This is my training journal. I'm bad at titles. (Comments welcome!)

[DopeyBadger]

 

[Naomeri]

Great job!!

 

[HangWithMerida]

Great racing! Congrats on the PR!

 

[striker1064]

Appreciate all the well-wishes!

My 6 mile recovery run this morning went fine outside of residual quad soreness, which is totally normal. All-in-all, this is the healthiest my body has ever felt both going into and coming out of a HM, so that's another win. And that's good, because after this week it's a grueling 30-day push of the toughest training segment.

With the HM behind me, this journal is now once again a safe space to complain about the heat. We're back to near 90F this week!... ugh.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

You ran 6 miles after racing a HM?? Wow!

I am not doing that, or anything else, today

 

[striker1064]

You ran 6 miles after racing a HM?? Wow!

I am not doing that, or anything else, today

@DopeyBadger has no chill. None whatsoever.

Plus, one of the key things to learn about running a marathon is dealing with running on tired legs - and I definitely did that today. It was not so bad once I got through the first mile or so and got my legs moving well again.

 

[DopeyBadger]

You ran 6 miles after racing a HM?? Wow!

I am not doing that, or anything else, today

@DopeyBadger has no chill. None whatsoever.

Plus, one of the key things to learn about running a marathon is dealing with running on tired legs - and I definitely did that today. It was not so bad once I got through the first mile or so and got my legs moving well again.

To be fair, this HM was in the midst of a marathon training plan and was a "B" race. So the beat goes on when training for a M. The recovery is completed by not having the normal hard day as soon as usual. But the volume is still there. If this were an "A" race HM that came at the end of the training plan, then I'd usually recommend a few days completely off from running (depending on when the next "A" race is, appropriate training load, yadda yadda).

 

[NYC_MW]

Nicely done!

 

[striker1064]

September 19 - September 25

Total time: 5h 36m
Total mileage: 33.5 mi

An ever-so-slight adjustment to my training plan this week. We had an overnight trip to NYC Saturday night to catch A Strange Loop on Broadway (author's note: see it if you can!). I had intended to simply do my usual Saturday run before we left and my Sunday run this evening, but the weather forecast was increasingly not great for tonight (Sunday) so I decided to bump everything forward by a day to get it all in. And I'm glad I did that; although the inclement weather hasn't started yet, it is quite warm and humid, with that feeling that the weather is about to throw down.

Monday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 69+64 = 133

• Splits: 10:41, 10:33, 10:36, 10:38, 10:32, 10:28

Although a T+D of 133 was not as bad as we've had, after a cool-down last week it was a most unwelcome visitor. Surprisingly, this run wasn't bad at all. I turned off the slow pace alert on my Garmin and expected this to turn out kind of slow after my HM Sunday and associated soreness, but it was totally fine.

Tuesday: Rest

Surprisingly, Tuesday was my most sore day. I waddled around the office all day and interspersed it with various groans and grunts. I bet I was super popular with my co-workers.

Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 68+59 = 127

• Splits: 10:51, 10:17, 10:34, 10:26, 10:23, 10:12

Thursday: 6 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 73+65 = 138 (gross)

• Splits: 9:50, 9:37, 9:43, 9:41, 9:42, 9:34

Friday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 55+40 = 95

• Splits: 10:07, 10:12, 10:29, 10:28, 10:14, 10:29

LOOK AT THAT TD! Under 100! After glancing at the Sunday evening forecast it was a super easy decision to go run Friday instead of rest; this kind of weather is exactly why I love to run. Clear and crisp with 15-18 mph winds, just the most perfect running weather you could imagine. Of note, my HR was all over the place during this run. I noticed it would bounce into Z4 and stay there from time to time. It could be from starting the first mile too fast, but even still 10:07 is not exactly a hard pace for me. I'm chalking it up to my body simply not being used to running on Fridays, but it's something to monitor at the very least.

