Marathon Training: Week Seventeen

Mon (10/26) 3mi run + 60min cross- Went for a 3mile  run around the neighborhood with Wayne and then went to the gym and biked for 60min and finished reading my ceramics book.

Tue (10/27) 50min bike + 2mi run + weights- It seems a little silly to bike today when I biked for so long yesterday. I am tired today. It takes a little extra motivation to do so much in the gym after coming home from a long day at the studio.

Wed (10/28) 4mi run + 10min cross- I was in a hurry to get this training done because Wayne called on his way home to say that we where supposed to go climbing ASAP. But I was super hungry, cold, we,t and dirty after. When I told him I didn't really want to go, he decided not to go without me. I feel bad that we've canceled before. But maybe when I'm done training for this race we'll have more time for other adventures.

Fri (10/30) 15mi run + 20 min cross- This is the most running in the dark, I think, I've ever done. I had to weigh  my option of running in the morning or after work and I opted for after because it doesn't get light till 7am and I had to be at work at 9:30am which would have left no wiggle room to change and travel to work. I did most of my miles around the Whitewater Elementary and middle schools next to our USNWC parkway by the light of the almost full moon. I briskly walked around the whitewater channel for 20min after the run. I've been pleasantly surprised in the past few weeks how well this helps to prevent my muscles from painfully contracting and tightening up after the run. I took my running watch with me this time and was able to keep track of my pace. It's helpful and encouraging to know that I can comfortably push myself to keep my pace below 10min miles when I'm able to keep track of my speed.

Sat (10/31)80mi cross- I got to work the landing deck of our large zipline at work which involves light running and brisk walking. I'm guessing this counts for enough cross training from 10am-5pm with a slightly sporadic flow of zipliners. After my run yesterday my feet where sore- as they usually get a few better worn in blisters and callouses on long run days. But I realized today while wearing my tight recovery compression socks that my second toenail on each foot has a blister underneath it. To drain them or not before the race next weekend? That is the question.

Sun (11/1) roll & ice- I did a little stretching but I'm having trouble seriously entertaining the idea of an ice bath when it's cool outside. I'll definitely try to do some icing and foam rolling before next weekend.

Marathon Training: Week Sixteen

Mon (10/19) 3mi run + 50min bike- I ran 1.5mi to the gym, biked for 50min, and then ran home. I think this day would have been much more beneficial if I'd run the full 3mi and then biked. I'm training for distance and not speed. This may be a good day of the training week to do a real bike ride outside instead of in the gym.

Tue (10/20) 50min bike + 2mi pace- Went to the gym and biked for 50min while reading my ceramics book. Then I went outside and ran around the park for 2mi in an attempt to do another pace workout. I was trying to hold an 8:40min mile pace but instead they where both under 8:20pace. Boston qualifying pace is 8:30min mi. But I'm hoping to hold anything under 10min pace during this marathon race.

Wed (10/21) 4mi run- Went for a run around what's becoming my usual 3mile loop but added another mile through the cemetery of a local church. It's getting darker earlier but the fall colors are coming in on the trees and they're starting to collect on the ground. Runs have a different feel with a cool breeze and crunchy leaves underfoot.

Fri (10/23) 10mi run + 20min cross- I tried to get up early to run in the morning but woke up with an awful headache. I think I need to get better about drinking enough water. I got off work at 6:20pm and didn't start running till around 6:45pm. I had enough time to get 3miles done on the trails before I felt too terribly uncomfortable about running on rugged terrain. I ran the next 3miles on the paved parkway and then finished up with 4 laps around the whitewater channel. I forgot to bring my GPS watch with me so I'm not exactly sure about the distance but I erred on the side of more miles and likely exceeded the 10mi distance. I walked around the parking lot at a brisk pace to stretch out and cool down after the run.

Sat (10/24) 80min cross train- I biked to and from work today. It was about 35min each way so I may not have exactly made it to 80min of cross training but it's certainly better than my past two Saturdays of training. It seems this may have to become my normal Saturday routine so that I won't have to worry about missing the gym hours.

Sun (10/25) roll & ice- No ice bath today. I took things easy and did a little stretching.

