Somehow, The Marathon Returned - comments welcome!

[nancipants]

September 30 - October 6

This last week of training was pretty non-eventful. I completed all my runs. My paces have been pretty consistent for easy runs. I feel like as soon as the weather dips below 70 degrees, I'm going to feel unstoppable. Right now, I still feel like running through molasses.

Monday, September 30 - 3.03 miles easy, total time 44:38, avg pace 14:45.
I left the house at 6:43 when it was just getting light out, and it was already 77 degrees.
Can it cool off for a bit, please?
*taps ear*
Sorry, that's Mother Nature saying the best she can do is a Category 5 hurricane. It's fine. It's totally fine. (More on that later.)

Wednesday, October 2 - 3.04 miles easy, total time 45:16, avg pace 14:52.
Also did a 10 minute upper body video on YouTube. I found a channel I really like that's challenging but not super fitness-bro, and the videos are very low-key and relaxing, but the name makes me want to cry. It's called Senior Shape with Lauren. I'm only 43!!!

I also got my latest delivery from Crowned Athletics! I got the Geodesic day and night biker shorts, and the Geodesic Night skort and sports bra. I ended up returning the sports bra because it's too low cut for running and I wouldn't wear it anywhere else. I love the skort and wore it to Epcot on Saturday, but I think it's too short for running. The biker shorts are fantastic as always.

Thursday, October 3 - 3.02 miles easy, total time 44:19, avg pace 14.41.
I live in a development with several individual neighborhoods, so it gives me nice variety to choose my running routes. I've gotten pretty good at adding up the mileage for each neighborhood and ending almost exactly when I need to.
I wore my new Crowned shorts for this run.

Friday, October 4 - 3.05 miles easy, total time 45:16, avg pace 14:51.
Wore my other pair of Crowned shorts for this run.
Also did a 10 minute core workout on YouTube.

Saturday, October 5 - was supposed to do a lower body workout today, but I walked 17k steps at Epcot instead.

Sunday, October 6 - 4.51 miles M tempo, total time 1:04:03, avg pace 14:11.
1 mile warm up, 3 miles marathon tempo, .5 mile cool down.
I didn't start this run until 8:44. I'm trying to start my long runs later in the day to prepare for the later hours of the marathon. It was drizzly, which was nice.
M tempo mile 1 - 13:19
M tempo mile 2 - 13:45
M tempo mile 3 - 13:47
I wasn't pleased with getting slower. I did the route that went down the big hill, up another shallower and longer incline, then back up the big hill. My heart rate spiked into zone 4 going up the hill and stayed in zone 3 for the rest of the run. I took a few more walking breaks and felt better, but the heat was definitely not helping.
Got home and jumped in the pool for about 10 minutes.
This run could have been better, but overall I'm happy for sub-14:00 miles in 75+ degree weather.



So, Milton is looking like it's going to be a direct hit where I live in the middle of the state. We're staying put because it's the safest place for us to be and it's not necessary for us to evacuate and take up space from others who really need it. But, I'm worried. I usually shrug off hurricanes but this one is gonna be bad.

I was going to shift around my runs to run tomorrow and have my off day on Wednesday, but now it's looking like I can run Wednesday morning after all. Will either move Thursday's run inside (if I have power) or skip it entirely. Friday should be okay to run, but I might not want to if we don't have power, and I might not be able to if there's damage in our neighborhood. So, the rest of this week's runs are up in the air, but I think a category 5 hurricane is a good excuse.

Wish us luck.

 

[The Expert]

So, Milton is looking like it's going to be a direct hit where I live in the middle of the state. We're staying put because it's the safest place for us to be and it's not necessary for us to evacuate and take up space from others who really need it. But, I'm worried. I usually shrug off hurricanes but this one is gonna be bad.

