Marathon Training Week 12 Recap
I'm not going to lie, coming up with exciting recaps for each week of marathon training is not easy. I mean, I started doing this blog as a way to archive the road to my first marathon for myself. I didn't actually expect anyone to read it. But if you have stuck with me this far, I feel I owe it to you to at least try to keep it entertaining...so here goes!
Monday I had ZERO motivation to do ANYTHING! Last weekend was exhausting, and Logan has been sick and therefore not sleeping particularly well. As much as I try to use the "I'm training for a marathon" excuse to make Bill get up with him (I need my sleep don't you know), he doesn't fall for it. So we take turns, and Logan sometimes insists that he wants "only Mommy" or "only Daddy" to help him get to sleep, which means that more often than not, he ends up in our bed since we just don't have the energy to figure it out. Well, Sunday night was brutal. He was up three times, each time for over a half an hour, and then finally at about 3 am, Bill just brought him into our bed, where he decided to sleep between us, perpendicular to our bodies. Bill got the short end of that stick, considering Logan's feet were in his back the rest of the night, I just had to deal with his snotty head poking me between the shoulder blades. Either way, I was a zombie all day. I made it to yoga class, which should have been great, a nice relaxing hour to myself, time to shut off my brain and just stretch and focus on my breathing...but all I kept thinking was, "I wonder if anyone will notice if I just take a nap here on my mat?" I managed it though, barely staying awake through Shivasana!
I woke up Tuesday morning and it was January. Okay, it was still April, but for crying out loud it was snowing! It would be my luck that the year I decide to train for an early summer marathon that winter decides to last until the end of April! I'm not a stranger to running in the snow, but it was actually blowing sideways today, so I did my "Threeasy" on the TM. This turned out to be fine since I also wanted to try out the new cadence with the metronome my PT recommended. She said it might be easier to do on the treadmill. I did 2 minute intervals at 172 steps per minute (5 minutes at my regular 165 steps per minute rate). This forced me to run on my forefoot, which takes a lot of pressure off my hamstrings and my knee. It doesn't feel bad, just a little strange. I can see incorporating this cadence into longer runs as a recovery when my thighs are aching, but not sure that I am going to recondition myself to run like this all the time.
Wednesday I planned for 7 miles on West River Parkway again. A little different from my fabulously sunny mid-week run last week, I needed tights and a jacket today. I got a little dehydrated during this mileage last week, so I decided to wear my hydration belt this time. I went out easy, trying to stay just under 10 minute miles. At the half way point I took a potty break and had some energy gel. I was feeling really strong and managed negative splits on the way back. Thursday I was up early to do my four-miler from home since I had to work at Logan's preschool that day, and had a full afternoon of work meetings. I don't mind running in the morning, but at 6 am it was 28-degrees! If it's possible, I was cold AND sweating the whole time. Sweat was turning to ice in my elbow-pits, and freezing in trickles down my face. I had to take an emergency potty break at mile 2 since I didn't get up early enough to get my system in order (sorry for the TMI). All in all, not my finest hour...but it was done. I got home and took a blissfully long, hot shower and finally got feeling back in my fingers just in time to dish out applesauce to 15 hungry four year-olds.
