In Training: Marathon Weekend 2013 (Dopey Challenge)! 1/17 - LINK TO TRIP REPORT!

[Ariel484]

Week 7: Rest Day
Saturday, October 13, 2012

On Saturday I ade the 3.5-hour long trek to West Virginia for a childhood friend's wedding! Mom and I had a good time...it was great to see friends we really haven't seen for years, and I was happy to see the groom, who was like a little brother to me growing up, so happy.

My dumb move of the day - I wore TOMS wedges, which I thought I had sufficiently broken in...nope. In between the ceremony and reception I actually went to buy new flat shoes because my TOMS were giving me blisters...one on my toe and another on my heal. Luckily I think I'll be okay to run tomorrow, but I really need to learn that I am NOT cut out to wear heels.

Rather than stay over night we decided to leave the reception early and head home. The drive was pretty easy, but I wasn't in bed until 1AM! That morning I had gotten up at 7AM to shower and leave home by 8 to drive to my mom's house...I am so happy I didn't have to run beforehand. I was exhausted enough as it is without throwing that into the mix!

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[Ariel484]

Week 7: Rest Day
Sunday, October 14, 2012

AHH...a gloriously relaxing day. I didn't set my alarm (gasp!) and after 7 total hours in the car on Saturday I didn't drive ANYWHERE. We did some yardwork (including putting up our orange Halloween lights! I don't see any Halloween emoticons, soooo...pretend this is a jack-o-lantern! ) and watched play-off baseball. I'm not a Yankee fan and am rooting for the Tigers to take the whole series, but I do like Derek Jeter (seems like a good person who plays the game the right way) and was very sad to see his season-ending injury.

The only other bad part of my day happened during the yardwork. We were sawing some thick limbs off of a tree of ours when Will threw out his back. I told him to call it quits for the day and kept on going, only to call it quits myself about 5 minutes later when the saw met my thumb. It wasn't too bad thankfully (no ER trip necessary, which is what I initially feared)...I am such a klutz.

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[Ariel484]

Week 8: Strength Training and yoga
Monday, October 15, 2012

And here we are in week 8!

Strength training today was fine. I think I'm sufficiently recovered from my trip, except for the blisters...the one on my toe only hurt during burpees, but still...yeeeeouch! I think it'll be okay for running though.

Yoga was good today. Lots of relaxing poses and stretching. It just felt good to move after all of the sitting I did this weekend and then again this morning at my desk.

In other news, tomorrow is one of my 3-milers, and I realized that this is the last week that both of my Tuesday/Wednesday runs are going to be 3 miles! Next week my Tuesday run will be a 4-miler for 3 weeks until it goes up to 5 miles...and the week before that run increases to 5 miles my Wednesday run will also increase to 4 miles for 3 weeks, and then it too will be a 5-miler (crap, I need to start waking up earlier and figure out a way to go 5 miles on the treadmill without going completely nuts! ). It's crazy to think that in just a few weeks my shortest run of the week will be a 5-miler. Marathon Weekend is inching that much closer, friends!

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[camandjacksmom]

I'm glad you had a good time at the wedding!!! Thanks for all your advice about the shoes and blisters. I was able to take my shoes back to the running store and got into a pair of brooks and got some feetures running socks that I'm loving! I had to go up an entire size to an 8 but my toes now have so much room. I too can't believe marathon weekend will be here before we know it!!!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm glad you had a good time at the wedding!!! Thanks for all your advice about the shoes and blisters. I was able to take my shoes back to the running store and got into a pair of brooks and got some feetures running socks that I'm loving! I had to go up an entire size to an 8 but my toes now have so much room. I too can't believe marathon weekend will be here before we know it!!!

Thanks! I really like going to weddings...so fun!

GREAT...I'm so glad you seem to have gotten your feet issues sorted out. I got my brother a few pairs of Feetures a couple of years ago and he really likes them. I run in Brooks too! What kind for you? I think some of the Pure Project shoes look SO cool...I can't imagine running in a more minimal shoe, but I almost want a pair just for every day use, ya know?

 

[Ariel484]

Week 8: Run #1 (3 miles on the treadmill)
Tuesday, October 16, 2012

3 miles completed/25 miles planned for the week
124 miles completed so far in training

This morning I scored a big victory. In thinking about how next week this Tuesday 3-miler is going to turn into a Tuesday 4-miler, I realized that I'm going to need to start waking up a wee bit earlier in order to get it done before work. Just call me Captain Obvious. I've gotten into this really bad habit of hitting the snooze on my phone exactly 3 times each morning (total of 27 minutes of snoozing ), resulting in my scrambling to make it to the gym at a decent time. It's a habit I desperately want to break and I totally blame Will for this one...I never, EVER used the snooze bar until I met him. Good thing I like him so much! Anyhoo, this morning I only snoozed TWICE. Baby steps, people.