I was going to shift around my runs to run tomorrow and have my off day on Wednesday, but now it's looking like I can run Wednesday morning after all. Will either move Thursday's run inside (if I have power) or skip it entirely. Friday should be okay to run, but I might not want to if we don't have power, and I might not be able to if there's damage in our neighborhood. So, the rest of this week's runs are up in the air, but I think a category 5 hurricane is a good excuse.

Wish us luck.

Definitely thinking of you all and hoping for the best! Mom is over in Clearwater contemplating whether they take the cat and air mattress and evacuate over to their new condo in Celebration. They just rode out Helene but you're right, this one feels different, and dangerous.

 

[jmasgat]

Sending "safe vibes" your way. Following all this closely. One of my sister's lives in St. Pete--but as it happens she is with me right now in MI. She lives in an apt building that tends to get lots of water infiltration, so good news that she's here out of the way, but bad in that she can't do anything to prep her place.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Stay safe! Pretty sure my parents are headed back from vacation just in time for the hurricane

 

[DopeyBadger]

Hoping for the best for you all. This looks scary.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Wishing you and your family safety! This is a scary looking storm!

DH has been in Orlando working so I’ve been watching closely. With him being in a hotel, they made the decision to move him down to Miami to ride it out. NGL I’m relieved!

 

[avondale]

Hope you stay safe! And everyone else...keeps looking worse and worse.

 

[superchime]

Thinking of you as Milton approaches!

 

[nancipants]

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. We were very lucky with the storm, however it did mess up my running during the middle of the week. But comparatively, not a big deal.

October 7 - October 13

Monday, October 7 - 3.12 miles easy, total time 46:29, avg pace 14:55/mi
Nothing unusual to report for this run. It was still hot. I did the hill. I had negative splits and only went into zone 3 for a minute or so after the hill.

Tuesday - rest.
Was glad this was a rest day because the prep for Hurricane Milton began in earnest. My son was home from daycare starting this day. My husband and I moved all our patio furniture from the pool deck to our garage. We also started prepping as much as we could inside.

Wednesday - 3 miles easy.
I woke up this morning with the intention to run, however, the weather was already bad outside. I did some more prep inside, took the dog for a walk, and prepared for a treadmill run. But as I was about to get on, I knew it would be a bad idea. I was so incredibly anxious and while running usually helps me de-stress, I knew that it would have the opposite effect while waiting for a hurricane to barrel down upon us. I worked until about 2 pm when the tornado warnings started hitting our area. We spent the rest of the evening watching the news and trying to keep my son distracted. We all slept in our room (dog in her crate as usual, son on an air mattress, and cat locked in the closet) in case of more tornado warnings. We were very worried about the big tree in our front yard. Thankfully, ear plugs and a sound machine blocked out the worst of the wind, and I managed to get some sleep that night, albeit waking up every few hours.

Thursday - 3 miles easy.
Woke up with power and felt extremely grateful. The front tree lost a few branches, but was fine otherwise. Our backyard, however, was not so great. A fruit tree fell and smashed into one of our fence panels and was resting precariously on our pool screen, but thankfully, did not damage the cage structure. That was the most damage we had, and again, we felt extremely grateful considering the devastation in other parts of the state. The storm had weakened substantially by the time it got to our house in northeastern Polk County. Even still, when I woke up in the middle of the night the wind and rain sounded terrifying.
I considered doing a treadmill run, but decided against it in case we lost power later in the day. (Sometimes power goes out after the storm as the crews work on repairs.) I took the dog out for several walks since we couldn't let her outside due to the broken fence. The kid came too, on his scooter.

Friday - 3 miles easy, total time 42:15, avg pace 14:14.
Back out for a run, and while I would NOT want to go through Hurricane Milton again, it did bring cooler weather. See my avg pace for this run? Woot, woot! This was my first run since April in less than 70 degree weather, not counting my vacation in Seattle this summer. It felt so incredibly nice not to sweat the instant I stepped outside. My last mile was 14:00 and it did not feel like much effort for me at all. I did the shallower incline followed by the big hill.

