Tag Archives: marathon training

by

Marathon Tomorrow!!

I run the Bob Potts Marathon tomorrow!! Woo hoo!  I’ve been training for this marathon for the past 18 weeks and tomorrow is finally the big day!  The race is an out and back on a trail trail and finishes at a college stadium.  I really hope everything goes well and my friend Amy and I finish together!! It is supposed to be HOT HOT HOT, so I am trying to get my race day outfit together.  I ordered this tank top a few weeks ago for the race…

Brooks Glycerin tank – I already have this one in a black and white print but I wanted to order it in a bigger size so it was a bit longer.  I ran in it last weekend and really liked it.  I love that it has a zipper pocket in the back.

Some things I’m loving this week:

CARBS

shrimp risotto

Mini bagels!

(I’m probably carbing up a bit much, but I like the excuse) I’ve been loving the white pasta a lot this week.

I’m loving my black sparkle TOMS and wore them almost every day to school this week. They are SO comfortable! When I first got them, they rubbed on the back of my heel a bit, so I wore socks with them in the winter.  I guess they just needed to stretch out a little, so they are perfect now and I really want a new summery lighter color.

Also loving the low mileage from this past week.  I ran 3.5 and 2.5 this week and loved taking it easy on the treadmill.  I really wanted to do some Yoga this week, but it always makes me sore when I’m not used to it so I avoided it.  I hope my legs feel fresh tomorrow!

Loving the great sleep I’ve been having over the past two weeks.  After my body calmed down after the 20 miler, I started sleeping again.  I was really having trouble staying asleep throughout the entire night when my mileage was higher, but it has been so much better the past two weeks.  I’m sure the marathon will upset my sleep patterns for the next few nights, but that’s okay.

by

Hungry All The Time

Tuesday: 2 mile walk and 20 minute YogaDownload video on YouTube

Wednesday: 6 miles (58:09)

I could not get myself to run yesterday.  I always take Monday off and I was just so exhausted after school yesterday, I just came home and sat on the couch.  I convinced myself I could just go for a walk and do some yoga to stretch out my legs and it would be okay.  I have not been following my training plan very well this spring, between the pulled calf muscle and just feeling too busy I haven’t been able to run as much as I should.  After I hurt my calf and took off a full week, I almost always took off one of my shorter mid-week runs each week.  I always did the mid-week long and the weekend long.  So, I would not suggest trying to train for a marathon this way, because it almost always ends in injury.  Luckily, the race is soon and I my legs are feeling pretty good.

I forgot to post this picture with my 20 mile post, but this was the food I packed to take with me to the rail trail for my 20 miles last Saturday.  I am loving the mini bagels with Peanut Butter and Co (best peanut butter ever… and now Target sells it!!!) and had one next to my bed to eat at 5:30 am Saturday morning before I went downstairs at 6am to try to eat some oatmeal.

Love my lemon-lime gatorade, vanilla GU, PB Luna protein bars and GOLDFISH CRACKERS. Yes, I’m still obsessed with them and I am currently out and very sad.  Those little fishies hold me over at school because… I AM HUNGRY ALL THE TIME.  It’s actually really annoying, but I feel like my appetite is starting to calm down.  I wasn’t that hungry Saturday after running the 20, but I was starving Sunday-Tuesday.  I seriously want to eat every hour.  I’m currently eating these…

I might as well just finish the bag tonight since I’m sad that I’m out of goldfish crackers.

 As I’ve mentioned before, I am completely in love with my Walmart compression socks.  Yes, I have the cute pink running compression sleeves but there is no stopping these tan babies.  They are awesome and super tight.  I went to Walmart Saturday night and spotted these gorgeous OPEN TOE socks!! I’ve been telling my friend Amy to buy them for the past 6 months and when I found these (across from the pharmacy), I had to take a picture to send to her.  Just look at that picture! A couple wearing those open toe tan beasts and they are playing footsies under a table?! Amy couldn’t resist and she bought her and her husband a pair.  She is obviously required to reenact this photo and send it to me so I can post :)

On a serious note, I have been having major sleep issues over the past month or so.  I can fall asleep, but I can’t stay asleep more than 4 hours.  I’m exhausted and I’m noticing a pattern where it is worse the day or two after a long run.  I’ve never had this happen before!  I’m hoping it goes away after the marathon, because I would love to sleep past 3 am.  Does anyone have trouble sleeping or staying asleep after long runs?

by

20 Miles!

Saturday: 20 miles!!!!! (And it was actually faster than the extremely hot 18 miler two weeks ago!)

