Let’s do two more!
The end of spring always makes me a little sad because it’s the end of racing season. I love racing. I love racing more than I love running in fact… so I race a lot. I thought Broad Street would be my last race this Spring but, oh what the hell, let’s do two more. I’m keeping them simple and short… it’s the theme of the Spring!
I will be running the North Face Endurance Challenge 10K Trail Race in Sterling, VA on June 2nd
Aannnddd the Lawyers Have Heart 10K in Washington, DC on June 9th (I am not a lawyer, but I too have a heart)
I talked Mike into the trail race but I doubt he will get on board with Lawyers have Heart. He doesn’t like summer racing because he’s basically a human popsicle (he melts in the sun).
Questions for you guys:
- What’s left on the your spring racing calendar?
- Thoughts on summer races?
- Sun lover or sun hater?
Broad Street Run 10 Miler – Race Recap / Review
Totally tried to get this up yesterday but it just didn’t happen for me. Too much fun this weekend made for a SLEEPY Monday. Also, it’s raining and cold here which doesn’t facilitate getting pumped up for a Monday. This weekend Mike and I participated in the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia. I jump at the chance to run races in Philly because that is where my best-friend and lady-life partner Sarah lives. Over the past three years of her living in Philly and me in DC, we’ve gotten really good at making the trip and I feel like her friends in Philly are my friends now too! Friday night, we made the trip up I-95N. Saturday included breakfast at Schlesinger’s, a good stretch out at Philly Power Yoga (post coming later this week), a trip down to Lincoln Financial Field to get our race packets, watching the Derby on South Street, and dinner on Rittenhouse Square. Also, Juno was on TV. Whoot whoot! Sunday was, of course, RACE DAY. Here’s how it went.
The race didn’t start until 8:30 pm but you had to take the Broad Street Line subway to get to the start. Races that involve taking public transportation make me nervous (I had an almost calamity at the Baltimore Half Marathon) so we were up and on a train at 6:15 am. We arrived at about 6:40 and then just waited around for almost two hours, which was not my favorite part. Add to that… it was FREEZING and WINDY. Also, they claimed that bag check closed at 8:00 am so I had to part with my warm layers (I should have just done throwaway clothes) for a whole 30 minutes before race start.
The starting area was CROWDED. Huge lines everywhere, massive crowds trying to move around, and people were getting restless / feisty. It wasn’t my most pleasant pre-race experience. At one point, I was trying to get to my corral and I just stood, stuck in a massive, unmoving crowd for legitimately 15 minutes. I never actually made it to my corral. I saw a break in the fence and just hopped in. The corrals were not being strictly enforced at all anyways, and I was getting cranky so I needed to RUN.
Mercifully, I finally crossed the starting line and got going. However, at that exact moment the clouds broke and the sun starting beating down hard. By mile one, I was baking in my long sleeved jacket. I knew I was going to be miserable if I kept it on so I pulled over for a quick minute to remove my layer (I was wearing a tank top underneath), quickly re situate, and get back on the road. I ended up losing about a minute and a half of time, which is fine but kind of annoying. The race course and the crowd support was EXCELLENT. You start all the way up Broad street in North Philly and run a straight shot down Broad, around City Hall, through Center City, and down to the Navy Yard in South Philly.
You know how some days are just great running days? This was not one of those days. My legs just felt tired pretty much the whole race. I was holding a great pace but it felt tough. By mile 5, I was getting tired and I thought to myself “Uh oh, I still have 5 miles to go and I’m already tired.” When I start getting tired during a race, I try and use my ego to my own advantage. I stuck to the outside of the course, so I wouldn’t be tempted to walk in front of all the spectators. Hey, whatever you gotta do right? Coming around City Hall was awesome and I knew that my friends would be on Broad between City Hall and South Street. I saw Sarah (and gave her a high five) but missed Kristy (womp womp). Then it was another ~ 4 miles to go. I was on pace to meet my 10 mile PR from December and, even though I was tired and my knee was starting to hurt a little, I was not going to let up. I kicked it into high gear for the last half a mile and flew to the finish line.
