I won't give in till I reach the end... and then I'll start again (comments welcome)

[azrivest]

Hi everyone! I'm still here, even if barely. Life has kept me super busy, but Ive been trudging along, despite my booboos. I can still run, even though I shouldn't. It's probably some kind of peroneal tendonitis. Some days the pain is almost gone but days like today, it definitely hurts. Running in itself isn't painful but I sure feel it in the days after.

Because of my injuries, and life, and the dog who wakes us up at 5am because it's hungry, I haven't been able to get more than 4 runs in per week in awhile. And I predict it's going to stay like that for my training cycle. I'll be okay for the marathon right? Considering I have no goals other than to finish, I should be okay to finish by training 4 times/week?

Oh and I signed up for the Berlin 2025 lottery 🤞

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Sorry the booboos are still bugging you! As far as training goes, if you're just trying to finish, I would imagine you'd be okay running four days a week, especially since this isn't your first marathon. (Assuming it's not limited to like four 30-minute runs a week, in which case that seems like a bad plan )

 

[jmasgat]

And I predict it's going to stay like that for my training cycle. I'll be okay for the marathon right? Considering I have no goals other than to finish, I should be okay to finish by training 4 times/week?

My marathon PR was using a plan that had me run3x/week (tempo, speedwork, long run). So as mentioned, depending on the nature (length/intensity) of the 4 runs, it is totally enough.

 

[azrivest]

(Assuming it's not limited to like four 30-minute runs a week, in which case that seems like a bad plan )

Oops

No it's been mainly easy (35-45) - speed - easy (35-45) - long. The longest run in my plan will go up to 18 miles which is what I worked up to for Dopey and I was fine. It's mostly the volume that worries me a bit. My plan (McMillan) has 4+2 runs and I never get to the +2.

If any of you are interested, here are a few pics from my cruise on the Magic 3 weeks ago. Yes, we cruised right in the middle of Milton. I'm sure there are better cruise reports elsewhere on the forum so I won't bore you with details. The major thing was that our itinerary was flipped around, we couldn't dock at Castaway Cay on that morning since wind was 14 knots and seas were pretty choppy some moments, especially on the last night. Other than that, we didn't really feel the hurricane, the ship mostly puttered around Nassau for 3 days to stay in pockets of nice weather. It had no impact on our travelling when we came back to Port Everglades on the Saturday.

I did see naomeri's beautiful aurora borealis pictures. We managed to see them all the way in the Bahamas. It was magical to view them on the top deck at 11pm. But they weren't strong enough to take pictures.


Character stop with the Sanderson Sisters


Halloween Minnie, for Halloween on the High Seas


The long walk from Lighthouse Point back to the Magic. Picture of me was taken by our female cruise director and her assistant David!


Pic of me on deck 4 after a 50 minute run. I was getting loopy running in circles like that. It's fun but it gets old after 30 minutes.


My favorite pic of the whole cruise. Me holding Rapunzel's lantern, on the night before the Tangled musical which was the best show I've seen on any of my Disney cruises.

 

[col1]

Oops

No it's been mainly easy (35-45) - speed - easy (35-45) - long. The longest run in my plan will go up to 18 miles which is what I worked up to for Dopey and I was fine. It's mostly the volume that worries me a bit. My plan (McMillan) has 4+2 runs and I never get to the +2.

If any of you are interested, here are a few pics from my cruise on the Magic 3 weeks ago. Yes, we cruised right in the middle of Milton. I'm sure there are better cruise reports elsewhere on the forum so I won't bore you with details. The major thing was that our itinerary was flipped around, we couldn't dock at Castaway Cay on that morning since wind was 14 knots and seas were pretty choppy some moments, especially on the last night. Other than that, we didn't really feel the hurricane, the ship mostly puttered around Nassau for 3 days to stay in pockets of nice weather. It had no impact on our travelling when we came back to Port Everglades on the Saturday.

I did see naomeri's beautiful aurora borealis pictures. We managed to see them all the way in the Bahamas. It was magical to view them on the top deck at 11pm. But they weren't strong enough to take pictures.

View attachment 906826
Character stop with the Sanderson Sisters

View attachment 906828
Halloween Minnie, for Halloween on the High Seas

View attachment 906829View attachment 906833
The long walk from Lighthouse Point back to the Magic. Picture of me was taken by our female cruise director and her assistant David!

View attachment 906830
Pic of me on deck 4 after a 50 minute run. I was getting loopy running in circles like that. It's fun but it gets old after 30 minutes.

