Somehow, The Marathon Returned - comments welcome!

[LSUlakes]

I have another week and a half of vacation and should be able to hit the rest of my runs; then it’s back to Hell - I mean Florida, where I’ll have to heat acclimate again.

While I am not in Florida, but weather wise similar in Baton Rouge, LA. It's really warmed up in the morning over the last week. Up until now, we have had morning lows of 73-75, which is not cool by any measure, but nice for the time of year. Well, its been 78-80 this week and I hate it!!!! To make things worse, this type of weather tends to stay around until at least October. I cant wait for the first cool front that drops the RH% any maybe morning lows in the upper 60's. Next year we plan on a week vacation somewhere in the blue ridge mt area near north Georgia. In early June I think morning lows are still in the 60's... Or so I hope. I should schedule summer trips in higher elevations with 50's for a nice week of running lol.

 

[nancipants]

Well, I'm back in Florida.

July 21 - 27: Did all my runs on this week as well. Was supposed to do hill repeats on Thursday, but I was running in an unfamiliar area that was pretty much ALL hills so I switched to just tempo miles at the end. We went to Bowman Bay on the Washington coast for the morning/afternoon and it was really beautiful there. It was foggy at first, but then the clouds burned around noon. I did my run in the morning while it was still overcast, and later on I did a walk around the shore.

Sunday I had my magic mile. I drove to a nearby trail along the Snohomish River, since it was mostly flat. Because the temps were cooler, I decided to do a full magic mile instead of a half. My time came out to 10:34, slower than my last magic half mile equivalent, but not too bad. I need to play around with what intervals to use for the MM, because 60/30 makes me too exhausted, but 30/30 isn't "fast" enough, so IDK.

July 28 - August 3: I woke up on Tuesday feeling sniffly, but still went out for my race rehearsal run. It went well, and I lamented my imminent return to warmer temperatures. And then that afternoon I started feeling SO sick. My head was pounding and I felt nauseous, so I took my usual migraine meds and laid in bed while waiting for them to kick in. I was so bummed because it was our last full day in Washington and we were supposed to go out to dinner for my MIL's birthday. Thankfully, the meds kicked in mid-afternoon and I felt okay to go to dinner with everyone.

Wednesday we flew home, and Thursday I was still getting over jet lag and my sniffles had turned into a full-blown cold, so I skipped that day's run.

Yesterday I had a 12 mile long run. Since I was still getting over a cold, and it's way too hot even when waking up super early (which I was NOT going to do), I decided to do this on the treadmill. It went fine, mostly, except my lower legs started to really hurt later on in the run. I'm not sure if it was the shoes I was using or if this is just something that happens to me on the treadmill. I wanted to just walk the later miles since I wasn't feeling well, but even walking at 3.0 speed made me feel like I had to really pick up my stride. Today, my shins are sore, but not too bad, and it feels better when I walk. Fueling went well, at least. I tried Dauwaltermelon tailwind I picked up at REI and it was DELICIOUS. That will definitely become my default flavor. I finished the first Corkcicle after 2-ish hours, so I grabbed another one with one scoop of Naked tailwind. I also had two applesauce pouches, a fun-sized bag of M&Ms, and 1.5 corkcicles worth of plain water. I spent the remainder of the day in the pool and playing Mario World 3D with my son.

Speaking of said son, this week he starts kindergarten. Where has the time gone??? Hopefully, my running schedule won't need to change very much since his new school starts around the same time he left for daycare. He might need to leave slightly earlier if he takes the bus, which is fine with me because it means I can run earlier!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Sunday I had my magic mile. I drove to a nearby trail along the Snohomish River, since it was mostly flat. Because the temps were cooler, I decided to do a full magic mile instead of a half. My time came out to 10:34, slower than my last magic half mile equivalent, but not too bad. I need to play around with what intervals to use for the MM, because 60/30 makes me too exhausted, but 30/30 isn't "fast" enough, so IDK.

I've found 40/20 to be a "sneaky" way to still get the 2:1 ratio when 60/30 makes me feel like garbage. At first it's like "hey, that walk break was too short!" But when you realize you only have to run for 10 more seconds, and not twice as many seconds it's a lot more tolerable.

Speaking of said son, this week he starts kindergarten. Where has the time gone??? Hopefully, my running schedule won't need to change very much since his new school starts around the same time he left for daycare. He might need to leave slightly earlier if he takes the bus, which is fine with me because it means I can run earlier!

we still have a month before school starts (after Labor Day up here!) but yeah. It's going to be weird with the baby being in school.

