Louisville Derby Festival Marathon Training Week #6

[I only now realized that I never posted this post! It's from two weeks ago. Oops.]
 
I'm a little behind on this training re-cap--this is last week's training!-but it was a busy/tiring weekend and it's been a busy week. Better late than never, I guess??

Monday - Cross-train
45 min. spin

Coached swim practice was cancelled due to the weather, and though I could have still gone that morning and done a posted workout on my own, the pool opened on a delay AND my kids had a snow day, so I stayed home and rode the bike. While I rode I listened to the end of the latest Serial podcast--which I had started on my last spin--and updates on the last Serial season, which made the time go by more quickly. Spinning is tied with the elliptical as my least favorite form of cross-training. I like doing a spin class, because there is lots of variation there--and I enjoy biking out on the roads, but at home on my trainer I simply pedal in place and it. is. so. boring. I've been looking into some workout videos for the bike (NYC Running Mama has mentioned The Sufferfest series), but I haven't taken action. Hopefully the colder temps will move on soon and I can ride outside!


Tuesday - Speed work
1 mi. warm-up @ 8:49
2 x 1200 @ 6:44 w/ 2 min. rest intervals
4 x 800 # 6:35 w/ 2 min. rest intervals
.5 mi. cool down @ 9:13

Total miles =  6

This workout was kind of a bitch. Because of slick roads, I did the run indoors on the treadmill instead of out on the track--which always makes the intervals seem longer. And I was running by 6:15 a.m.--which made the workout tougher for me, because while I don't mind running early in the morning I have a hard time being motivated to run fast early in the morning. But this was the only time I would have to get the run done, so I sucked it up and gave it my best shot. Maintaining the pace for these speed intervals, surprisingly, wasn't necessarily the difficult part--it was that the intervals seemed to last FOREVER. I never felt like I couldn't hold on to the pace for any of the intervals--I just wanted them to be over with faster! The two 1200s were tough, and I spent the last of those two rest intervals completely off the treadmill gulping down water. At that point I was feeling a little nervous about my ability to run 2 more miles at a faster pace, but those rest intervals really do make a difference and I started each speed interval feeling refreshed and ready to knock them out. My go-to song got me through the tough spots. I hopped off the treadmill one more time during a rest interval to drink more water halfway through the 800s, but otherwise all the rest intervals were done at a 10:00-12:00 minute pace.

Wednesday - Cross-train
30 min. strength/core
1600 yard swim (about 40 min.)

By the time I got in the pool Wednesday, it had been two weeks since I'd swum. Ouch. It seems if I miss even one week then I have to start all over gain, so it's a wonder I didn't drown. It was freezing outside again today, and I was going to be swimming in the pool that is always freezing, so it was really hard to motivate myself to go, but I made it. Since it had been a while, I knew I would need to break the swim down into sections, rather than try to swim all those yards without stopping. So I did 6 250-yard intervals with 1-2 minutes rest in between, just taking it slow and easy. When I got out of the pool, my lips were blue and it took every bit of 1.5 hours in front of a space heater to warm up again. Brrrrrr!

Thursday - Tempo
1 mi. easy (8:32), 5 @ tempo (7:28, 7:21, 7:18, 7:13, 7:02), 1 mi. easy (9.03)
Total miles = 7.25 @ 7:44

I am super stoked about this workout! The scheduled tempo pace was 7:38--my tempo miles averaged 7:29, plus the entire workout including w/u and c/d was just six seconds off from the scheduled tempo pace! I don't know what got into me, but when I hit my first tempo mile at 7:29 and felt like I could maintain that pace for the entire five miles, I decided that instead of slowing down to match the scheduled pace I would just go with what felt natural. I know it's important to follow the schedule, because the distances and paces have been carefully designed to ensure that I will have enough rest and energy to complete each training run without over-doing it--but then again, it seems that every tempo run I have felt like I could give more, and I don't want to short-change myself. So I kept the pace, but after the second mile I was beginning to think that maybe I had spoken too soon--my legs were feeling a little tired already and I still had more than halfway to go--and I thought about taking it a little easy and cutting back the pace, but then a little ways into the third mile I got my second wind and decided to see if I could knock some time off not just the third tempo, but the fourth and fifth as well, for a pyramid tempo. Despite fighting wind (I tempo-ed in the park, where it's always windy), each mile was ticking by faster than the last. But at the end of the fourth mile I had doubts I could top the pace in the final mile, and for the second time considered slowing down and simply meeting the required 7:38 pace--but I am nothing if not determined, and also a bit stubborn, and one of Prefontaine's quotes floated through my mind: "Don't let fatigue make a coward out of you." I was tired. I didn't want to be running a sub-7:13 pace anymore. But letting it go would have been the same as quitting. I did not want to be a coward, afraid of facing the discomfort and pain that would come with maintaining that pace, and the potential failure if I wasn't able to hold on. When I line up at Louisville I want to know that I trained my very hardest, that I gave it my all, so that no matter what happens I will know I did everything I could. No regrets. So I pushed for that last mile, which was really more about hanging on than feeling strong and paced like the previous four miles--but I made it.

