Every Wish That We Put Into Motion.... (comments welcome!)

[Herding_Cats]

Updated “the wall” with LK and SW box lids today. DH says he’s going to do his last 5k tomorrow so he can open his medals.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Monday: 4mi EA. First couple of miles felt pretty sluggish but the last 2 were OK.

Tuesday: first day of school for the kids. Somehow got lucky was up half the night with some mild food poisoning. Didn’t run. Took a nap instead.

Wednesday (today): is a scheduled rest day. l’m going to stop by the elementary cross country practice that DS3 is participating in to see if the coach wants any helpers. I talked to him about it during the school open house and he seemed happy to have another adult willing to help. It’s usually just him and 30+ kids (ages 7-12) to organize. I might try to do a very easy 2 miles today depending on how the morning goes; we are getting a new propane tank delivered and we have to get ds1 new running shoes because he ripped the entire side of his open at practice last night. Yaaaaay kids.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Back on track today. 0.75mi WU, 6mi MT, and 0.5mi cool down.

considered using the treadmill but having to push the buttons that many times for the intervals sounded like too much work, so into the stroller it was for DD, added a minute onto my target pace (which moves it from 12:00 to 13:, and off we went. I mostly hit my splits. It wasn’t awful, but having to account for the camber of the road AND push the stroller means one of my arms is tense the whole run and that’s not a great feeling.
WU was 14:02
Mile 1–12:57
Mile 2 —13:10
Mile 3– 12:57
Mile 4– 12:58
Mile 5– 12:48
Mile 6– 12:50
CD was— 14:09

I’m really going to be stuck pushing the Stroller for the remainder of training because our school/sports schedule is just ridiculous this month.

@DopeyBadger is there something easy to sub/adjust for next Tuesday’s T + R workout? Sprints(ish) with the stroller isn’t gonna work and we have a XC meet x3 kids that day, so running in the evening isn’t going to be happening.

 

[DopeyBadger]

What’s a pace/effort that would be doable and I can come up with a workout.

 

[Herding_Cats]

With the stroller, nothing faster than 11:30 if it’s supposed to be a hard workout. 12:30-13:00 if it’s supposed to be medium-hard to medium.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Perfect. How about:

1 mile WU + 2 x 2.25 mile (or 26 min; whichever comes first) at HM Tempo effort w/ 0.5 mile RI + 1 mile CD

Thoughts?

 

[Herding_Cats]

I’ll do my best.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Bumped Friday’s 4mi EA to Saturday since I apparently forgot how to grocery shop during the school year. First week of school, so it’s allowed. But it also meant that I spent my available running time at the store. Took the oldest 2 to Saturday XC practice and then pushed DD in the bob. Tried to keep the pace at 14mon, but it’s so hard to go that slow. The fact that I was pushing her on a gravel trail made me slower, but it also made it a bit harder effort-wise. Once I was able to get to a road crossing I finished the run on the road. Calves definitely got more of a workout than they’re used to.

Sunday: 4.5mi EB plus strides. Managed about 13:40 for the first 3.5mi. Strides dropped the last mile to about 12:10. Ran my flatter route today because the calves were still a little tight. Doing extra foam rolling tonight to try to help. DS1 worked an aid station with his XC team for an Ironman tri today. When I picked him up I looked at the people still running and said, “These are my people.” He was impressed with the variety of ages and body types of people who were out there doing the race. I think it was a good thing for him to see.

and just for clarification, I’m supposed to run 2x2.25mi at HM pace. Is that already adjusted for the stroller, or do I need to tack 45-60seconds on to that pace? Do I run 11:30 with the stroller or adjust it to 12:15-12:30?

 

[DopeyBadger]

HM effort not pace. So slow down with the stroller.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Well that was interesting. Not easy. But not too hard. Me legs are definitely going to be tired tomorrow.

1mi WU (14:07 pace)
2.25mi at HM pace (11:26), adjusted for pushing the stroller (12:15-12:30ish), OR 26min
mile 1 was 12:17
mile 2 was 12:21
got about one minute into the remaining 0.25mi when my 26min timer went off
--after the first half mile of this section I realized was going too fast and had to focus on slowing down so i wouldn't be at 12:00mm (or more like 11:45mm at that point.)

