest in between

W : TRX, full body 30 x 45/15

plan : TRX, full body

R : 7 / 7:25 / 276 ft

plan : 1 mile warm up, 6 miles @7:30 pace, 1 mile cool down

actual : 0.5 mile warm up, 6 miles ranging from 7:27 - 7:01, 0.5 mile cool down

F : off

Sa : 8.2 w/Adam / 7:34 / 66 ft

plan : 10 miles @ 8:00 pace

Su : 4 / 7:55 / 118 ft

yoga stretching

plan : jog, yoga

week total miles : 31.8

Consistency on splits didn't really happen this week, but on all runs but the track workout, split inconsistency has to do with placement of up/down hills.  I was trying to be consistent on the track, but the GPS was messing up and marking my splits in the wrong places, and therefore the pace info it was displaying was also not accurate.  I definitely worked to make the last one the fastest though.  

On Thursday, I had to make an unexpected trip up to PA, so I ran first thing in the morning before making the 6.5 hour drive.  I ended up sleeping an extra 40 minutes past my alarm because I decided sleep was slightly more important before a drive than the run, and that is the main reason I cut my warm up and cool down short.  Not that they completely made up for the 40 minutes by any means, but they still saved me a bit of time.  I usually have trouble running faster in the mornings, but I did some warmup yoga before the run, and it was at least after the sun came up, so I managed to stick to (overdo) my planned pace.

On Saturday I was catching up with a friend I haven't seen in years.  He only wanted 8 miles, and I decided it wasn't that important for me to get the planned 10, as long as I was running faster than the planned pace.  We started the run close to an 8 minute pace but gradually picked up speed throughout, making the last mile the hardest effort.

After some cold and gray days in PA, it was nice to arrive home and get out of my car to 75 degrees and sun!  I enjoyed my jog.  It was an easy effort for my legs, but a moderate-hard effort for my lungs, which are struggling a bit from spending 2 nights in a house that has been empty for a few months.  I think that combined with the fact that I wasn't running while in that house, and therefore not using my inhaler, caused me to notice the difference.  Since I wasn't running while there, I didn't even notice that my breathing was getting slightly more difficult until I was on my way out of the house.  Now, after 2 days in a row of running, I'm sure my lungs are just about back to normal.  

Gorgeous and 77 degrees for my run!

It was so nice out, I did my post-run stretching outside too!

Counting down the days til Blue Ridge!

...and I realized at some point during this week that while endurance training has been going spectacularly well, I've been completely failing at keeping my lungs in shape/strengthening my lungs.  Oops.  I now have less than 4 weeks to try and get my lungs ready for a strong finish at Blue Ridge.

I plan to use the pace function on my watch a lot in the next few weeks, to help myself build up speed without overdoing it.  And I am going to have to be really disciplined and stick to the paces I plan, unlike this Thursday when I went faster than my planned pace and then completely died.

This week: 

M :  TRX 45 minute class @ GVF

horseback ride 3 hours

Pub Run 3.1 / 9:11 / 0 ft

T : hill run 11/ 8:21 / 699 ft

W : hike 2.6 miles / 285 ft

horseback ride 75 minutes

R : group run 7 / 7:34 / 174 ft

F : bike w/Chuck 20.4 / 15.8 mph / 1316 ft

Sa : group run 17.7 / 9:20 / 2054 ft

shakeout jog/walk 1 / 13:47 / 43 ft

Su : 20 minutes yoga

shakeout 3.4 / 8:05 / 131 ft

total miles run 43.1

I did yoga several times throughout the week, for 10-20 minutes at a time.  It has definitely been helping, I have had little to no hip pain since I started doing it!  Now I guess I just have to embrace the fact that I need yoga in my life and learn to like it.  

It was nice to be back in Lewisburg this past week.  My friend Sue teaches TRX classes at the gym, so I made sure I got to go to one of them this time.  It was nice to have someone else make the workout for me, and to be back in a class environment, not to mention having all the space I needed!  My hallway is cramped and really limits the variety of exercises that I can do.  

On Tuesday, I was definitely sore, though it's hard to say if it was more from the TRX or from the extra-long trail ride.  I guess it was probably from both.  I was determined to run my long hill loop though, as I have meant to run it on all of my previous visits and never seemed to get around to it.  

A gray day, but warmer than I thought it was...I was way overdressed!

Wednesday I enjoyed a hike/photo adventure at Roaring Run, and then was happy to get to ride my horse again.  This winter seems to have taken its toll on her -- she has lost a lot of weight, but she is still in good spirits, happy to see me, and with plenty of energy for the ride, so I'm trying not to worry too much.  She is 30+ years old, she was going to start losing weight eventually...but for now I will hope that springtime will put the weight back on her!