And this is what happens when your six-year-old takes your post-tempo run photos : )

Friday - Cross-train
Elliptical (10K)

Saturday - Rest
My husband had to work all day starting at 7:00 a.m. and my daughter had an activity at 4:00 p.m., so I had known going into the weekend that I wouldn't get a chance to run and had decided in advance to make it a total rest day. I spent the morning tidying up around the house and coached my son's basketball game that afternoon (which was a first for me--it was a lot like herding cats), then went with my daughter to sell Girl Scout cookies at their cookie booth (shameless plug: if you want Girl Scout cookies my daughter would love to sell you some!). It was such a warm day and we took the opportunity to open some windows and air out the house!

Sunday - Long run
20 miles @ 9:02*
*The overall pace was skewed for this run due to my watch running continuously during an 8-minute stop for inclement weather

This goes down in the books as one of the craziest long runs ever. It seemed doomed from the start, beginning late Saturday afternoon when my husband reminded me he was going to be out of town all day Sunday starting at 9:00 a.m. What??!!?? I had totally forgotten about it and had totally failed to plan my long run around it. Since my husband worked all day Saturday and my daughter had her late-afternoon cookie sale, I had deliberately discounted Saturday as a long run day and was planning to do the run Sunday morning before church at 11:00. But now I was going to have to have it done by 8:00 a.m. so my husband could be on time for his event. That would mean starting the run no later than 5:00 a.m. Ummmm, no. I just didn't see that happening. Not only is that way earlier than I prefer to get up and run, if I'm being honest, I also just didn't feel comfortable running at that hour, in the dark, alone--it didn't seem very safe. Luckily my husband was able to postpone his plans until 11:00, which gave me some extra time. My plan was to get up at 5:00, hopefully be running by 5:30, and be done around 8:30 so my husband could get to his event without being too late.

After the logistics for the run had been worked out, it was time to make my usual pre-long run pasta dinner...only I was one important ingredient short. Grrrrr. After stressing about what to eat instead of pasta but not coming up with anything that would be carb-ful but not stomach-upsetting, I finally scoured the pantry long enough that I came up with a suitable substitute for the ingredient I was missing. So, after a lot of angst and hanger, pre-long run pasta dinner--check.

When I went to bed I checked the weather forecast. I knew it was supposed to be rainy Sunday and wanted to know how the weather was looking for the window of time I would be running. Outlook not good. The weather from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. showed lightning bolts. Grrrrr. So I went to bed grumpy, sure that my long run was going to be sabotaged.

At 5:00 a.m. my alarm went off, and no sooner had I sat up and hit the snooze button than I saw a bolt of lightning out the window and heard the rumble of thunder. Grrrrr. So I re-set my alarm for 5:30 and laid back down but didn't go back to sleep, just waited to see if the weather was going to break and fretted over getting the run done on time...or at all. I went ahead and got out of bed ahead of the alarm and got moving so I would be ready as soon as the weather broke. By the time I got dressed, ate breakfast and got my water and fuel lined up, there was no more thunder/lightning. I was on the road around 6:20.