Finally it was Friday. Of course on the day that I have a swim scheduled the weather decides it is going to embrace spring. This has been the weather's MO ever since I started training back in February. It never fails...it's freezing all week while I have to run, then as soon as I put "swim day" on my calendar the heavens open up and beam sunshine and rainbows all over everything! Oh well, I didn't really care, I planned a short and sweet workout since I had a busy weekend planned. 500 yard warm up, 5 X 100 kick/pull/kick, 5 X 100 on 1:45, 50 cool down at the Y during Kayley's swim practice. She tried to race me a couple times since I had to use the lane right next to her group. Not sure when that girl is going to learn that her mom takes no prisoners when it comes to competition. I smoked her on every lap ;)
Saturday I was up early again for a solo long run. 15 miles on the plan. I mapped out a 7.5 mile loop that I figured I'd do twice, thinking it would be nice to make a quick stop at home at the half way point to refill water and get some fuel (and take a potty break). I felt awesome for the first half, really strong, and happy with my pace. I made it home to find Kayley up, but everyone else asleep. She greeted me with a big smile and asked if I would make her breakfast, I told her "sorry, sweetie, I'm only half way done". I poured her a quick bowl of cereal, hit the toilet, filled my water bottle, crammed down a half a PBJ and headed back out. (Side note, I discovered that a PB & J is like wonder fuel! I only wish they were easier to carry on a run!) I started down our road to begin the second loop, but decided instead of going the same way, I'd do the loop around Turtle Lake for a change of scenery. I wasn't sure exactly how far it was, only that it was at least 7 miles. I felt great starting out, thanks to my little break, and held negative splits for the next four miles. I took an energy gel and a short walk break a little after mile 11. I had just started thinking, "wow, I feel really awesome" when a I hit a big giant wall. Not really sure what prompted it, but miles 12-13 were a struggle. I walked a bit, ran a bit, and kept making deals with myself..."okay, run to that street sign, then you can walk across the street". Finally, I could see the stoplight that marks one mile from home and I had a bit of a surge, knowing I was so close to my Personal Distance Record. I put my head down and plowed forward. I didn't break any land speed records, but I finished it. The loop around Turtle Lake is exactly 7.5 miles...making my goal mileage perfectly! I was tired and sore, but I also felt for the first time like running 26.2 miles is really a possibility. I walked in the door to find Bill and the kids busy making breakfast...pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fresh strawberries! I hoovered down more than my fair share, but they all gave me a pass. Afterwards, I asked the kids for a half hour of quiet time to soak in an Epsom salt bath....which I sort of got. About 10 minutes into the bath Kayley wanted to come in and read some Harry Potter to me...so with tired eyes and sore muscles, I lounged in the tub hearing about the latest tales of the Tri Wizard Tournament!
Normally Sunday is rest day, but thanks to my "race-enabler" BRF Brandi, I was signed up to do the Lifetime Indoor Triathlon today. I was awoken at 5:30 am by the sound of our dog Sully, throwing up in the living room. Great. I had a whole half hour more of sleep due me, but there I was cleaning dog barf out of the carpet! Since he and I were up, we went out on a short walk, where I realized how stiff my right ankle and knee were. My quads and hamstrings actually felt okay, a little sore, but not unmanageable. I took some ibuprofen and wolfed down a peanut butter toast and banana and was ready to go. I got to Lifetime with a half an hour to spare and met up with Brandi, Molly and Melissa to knock this bad boy out. We "warmed up" in the hot tub, sharing our strategy for the race (finish in one piece and get to brunch!) The swim felt great, and really got me loosened up. I took it out hard and after about 300 yards I thought I was going to have to stop and take a breather, but I reminded myself that I was doing this for fun, so I backed off my pace a bit and finished strong. We had 10 minutes to transition to the bike studio. I decided to swim in my sports bra so as to avoid having to put it on over my wet body (the last time I did an indoor tri I didn't do this and it took me almost the entire transition time to wriggle my way into that thing!) This proved to be a good move as I got to the biking area with only 90 seconds to spare. I took the bike pretty easy, which felt good. I hardly put any resistance on it...I might have been able to eek out another mile or so if I had, but I really wanted to have something left for the run, as I still wasn't sure how my legs were going to feel with the lingering remnants of my 15-miler on them. We transitioned up to the treadmills and I decided to start slow, 5.7 mph. To my surprise, that pace felt way to easy, so I ramped it up a bit and held 6.3 mph for about the next 15 minutes. At that point, I figured I only had 3 minutes left, so it put it up to 7.0 mph and it felt good! I don't know if it was adrenaline, ibuprofen, or just my own super-competitive nature, but I started to think "hey, maybe I could WIN this thing". When the race coordinator called out "one minute left" I pushed that little "+" button until I was running 7.5 miles per hour, which for me, is like lightening! I knew I could manage that for a minute and finished feeling really accomplished. Overall it was awesome...and really encouraging to my psyche that I could feel so good the day after a long run. While the official results haven't been posted yet, I honestly don't really care if I "won" or not, this was a victory no matter how I slice it. Here are my official stats from the race:
10 minute swim: 600 yards
30 minute bike: 8.5 miles
20 minute run: 2.25 miles
After taking advantage of the amazing "Eucalyptus Steam" in the Lifetime locker room, Brandi, Molly and I met our friend Renee for brunch at the Mason Jar, a cute little restaurant run by the owners of Cupcake. While our server was a little surly, the food was awesome. I had "Breakfast Hot Dish" which was basically all my favorite breakfast things mixed together and topped with Hollandaise sauce. We parted ways with talk of naps and relaxing, but the day turned out to be too beautiful to spend inside. The sun was out, it had really warmed up and I got to hang with two of the coolest kids on the planet at the park that afternoon. What an incredible end to an encouraging Week 12!
