Training Week March 24th-March 30th

March 24th: Rested.

March 25th: I'm once more back on my morning workouts. Work is just so unpredictable and my husband can be just as unpredictable with what mood he may be in towards my running that I figure this is, somehow, easier. The workout was 2x3 @ strength pace which is a 7:51. I got up and been running at 5am (oof). Even with the wicked early start, I knew pretty soon I was going to run (pun intended) out of time. I also did, in fact, was up the husband so I was aware of that. I did 1x3 and then 2x3 with a brief cooldown (there was a mile warm-up too). I was bummed to miss the last mile because things were feeling pretty good so I hoped to complete it. But so it goes. 

March 26th: Rest. I still have not gotten the hang of doing something other than running when I had a planned rest day.

March 27th: I was home early so debated about going inside or outside, literally changing outfits twice, but finally settle on in. The workout was 12x400 and I didn't relish the idea of that on the roads by me and didn't want to drive back towards the park I usually run at so off to the treadmill I went. I was only sort of looking forward to this; I really should have gone outside but I started. I was wearing the Brook Hyperion Max which I love the feel of, but they do seem to cause some tightness in my calf. Like an idiot (reason coming soon), I kept those on for the warm-up and the calf was just getting a little bit tighter and tighter is then I switched to the ASICS MagicSpeed for the workout which I forgot how nice those felt too. I then got going on my first 400 which I made it all of .20 before something just went OUCH in my calf. I've never stopped the tread so quickly, even doing the guide rail jump. The calf was wicked painful. I walked around a bit, I slow jogged in place for a bit, I even considered going outside for a bit, before I called it. The day was done, my calf was done, and now it was a waiting game to see wth I had done. I reached out to my coach letting her know and then just sort of despair ate some chips for dinner, depresso expresso.

March 28th: No run for me today. The calf is still quite sore. I am more than positive I didn't tear anything because I think that has to feel worse then what I did, but there's something happening. I have a calf sleeve that I'm rocking and just seeing where things go. I'm trying not too be concerned about the big picture stuff because, let's be honest, it's not that big of a deal about my marathon. Do I want to continue training and have hopes of doing well? Yes. Am I going to be annoyed if I did something to my calf (because I was an idiot)? Yes. Will I be okay if I did something to my calf and have to scrap the block? Also yes. This running thing for my stress relief, my joy, my escape. I will work through whatever happened and find joy elsewhere. It's not that deep.

March 29th: I tested the water of the calf with an outdoor run. I did 3.5, talking myself out of 4 because, what will that extra half mile really do?, and it went okay. The calf was tight, may be a little sore, but no worse. Afterwards, as I write this, it was not too bad at all. I'm hopeful that the Brooks just aren't for me and cause my leg mechanics to work in a way that does not work for me so my calf reacted, got angry, and needs some time to calm down. That was that I was seeing before with them (and yes, I kept trying them out because I like the feel of them during the run and I'm an idiot) so I'm hoping I can do 10-14 tomorrow to keep mostly on track for the week and big picture. I'll be happy to get some miles and see less pain though too and see what Coach has to say about it all from there.

March 30th: Before heading out, I’m going to list the goals for the day. A Goal: 14 miles, B Goal: 10 miles, C Goal: any miles, hopefully 5-7 but being smart.

Good news: I got a half marathon in for this run. I could have gone to 14 but am in the mindset of not pushing and not caring (haha?). Overall it went well and I’m happy with how it went and feel like I’m over whatever jump happened.

Training Week March 17th-March 23rd

March 17th: Post-Eastern States which was mostly sitting due to travel and then house stuff before the week starts.

March 18th: Despite spring coming here, the time in which I start running isn't always going to result in daylight at the end. Plus, it's still layer weather and after work sometimes I just don't want to do that. Today, I stayed inside and went for an easy five on the treadmill. Not much to report and feeling overall pretty good post-Eastern States.

March 19th: Rest.

March 20th: Again this was just miles really. It was planned for longer, 7 miles, but I was a bit later than expected and didn't want to be for as long as I would need to be to reach that distance so I moved the 7 to to the weekend.

March 21st: I planned to do this speed workout outside as I would have a free evening, but a poor sleep and an intense, albeit okay, day at work, had be home late and tired. I was going to jump on the tread but realized I didn't want to be inside and so I mustered up my willpower and went outside for a little over 5 miles. I felt overall okay, nice to be outside, even if the legs were a bit dead. I reached out to my coach to see a good game plan for the rest of the week, but it may just be a speedless week which, with Eastern States, I'm not too concerned with.