I couldn’t be happier with my 20 miler!! Amy and I had PERFECT weather Saturday morning!  I set my alarm for 5:30 am and had a bagel with pb waiting for me on my night stand.  I wanted to make sure I ate food early enough because we were aiming to run by 8:00.  I ate my pb bagel and laid in bed until 6:00, ate half a bowl of overnight oats and drank lots of water.  We were at the railtrail and running by 7:50 and the weather was about 40-something degrees. Crazy, but that is absolutely perfect to me! It only got to almost 50 degrees by the end of our run. I was very happy with my splits (I always hit the lap button by accident so that is why there is an extra “lap” at 11) and we stopped our watches once at mile 10 at the car and again at 13 for a bathroom break.  The 11 mile splits were a quick walk to put down our gatorade bottles and deal with GU packets in my SPIbelt.  We finished the run with smiles on our faces and we were still waving to other runners that passed us on the trail at the end!  That is how you know your 20 miler went well… no crying, no limping just smiles and conversation with a great friend :)

My parents invited Colby and I over for dinner Sunday night after I FINISHED MY FINAL GRAD PAPER FOR MY LAST COURSE OF MY MASTER’S DEGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I’ve never been happier to submit a 26 paper! My parents just got a new walkway and grill in their backyard, so my Mom made Dad and Colby burgers and we had veggie quesadillas.

We grilled the quesadillas on the grill in a pan she got at Williams Sonoma for the grill and they were great.

She also made this orzo salad from this cookbook that was really good…

I also got to spend some quality time with this little man.  What a tough but rewarding weekend! As long as my final paper is okay, I finished my Master’s Degree and had a successful 20 miler! Woo hoo!

by

Rail Trail Redemption

Tuesday: 41:28 outside

Wednesday: 1:26:33

I was going to run 4-5 miles on the treadmill at the gym yesterday after school, but was just too tired.  I got up some courage and decided to run outside in my neighborhood.  I’ve been avoiding running outside on the road because of the calf injury I dealt with a few weeks ago.  The hills just always killed my calf so I’ve been sticking to treadmill and the flat rail trail.  I decided to just walk the major hills and run comfortably.  It was soooo nice running outside on the roads. I ended up just walking a few times and keeping a 9:45ish pace.

I ran 9 miles on the rail trail with Amy after school and we were fired up.  We are really getting sick of running on the rail trail and feeling like it slows us down.  Colby feels the same way and thinks it is really tough running on the flat gravel for long runs.  We’ve been running probably 30 seconds slower for every mile.  We also had that very long and hot 18 miler on Sunday on the trail and it was enough to make me go crazy.  We just started out fast today in hopes of finishing early.  We ended up holding around a 9:30 pace the whole time! We were breathing heavier than usual, but still able to talk.  I was so happy that we were able to run faster on the trail for the whole 9 miles.  It really gives me hope for my 14 miler this weekend and 20 next weekend.

We walked a little at mile 5 when we turned around at 4.5 and had to stop to cross a road at mile 8.  Overall, I was very happy and I’m feeling a little more optimistic about our upcoming long runs.  We even kicked it in and did a 8:44 for the last mile :)

With the extra mileage, I’ve been eating tons of Goldfish crackers.  Why are they so good??? I guess I’m just craving salt.

I’ve been drinking lots of lemon-lime Gatorade too.  It is by far my favorite flavor and I’ve been taking it on all my runs.

I also had to buy two big bags of twizzlers yesterday at the grocery store. So gooood!

by

New Shoes and GU

Wednesday: 9 miles – (1:29:11)

I went to the rail trail on Wednesday and ran 9 miles with Amy.  I ran 4 on the treadmill Monday and had to switch my usual Tues/Weds/Thurs runs to Mon/Weds/Fri this week.  I had a lot going on with school and was busy each night.  Amy and I felt great on the trail Wednesday and were surprised to pick up the pace a bit compared to our past few runs.  I forgot my Garmin at home, so I tried to only ask Amy our splits at each mile so I didn’t annoy her too much :)

I was VERY happy to run Wednesday in NEW SHOES!! I have to admit… I’ve hated the new version of the Brooks Adrenalines (the 12′s) but loved the old 11′s.  I found the 11′s online for around $65 and got them in the mail in time for my 9 miler.  I also got new nutrition for my 18 miler tomorrow…

Oh vanilla bean GU’s… let’s give it another try this year.  I was using shot bloks, but they really didn’t agree with me for my 15 miler a few weeks ago when I got sick.  Now I’m scared of them and don’t want to try them again.  I used vanilla and chocolate GU’s last year (the only flavors I can handle) so I will try them out again this weekend.  BUT… I did feel really nauseous when I got home from the 9 miles on Wednesday this week. What is that?!? I’ve never gotten sick after long runs until this spring.  I think I need to start drinking gatorade during these longer runs because I might be low on sodium or something.  I hate feeling sick after running! My calves have been feeling great though and I am so happy I took off that week when my left calf hurt!