Monday I had ZERO motivation to do ANYTHING! Last weekend was exhausting, and Logan has been sick and therefore not sleeping particularly well. As much as I try to use the "I'm training for a marathon" excuse to make Bill get up with him (I need my sleep don't you know), he doesn't fall for it. So we take turns, and Logan sometimes insists that he wants "only Mommy" or "only Daddy" to help him get to sleep, which means that more often than not, he ends up in our bed since we just don't have the energy to figure it out. Well, Sunday night was brutal. He was up three times, each time for over a half an hour, and then finally at about 3 am, Bill just brought him into our bed, where he decided to sleep between us, perpendicular to our bodies. Bill got the short end of that stick, considering Logan's feet were in his back the rest of the night, I just had to deal with his snotty head poking me between the shoulder blades. Either way, I was a zombie all day. I made it to yoga class, which should have been great, a nice relaxing hour to myself, time to shut off my brain and just stretch and focus on my breathing...but all I kept thinking was, "I wonder if anyone will notice if I just take a nap here on my mat?" I managed it though, barely staying awake through Shivasana!
I woke up Tuesday morning and it was January. Okay, it was still April, but for crying out loud it was snowing! It would be my luck that the year I decide to train for an early summer marathon that winter decides to last until the end of April! I'm not a stranger to running in the snow, but it was actually blowing sideways today, so I did my "Threeasy" on the TM. This turned out to be fine since I also wanted to try out the new cadence with the metronome my PT recommended. She said it might be easier to do on the treadmill. I did 2 minute intervals at 172 steps per minute (5 minutes at my regular 165 steps per minute rate). This forced me to run on my forefoot, which takes a lot of pressure off my hamstrings and my knee. It doesn't feel bad, just a little strange. I can see incorporating this cadence into longer runs as a recovery when my thighs are aching, but not sure that I am going to recondition myself to run like this all the time.
Wednesday I planned for 7 miles on West River Parkway again. A little different from my fabulously sunny mid-week run last week, I needed tights and a jacket today. I got a little dehydrated during this mileage last week, so I decided to wear my hydration belt this time. I went out easy, trying to stay just under 10 minute miles. At the half way point I took a potty break and had some energy gel. I was feeling really strong and managed negative splits on the way back. Thursday I was up early to do my four-miler from home since I had to work at Logan's preschool that day, and had a full afternoon of work meetings. I don't mind running in the morning, but at 6 am it was 28-degrees! If it's possible, I was cold AND sweating the whole time. Sweat was turning to ice in my elbow-pits, and freezing in trickles down my face. I had to take an emergency potty break at mile 2 since I didn't get up early enough to get my system in order (sorry for the TMI). All in all, not my finest hour...but it was done. I got home and took a blissfully long, hot shower and finally got feeling back in my fingers just in time to dish out applesauce to 15 hungry four year-olds.
Finally it was Friday. Of course on the day that I have a swim scheduled the weather decides it is going to embrace spring. This has been the weather's MO ever since I started training back in February. It never fails...it's freezing all week while I have to run, then as soon as I put "swim day" on my calendar the heavens open up and beam sunshine and rainbows all over everything! Oh well, I didn't really care, I planned a short and sweet workout since I had a busy weekend planned. 500 yard warm up, 5 X 100 kick/pull/kick, 5 X 100 on 1:45, 50 cool down at the Y during Kayley's swim practice. She tried to race me a couple times since I had to use the lane right next to her group. Not sure when that girl is going to learn that her mom takes no prisoners when it comes to competition. I smoked her on every lap ;)
Saturday I was up early again for a solo long run. 15 miles on the plan. I mapped out a 7.5 mile loop that I figured I'd do twice, thinking it would be nice to make a quick stop at home at the half way point to refill water and get some fuel (and take a potty break). I felt awesome for the first half, really strong, and happy with my pace. I made it home to find Kayley up, but everyone else asleep. She greeted me with a big smile and asked if I would make her breakfast, I told her "sorry, sweetie, I'm only half way done". I poured her a quick bowl of cereal, hit the toilet, filled my water bottle, crammed down a half a PBJ and headed back out. (Side note, I discovered that a PB & J is like wonder fuel! I only wish they were easier to carry on a run!) I started down our road to begin the second loop, but decided instead of going the same way, I'd do the loop around