i want adventure in the great wide somewhere - running journal! (comments welcome)

[xjillianpaige]

I think if you are feeling okay physically after having taken two weeks off and you are feeling okay mentally (excited to keep running, motivated), then go for it!

Today will be my first run since the marathon, but I've felt fine. I guess we'll find out tonight if I can run! lol

I did my first marathon and then ran goofy 14wks later.

This is a compelling argument.

I guess my question would be, what do you plan to do after that? What's the next idea/race on the list for the Fall/Winter? Because where some runners fall into a trap/rut is that they schedule the same kind of race consecutively and it stunts their overall improvement. But if you come back and say, in the Fall I'd like to focus on a 10k or a HM or a 10 miler, OR if you say, gains are great and all, but I'm not really concerned about that right now, then I'd say, go for the marathon in 18 weeks. Ultimately, the game of life is a choose your own adventure. There are positives and negatives to doing the marathon, but ultimately what matters is what you want out of your running experience. To me though, the race and HM sound like they line up so well that if I were you, I'd probably do it. Especially since it sounds like you truly want to test yourself from a time perspective.

I don't know what my focus would be after this marathon, but it wouldn't be more marathons until 2023. I want to run Boston or Dopey in 2023 (or both but that's a big maybe).

What's most likely after this marathon is signing up for some of my club's Grand Prix races and I would just enjoy those - have fun with them. And I would stick with the lower mileage unless it fell in line with a training run.


These are the races - running 8 of them gets me a prize. I would likely run the races on 2/13, 4/3 (10 miler), 6/11, 7/10, 9/25, Oct, 11/13. The BAA 10k is a maybe (I'd like reception there) and I've done the Allen Mello 10 miler twice and those hills suck (but I do want to break 2 hours in the 10 mile and I'm about a minute away).

If there's any real speed goal in mind for the fall, it would probably be to get my 10k time under an hour (just about 3 minutes to shave off here).

The timing of this race (and a half in March) is feeling pretty serendipitous... And it's really just to see what I can do at baseline and then consider if Marathons is something I continue (after Boston, of course, that's a bucket list item).

 

[GollyGadget]

How great is that tie dye t-shirt?

It's truly great! I was thinking about how awesome it was before I even read your question

At some point I wanted a nap, so we went to Muppet Vision 3D where I conked out for a solid 20 minutes.

My love for the Muppets feels personally attacked. It's one of my must-dos at HS and I was so upset the Muppet gift shop was closed when I was there. However, there aren't really a ton of great places to nap in HS so I can at least sorta kinda understand that angle.

 

[xjillianpaige]

It's truly great! I was thinking about how awesome it was before I even read your question

My love for the Muppets feels personally attacked. It's one of my must-dos at HS and I was so upset the Muppet gift shop was closed when I was there. However, there aren't really a ton of great places to nap in HS so I can at least sorta kinda understand that angle.

LOL you have great taste then - no surprise there.

Listen, the muppets are a must do for me, too! It's where I take my afternoon nap!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Since I'm done with my race/trip recap and won't be updating you until this weekend on my runs this week (2 done already and more tomorrow and Sunday)... I thought this would be funny, as I mentioned during one of my recap reports.

Yes, folks, it's ice cream sundaes through the years.

1. June 20, 2015 - Disneyland (Celebrating my 25th birthday)



2. June 14, 2016 - Beaches & Cream (Celebrating my graduation with my master's degree)



3. February 24, 2017 - Magic Kingdom (Celebrating a friend's bachelorette party)



4. February 26, 2018 - Magic Kingdom (Celebrating my first half marathon)



5. January 12, 2022 - Magic Kingdom (Celebrating my first marathon)

 

[Naomeri]

Since I'm done with my race/trip recap and won't be updating you until this weekend on my runs this week (2 done already and more tomorrow and Sunday)... I thought this would be funny, as I mentioned during one of my recap reports.

Yes, folks, it's ice cream sundaes through the years.