March 22nd: This 7 miler was just one of those runs that clicked. It wasn't particularly easy as the route was hilly, but it never felt like a slog. It just sort of rolled and there was a nice breeze that made me keep my gloves, but sun so I knew I was outside. I needed the break as well and really enjoyed the time and the music I had.

March 23rd: Not going to lie, when I saw what the weather was, and I was so disappointed in myself for not considering this the run on Saturday that I was already coming up with more reasons why the run was not going to go well. I essentially was in a mental spot of already labeling the run and failure and that if I did 13 (plan was 16) that would be a “success”. I really tried to kick myself out of that thinking which was somewhat successful at by basically just pushing forward. The miles in the beginning were definitely not the easiest. It took me a while to get my focus and to not only think about how much more there was to do. I tried to listen closely to my podcast as well as play the game about fueling. In the end the almost 16 miles we’re done with relative ease in terms of how the body felt even if the head was dragging. It actually felt like I was running much slower than what my splits ended up being which was a pleasant surprise. This was one of those runs where I was proud that I got it done because it was a just grit-and-bear it run.

Training Week March 10th-March 16th

 March 10^th: Resty-rest.

March 11^th: Because of Eastern States there’s only one work out this week. For the past few days I was dead set this was only 6x800 believing it so much that’s what I programmed on my phone. I hoped/planned to do this outside as I have the dog boarded and no husband at home. But once it came time to head to the park where I run these, I just didn’t want to. For one some friends were meeting up to walk and I didn’t want to just keep run by them and two, although it is lighter now I figured I’d be finishing in the dark. So, home to the tread I went. The workout went pretty well. I managed to pick up the paces a bit from the last time I had some 800s and felt in control. I ran in my new Brooks Hyperion Max 2 and they felt fancy and free.

March 12^th: A long recovery run after a long workday including picking up the doggo, felt exactly like one would expect. It was a planned 8 but I promised myself I’d do an hour. I went a little over that to get to 7 on the tread and that was good for me. The work on Tuesday and this late run has been not sleeping the best per my watch because I go from hard work, to food, to shower to sleep. I’m looking forward to the rest day and to the day off on Friday.

March 13^th: Rest, done and done.

March 14^th: I took today off of work and it was quiet nice. I solid sleep and an easy little 5 mile run back into packing and sitting. 

March 15th: Just a quick run that was scheduled as three but I just did what worked. Nothing special which isn’t a bad thing. 

March 16th: Eastern States! This was our 5th time doing the 20 miler and probably the best logiscally. It’s a late start which make fueling interesting but the toast, PB and jelly held me through. My main goal was to do this was a harder long run. I modified that as it got closure to focus on fueling. When I went into it I thought about a prior year progression run but I’m really bad at those so want excited about it. I then figured just do a long run but … boooooring. So, once I started at saw my splits being pretty consistent at 8:28-8:30 I thought okay let’s do this first ten meteradome style. Just try and glide through 8:30s for ten miles and then drop to 8:00-815 for the last ten. I had a few folks I saw and chased down which was a good distraction and then I went at 10 (a little before actually). I wasn’t able to go below 8:15 really but I did pick it up. I was colder than expected with the weather so that kept some mental power although not physical aside from when I tried to open gels (oy!). I focused on needing to pee which I think was actually a defense mechanism but I finally pulled off to a port-o-potty at 16. It cost me about a minute but I think the mental gain wasn’t a lost. I had a good second half and a good last 3-4 miles mentally. My gel intake could have been better and I think I need to try a plan UCAN and se how that sits…

Overall, I’m happy with this result. It was a PR and I feel like I tried something more the second half and tried to not shy away from the distance. I’m still needing to work on fueling as I think that’s a big missing piece but this wasn’t a misstep. 

The positive mental game was pretty good and I just trying to keep remembering that I get to play running. That being out here is fun. It’s something I get to do and choose to do. What a gift!

Training Week March 3rd-March 9th

March 3rd: After a success end of the weekend running with my leg still tight but not worse!, I turned my attention to the totality of my training plan. I try my hardest to follow my plan, and I love to follow someone’s plans for me, but I’m struggling some with the work/life/run balance. But that’s why I pay a coach so we’re going to make some shifts to remove a long workout on Fridays and perhaps skip four days in a row and do it two days, rest, three. I hope this will bring more balance to everything.

March 4th: This was 6x1 mile alternating +10 / -10 seconds from marathon pace. It actually went fine, if not a big of a drag. I called it at 5 due to leg iffyness and time. With a treadmill the plus/minus is actually pretty easy although mine were 7 seconds because of how my tread works. The leg was still tight but I think we’re getting close to better.

