It's Not the Years, It's the Mileage - birthday marathon training journal

[nancipants]

September 3 - 2.06 miles, 30:18, avg pace 14:44. I was visiting my mom for Labor Day weekend so I did my two-mile run in the morning in her neighborhood, which is COMPLETELY flat. I know people in other states will laugh at me, but my area of Florida actually has some elevation, whereas the coast does not, and I can definitely tell the difference when I run there. My heartrate barely got into zone 2.

September 5 - HM tempo run. 1 mile easy pace, 2 miles HM pace (12:28), 1 mile easy. Moved this run to Tuesday so I could do it when my son was at school. The temperature was really nice, but for some reason my legs felt like lead. I somehow ran slightly faster than HM pace, but it was a slog. I did a new route and went uphill 3 times.


September 6 - 4 miles, 56:24, avg pace 14:05. Pace was slightly faster than it should have been but my heartrate stayed in zone 2. It's been less disgusting in the mornings and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel summer-running wise.

September 7 - walked 3 miles, 51:40, avg pace 17:13. I was supposed to do 3 miles continuous with strides, but I did not want to run that day. I think I am learning that 4 days per week is the max I can run without burnout. I did, however, walk three miles on the treadmill. (And finished Good Omens 2 - SO GOOD.)

September 8 - Fast finish, 8.06 miles, 1:52:59, avg pace 14:01. This was my longest run to date as well as my fastest 10K (1:25:21). I started with 3 miles at easy pace and 5 miles at marathon pace (13:21). I mostly hit those paces even with a high T+D. It was overcast this morning, which was nice for my heartrate. Again, the promise of better weather. And my watch didn't die this time!




September 10 - 2.09 miles, 29:47 minutes, avg pace 14:16. Ran at night after my son went to bed. We are putting our dog to sleep today and I needed a distraction. Moved today's run to tomorrow, hoping it will help clear my head. Sorry to end this post on a bummer, but it sucks.

 

[striker1064]

Very sorry to hear of your loss. Will be thinking of you today.

 

[jmasgat]

So sorry about your dog. Sending warm thoughts to you and your family.

 

[azrivest]

Yes it does suck. We get really attached to our little fur buddies.

 

[GollyGadget]

Heartbreaking news about your dog . Take whatever time you need to grieve.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

So so sorry about your pup. That's so hard even if it's the best thing to do.

 

[DopeyBadger]

 

[Scootin'By]

So sorry for your loss! Sending big hugs

 

[RuntheMouse]

Sorry about your dog, heartbreaking .

 

[nancipants]

Thank you everyone for your kind words. It was very peaceful and I'm glad she's no longer anxious and in pain. She wasn't sick, just old, so we pushed off on making the decision as long as possible. I keep expecting to see her whenever I turn the corner.

Tuesday, September 12 - I'm glad I moved my run to this day because I needed the distraction. 1 mile easy, 2 miles HM pace, 1 mile easy. Total 4.02 miles. My note was "started too fast."



Wednesday, September 13 - easy run. 3.06 miles, 43:50, avg pace 14:19. My note was "sad " My heart rate stayed in zones 1 and 2, so I'm getting better at that on easy runs.

Was supposed to run on Thursday but I was not feeling it.

Friday, September 15 (today): Had my last 5k pace workout before my race in two weeks. My note was "So hot. So out of breath. So dead." Laps 4 and 5 should be combined; I hit the lap button .25 miles too early, oops. I was about 40 seconds too slow with my paces but considering the T+D, I'll take it. (Will it ever stop being so hot in the mornings? This is my first year running so I have no idea when I should expect it to be tolerable again!) The good news is that even with my .25 mile rest intervals in between the 5k miles, I got my fastest 5k on my Garmin with 40:25. My race goal is sub-40 so I should be able to hit that no problem! *crossing fingers*



Next two weeks are mostly easy runs to prepare for the 5k. After that, I'm getting on a boat for two weeks and will be leisurely running around the promenade deck of the Disney Magic! It is nice to have something to look forward to because otherwise I'd just be moping around super depressed right now. Losing a dog you've had for 15 years is rough.

 

[nancipants]

Training is officially over. Tomorrow is the race.

Monday, September 18: 4 miles marathon tempo.
4.01 miles, 53:14 total, 13:18 avg pace. Was in Zone 2 for 22 minutes and Zone 3 for 23 minutes. I rated this as 4/10 effort. Mostly easy but not totally easy.

Tuesday, September 19: 2 mile easy run. Moved this to Tuesday since I didn't run Sunday.
2.12 miles, 30:05 total, 14:12 avg pace. I went down and up the big hill but still stayed in easy pace, which was good.

Wednesday, September 20: 4 mile easy run.
4.02 miles, 57:23 total, 14:17 avg pace. Despite going up the big hill, I only went into Zone 3 for 3:27.

Friday, September 22. 2 mile easy run. Was supposed to do my long run this day, but I ended up having to take my son to school in the morning. So I did a 2 mile run in the afternoon, which suuuucked, haha.
2.00 miles, 26:46 total, 13:23 avg pace. Ooops! See how fast that was? I went down and up the big hill, too, and my ankle was NOT happy about it. I also went into Zone 3 way too much.