Thursday I wanted to do some speed and push my lungs harder than I had been, so I decided I would do a mile warm up, 4 miles around 7:20 pace, and then a mile cool down.  I even decided that I could run on the Creeper Trail so that I could hold a pace without hills messing it up.  Unfortunately, I was not smart enough to stick to the plan.  Our warmup was good, right around 8:00 minutes.  But then we sped up, and my watch said we were going around 6:45.  It felt good, so I figured I may as well try to stick to it.  It might have worked if we hadn't been talking at all, but despite my asking that no one talk to me because I needed all my air for running, it never works...and I can't keep myself from answering when questions are asked!  I did ok for the first 2 miles, and decided to try for 5 hard miles instead of 4.  However, when we turned around after 2.5 hard, I was starting to feel it, and we were now on a slight incline going up, instead of down.  The trail looks flat, and I never want to believe that an incline so slight it looks flat can effect my pace so much...but it does.  I started struggling hard and really losing the pace.  It was getting so rough, I ended up jogging after 4 hard miles, and having a 2 mile cooldown instead of pushing for 5 hard.  I didn't see the point in continuing to push when I was falling so far off the pace.  My fast-mile splits ended up being 6:37, 6:45, 7:07, 7:26.  The GAP paces (pace adjusted for incline) were at least slightly more consistent at 6:55, 7:05, 7:08, 6:53.  Either way, I failed at sticking to my plan, and I failed at keeping a consistent pace.  But my lungs got a workout either way, so I guess it's all good.  

Thanks to Chuck, I actually dusted off my bike for the first time this year!  Earlier in the week, he suggested a Friday afternoon ride since it was supposed to be really warm out, and I agreed.  I was overdue for my first non-solo bike ride in Abingdon, and it was nice to go with someone who knows the local roads better than I do!  Plus I got some exercise without really hurting myself for Saturday's long run.  

Saturday's run was chosen by Ben.  Running from Damascus to Whitetop on the Creeper Trail has been on his bucket list, and I have been putting it off because I can't stand the Creeper, and because I didn't want to deal with all the extra time to run a vehicle up to the top.  Yesterday, he had it worked out so his dad would drive to the top and bike down, and we would run up, so we didn't have to do the car shuffle ourselves.  The run was 17.5 miles.  I had 16 on my schedule, and Mollie was looking for 20, so we all settled for Ben's plan.  Mollie and I started around 11:40, Ben and Corey started about 20 minutes later.  It was so warm out, I ended up ditching my shirt 1.5 miles in.  I knew that if I soaked my shirt with sweat I would freeze when I stopped to wait at the top once we were done.  Unfortunately, it was not a good day for Mollie, and we were getting slower and slower.  By mile 10 we were over 11 min/mile.  I didn't want to leave Mollie alone, but I needed to run faster than that, and she kept telling me to just go.  So at 10.5, I decided to push the last 7 miles, and sped up to 8:00 pace.  We were on a more or less invisible uphill incline for the entire run, but it did get a bit steeper as we got closer to the top, so my pace gradually got slower.  The guys caught up with me around mile 14.  They pulled ahead, then Corey dropped back, not having a great day either.  I ran with him for a bit before leaving him behind.  All 4 of us finished, though at different times.  The three of us who finished first waited a long time, and then I got worried and decided my legs would survive if I started running again to go find Mollie.  Thankfully, I only had to go 1/2 mile before I found her. 

I thought the run was hard...but the ride back to my car was the worst part!  I was in the back seat of Ben's pickup and the road was really curvy...I ended up feeling really carsick.  It got so bad I had to trade seats with Corey to sit in the front halfway.  It helped a bit, but by then I was feeling so sick it didn't wear off til sometime after I got home, even though my drive from where I had parked was mostly straight.  

I used this run as a trial for my marathon 

with the compression socks, a storage belt, and a smaller camelbak. 

I don't love feeling like I'm carrying a fanny pack, but the pouch is pretty small, and thankfully it stayed in place nicely, no bouncing or riding up.  It fit my phone and ID.  I will probably use it for car key, inhaler, and ID during my marathon.  I was worried about the compression socks because they aren't as cushioned in the foot as my normal running socks.  I like the cushioning because my orthotics are hard plastic and the cushioning is more comfortable.  They worked out pretty well though.  And I still have plenty of time to decide if I want thicker socks and compression sleeves, or just the tall compression socks.  I think I'll be fine with either.  The camelbak was perfect, it didn't chafe even on my bare skin, and held the perfect amount of water.  I drank almost all of my 50 oz during the run, with 4 scoops of Tailwind Endurance Fuel.  I didn't need to eat anything; the fuel is supposed to be all you need, and it worked for me.  

