Marathon Training Week 8

And all is going awesome. I missed out on the core workouts for the week, and struggled to get the mileage in due to work. Missing a mile or two is better than missing the entire run. I'm getting better with acknowledging the work/life/run balance.

AND I had a great 13 mile run on Saturday. Yes I said great and 13 in the same sentence.

The run had some crazy hills right in the middle. I mistakenly got to the top of the first one and thought we were done with climbing. Whoops for not reading the map closely enough, but maybe it was better that I didn't know.

I have to give it to them, the MTT program is run very well (even though we had to change our starting location because of Redskins Training Camp). Gummy bears, pretzels, powerade and smiling volunteers at every SAG make this go so much easier. And they know how to plan some crazy routes. I'm definitely seeing parts of the city I have never seen.

And I had a great group of people to run with and another to chase at the end. And a shot block did wonders at mile 9.

I have to say this run made this whole thing (marathon) seem attainable.

 

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Marathon Training Week 7

Yes, I know I'm behind. I'm over it.

I headed to NC for the weekend to pick up Little Dude and help celebrate my Mom's 70th birthday. We sort of surprised her we me coming in and a small party at my little sis's house. And I got to spend some time trying to snuggle the little man B in the helmet (if I could steal him from my sister or Dad).

Overall, for the week, I did well with getting everything in, but I was just tired so most workouts happened in the evening. I also got in some core workouts and push-ups, because everything is just weak.

I'm not gonna sugar coat it, another long solo run just sucked. It was only 8 miles but I struggle with these. Let's blame the humidity, 89% again.

At least the scenery was great. I stopped to take a few pictures, and even saw a few things that I had never seen before. Like this great path that connects Reynolda Village to Wake Forest University. The campus was moved from Wake Forest, NC to Winston-Salem greatly in part to influence by the Reynolds Family, hence the close proximity of the two. And that's enough random history for the day.

As a high school student, I spent many hours on this campus studying in the library, because let's just face it. It's much cooler to be on a college campus than anywhere else if you have to study and you are 17.

The above picture is Wait Chapel and tons of construction. I can't believe how much the campus has grown. And below are the front and back of the library I spent many hours in ... I promise Mom.

And below are shots from Graylyn International Conference Center, an estate built in the 20s for the Bowman Gray family. The Grays were famous for Bowman Gray Hospital, Bowman Gray Stadium (NASCAR short track), and leadership within RJ Reynolds Tobacco. I promise, I'll stop with the history.

The pool I so wanted to jump into on the estate.

And finally back to Reynolda House & Gardens.

I love that going back to these places made me revisit some of their history ... even though the run stunk.

 

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11 Hilly Miles

After last week's crazy long run, I thought this one would be worse. A mile longer and the dreaded Riverside Drive.

How's that for a little vertical climbing in the city? The first peak is up one side from a bridge near my house. Yes, I thought briefly of peeling off and leaving my group for a split second.

This photo is looking away from the massive hill. It's a heck of a climb that makes you say "I think I can." in your best Little Engine that Could voice.

The rest of the rolling hills ticked off quickly as my group joked a lot. My favorite banter happened up the last hill as we all were saying what our various body parts were thinking.

Mine - my gluts were screaming "Help me!"

My partner for the day - my calves are squeaking like old hinges.

But we did. Thanks to 3 great water stops, an overcast sky, and thankfully cooler temps.

I thought we even hit 10s for one of the miles, but I guess we sped up enough the rest of that mile. And that last half of the run was much faster than I thought.

The best part, I felt great after the run. Why can't they all be that easy?

I just wish I looked as good as I felt. My new running bud. We bonded over the Ghost 6, and clicked together the entire route.

And what's even better than the best part, the end.

Kathryn and Greg introduced me to the goodness of the Dairy Bar, specifically, the Griff! Yes, I ate a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, and washed it down with a Chocolate Peanut Butter shake. It was worth every calorie ... or hill I ran.

And because I couldn't resist ...

 

Here's to many more long runs ending in milkshakes.

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Long, solo run

I made it. It wasn't pretty. But 10 solo miles are done.

I mapped out this crazy course because there aren't many spots in the shade, and I wanted to be close to the car for water. I'm also super paranoid about running in the safest spots possible. My father-in-law drove me around the other day to map out the safe area, and he even got up this morning to see me off. I did see two runners this morning, but my normal group has 80 members just for our team. I guess not too many runners around these parts.

