So where have I been?

My Fall marathon didn't happen. I had what I thought was a great second 20 miler, but it fell apart in the form of patellar tendinitis and ITBS on my good knee. I think I dodged and jumped too many puddles on that long run. I tried aggressive PT, but it just wasn't to be.

At the same time, my dear Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer. He is doing great now, but it has been a difficult winter with multiple hospital stays and lots of road trips back and forth for me.

And then there was the Polar Vortex. Missed school days, too cold icy conditions just made the running option not a good for me.

So I'm calling a do over.

I've gotten in 3 runs and 2 strength training workouts per week for the last two weeks. I'm up to running 5 miles without pain (fingers and toes crossed).

I'm running the Monument 10k on Saturday with my long run being 5 miles, so no goal like last year's awesome PR. Just running smart and healthy before heading to a work conference across country later that day.

And that 5 mile run, I wasn't smart and ran yesterday when it was 70. I waited until today where the the high was 49 with midday run. I should have had plenty of time to beat the rain. Why do I believe forecasters? The rain started in earnest even before my halfway point. I sucked it up and finished strong with NO puddle jumping. Wet feet are better than knee pain any day. I ran a little faster than I wanted to by a minute per mile too fast. Oops.

And here's the wet look proof. Glad I had another layer on over my Tough Chik long sleeve.

And the reward to warm me up from the inside. The temps dropped 10 degrees while out there.

And then my dear hubby surprised me with these from Carytown Cupcakes. Oh, I love cupcakes but I certainly didn't run far enough to justify even one of these.

Here's to another week. Here we go!

Jilly Bean

I don't know what week it is.

I had a near perfect running week, and didn't have time to write about it thanks to work craziness. And a random pain starting on Monday that made me have amnesia.

So I need to focus on the good.

I had a great tempo run earlier in the previous week (5 miles at marathon pace). The bike trainer went well, then I screwed up my watch for my speedwork. I got frustrated and just made up a workout. Needless to say, it wasn't my best run.

I put off getting my flu shot because I usually feel yucky for about two days after, and I needed a root canal this week. Oh boy, this week was going peachy keen.

The big question was how was 20 for the second time going to go.

I had an awesome running buddy for the entire 20. It misted rain almost the entire which wasn't bad because it helped break the humidity. The coaches were nice to us And my brain didn't turn to mush at mile 18 like last time. And I remembered to leave my watch on, so the trusty Garmin really said 20 miles this time.

Just realized that I hide the marathon option when I set up Garmin Connect because I would NEVER run a marathon. Whoops, time to change that setting.

How would I rate the run?

Well, maybe not exactly.

But I was able to move better after this one. I even took Little Dude to the Fall Festival at his old school. Now, I wish I could have moved like this, but that just wasn't gonna happen.

More later on how I recover from these long runs.

Anyone else feel not so good after getting a flu shot?

Felt bombdiggity lately?

 

Jilly Bean

I bagged a workout

It was a cross-training day. So here's my excuse.

Remember my tooth nightmare, I would rather forget it, but evidently I needed a root canal. That was the source of all my pain. And I'm scheduled to get my crowns placed next week, so I was lucky enough to go in and have a root canal this week. I wouldn't even get a flu shot for fear of messing with my 20 miler, and here I am letting a dentist mess with my mouth and persnickety TMJ for an hour. Sure why not.

Normally, they give me Valium to keep my TMJ at bay (really because I'm a wuss), but I didn't have anyone to drive me today so I sucked it up. I have to say that my dentist was awesome.

I was supposed to bike but I just bagged it. Cold, rainy, jaw a little achy (I could almost write country music), so I put the sweats on and didn't sweat. I'm really glad I didn't have to run tonight and I should be fine for Saturday.

Except for this.

We have been so lucky this training cycle with rain that I could avoid. Will Karen just go away?

Doesn't she know we have 20 miles to run?

And because I need all the motivation I can get, I came across this quote earlier this week. It spoke to me because when November 16th comes around, it is all up to ME! I've got this! Right?

What are your tips for getting through a soggy, long run?

What illnesses, etc. cause you to skip a workout?

 

Jilly Bean

Week 18 - Holy moly, we are getting close

I'm a little freaked out that when I look at my training plan on the screen, I don't have to scroll to see 26.2. This means this marathon will be here before I know it.

Source

Training was overall good for the week, with a few modifications. Hubby's work schedule has gone haywire, so I fit in what I can. Overall, I gave up a cross-training day for sleep. 7 miles on the bike on Monday did feel great after 20 on Saturday. The plan called for 10 for the mid-week run. I stopped at 8 because the hip and knee started talking to me. (I am starting to listen to my body, finally). I also missed the speedwork due to hubby's schedule but squeezed in a quick 3 around my son's school before pickup AND I did runner's core workout when I got home. It's all about compromise sometimes.

