Tag: marathon training

And so it begins….

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It’s here again, and it came a lot sooner than I had originally planned. In just 16 weeks, I’ll be running my second marathon, something I didn’t think I’d do until 2014. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided I wanted to give it another shot this year. Today marks the first day in a 109 day journey. I know what to expect this time around, and I know what to change. I’m looking forward to seeing how I can improve and what else I can learn from this challenging distance. I’ve come up with some important training goals for this round.

1. Follow the plan. I want to drop some major time off the marathon and PR, so I need to follow my training plan exactly. I can’t skip on the long runs or the track workouts. Plus, I want to show up at the starting line with no regrets.

2. Eat Healthier. If it weren’t for running, I’d probably gain 50lbs easily with all the junk food I put in my body. I definitely need to cut this out and start eating more fruits and veggies. The better I eat, the better I’ll feel and the better my running will  be.

3. Cross train. I really can’t remind myself enough about this. I fully believe I managed to stay injury free this year based on the fact that I cross trained. I can tell yoga is helping, but I need more personal time with the weights and the bike.

4. Listen to my body. So important. My body will let me know exactly how training is going and I need to listen to it and not ignore it. If I don’t listen to it, I could end up injured, something I don’t want this time around.

5. Run with friends. One perk of joining a run club is that I have access to group runs. I can’t make them during the week due to my work schedule, but weekends will be open to joining the group for some long runs. This is something I definitely want to take advantage of.

6. Plan ahead. Planning my routes for the week will make it easier to just get out there and run. There will definitely be days that I’ll want to lounge on the couch, but if I have a set plan, I’ll be less likely to back out. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll plan a few weekday morning runs when it gets too hot.

7. Switch it up. I usually run the same routes over and over and over again. I burn myself out by doing this. I want to mix up my routes and find new ones. Hopefully this will keep  me motivated, especially on the long runs.

Alright, so there are a few of my goals. The only one missing is my goal time, which will eventually show up as we get closer to race day.

463.2 Miles

463.2 miles of training

Only 109 days to go….

It all comes down to this…

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It’s here. It is finally marathon weekend!! And the marathon is in two days. TWO DAYS!! After 110 days and almost exactly 16 weeks of training, the moment of truth is here. First of all, I apologize (not really) for all of the marathon talk. It is honestly all I have on my mind. I know it’s been coming up and I knew my days were numbered on when I would get to stand on that line, but it didn’t hit me hard until last night. There may have been a few extra tears in dinner, and they weren’t from cutting an onion. It’s crazy to think that I’m running the “ultimate” event, at least that’s how I see it. What is more unbelievable is that last May I ran my first half marathon. In the past 17 months I’ve run 8 half marathons and will now get to reach the next level.

I’ve set out some goals. Nothing too crazy, but something to think about when I reach a low point or two during the race.

  • Finish in 4:30. This may be a lofty goal, but it’s a best case scenario for sure. This puts me at a 10:15ish pace, a 2:15 half. A majority of my miles in my long runs have been sub 10, so I f eel like this is a possibility. But there is no guarantee on race day and I know I have to keep my pace slow.
  • Finish in 4:45. This is the finish time for my corral. I think this is a safe goal, it gives me extra time and I’d have a pace of 11:00. I never ran this pace during training, but I have a feeling that I may dip down to it in my final miles.
  • Finish. In all honesty, I just want to finish. I want to cross that line and become a marathoner. This is one of the most important days of my life, crossing that line is all I can think about. It means more than anything to me.

Now you know my goals, but what if you want to see how I’m doing during the race instead of waiting for my race recap? No worries, I’ve got you covered.

  • I’ve linked up my Twitter account to check in on my splits throughout the race with Real-Time Race Tracking.
  • You can also go online and sign up for tracking as well, I’m bib number 3978
  • I’ve linked my Facebook account to give real time tracking
  • Darren may also be tweeting live (he did a good job in Colorado)
  • You can also come to Columbus and be one of the awesome fans. I’ll be wearing something from the assortment below….

So many options

Goals. Check. Tracking. Check. Thank you’s….

I wish I could take each and every person out to dinner to thank them for all they’ve done, instead I’ll let you know on here. Plus I can save money for the expo. Seriously, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far with out the support, encouragement, hope and love from everyone. Friends, family, blog readers, twitter followers, you guys are all amazing. All the comments, well wishes, advice, I’ve taken it all to heart and will think about each and every one of you on Sunday. I can’t wait to come back next week and share the experience with you, the ups and downs, the tears and smiles. Every single moment. So thank you.