Turtle Lake for a change of scenery. I wasn't sure exactly how far it was, only that it was at least 7 miles. I felt great starting out, thanks to my little break, and held negative splits for the next four miles. I took an energy gel and a short walk break a little after mile 11. I had just started thinking, "wow, I feel really awesome" when a I hit a big giant wall. Not really sure what prompted it, but miles 12-13 were a struggle. I walked a bit, ran a bit, and kept making deals with myself..."okay, run to that street sign, then you can walk across the street". Finally, I could see the stoplight that marks one mile from home and I had a bit of a surge, knowing I was so close to my Personal Distance Record. I put my head down and plowed forward. I didn't break any land speed records, but I finished it. The loop around Turtle Lake is exactly 7.5 miles...making my goal mileage perfectly! I was tired and sore, but I also felt for the first time like running 26.2 miles is really a possibility. I walked in the door to find Bill and the kids busy making breakfast...pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fresh strawberries! I hoovered down more than my fair share, but they all gave me a pass. Afterwards, I asked the kids for a half hour of quiet time to soak in an Epsom salt bath....which I sort of got. About 10 minutes into the bath Kayley wanted to come in and read some Harry Potter to me...so with tired eyes and sore muscles, I lounged in the tub hearing about the latest tales of the Tri Wizard Tournament!
Normally Sunday is rest day, but thanks to my "race-enabler" BRF Brandi, I was signed up to do the Lifetime Indoor Triathlon today. I was awoken at 5:30 am by the sound of our dog Sully, throwing up in the living room. Great. I had a whole half hour more of sleep due me, but there I was cleaning dog barf out of the carpet! Since he and I were up, we went out on a short walk, where I realized how stiff my right ankle and knee were. My quads and hamstrings actually felt okay, a little sore, but not unmanageable. I took some ibuprofen and wolfed down a peanut butter toast and banana and was ready to go. I got to Lifetime with a half an hour to spare and met up with Brandi, Molly and Melissa to knock this bad boy out. We "warmed up" in the hot tub, sharing our strategy for the race (finish in one piece and get to brunch!) The swim felt great, and really got me loosened up. I took it out hard and after about 300 yards I thought I was going to have to stop and take a breather, but I reminded myself that I was doing this for fun, so I backed off my pace a bit and finished strong. We had 10 minutes to transition to the bike studio. I decided to swim in my sports bra so as to avoid having to put it on over my wet body (the last time I did an indoor tri I didn't do this and it took me almost the entire transition time to wriggle my way into that thing!) This proved to be a good move as I got to the biking area with only 90 seconds to spare. I took the bike pretty easy, which felt good. I hardly put any resistance on it...I might have been able to eek out another mile or so if I had, but I really wanted to have something left for the run, as I still wasn't sure how my legs were going to feel with the lingering remnants of my 15-miler on them. We transitioned up to the treadmills and I decided to start slow, 5.7 mph. To my surprise, that pace felt way to easy, so I ramped it up a bit and held 6.3 mph for about the next 15 minutes. At that point, I figured I only had 3 minutes left, so it put it up to 7.0 mph and it felt good! I don't know if it was adrenaline, ibuprofen, or just my own super-competitive nature, but I started to think "hey, maybe I could WIN this thing". When the race coordinator called out "one minute left" I pushed that little "+" button until I was running 7.5 miles per hour, which for me, is like lightening! I knew I could manage that for a minute and finished feeling really accomplished. Overall it was awesome...and really encouraging to my psyche that I could feel so good the day after a long run. While the official results haven't been posted yet, I honestly don't really care if I "won" or not, this was a victory no matter how I slice it. Here are my official stats from the race:
10 minute swim: 600 yards
30 minute bike: 8.5 miles
20 minute run: 2.25 miles
After taking advantage of the amazing "Eucalyptus Steam" in the Lifetime locker room, Brandi, Molly and I met our friend Renee for brunch at the Mason Jar, a cute little restaurant run by the owners of Cupcake. While our server was a little surly, the food was awesome. I had "Breakfast Hot Dish" which was basically all my favorite breakfast things mixed together and topped with Hollandaise sauce. We parted ways with talk of naps and relaxing, but the day turned out to be too beautiful to spend inside. The sun was out, it had really warmed up and I got to hang with two of the coolest kids on the planet at the park that afternoon. What an incredible end to an encouraging Week 12!
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