0.5mi recovery interval (quick stop back at the house during this)

repeat of the 2.25 or 26min HM pace
mile 1 was 12:27
mile 2 was 12:22
stopped by the clock again during the 0.25
--pace started to drop off during mile 2, so I took a couple of the walk intervals out, or spread them out so I could run the downhills still, and walk the top half of an uphill.....it seemed like all of my walk intervals were landing on the downhills which is a complete waste LOL!

1mi CD at 13:56 pace

 

[Herding_Cats]

Know what's super fun! When you need to go for your run and you realize that all of your running socks are dirty (except there is one washed pair but they need dried.) So you have to wait for them to dry, which means that you can't let your toddler nap so that she will nap during the run. Which means that you get to listen to her melt down because she wants to nap and it's either listen to it now, alone in your house, or while you push her in the stroller because you woke her up to go for your run.

Also, upcoming-race anxiety. That's super fun too.

 

[col1]

Updated “the wall” with LK and SW box lids today. DH says he’s going to do his last 5k tomorrow so he can open his medals.
View attachment 602162

That Looks very cool

 

[Herding_Cats]

11mi LR + 1mi MT on the docket for today. That was going to be a big ask since that's a little over 2.5 hours without adding on time for pushing the stroller, and naptime doesn't last that long. I drove over to a nearby park that has a 0.9mi paved loop that doesn't get much traffic this time of year so I wouldn't have to get on/off the road for cars, and to have easy access to a bathroom, and the car nearby at all time in case the toddler was not having it.

The good: I mostly hit my goal pace range of 13:35-14:00. Closer to the low end at the beginning, and things started to fall off at about mile 8. I had forgotten how much this loop isn't very flat and feels like you're always going up or downhill.....and that "feels like uphill" is a killer when I'm pushing the stroller, even if I have slowed my pace.

The OK: I took my merida costume for a trial run and the tutu didn't cause any real issues for the 6 miles that I wore it. The toddler fell asleep at around mile 3. She woke up midway through mile 9, so I stopped at 10, which means I didn't get all of the miles in. Do I need to "make up" these miles at some point this weekend, or just leave it as it is?

The BAD: I didn't eat enough yesterday. Figured that out at about mile 5. It's 81 degrees out today (WHYYYYY do my longest runs always fall on the hottest days?) and the dewpoint is 60. So yeah. I didn't check the temperature after I got to the park (it was about 72 when I started) and an almost 10 degree jump in 2 hours means that I should have been running about 30sec/mi slower than I was. And body-temperature water (from my vest) is NOT refreshing in any way. Also wind that got up to about 14mph sucks to push a stroller in.

Misc. observation of the day: in the car on the way how I touched my face and it felt like I had powder or sand on it, so I rubbed it. And it was white. All of it, which means that it wasn't dirt/sand. It was salt. So apparently the sweat on my face was evaporating thanks to the wind, and I had salt all over my face. Guess I'm going to be drinking a lot of gatorade this afternoon.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Just leave it as it is. Losing a little off the end of a long run hurts some in the big picture, but putting an additional 2 miles on a different run doesn’t really make up anything. So just move on from it.

I guess take solace in despite all the obstacles (wind, hills, stroller, temps, warm water, etc.) that you still succeeded on the run itself. You’re in a good place heading into the tail end of training.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I really need to NOT THINK ABOUT the race. Because 11 days. Oh my gosh. Almost single digits and it's really freaking me out.

So. Looking ahead. That's something different to obsess over for now. Assume I don't get injured between now and the end of race day. Assume I take one week off for recovery. Do I just recycle my current plan and count back 13 weeks and go from there? Something different?