March 5th: I decided, once again, to try and be a morning runner. This time I managed to get up before 4:45 and got in 6 miles. It went well too! Go figure. For me if I hit my REM cycle just righy, the early mornings aren’t that bad. It’s when something throws that off be it the the pup, food or if I have a drink or two, and then the struggle is Real, and I usually talk myself out of it (which then is funny because usually I’m not going back to sleep). This run felt really good and it didn’t wear me down for the rest of the day. So once more, I’m going to put these early mornings back on my radar.

March 7th: And just as quickly as I make myself a promise to try and get up in the morning workout m, I don’t do it. We did go out to eat last night, and I did have a drink so to be fair I was pretty sure that was going to be the case. Therefore, the work out was at the end of the day. This was 3 x 800, 400, 400. It went okay. I think I was fairly under a fueled today and on the treadmill, it was just one of those workouts where the speed wasn’t there and I couldn’t get my body to relax and turn over faster. So the reps were all at 7:19 which is entirely fine and pretty close to one of the acceptable paces sit by the coach, so I’m not too disappointed but a little bit.

I will say that I had a pretty rough day earlier this week at the office and it was one of those days where you just felt knocked down. That was another reason why I have tried to focus on regrouping a bit with a training plan because I never want training, and certainly not running, to feel like it is a chore or that it takes something away or out of me. The entire point of this is to add something into who I am.

March 8th: This was an easy 5 miles which I got myself outside for. It was a tad breezy, but overall not a bad gig and happy to be outside. I definitely listed to Forever by Mumford and Sons too much but man does that one hit right now.

March 9th: Long run day with 14 on deck. This one went so-so. The legs felt good and actually the hamstring seems to be over its little issue (knock on wood). It was mostly energy and tummy meh. I think I need to combo UCAN and Maureen but skip caffeinated gels as the UCAN alone seems to not quite have enough or perhaps, with the package, I don't get enough. For Eastern States, I'll bring enough so that I can alternate along with salt chews as back up for sodium. We shall see how that goes. But, overall, glad I got this one done and in the books.

The Days You Defend

I heard a song at the end of a Ted Lasso episode and it stuck with me so I downloaded it. I finally really listened to it on my run today and, ooof, it just hits the right now these days.

I know I've had you troubled,
And I know I've seared your mind.
But you know that I love you,
And that our loves not blind.

I'm sure my dreams lie with you,
But I've many more besides.
And if I can't see them through,
Our love will slowly die.

So if you doubt for the time that you're spending,
And if you doubt for the love in your heart.
Think of London and the girl you're returning,
And the days you defend will turn to gold.

So love with your eyes.
Love with your mind.
Love with your - dare I say forever.
Do it for yourself.
Do it for the girl.
Do it for your - dare I say forever.

Honestly, I don't know if I can write what I want about these lyrics and how it hits me right now. I just know that they are freeing to me and to my life so I want to share and save them here.

And look towards those golden days.

Training Week February 24th-March 2nd

February 24th: Typical rest day and this one comes with somer unfortunate right hamstring pain/tightness. Unsure if that's due to the foot pain or just a pretty heavy week last week.

February 25th: Hamstring is still not happy so instead of the speed session planned, I did an easy four. Disappointing, but I'm trying to remain positive. There's still time and best to be safe.

February 26th: Because of some scheduling later this week, I ran easy today. It should have been sometime like 6-7 miles to keep up on the week, but Hamstring (who now gets their name in caps) is still bothering me so I did an easy 5. This one came with some extra drama but I'm just going to keep that one close to the chest.

February 27th: Rested up again. Hamstring still annoyed, but making shifts for later in the week to try and get the most out of this week while keeping an eye on Hammy (now they have a nickname).

February 28th: Our pup had a rough night. We've been changing his food and he's had a few other issues, but tonight it was a 2am wake up to diarrhea and then a 4:40am wake-up to the same. After cleaning up at 4:40am I decided it was best to just get my run done. I did a little over 5 on the treadmill and am keeping an eye on Hammy who is not getting worse, but holding a bit steady in the tightness arena. In consulting with my coach, I'm going to try and have my long run with the missed tempo (6 miles). 

