weekly recap / May 9-15

Last week was a solid week! – 41.2 miles

Monday
6.05 miles, 50:18, 8:19 pace
BodyPump* at the gym

Tuesday
8 miles, 1:01:46, 7:43 pace
(it sure is easier to run a bit faster at 9am not 5am and on a flat trail not our hilly neighborhood!)
CxWorx** core class at the gym

Wednesday
4.1 miles, 34:29, 8:24 pace

Thursday
8 miles, 1:03:44, 7:57 pace
(great run for 5am in the ‘hood!)
75 minute hot yoga
(it was 106 in the yoga studio – I was struggling! 8 miles + yoga may have been a bit much in 1 day!)

Friday
off – had a doc appt that I had to fast for, so took the day off :)

Saturday
15 miles, 2:07:19, 8:30 pace
gravel roads and trails, lots of hills

*BodyPump is a 60 minute weights class
**CxWorx is a 30 minute core class that focuses on abs, quads and glutes

week 5

My plan was to back off ever so slightly this week … but that didn’t seem to happen!  Next week is my last week before the TAPER starts!!!  My body is R E A D Y!  Actually, my mind is even more ready.  I am tired.  Hard to believe Fall 2012 was the last time I trained for a marathon. I forgot how worn out marathon training makes me.   It really is like adding in a part time job.

Another solid week of 50+ miles :)  51.4 miles

Monday
6.1 miles, 8:17 pace (I had tummy “issues” during the night, and had to swing by the house after 4.5 miles to use the bathroom but then finished the run. I think my body was MAD at me for what I splurged on aka Easter Candy / bread)
yoga

Tuesday
10 miles – speed on the ‘mill
2 miles w/u
5 x mile w/ .25 jogs
6:59 – 6:57 – 6:54 – 6:51 – 6:38
2 mile c/d

Wednesday
8.1 miles, 7:40 pace – intentionally ran hills
it’s amazing what having a Gu before a run does – that little bit of caffeine for this addict and just a big of energy to get me going
yoga – it was a sub teacher and really was more stretching than yoga.  I was bored but it was also probably really good for me :)

Thursday
8 miles, progressive tempo, on the ‘mill
2 miles w/u, then dropped pace each 2 miles
18:02 – 16:00 – 15:00 – 14:11
CXworx core class (knees were achy during the squats/lunges part)

Friday
3.3 miles, super easy, 8:37 pace

Saturday
16 miles, 8:41 pace
“Best of Seattle” loop
I ran slower than normal so I wouldn’t get lost! :)  It was good to have a relaxing long run though!

week 6

Several people I have been running with on Saturday mornings have hit their taper for the Boston Marathon. I am not only jealous they are running Boston, but jealous they have reached the taper phase!! I am not far behind though :)

I FINALLY got in a 50+ week!   52.1 miles for the week

Monday
5.6 miles, 8:32 pace

Tuesday
woke up early like normal, and it was raining.  I decided to run anyway. But this was not the typical Seattle drizzle/light rain. It was POURING. After 2 miles I felt like I had been swimming, I was soaked and miserable, so I headed in with the plan of going to the gym later to finish on the ‘mill.  I did 5 more miles on the ‘mill, varying the incline. So 7 miles for the day.
CXworx core class – and it was TOUGH this week!!

Wednesday
11 miles on the ‘mill, intervals, 8:12 average pace
2 miles w/u
2 x mile w/ .25 jogs
(6:58 – 6:57)
20 min = 2.59 miles = 7:44 avg pace
2 x mile w/ .25 jogs
(6:53 – 6:47)
1.5 mile c/d
S P E N T yet H A P P Y :)

Thursday
5.1 miles, 8:33 pace
legs were tired and heavy and got too late of a start to get in the 6+ I wanted :(
CXworx core class again

Friday
3.5 miles – ran 3 miles super easy then did 4 accelerations to flush out my legs

Saturday
20 miles, 2:48:18, 8:25 pace
slightly slower than last week, but a lot more hills.  A VERY solid long run!!

week 18 (or week 1)

I like to count down my weeks in a training plan … so last week was week 18 … 18 weeks until the Eugene Marathon.  I haven’t registered yet, but plan to (95% sure anyway) before the price increase at the end of the month.