1. June 20, 2015 - Disneyland (Celebrating my 25th birthday)

View attachment 642327

2. June 14, 2016 - Beaches & Cream (Celebrating my graduation with my master's degree)

View attachment 642328

3. February 24, 2017 - Magic Kingdom (Celebrating a friend's bachelorette party)

View attachment 642329

4. February 26, 2018 - Magic Kingdom (Celebrating my first half marathon)

View attachment 642331

5. January 12, 2022 - Magic Kingdom (Celebrating my first marathon)

View attachment 642332

Darn it! Now I have to get off my comfy couch and find some ice cream

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Relationship Goals: Find someone who looks at you the way you look at ice cream

 

[xjillianpaige]

Darn it! Now I have to get off my comfy couch and find some ice cream

I hope you got some!

Relationship Goals: Find someone who looks at you the way you look at ice cream

Never settle for less.

 

[jmasgat]

Just popped in to say stay safe and warm tomorrow/Sunday! Following Kenan intently. I expect I'll be messaging my daughter and other family all day.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Just popped in to say stay safe and warm tomorrow/Sunday! Following Kenan intently. I expect I'll be messaging my daughter and other family all day.

thank you! I will - plan on hunkering down tomorrow - will only leave to clean my car off. hoping to run sunday with a group - safety in numbers!

hoping your daughter & family keep their power and can enjoy some of the snowfall before it all turns into gray mush.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 1​

Did I really get home from vacation and a week later sign up for a marathon? Don't worry about it!

... Okay, I did it. I signed up for another marathon! The Vermont City Marathon in May! It was serendipitous - exactly 18 weeks away. The exact number of weeks of the Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan. (That's right! I'm adding a day of running per week.) My coworker is doing this race, too! Her first marathon, so I'm helping her out - giving advice and whatever information I can share (most of which I've gleaned over the past 4 years from these boards).

Anyway, let me tell you about my return to running (and the first week of my training)!

January 25: 4.00 miles • 44:32 • 11:08 avg pace
This was my big return to running. Was planning on only 3 because that's the first run for the Higdon plan, but I was easily convinced to add one more mile on. I felt pretty good considering I had taken 2 weeks off and had been a bit sick leading up to this run.

January 26: 5 miles • 58:12 • 11:38 avg pace
This was on my own during my lunch break while working from home. A very hilly out and back from my house. I felt pretty good considering I tend to use intervals when running alone (and more than 3 miles) so it was nice to see that I can do it on my own, too.

​

January 27: 3 miles • 34:01 • 11:19 avg pace
This was a solid 3 mile run in 3 degree weather. That's right. 3 degrees. My hair literally froze. And then, even crazier than running in 3 degrees - my friends and I got coffee (hot) and SAT OUTSIDE TO DRINK IT. Who are we, anyway?

​

Also - possibly unrelated but taking note of it here - that night I started feeling some pain in my upper thighs, almost like I had a bruise, but I didn't see any bruising. The next day (Friday) it was significantly worse - it hurt to walk, sit, bend - you name it, it hurt. I took Tylenol and elevated my legs that night. Saturday and today (Sunday) the pain is less, and I can now see some redness where it hurts. I'm continuing to monitor (not taking any more meds) and if it gets worse or goes away and comes back then I'll consult a doctor.

January 30: unknown miles • 1:30:00 • unknown avg pace
So today's mileage was supposed to be 8, but the northeast got walloped by a storm on Saturday - so that was out for running. I spent this morning digging my car out and decided that it wasn't worth risking my life with the size of snowbanks to get my 8 miles done outdoors. I did have plans to meet a group at someone's house and do a 4 mile loop twice, but I got a later start than planned and digging my car out took forever. Instead, I went to my nephew's hockey game and then used his mom's treadmill. I don't know how to use my watch with a treadmill, so I decided to use my Apple Watch. But then I couldn't remember how to use that with a treadmill, so I decided to just hit go and see what happened.