Unfortunately, there was a HUGE backup of people at the finish line, so I was forced to stop completely 1 step across the finish line. Not ideal. I clicked off my watch and didn’t even look at it while I tried to navigate this massive clog of people. When I finally got funneled into the finish area and looked at my watch, I realized that I set a new PR by 4 seconds! 1:31:47 by my clock. However, this is an unofficial PR since my chip time was a 90 seconds longer thanks to my stop to change my shirt. Irritating, but that’s ok. I’ll keep my PR from December for now but I am gunning for a sub 1:30 10 miler this Fall.
I picked up my medal and my finisher food (which was BALLER by the way. Major points for this Broad Street Run. Soft pretzels and a bag of delicious goodies) and made my way into the finish area. If the start area was crowded, the finish area was worse. Mike and I had decided to meet up at the Dunkin Donuts tent. I realized immediately this was a huge mistake, because they were giving out free drink and donut samples. It was mobbed. It took us over 30 minutes to find each other because apparently our bag check bus was late and Mike had to wait for a while to get his cell phone back. After we met up, we took a couple pictures and high tailed it to the subway. Thankfully, that was not as bad as I thought it would be. We got on a train easily and were back in Center City by noon. [As a note, many runners at Broad Street wore Red Socks as a tribute to Boston. It was a really nice touch! And for interested parties, Mike ran approx 1:10. He’s really coming back from his injury and doing great!]
In summation: Broad Street was super fun and energetic! You really get a taste of Philly and that rocks. Logistically, this race is challenging because of the huge crowds and small start / finish areas. I’m so glad we did it and maybe we will in a few years, but not next year.
After bagels and showers back at Sarah’s, we cabbed up to the Northern Liberties for a post race celebration of beer, jenga, and ping pong at Frankford Hall. I wasn’t feeling 100% (I got an exercise induced headache after the race) so I stuck to soda and agreed to be our designated driver. I didn’t mind at all, we had so much fun! By 7 pm, Mike and I were on the road back to DC. We hated to leave Philly (and Sarah) but we’ll be back again VERY soon!
Questions for you guys:
- Have you ever run Broad Street? What did you think?
- Did you race this weekend?
- Favorite beer?
The Spring of Speed
My identity as a runner is not rooted in speed. I have been perfectly happy as a solid middle of the pack runner and get my kicks from distance not time. However, last spring I noticed that I was getting a little bit speedier from not really trying at all. I think I was just getting better at running and training for the marathon, so I was naturally get a little faster. Mike is a speed lover. He loves to push himself to meet new time goals and do track workouts. He pointed out that if I was getting faster without trying, maybe I was more capable of speed if I actually did put some effort towards it. Since my distance game has been off recently (you can read mournful posts here and here), I have officially decided to deem this… THE SPRING OF SPEED!
Some commonly accepted ways to improve speed are:
- Run consistently – this means both during the week (3 – 6 days of running) and throughout the year (don’t “stop running” or get completely out of shape)
- Include speed and hill workouts – Speed workouts are typically slightly shorter and more intense effort than mid-distance or long runs. Some examples of good speed workouts here, here, and here. Hills can mean just including more hills in your running routes or doing specific hill workouts. Some examples of hill workouts here and here.
- Strengthen your legs and core – I don’t think this requires a lot of explanation. Read more here and here.
- Do more plyometrics / sprints – I love plyometrics (I’ve talked about this before) and “jump” training is definitely associated with improved speed. Same with sprints! Read more here and here.
Here’s what I’m doing to get faster:
- Four runs per week. Monday is short, hard speed work. Wednesday is slightly longer, moderately hard effort. Friday is easy. Saturday is long run.
- Lady Ripped. I’m hoping that in my quest to get lady ripped and heal my knee injury, I’ll also get faster! I’ve been doing 100 x more strength training in the last month than I have like… ever. Hopefully I’m on the right track.
- Boot Camp style workouts. I’ve been attending a bunch of different classes and incorporating boot camp style circuits with plyo into my solo workouts.
- Actually racing 10Ks and 5Ks. Right now I’m signed up for one 10K and a couple 5Ks this spring. I normally never sign up for these distances and focus more on distance. I really want to improve at these shorter distances so I’ve gotta race them!
- Hills. I incorporate hills into pretty much all of my outdoor runs (I don’t live in a particularly flat area) but I’ve never done a proper hill workout. I want to give one a try sometime and see how I do.
Questions for you guys:
- What kinds of fitness goals are you working towards this spring?