Today I did about 20 minutes of yoga to stretch out and warm up my legs, then went for a nice easy shakeout jog.  It was sunny, but there were also some dark rain clouds, and I ended up getting pretty wet with passing showers twice during my short run.  

Looking forward : 

I have 10 mile runs planned for the next 2 Saturdays, but nothing longer than that.  I have made pace goals for each of my runs over the next 4 weeks, that I hope will help me prepare for Blue Ridge.  I made conservative goals, hoping that I will stick to them for the first 2/3 or 3/4 of each run, and only speed up for the last part if I am able to.  No speeding up early!  

Low Mileage Week + 5k

I was going to call this a recovery week, but then I remembered that I didn't technically take it very easy this week at all...I just had reduced mileage.  I'm imagining that my legs needed some recovery time from the 27 miler, but it was hard to take it too easy because they didn't feel like they needed recovery.  But taking it easy for recovery seemed like a good excuse to skip the run today, even though maybe by today it doesn't matter anymore.

This week : 

M : 20 minute yoga

T : run 7 / 8:16 / 591 ft

W : hill workout 6.5 / 8:23 / 909 ft

R : TRX 30 minutes 45/15

F : off

Sa : warm up : 2 / 7:44 / 95 ft

race 3.1 / 6:43 / 194 ft

cool down 2 / 8:40 / 128 ft

Su : 15 minute yoga

total miles : 20.6

Yoga is not my favorite, but it is definitely helping me keep the hip pain at bay, so I guess it's good that I started and ended the week with yoga.  I've also made great strides with my frog stand this week, I can now hold it for about 10 seconds, and I can come out of it smoothly instead of falling on my face.  I'm about to find out what the next step is between frog stand and handstand.  

Tuesday's run was cold with blowing snow, but of course I ran anyway.  I wasn't sure how many miles I was going to get, but as usual, once I settled into the run I felt great and went farther than I expected to.  It was my first run post-27 miler, and everything felt good.  

Cold and snow can't stop me from running!

On Wednesday I ended up with a day off school because of ice on the roads, with temperatures too cold to melt it off the untreated roads.  Because I live in the south where they don't know how to deal with ice and snow on roads... I was lucky I was running late that morning, normally I would have been already well on my way to work at the time the call was made.  But I was dragging, so I was just on my way out the door when the call was made.  (And when I say late...I just mean later than usual.  I still would have been early to work.)  I ended up settling on the couch to read all morning, and took a nap for about an hour.  It was pretty cold and windy outside so I put off the run all morning, but then went out around 12 to get it done.  I did a loop warmup that was about 1.6 miles long, then did suicides up and down the hill I live on.  There are 3 side streets off the main part of the hill, so I ran to the first one and back down, then the second, then the third, then all the way to the top, around a short loop, and then made my way back down one street at a time. I ran hard going up, and jogged back down each time.  Then I ran my warm up loop in reverse as a cool down.  The hill I ran was pretty steep, so all the times running up it wore me out!  

the beginning of the hill...

I was a bit sore on Thursday, but I needed my TRX for the week so I went ahead and did it, and I didn't spare my muscles at all.  I upgraded myself from 30/10 to 45/15, and did a lot of tough leg work.  It didn't seem like the brightest idea 2 days before a 5k, but I decided marathon and strength training was more important than a 5k.  

TRX fun

I took Friday off because I like to take Friday's off...but also because I drove to Lewisburg after work.  I hadn't been here since Christmas it's nice to be back!  It would have been weird to celebrate St Patrick's Day anywhere other than the Irish Pub in Lewisburg!  I'm on spring break now, so I get to spend several days here.  I'm looking forward to a TRX class at the gym on Monday morning and running some mountains at some point!

Saturday's 5k was the Celtic Knot 5k which I have run about 6 times now.  I missed it last year because of a sprained ankle.  I was really sore from the hills on Wednesday and the TRX on Thursday so I was afraid to run too hard.  I also want to work towards negative splits in races, but there's a giant hill in the last mile of this race so negative splits seem rather unrealistic.  I gave it a negative split effort though!  I started out a bit easier, instead of starting as fast as possible like I usually do for a 5k.  Then I pushed a little harder for each mile.  I finished in 20:52, not the 19:45 I had 2 years ago, but a good time for where I am in my training right now, especially since I really haven't been training for a sprint race!  