Saturday: M Tempo: 1.5 Mile WU (11:03) + 7 Miles Sub-4 (9:00) + 1 Mile CD (11:03); T+D 60+43 = 103

• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, Water
• In-run: Nothing
• WU 11:04, 11:00 CD 10:50
• 7 Miles Sub-4 M Tempo (9:00)
  • Mile 1: 9:17
  • Mile 2: 8:55
  • Mile 3: 8:57
  • Mile 4: 9:06
  • Mile 5: 9:03
  • Mile 6: 9:05
  • Mile 7: 9:01

7 miles at M tempo should normally feel a bit challenging but doable (considering it's about 25% of a full marathon, it shouldn't be too much trouble). And yeah, while the favorable T+D certainly helped, this workout was cake. I had little trouble with it outside of some elevation changes. My HR also remained a bit more steady than it did on Friday, so I'll continue to keep an eye on it for now but all in all I'm not terribly worried about it.

Sunday: Rest and watch the storm roll through while I play Splatoon 3!

Overall I'm very pleased with my week! I mentioned this Monday, but even after a week at close to full volume this is easily the best my body has felt in a training cycle and following a half marathon, so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that keeps up. This week is a totally normal training week with my favorite workout on Thursday, the Block! Then the notorious Fast Finish on Sunday. These were tough in HM training, but Sub-4 M Tempo is slower than my last HM pace so I'm hoping it doesn't give me much trouble. I'm also going in the office Monday this week instead of Tuesday so I'll be tackling my Monday workout Monday evening, for a change.

 

[HangWithMerida]

My husband is also playing splatoon 3 right now. Who knows, maybe the 2 of you have crossed paths before.

 

[striker1064]

September 26 - October 2

Total time: 6h 48min
Total distance: 41.4 mi

Monday: 4.5 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 74+50 = 124

• Splits: 10:31, 10:24, 10:22, 10:19, 10:11

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 54+43= 97

• 10:34, 10:21, 10:27, 10:25, 10:19, 10:39

I am here for any T+D under 100! It's been a beautiful running week.

Thursday: Block: 1 Mile WU (11:03), 10 min each EA (10:22) + EB (9:41) + LR (9:25) + M Tempo (8:38) + HM Tempo (9:17) + LT (8:02) w/ 1 min RI between each pace change, 1 Mile CD (11:03); T+D 61+47 = 108

• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, water
• In-run: nothing (although maybe I should have brought water)
• WU 11:33, CD 12:07
• Splits
  • 10 min EA (10:22): 10:33
  • 10 min EB (9:41): 9:45, 9:04
  • 10 min LR (9:25): 9:24, 9:19
  • 10 min M Tempo (8:38): 8:37, 8:31
  • 10 min HM Tempo: (8:17): 8:26, 8:07
  • 10 min LT (8:02): 8:07, 8:10

In my HM plan, I found the Block to be a great workout for measuring fitness, so I was looking forward to this workout. This was one of the tougher Block workouts I've done, but I'm still closer to the middle of my training than the end so that makes sense. I did have to walk portions of the 1 minute resting interval in-between these, but that's ok - I always worked back up to a slow jog.

The first 3 paces were easy, but that of course is where this workout is deceptive - overrunning the easy paces means that last LT pace will destroy you. I think I did pretty well overall sticking to it. I even found the M Tempo interval to be fairly easy. The HM and LT intervals were quite tough. I'm happy with how this turned out, as both of the hardest paces were pretty much on-target. This was hard! I have the same workout again next week minus the 1 minute rest intervals.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 8 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides, T+D 59+56 = 115; Pouring rain beginning at the halfway point (because of course)

• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, Water
• Splits (9:41)
  • Mile 1: 9:44
  • Mile 2: 9:42
  • Mile 3: 9:52
  • Mile 4: 9:53
  • Mile 5: 9:42
  • Mile 6: 9:48
  • Mile 7: 9:54
  • Mile 8: 9:41

The remnants of Hurricane Ian are moving through our area this weekend, so this was a soggy, cool, blustery run. I stayed rain-free up until my turnaround point, then it poured. Because of course it did. Not the most fun run in the world, but those splits are solid and training in all weather types is important.