The long run being 12 was a welcome relief. I had about 1.5 miles where I was by myself and purposefully did not catch up with the group in front of me. I was trying to stick to the slower pace on the plan (give myself a B- on that), so I spent some time thinking about what mental tricks I needed in my toolkit. I have to say that I relaxed, went MY pace and enjoyed the quiet. When I got to the SAG, I got a great compliment from one of the coaches on how relaxed and refreshed I looked. Exactly what I needed to here on a rollback week.

So all in all, a good relaxed week before another 20 miler. Oh boy and a foam roller! Hurts so good.

And we wrapped up the rest of my recovery week with a trip to Busch Gardens. Easy peasy walking and seeing the scary sites. Made this little guy happy.

I finally created a Facebook fan page but haven't had the time (or brain power) to figure out how to get it linked to my blog. I'm thinking it might be time to switch blog layouts to something more user friendly. So in the meantime, here's the link to Run Jilly Bean. Hint, hint, go there now and like my page. Pretty please!

 

Any advice on blog layouts/design? I'm still on blogger, and hate to convert since I don't have a lot of time to devote to it? What's easy and works for you?

Do you have a Facebook fan page? If so, leave me a comment so I can check it out.

Do you love or hate your foam roller?

 

Jilly Bean

How did I get to week 17?

Or more importantly, did I survive the tooth escapade and 20 miles?

The answer to both is yes, but what a week it was.

When this is in your reality, people might think you are nuts.

And the answer to that is definitely I am nuts. And yes, I did wear my socks in the ice bath for two reasons. The most important was that I couldn't even bend over to take them off after that LOOOONG run and I thought it might be a good buffer from my always cold tootsies. Overall, I didn't have enough ice, but I think the torture session helped.

I'm not gonna lie. 20 was tough. The coaches advised me to maybe only try for 16-18 after missing the long run, but I had my running peeps and I really wanted to knock it out. I had a backup plan if the wheels fell off to cut the run short. The problem was that the wheels stopped talking to my brain the last mile and a half.

So the good was: I had awesome people to run with; I didn't find myself starving at mile 15 because I ate a Chia Bar (Chocolate Peanut Butter) and it had just the right amount of protein to ward off my grumbling stomach; and I did 10 of these miles at race pace.

And the bad: I did 10 of these miles at race pace (what was I thinking); Westham Climb for way too long at the halfway point (are the coaches trying to kill us); guess my form was shot because I set my ITB on fire at the end; and my brain could only process right, left, right, don't get hit by a car for the last 2 miles.

But it's done until a week and half where we do it again. Can I really run for another hour after completing 20? I think I can, but I have got to work on my mental toughness. I'm missing out a mental prep workshop tonight. Hopefully a teammate can pass along the Cliff Notes.

Before the 20 miler, the rest of the week went really well. The tooth escapade might have put me into forced rest that my body needed (just could have used more sleep).

I managed one cross-training day and two great runs. And a whole lot of sushi with a side of rice for my second cross-training day. I completely agree with Kathryn on the eating 24/7 thing.

And I'm loving my new Sweat Pink shirt. More on Sweat Pink soon. Please ignore the red pink face.

Do you eat more than Gus, gummies, pretzels, etc are on your long run?

What are mental tough mantra, tips, cues, etc for these long runs?

I'm starting Mile Markers next. Any other book recommendations for motivation?

 

Jilly Bean

So what happened to September

I hit a milestone ... or just a number few want to admit to. 40

So you celebrate all weekend long with mimosas, chocolate and lots of friends. I had an awesome birthday celebration.

And another milestone ... 18 miles that is.

How you spend the next day after 18 miles.

And then work got crazy, and I did the best I could.

And then my tooth decided to mutiny. Make that two temporary crowns, then a delayed reaction leading to 3 sleepless nights. Who would have thought that not one, but two, powerful pain killers wouldn't touch tooth pain. The third one finally did the trick and I was able to sleep and eat, but missed my 19 miler.

That was one sad week. Thank goodness for modern medicine.

So, I'm off to try 17 or 20 miles tomorrow morning, or whatever happens.

 

Jilly Bean

Marathon Training - Week 13

Theme for the week: back in the groove. Almost!

Running miles: 20.5

Biking miles: 7 (hoping to get two sessions in next week, up for none the previous two weeks)

Core or yoga: Goose egg

This week's long run was much better than previous ones. Even if it was only 10 miles. I needed a good long run to mentally prep for next week's 18 miler. I need all the good mojo I can get.

All smiles, even if a lot sweaty. Because right after I showered, it was time for lunch, pedicures, and shopping as a pre-birthday celebration.

More to come on the birthday next.

 

Jilly Bean