Sunday - 6.24 miles easy, total time 1:30:57, avg pace 14:35.
Started this run at 8:25. Trying to get as much long run training during the sun and heat as as I can stand, and hoping I'm overprepared and the marathon is overcast and cool. I ran through all the subdivisions in my larger neighborhood. I stopped a little after 3 miles to refill my handheld and run my hands through cold water. I did spend almost 10 minutes in zone 3 thanks to the hills, but overall this run felt very comfortable and strong.
Mile 1: 14:46
Mile 2: 14:32
Mile 3: 14:31
Mile 4: 14:49
Mile 5: 14:43
Mile 6: 14:11 (wheee!)
.24: 3:24 (14:21 pace)
I was scheduled for 6 miles, but did an extra .24 to get a Garmin 10k badge. When I got home, I realized the badge is for this upcoming weekend. Oh, well.


I did not do any strength training this week. I blame Milton.


Glad to have only missed two runs this week. Let's not do this again, okay, Florida?

 

[superchime]

Glad you made it through the hurricane relatively unscathed. I saw a map that showed all of the tornadoes! Wow, that was a lot!

And, you made me realize I should probably be doing as much running as possible during the warmer parts of the day (even though "warmer" here isn't super hot right now), to stay ready for January. Good thinking!

 

[nancipants]

October 14 - October 20
Finally, an uneventful week! And even better, we had our first “cool” front and had some morning temps in the 50s. It was glorious for running!

Monday, October 14 - 3.06 miles, total time 44:05, avg pace 14:43
Easy run. I had vertigo for over a week starting the day before the hurricane hit and it was worst in the mornings. This morning it particularly annoying and kept me slower than I wanted. (Although that’s probably a good thing for an easy run, ha.) I kept having to make sure I didn’t look over my shoulder too fast and kept my head looking straight ahead. Thankfully, the vertigo seems to have mostly subsided.

Wednesday, October 16 - 10k tempo run.
3.03 miles, total time 42:43, avg pace 14:06.
Workout called for 1 mile warm up, .66 miles at 10k pace x2 with 2 min rest, 1 mile cool down.
I cut the cool down in half because i started too late and had to get home to see the kid off to daycare.
Despite it being warmer than I wanted, I hit my paces and was glad to see my second interval was slightly faster, considering how much harder the second one felt.



Thursday, October 17 - 3.06 miles, total time 41:43, avg pace 13:37
See that avg pace?? Yeah, this was an easy run! A minute per mile faster than average! I need to run in 57 degree temps more often! It was so nice, I did the big hill.

Friday, October 18 - 3.03 miles, total time 42:53, avg pace 14:10
Not as fast as the previous day. Temp was 63 degrees so it still felt great. My shins were really bothering me during this run, though. I’ve had calf/shin soreness on and off during my runs lately. It seems to go away after a few miles, so I think it’s just stiffness in my calves and I need to stretch and do more strength training. What else is new?

Sunday, October 20 - Marathon tempo run.
6.23 miles, total time 1:26:26, avg pace 13:50
Workout called for 1 mile warm up, 4 miles at marathon pace, and .5 miles cool down.
I ended up doing 10k to get a Garmin badge. Did an extra .5 at m pace to make up for walking up the big hill during mile 4, and the rest extra mileage was easy pace.
This was a really great run. I went out later in the morning to keep training in the warmer/sunny weather.
It was really breezy, which felt nice, but was a pain to run into.
I took the dog for a walk around the block as a semi warm up.
I ate an applesauce pouch right before the run and filled my handheld with two scoops of berry Tailwind. I refilled with plain water at the 1 hour mark.
I had no stomach issues despite not eating much beforehand, so I’m hoping I can continue with two scoops of Tailwind per hour as a fueling strategy, because it really is super easy and I hate gels.
Here are my splits:

I got home and was roped into playing hide and seek so I didn’t refuel as quickly as I needed to and got a headache later in the afternoon.
Had a bagel and protein shake after my shower, then we went to a new pizza restaurant for lunch, which was sorely needed. I also think I need a coke right away.