I had planned to do a ten-mile out-and-back on another side of town, stop by the house for fuel, and head to the other side of town for the last ten miles--but with the weather being iffy I decided not to venture that far out, as there was no shelter along the first 10 miles I had planned. I decided to hit up the track for the first few miles, get a feel for what the weather might do, and bring my office key with me so that, if the weather turned inclement, I would have a place to shelter. (My office is a mile from my house, and the track is right behind my office.) So I ran the mile to the track and then did three miles on the track, at which point I decided to venture out on the roads since there had been neither rain nor lightning. I got a little under a mile down the road when it started lightning again, so I turned around and headed back to the track. I was about 7.5 miles into the run when it started raining, and I was drenched within minutes. Once back at the track I decided to go ahead and take a water break and fuel, since I needed to get out of the lightning anyway. I went into my office, used the bathroom, ate some Clif Shot Blocks, drank some water and Nuun, shot an email to my husband letting him know that I was out of the weather, and checked the weather radar. All of this took about 8 minutes....and when I got ready to go back out to continue the run, I realized that my watch had been running the whole time instead of going into auto-pause mode. Grrrrr! That meant that entire mile was going to be way off in terms of pace (and, indeed, that mile showed a 14:xx pace, which affected the overall pace of the run). Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!! It was still lightning a little, but no thunder; and I didn't want to delay any longer so I headed on back out to the track where I did a few more miles. Once it cleared again, I ventured back out on the road. This time, it remained clear enough that I felt comfortable running the 2-mile loop through the park. It was pretty windy in there and I had one mile that was a little over nine minutes. Once out of the park, I headed back to the track to fuel (I'd left my fuel in my office), and decided to hop back on the track for another mile or two, just to see what the weather would do. By then I had run 15-16 miles and it seemed to be clearing up a bit; I felt confident that I could finish the last 4 or so miles away from the track, and finished up the run on a route that was towards my house. At about mile 18, I began to experience a little knee pain, along with a shooting pain from my ankle up my shin to the side of my knee. Not sure what that was all about, but luckily I didn't have much farther to go and my knee didn't bother me any afterwards.

So that was a rather long-winded recap of my long run--normally the long runs are a lot more straightforward and boring to describe!--but really the run itself felt long-winded so I guess it's only fitting that the recap would be also. All that on-the-track/off-the-track, having to think so hard about where to run in order to get in the miles, hoping I wouldn't get struck by lightning--it was exhausting. Afterwards I kind of felt like I'd been beat up. When I got home the kids and I went to church, and when we got back I immediately put on comfy clothes and parked myself on the couch, in front of the fire, with a blanket and a book. I stayed there all afternoon/evening and didn't feel an ounce of guilt!

Looking through this week, I feel it was a pretty solid week of training--except for the glaring lack of strength training : \  I only did one strength session, which is disappointing. I wish I could say I did better this week, but so far this week I've also only had one session. Gotta get on that! A strong core is essential for maintaining good form, which in turn is essential to maintaining pace, particularly when you are feeling tired.

Does anyone have any tips for fitting in short strength/core sessions? What are your go-to strength moves when you are short on time?

Louisville Derby Festival Marathon Training Week #5 and Giving Up Sweets for Lent

It's a little late but I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! I was the recipient of this beautiful bouquet, which made my day:

Love my hubby so much!! I hope your day was also happy and full of love!

This past Wednesday was the start of the Lent season, and this year--for the very first time ever--I decided to give up something for Lent: sweets. For a while now I've been wanting to get out from under sugar's thumb for health and fitness reasons, but truthfully have not been giving it much effort. And since joining our church this past fall, I've been wanting to learn more about and immerse myself more fully in Christian traditions, so for spiritual reasons I knew going into Lent that I wanted to give something up. For those combined reasons, it seemed like the perfect time to take the plunge and work on eliminating sugar, starting with the complete elimination of sweets for 40 days.

A few years ago, when I finally started making a real effort to lose all the weight I had gained during pregnancies, I dropped sweets nearly 100% from my diet and really didn't miss them at all. I indulged on special occasions, but we didn't keep sweets in our house and I was very mindful of limiting the intake when I did indulge. Luckily, no one at my old job brought in anything like cookies or brownies or doughnuts to share, as is common in office settings--so I never had that it's-sitting-out-right-in-front-of-me temptation. But somehow over the past 1+ years, instead of indulging occasionally I have begun to consume sweets on a pretty regular basis. (I could blame the candy bowl at my current job and the fact that I have some very talented and generous bakers as co-workers--but that wouldn't be fair because ultimately I am responsible for my own decisions and actions...and it's not their fault I have terrible willpower when it comes to sweets!) And let me tell you, the vicious sugar cycle is hard to kick! I put sugar in my coffee and drink multiple cups of coffee per day; if sweets are in the break room it's guaranteed I'll be in there; every evening I eat a handful of chocolate chips as my late-night snack. Not good, people--not good at all! Once you fall into this pattern, it is hard to break. My hope is that I can make it through these 40 days without sweets (which I am defining as chocolate/candy, cookies, cakes/cupcakes, ice cream, pies, muffins, sweet breads, etc.) and then work on cutting way back on added sugar from other places (like sweetener in my coffee).