Colby and I getting ready to head to the high school for my concert Thursday night.  My music department (the music teachers in my district) put on a concert each year where we perform and it is always so much fun! I was pretty wound up over it Thursday because I was playing a bunch of challenging pieces, but everything went very well!

Sorry for my poor posture, it was a long day.

Have a good weekend! Looking forward to my 18 mile run tomorrow and seeing how my body holds up!

by

Lots of Ice

Friday: 45 minute “PiYo” class

Saturday: 8 mile run (1:22)

I didn’t have school yesterday, so I decided to go to a new yoga/pilates class that my gym offers Friday morning.  Yesterday was the first time the class was offered, so I was excited to see what it was like.

I really liked the PiYo class, but it wasn’t what I expected at all! It was a mix of pilates and a little yoga like I expected, but mixed in cardio elements and toning (squats, lunges, etc).  I worked up a sweat but was worried that I pushed my recovering left calf too much.  I tried to modify the lunge/squat moves and took breaks.

 

 

 

I iced my calves with frozen vegetables again.  Since I was already sitting on the kitchen floor, I figured I would practice my trumpet.  What … you don’t practice your trumpet and ice your calves on the kitchen floor?  I’m playing for two church services Sunday and have some more trumpet things coming up this month.  I’m not sure if I ever mentioned this was my primary instrument on the blog? I play violin more now, but trumpet was my main instrument in college.

 

I ran 8 (PAIN FREE!!!!!) miles this morning on the rail trail with Amy.  We kept around a 10 minute pace and felt great.  I really needed the mental boost from this run to prep me for my 18 miler next weekend!  I came home and dumped a huge amount of ice in the tub.  I haven’t taken an ice bath since my marathon training last year and I was scared to get in.  I am really trying to take care of my legs until the race.  I will keep icing, stretching, yoga-ing, and foam rolling until the marathon to keep my legs happy!

 

by

Weekend Bike Ride

Saturday: 16 mile bike ride (1:56:03) 

Sunday: 45 minute yoga (YogaDownload – HardCORE workout)

Since my calf injury and running in pain last Tuesday, I took the rest of the week off and skipped my long run of 16 yesterday.  Kinda freaks me out that I skipped my 4, 8 and 16 mile runs for week 11 of my marathon plan, but I know it’s all for the best.  I decided to ride my bike next to Colby for his 16 mile run on the rail trail yesterday.  Our marathon is on our local “rail trail”, which is a 21 mile long trail along old railroad tracks that starts in PA and crosses over the boarder to MD.  Our marathon will be 13.1 out and back that finishes up at one of our college’s tracks.  It is nice that there is no traffic, it is completely flat and you can train on the race course.  The only downside is the gravel surface that Colby and I think slows us down a bit.

Remember my little girl bike?? It is a “Specialized Hard Rock” with adult sized wheels and a youth sized frame I’ve had since I was about 13 years old.  I know, I could probably upgrade.

Ready to go ride… and it was COLD!  We left the house early and I quick grabbed my running gloves and extra zip jacket.  Good choice because I was freezing the whole time.  I ended up wearing both zip jackets and gloves and wish I had my winter headband.

Cute views from the road.

I almost completely wiped out trying to take a picture of Colby running while riding my bike and holding my iPhone.  I actually laughed out loud and was happy nobody was around me.

YogaDownload is having a Spring sale (30% off everything) that ends tonight.  Download yourself a new video or podcast.  I downloaded a few new free 20 minute videos/podcasts and bought a new 45 minute “HardCORE” workout that had me sweating this morning.  I used to stay away from the workouts that are “audio only” because I thought I wouldn’t know what I was doing.  There is always a PDF “pose guide” that goes along with the workout.  I think I prefer this now because it is less distracting than watching a video.  I like having the pose guide up on my computer as the audio plays.  I also like looking at the pose guides before I download a workout to get an idea of what it will be like.