Run was pretty good...the usual morning routine - stiff for the first 0.25-0.5 miles, then felt pretty good the rest of the way. My blister from this weekend didn't bug me too much...yay!

Total time: 29:52 for 3 miles
Average pace: 9:58ish/mile

Marathon weekend is only 85ish days away!! Wahoo!

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[camandjacksmom]

Thanks! I really like going to weddings...so fun!

GREAT...I'm so glad you seem to have gotten your feet issues sorted out. I got my brother a few pairs of Feetures a couple of years ago and he really likes them. I run in Brooks too! What kind for you? I think some of the Pure Project shoes look SO cool...I can't imagine running in a more minimal shoe, but I almost want a pair just for every day use, ya know?

Im in the Ghost5! I couldnt imagine running in a minimal shoe or even bare foot like some people! I saw you got the foam roller in one of your entries...do you like it? Is it worth the money??? Also good luck on your runs this week. We have a 10k coming up Nov 17th to try and get a better time to enter for the half

 

[Ariel484]

Im in the Ghost5! I couldnt imagine running in a minimal shoe or even bare foot like some people! I saw you got the foam roller in one of your entries...do you like it? Is it worth the money??? Also good luck on your runs this week. We have a 10k coming up Nov 17th to try and get a better time to enter for the half

Gotcha! The only Brooks I've ever run in are Adrenalines...I like 'em!

Yes, I do have a foam roller and The Stick. I like them both! Totally worth the money, though now that you mention it I haven't used either in awhile. I need to get back on that!

Good luck with your 10K training!

 

[Ariel484]

Week 8: Run #2 (3 miles on the treadmill)/Yoga
Wednesday, October 17, 2012

6 miles completed/25 miles planned for the week
127 miles completed so far in training

Typical Wednesday morning 3-miler on the treadmill...nothing to see here, folks.

Total Time: 29:21
Average pace: 9:48ish/mile (or something like that)

Let's talk about yoga. Today at lunch I went to a new yoga class. The one I normally go to is rated as a "gentle" class - lots of stretching and movement but, if I'm being totally honest, really not a lot of effort required. Which is fine...most often it just feels good to MOVE, especially in the middle of the day.

Today's class was rated as a "moderate" level class. I have a yoga buddy at work that used to go with me to class every week, which was good because knowing that someone was waiting for me to go to class with them made me less likely to skip. This was maybe 1-1.5 years ago, and I really didn't like the class all that much because it was challenging and I was out of shape, so it was pretty embarrassing. And that's totally not how yoga is supposed to be - you're supposed to feel free to modify poses as you wish and do whatever practice your body needs that day, but I was always pretty self-concious and hated feeling like I couldn't keep up. I kept going though because I have, like, NO friends at work (I promise I'm not, like, totally weird or lame - I work in an academic environment, so everyone comes in and it's nose to the grindstone all day! Not too much time to socialize) and I wanted to become better friends with my yoga friend. Things sort of dropped off when our old teacher - who was going to graduate school and I knew was AWESOME despite the fact that I struggled so much in her class - got a "real job" and moved. Not to sound mean or ungrateful since we get these classes for free at work, but the other yoga teachers just are not as good as she was. A lot of it is personal preference, but I know I'm not the only one with that opinion. Combined with the fact that my yoga buddy is pregnant with her second child and has been sick for pretty much her entire first 2 trimesters (poor thing ) and I've just been content to go to gentle yoga whenever I can work up the motivation...i.e. not too often.

Anyhoo, yoga buddy is feeling much better now and is rarin' to get back to yoga, so she's been bugging me to try this class out all week. I haven't been to a "moderate"-level class since the awesome yoga teacher moved away, so I was nervous for today...and we got our butts kicked!

We started with a plank series. I complain about doing planks probably more than anything in my strength training program that I follow, but I felt like I held up pretty well today. I was able to complete the entire series without any modifications! We definitely weren't holding the planks as long as I do during strength training (10-15 seconds vs. 45 seconds) but we were moving from side to side, back to center, with one foot up, etc. There's no way I would've been able to complete this while I was taking the old class...I was pleased to see how far I've come!

The other series focused more on the legs and they kicked my BUTT...literally! Lots of lunges and squats (some up on our toes, some where we had to get down super low and hold it there), balance poses and downward dogs - my shoulders and legs, especially my calves, were BURNING. I'm pretty sure I was giving the teacher lots of nasty looks...he didn't seem to care. I made it through most of this part okay but I did have to do some modifications.

Class ended with a decent amount of stretching, which I liked, but no shavasana, which I didn't like. My favorite pose!

So yeah...it was challenging. Like, seriously...what must a "vigorous"-level class be like?! I hope to be able to walk tomorrow...and I definitely plan on going back to class next week.

So long, folks!