My watch was nearly a mile ahead of the treadmill, reading at 7.25 miles while the treadmill was at 6.59. So I decided to just run for an hour and a half. I started off with a conservative pace - 13:57 according to the treadmill (which was translating to the 12's on my watch), and then after 4 miles I sped up a little bit every half mile or so. Gave it my all for the last minute or so. I figure I usually run 6 miles in about 1:05, so adding on 25 minutes made the most sense. I'd rather run for a solid hour and a half than have a watch that reads one thing and a treadmill that reads another and be on there for almost 2 hours.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 2​

Before I give you a run update, I'm going to give you an update on the weird pain in my legs. Long story short, I bruised the heck out of my legs. Not sure how or why, but those spots that hurt to the touch did turn red, then purple. Right now I have light purple bruising that I'm waiting for it to clear. It's not stopping me from any sort of activities. If it either doesn't go away or gets worse or happens again, I'll bring it to a doctor and get some medical advice.

Now, it's time for training week 2. This has been a tough one for weather. After the massive storm last Saturday, the roads were clear enough that we could run, we just had to modify our routes and be careful. Then this past Friday we got walloped with a freezing rain/snow storm and those clear sidewalks are now not clear. Again, we managed to find a route and ran safely, but it was a pain. I pushed my run from yesterday to today.

But more on that here...

February 1: 3.10 miles • 34:35 • 11:09 avg pace
This was our Tuesday run. It was almost in jeopardy because some people were nervous about road conditions, but we managed to get a small group to run. We modified our route and were able to do 2 loops equaling 3 miles. The roads were mostly dry, so we stuck to those until we had to get onto the crappy sidewalk at the end.

(Not running related, but I did finish this book on Monday night - it was excellent))​

February 2: 5 miles • 58:40 • 11:44 avg pace
I did this run while I was on a virtual meeting for work. Luckily it was the type of meeting where I just had to listen (it was a town hall with the CDC). I figured sidewalks would stink, so I went to the lake near my house, which is just over 3 miles around, and ran that and added 2 on at the end. Most of the sidewalks were clear, they just got narrow in some spots.

​

February 3: 3 miles • 34:33 • 11:31 avg pace
Still snowy sidewalks, so we stuck to the side of the road when we had to and modified the route a little bit so that we ran through a condo/apartment complex to get off the main road. I had to be at work for 9 this morning, so instead of sitting outside in the cold, I got my coffee to go and went to work.

February 6: 9 miles • 1:42:56 • 11:25 avg pace
This morning was my first long run not on a treadmill for this training cycle. I met up with 5 of the girls from the club and we did an 8 mile route that's pretty hilly. 3 of the girls ended up ahead and the other 3 of us were further back. My goal pace was 11:30-12 and I was a bit faster, which was a surprise to me. I thought I would struggle with even a 12:00 pace but clearly not. My slowest mile was 6 (12:39), which I think was a very hilly area combined with Jen walking a bit so she could fuel. My second slowest mile was 9 (12:19) not because I was tired but because I was on the sidewalk more and it was not clear at all so I had to take it slow.

​

I feel really good about my training cycle so far!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 3​

An early update this week because tomorrow I have a race!

February 8: 3.00 miles • 32:54 • 10:57 avg pace
We did the same little loop as last week because everything has frozen over and sidewalks on main roads aren't clear yet, so we need to stay in quiet roads where it's (mostly) dry.

February 9: 5.01 miles • 54:46 • 10:56 avg pace
Before I talk about this run... Can we revisit my very first 5 mile run in 2017?

Distance: 5.13 miles - Time: 1:08:47 - Average Pace: 13:25 min/mile

My first three miles were pretty steady, between 12:14 and 13:11 min/mile pacing. The second two miles on the other hand... phew. Those were tough, hovering around 14:00-14:30 minute miles. I could feel it. My run turned into this sad little shuffle and I just could not get those feet moving. I took longer walking breaks. The sun also started to come out around this time. I also got my first blister. Womp. But my body itself felt pretty good! My brain had trouble being positive, but I'm proud of myself for running 5 miles for the first time ever and I'm on a rollercoaster that can only go up (seriously, so many hills on this run).

Now we can talk about my pace from Wednesday. I'm honestly amazed at my improvement in the past few years and having this journal to go back to and see where I started. This run felt good, too.