Looking ahead in the plan. I was supposed to run the Space Coast half on December 1. However, it’s looking like it’s not going to be feasible for me to get over there. So I’m going to have to see about potentially changing around the plan to accommodate a more local race the following week, changing my training to accommodate no race at all, or just doing my own half marathon with my husband as water stops. Stay tuned!

 

[Scootin'By]

Looking ahead in the plan. I was supposed to run the Space Coast half on December 1. However, it’s looking like it’s not going to be feasible for me to get over there.

That's too bad. It's frustrating when plans change so close to the event (yep, 6 weeks is close enough).

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Looking ahead in the plan. I was supposed to run the Space Coast half on December 1. However, it’s looking like it’s not going to be feasible for me to get over there. So I’m going to have to see about potentially changing around the plan to accommodate a more local race the following week, changing my training to accommodate no race at all, or just doing my own half marathon with my husband as water stops. Stay tuned!

Sadness! Have you considered the Orlando Half at all? I did it a couple of years ago and they had great post-race snacks

 

[nancipants]

Sadness! Have you considered the Orlando Half at all? I did it a couple of years ago and they had great post-race snacks

Yes! I was debating between those two races initially. I thought Space Coast would work out better and Billy advised that weekend would work better training-wise, but the logistics don't line up this year, sadly.

Hilariously, I used to work for the company that sponsors the Orlando half, and one of the employee perks was free registration. Of course, when I worked there, I wasn't a runner.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Hilariously, I used to work for the company that sponsors the Orlando half, and one of the employee perks was free registration. Of course, when I worked there, I wasn't a runner.

That's right! I remember we talked about that - what a bummer to miss the free race! But I would say the quality of the post-race offerings offsets a significant amount of the price!

 

[nancipants]

October 21-27

I'm so hungry all the time. I've been told this is normal during marathon training. And I'm not even at high (for me) mileage yet. Gulp. (Literally!) I'm also tired, which is probably due to running and general stress about the state of the world.

October 21 - 3 miles easy.
3.06 miles, total time 44:06, 14:23 avg pace
I wrote a note that said the outside of my right foot hurt. It hasn't bothered me since, so I think stretching more helped. Or perhaps my shoe was tied weird.
I had previously been running before my son went to school, but I changed it around to leave after he does. It was just getting too hard to drag myself out of bed, especially when it's dark, and I'm not a fan of running in the dark for multiple reasons. I don't mind it at races, but not on my own, as I'm sure many female runners understand.

October 23 - 10k tempo.
3.43 miles, total time 48:09, avg pace 14:02.
1 mile warm up, 2 X .66 miles at 10k pace with 2 min rest, 1 mile cool down.
First interval was 12:43 pace, second interval was 12:39 pace. I'm glad the second interval continues to be faster.
This tempo run felt a lot better than the previous week's. My run pace was slightly faster, but mostly I just felt better and my heart rate was a lot lower than the previous. The weather was slightly cooler, but I also like to think it was just a better run, ha!

October 24 - 3 miles easy.
3.01 miles, total time 44:42, avg pace 14:51
Nothing special about this run. It was mostly in zone 1. Nice negative splits. My body definitely warms up the more I run, which is good for a marathon.

October 25 - 3 miles easy.
3.05 miles, total time 45:00, avg pace 14:45.
Did this on the treadmill since I had to run earlier. This was nice mental training for the marathon because I did NOT want to run. I put on the 2024 marathon livestream from Travel With Josh and Taylor and it was good motivation. I was ready to be done after the second mile, but I gave myself an extra walk interval and was ready to finish strong. This is good info to keep in mind when I'm feeling "done" during the marathon, when there are character stops to break up the monotony.