With past marathons, I followed a very detailed training plan – I knew what to run each day because it was on the plan!  This time around, I have an idea and want to stick to an over arching template, but not a precise plan.  I want to train harder, and smarter.

My speed is definitely lacking, so for the next 6 weeks or so I intend to do weekly speed workouts. Then I will start alternating speed and tempo runs.  If I feel like my body can handle it, I may do speed and tempo each week.

This will also be my 1st marathon where I’ll be cross training and doing core & other strength training consistently.  After I ran the Pensacola Marathon in November ’12, my lower back hurt more than anything else.  It was a huge wake up call that if I want to run a fast marathon, I need to train my ENTIRE body.  That spring I did a lot of strength training and crushed my half marathon PR by over 4 minutes.

So here is what my 1st week of non comital yet intentional marathon training looked like:

Monday – 5.1 miles on treadmill – progression run because I was getting bored :) – 8:18 pace average
Tuesday – 6 miles intervals on treadmill – 1.5 mile warm up, 30 min of 2 min on/1 min off, 1/2 mile cool down AND CXworx core class (30 min total core workout)
Wednesday – easy 4 miles, 8:36 pace
Thursday – BodyAttack class
Friday – 4.3 miles, 8:25 pace
Saturday – 11.3 miles, 8:26 pace
Sunday – rest

the week (Feb 24 – Mar 2)

I ran 18.7 miles this week – my old self says that’s nothing to be happy about but my post injury recovering self says WOOWHO!!!

Monday
5 miles (!!), 42:13 (8:27 pace)

Tuesday
40 minute spin, 30 min incline treadmill
3 x [push ups, russian twists w/ 14# medicine ball, pikes w/ 6# medicine ball)
1st set was 20-50-20, 2nd & 3rd sets were 10-50-15
man I was whipped after this!

Wednesday
what is it with it raining every.single.Wednesday?!
ran 4 miles on the treadmill – felt surprisingly natural – probably because I kept it intentionally slow – 34:21 (8:36 pace)

Thursday
just wasn’t in the mood for cardio
weights: bicep bench press, tricep extensions, lateral pulldowns, tricep press, core stuff, and more I’m not remembering … holy kick my tail!

Friday
4.18 miles, 35:41 (8:33 pace)

Saturday
rest

Sunday
5.5 miles, 45:39 (8:18 pace)

the week

I aim to run every other day.  Wednesday’s forecast was RAIN – I woke up around 2am & it was pouring, still pouring at 5am pouring, so I turned off my alarm.  I am still staying away from the treadmill so I can focus on a more natural foot strike as my foot/leg continue to get stronger.  A little rain is fun, but pouring and temps in the 40s is miserable!

Monday
3.5 miles, 30:14 (8:38 pace)
did both this and this core workout.

Tuesday
40 min spin bike

Wednesday
Pilates – she is working me harder each time – both as my foot gets stronger and as I get used to the reformer table. Love it!!

Thursday
3.25 miles, 27:54 (8:36 pace)

Friday
incline treadmill – 2.25 miles/41:14 min
push ups / core

Saturday
4.25 miles, 33:52 (7:58 pace )

Sunday
rest

sit ups? crunches? none of the above?

There is definitely conflicting advice about what is best to tone your abs, strengthen your core, what can actually do more harm than good, what is not worth the effort. It’s confusing!!  As I was doing the 30 day challenge, I was doing sit ups for the first time since elementary school – no lie – back when we did the Presidential Fitness Award – do kids even still do that????

In the beginning I was thinking wow these are strengthening my back, but I wasn’t sure how much good they were doing for my abs.  As I increased reps, my back was not happy.  I wasn’t in pain and nothing major was going on – my back just wasn’t happy – more than normal soreness.  So I did a bit of research – just enough to confirm my thought that sit ups were putting too much pressure on my spine and not worth it when my end goal is a strong, lean core.

My personal opinion (based for more on personal experience than research) is that a variety of exercises is key to a strong core – combo of different types of planks, push ups, crunches, leg raises, and plyometrics/calisthenics.  Too much of any thing does not mean better – and I do think people often focus too much on crunches and not enough on other aspects of core muscles.

I am going to finish out the 30 day challenge – 5 more days – and then come up with a routine that incorporates the listed above and does NOT let me loose the arm strength I have built over the past 30 days of doing so many push ups!