View attachment 906832
My favorite pic of the whole cruise. Me holding Rapunzel's lantern, on the night before the Tangled musical which was the best show I've seen on any of my Disney cruises.

Looks like a great cruise glad you were able to avoid the storm.

We loved the magic and I used to like running running on deck 4 but always found if not early in the morning or a port day could be quite crowded and some narrow spots.

How did you find Lighthouse point ?

 

[azrivest]

How did you find Lighthouse point ?

Nice but too far away. Not just the long walk but also the long tram. I prefer the proximity and the different activities available at CC. Lighthouse point has one of the most beautiful beaches I've been to though. Perfect sandy bottom and crystal clear waters.

 

[col1]

Nice but too far away. Not just the long walk but also the long tram. I prefer the proximity and the different activities available at CC. Lighthouse point has one of the most beautiful beaches I've been to though. Perfect sandy bottom and crystal clear waters

Good to know beach sounds great

 

[flav]

Wow on the cruise! And on the Rapunzel picture!

I trained for my first marathon and my first Dopey with a 3-4 day per week plan that peaked at about 50km for the biggest week. Doable and better than overdoing it and having to stop because running becomes overwhelming. Enjoy

 

[DopeyBadger]

No it's been mainly easy (35-45) - speed - easy (35-45) - long. The longest run in my plan will go up to 18 miles which is what I worked up to for Dopey and I was fine. It's mostly the volume that worries me a bit. My plan (McMillan) has 4+2 runs and I never get to the +2.

If anything, I'd say you're overdoing it on the LR based on the other time/mileage in the week. So you can keep the other four days as is, and then pull back on the longest run. If you really want to keep the LR at 18 miles, then do it very very slowly relatively speaking. But is it doable, for sure, given your history. I think my cutoff is usually something around 4.5-5hrs, and I'd guess you're around 2.25 hrs of weekly + 2-2.5 hrs of weekend gets you right up to that 4.5-5 hr peak mileage. Not peak level fitness, but enough to take the marathon easy relatively and be ok afterwards. This only works though because you've got a lot of room away from balloon ladies based on your fitness level.

 

[azrivest]

I was just going to log last week's mileage...

Tues - 35 minute run
Wed - Strength + 45 minute walk
Thur - 65 minute steady state run, including 4 miles at HMP
Sat - Strength + 45 minute run
Sun - 12 miles/2h24 minutes

I'd guess you're around 2.25 hrs of weekly + 2-2.5 hrs of weekend gets you right up to that 4.5-5 hr peak mileage.

So yeah, you're right on the nose with your guess

I'm following the times in my plan pretty much, using your recommendation from last year to always stick to the lower end of the prescribed mileage for my long runs. I just can't get those extra one or two runs in per week, life is too crazy.

 

[azrivest]

Here's a picture of Talia looking so sweet next to our Christmas tree:

But looks can be deceiving, as she is rarely such an angel. This picture was this morning at 5:16, since she regularly wakes us up around 5, 5:15 to start her day. A few minutes after this picture she started jumping on my husband trying to bite his hand off and stole a piece of toast right off my plate.

Things are starting to improve though. Our trainer has advised us to put her in her crate as soon as she acts up or when we aren't in a position to manage her. She spends more time in her crate yes, but it avoids us getting resentful and exhausting us. Alyssa sent me a great e-book on training puppies as well.

Training wise, things are going well. The last two weeks have been:
Tues - 55 minute run
Wed - Strength + 26 minute run
Thur - 56 minute hill workout
Fri - 40 minute run
Sat - Strength + 90 minute progression run (decided to move my long run up since weather on that Saturday was amazing)
5 runs, yes!

On a side note, I can't complain about the weather we've had in November here. Temperatures have been in the 30s, with mostly sunshine. Nothing is more depressing than going out for a run in rain and low 30s, and I haven't had that at all this month I think.

Then:
Mon - 37 minute run + Strength
Tue - Tried yoga but Talia would have none of it. She tried to chew up my yoga mat.
Wed - Plan had me do a 6 mile/10km GMP run with 2mi/3km WU + 2mi/3km CD. I managed to do 2.5k + 9k + 2k in the time I had that morning. And the 9k @ GMP felt fine, like I wasn't pushing too hard and didn't feel like I wanted to die at the end. So I was super enthusiastic after my run!
Thu - 26 minute run
Sat - 42 minute run + Strength
Sun - 14 miles/2h47 minutes. Cardio wise felt fine, but my legs were sore after the run.
Again, 5 runs, yes!