I must admit, these first five days I have been feeling doomed. The first day of Lent I came to work and there was a Valentine bag on my desk containing chocolates and candy hearts. The second day of Lent, I had volunteered to bake four dozen cookies for Soups On Us and thus had a kitchen full of fresh-baked cookies in my house overnight. The third day of Lent my husband and I ate dinner at Shaker Village where they have the best pies for dessert. The fourth day of Lent I found myself staring down the leftover ice cream cake my son's teacher had sent home from the class Valentine's Day party. The fifth day of Lent there was a luncheon at my church with tons of delicious-looking sweets available for the scarfing down taking, including some chocolate chip-filled raspberry meringue puffs that looked absolutely divine. And, not to mention the fact that my daughter is selling GIRL SCOUT COOKIES throughout the entire month of February. I can do this, right?? If I survived that onslaught the remaining 35 days should be easy, wouldn't you say? (Well, I did accidentally eat one cookie for Soups On Us, as a taste test--I swear I didn't mean to! I'm blacking it out and moving on.)

Thankfully, the past week's training went way better than the start to Lent. All three of my running workouts were great. My only regret for this training week is that I didn't make it to the pool for cross-training and that I didn't get in a lot of strength/core. But overall I'll call the week a success. Here's how it went:

Monday - Cross-train
30 min. strength/core
35 min. spin

I slept straight through my alarm for swim practice so had to go with plan B. I would have preferred more time on the bike, but between having to go to the grocery store after work and making dinner, I ran out of time and had to take what I could get.

Tuesday - Speed workout
Prescribed: 3 x 1600 @ 6:51 w/ 400m RI
Actual: 1 mi warm-up, 3 x 1600 @ 6:49 w/ 400m RI, .5 mi cooldown

I had to do this workout on the treadmill because the track was only partially cleared of snow and had some icy patches. The pace on the treadmill was either 6:53 or 6:49 so I opted for slightly faster rather than slightly slower. I spent the day at home with my kids (it was a snow day) and dreaded this workout all day long (I know, I say this every time, but it's true--I'm going to do a separate post on speed workouts and why they are scary to me). But, it went very well. Maybe it was because I was in a hurry to knock it out--my husband didn't get home from work until 5:30 and I had a 7 o'clock meeting--but each speed interval felt manageable and strong.

Wednesday - 45 min. strength/core
Normally I do a long swim on Wednesdays, but it didn't work out this day. I desperately needed to spend some time cleaning house, and an unplanned/last-minute trip to school to deliver some papers for my son that turned into me staying 45 minutes for lunch put me behind schedule. I wasn't going to have time to do both my strength/core workout AND go to the pool, so I opted to spend a little more time on the strength and core and nix the pool. (Plus, it was freezing cold outside, and the idea of going out into the freezing cold, getting into the freezing pool--this pool is for real cold!!--taking a lukewarm shower after being freezing cold, then getting back out into the freezing cold to go to work, simply was not appealing and that line of thinking may have had some real influence on my decision-making.)

Thursday - Tempo
Prescribed: 2 easy, 3 @ 7:23, 1 easy
Actual: 2 easy (8:29, 8:28), 3 tempo (7:09, 7:14, 7:01), 1 easy (9:01)
Total miles = 6 @ 7:55 average