March 1st: Well, first spicy long run of this block and it was a success. Hammy is still there and still letting me know they aren't 100% happy with marathon training. But again, it's not getting worse so I'm going to keep trying it out. This long run was 8 miles normal, 6 miles at MP (8:00), 2 normal. I hit the tempo pretty solidly, with an 8:02 average. Miles fluxed a bit more than I would like, but I'm trying the spicy long run for the first time. The last two were a bit slower than the first 8 but I didn't fall too much apart. I took 3.5 gels and the Maurten was the one that seemed to settle the least well so I may try a full UCAN contingent next time. I am still terrible with fluid so I really need to try and step that up because the post-run nausea is telling me that I'm missing that aspect pretty solidly.

March 2nd: I'm a little low on the hopeful miles this week, but followed the advice of 4-6 miles so I, of course, did 5. Hammy was maybe a little more upset, but I did put some all natural muscle relaxant on it for all that may do. I'm going to try and be a bit more focused on my use of the compression pants and theragun to try and make everything go relaxed.

Next week is a bit of a dial back, although that will actually have my miles be about what they were this week and, after that, it's Eastern States with the first 20 miler of this build. Or, for now, that's the plan. I'm more than happy to consider shifting to a half if Hammy or something else decides to pop up. 

Training Week February 17th-February 23rd

February 17th: As always starting my week with the rest week. After the long run on the treadmill, I didn’t feel quite as beat up as I thought I was going to and since I had that day off from work, it was a nice way to ease into the week.

February 18th: The work out today was the Michigan which I called a mini Michigan because it was a little less miles then when I did it later block last year. The plan was 1 mile at half marathon, 800 meters at 10k/5k, 1 miles half marathon, 2 x 400 meter at 10k/5k and 1 mile at half marathon with two minutes rest between everything. I have to say all in all it seem to go very well. The half marathon paces felt pretty controlled and were fairly consistent at 7:41. I felt that I could push it a little bit but because on the tread of the paces differ by so many seconds, I held it steady, not wanting to run out of steam. The 800 and 400s were a bit quicker then last week and I liked the turnover and didn’t feel like I was chasing the belt. Overall, I was very happy with this one and they gave me some confidence going forward.

February 19th: I hoped to do either my 7 or 4 mile run today but after my haircut it just didn’t seem to fit in with ease so just another rest day. 👍🏻

February 20th: I moved my schedule around because I was cooking tonight, and I also got home a little bit later so I just did 4 miles which was set for Saturday. My feet are super blistered up right now and my pinky toes are killing me, but all in all the run felt pretty solid. It just one of those runs where everything moved with relative ease. I’m pushing my paces of a easy run by just a little bit, but still lower than what I used to do.

February 21st: Because the past two weeks have been going a little bit better in terms of my training, I’m actually excited for speed work. It seems like my coach is upping the intensity a bit, although the paces are about the same. Either way, I’m really trying to approach each proposed workout with the mind set that it is going to be fun. Plus I’m choosing to do this! It is, of course, much easier to have that frame of mind before you go through entire workday. I got home from work at about the normal time and because my husband was working, I didn’t have to worry about any other thing other than running. The proposed plan was 1.5 warm up and cool down and then 4 x 1.5 miles at strength pace which for me as a 7:51. I realized as soon as I started and thought about the intervals, it was going to be a mentally challenging one. Something about 1.5 miles sounds long. I definitely play all the mind games during each one, moving paces, making splits, doing body checks, making deals with myself, etc. Each time I went through an interval I embraced the 400 meters and worked to get the heart rate down and brain Re-set. And, you know what, I got it done, I did all four, and I was actually very impressed with myself. I am wicked tired today which is Saturday and so I’m probably only going to do 4-5 miles at a very easy pace to flush out the legs. Tomorrow I have 14 miles on deck. I’m trying to also keep the excitement and looking forward attitude for long runs as well.

February 22nd: I didn’t have a good sleep, probably too close to the workout for the body to recovery plus the dog was a pain so I woke up tired and even though it’s a weekend day, I just didn’t have the planned seven in me so did four. Not the end of the world and certainly what was correct for my body

February 23rd: Prior to the long run, I figured I’d set some goals. First, I’d like to take in four gels. Second, I want to finish a handheld. These two goals kind of stink as it’s all stomach based but that’s got to be trained too! We’ll see how this goes.

February 23rd continued: To be fair, I am writing this on March 2nd so I'm playing some memory games and looking at Strava. There was some ice still on the ground so I had a few small walks and also forgot to restart my watch. Full distance was around 14.3 I think. I took three gels which all settled okay but only about 5-8 ounces of water. Everything felt fine except during the last 1-2 miles when my right upper foot really started to hurt. Perhaps against better judgment I finished.