Sunday: Fast Finish: 12 Miles LR (9:25) + 2 Miles Sub-4 (9:00); Overcast with steady light rain for almost the entire run

• Starting T+D: 61+59 = 120
• Ending T+D: 59+57 = 116
• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, Water
• In-run: Water, Egel 45:00, Marten CAF 90:00
• Splits LR (9:25)
  • Mile 1: 10:10
  • Mile 2: 9:22
  • Mile 3: 10:02
  • Mile 4: 9:59
  • Mile 5: 10:05
  • Mile 6: 9:51
  • Mile 7: 9:19
  • Mile 8: 9:31
  • Mile 9: 9:37
  • Mile 10: 9:36
  • Mile 11: 9:41
  • Mile 12: 9:43
• Splits Sub-4 (9:00)
  • Mile 13: 9:06
  • Mile 14: 8:49

This was a doozy of a run. As mentioned, we're dealing with lots of rain and wind this weekend. Contrasted to yesterday, today was just a bit warmer, muggier, less windy, and more steady (but lighter) rain. In fact, I'm pretty sure it rained the whole time. I had to dodge puddles and things were more slick thanks to near-24 hours of rainfall. However, I will still take this every single day over the absolutely miserable summer we've had to deal with.

Also, nutrition: I was playing with some calculators for how many Egels I'll need during the marathon, and calculating the amount of water I can get on the course I don't think I can meet my hydration needs without bringing a bottle/belt. And I don't really want to do that. I don't like Maurten gels, but they are isotonic, so every gel I can replace with Maurten is 14 oz water less I'll need during the race. I picked up the caffeine gels, and holy geez these things are terrible. Awful. I hate the consistency and the taste. There's a weird bitterness I can't quite put my finger on, presumably from the caffeine. Box of 12, one down today, 11 to go. Ugh. I just need to learn to tolerate them - the hydration savings will be worth it. I kept it down, that's half the battle.

ANYhoo, outside of the rain, the wind, the considerable distance, and the gross gel, this run was fine. My splits are a little slow at the beginning because the first 6 or so miles were varying degrees of uphill. Then I entered Rock Creek Trail for the first time, and that was just beautiful. I like to run loops that start and end close to our apartment so I have to cover a considerable distance to get there and back, but I was able to do it today and it was worth it. I also felt like I had more than enough left in the tank for my 2 miles at sub-4 and they ultimately did not cause me many problems, so I'm very happy with this.

Now, I'm beat. I try very hard to follow the advice to not be a running couch potato, but I don't think I'm gonna do a single thing the rest of today. The weather is nasty anyway.

Bit of a schedule disruption upcoming, although it's built into the plan - we're heading to WDW at the end of the week through next week, but my plan accounts for that and I plan to get everything in. But the Florida weather will be... unpleasant.

 

[SheHulk]

I haven't tried too many different kinds of gels, but I like the Maurtens way better than Gu. The consistency is gross if you were just going to sit down and eat one, but I find for a race they are actually easier to get down (as long as you aren't expecting it to be a culinary experience) and they settle better once they're in there. I agree though the caffeine ones are a little bitter. I still need some water with mine but less than I would need with a Gu. I tried once just taking them with no water and that was kind of gross.

 

[striker1064]

I haven't tried too many different kinds of gels, but I like the Maurtens way better than Gu. The consistency is gross if you were just going to sit down and eat one, but I find for a race they are actually easier to get down (as long as you aren't expecting it to be a culinary experience) and they settle better once they're in there. I agree though the caffeine ones are a little bitter. I still need some water with mine but less than I would need with a Gu. I tried once just taking them with no water and that was kind of gross.

Oh yeah, note to self is take a Maurten near a water station in the race just so I can rinse my mouth. The taste of Maurten isn't bad, it's mostly the consistency. I hate jello for the same reason and I find Maurten to be very similar.