 

[nancipants]

I've found 40/20 to be a "sneaky" way to still get the 2:1 ratio when 60/30 makes me feel like garbage. At first it's like "hey, that walk break was too short!" But when you realize you only have to run for 10 more seconds, and not twice as many seconds it's a lot more tolerable.

Good idea! I tried that on my last "race rehearsal" run and I liked it a lot more than 60/30.

 

[nancipants]

Forgot to mention: I signed up for the Springtime Surprise 10 miler. I will probably regret this when it's April and super hot. But my goal for 2025-2026 is to run a race each month, and I like the 10 miler distance.

 

[LSUlakes]

Forgot to mention: I signed up for the Springtime Surprise 10 miler. I will probably regret this when it's April and super hot. But my goal for 2025-2026 is to run a race each month, and I like the 10 miler distance.

The other race times at Disney have always seemed like a gamble because of weather. I know marathon weekend can be warm, but it's the "safest" race they have regarding temps at least staying below 75 at the start. The good news is its only 10 miles. I dont meant that as in, its only 10 miles, but more as in its not a half or full where you have more time out in the potential heat. Running a Disney race is fun though and I am sure it will be a blast! BTW, are you local to the area or is this a special trip?

 

[nancipants]

The other race times at Disney have always seemed like a gamble because of weather. I know marathon weekend can be warm, but it's the "safest" race they have regarding temps at least staying below 75 at the start. The good news is its only 10 miles. I dont meant that as in, its only 10 miles, but more as in its not a half or full where you have more time out in the potential heat. Running a Disney race is fun though and I am sure it will be a blast! BTW, are you local to the area or is this a special trip?

Thanks! I am local. I did the 10 miler in 2024 and it was so gross out, but it was a lot of fun! I also liked the course a lot, but who knows if it will change with the construction in DHS.

 

[nancipants]

I should probably summarize the last few weeks!

August 4: Strength - upper body with dumbbells.

August 5: Strength - full body kettlebell video.

August 6: Tempo run. 10 min warm up, 1 mile 30/30 intervals, 1 mile 45/30 intervals, 10 minute cool down. The first interval was 12:22 and the second was 11:50. I have a 10k at the end of September and my goal is to run HM pace (which is currently 12:30), so I've been using these race rehearsals to dial in my intervals.

August 7: Took this as a rest day since it was the first day of school!

August 8: Drill workout. This was the second day of school for my son and we dropped him off the first two days, so I did this early and only did the drills so I'd finish in time. It was fine. Acceleration gliders are getting easier and that 5 minute interval was 12:36 overall.

August 9: Rest day. Went to Hollywood Studios.

August 10: 4 x 800s. My first round of 800s. I will eventually get to 14 of them in this training block, but I'm trying not to think about that yet. Since I don't have access to a track, I programmed my workout for half mile repeats with quarter mile recovery walk. My goal was to run 5:50 intervals using 60/30 intervals. My first interval was 20 seconds too fast, but the others were closer to the goal pace. The last interval felt really hard, probably because of the heat, but also because I was going uphill most of the way.
1 - 5:30
2 - 5:44
3 - 5:39
4 - 5:49

August 11: Treadmill progression walk. Strength - legs and arms with dumbbells.
This was also the first day my son took the bus. I usually take a short break to walk my dog in the afternoon, so now I take her to the bus stop and she's become a rock star.

August 12: Had to take my mom to the doctor, so I took another rest day.

August 13: Tempo run. 10 min warm up, 2 miles at 30/30 intervals, 10 min cool down.
1 - 12:07
2 - 12:10
Proud of myself for keeping that pace steady even though I took a few extra walk breaks in the second mile. I had developed a super annoying side and collarbone stitch. Hopefully those will go away with more stretching.

August 14: Strength - abs. 2 mile progression walk. This was a new workout that Chris Twiggs from Customized put on my schedule. He usually has people do 4 miles, increasing pace each mile, but because I don't have time to do 4 miles during the week, he had me speed up every half mile. I really liked this workout and will keep doing it on my cross training days. My walking speed during runs is around 18 min/mile and I'd like to get faster - or at least not slow down when I get tired.

August 15: Hills and drills. 5 min cadence drill, 5 min acceleration gliders, then 4 hill repeats. This was fine.

August 16: Rest day. Went to Animal Kingdom.