Lots of loops. I stopped at the car around five miles to get some more water, cool off a bit, add my visor, and call my in-laws to let them know I was okay. They are so cute. I ended up stopping a few more times at stoplights to drink. The humidity reading was 100% when I finished. Please tell me it was wrong, but it felt tough enough. And I was too fast for most of the miles. My goal pace was 9:30 for this distance and heat.

My SAG was terrific, just wish I had some company. And thank goodness for iPods.

This was my view at the end.

One hot, sweaty mess. All smiles because I was DONE!

And this was one of the cute sites along the way. Another reason I'm glad we don't have a girl. I would spend way too much money on this cuteness.

My in-laws took me and little guy to a restaurant in an old Victorian house for a delicious chicken wrap. Then the strangest thing happened. My normally nap-free kid took over an hour nap with me. Love him, most of the time.

What's your longest solo run?

What safety measures do you take running in a different area?

What's your favorite way to recover after a long run?

 

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I'm doing what in the AM!

10 miles in the morning ... by myself.

I have created the most circuitous route so I can be near my car and in the shade as much as possible.

Send me good vibes because I'm gonna need them.

My mantra for the run.

 

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Making it through the week

It's been a good training week so far. It started out a little iffy with a weird upper calf tightness/strain. I don't even know what I did other than sit on a bar stool Saturday night for too long. I promise I wasn't doing anything wrong. Just hydrating, yes, that's what they call it.

Icing, rolling and stretching helped very little Sunday. I waited until Monday evening to bike. Look at those amazing quads over my knees. Squint really hard, I promise they are there. No calf pain, but still tight after the ride. And yes, my feet are really long.

I got the bright idea to wear my Pro Compression socks to work on Tuesday, and bingo, calf pain almost entirely gone. I had a great tempo run on the treadmill. More treadmill runs than I like, but thanks to monsoon like conditions on the East Coast, I'm grateful to have the option.

I'm really trying to follow the Run Less, Run Faster plan. I did pause a couple of times to check my calf, but it felt great during and after the run.

A little more time on the bike Wednesday morning before hitting the road to visit my little guy at my in-laws and celebrate the 4th. I'm working on riding for time at specific cadences on the bike. Hopefully this will give me some better turnover for running.

I got up early on the 4th to try to beat the heat. Guess I should have gotten up at 4:00 am instead of 6. Days like this make me wish for the snow. I had 5 miles mapped out on a double out and back course (determined to find as much shade as I could). My plans were waylaid by two roaming dogs that scared that #%?$ out of me, and I later found out that they wouldn't hurt a flea. I stopped to let them sniff me a little because I knew I couldn't outrun them and I was right in front of their house. I figured I could scream if I needed to. They followed me when I started walking away, so a little yelling at them to go home finally worked. I ended up being a little short, but I figured my elevated heart rate made up for the distance.

Little guy wanted a picture of me wearing my necklace he picked out.

A sweaty smile at the finish before a quick shower. We headed into historic Edenton for a reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was a gorgeous day with no rain.

We continued our celebration with this when we got home. A great refreshing, reward.

Ever been stopped short in your tracks by a dog?

How did you handle it?

Did you have a happy Fourth of July?

 

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First half of 2013

Jan-Jun 2013 2012

Runs 84 135

Miles 467.5 425.9

Avg Speed 6.3 5.8

Avg SPM 174 172

I think half-marathon, and maybe even marathon training, have agreed with me. I've already hit 40 more miles in the first 6 months of this year than I did all of last year.

Considering my first speedier run wasn't until November of 2012, I'm not surprised I've sped up. Not that I'm looking to get any faster as marathon training ramps up, it about getting the miles in at whatever pace happens.

Because the most important thing is to watch my cadence. I love my trusty Garmin because it beeps at me when I get sloppy with the cadence. This instant feedback is what has kept my ITB healthy and happy this last year.

If all goes well, I'm well on track to pass my goal of 800 miles for the year.

I've done well cross-training on the bike two days a week this last month. The strength training needs some extra mojo to happen. I'm getting up earlier to get the bike or run in, but not early enough for more. Gotta work on this one.

And because I needed at least one picture. This was a great afternoon snack.

How is your 2013 shaping up?

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