(pose guide)

Also, check this lady out:

LOVE her blog and thought this video on a post about her awesome abs was really great! I can’t wait to try out some new poses for core strength!

by

When Your Running Nutrition Fails…

Saturday: 15 miles (2:41:33)

My workouts have been full of breakups lately… two weeks ago it was the breakup with BodyPump.  Pulled my left calf muscle during lunges and have been trying to get it back to normal ever since.  This weekend? My breakup with these …

I LOVE the tropical Shot Bloks! What happened?? We had such a good thing going this year and I thought I found a winner for the marathon! Lets go back and recap the 15 miler yesterday morning…

Colby and I drove to the railtrail to run our 15 miles yesterday morning.  It was raining when I woke up and slowed down a bit by 10:30 when we got to the trail and about 50 degrees.  Amy and I rocked some awesome baggy rain jackets and baseball hats and set out for her longest run ever! (I promised her I wouldn’t take a picture of us) We decided to take it easy and aim for a 10:00 min/mile pace so we would feel good, especially with my calf.  I took my 7 mile mid-week long run off on Thursday and I think it definitely helped.  The flat trail running also was great for my calf and it wasn’t much of an issue.

Amy and I love those Shot Bloks. Since a pack of them 2 servings, I was aiming to take one blok every 2-3 miles.  This probably isn’t enough, but I thought for a 15 miler, it would be fine.  We love taking these because they are so easy to swallow and taste great! Little did I know, they were all just sitting in my stomach the entire time and I wasn’t digesting them at all…

I started feeling really dizzy and light-headed around mile 11 and we started taking walking breaks.  We walked almost a half a mile during mile 12 and 15 but Amy was patient with me and we were just so happy our legs felt great.  I was kinda confused on why I was feeling so light-headed.  Since Colby finished so much earlier than us, he drove home and Amy drove me home.  On the ride home I started feeling super nauseous.  About a mile away from my house (sorry for the TMI) I yelled for her to pull over and got sick in someones front yard (oops).  None of my blue shot bloks digested and they must have been sitting in my stomach during the entire run :(  I felt absolutely horrible, but we could not stop laughing as we pulled into my driveway.  It was just such a ridiculous situation :)

I don’t think I can chance it for next weekend’s 16 miler and need to go buy some GU’s.  Last year I used them during my training runs and the marathon and took a chocolate or vanilla every 40 minutes.  I guess I’ll see how it goes next weekend…

When I got home, it took everything for me to shower and get in bed.  I put a towel over my pillow and laid there with wet hair hoping my stomach would calm down.  I drank a ginger ale and it helped a little. After a few minutes Colby asked what he could get me to eat that would make me feel better.

I wanted salt. And LOTS of it and knew that McDonald’s fries would taste soooo good.

I also really wanted a sprite from McDonald’s.  Something about that paper cup and the straw that makes it taste so good when you are sick!  I inhaled my fries and sprite after being home for about an hour and passed out.  When I woke up, I felt SO much better and a little hungry so I was happy to have dinner at my parents and go to see The Hunger Games with my mom and Colby.

Colby just finished the first book this past week and my mom and I read all three books.  I like them, and thought the movie did a good job of fitting almost everything in from book one.  It did seem to go pretty quickly for a movie that was over two hours.  I liked it, but I’m not obsessed.  Not like I am with Twilight… :)

What running fuel do you use? GU? Bloks? Did you ever get sick after a long run?

Did you see The Hunger Games this weekend?

by

Skipping A Run

Tuesday: 4 miles (38:56)

Wednesday: 3 miles (29:26)

When is it okay to skip a mid-week run?

For me, I guess it is okay if I skip my 7 tomorrow.  I absolutely HATE to skip my mid-week “long” run.  All I can say is, “whyyyyyyyy BodyPump whyyyyyy?!?!”.  We had such a great thing going for almost a full year! I wrote about it in a previous post, but I definitely pulled a muscle or something in my left calf at BodyPump last Tuesday.  I just just lunging my little heart out and then something didn’t feel right.  I thought it was getting better because it was okay for my 10 mile run on Sunday, but it hurt again yesterday.