I really would like to add in some weight training because I'm pretty sure I'm going to (try to) do a full round of 80DO after MW. If adding that in is going to be a "safe" choice. I definitely don't need to lift heavy by any means, but I just want to get back in the habit of lifting in general. But it needs to be short because as busy as we are right now, basketball season is going to start in about a month and things will get really crazy then. I could probably do Little Obsessed, but that would get old really fast. I like that the Liift4 workouts were short and to the point, but it definitely was not my favorite program. Maybe the Hammer/Chisel strength workouts? P90X3 (Tony gets pretty obnoxious in that one though) is also an option.....basically I need something that is like 30-40min at the most if I'm going to tack 2-3hrs of workout time on per week. Since I already have the BOD subscription, it would be nice to stay in that workout family.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I really need to NOT THINK ABOUT the race. Because 11 days. Oh my gosh. Almost single digits and it's really freaking me out.

All of these are good feelings. Respect the distance, but know that you're capable of doing it. Hundreds of thousands of people in the US run a marathon every year. You can do it as well. Think slow... slow... If everything is aimed correctly on race day, you'll feel like a million bucks at the start line. Don't don't don't don't run too hard at the start. It'll only make the marathon harder. You should try to feel really relaxed and easy until mile 18-20.

Also, play the following mental game. Don't count down the miles, or obsess about I only ran X in training during the race. "Now everything beyond X is new mileage." Those ideas are likely to only lead to negative thoughts. Which will in turn mess with your perception of effort making the race "feel" harder than it is physically (which assuredly will be difficult on its own). Rather, think of how your training was designed. We didn't train you for the first 11-12 miles. We trained you for the last 11-12 miles. Which means when you hit mile 14 of the race, you're really at mile 0. The race has just begun at that point. Think of the fatigue your legs had on them at mile 0 of your long runs. That's the same level of fatigue you'll have at mile 14 of the marathon. Now you just need to wrap up the race by doing exactly what you've done before, run 11-12 miles like your long run counting upwards (mile 16 is really only mile 2). That change in mindset of counting up towards the finish, rather than counting down will likely yield more positive thoughts. Those positive thoughts will help keep your motivation high. With your motivation high, you're more likely to feel relaxed and at ease.

So. Looking ahead. That's something different to obsess over for now. Assume I don't get injured between now and the end of race day. Assume I take one week off for recovery. Do I just recycle my current plan and count back 13 weeks and go from there? Something different?

In an ideal situation, you don't recycle your plan if your goal is to continue to get better. If you're content with where you're at, then you can do something similar again. But if you want to get better, then you've got to keep changing up the workouts for a different stimulus. You also need to balance recovery from the prior marathon with the preparation towards Disney. So I wouldn't do any hard workouts for at least 2 weeks after your Oct marathon. For me, it takes about 42 days to fully recover from an "A" level marathon effort. So simply recycling the old plan backwards from 13 weeks means you're going to potentially jump into certain workouts too quickly and mid-microcycle. Disrupting the progression pattern of the workouts.

I really would like to add in some weight training because I'm pretty sure I'm going to (try to) do a full round of 80DO after MW. If adding that in is going to be a "safe" choice. I definitely don't need to lift heavy by any means, but I just want to get back in the habit of lifting in general. But it needs to be short because as busy as we are right now, basketball season is going to start in about a month and things will get really crazy then. I could probably do Little Obsessed, but that would get old really fast. I like that the Liift4 workouts were short and to the point, but it definitely was not my favorite program. Maybe the Hammer/Chisel strength workouts? P90X3 (Tony gets pretty obnoxious in that one though) is also an option.....basically I need something that is like 30-40min at the most if I'm going to tack 2-3hrs of workout time on per week. Since I already have the BOD subscription, it would be nice to stay in that workout family.

I've only done LIIFT4, 80DO, ALMO, and 21DF. So I can't speak to other workouts, but LIIFT4 seems to be the right length of time per workout and for the timeframe between Oct and Disney. Outside of BOD, I would recommend the McMillan workouts as they're both in the timeframe you're looking for. Although they are body weight exercises and don't use free weights.

 

[Herding_Cats]

All of these are good feelings. Respect the distance, but know that you're capable of doing it. Hundreds of thousands of people in the US run a marathon every year. You can do it as well. Think slow... slow... If everything is aimed correctly on race day, you'll feel like a million bucks at the start line. Don't don't don't don't run too hard at the start. It'll only make the marathon harder. You should try to feel really relaxed and easy until mile 18-20.