August 17: 14 mile long run.
Whew! This was hot. I woke up and Garmin told me I slept poorly and my readiness was low, plus I had a headache. But I had 14 miles on the schedule, so I popped some acetaminophen and got ready.
The sun was just rising when I started, and there was a high cloud cover so I didn't feel ridiculously hot. The first half of the run went pretty well. I ran down the main road outside my house, stopped at a Publix (grocery store) about 2.5 miles away to refill water and cool off, then went down another street to get to another Publix about 3-4 miles from there. I filled up water again, and started the loop back to my house.
At that time the run started to feel much harder and I realized all the clouds had gone away. The sun was beating down on me with no shade and I was so close to calling the run. Except, I was still 5-6 miles away from my house and my husband had taken my son to swim lessons so I had no way to get back home. I slowed down and told myself to just make it back to the first Publix, then I could cool off for a bit, and wait there if I needed him to come get me.
Thankfully, once I turned back on the main road, there was a noise wall that blocked the sun for me and it was such a relief. I made it to the Publix and stayed there for at least 15 minutes drinking water, using the bathroom, and running water on my wrists/face. The water from the fountain was SO cold, and it felt soooo good.
When I finally started the run again, I felt so much better and was able to keep up my intervals back home. I did slow down a bit, but it was around 85 degrees by then, so I don't feel bad about it.
While I like running along different routes, I realized that when it's this hot, I have to run along the main road that has noise walls and trees to block the sun. The heat sucks, but the sun is really what takes it out of me during a run.
Thankfully, I felt pretty good physically during this run. My legs didn't have any niggles. My feet, however, started hurting early on. I think I need more cushion for these longer runs. The Adrenalines were fine for runs up to a half marathon, but they bothered me during the marathon and same yesterday. I ordered a pair of Glycerin 21 GTS to see how the extra cushion feels. If they work, they'll become my long run/marathon shoe. (This, by the way, is one of the reasons I appreciate doing these longer runs. I can figure out what bothers me after 4+ hours on the road.)
My nutrition was thankfully on point. I used my new handheld 20 oz Amphipod and flipbelt with an 11 oz bottle. I filled the handheld with three scoops of Tailwind to start, and added 2 more scoops halfway, just sipping to thirst. I'm trying to work my way up to 4 scoops per bottle, that way I won't have to refill during a half, and only once during a full. The flipbelt bottle was for plain water, and I took about 2-3 ounces every 1.25 miles. I also had an applesauce pouch at the hour 1 and hour 3, and m&ms at hour 2. My energy felt great throughout despite the heat, and to my surprise, I didn't get a headache after the run.

August 18: 2 mile progression walk. This was nice recovery.

This week I'm back to my Tuesday/Thursday run schedule and will be doing strength on Wednesday/Friday. This weekend I have 6 x 800s, which will feel like a cutback after this week.

 

[LSUlakes]

August 10: 4 x 800s. My first round of 800s. I will eventually get to 14 of them in this training block, but I'm trying not to think about that yet.

Yeah, the 14 of those is not going to be a fun outing. I hear doing the Yasso 800 is a fairly decent race predictor for the marathon. I havent done them, but the run group does them once midweek a few weeks before the local marathon and they all have been close.

August 12: Had to take my mom to the doctor, so I took another rest day.

Hope all is well and it was just a normal check-up kinda deal.

 

[The Expert]

The first half of the run went pretty well. I ran down the main road outside my house, stopped at a Publix (grocery store) about 2.5 miles away to refill water and cool off, then went down another street to get to another Publix about 3-4 miles from there. I filled up water again, and started the loop back to my house.

Thankfully, once I turned back on the main road, there was a noise wall that blocked the sun for me and it was such a relief. I made it to the Publix and stayed there for at least 15 minutes drinking water, using the bathroom, and running water on my wrists/face. The water from the fountain was SO cold, and it felt soooo good.

Okay you DEFINITELY need to make this Publix run a thing and FOR SURE need to tag them on your social media posts. You never know -- they may decide to sponsor you!

 

[nancipants]

Okay you DEFINITELY need to make this Publix run a thing and FOR SURE need to tag them on your social media posts. You never know -- they may decide to sponsor you!

Haha, I was fully expecting them to either kick me out or ask me if I needed medical attention.

 

[SimbaMufasa321]

ordered a pair of Glycerin 21 GTS to see how the extra cushion feels. If they work, they'll become my long run/marathon shoe. (This, by the way, is one of the reasons I appreciate doing these longer runs. I can figure out what bothers me after 4+ hours on the road.)

I use the glycerin gts for my long runs/marathons and really like them! They can start to feel a little heavy towards the end but the cushioning is great- doesn't feel too spongy

 

[nancipants]

Well, I didn't like the feel of the Glycerins as soon as I put them on my feet, so I'm going to return them. I'm still on the hunt for a new long run shoe, which I posted about in the 2025 Running Thread. I'm heading to Track Shack tomorrow to get fitted and hopefully find a good match. I'm not in a rush, as my next long run isn't until September 21.