It’s time, time to leave it all on the streets of Columbus and give this marathon everything I’ve got.

 

Columbus Marathon Training Review

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This is it, the final week of marathon training! My heart beats a million times a minute just thinking about it. It has all come down to these last days, and I hope to savor every moment. You only get one first marathon experience. This past week of training was almost nothing. I got bit by the sick bug for most of the week, and had a hard time shaking it. I finally got over it by the weekend, until it showed up again Sunday morning, right before my run. Lucky for me, my whole body was against me because I also woke up during the night with a cramp in my calf. Needless to say, this week was a bust for mileage. Taper fail? Possibly, but the miles I got in were fantastic. I had two strong runs and I felt better than I had for a long time.

Monday: Sick Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 1.5 Miles

Thursday: 2.5 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Sick Day/Calf Cramp

Total Miles: 4 Miles

So now I’m left with one final week of runs before the big day. I had my ups and downs throughout training, but this coming Sunday it will be all worth it. I’m proud of how far I’ve come and how much I accomplished. Even though I had knee issues, I didn’t let it get in the way of my goal. I’ll admit, I thought about backing out after I lost the second month of training. And preparing for a marathon in 8 weeks wasn’t really ideal. But things happen and you over come them. Not every race or training cycle is going to be perfect. It’s the little things that go wrong that will make you a stronger runner.

My thoughts exactly

I certainly had runs that I absolutely hated, and others that I didn’t want to end. I started my training on familiar, flat routes along the lake and ended my training along hilly, unfamiliar territory. These were the runs that made me question why was out there, but these were also the runs that made me confident I made the right decision in running a marathon. Even though I never hit that 20 mile training run, I’m confident that I’ll be able to do it in just 6 days.

What I’ve learned:

  • Training for a marathon is possible. I couldn’t imagine running further than 13.1 miles when I started. To know that I’ve done it, and done it more than once makes me think that any length of run is possible. Little by little distance running isn’t so far.
  • I love long runs. I’ve always loved long distance running, but I truly enjoyed my weekends runs more than my weekday ones. There was just something there that made me excited to go out and run a half marathon plus every weekend.
  • Hills aren’t that bad. I was pretty nervous and upset when I did my first couple of runs after moving. I couldn’t find a single stretch of flat land. I’m still not brave enough to tackle the big ones out in the country, but I’d like to think that the small and medium ones aren’t bad.
  • I’m a cold weather runner. The weather was miserable this summer. I’m pretty sure I’ve never sweated that much in my life. To say I was excited for the 50 degree weather was an understatement. But what I’m actually excited for is snow. It’d be interesting training for a marathon during winter…
  • I am a runner through and through. This week, this moment is what I’ve spent the last four months, if not longer, preparing for. I’ve brought my running full circle from the 400m in track back in middle school to now with 26.2 miles. I’ve put in the hard work, I had disappointments and moments of pure joy.  Running the training runs alone, I learned so much about myself, it’s hard to put into words. I know I’ll learn so much more on Sunday.

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 14

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It’s officially taper time! This also means that there are only two weeks until the marathon, two weeks! I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. Just over a year ago, I made the decision that I would take the next step and run a marathon, and to think that it’s almost here is still unbelievable. I wish I could say that my hardest runs are past me, and that I’ve done everything I could have to make sure that the marathon is a success. But I can’t.

It’s no secret that my training has been challenging, and not up to standards. I’ve gone through pain, and recovery, and pain again. I lost a complete month of training, something I know will show up on race day around mile 20 when I have feelings of doubt. But my main focus in these next two weeks is to keep my pain to a minimum. After last weekend’s long, hilly run, my body has felt a little beat up.  I felt it this week on both my shorter and longer run as well.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 3 Miles

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 7 Miles

Total Miles: 10 Miles

For the next two weeks, I’m going to listen to my body and ignore my training schedule. I still want to get three runs in a week, but I’ll keep them short, easy and most likely on a treadmill. As much as I’d prefer to be outside, my daylight after work is limited. I also think it’s best for me to be on the flat surface of the treadmill, and if any pain happens, I can easily stop.

Other things I need to do in the next two weeks? I still need to figure out what to wear for race day. The weather has thrown me for a loop with the freezing temperatures, but it looks like it should warm up. Luckily I’m great at over packing, so I should have plenty of options. But most important, I need to figure out which colors to wear. I also need to update my playlist on my iPod. Over the past few weeks I’ve found some great songs, and some not so great songs. I need to shape it up so I’m not playing with music, but focusing on my running come race day.