This run started out a little sketchy. It was very cold, and as I was doing my easy miles I was finding it hard to be motivated to run fast. I kept thinking there was no way I was going to be able to dial it up to 7:23 once I hit mile 3. But when mile 3 came, I dialed it up to the 6:50s--oops! So I pulled back and vowed to run at a "comfortably uncomfortable" clip and not worry so much about my watch. When the first tempo mile came and went, I didn't look at my watch to see the pace. But I broke down and checked it toward the end of the 2nd tempo mile because I was going uphill and I wanted to make sure I stayed on pace. I was rather dismayed to see a 7:39 pace, despite the fact that I felt there had been no decrease in effort. I tried to pick up the pace but to my utter dismay the pace fell to the 7:40s! This particular hill is my little nemesis. Every time I run it, I always have a hard time recovering from it (even though it's really not that big of a hill--more of a steady incline over a quarter-mile or so), and once it evens out you end up running into the wind for about another quarter-mile before hitting another quarter-mile patch that is both uphill AND running into the wind. So this particular section is a little rough even without trying to maintain a tempo pace, and it always messes with me mentally. When I saw the pace slipping right there at the end of the 2nd mile, I almost lost my resolve. It took a minute or so, but I was able to get it together and get back on pace. Once I got through the uphill and wind, I knew it would be a lot easier the rest of the way in. And sure enough, without making much more effort the pace picked up even more. I didn't want to run full out to finish the last tempo mile, but I felt I had more than 7:23 in me and decided to just run on feel and see how it turned out. I was pleased with my physical effort but even more so was I pleased with getting back on track mentally after my slight panic between the end of tempo 2 and the beginning of tempo 3. When I checked my splits later I was really surprised to see the first tempo mile of 7:09--I knew I started out too fast but thought I had gotten more on pace; there was some downhill in that stretch which perhaps contributed to the faster pace. I wish the first two tempos had been more aligned pace-wise, but I'll take it.

 Don't mind the crazy plaster wall in the background--I'm peeling wallpaper in the foyer

at our house,lovingly referred to as the "Ramshackle Reno"

Friday - Cross-train
3K elliptical (approx. 23 min)

So this workout was so short--in terms of distance AND time--that I probably shouldn't even count it. But, here it is for what it's worth. I usually do 10K on the elliptical, but I couldn't work out after work (one kid had a basketball game and it was Parents Night Out so we had dinner reservations as well) and had to run some errands during lunch, so I fit in what I could. Since I only did strength & core on Wednesday, I hated to have a day where I didn't do ANYthing, especially since I knew Sunday would be a rest day by default due to church/kids activities/work. I should have made more of an effort to get up early...but I really struggle with waking up earlier than I have to! This is something I really need to work on.

On another note, Friday night was DATE NIGHT! My husband and I went out to Shaker Village for their Friday Night Fish Fry.

Not what I'd usually eat the night before a long run, but I couldn't resist! I ate every. single. french fry (in the name of carb-loading, of course), and of course the fish and hush puppies didn't have a prayer; but I did lay off the coleslaw.

Saturday - Long run
Prescribed: 18 @ 8:57
Actual: 18 @ 8:35 with last two miles fast

This run was COLD!!!! Due to having to be at work by noon, I had to do this run in the morning before it warmed up (and I'm using the word "warm" VERY loosely here, because the high was only 24 degrees).  It was 14 degrees when I started, so I bundled up: two pairs of socks (a thin base pair under a thick Smart Wool), thick leggings with a pair of shorts over the top, a long-sleeved base layer with a short-sleeved shirt over the top, my winter running jacket (lined/windproof/waterproof), two pairs of gloves (a pair of standard "throwaway" gloves under my mittens), and a balaclava over ear warmers. Because I was bundled up so much, I did not want to also wear my water (it was too cold to drop water--it would have frozen--so wearing a water belt or water pack was the alternative if I wanted to have water along the route)--so instead of doing a long out-and-back, I set out to do a six-mile loop three times and put water and Nuun on my front porch, which would act as my fuel station. (I packed three GUs in my jacket thinking they would stay warmer there close to my body--they didn't. I actually had to chew the GUs!!). After a quick breakfast of bagel with coconut oil and a glass of Nuun, I was out the door by 8:00 a.m.

I went into this run planning to go as steady as possible at a comfortable pace, even if that meant I would be faster than the scheduled pace. The first few miles were frigid and I thought my fingers were going to go numb, but after a few miles I warmed up and it really wasn't that bad.  I was very grateful that it was sunny out and that, despite a fairly windy forecast, there was not a lot of wind (except for in the park, which is always windy). Nearing the end of the first loop, I realized I would be very bored if I ran the same loop two more times, so I ended up breaking it up into three different parts: from home down to and through the park, back towards home and through the cemetery, then home (7.xx miles); from home back through the cemetery, through an adjoining neighborhood, and back home (4.xx miles); from home through the college campus, out towards the park, turn around and come back same route (5.xx miles). This allowed for two fuel stops during which I ate a GU and drank half a bottle of water and half a bottle of Nuun at each stop. (Opening the GUs was a little awkward with half-frozen fingers.) After stopping for a few minutes to take fuel, I would be cold but it only took a mile or so to warm back up. However, the front of my balaclava around my neck and across my cheeks and mouth was frozen solid! Around the 3rd mile I kept hearing this crunching sound, and I was looking all around trying to figure out where it was coming from--only to realize it was coming from my face! I guess where my neck and face were sweaty, the moisture on the balaclava froze. At my chin there was a big chunk of ice! Trying to get the balaclava pulled back into place after pulling it down for a drink or to get some fresh air was a little tricky.