Marathon Training: Week Fifteen

 

Mon (10/12) 30min bike + 3mi run- Still feeling tired from last weeks long run. I got to the gym
around 7:30pm without much daylight left. I went inside to bike for 10min as a warm up and then did my 3mi run around the park. It was much darker than I'd like but I stuck close to the baseball field's bright floodlights and tried not to upset the fans of the game that was going on as I ran around in between them. After the run I finished with 20 more min on the upright stationary bike.

Tue (10/13) 45min bike + 15min elip- One of my ceramics class mates gave me a book on hand building ceramics. It's kind of a textbook of sorts. I did get quite sucked into reading it during my biking and then couldn't put it down when I moved over to the elliptical. I don't think I should read while on the elliptical in the future. My running form was awful and plodding. Not the right running motion effort may create bad habits or imbalanced. I felt tired enough after 60min of cross training but I managed to muster two sets of weights today with 30lbs.

Wed (10/14) 3mi run +30minbike- I opted to just do the 3mi run again, in order to not add too much weekly mileage to what I've done in the past 2-3weeks. Since last Tuesday when I did that 1.5mi pace workout I've noticed that the pace of all of my runs seems to have picked up. While this is kind of nice I can tell that my body is feeling more tired because of it.

Fri (10/16) 13.1mi long run! + 20min bike- I fully expected my body to be as sore as last week but I took an ice bath immediately after and had a good meal and lots of water. It seems to have significantly improved my body's recovery and recuperation. The 20 min bike after also seems to have stretched and straightened out my legs so they're not so cramped up after. I ran on the USNWC trails. My mileage was a lot slower, between 10-13min miles. Perhaps going up and down so many trails on the softer surface slowed things down?

Sat (10/17) 62min bike- I missed the gym hours again and admittedly, the weather is getting colder and i felt tired and, I had trouble making myself go for a bike ride. I did some stretching instead.

Sun (10/18) ice and roll- I did a light two mile run with Wayne to shake the residual cud out of my legs

In my blogs over the past few months you may have heard me mention that I'm using a GPS watch to help me track my mileage and training pace. I've been slowly trying to figure out how to use this GPS device to make my weekly training posts more interesting and allow you all to have more interactivity with my marathon journey. So, good news! You will now be getting the added tidbit of a GPS map view of my weekly long runs added to the usual weekly training blog posts here  Garmin Connect.

Marathon Training: Week Fourteen

Mon (10/5) 3mi run + 50min bike- got off work too late to go to the gym and run so I had to choose. It's still probably best that I only ran the 3mi and didn't do the biking too because that's closer to the mileage what I've done in the past few weeks and I don't want to pile on too much extra mileage and time on my legs too fast.

Tue (10/6) 45min bike + 1.5mi run- Nice to workout in the middle of the day when it's bright sunny and warm outside. I took the running pace fairly easy and adjusted the biking resistance up and down every 10 min. I only did one extended set of light-ish weights since I haven't done much with weights in the past few weeks.

Wed (10/7) 30min elip + 1.5mi pace- I'm really enjoying working out in the gym and getting to read magazines. I miss learning and reading. I focused on keeping my stride balanced while ellipticaling. I did the 1.5mi at approximately an 8:30 pace around the park. the first mile was almost uncomfortably hard but the last half mile felt swell and was probably faster than intended pace. I'd like to do more speed-ish workouts now and then to test my body's pace and get a better feeling for how I might do in the race.

Fri (10/9) 12mi run- I finally did it! I ran in the morning before work- all 12 miles! Granted I did finish the run 5min before I had to leave my house to drive to work which meant I only had time to wash my face, change clothes and stuff some food in a bag for breakfast/lunch. It was a busy day with school  groups out and I didn't have much time to eat or drink. By the end of the day my body was so sore and starved I had a splitting headache. I did take a graham cracker with me and ate 1/4 of it every 3miles while out on the run. I think I may need to start taking liquid nutrition though. I've been looking into hydration vests and belts. I may try to MacGyver something of my own. I think I've definitely settled on wanting a soft flask so that it will conform to my body and will shrink as I drink from it.

Sat (10/10) 75min cross- I feel so silly! I completely forgot about the short gym hours today (from 9am-1pm). Not that it would have mattered. I had to be at work at 8:30am and didn't get off till 2something so I missed the gym all together. This is a winter problem. I may be picking up a Craigslist bike trainer soon so that I can cross train at home on the days I can't make it to the gym. My calves and right hip flexor are so sore I'm walking a little funny today. I don't feel like doing much. I know it probably would help to take an ice bath and to do a long easy cross train session though.