I don't love Gu, but they're cheap and good for pre-work out. I like Egel a lot better and I find the consistency is better than Gu, to boot.

 

[SheHulk]

Yeah that's a good way to put it -- you need a rinse after!

 

[GollyGadget]

I’ve been trying to figure out race nutrition as well and it’s a challenge. I don’t eat jello, applesauce, or bananas because I can’t stand the texture of any of them. Mostly I just want food that needs chewing but I also can’t figure out how to carry enough water on my training runs without making loops by my house so that’s probably what I’ll have to do.

Anyway, none of that was helpful so here’s one thing you think about: you can take multiple cups of water at the aid stations. I don’t know if that’s enough to make up the difference you need, but I’ve often taken one cup at the beginning and one at the end.

 

[striker1064]

Anyway, none of that was helpful so here’s one thing you think about: you can take multiple cups of water at the aid stations. I don’t know if that’s enough to make up the difference you need, but I’ve often taken one cup at the beginning and one at the end.

Yep! I did 2 per station at the HM a couple weeks ago and that was fine. It just might not be quite enough for the full, and I don't know if I can do 3 or 4 per stop. But maybe I will!

I also can’t figure out how to carry enough water on my training runs without making loops by my house so that’s probably what I’ll have to do.

I have this problem too, and unfortunately leaving water outside our home in a city isn't the greatest idea, nor is running back inside for a refill. One thing that's helped me is understanding I don't need to chase a gel with 14oz of water immediately, so I tend to chug a glass of water before I head out. That can be risky business for a lot of reasons but it's been working. Then I supplement with the 16-20oz I carry during my run (depending on which belt I choose that day). That hasn't caused me any stomach irritation yet, although it is possible it's all in my head and I don't have enough water to fully absorb the gels.

 

[GollyGadget]

Yep! I did 2 per station at the HM a couple weeks ago and that was fine. It just might not be quite enough for the full, and I don't know if I can do 3 or 4 per stop. But maybe I will!



I have this problem too, and unfortunately leaving water outside our home in a city isn't the greatest idea, nor is running back inside for a refill. One thing that's helped me is understanding I don't need to chase a gel with 14oz of water immediately, so I tend to chug a glass of water before I head out. That can be risky business for a lot of reasons but it's been working. Then I supplement with the 16-20oz I carry during my run (depending on which belt I choose that day). That hasn't caused me any stomach irritation yet, although it is possible it's all in my head and I don't have enough water to fully absorb the gels.

That's an interesting thought. I'm probably underhydrated when I take off for most of my runs. I live in a small city so I can fortunately leave water outside of my home, except with winter coming, they will freeze. Eeesh, it's been a while since I've trained through winter and had my water freeze. It's going to be a fun winter! ️

 

[lookingforsunshine]

applesauce

I love applesauce!!! (And jello and bananas for what it’s worth.) I guess I’m just a toddler.

I wish I could just have applesauce on my runs. I’m assuming it’s not enough calories lol

 

[striker1064]

I love applesauce!!! (And jello and bananas for what it’s worth.) I guess I’m just a toddler.

I wish I could just have applesauce on my runs. I’m assuming it’s not enough calories lol

Nah, I love applesauce and bananas, nothing toddler-like about it!

Applesauce pouches are 60 calories and 14g sugar so yep, a bit thin. You might have to eat so many you hate them by the end of a race! But I have seen people using them. It's not the worst idea.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I have had the same thoughts about water and gels. I carry water during training runs but was hoping to rely on the aid stations for MW. Having only done HM distances, I am entering into unknown territory so trying to nail it down over the next couple of months. I considered the Maurten to mix in just for the hydration factor but the caf gels are a hard pass for me. I need to find a regular one to try but my running store only had the caf last time I was there. Sooo bitter. It made me gag. Like I had to stop and gag/swallow just to get it down. The day I tried it, it was the only fuel I had on me so not using it wasn’t really an option. Blegh!