​

February 10: 3.00 miles • 35:55 • 11:58 avg pace
Everything that had melted the day before froze overnight, so this was a very icy run. We did our best, but there was lots of walking to avoid falling. But we got it done (and got coffee after).

Tomorrow my long run is 6 miles, and I have a 4 mile race so I'm going early with a few of the girls to get our bibs, do a 2 mile warmup, and then do the race. I won't really be racing it - it's just a training run. Then we'll have some social stuff after. I'll try to recap either tomorrow or during the week (more likely).

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training
Super Sunday 4 Miler Race Recap

Bib Pick Up ​

Two of my friends from the club met at my house and then we drove up together the morning of the race. The drive was slick and there was a moment where I thought we might get into an accident. Cars were slipping all over the place as it was snowing. We luckily made it safe and were directed to park at the school near the start. We walked down a massive hill to bib pick up which was very quick (and we got shirts - I went up a size because the last time I got a similar shirt from them it shrunk). We had to walk a long way back UP the hill to the car to drop our stuff off. I borrowed a pair of gloves (it was COLD) and then began my warm up.

My warm up was just under 2 miles (I had 6 total on the calendar) so that we could make it back in time for a club photo before starting. We smiled big and then went to the start line. And this was the moment I realized that I had forgotten my phone in the car and therefore couldn't listen to music.

The Race​

I initially self-seeded in the 10:00-11:00 area, but then fell back to the 11:00-12:00 pace because that's where most of the girls I knew were starting. And then the race started!

Before we look at my splits - I did not end my warm up and start my run fresh. So the first mile I share here is a warm up, as is most of mile 2. Mile 3-5 is 100% the race. Most of Mile 6 is the race, with the very end being my cool down/last quarter mile to hit 6.

Mile 1 (warm up): 11:46
Mile 2 (warm up/race): 11:06
Mile 3 (race): 10:22
Mile 4 (race): 10:21
Mile 5 (race): 10:25
Mile 6 (race/cool down): 10:34

Like I said the first 1.75 -ish up there was a nice easy warm up. It was coooooold but once I started moving I warmed up nicely. The start line was also nice and warm with all the bodies.

The course had some nice rolling hills - nothing too challenging. I think overall it's pretty flat. The women I was running with realized how quick we were moving - my watch said 10:15 and we tried to slow down but as you can see we stayed pretty speedy. I was hoping to do this run in about an 11:30 pace so I was a lot faster than I intended.

I don't hate this finish line photo​

I don't really have much to report about this race, to be honest. I went. I ran. I left.

The finish line was a little wonky - I came through and somehow totally missed the water table where two friends were waiting for me. Not the best set up, but it was in a parking lot so they had some buildings to work around. A big group of us took some more photos. I finally found my two friends (they missed the photo - they had been looking for me the entire time I had been finished) and I bought a sweatshirt (so comfy). Well, my friend bought it for me and I paid her on Venmo since everything I owned was in the car at the top of the hill.

We skipped the post-race bar and drove home to get an early lunch closer to home. Then I went home and got ready for the Super Bowl! I did get a free beer at the finish line, but it was the HOPPIEST lager - tasted more like an IPA which I hate so I ended up ditching it. And they ran out of the free soup.

The finish line beer I didn't even like in the new sweatshirt I love​

Also, this was a USATF race which was pretty cool. I'm not a member of USATF (this year - who knows about the future) but our club did fairly well and we had some runners place and score points. I don't totally understand how it works. Still more research to do. This was also one of my club's Grand Prix races, so I just need to run 7 more Grand Prix races for a prize!

FINAL TIME: 41:56​

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Way to go!!!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Way to go!!!

Thank you!!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 4​

Do you ever have days of running that totally suck? Also that bruising I've had since Feb 6 ish (almost two weeks) is still there. It's very steady - doesn't seem to be getting worse or going away. And now I have a bit of a painful bump behind my knee.

"It hurts when I do this, Doc."

"Then don't do that."

Anyway, just gonna continue to monitor and manage stuff. Running doesn't hurt so I'll keep running.