Also, play the following mental game. Don't count down the miles, or obsess about I only ran X in training during the race. "Now everything beyond X is new mileage."

I’m already doing these things. Go me!

We didn't train you for the first 11-12 miles. We trained you for the last 11-12 miles. Which means when you hit mile 14 of the race, you're really at mile 0. The race has just begun at that point. Think of the fatigue your legs had on them at mile 0 of your long runs. That's the same level of fatigue you'll have at mile 14 of the marathon. Now you just need to wrap up the race by doing exactly what you've done before, run 11-12 miles like your long run counting upwards (mile 16 is really only mile 2).

logically, I understand this. Now to get my brain to embrace it....

In an ideal situation, you don't recycle your plan if your goal is to continue to get better. If you're content with where you're at, then you can do something similar again. But if you want to get better, then you've got to keep changing up the workouts for a different stimulus. You also need to balance recovery from the prior marathon with the preparation towards Disney. So I wouldn't do any hard workouts for at least 2 weeks after your Oct marathon. For me, it takes about 42 days to fully recover from an "A" level marathon effort. So simply recycling the old plan backwards from 13 weeks means you're going to potentially jump into certain workouts too quickly and mid-microcycle. Disrupting the progression pattern of the workouts.



I've only done LIIFT4, 80DO, ALMO, and 21DF. So I can't speak to other workouts, but LIIFT4 seems to be the right length of time per workout and for the timeframe between Oct and Disney. Outside of BOD, I would recommend the McMillan workouts as they're both in the timeframe you're looking for. Although they are body weight exercises and don't use free weights.

Ok that makes sense. I looked at my plan back 13-11 weeks (so early-mid July) and there were definitely some scheduling accommodations in there. Plus the schedule for November/December is sure to have a few days that I’m just going to for-sure need off.

 

[Herding_Cats]

5mi EB plus strides yesterday. More stroller running *sigh* but I know it’s good for me in the big picture. 13:50ish pace for the first 4 miles and strides pushed the pace down to 12:45 (I finished doing laps up and down my driveway because toddler was sleeping so I just parked her in front of the garage and did the last 2 strides without having to push her. The first few miles felt amazing. Effortless almost, even with the stroller. And then the wind picked up. Side note, my vo2max went down yesterday which is annoying me. I know it’s not a significant indicator and is probably being really impacted by pushing the stroller, but DOWN is not the direction I wanted it to go.

The schedule got pushed back a day because this week has been nutty already, but it’s going to work out well because today was originally scheduled for 6mi MT but it’s supposed to rain all day and I have errands to run. And tomorrow the kids have a half day of school so I will not have to do that with the stroller. Yay!

Ive had achey lower legs today and last night so now I’m trying to decide if this is just “normal” end of training stuff, dying shoes, all in my head/not enough sleep, tired muscles from pushing the stroller (because it does mess with my form/stride a bit), or something else. Ugh.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Side note, my vo2max went down yesterday which is annoying me. I know it’s not a significant indicator and is probably being really impacted by pushing the stroller, but DOWN is not the direction I wanted it to go.

I mean, yea, you already know why. It's simply a measure of PacevHR and a lookup table. So if you run with a stroller vs not running with a stroller, that's definitely going to affect the PacevHR relationship. As would a boiling hot/humid run or running up a mountain. So knowing the why should ease your mind.

Ive had achey lower legs today and last night so now I’m trying to decide if this is just “normal” end of training stuff, dying shoes, all in my head/not enough sleep, tired muscles from pushing the stroller (because it does mess with my form/stride a bit), or something else. Ugh.

Completely normal. It's called "Taper Madness". You're entering the final stretch of training where the training load is dropping. Thus, your body is switching focus from improving/adapting to recovering. While in this recovery mode it's finding low level things it was ignoring previously that will suddenly become amplified as if they're legit problems. 99% of the time they're not. And you're unlikely to have those feelings on race day. It's just that your body doesn't have the same stimulus to focus on, so it focuses elsewhere. You'll be alright. Just don't go full blown crazy (hint: most marathon runners do in the last week or so).

 

[Herding_Cats]

Makes sense. I had inferred a more psychological than physiological definition of taper madness.