Weekly Training Update

I had a really good productive week and I upped my mileage like I said I needed to in my previous post. Now, I didn't make it to the gym enough for my weight workouts but I don't think I will be able to remedy that this week because I have a business trip and then a girls trip this weekend. I will keep up my running though and do my best to get in my weight workouts when possible. I did swim 500 meters straight this past week and used flip turns on all of my turns so I am proud of that!

Monday - Ran 4 miles
Tuesday - Ran 4.5 miles
Wednesday - Ran 5 miles
Thursday - Ran 4 miles
Friday - Ran 4 miles
Saturday - 750 meter swim, back and bi
Sunday - abs and shoulders workout at home

Weekly Training Update

I'm going to start recapping my weekly workouts again. I want to sign up for a sprint triathlon in the fall, so I've recently incorporated swimming into my workouts and will hopefully be getting a road bike in the next few months. This week was a good week. I need to start running a little further but Phil's work schedule is ramping up so I'll just get up earlier with him and run longer than I have been. Here is what the past week looked like:

Monday: 3 mile run in the morning
Tuesday: 3 mile run in the morning, 1000 meter swim and chest and tri at night
Wednesday: 3 mile run in the morning
Thursday: off
Friday: 3.5 mile run in the am
Saturday: off
Sunday: 15 minutes on stationary bike, back and bi, 600 meter swim

Latest Endeavor - Nike Women's Half Marathon!

I'm so excited to say that I will be running in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco this year! Here is the website if anyone would like more info, although it sold out in the first couple of weeks after registration opened. http://www.nike.com/nikemarathon/

I don't have the mental toughness to train for the full, being an October marathon, it would have meant training in the hottest part of the Texas summer and that is just something I'm not up to! Phil and I are going to spend time with our respective aunts and uncles that live out there and if the soreness I felt after the Austin Marathon is typical, I probably wouldn't want to do any sight seeing after running a full anyway.

I'm going to start a marathon training program at the beginning of August that will lead up to White Rock. I haven't fully committed to running WR, due to the way training tends to control your schedule, but for now it will have me over prepare for San Francisco and if I want to run WR I will be on the right path.

I finally convinced Phil to get fitted for running shoes and since then we've been running together around our neighborhood. I think we live in the only neighborhood in Dallas that has a ton of hills, but it is probably the perfect training ground for San Francisco. This week we've run 4 out of 5 mornings so far, and it has been nice to start our days out with a run. We've seen rain every day for who knows how long, but in the mornings it has been relatively dry. Dodger refused to go today when he saw that it was sprinkling a little hard. The benefit of the rain is that it has been keeping the temperatures outside cooler than normal.

I really need to do some longer runs of 7+ miles but I haven't had the time. I have to volunteer this Saturday at 9:00, so maybe I can convince myself to get up early enough to get in 7 miles but that would be quite a feat. ;)

Random thought, but I will lap my training for the Half from last year pretty soon. I think that will be a year that I've run every week except for the week after the marathon. That is crazy to me!

Marathon Recap!

I realize that I was lazy and never gave a proper marathon recap!

The morning started out quite cool and I dressed in layers that could be easily shed. My dear friend Mar and Phil stayed with me until the start of the race. It was daunting to know that I had 26.2 miles ahead of me, but the weather couldn't have been better and I felt prepared and only slightly worried about my knee.

The first six miles went by quite fast and I was feeling really good. I started shedding some layers as it warmed up. It was so fun to spot Phil and Mar in the crowd cheering for me with my giant sparkly E sign that Mar had made. The hills weren't nearly as hard on me as I thought they might be. My time was pretty decent and my half marathon split was a PR so I was happy about that. The miles between the half and the low 20's were relatively boring and weren't run in the prettiest area of Austin, but it was pretty flat which was nice. It started getting harder after about 20 and I had to load up on the Gu. Mar joined me around mile 22 and it was so nice to have her there by my side. She carried water for me and I really relied on her to keep me going mentally. I can only remember flashes of those last few miles and it is really amazing how you can only have 2 more miles to go and have done so much training and yet your brain is telling you STOP. I was dead tired. But I kept going. Mar left me to run the last bit on my own. It was neat to run around the capital and finish to my name being called out. I was so happy to be finished and to have that medal around my neck!

My official time was 4:31. I was extremely pleased because my first goal was just to finish, my second was to finish in 4:45 and my "extreme goal" was 4:30, so to be one minute off of that made it even better.

The week after the race I was really REALLY sore. It was amazing how once I finally felt back to normal, running still did not feel natural. I felt stiff and like there was something wrong with my gait. It slowly got better and I got back to my usual running routine and definitely enjoyed some time off for other things besides running!

20 Miles - February 4th

Third and final 18+ mile run is done. Woohoo! I was exhausted on Sunday. We had D-Now with church all weekend so we were up late on friday and saturday night, I didn't eat my normal pre long run meal, etc. I normally stop at the water fountains and keep running, but I incorporated more walking into this long run. I think it was for the best because my knee didn't hurt nearly as much, and it extended the time I was out there which I think was for the best endurance wise. It was a beautiful day to run, and I would love it if the marathon weather could be just as nice. I'm proud of myself for completing my long runs no matter what the weather. I've run in rain, heat, wind, cold and mist. It gave me the chance to experiment with my apparel too which is good.

This week I'm focusing on strength training and getting in some shorter runs. Hopefully I can get in a few swims too. Yay for the taper. :)

19 Miles - January 27th

Yes! I know I can run the marathon now. I now have two out of three of my 18 + long runs down...I don't really want to run another long run but almost every marathon training site has said that 3 runs of that length are needed to prepare you for the marathon. My knee is definitely improving...it hurt the last few miles, but it was much improved over my 9 mile run the previous week.

The weather was actually really crazy during this run. It started out much warmer than I like, so after my first loop around the lake I put my long sleeve top in my car....of course I make it to the other side of the lake and it starts to get really chilly...then, the clouds roll in and I get rained on. I make it out of the rain, and finish my run. By the time I get home it is FREEZING. It was strange!

9 Miles - January 21st

This was my first "long run" since I hurt myself. I was pleasantly surprised that my physical therapy seemed to be working, as there was no immediate sharp pain while running. It did start to hurt towards the end, so I decided to stop my run at 9 miles rather than continuing on. It's hard to determine the right balance of pushing myself and allowing myself to heal. I came home and wrapped ice around my knee immediately. I think this really helped keep the inflammation at bay.