February 15: 4.00 miles • 43:19 • 10:50 avg pace
Another weird loop since sidewalks weren't clear yet. It is taking FOREVER for the ice to melt. Enough is enough. Felt fine on this run. I forget exactly when... but I did adjust my heart rate zones in Garmin with the advice given in one of the running threads and my runs are now much more in the zone 3/4 area.

February 16: 4.00 miles • 45:22 • 11:20 avg pace
Not to be dramatic, but this was the worst run I've ever been on in my whole life. The plan was 6 miles. I got down to the lake to do 2 loops for my 6 and I was about a mile in when I was like "to heck with this run." My calf was hurting, it was really windy, and every step felt like it was taking all of my effort. What's wild is my heart rate was in zone 3 for the most part but this run felt so strenuous and difficult. So I did what any normal person would do and promised myself that if I ran 4 miles, I could go to Target. So 4 miles I did. I also did the math and the plan called for 3-6-3 for a total of 12 miles during the week. So 4-4-4 would also be 12. Problem solved.

February 17: 4.00 miles • 44:12 • 11:03 avg pace
This was only marginally better than the day before. There was also SO much ice in the neighborhood we decided to try. Our normal routes we had been told were bad, so we went on a road that has new sidewalks and then turned into a few neighborhoods so it wasn't just an out and back. But those neighborhoods were equally as crappy. We thought the sidewalk ended, which is why we turned, but we figured out that it picks back up pretty quickly so next time we'll just go single file for a little bit so we can stay on the clear sidewalks. This was a coffee to go type morning since I had to get right to work.

February 19: 11.13 miles • 2:04:33 • 11:12 avg pace
This run felt a lot better. The first two miles I did by myself before meeting up with the rest of the group to do 8 together (then I would add one at the end). Those first two were blah... but then the rest of the 8 were great. If I keep this up then I think my sub 2:30 half marathon is pretty close...

And splits because why not? 11:39 • 11:56 • 11:20 • 11:04 • 10:48 • 11:13 • 10:57 • 10:51 • 11:02 • 11:16 • 10:58

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 5​

I got nothing witty to say. I'm tired and I've done nothing bu work, run, and binge seasons of Dexter.

Is anyone watching Love Is Blind? Wild. Shayne is off his rocker.

Anyway...

February 22: skipped
I had planned on running after work, but it was gross and rainy and the visibility when I was driving home was poor so I skipped instead. Had I known the visibility would be bad, I would have run that morning.

February 23: 6.22 miles • 1:11:12 • 11:27 avg pace
It was in the 60s on this day and I forgot how to dress for the warm weather. Apparently long pants and a t-shirt is too much. I did two laps around the lake near my house and was dying of heat. But I did all 6 this week and that feels like redemption compared to last week. A little slow - but steady. The best part was that there was still ice on the lake so every so often I got a very cold breeze.

​

February 24: 3.01 miles • 32:54 • 10:57 avg pace
A morning run followed by coffee. Speedy again. Not much to report - I felt good.

February 27: 12.01 miles • 2:13:12 • 11:06 avg pace
I met a group at 10 am and we did a very hilly 7 mile route. The girls who only wanted 7 left when we got back to our cars and I went back out for another 3 with 2 others. They only needed 10 so I did the last two by myself. I was surprised to see my average pace, because I felt slow. But I think what actually happened is the women I run with run really fast and I do my best to keep up, though I definitely fell behind a few times. I was really sweating that first 4 miles or so (the weather app told me it felt like 16 degrees but that was a lie) - and when I finished all 12 I realized how much salt I had sweat out. Had I realized that, I would have taken some margarita bloks. I ran the last quarter of a mile or so in a tank top and followed it with an iced latte.

Splits again because I'm curious: 10:48 • 10:25 • 10:32 • 11:04 • 11:08 • 11:04 • 11:23 • 10:50 • 11:10 • 11:16 • 12:04 • 11:19

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 6​

I need to figure out how to best track my shoes now that I'm rotating between 2 pairs.