Saturday, September 23: 5 mile easy run. Moved it from Friday. Probably shouldn't have run because my ankle was still bothering me a little bit.
5.04 miles, 1:09:32 total, 13:48 avg pace. Again, I was too fast and went into Zone 3 for too long. In my defense, the weather was BEAUTIFUL and I wanted to run without feeling like I was going to die, haha.

I skipped Sunday and Monday running because my ankle was still bothering me. I did 15 minutes of indoor cycling on Monday. I really hate my husband's recumbent bike, haha.

Tuesday, September 26: 3 mile easy run. Tested out the ankle - it felt mostly okay! Lots of stretching and rest helped.
3.31 miles, 46:32 total, 14:03 avg pace. It got hot again and I slowed down.

Wednesday, September 27: 3 mile easy run with strides. I did this without regular run/walk intervals but still took a few walk breaks to keep my heart rate in Zone 2.
3.00 miles, 43:06 total, 14:21 avg pace.

Friday, September 29: 2 mile shakeout run. Ankle feels mostly fine, thankfully.
2.41 miles, 33:15 total, 13:48 avg pace. Ran faster than normal but it felt easy and I didn't venture into Zone 3. Despite it being hot again, it was overcast, which was nice.


Tomorrow is my 5k! The forecast calls for it to be 75 and overcast at start time. Not ideal but at least I won't have to run into the blazing sun.

My main goal is sub-40, my stretch goal is sub-38. I think I can do it if I pace myself well. My plan is to do 60/30 run/walk intervals, maybe go down to 30/30 in the last mile depending on how I feel. I have a playlist carefully curated for maximum endorphins.
Ready or not, here I go!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Good luck!

 

[azrivest]

Enjoy your race!

 

[striker1064]

Have a great race!

 

[Scootin'By]

Good luck!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Have fun!

 

[kps7795]

Training is officially over. Tomorrow is the race.

Monday, September 18: 4 miles marathon tempo.
4.01 miles, 53:14 total, 13:18 avg pace. Was in Zone 2 for 22 minutes and Zone 3 for 23 minutes. I rated this as 4/10 effort. Mostly easy but not totally easy.

Tuesday, September 19: 2 mile easy run. Moved this to Tuesday since I didn't run Sunday.
2.12 miles, 30:05 total, 14:12 avg pace. I went down and up the big hill but still stayed in easy pace, which was good.

Wednesday, September 20: 4 mile easy run.
4.02 miles, 57:23 total, 14:17 avg pace. Despite going up the big hill, I only went into Zone 3 for 3:27.

Friday, September 22. 2 mile easy run. Was supposed to do my long run this day, but I ended up having to take my son to school in the morning. So I did a 2 mile run in the afternoon, which suuuucked, haha.
2.00 miles, 26:46 total, 13:23 avg pace. Ooops! See how fast that was? I went down and up the big hill, too, and my ankle was NOT happy about it. I also went into Zone 3 way too much.

Saturday, September 23: 5 mile easy run. Moved it from Friday. Probably shouldn't have run because my ankle was still bothering me a little bit.
5.04 miles, 1:09:32 total, 13:48 avg pace. Again, I was too fast and went into Zone 3 for too long. In my defense, the weather was BEAUTIFUL and I wanted to run without feeling like I was going to die, haha.

I skipped Sunday and Monday running because my ankle was still bothering me. I did 15 minutes of indoor cycling on Monday. I really hate my husband's recumbent bike, haha.

Tuesday, September 26: 3 mile easy run. Tested out the ankle - it felt mostly okay! Lots of stretching and rest helped.
3.31 miles, 46:32 total, 14:03 avg pace. It got hot again and I slowed down.

Wednesday, September 27: 3 mile easy run with strides. I did this without regular run/walk intervals but still took a few walk breaks to keep my heart rate in Zone 2.
3.00 miles, 43:06 total, 14:21 avg pace.

Friday, September 29: 2 mile shakeout run. Ankle feels mostly fine, thankfully.
2.41 miles, 33:15 total, 13:48 avg pace. Ran faster than normal but it felt easy and I didn't venture into Zone 3. Despite it being hot again, it was overcast, which was nice.


Tomorrow is my 5k! The forecast calls for it to be 75 and overcast at start time. Not ideal but at least I won't have to run into the blazing sun.

My main goal is sub-40, my stretch goal is sub-38. I think I can do it if I pace myself well. My plan is to do 60/30 run/walk intervals, maybe go down to 30/30 in the last mile depending on how I feel. I have a playlist carefully curated for maximum endorphins.
Ready or not, here I go!

Good luck with your goals and don't forget to have fun! I forgot this myself last weekend and had to be reminded by my wife that I'm just doing this for fun following my 10K.

 

[jmasgat]

Good luck!

 

[GollyGadget]

You got this!

 

[avondale]

Good luck!

Friday, September 22. 2 mile easy run

At first I read this as "22.2 mile easy run" and I thought, "Wow, that's a big increase in distance!"