Coastal Delaware Marathon Training: Week Four

January 18, 2016January 18, 20162 Comments

Week four is done and honestly, I can’t believe we’re already this far into the training cycle. I know that 18 weeks can seem daunting, but knowing that I only have 14 weeks left to get ready still makes me nervous! This week was a rough one, and I eventually decided that it would be a cut back week…on Sunday. Things just weren’t clicking this week and I could tell my body needed a bit of a break.

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 6 Miles, 1 mile w/u, 3×1600 (8:53, 8:42, 8:55) w/400 recovery, 1.5 mile c/d + Abs & Arms

Wednesday: 0

Thursday: 5 Miles

Friday: 0

Saturday: 6 Miles + Abs

Sunday: 3.5 Miles + Abs

Total: 20.5 Miles

Tuesday I was back at the rec, and ready for some mile repeats. We started with our mile warm up on the track and headed to the treadmill for our repeats. Last time I did these, I hovered around a 9:00 minute pace. This time I wanted to push myself a little, so I upped the speed. I was in a pretty good groove and despite being a bit bored, I felt like I was doing a good job of working hard. Until my third repeat when the treadmill hit the 30 minute limit and shut down on me. I tried to get back up to speed as quickly as I could, but the overall time was my slowest. We finished up with a 1.5 mile cool down, some abs and an incredibly hard arm workout.

I had to skip my Wednesday workout again this week. I woke up to a migraine in the middle of the night and was still feeling the tail end of it by evening. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I’ve had enough migraines to know running is the opposite of what I should do. I was disappointed I couldn’t get my run in, but I can’t fight a migraine, no matter how bad I want to run.

I was feeling better on Thursday, so I hit the treadmill. I was aiming to run between 5-7 miles, but mentally I could barely make it to two. I switched up the speed every once and while I found a new show on Netflix, I was still bored out of my mind. It was a struggle, but I got 5 miles in. Sometimes treadmill runs are great, and sometimes they’re the last place I want to be.

Looks like we have the same thoughts on treadmill runs.

Saturday I took the opportunity to sleep in and run on the treadmill. I was a little nervous for how it would go after Thursday’s breakdown, but I actually felt great. I increased the speed every 10 minutes or so, and never felt the need for a break or to jump off.

“Faster! Faster!”

Sunday was pretty much a disaster. After skipping the group run at Hinckley, a few of us decided to run in the afternoon. Until the roads got nasty and I was forced back to the treadmill. I wasn’t in the mindset to run long on the treadmill, but I wanted to see how far I could get without struggling. Unfortunately, my shin had other plans when it decided to have a faint pain in it. I knew not to work it hard, and called it after 3.5 miles. Not a great workout at all.

Overall this week was a bit of a roller coaster. I had a few good runs, and I had a few horrible runs. I’ve had a slight pain in my shin from time to time for the past four days, and I know it’s because I’ve increased my mileage by a lot in such a short amount of time. I always do this, and always need to step back a few weeks into the new training cycle. Pushing myself too much now is not worth the risk of injury. I still have 12 weeks left, which is plenty of time to get ready for the marathon.

Sometimes all you need is a bit of rest and recovery.

I also wanted to focus on hydration and sleep this week. I had over 5 hours of sleep 4 of the 5 weekday nights, which is an improvement to say the least. I tried to be asleep by 10pm, which still gave me plenty of time to toss and turn many times each night.

I also made sure to have at least 30oz of water a day. It’s still not enough, but it’s a goal to aim for. And just like Wineglass, I’ve been cutting back on wine and only drinking it two to three nights a week. This will help to keep me hydrated and hopefully allow me to sleep better.

Next week I’ll be back to my higher mileage, hopefully less pain, and some stronger runs!

Akron Half Marathon Training: Week Four

July 6, 2015Leave a comment

I changed a few things around this week after I noticed my first cut back week wasn’t until week six. With tired legs from last week, and a tired body from lack of sleep, I knew I needed to make this change for a recovery week. So I skipped a few runs, made some changes to week six, and here we are with lighter mileage and happier legs.