March 1: 3 miles • 31:43 • 10:33 avg pace
My work day was wild, so I had to be in the office by 9 am and then I had a zoom call at home from 5:30-7:30 so I didn't have time in the morning or night to run, so I ran Boston. Went by the finish line of the marathon, too. I actually don't love running in the city - the sidewalks are really uneven brick sidewalks so my feet hurt the next day.

March 2: 6.01 miles • 1:10:18 • 11:42 avg pace
This was a race with the sun. I went out at about 4 to get my 6 in at marathon pace. I don't know if 11:42 will be my marathon pace, but it was what I did. Had a really nice sunset at the end.

​

And I finished another book! It was a bit of a slog to get through, to be honest.

March 3: 3 miles • 33:55 • 11:18 avg pace
It was really slippery in the morning, so I met with some girls at 8 am instead of 6:30 and got a quick 3 in before sitting for some coffee and heading into work.

March 5: 9.01 miles • 1:40:36 • 11:10 avg pace
We're back to our 7 am start time on Saturdays. It wasn't too cold today - the sun is nice and warm. Went out and got 9 done. Felt really good. Had a banana right before, then some bloks during the run.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Vermont City Marathon Training Week 7​

I have unofficially met my goal of breaking 2:30 in the half! More on that in a bit... Oh! And I finished another book...

This was a quick and easy read. Finished it in 3 days. ​

March 8: 4 miles • 44:28 • 11:06 avg pace
Roads and sidewalks are clear again so we're back to our normal routes! As always, followed by drinks and food.

March 9: skipped
I had back to back zoom meetings literally all day and couldn't get the 7 miles in. Once the meetings were over the snow/rain began and I wasn't having it.

March 10: skipped
I set my alarm to run, but when I woke up at 5 am I had a feeling that all the snow from the night before was ice. I was right. One of the women I run with tried to go out and told everyone it was too slippery. I couldn't get the 4 miles in later though because I had to get to work for 9 am and then went to the Bruins after.

March 12: 14.01 miles • 2:40:23 • 11:27 avg pace
My running club put together a long run day on the Boston Marathon route for the spring marathoners. We met at our usual spot at 7 and had volunteers driving us in and back and others working 2 water spots. I was in a car with Adele and Connie who were running 16 (?) miles and Cathy who was also running 14 miles. We were dropped to our starting points on the route by Mary and set off!

Cathy was planning on miles in the high 10s/low 11s so we stuck together for the first 8 miles. I was starting to lose steam halfway through, but then I got another burst of energy at our water stop, which carried me to that 8th mile mark. That's when I slowed down to the mid-11s. My biggest slow down was when I hit the Newton hills - into the 12s. I looked at the first hill on Commonwealth Ave and questioned every choice that led me to that moment. I said, "Not today, Satan" and slowed down to a walk. It wasn't worth burning out on these hills. Plus, it allowed me to really run it in at heartbreak.

​

My fuel during the run seemed to work - 2 clifbloks every mile (increased from previous runs) and water. I didn't eat a good enough breakfast because I had a time crunch since I struggle with mornings. And I think that impacted my energy. But the bloks helped me big time. I don't think I would have lasted much more without them. I ended up finishing almost 3 packages.

Running this course is really cool because A) Boston and B) there are so many runners out on the course. You pass tons of people - some running solo and others with big groups. Plus it's a well supported route - lots of clubs and charities set up water stops. I didn't need to stop at any except ours, but I know that if I needed to I could have.

Finally, like I mentioned, I have a new unofficial PR for the half marathon from this training race (and I still got it even with the hills): 2:29:08. I said I was going to break 2:30 this year and I have. Now I just have to do it again in two weeks at my race.

And for fun, splits: 11:22 • 10:54 • 11:05 • 10:59 • 10:49 • 10:47 • 11:01 • 11:02 • 10:53 • 11:48 • 12:39 • 12:14 • 12:20 • 12:23

 

[jmasgat]

I'm impressed with your run! I have run Boston twice, and also did the Runner's World Heartbreak half and have yet to manage those hills.