March 27-April 2
Monday 3/27- 5.1 Miles 35 Minutes Recovery effort and 15 minutes General Aerobic effort. I was feeling a little tired, I like these runs because they are at an easy effort, but there is a gradual pick up at the end. These runs are to practice negative splitting and holding back during the early miles. I didn't listen to any music during this run.
Tuesday 3/28 - 8.3 miles (2 miles warm-up, 5 miles tempo, cool down) This run included both uphill and downhill tempo running. My coach wanted me to run some downhill miles at goal pace, which means that I had to run uphill first. I chose a route that was 4 miles of climbing with most of the climb happening during miles 3-4 I ran the first 2/3 of this run without music and then I turned my iPod on for the final 2-3 miles. Here's the data
Thursday 3/30- 7 Miles with speed work. 3 miles General Aerobic effort, 3 miles at 15-20 seconds faster than goal pace, 1 mile General Aerobic effort. It was a crazy, crazy windy day. However, I didn't want to run this workout on the treadmill. I figured "how bad could it be?"
Here's a link to the news coverage of the dust storm that happened that day.
I got knocked around like a ping pong ball. I had a nice flat out and back course planned, but I abandoned that route because I would have been running into a nasty headwind on the way back. Instead, I ran laps around a 1k block for six miles and it was still super windy. But, I only had to fight a crazy headwind 1/4 of the way around the block, and then I would have it at my back a 1/4 of the way.... This was a grit your teeth and pray the power lines don't get blown off the poles kind of run. I was happy that I didn't get hit in the face with any flying debris. Here is the data.
Friday 3/31 -18.1 miles This was a timed run of 175 Minutes of relaxed running with some downhill miles. lololol. My last big long run was 17 miles with the first half going up, and then coming back down. I got stopped at a few red lights, and I almost got nailed by a car.
I didn't want to have to worry about getting stopped, and I didn't want to climb for 8-9 straight miles. I chose a neighborhood that is fairly hilly and I ran 4 loops of a 4-mile route. This run ended up being 175 minutes of rolling hills. I can't belive that I climbed over 1000 feet during this run. I had been worried that after Thursday's speedwork that this run would be super brutal. It wasn't bad at all. The much cooler temperatures really helped. For reference, my last 5 long runs have been in 70 degrees or warmer weather. On Friday it was a lovely 58 degrees. I stopped by my car once about halfway through to grab fuel and drink fluids.
Here is the data.
I'm happy that my splits were somewhat even, and that there wasn't a bonk towards the end. My only complaint is that my sports bra could have been more supportive.
Saturday 4/1- Rest I did go for a short walk to the park with the kids to get some of the stiffness out of my legs.
Sunday 4/2- 4.9 miles Recovery effort with strides. I had 35 minutes recovery on the calendar, but I ran 10 minutes over because I really wanted to hit 48 miles for the week. I felt a little beat up from all of the hills on Friday.
Total Mileage 48.1 Miles Total Elevation 2,142 feet
Week of 4/3-4/6
I've decided to fill you in on this week's workouts as well, I may not be able to blog for the next few days, and playing catch up can be hard sometimes.
Monday 4/3- 6.3 Miles-Happy 39th Birthday to me!! This was a recovery general aerobic mashup. I ran 30 minutes at recovery effort and 25 minutes at general aerobic pace. When I left it was 75 degrees and sunny. I had noticed some dark clouds over in the distance, but, I figured that they would burn off. I didn't expect any rain. After my 30 minutes were up I dropped down to general aerobic pace, the clouds had become much closer and the temps dropped about 10 degrees, and then came the wind. I started to gradually pick up the pace to head back to work. By the time I made it back to my workplace I was worried that I was going to get hit by lightning. We had a crazy fast storm pass through the valley and it dumped rain down for 2 hours and then it moved away. I ended up running my general aerobic effort a little faster than I had intended.
Tuesday 4/4- 40 minutes recovery effort with strides. I felt tired. My previous week caught up with me. On Sunday I felt fresher than I did on Tuesday (weird, I know). The strides helped me feel a little more confident. But, I was worried about my 10 miler the following day.
Wednesday 4/5- 10 miles with 3 miles general aerobic, 6 miles at goal pace, 1 mile general aerobic. I had a busy morning and I knew that I would not have time to drive to the park. I figured that I would have to deal with cars on busy streets, and in the end, I chose a two loop course near my work.
When I took off, I told myself to remember that I was running on tired legs and that this workout would be challenging. I also told myself not to freak out when I saw my pace fall on some of the uphill portions. This route wasn't crazy hilly, but it wasn't flat either. The first tempo mile was slightly downhill, and it was the most intimidating. But, overall this workout went much better than I had hoped. I also didn't listen to any music during the workout. Here's the data.
Running without music
The Revel Marathon begins at the top of Mt Charelston. There will be little to no cell phone reception up there. During the second half of the marathon when we get closer to the valley the cell phone reception should be better. However, I don't want to have to fumble around with my phone, and possibly trip and fall running downhill. I have decided to leave my phone in the car, and I will be running the first half without music. I have my trusty iPod circa 2010 that I will be using for this race.
Many, many years ago. I never needed music to run. Over the years it has become a creature comfort. I don't want to have to depend on it. So I have been weaning myself off of the music. I think this race will be fairly exciting, and my goal is to hold back during the first half. By not listening to music I think I will be able to stay in control during the first half.
Strength Training (or lack thereof)
I haven't been spending much time in the gym. I have to focus on getting the miles in, but that doesn't mean that I'm not doing anything....
A few weeks ago (6 or 7) I decided to set an arbitrary goal of doing 30 pushups a day. 3 sets of 10, 2 sets of 15, or whatever order I choose. 50 seemed like a lot, and 20 didn't seem like enough.
I'm
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| When I was in the process of losing the baby weight in 2013 |
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| Race for the cure 2015 |
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| Running out at the wetlands 2016 |
I posted these pictures to showcase my broad shoulders. I can't fight my body type.
Pushups are a great exercise because they hit a lot of different muscle groups in the upper body and I think they help with my running carriage. When I am running tempo pace or strides, I feel that pumping my arms always helps with my leg turnover. I will usually do my push ups right after I run, except on days that I do a long run (13 miles and up)
I also am working on hip mobility exercises such as donkey kicks, fire hydrants, and diagonal back kicks. I will also sometimes do planks.
I stopped tracking my food calories a few weeks ago because I really don't expect to lose much weight during this training cycle. I eat three square meals a day with a morning snack. I try to eat a huge salad with healthy fats for lunch (avocado, cheese, nuts, turkey bacon) and I'm not eating a ton of crap.
I know that I need to eat enough calories to fuel my body through all of this exercise. I also realize that it is unrealistic to try to maintain a weight from when I was 25-30 years old.
I have a bigger butt that has gained some muscle (thanks, donkey kicks)
My apologies for the tangent.
My race is in 23 days, and I'm starting to feel the jitters.
Thank you for reading.
Taper so soon! I hope you get good weather for the race, too - we've also enjoyed cooler weather here, and it's been amazing. You seem prepared, strong, and ready.
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