Sun (10/11) ice & roll- I ran an easy-ish 2miles today in the hope of shaking the crud out of my legs from Friday's long run. I also did a bit more foam rolling.

This weeks picture painted by: Me! I went to a painting event with one of my co-wrkers by The Creatory where we did a predetermined speed painting in 2 hours. Scary and fun. Forcing me not to worry about the little details along the way and just rough in the concept.

Marathon Training: Week Thirteen

After a week in the mountains with rainy scotland-like weather I come home to have my growing sore throat sickness turn into a full blown cold.

Mon (9/28) 3mi run-  Progressively feeling more sick and achy as the day went on so I took the evening off. Throat is so sore and my joints ache. My voice also started to get more froggy as the day went on.

Tue (9/29) 45min bike- Feeling less achy but still a bit weak. I went to the gym and biked. SO much green snot!

Wed (9/30) 3mi run + 10min bike- I elected to just run 3miles at the steadiest pace I could manage. I felt super weak and slightly sick because I left the house in a hurry to get to my ceramics class thinking I'd grab breakfast on the way but... I missed the turn for the Bojangles close to class and decided to just go on to class instead. I ended up working diligently for 7hours om my piece in order to finish sculpting it. But I neglected to take a lunch break and was VERY hungry after I left the studio. I swung by a Wendy's and picked up a crispy chicken sandwich and a small frosty for $2- I figured it'd be the best calorie bang for my buck but... when I went for my run I still felt hungry and weak but at the same time sick because the chicken sandwich and ice cream didn't seem to be sitting so well.

Fri (10/2) 7mi run + 80min bike- It seemed a bit excessive to bike for 80min on top of my 7mi run so I only biked for an hour instead. Being sick and running less mileage in the last week or so I don't want to ramp up the training too much in one day.

Sat (10/3) 75min cross- I got to the gym a little late and only had 40min to work with so, I biked for 10min, ellipticaled for 20min, and then finished with a 10 min bike. I left the headlights of the car on for 20 min before someone told me they where on and I could run out to tun them off. It was just enough to drain the battery. So, I was very glad we keep jumper cables in the car so that I could get back home.

Sun (10/4) ice + roll- I didn't feel very sore or tired today and didn't really wanna take an Ice bath on such a cold rainy day.

Because I didn't run the Wild Vine Race on Sept 26th and I didn't want to pay the money ($80-$90) to run the race this weekend when my parents are coming to visit I will not be submitting a proof of time for the Disney Marathon. I will not have a pace based starting coral and I will be starting in the very back of the pack. This causes me mixed feelings but it may be good for my first marathon? I'll find my pace at the November Battleship marathon in Wilmington.

Marathon Training: Week Twelve

Mon (9/21) 3mi run- Ran after work in the dark before hosting our pet sitter and her boyfriend for dinner.

Tue (9/22) 50min bike ride- Spent the day trying to clean the house and pack for our trip to Asheville. Wayne went with me to bike around our local neighborhood.

Wed (9/23) 3mi run- I did this run early in the morning in our neighborhood before we headed out on the road to Randal Glen Farm. We got to feed and pet animals, do a nice hike, and taste some farm fresh pulled pork sandwiches.

Fri (9/25) 3mi- Ran around some car dealerships and hotels in the pouring rain before heading off to the Biltmore Estate. I do enjoy running in the rain but it was a bit cold.

Sat (9/26) 13.1mi- I was supposed to do the Wild Vine Trail Half Marathon today but I'm not in Charlotte! We walked around Asheville's River Arts District. Not many artists where in their studios.

Sun (9/27) 11mi run- We went to tour Highland Brewing Company before heading home. I left our house for my run at 7:30pm when it was light outside. Came back to the bathroom after 2miles and then it was getting quite dark by mile 6 or so. It also rained/misted the whole time. Wayne ran the last 3miles with me. It was really nice to have my GPS watch on so I could choose my own unplanned route based on the weather and light conditions. Finished 11.2mi in 1hr47min.

Marathin Training: Week Eleven

Mon (9/14) 3mi run
Tue (9/15) 40min bike
Wed (9/16) 3mi run
Fri (9/18) 9mi run- had to stop after each 3mi loop to use the bathroom. not sure what I ate that didn't agree with my intestines.
Sat (9/19) 70min cross
Sun (9/20) roll + ice