Hooray, random Disney pic! I wish I was there right now...

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[Ariel484]

Week 8: Strength training
Thursday, October 18, 2012

I think the week has caught up to me. Miraculously I wasn't sore from yoga when I woke up today, but I can feel that my legs are tired any time I go up stairs. The fatigue in my legs definitely made burpees, squats and lunges more challenging than usual, and my shoulders were burning during the arm moves thanks to all of those downward dogs we did yesterday. Now I just feel sleepy...good thing I don't have an entire workday ahead of me or anything!

Happy Thursssssddaaaaayyyy!

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[Ariel484]

Week 8: Run #3 (6-mile loop)
Friday, October 19, 2012
Weather: Upper 50s/low 60s, cloudy with a bit of sun - PERFECT!

12 miles completed/25 miles planned for the week
133 miles completed so far in training

Today was one of those days where I just did not want to run. I don't think it's that I'm burned out on training or sick of running or anything...I think it has to do with other things going on in my life right now. I had a few days in a row where I didn't get enough sleep and it definitely caught up to me. Couple that with the fact that I got assigned to a difficult project at work (you know it's bad when the person giving it to you says "I'm sorry...I hope this doesn't mess up your life" ) and I've just felt a bit blah over the past 24-48 hours.

However, I'm also very aware that I am almost halfway through training (!) and that things are about to really pick up - one of my 3-milers will be a 4-miler next week, and this Friday run is jumping up to 7 miles. I feel like it's crunch time all of a sudden and I'm determined not to let work and/or lack of sleep put me in a bad mood, because, you know...life isn't all that bad otherwise.

Anyway, I finally dragged my butt out the door and got my run in. It went pretty well except for one point during the last mile when I...I don't know, stepped funny or something and got a major twinge in the lower right side of my back. It almost felt like I got zapped with something, and a second later it was gone. Really weird. At any rate, I feel fine now and don't think I injured myself or anything, but I did freak out for a second there. Bullet dodged!

Total Time for the run: 59:39 for 6 miles
Average pace: 9:57/mile (10:07, 9:50, 10:21, 9:55, 10:02, 9:23)

Happy Friday!!

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[Ariel484]

Week 8: Run #4 (13 miles made up of two 6.5ish-mile loops)
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Weather: Upper 40s/low 50s, overcast

25 miles completed/25 miles planned for the week
146 miles completed so far in training

Oops...I meant to post about this on Saturday but forgot and don't have the splits near me (not a big deal as they are most likely not interesting to anyone but me ). Oh well.

Total Time: 2:19ish for 13 miles
Average pace: 10:43/mile

What else...

- I did my usual routine of having coffee + a plain bagel with peanut butter about an hour before the run. This used to be enough for me but I've found that before my last few longer runs I've still felt hungry even after the bagel, so I've also been eating 4 Gu Chomps right before heading out the door. Weird.

- I took a walk/water break every 2 miles...at the beginning of miles 5 and 9 I had 4 Gu chomps again. Last year when I was training for the 2012 marathon I'd take a walk break at the end of every mile and I definitely like the "every other mile" schedule a bit better. Somehow it makes the run feel shorter to have less walk breaks.

- I felt more soreness after this run than I did after the 12-miler 2 weeks ago. This week's ice bath helped a LOT but didn't completely fix things. I feel almost 100% now though.

-Throughout the entire run I found myself disappointed in my pace compared to the 12-miler, yet when I was done my overall average pace was only 4 seconds slower...so it wasn't bad at all. I'll take it.

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[Ariel484]

Week 8: Rest Day
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Did lots of errands and stuff around the house, so a more hectic rest day than normal. Oh well. My legs felt much better...I made sure to roll with the foam roller and the stick, and I stretched a lot. Mostly sore in the hamstrings.

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[Ariel484]

Week 9: Rest Day (unscheduled)
Monday, October 22, 2012

So today would normally be a strength training/yoga day, but I've decided against it. I had an awful night of sleep last night. Despite the fact that I got into bed a little later than I wanted to, I found myself wide awake. I didn't look at a clock at all because I thought that would stress me out more ("OMG it's xx:00 and I'm STILL not asleep!") so I don't know how long I was up, but still...bleh. To bookend the crappy night of sleep I woke up about an hour before my alarm was due to go off and couldn't go back to sleep.

I pretty rarely take days off from my training plan because I just "don't feel like it" (not counting skipping yoga more often than I should ), so I'm going to give myself a break today, get through the work day, and start over tomorrow.

In better news...79 days until Marathon Weekend begins!
TTFN!

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[Ariel484]

Week 9: Run #1 (4 miles on the treadmill)
Tuesday, October 23, 2012

4 miles completed/24 miles planned for the week
150 miles completed so far in training

Back on track!

