The week that wasn't!

Marathon Training Week 14 Recap

This week was the beginning of a LONG, crazy summer season at work. Between May 9th and August 9th we have only TWO weekends without events going on. Now, don't get me wrong, we love events...it's what our facility was made for, and frankly, my job would be kind of boring without them...but it means that my work days and my weekend days become much less flexible than they have been since I started marathon training. This, compounded with the fact that my mid-week runs are getting longer, means I either need to get creative, or I will start missing workouts, which is exactly what happened this week.

Monday was rest day since I had my long run on Sunday last week. I did not do yoga (again...bad runner!) but I did get all my PT exercises in, so I'm considering this my most productive day of the week. Tuesday I was leading a group run for MRTT on the Rice Creek Trail near my house. I was supposed to do 4-miles today, but rain clouds were hanging over us threatening to open up at any second so we did a quick 3.5 mile loop around the park and called it good. Of course, in true Murphy's Law fashion, it never rained...I could have squeezed in that extra half mile anyway. I didn't necessarily feel bad on this run, my legs were solid and our pace was good, but for some reason I was dragging. I think that evening runs might not be my thing. I just feel heavy or something. I didn't eat dinner before I went, but maybe all the other food I had that day caught up with me. I don't know, but the run left me feeling unsatisfied in some way.

Wednesday was insane at work. Every year my department hosts a huge "appreciation" picnic where we invite all the different people we work with throughout the year. From facility maintenance workers, to architects, product reps, coaches, our student staff and more, we generally feed over a thousand people in two hours. I have found myself in charge of this event for the last three years, and it is no small task. In addition to the regular stuff I needed to do today I had to spend two hours at Restaurant Depot buying all the brats, hamburgers, and potato salad they had in stock. Those were unfortunately the two hours I had for running, so my 8-miler didn't happen. I know that this is not the end of the world, but it kind of felt like it. I was really bummed. Mostly because my 8-miler last week was so terrible I wanted some redemption, also because I wanted to test my theory that maybe evening runs are just not my cup of tea by seeing if I felt any better this afternoon. However, since I needed to take the kids to swimming and wouldn't be able to get the run in that evening, redemption and theoretical discovery were going to have to wait for another day.

Thursday was the day of the picnic, so I was already resigned to the fact that my 5-miler was not going to be happening during my work day today. I figured I was going to have to give evening running another go and just get out after Bill got home from his softball game at 7:00. Working the picnic was non-stop craziness, and by the time I left work I had already put in 21,000 steps on the old Fitbit. My legs were killing me, I was tired and cranky and just wanted to sit on my couch and pout. My mood brightened a bit when I got home and found that the new shoes I had ordered had arrived. Last fall my friend Cheryl wrote about switching to Newton running shoes and how they pretty much cured all her running ailments. They have "lugs" on the bottom of the shoe at mid-foot that kind of force you to run with out a heel strike, and in turn, supposedly help alleviate all kinds of running issues. I had tried a pair on right after she raved about them, but alas, I stuck with my tried and true Sauconys since I was afraid to move away from a stability shoe. Well, my PT has been having me change up my cadence so I run more on the balls of feet and she and I talked about shoes. She mentioned that it might be time for me to try out a pair of more neutral shoes since stability shoes almost encourage heel-striking with all their support. So, with her blessing (and a screaming deal from Active Gear Up) I ordered myself a pair of Newton Energy NR.

 

Yes Mom, they are pink. I was bound to wear this color some day!

Now, considering the fact that my feet are super wide, I have been buying men's shoes for running, since they are cut larger than women's. This means my color choices have been pretty banal. Newtons are really roomy in the toe box though, so I was able to get them in a women's size...and I didn't hold back. I pretty much bought the "girly-est" style I could find, which really isn't very me but I figured "what the heck". I was now both nervous and excited for my run that night. Excited to try out my new shoes, and nervous that I was going to hate them, or worse that I was going to hurt myself running in them. My neighbor Jen texted after dinner to see if I wanted to head out for an "easy three" at 7:30, and even though I had 5 on the schedule, I figured that would be perfect. I'd run short and easy on my new kicks, and if I tripped and broke my ankle in the process, I'd have someone to carry me home! Right after that, the weather started to take a turn for the worst and at about 6:15 a short torrential down pour started. It was over almost as quickly as it started, so I wasn't too worried about it ruining the run, but what I didn't take into consideration was that it was going to delay the softball game. 7:30 came and went and I had to text Jen to go without me. Bill got home a little before 8 and helped me get the kids into bed. Even though the sky had cleared, it was now 8:30 and was starting to get a little too dark for me to consider more than just a short out and back. I got laced up and took off down our trail for a run up to the "light and back", exactly 2 miles. The new shoes felt great, they were more cushiony than I remember and really made my stride seem effortless. I didn't wear my headphones, so I had no idea what kind of pace I was running, but I didn't care....I was running, finally! By the time I turned around to head home the sun was gone and I was running by street light. I'm not a fan of not being able to see where I'm going, so I slowed down a little and stepped more carefully...imagine my surprise when I checked my pace after I got home to find I ran under 9:30's for both miles! The new shoes were a success and I had felt good on an evening run...the craziest day of the week ended on a good note.

I got a lazy swim in on Friday. The whole family had come out to the Y tonight. Kayley had swim team practice, Bill wanted to sit in the hot tub and Logan wanted to play in the shallow pool. So I did a quick and easy 2000 yards, four sets of my old-standby...200 swim, 100 kick, 200 pull. My left shoulder has really been bothering me lately...not really sure what it's all about, I think I may just be sleeping on it strangely. Anyway, it was fine. After swimming, we all went to the open climb in the gym where Kayley put all other climbers to shame by tackling the wall's overhang three times in a row! That kid is a serious rock star!

This week was a step back week for my long run so I only had 12-miles on the schedule for Saturday. I did an out and back from home along Lexington Avenue and the Rice Creek Trail. It was a little chilly starting out, so I had my arm sleeves on. I could see my breath and worried that I was underdressed. I felt really strong starting out though and held a nice and steady pace for the first four miles. The trail comes out into the town of Circle Pines at this point and I hit several intersections so I had to wait at quite a few stop lights. At one point I passed by a very busy McDonalds where I admittedly felt a little superior running by the drive thru line looking all fit and stuff. At the six mile mark I ate some of my homemade energy gel, got passed by a woman running with her dog, and turned around to head back home. I felt just as strong on this leg, and even managed a couple sub 10-minute miles. Around mile 8 I finally warmed up enough to shed my arm sleeves and tucked them into my water belt for the rest of the run. I made it home and felt great, like I definitely had a lot left in the tank. I'm sure part of the reason it felt so good was that I skipped or shortened all other runs this week, but I'll take it nonetheless.

Sunday was rest day, but I was excited to get up early so the kids and I could do the Race for the Cure 5K walk with my Mom. This year she celebrates 25-year cancer free. The rain held off and as usual it was an inspiring morning walking along with 50,000 of our closest friends. After all the disappointments and crankiness of this week, I couldn't have ended it on a better note!

Group Hug!