What do you do during taper? Any suggestions?

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 13

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This week was progress, but not as much as I had hoped. With a busy start to the week, I knew I’d have to push some workouts around. While they may have been short, I was able to get two solid workouts done during the week. I’m starting to like having a 3-4 mile run one day and a short, speedy 2 mile run another day. I’m able to focus on my pace with the longer run and focus on speed with the shorter. May not be what my training schedule has for me, but it’s been working so far.  At least I think so. I’m also able to keep weekday mileage low so I can get a good long run done on the weekend.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 3.5 Miles

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 16 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 22  Miles

Saturday’s run was supposed to be an 18 miler. Last week’s fail made me even more determined to get out there and run my longest run yet. Unfortunately, Friday at about 4:00 I started to feel a fever coming on. Pretty bummed I’d be spending my weekend sick, so I figured I should get my run done first and then spend the rest of the time on the couch. Luckily I woke up Saturday feeling pretty decent, so I decided I’d stick it out and get my miles in. I started with the mid sized hills that I scared myself out of last week. They were tough like I had imagined, but I’m struggling to find flat land, so I sucked it up and went for them. I felt good, strong and didn’t stop at all. I’m not sure how or when it happened, but I’m getting better at hills, and I don’t dread them as much. Looking back, I may have run them too quick too…

What was even more impressive than the hills, was the views. Honestly, I’m finding the most beautiful scenery on my runs. I’d take pictures every two seconds if I could. It makes me excited for winter to see all the trees….snow covered….

After the hills, I found myself back on a familiar route to discover some more unknown streets later in the run. But by mile 6 I hit a wall. I knew this was too early to be drained, and it wasn’t like me to be this worn out so quickly. I told myself “I will run 18” and repeated it over, and over, and over. I managed to get back on a comfortable pace and suddenly was already at mile 11. I had 7 miles to go, the worst was over, I just had to coast in and I’d be ok. I made it to mile 14 and could feel my body wearing down, could I get another 4 miles in? By now I could feel my fever really heating up and my legs were sore as could be. I took time and did the whole walk/jog for about a mile, and realized my body was just shutting down. I turned towards home and came in at just about 16 miles. I thought a long time about going out for those last two miles, but the longer I waited, I knew I just could do it.

For the second weekend in a row, I was frustrated with my long run. I need to get 18 in before Columbus. Darren reminded me that I did 16 tough miles including hills, “that’s kind of like running 18.” There’s still a two mile difference, but those hills were killer, I know I worked hard and I felt it my entire run.

A little bit of hills

It may not have been my best run, but I know it will help me on race day. On the bright side, I had my biggest mileage month yet, 83 miles! And I reached over 500 miles for 2012, 507 to be exact. Not the highest of miles, but it’s a lot for me. Now I just have to keep a steady pace and get that last 18 miler in before the big day. Three weeks to go!

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 12

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Here we are with one month to go. I personally feel that these next two weeks will be crucial. I’ll need to get some good distance running in before I have to taper. This certainly hasn’t been the most normal training schedule, but not all are. You have to have expect that something could always come up and push you off your schedule. Luckily I’ve been able to bounce back,  and hit the long miles that are most important. This week didn’t go exactly as planned with a busy schedule most of the week, but I was able to get a few runs in. It certainly was a low mileage week.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 7 Miles

Total Miles: 9 Miles

My long run was not so long. The plan was to run 16-18 on Sunday, but as soon as I woke up I knew it wasn’t in the stars. I completely forgot that I need to charge my Garmin and iPod, so I kept pushing back my starting time to get good battery life out of both. I also made the mistake of checking the weather over and over. It was under 40 degrees out, my nice warm bed seemed like a much better idea at this time. Wasn’t it just 80 and I was smothering in humidity on long runs? I also kept reviewing my route I mapped out. I knew it had hills, and that was ok, but these were monster hills. They were waiting to eat me alive.

Finally  by 8:30 I got out the door somehow and was ready to tackle the run. I worked through my first section with some mild hills and the most beautiful view of Lake Medina. That view was worth getting up to see, the perfect moment to relax and reflect.