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 3.5 Miles, 1 Mile W/U, 6×400 w/400 recovery, .5 Mile C/D + Core

Wednesday: 0

Thursday: 0

Friday: 4 Miles

Saturday: Twin Sizzler 5k + 2 Miles

Sunday: 0

Total Miles: 12.5 Miles

I got home late on Tuesday due to traffic, and stuck to my treadmill for my workout. I was exhausted before I even started, and lack of motivation was creeping in quickly. But I powered through some 400’s and felt a little better when I was finished.

Coach checking out my stride

Wednesday evening I had plans, and Thursday I had intentions of running with Second Sole. But because I didn’t get out of work until late afternoon, I decided to skip my run and spend time with Darren, who had been in London all week for work. After a pretty crappy week, it was exactly what I needed.

Friday I was out of the door at a decent time and ran to my trail. It was the first time running there for a while, despite being so close to home. I felt pretty good and kept a decent pace for most of the run. A little solo trail running was exactly what my mind and body needed.

Clear trails, clear mind.

Saturday I ran the annual Twin Sizzler 5k, race recap to come soon. I opted for just the 5k this year after running both the 5k and 10k last year. The weather was perfect, the race turned out great and I was almost tempted to sign up for the 10k. Between my warm up and cool down, I added two more miles, making it 5 for the day.

A little red, white, blue, and neon for the Twin Sizzler

Week Four Thoughts:

This week was nothing what I had originally planned for. But even by the end of the week my legs felt better than they had in the past two. There comes a point where everything starts to build up and break you apart. I needed this week to catch up on recovery, sleep, and a little bit of my sanity. I can now start this next week of training with fresh legs and some extra motivation.

Wineglass Marathon Training: Week Nine

August 4, 2014Leave a comment

We’re officially halfway through this training cycle and honestly, I wasn’t sure how this week would go. All last week I had a weak feeling in my right knee, which was cleared out after my massage. But then I was greeted with some major pain on my left knee that showed up the day after my 18 miler. These knees really know how to put a damper in a training cycle.

Well, luckily, things turned around. I iced, rolled and stocked up on Ibuprofen all day Sunday and Monday and woke up pain free on Tuesday. Also, the rec center was closed all week for annual cleaning, so I took Monday as a complete recovery day and it did wonders for my knees.

Tuesday I headed to the track to test the waters. After my warm up mile (my 100th mile for the month!) I felt good enough to give 800’s a shot. Previously I felt my pace was a little slow and I wasn’t working hard enough, so this time the goal pace was 4:15 for six repeats. Well, I was definitely quicker than my pace time, but not too uncomfortable that I couldn’t handle it. So it looks like I’ll be working around this quicker pace for future 800 repeats, and hopefully try for more next time.

Wednesday I did my recovery run with Elayna and Ella in the metro parks. We took it easy and I’m glad we did because I had almost forgotten what it was like to run in the heat and humidity. It was good to catch up and the perfect place to get away from my normal running routes.

The memories of these parks

Thursday I had planned on running with Second Sole, but got stuck in traffic on 71 and in town due to the fair. Sometimes, an hour just isn’t enough time to get from work to run group. So I ended up running around town on my own, which was pretty good except for the uneven sidewalks and crazy drivers. I wanted to do between 4-5, but the uneven steps gave me a slight twinge in my hip and I decided to call it a day.

Saturday was an interesting run. I had a bad Friday night that led me to not be very well prepared for a long run Saturday morning. Throw in an extra early 4:15am wake up call, and some stomach issues and you’ve got the perfect recipe to the start of a long run turned recovery.

I started with some MCRR at Buckeye Woods, but quickly learned that I wouldn’t last long on the back roads. So instead I turned around and stayed close to the park for when I needed to make a pit stop. All week I had been going back and forth about using this week as a recovery week. My right leg had an off feeling all week and in the back of my mind, I know that running 20 wouldn’t have helped it. I may have been feeling pretty miserable Saturday morning, but I know it was just my body’s way of telling me to take a break. After all, I haven’t had a cut back week in almost a month and a half. And even if the run wasn’t pretty, watching the sunrise over the fog was.