August 19: Tempo run. 10 minute warm up, 2 miles tempo at 30/30 intervals, 10 minute cool down. Goal was to practice being comfortably hard at half marathon pace. Mile 1 was 12:26 and mile 2 was 12:07. Pace was super even for this run.

August 20: Strength - arms with dumbbells.

August 21: Drills and tempo run. 5 minutes cadence drill, 5 minutes of acceleration gliders, 1 mile of tempo @12:29.

August 22: Strength - abs.

August 23: Rest day. Walked the dog.

August 24: 6 x 800s. 1 mile warm up, 6 x 800s (technically .5 mile because I wasn't on a track) at 5:50 with .25 recovery in between, 1 mile cool down.
Rep 1 - 5:28
Rep 2 - 5:36
Rep 3 - 5:35
Rep 4 - 5:48
Rep 5 - 5:30
Rep 6 - 5:34
Started out a bit fast on this one again, but slowed it down for the remaining reps and finished strong.

August 25: Two mile progression walk.

August 26: Tempo run. 10 min warm up, 1 mile at 30/30 intervals, 1 mile at 60/30 intervals, 10 min cool down. Goal was to see if I could get faster, and I did - but at what cost?? (It was hard. Lol.) Mile 1 - 12:23. Mile 2 - 11:24. I slowed down a bunch at the end of the second mile, but still finished.

August 27: Strength - Arms with weights.

August 28: Hills and drills. Still working on increasing my cadence. Acceleration gliders are getting easier. Hoping this will be an "easy" way to help pick up my pace.

August 29: Strength - Core and arm running with weights.

August 30: Rest day. Did a bunch of chores in the AM.

August 31: 17 mile long run.
Woof.
I started before the sun came up at 6:06. I ran 2 loops around my neighborhood and the one across the street that took me to a little over 2 miles. Then I stopped at home because my tank top was not working with my running vest. I changed my shirt, used the bathroom, and headed back out.
I had both soft flasks filled with 3 scoops of Tailwind mix, one Tropical and and one Dauwaltermelon. (Each mixed with naked so it wasn't too strong.) I also had applesauce pouches that I took every 4 miles or so.
I froze one of my extra flasks to keep in the back of my best, and this felt AMAZING. Really helped keep me cool. (Well, not really, it's still Florida in August, but I didn't feel like dying this time.)
I also tried KT tape on the areas I'm prone to get blisters. They worked, but I'm not sure if I liked the feeling. Will have to try again.
I ran the first 8.5ish miles around my larger subdivision, then I stopped at home to refill my flasks and change out the frozen flasks.
I ran down the main road about 3.5 miles, then turned around once I reached the end of the shaded portion. Stopped in Publix for a water break/cooldown. Their water fountain continues to be the coldest. On my way back to my neighborhood, it was around the time my son had a haircut appointment, so I called my husband to tell him to look for me. I spotted them at the traffic light and we waved to each other.
When I got back to my subdivision, I was about 2.5 miles short, so I ran a few more loops to get to 17. I JUST made it home before a huge thunderstorm hit. And my husband and son beat me home.
Overall, this run was fine despite being long and hot. While the route wasn't as interesting, it was mostly shaded which really helped keep from getting overheated. The main problem was, again, the soles of my feet. I tried my Ghost Max on this run, hoping the extra cushion would help, but it did not. Hence going to get fitted for shoes tomorrow! It was a least better than my last long run.
My elapsed time for this run was 4:51:07 and my moving time was 4:10:55. I definitely take advantage of Coach Twiggs' advice to take it slow and take as many breaks as necessary!
Thankfully, I only have one super long run per month for the rest of the training cycle.

September 1: Went to Legoland. Because I did a lot of walking there, I moved my progression walk to Wednesday and did a Core workout at night.

September 2: Tempo run. Stuck to the 30/30 intervals for the two race pace miles. Mile 1 was 12:46 and Mile 2 was 11:59. The only thing different about them was doing a longer run interval at the end of the second mile so I didn't end it on a walk break. I was really not feeling this run, so I was really pleased that the second mile was a lot faster.

September 3: Progression walk.

September 4: Hills and drills. I slept horribly the night before and REALLY wasn't feeling this run, but I got it done. I did longer hill segments this time and didn't feel like dying, yay!

September 5 (today): Strength - arms. I haven't done it yet, but it's on my schedule for this evening.


Coming up on Sunday is a cutback week with only 5 miles, hooray! However, one of them in a magic mile. Since it's still stupid hot, I will probably do a half mile instead.