Perfection

After I took a few minutes to breath, I started towards the back roads. They were full of hills, no sidewalks and the twists and turns that leave you guessing what’s coming up. I get nervous driving these kinds of roads, so running them was an experience. I made my way to some familiar streets and realized how bad the hill work was getting to me. My knee was aching and these were the “baby” hills of the run. I mentally shut down and decided I was done for the day. I wasn’t going to tackle hills on unknown back roads, I wasn’t going to reroute and find some “flatter” ground. I was heading home.

I felt guilty for quite some time. I should have been running longer, I shouldn’t have given up so easily. The 7 miles I did was far from the 18 I was supposed to do. But after a while I knew it was probably the better decision. I had two weeks of long, tough runs, and normally I should have pushed through another. But coming back after injury, I can’t afford to end up hurt again. Sometimes you need to mix in the mid distance run to help your training. I had a good run pace wise, and I was able to battle some pretty tough hills. Sometimes that’s harder than going the distance.

I’ve thought a lot about training in the past few weeks, especially after this week. I’m trying to figure out where I can play catch up or if it’s possible to get some good mileage in. I’ve been able to do it, and it’s been hard. After a long day, the last thing I want to do is run, I’m ready to veg out and crash on the couch. But I do try to get two weekday runs in, if I can. It’s been easier to wake up on the weekend and head out the door, partially because I’m still half asleep  and have no idea what I’m in for. But the hardest thing yet, is running by myself. I’ve always enjoyed running with music and setting my own pace, but running long distances of 14+ is hard when you’re doing it alone. I feel grateful that I’ve been able to do all my runs by myself. I’ve learned a lot about me as a person and as a  runner.

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 11

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This was such an exciting week of training. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but it has been the best week of training yet. I was really looking forward to doing my weekend run, so I tried to keep the week short. I would be running my longest distance yet, and completely hoping I’d be able to make it. I was also finally getting back into a regular schedule without traveling or having busy weeknights. This has been a bonus to keep my stress level down and my energy up. My weekday runs were relatively easy and short, nothing too difficult. I noticed my pace is getting quicker and I’m able to handle the hills down here finally.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 16 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 22 Miles

Saturday was unbelievable. I let myself sleep in until 7, tried a new pre long run breakfast and was out the door before 8. I mapped out a route before I left and kept track of the streets I’d need to turn on with little mini post its. I wanted to use this run as a way to see Medina, this way I could find some could places to run, and have my own tour of this new place I call home. I started out pretty well and was actually going quicker than I anticipated. Around mile 4-5 I started on an incline, but thanks to my hill training I have on every single run, it wasn’t that bad. The run was going by pretty quickly and by mile 10 I was feeling really good. My goal was to do 14-16, so I figured I could handle 6 more miles. I was still a few miles out but as I got closer to home I started to feel myself wear down. I had cramps from dehydration and my knee was a bit achy. Mile 12-13 were rough. My pace was slowing down a lot at this point. Strangley, my time at 13.1 was 2:08 just like last weekend’s half. I made it home and chugged a glass a water, something I figured I’d regret once I got back out on the pavement. Miraculously, mile 15-16 felt great. It felt like I had only done a few miles and my body wanted more. I kept it at 16 to play it safe, I didn’t want to try for 18 and end up hurting myself or regretting it when I couldn’t move the next day. I finished up with a nice ice bath and a trip to my new local Second Sole. I was so glad that I pushed myself to finish 16, I certainly feel that I can truly run the marathon in just over a month. What could have been better than my longest run yet? Waking up Sunday with absolutely no pain at all. No knee pain, no hamstring pain, not even a feeling that I had run at all the day before.

Next week will be challenging. A busier schedule and an all day party over the weekend will make it hard to get some miles in, and to stay hydrated for the long run. This time I’ll be hoping for 16-18.

What I learned this week:

  • Stay hydrated at all times. I need to drink more water before and during my long runs. I didn’t want to get the “sloshy in my belly” feeling by drinking a lot of water, but I was able to go through my handheld. I’ll need to make sure that I fill it up at least once during my long runs to avoid getting the dehydration cramps.
  • Ice baths are amazing. We used to do these in college after almost every run. I love/hate them with a passion, but they are so good for you. I would still be sore if it wasn’t for the ice bath on Saturday.

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 10

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Going in I knew this week would be crazy, but also very important. If I didn’t get a long run in, I knew I wouldn’t be ready for Columbus. Starting off with the long weekend, I took Monday as a day to catch up on sleep, unpack and survive allergies. I followed up the weekend with a work trip to Mississauga, a city outside of Toronto. I wasn’t able to check out the city like before, but I did take advantage of some fantastic food. Seriously, I’ve never had a bad meal in the Toronto area.