Perk of a 6am morning run

Worth the early morning wake up call

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 1 mile w/u, 6×800(4:09,4:11,4:06,4:02,4:01, 3:58), 1 mile c/d

Wednesday: 3 Miles

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Off

Saturday: 7 Miles

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 18 Miles

So this week was an semi intentional cut back week. I still have a twinge in my right leg, but it comes and goes. Luckily it isn’t very painful, but more of the feeling that not everything is clicking the way it should. I’ve been rolling it and icing the pain points, but unfortunately, the most uncomfortable feeling comes from when I’m driving. With almost 10 hours a week just for my work commute, I can’t avoid the odd feeling in my hip/quad/knee. So I’ll do what I can in between and hope it doesn’t cause any injury down the road. I can still run pain free, and have no intention of backing off training, I just need to figure out what I’m doing to cause the weird feeling in my leg.

Wineglass Marathon Training: Week Five

July 7, 2014Leave a comment

What an interesting week. This week didn’t necessarily go as planned, but in the end, I made the right decisions for training. I intended to have another high mileage week, but needed to cut back as a prevention. My body was tight and sore for every run this week, so I added in some extra rest days to recover. My biggest focus is staying injury free so I listened to the warning signs and played it safe.

I started the week with Body Fusion, and I felt great. We used heavier weights and I could feel myself getting stronger with each rep. Yoga was on point as well, and it really helped to clear my mind. I may have even become a little emotional towards the end.

Tuesday went downhill quickly. I went up to the track, but even as I started my warm up, which was a 10 minute pace, I was falling apart. I figured I’d play it by ear, and try not to push myself too much due to the heat. Well, I barely got one mile repeat in before I threw in the towel. I struggled and could feel myself fading fast. So I did a mile cool down, and decided I’d push my speed work to Thursday. I spent all night beating myself up about the workout, but in the end, I know my body was still tired and partially dehydrated from Sunday. Even though my mile pace wasn’t horrible, I don’t think I would have benefited from overdoing it in the heat.

Wednesday was a rest day, which my body gratefully took advantage of. Then Thursday I did an easy shakeout run before Friday’s race. I ran part of the neighborhood and part on the trail. My pace was probably quicker than I wanted the night before a race, but I tried to keep it light and easy.

Friday was the Twin Sizzler 5k and 10k. Yep, you read that right, I ran both the 5k and 10k. I’ll have my recap later this week, but it was also my long run, so I added on 5 miles in between and after the races. I ran a half mile warm up, ran the 5k, ran 1.5 miles around town with Mo, ran the 10k, ran 2 miles around town, and finished up the last mile in my development for a total of 14 miles. This was definitely a tough run because the later it got, the hotter it was and I was struggling. My legs were tight for about 12 of the 14 miles and my knees and arch starting hurting towards the end. It wasn’t pretty, but I got it done.

Red, white, blue and happy post 14 miles!

14 red, white, and blue miles!

Saturday I took as a rest day because my legs were in rough shape. Sunday I had planned to do an easy run, but ended up having a little too much fun from the wine party we hosted Saturday evening. Instead I spent the day on the deck, enjoying summer and time with my better half.

Monday: Body Fusion Class – 30 minutes of lifting/abs/squats & 30 minutes of yoga

Tuesday: 3 Miles, 1 Mile W/U, 1×1600 (8:11), 1 Mile C/D

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Twin Sizzler 5k/10k + 5 Miles

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 20 Miles

This week was rough, and I struggled with the heat. I thought I was hydrating enough, but apparently I’m not. Looks like I need to increase my intake of water and Nuun every day. I also need to work on adjusting with the heat. I’m ok for the first half of my long runs, but that changes quickly.

This week was supposed to be my cut back week, but I’ll be changing that since I had low mileage last week. I need to make sure I hit my mile repeats at the track this week, and I’ll be adding in a hill workout, because after Friday’s 10k, it’s clear I’m not doing enough hills!