October 27 - 7 miles easy.
7.31 miles, total time 1:47:09, avg pace 14:39.
Practiced my fueling strategy. Had a nutrigrain bar before the run and 2 scoops of tropical Tailwind in my handheld. I refilled with berry Tailwind after 1 hour.
I had some stomach discomfort between miles 4-5, but I didn't have to sprint to the community bathroom, and it eventually went away. I'm trying to pin down the culprit: the nutrigrain bar beforehand? The caffeine in the tropical flavor? That would be a bummer because it's my favorite flavor. Having too much Tailwind to start? I'll have to experiment on my next run.
Overall, I was really proud of this run. My splits were kind of all over the place, but I forced myself to stay slow and keep my heart rate down. I listened to a podcast, which finished around mile 5, so I decided to listen to Happily Ever After, which gave me a much-needed mental boost. When that finished, I listened to Illuminations with the Holiday Tag, which turned me into a weepy mess. I was literally holding back sobs during the last .5 miles. But it was my fastest part of the run and my body felt great, so maybe I'll just make myself cry during the marathon?

After my long run, I came home, took a shower, and promptly headed to Magic Kingdom to finally see the Halloween decorations. We were only there for 3 hours but whew, my body felt it after that run. I'm going to repeat this foolishness in two weeks when I go to Legoland for the first time with visiting friends after my 8 mile long run. YOLO, right? It's good time on feet training.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Running down main street will make you cry. Running into Epcot at the end of the full will make you cry. Running through BB parking lot will make you WANT to cry . Plenty of opportunities for tears.

My psa for marathon training and exhaustion is to get your iron checked (especially if you have heavier periods) if this is a beefy jump in mileage for you. And I don’t just mean your hemoglobin; ferritin serum should get checked as well. This is especially true if you’re vegetarian/vegan.

But yeah. Hungry all the time and tired is kind of par for the course. I was falling asleep every afternoon (even with a 10pm bedtime and getting up at 7 or 8…so PLENTY of sleep) and my doc ordered the iron test and whatdoyaknow I was 1 point from “hey we’re gonna give you an IV”

 

[sandam1]

I'm so hungry all the time. I've been told this is normal during marathon training.

What is your nutrition like immediately after your run?

I heard Jeff Galloway suggest getting protein and carbs within 30 minutes after finishing a long run and his reasoning totally makes sense (it involves your body dumping hunger hormones into your system in response to the extreme exertion of the long run). I follow it religiously, but on the rare occasions when it doesn't happen (Disney!), I get the significant run-gries for the next couple of days.

 

[nancipants]

What is your nutrition like immediately after your run?

I heard Jeff Galloway suggest getting protein and carbs within 30 minutes after finishing a long run and his reasoning totally makes sense (it involves your body dumping hunger hormones into your system in response to the extreme exertion of the long run). I follow it religiously, but on the rare occasions when it doesn't happen (Disney!), I get the significant run-gries for the next couple of days.

Bagel, electrolytes/protein, usually another snack mid-morning. I've had issues with migraines from not refueling properly so I make sure to eat as soon as I sit down at my desk. It's more in the afternoon when I feel hungry, even after eating a big lunch!

 

[RuntheMouse]

I'm so hungry all the time. I've been told this is normal during marathon training. And I'm not even at high (for me) mileage yet. Gulp. (Literally!) I'm also tired, which is probably due to running and general stress about the state of the world.

I can really relate to this. Training for my first, I used to tell DH that my stomach was eating itself. I make my own energy balls with PB, oats, honey, craisins/raisins and salt that are always in my freezer/fridge. I pop one as soon as I get back from my runs, keeps the monster at bay with zero effort.

Another vote for getting your iron/ferritin checked. Be kind to yourself, you are doing hard things!

so maybe I'll just make myself cry during the marathon?

No worries, it’ll happen on its own!