You might remember that last week I whined and moaned about my feet hurting and my legs being tired and my back being sore after my long run. I am happy to report that there was none of that this run! I felt strong the entire run and not once did I reach a point where I didn't want to be running anymore. Maybe the cold just numbed my legs to the pain?? I decided to go for race pace (8:12) for the last two miles of the run, and ended up with 7:58 and 7:39 for miles 17 and 18. Overall the run was 22 seconds faster than the scheduled pace. I was very pleased with this long run!

I had to be at work within an hour of finishing my run, so this was me immediately following work until bedtime (which was at like 8 o'clock--ha!):

Sunday - Rest
Any other Sunday I would have done some light cross-training or at the very least done some strength and core, being as how I sorta/kinda had a rest day throughout the week (with Wednesday being only strength and core and Friday being a very short cardio session), but this particular Sunday was busy with church in the morning, a lunch at church, and working the evening shift. So I threw in the towel on trying to fit in a workout and enjoyed a day of rest.

Anyone else giving up anything for Lent? Or given up sugar/sweets for another reason and want to share some tips for surviving sugar withdrawal?

Louisville Derby Festival Marathon Training Week #4

This was a pretty good week of training. There were no major scheduling snafus, all the workouts went well, and the long run went off without a hitch. Yay!

Monday - Cross-train
Swim (1 hour)

Tuesday - Speed work
Prescribed: 5 x 1000 in 4:09 w/ 400 RI
Actual: .75 mi warm-up, 5 x 1000 (4:15, 4:07, 4:07, 4:08, 4:07) w/ 400 RI, .75 mi cooldown
Total miles = 5.6

As is usual when it comes to speed work on the track, the idea of this workout terrified me. I tried to pester Keith into running this one with me, but he was busy. Boo. So I had to go it alone, and believe me when I say I tried everything to get out of it. When I saw a few people running on the track and the lacrosse team practicing on the field, I immediately called my husband and tried to beg off--"nevermind," I said, "the track's too busy"--but he wouldn't let me off the hook. In the end I sucked it up, and it was fine. It was a pretty warm day--temps in the low 60s--so where I would normally do at least a mile, if not longer, for a warm-up, by three-quarters of a mile I was feeling warm and decided to get on with it rather than prolong the inevitable. I did not want to make the same mistake as last week and run splits all over the place, or go too fast and possibly sabotage my tempo run on Thursday, so I tried really hard to be more conscious of pace. I started way too fast, in the low 6's--ugh!--but reigned it in. The first split shows a little slow, but it was actually .02 over in distance (oops); and if you look at the pace (6:39), it was under (6:40). For each split I started too fast but slowed the pace within the first 400 meters. I was surprised at how relatively easy the pace felt, considering how scary it sounded in my head. Notice I said "relatively" easy--because to say it was easy would be fibbing. By the end of the third interval I began to question whether I had it in me to stay on pace for the last two intervals. But, those rest intervals really do wonders, and I had the privilege of an entire lap around the track to rest between each speed interval before getting back to work; and every time, even though it was hard, I was able to find my legs and hit the pace. I felt really good after this workout--I was really proud that I STAYED ON PACE, and was able to stick with the pace even though it was tough.

Wednesday - Cross-train
45-50 min. swim (1800 yards)

I was shooting for a 2000-yard swim, but when I got to the pool I realized I didn't pack my work shoes (I mean, seriously, WHAT IS THE DEAL with me forgetting to pack appropriate footwear??), so I had to impose a time limit on myself in order to have enough time to go back home after the swim, get my shoes, and make it to work on time.  So when time was up I had to let the last 200 yards go.

