Hal Higdon it is!! Plus some Training Updates and Food Pictures

So it looks like I'm going with the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 marathon training program.  It took a little while for me to mentally commit to this training cycle. But, in reality base building has been going steady for 8 weeks and I'm happy to report that I have averaged 32 miles per week.  I had one low week of 21 miles but, most weeks were in the 33-35 mile range.

This program is pretty simple, you are just logging the miles in.  There is no speed work other than some marathon goal pace runs either the day before your long run or during the long run itself.

I'm actually 13 weeks out from the Deja Vu marathon, and the mileage is going to start gradually picking up soon (gulp).


I didn't follow this to the exact tee for the first three weeks. But, I will try to be more consistent with the program here on out. I will also try not to vary too much from the scheduled long runs.  Those are going to be the meat and potatoes of this marathon training cycle.  Here's a snap shot of what I have done so far in the last three weeks, and also where I have penciled in my long runs on the training calendar.

I wrote out my future big runs in green.
I will be taking a few vacation days/personal
days of from work.  I don't want to schedule these big runs
on a  Saturday or Sunday.  This is how I have to balance my
running around my family time.

Training Updates and Some Pictures of What I Eat

I have about 10 days to update you on.  School is back in session, and the two a days are going to be coming to an end soon.

Friday  8/21-  Boring treadmill run, but I needed to get it done. I'm hoping to catch up on my sleep this weekend. I also did some sit ups, dumb bell decline press, one arm rows, body weight Bulgarian split squats and then I stretched.

Saturday-8/22- Rest My new Pro Compression Tights arrived in the mail.  I bought these tights for $20 (free shipping and no sales tax).  

Sunday 8/23-11.2 miles with a fast finish,  For breakfast I had a dark chocolate peanut butter sandwich and half of a banana

Home made bread FTW
I love gluten!!

I also packed three dates with me and I brought my hand held bottle with water and ice. The 

temperatures weren’t too brutal.  I chose a route that was a little hilly, and I just tried to run by feel.  

I didn’t want the pace to feel like work and it didn’t.  Miles 3-7 were a gradual uphill grade, which 

meant miles 8-10 were a gradual downhill ride.  Here's the data:

Monday 8/24-2 miles and circuit training. For my 1st set I did the following exercises:

Flat bench press with dumb bells, one armed rows, step ups onto a bench with back leg raise, overhead dumbbell pullovers (for chest) & back flys.

For my 2nd set I did the following exercises: Lat Pull downs, single leg squats (body weight) incline/decline push ups, box jumps.

For my last set I did some wall sits, spider lunges, shoulder taps in a plank position, and then I stretched.

At the very end I ran two miles at recovery pace on the treadmill.

Tuesday 8/25 Two a day.  I ran 2.6 miles in the morning before work, and at lunch time I drove over to Sunset Park to check out the loop course. 

 I made the big mistake of eating an orange before my run, and it gave me wicked heartburn. I'm usually able to eat before running,  I think it was the high acidity of the orange.  I only had time to run 3.5 miles before I had to hurry back to work.

Wednesday 8/26-There was some monsoon activity in the mountains, and it cooled the temperatures off tremendously.  It was 84 degrees at noon with cloud coverage.   I ran six hilly miles and I enjoyed every minute. The pace felt relaxed for the most part. I'm trying to notice all of the little things in my stride (foot placement, push off, arm swing etc.) I'm always trying to improve running economy any which way I can.  Here's the data

Thursday 8/27-  I tried to recreate yesterday's magic....I did a little bit of trail running at the Whitney Mesa Recreation Area. I love this place.... 

Yesterday's 84 degrees turned right back up to 92 degrees at noon. The first 3 miles felt great. I had plenty of ice water in my hand held bottle. The last 15 minutes of this run were a complete suffer fest, with my brain telling me "get the f*ck out of the sun!!" It also felt way more humid today.... Fall is just around the corner.  I ran just a little over 5 miles and felt crummy the rest of the afternoon.

Friday 8/28- Rest

Saturday 8/29-  I decided to do my long run on Saturday instead of Sunday,....  Things didn't go as smoothly as last week's long run.  I didn't get to eat much before I left the house. I didn't make any bread and my oatmeal came out too watery..  I also forgot to pack my dates.   As I was leaving the house my little one dropped her water cup and made a huge mess, as I'm skipping out the door to run.  I felt like such a heel.....  Anyhow the run felt okay, towards the end I was really missing my dates, and during the last mile I felt a slight headache.  The temperature was 85 degrees when I left and closer to 90 when I returned.  I ended up taking a nap that afternoon with my kids.  Here's the data.

Carrot juice with chia seeds for recovery

That night my husband asked me if I wanted to go for another run, in the morning.... Yes, please!!!


Sunday 8/30- 5.5 miles,  According to the house rules I can not leave the house to go running in the dark.  I'm not going to lie, I 'm kinda scared of the dark too.  So I wait until the sun comes up.  I left the house at 6:15am and I'm always scanning the road ahead of me.  I cross a busy road, to keep running in the same direction. I notice a car driving parallel to me about two streets over.  It's a dirt lot so I can see the street.  They are driving the same pace that I'm running.   Then they roll their windows down to wave over to me, I decide to flip a u-turn to get back onto the much busier road.   I don't want to take any chances with my safety.  During this run, I kept fumbling around with my waist pack, and toward the end of the run, I had a nice view of the Las Vegas Skyline

I was wondering if my legs were going to feel dead after yesterday's 10 miler, but I think I'm getting used to running more mileage.

Most weekends my family and I are homebodies.  We take advantage of the local parks and we also swim in our backyard pool.  I enjoy cooking on the weekends because during the week I don't have as much time.  This weekend I finally made a batch of homemade tortillas that was worth talking about.  I have attempted to make tortillas in the past but, they have come out dry and brittle.  I wasn't letting the dough rest enough and I was adding too much flour.  I found a better recipe, and then I followed their technique.

I still can't make them into perfect circles
but, they were soft, chewy and delicious.

I also made a chickpea, corn, lentil, and olive salad.

Well that's all I've got for now.  As always thank you for reading!