Total time: 39:34 for 4 miles
Average pace: 9:56ish/mile

After having so much trouble sleeping on Sunday night I was, predictably, out like a light last night and I feel MUCH better today. I even got up a few minutes earlier than normal...still not early enough but I'm heading in the right direction.

The run was okay - physically I felt pretty good, mentally it was an entirely different story. Despite the fact that I was only on the treadmill for 10 minutes longer than I have been, it felt like that run went on FOREVER and the thought "I'M SO BORED WAHH" just kept repeating in my head over and over. What a baby. Oh well, it was still worth it to get it done early in the day.

Happy Tuesday!

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[Ariel484]

Week 9: Run #2 (3 miles on the treadmill)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012

7 miles completed/24 miles planned for the week
153 miles completed so far in training

After 4 miles on the treadmill yesterday, this run felt like it flew by. I'll take it!

Total time: 29:17 for 3 miles
Average pace: 9:46ish/mile

I'm getting nervous that I may be beginning to burn out a little bit. I'm already not really looking forward to my other 2 runs this week. I really think that I could use a long weekend off from work, but I'd sort of like to save my vacation so that I have a lot around Christmas and in January for the trip. I'm planning on taking the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the week of Thanksgiving off, so I'm hoping to make it until that point without taking PTO (so that's the rest of this week, 3 full weeks and then the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week). It seems like a lot of days and not a lot of days at the same time. I guess I'll just play it by ear for now. The other thing I'm trying to focus on is that after next week training will be halfway over (!) which will mean I'll have 7 weeks of "hard" training before tapering starts. Again, it sounds like a lot and not a lot at the same time. Eyes on the prize.

BYEEE!

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[steph0808]

Sorry to hear that you're feeling burned out! That sucks! I get that way too, but to combat it, I am picking up more runs with the local (well, 20 miles away) road runners group. I do my mid-week long run with them, and on Saturday, I am going to do my long run with them as well.

I also did some half marathon races on two long run weekends (11 miles and 12 miles - did 13.1 instead). I found it helpful that I wasn't running the same route around my house, that there were other people, that I crossed a finish line, was recognized that I had run that far, etc. I raced one but just rain at a nice, easy pace for the second half marathon. I might have been slow, but I finished uninjured and felt good!

So my recommendation is to mix it up a little bit! The running doesn't seem as bad when you have some variety!

You can do it!!

 

[camandjacksmom]

Go Shannon! Go!!! you are such an inspiration to me! If you need a break take it! Sometimes when I take a day off it gets me really excited to run again! I wanted to let you know they sent my husband a survey about the tower of terror race!! All of the questions were about the main issues!! I think they have heard what people were saying and sent the survey to see just how bad it really was!!

 

[Ariel484]

Sorry to hear that you're feeling burned out! That sucks! I get that way too, but to combat it, I am picking up more runs with the local (well, 20 miles away) road runners group. I do my mid-week long run with them, and on Saturday, I am going to do my long run with them as well.

I also did some half marathon races on two long run weekends (11 miles and 12 miles - did 13.1 instead). I found it helpful that I wasn't running the same route around my house, that there were other people, that I crossed a finish line, was recognized that I had run that far, etc. I raced one but just rain at a nice, easy pace for the second half marathon. I might have been slow, but I finished uninjured and felt good!

So my recommendation is to mix it up a little bit! The running doesn't seem as bad when you have some variety!

You can do it!!

Thanks for the encouragement! Great idea to mix it up more, especially with the routes. I might look into that...and I know there's a running group that meets in the town next to mine, so I might look up their schedule. I'm still planning on doing the Turkey Trot in my area so that should help as well. Thanks!!

Go Shannon! Go!!! you are such an inspiration to me! If you need a break take it! Sometimes when I take a day off it gets me really excited to run again! I wanted to let you know they sent my husband a survey about the tower of terror race!! All of the questions were about the main issues!! I think they have heard what people were saying and sent the survey to see just how bad it really was!!

Aw, thanks. I know what you mean about coming back to running after a day off here and there. Those are my best runs sometimes!

Very interesting that they sent you guys a survey. That's so great that they are looking for feedback. Hopefully it'll be a much better race in the future!


Thanks again for the encouragement, ladies. I really appreciate it!

 

[Ariel484]

Week 9: Strength training
Thursday, October 25, 2012

Nothing exciting about strength training today except that I did it while listening to the Magic Kingdom entrance loop! And I now have "When You Wish Upon A Star" running through my head...not that this is a bad thing. No yoga today...that means another yoga-less week. I had a lunch-time meeting yesterday and have another today, and Monday I was all "wahh I need a day off" so it just wasn't in the cards this week. Oh well.

I think the possible burnout feeling I mentioned yesterday has started to go away a little bit...whew! Trip planning is definitely helping with that (see next post!).

Today's random pic...looking forward to seeing this beautiful castle SOON!

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