I had a really good time running with Amy through an unfamiliar park.  The new scenery was so nice, but it was kinda hilly and every time we ran up a hill I could feel a strain on my left calf.  You wouldn’t be able to tell from the elevation chart Garmin has on my upload…

Come on Garmin!!! What is that?!? How am I supposed to tell anything from that?? Yeah, cause I obviously need to see -200 to 600 ft on the chart…

We ran 3 miles today after school planning to run 7 on Thursday this week.  I just don’t think that 7 is going to happen.  We ran through a different park today with some hills and every time we ran up one I felt like I was limping when I ran.  Probably not the best thing and I should have told Amy (sorry!!) but I thought it wouldn’t be so bad for just a short 3 miler!  I got home and did some hot tub, shower and compression socks that are not coming off until the next shower! I’m just going to take it easy and hope I feel better for my 15 mile run on Saturday!!

Anyone else reading them at the last minute like me? I finished the first two books over the past few days and I’m now on the third.  I even got Colby to read the first one and he is really liking it.  I figure if I can run 15 miles Saturday morning, my reward should be to go to the movies that night!

I really am liking the books a lot and I am excited to see the movie this weekend… but I don’t think they will take the place of my beloved Twilight :)

Is it sad that I’m really excited that the full Breaking Dawn II trailer will be shown before The Hunger Games??  I’ve watched this 15 second clip a bunch of times :)

by

Dead Legs, Garmin Drama and Engagement Photos

Sunday: 10 miles (1:35:50)

 

Today was the end of week 9 in my marathon training.  Thank goodness for back down weeks because my legs are DEAD!  I was really happy with my splits from today, even though I had to get this screen shot from Amy’s garmin.  I am having Garmin drama.  I have the 405 and it has been acting up lately.  It would not hold a charge earlier in the winter, so I was leaving it plugged in all the time.  I unplugged it last night to plug in Colby’s garmin and thought it would be fine because it was charging for over a day.  This morning it was at 11% !!!!! I was SO mad and quick plugged it in to get it to 15%.  It lasted 7.5 miles before it died.   :(    I need to email them and see what is wrong.

The Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan had me do 13.1 last weekend for a long run, 10 today and 15 next weekend.  I thought I would take it “easier” by only doing BodyPump this past Tuesday and run Weds, Thurs, Fri for my mid-week runs.  I already had tired legs from last weekend’s 13 and I am now sure I tweaked something in my left calf at BodyPump during the lunge track Tuesday night.  I just felt uncomfortable during the lunges, my feet were cramping and my legs were tired.  The next day I went out for a 4 miler with Colby and could only do 3.  It was really hot (almost 80… strange for March in PA) and my legs were dead.  I had a little discomfort around my left ankle but couldn’t tell what was exactly wrong.  Then I went for my 7 miler with Amy on Thursday and was in pain.

Happy with our Thursday splits (above) but we walked for over 5 minutes at mile 5 because my calf was bothering me so much.  It started out feeling like ankle pain again, but as I ran more I could tell it was the back of my lower calf.  It didn’t feel better after icing, so I took Friday completely off and skipped my 4 miler for the week.  I think it helped me feel better for the 10 today, so I’m just hoping that if I ice and keep my Grandma/Walmart compression socks on enough it will go away!  So, I am “taking a break” from BodyPump.  We really had a great thing going for a long time.  I think it got my legs super strong for marathon training, but I just think I need to focus on the mileage now.

Last weekend, I was looking for dresses for our engagement photos.  I was looking for a pink wrap dress, but after hours of frustration found these two I liked from Black House White Market.

 

 

I really liked this one, but it was in red and I never wear red!  I just never think it is my color and always go for pink if I am going to wear a bright color.  I almost went for it, but thought I might regret it later.  I ended up picking this one…

 

Please excuse the lazy braided ponytail hair.  I already had the black rose ribbon from another dress so I didn’t have to buy this one.  We took our pictures yesterday and I was a wreck.  It made me SO nervous!  We should get the digitals soon, so I will make sure to share a few good ones :)

I also got my nails done this week for the pictures.  I got a “shellac manicure” that uses special polish and UV light to give a manicure that doesn’t chip and is stronger than regular polish.  This is the polish the lady used and so far, it is awesome.  My nails were really weak and I was trying so hard not to break them before the pictures.  Now they feel strong and look perfect.  I always mess up my nails after they are painted, but these are completely dry as soon as you are finished at the salon.

I know I’ve been a little absent from the blog-writing lately, and I think that was because my weeknights were making me so tired.  Between the running, driving 15-20 minutes to Gold’s for BodyPump classes and grad work (and getting hooked on The Hunger Games books!) it was too much and I was exhausted.  I really think I’m going to enjoy the break from Pump!  Hopefully I will be able to blog more and take care of my legs!