Dunno if I've gonna go out today My left ankle is really sore and that tendonitis is flaring up. I don't want to stop training, as I really really wanna run that marathon. It isn't the smartest thing to do at the moment I know. But when have long-distance runners ever done the smart thing? And my plan has me doing Yasso 800s on Thursday

 

[Herding_Cats]

We are still using crate + x-pen all the time with our pup. He chews *ev.ry.thing.* still and wants to parkour off DD and the furniture. So it's really the safest thing for everyone. We will be using our "toddler tree placement" this year because I'm sure he would steal everything he could reach off the tree.

 

[azrivest]

wants to parkour off DD and the furniture

I could not have found a better description... For some weird reason, she loves to parkour off DD, but not DS, who is same height and same build as his sister even though he's 3 years older

 

[nancipants]

Our dog is also crazy but all of her energy seems to be devoted to chasing our cat. Thankfully, the cat doesn't mind - mostly. The cat eggs her on and then jumps onto the table to bait her. She's calmed down a lot over the past few months and especially since she reached a year old. She spends a lot of time in our fenced in backyard. It's not very big, but she can run around and dig. (I know I should be discouraging the digging but I long ago stopped caring about what our yard looks like.) I put out some Christmas pillows and she's torn a few, but hasn't completely destroyed them, nor has she done anything with the tree. Don't feel bad about putting her in her crate - our dog spent a LOT of time in her crate when she was a puppy. We still crate her overnight or when we go out - we can't trust her not to chew everything up still. Thankfully, she loves her crate!

 

[GollyGadget]

Dunno if I've gonna go out today My left ankle is really sore and that tendonitis is flaring up. I don't want to stop training, as I really really wanna run that marathon. It isn't the smartest thing to do at the moment I know. But when have long-distance runners ever done the smart thing?

Remember that it is better to be at the start line healthy than fully trained.

 

[The Expert]

This discussion reminds me why I have a "no puppies" rule and only adopt senior dogs! They come with their own set of frustrations, but I don't have it in me to go through puppy training.

And the crate shouldn't be seen as a negative thing. It should be your pup's safe, calm space where they can decompress and feel comfortable. Never use the crate as punishment, but think of it as a reset button.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

And the crate shouldn't be seen as a negative thing. It should be your pup's safe, calm space where they can decompress and feel comfortable. Never use the crate as punishment, but think of it as a reset button.

True! I feed my dog in his crate, and when it's cooler he likes to just chill in there. (When it's hot he'd rather lay on the wood where it's cooler.) Would recommend treats whenever she has to go in the crate so she associates it with good things!

 

[azrivest]

True! I feed my dog in his crate, and when it's cooler he likes to just chill in there. (When it's hot he'd rather lay on the wood where it's cooler.) Would recommend treats whenever she has to go in the crate so she associates it with good things!

We do this all the time, either that or her Kong filled with frozen chunky paté during the day when we're working

 

[azrivest]

Last two week update. November was crazy with DD's cheer practices, private lessons, showcase and etc., and work. I'm having trouble working enough hours and getting enough mileage in, but this busy momma can only do so much. I've been getting 4 runs done per week, and that's going to have to be good enough come January.

I signed up for RunFitMama's 30-day band challenge, which mostly works the glutes, the hips and the back of the legs. It's really helping to not feel so sore around my hips during my long runs.

Week of November 18th:
As I wrote last time, my ankle was really hurting on the Monday after my 14-miler, so I took 3 days off with no running.
Tues - Strength
Wed - 30 minute walk with the dog (that I logged in Garmin, but we walk with the dog way more than that)
Thur - 70 minute Yasso 800s. Didn't feel any pain in my ankle
Fri - 21 minute run
Sat - Strength + 47 minute run
Sun - 16 miles/3h12
Ankle was fine the next day. So I don't understand what makes the pain flare up.

Week of November 25th:
Mon - Strength
Tue - 60 minute run + Strength
Thu - 48 minute uphill/downhill repeats
Sat - 44 minute run + Strength
Sun - 13.5 miles/2h42 minutes with the last 3.5 at GMP. I felt mentally exhausted at the end. Not to mention temps were right below freezing point. I could have done the last 0.5 miles on plan, but my motivation just wasn't there anymore.

December is going to be super busy, with Xmas coming up and DD'S first comp in 2 weeks. Oh and it's starting to get really cold up here. This is where we separate the girls from the women. The next 5 weeks are going to be tough...

 

[GollyGadget]

It’s also getting cold here and I am not a fan. Wind chills in the single Fahrenheit digits make me question my life choices. Probably going to be choosing the treadmill more than I would like these next few weeks.