Thursday - Tempo
Prescribed: 1 easy, 4 @ 7:38, 1 easy
Actual: 1 easy, 4 @ 7:28, 1 easy

I picked up Keith for this run and was really glad for his company, as it was really cold and overcast and at the end of the day and I really wasn't in the mood to run fast. But misery always loves company, so with Keith along the run was not that bad.In fact, I had a hard time staying on pace--as in, I was going too fast and even when I tried to slow down it didn't really happen. The tempo splits were 7:24, 7:23, 7:24, 7:22. All well under the prescribed pace, and pretty even. I was very pleased with this workout, especially since we ran through the park which is both hilly AND windy.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Long run
Prescribed: 20 @ 9:12
Actual: 20 @ 8:44

I posted about this run on Instagram and Facebook:

Beth Morgan

February 6 at 12:31pm · Instagram

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The first of five 20-milers is in the books. This is on the schedule as my slowest/easiest long run of the training cycle, and I took full advantage! At an overall 8:50 pace I was 22 seconds fast, but effort-wise I don't feel I pushed the pace--I just stuck with what felt like an easy effort. Nonetheless, by mile 17 I really didn't want to be running anymore--my feet hurt, my legs were really tired, my back was starting to hurt, and my hips were not happy. Can you tell I've been out of the game for 1.5 years??!!?? I started the last mile thinking I would slow way down and focus on just getting it done even if it was at a slower pace...but then I realized I'll never get stronger if I give in to the pain like that, and since one of my goals for this training cycle is to focus on mental strength, for that last mile I pushed. I embraced the pain--saying in my head things like "Yes, Pain, I know you're there but I'm just ignoring you" and "I know you're not going anywhere but guess what, neither am I" and telling myself that this isn't the first time Pain and I have hung out and it won't be the last, so I am going to make him an unwelcome guest--and my last mile ended up being @ 7:44, including getting six seconds faster on a hill the last quarter mile at a 7:35 pace. Just goes to show there is always more to give! ‪#‎run‬ ‪#‎running‬ ‪#‎jfr‬ ‪#‎longrun‬ ‪#‎marathontraining‬ ‪#‎findyourstrong‬‪#‎unicorndreams‬ ‪#‎boston2017imcomingforyou‬

Even though this run was a little painful toward the end, considering that it's my first 20-miler in about five months--and THAT 20-miler, the first in nearly a year, since my fall 2014 marathon training cycle, went horribly and took over a week to recover from--I was very pleased. Leading up to this training cycle I had been laying the groundwork by running 15-16 miles every few weeks, to get used to running the longer distances again. But there's still a way to go before my body remembers what it's like to run 20+ miles! I was tired into Monday!

Sunday - Cross-train
20 minute strength/core
25 minute spin

I had hoped to get in at least 45 minutes on the bike, but this day ended up being a wash. My son had an afternoon-long activity and my husband was working, so I had both kids all day and spent the entire day away from home. We spent the morning at church, went straight from church to my son's activity, and straight from there to the funeral home. By the time I got home it was 8:00 p.m. and I was beat, but since Friday was a rest day I didn't want to have another whole day without some sort of exercise, so I did the best I could with the time I had. I guess I could have stayed on the bike longer...but something about exercising past 9:00 p.m. was not doing it for me, so when 9:00 p.m. hit I got off the bike and got ready for bed.

Louisville Derby Festival Marathon Training Week #3

After being out of school again last Monday for snow, we finally were able to get back into our regular routine last week. I slacked a little with the strength and core, but otherwise this week of training went pretty well.

Monday - Cross train

Swim practice (1 hour)
30 min. strength/core


This was my first time in the pool in almost two weeks, so I was thankful I did not drown :) Lots of kicking!!!

Tuesday - Speed work

Prescribed:
1200 @ 6:42
1000 @ 6:38
800 @ 6:34
600 @ 6:34
400 # 6:24
(200 RI between sets)

Actual:
1200 @ 6:32
1000 @ 6:34
800 @ 6:24
600 @ 6:32
400 @ 5:51
(200 RI between sets)

5 total miles including warm up (1 mile) and cool down (1 mile)

Keith and I did this workout on the outdoor track. It was cold! I thought the temperature was supposed to be in the 40s and didn't bring my gloves--luckily Keith had a spare pair because it was only in the 30s and I definitely needed them!