My feet and legs took a small beating after standing for two days and riding in the car for 6 straight hours both ways. However, I was able to get a short run in while I was there and another after I got back. I wanted to be careful during the week, because I had a weekend filled of racing that I wanted to be ready for.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday:  3 Miles (Run for the Record 5k)

Sunday: 14 Miles (River Run Half Marathon)

Total Miles: 22 Miles

Saturday was my easy race day, I paced my sister in her first 5k. I found the race months ago, and decided it should be a pretty flat course. The weather was ideal as it stopped raining about 5 minutes before the start. It was a good event and I’m proud of Claire for finishing her first 5k. She’ll have her recap posted here later this week.

Sunday was my second race of the weekend. I needed the miles, so I figured the best way to get them done was to sign up for a half. I even added an extra mile once I got back home. I’ll have that recap later this week as well.

Overall, I had a pretty good week. My weekday runs need to be a little bit longer, but so do my weekend runs. I feel much more confident about Columbus training now, knowing I can still get the long miles in even though I had to take some time off. And an added bonus to this week, I became a Sweat Pink Ambassador. I’m excited to continue to grow myself as a runner and learn more from this group!

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 8 and 9

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The last few weeks have been a fresh start. I’m halfway through training, and well, it’s not going exactly like I had hoped. I’m taking the challenge to see if I can train for a marathon in 8 weeks. Two months. I think I can handle it, I’m sure I can get back up to some pretty high mileage, but I have no idea if I’ll be able to break 20 miles before the big day. There’s no time to stress or worry about it now, I just need to take each day as its own. So how am I tackling this shortened training schedule?
New legs-I’m finally running pain free and more than a few times. My legs feel rested, and hopefully the pain is gone for good, or at least for the next couple of months. Being refreshed I think I’ll be ready to take on some heavy mileage, and quick too.

New location-I said my goodbyes to the West side and will now experience farm land, hills and no sidewalks. Now that I’m south (way south) of Cleveland, I won’t have flat land, runner friendly routes or the lake. But I’m taking this as an adventure. It will be good to not run the same place every day, and I’ll be getting in some good hills, something I haven’t done in a long time.

Week 8

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 3 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 2 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 5 Miles

Week 9

Monday: 4 Miles

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3.6 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 8 Miles

Total Miles: 16 Miles

I’m not going to give up. I paid to run a marathon, and I’m going to try. It won’t be my best effort, but I could probably do worse as well. The hardest part is that I feel I cheated myself. I let my injury go for so long that it ruined one of the biggest races of 2012. I took too much time to fix the problem, that I lost my endurance and my speed. I know that I still have some time to catch up, but I can probably run better. I’ve learned from the past that not following training like you should can hurt you, and it has.

But after being in Columbus this past weekend, how could I not want to give it all I have. I’m ready to try as hard as I can, just so I can get a chance to run through The Shoe….

The Shoe

How do I make myself feel better about my attempt to short train a marathon? Find another one, find a marathon that I can truly dedicate 16 weeks to. Mentally and physically prepare for and be ready to take the bull by the horns. So I’m taking suggestions on 2013 marathons. Spring, fall, large small. Might as well open up the floor to all races. I refuse to let myself have another disappointing training schedule. Next year will be bigger and better.

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 7

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It’s been a busy, crazy, stressful week, but I’m going to claim it as a victory. I’m still pulling some short runs, and lack of runs, but I’ve finally ventured into a few weeks of pain free running. While my longest run has only been 3 miles, way under where I’m supposed to be, I’m proud of where I am. I may have taken a big step back by taking these weeks easy. But I’m able to run multiple miles a few times a week and not have any pain. I haven’t been able to do this since the beginning of March! Huge win for me.

I was even able to mix up my run by doing morning runs and got a chance to run in the New Orleans for my Tuesday run. It was incredibly hot and humid by 8am, but it was a nice way to see the city. I felt like I could have gone longer, but cut it short to play it safe in an area I didn’t know. It’s much better to run on Bourbon Street at 8am than 8pm.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 4.5 Miles

While I’m still stuck in low mileage, I’m hoping this next week I can really focus on some longer runs. I’m at a crucial point where I need to get my mileage back up and right away. These next two weeks could be determining factor for how the race will go. If I can’t get my mileage back to where it needs to be, I honestly may need to rethink training.