I had planned to run today, but my hip was bothering me yesterday, and I got lazy, so I ended up just doing some yoga.  

frog stand success

New personal distance record!

Twenty seven miles.  I finished over 24 hours ago and the soreness still hasn't set in.  I'm not in the clear yet though, tomorrow will be the day that any aches and pains set in.  Good thing Monday is easy miles/yoga day!

I would have liked a shakeout jog today, but I had to be at school all afternoon for our 10 year VAIS accreditation, and I had to spend most of the morning sleeping in to recover from yesterday's run since being at school meant no time for a nap today.  I did get almost 12 hours of sleep last night though, that was glorious.  If it wasn't a time-change weekend I could have had 13...

This week : 

M : 5.2 / 7:21 / 256 ft

20 min yoga for hip flexibility

T : group 6 x 800 track repeats 7.5 / 8:30 / 125 ft

3:17, 3:15, 3:16, 3:17, 3:18, 3:12

W : 30 min TRX full body

R : group 8 / 8:00 / 446 ft

F : rest

Sa : group 27 / 9:11 / 1239 ft

Su : rest

total miles : 47.7

Monday's run was supposed to be easy, but it felt good to be out there on a solo run since most of my runs are now group runs, and it was warm-ish, so I accidentally went kinda fast and pushed some hills.  Oops. At least the yoga was relaxing-ish.  I did the same video as last week.  I think I will probably do this same video for a few weeks, it seems to hit the spots I need help with.  

Tuesday was the second rainy track tuesday in a row, except this time it was raining even harder.  We went to the track and decided to do 800s with active recovery, since no one wants to stand around in the rain.  Each recovery was walk 200, jog 200.  There were 3 of us, and our 800 paces were pretty varied from each other, so we ended up spreading out pretty far and not regrouping in between.  

I did the same TRX video as last week, as last week it made me sore.  It made me sore again this week.  Looks like another good video to repeat until I don't need it anymore.  This time I tried a frog stand before my workout instead of after, since I realized it could be easier on fresh muscles.  I think I made it a whole 3 seconds this time...baby steps.  

frog stand!

Side planks are so hard...but this time I managed to get one hand in the air for part of it!

Thursday's 8 was probably more than I needed before a 27 mile run, but I decided to stick to the plan. I think it turned out to be ok. 

There were 4 of us for Saturday's long run.  Mollie was going for her first 20 miler, but I was hoping for something over 26.2.  The boys were willing to do as many as I wanted.  The boys are faster and I knew they would have trouble with the pace Mollie and I were going to run, so I told them to start at least 30 minutes behind us.  It worked out pretty well, they ended up catching us around mile 17, and then didn't have to wait too long for me.  We ran from Ben's apt in Abingdon to Mollie's house 20.5 miles away in Glade. Then Mollie was done and the rest of us kept going.  Corey was able to finish out the whole 27 miles with me.  And Mollie was able to cook our bacon burgers and fries while we were running so we could eat as soon as we were ready.  

Since I ran the first 20.5 slower than I needed to, I still had some good energy left and was able to speed up to Corey's pace for the last 6.5.  My feet were hurting from the extended period of time running, but I feel like that problem was purely the time, not the mileage.  My right knee did start to hurt pretty bad towards the end, and that was probably mileage-related.  Overall though, I would have to say that the run felt great...for 27 miles!  I never hit a wall of any kind, and I didn't get dehydrated or calorie depleted.  I did have some Tailwind endurance fuel mixed with the water in my camelbak, and ate some snacks along the way.  I put about 1.5 liters into the camelbak and drank most of it during the run.  

I tried compression gear for the first time this weekend, and am hooked!  I stumbled across a good deal for 3 pairs of compression calf sleeves, and decided to give them a try.  They just happened to arrive on Friday afternoon, which was perfect, because one calf had been cramping on and off throughout the day.  I put on the sleeves and the pain went away.  I wore them again for the long run, and hard to say if they actually helped, but they definitely didn't hurt!  Better safe than sorry I like to say.  I wore another pair for the rest of the day/evening.  

Wore these awesome calf sleeves from PRO Compression under my running tights for 27 miles.

Mollie and I, about to start running!

We clearly have different levels of cold tolerance.

We all survived! 3 of us had the longest runs of our lives!

Here's the plan for the upcoming week : 

M : jog, yoga

T : easy track tuesday

W : TRX

R : 6-8

F : off

Sa : 5k race

Su : shakeout