I was nervous all day about this workout. The times got faster for each interval, and I thought there was no way I would be able to get faster the longer I ran. However, I ended up doing each interval faster than the prescribed pace! On the one hand, this made me happy because going into it I thought there was no way I would be able to hit the paces--it was nice to know that I had totally under-estimated myself. But on the other hand, the point of the workout was to get faster with each interval--and as you can see my splits were not at all consistent with that goal, so I'm not really sure I can count the workout a complete success. I spent the middle three intervals trying to slow down and match the prescribed pace; every time I thought I had slowed down, I would check my watch and there was no difference in pace, or if it was slower it was still significantly faster than where I should have been. I REALLY need to work on pacing!

Wednesday - Rest day


Thursday - Tempo

Prescribed: 1 easy, 5 @ 7:53, 1 easy
Actual: 1 easy, 5 @ 7:53, 1 easy

This tempo felt way harder than it should have  : \  I did this run on the treadmill during my lunch break because I had other things going on in the evening and didn't wake up on time to do it before work (back to the whole working-on-doing-better-at-taking-advantage-of-Thursday-mornings thing). I thought it would somehow be faster/simpler to do the run on the treadmill (I'd already be in the gym and could immediately/quickly take a shower and get back to work, as opposed to bundling up for the run, going back inside to my office after the run to get my bag, going over to the gym, unbundling and showering, etc.). However, as soon as I walked outside to go over to the gym I regretted not bringing "outside" running clothes because it was a pretty nice day and I suddenly really did not want to be on the treadmill.  But, due to being short on both time and cold-weather running gear I had no choice but to stick to the plan; so treadmill it was, at a .5% incline. 

From the get-go, even the warm-up mile @ 8:34 felt hard, and I really had to focus to stay in the last two miles of the tempo. Thank goodness for this song, which was on repeat for the entire 4th and last .25 miles of the tempo. By the time cool-down got there I was beyond ready to be done running PERIOD, much less running at that pace. I slowed down to a 10:00 pace for the first quarter of the cool-down mile and, quite frankly, would have just walked the rest of the cool-down except I didn't have enough time, so I forced myself to pick it back up to finish the cool-down at 8:34.

I was disappointed that this run didn't go better.  Especially on the treadmill, 7:53 should not have felt as hard as it did. Perhaps my faster-than-prescribed intervals on Monday had something to do with the sluggishness I felt on this tempo; maybe it was my mindset (I think I would have enjoyed the run more if I had done it outside, and thus probably would have had a better time with the pace); or maybe it was just an off day. But, nothing to be done except move on to the next run so I decided not to dwell on it.

Friday - Cross-train


Elliptical (10K)
30 minutes of strength and core

I remembered my shoes ; ) and did the elliptical on my lunch break. I watched an episode of Fixer Upper on my phone while I ellipticaled (real word??) and the minutes flew by. I did strength/core later that evening at home.

Saturday - Cross-train

30 minutes of strength and core
30 minute spin

My husband did a trail run with our running group Saturday morning, and the afternoon was booked with kids' activities; so I opted to cross-train while my husband ran and do my long run on Sunday. I have one of those tripod thingies on which you can dock your bike to make it stationary (see how technical I am with my terms?), and my bike is set up in the living room--so I watched AFV with the kids while spinning.  Good times : )

Sunday - Long Run 
Prescribed: 17 miles @ 8:57
Actual: 17 miles @ 8:44

This run felt pretty good. When I went to bed I hadn't decided if I was going to do the run early in the morning or mid-afternoon; I'd just see how I felt when I woke up. When I woke up (by 7:00 a.m. thanks to my son, the early riser), I decided to go ahead and knock it out so I would have the rest of the day free and was on the road by 7:45 a.m. I didn't want to take extra time before starting the run to drop water along a route, so I decided to run a 7-mile loop twice and add miles on to the end; that way, I could carry a small bottle with me to drink from at the park and then use my front porch as my other water station. So I had water at (approximately) miles 2.5, 4.5 and 10 and 12 and Nuun at approximately miles 7 and 14. I had an energy gel one hour in and another 30 minutes after that. I did not push the pace at all but still ended up going faster than the prescribed pace, even though it was pretty windy out for most of the run. My legs were definitely feeling the distance by mile 15, and I had a few moments between miles 15 and 17 when I really didn't want to be running anymore--but overall it was a good, even effort and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I was also very grateful to have a few hours of down time during the day to just stretch out my legs and rest  : )