- Have you ever worked on improving your speed? How did you do it?
How do you write a running blog… when you’re not running?
I suppose I should rephrase that title. I’ve been running… some. But I haven’t been training… at all. The last couple weeks I’ve been feeling so great about my workouts. I’ve been enjoying them and pushing myself in new ways… making some really fun gains in the area of strength. But I haven’t been training. And I’m running a half marathon in two weeks!
You may recall that I was supposed to run the marathon but elected to drop down to the half when my knee injury started acting up halfway through training. I decided, at the time, it was best for my body to back off training. Apparently, I took that to mean I should stop training all together! I also didn’t have much to write about besides some fun treadmill speed sessions. There’s nothing particularly interesting about my 3 mile warm up to a strength training session or an easy 5 miler while watching the news. Hence… we haven’t been talking a lot of of running on Pennies ON THE RUN.
I’m really glad I’ve given myself this break from training, because I have honestly enjoyed it. And my knee really wasn’t feeling great (I wouldn’t say its 100% now, but it’s MUCH better). AND honestly, I’m so over the cold right now. I’ve reached that point in the winter where I am like EFF THIS. My body doesn’t react well in extreme cold. I did a 10 miler on Saturday when it was 27 degrees out and my paced dropped steadily about 10 seconds every mile as I felt my body just tighten and tighten up under me. GIVE ME WARM WEATHER OR GIVE ME DEATH! (I’m completely aware that once DC’s swamp-like summer sets in I will be whining about that too)
But it’s MARCH now. Which means it’s almost Spring and its RACING SEASON. Nothing makes me want to run more than racing… I just love it. I’m opening my spring season this Sunday at the St. Patrick’s Day 8K and I’m really excited! Since I’m not really trained for the half, I’m definitely going to just take it easy and enjoy it. I put together this workout plan just to get me through the next two weeks / let me finish the half without hurting myself:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5M Steady State | Spinning + Strength w/ Trainer | Boot Camp + 30 minutes Speed Work | 3M Steady + Strength | Yoga + 3M easy | 10 M | St. Patrick’s Day 8K |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5M Steady State | Spinning + Strength w/ Trainer | Boot Camp + 30 minutes Speed Work | 3M Steady + Strength | Yoga + 2M easy | Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon | Rest |
Fund Racing 101 and a Giveaway!
If you’ve never had the pleasure of Fund Racing… I can’t recommend it enough. If you’re already a runner, why not put all your hard work and effort towards something good? If you’re not a runner, maybe this is the motivation you need to get started? I wrote this post back in November for my friend David who was fund racing for Covenant House in the Philadelphia Marathon. Today, I thought I’d share just a couple tips and tricks for getting started with Fund Racing and then share a little incentive at the end!
1. Pick a cause you care about. Nothing is more transparent than asking someone to donate to a cause you A. know nothing about or B. don’t actually care about. There’s something that ALL of us can get behind out there and nothing comes through better than genuine interest.
2. Work with staff at the organization. Get materials, attend an orientation, or just ask a bunch of questions. People may have questions and, again, if you’re asking them to donate money to your cause you should be informed about it.
3. Start with a simple ask email. Craft an email to friends and family who you feel comfortable asking for a donation and make it really personal. Explain what the organization is and how their money will be used. Then make it clear why YOU are running for this cause. Include relevant links to the organization and a clear link to your fundraising page.
4. Talk to your employer. Many organizations match charitable donations. This is a SUPER easy way to up your fundraising numbers.
5. Get creative. If your company doesn’t match funds, would they let you sell baked goods or little trinkets? Do you have a community service club at your job or school? Get them involved! It never hurts to ask and explore every avenue. Talk to your running club too, maybe you can do a team effort!
Now for a little incentive! I am fund racing for Back On My Feet (The DC / Baltimore Chapter) in the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon. I would like to sponsor one person completely, which means I need to raise $1,800. I am committed to making that happen! SO… in the interest of shameless self-promotion please consider making a donation on my behalf:
http://www.active.com/donate/BOMFDCUSA2013/christinazimmerman
And to sweeten the deal… I am going to host my VERY FIRST giveaway on Pennies on the Run!!
If you make a donation (regardless of size) to my cause by March 1st, PLEASE leave a comment below.
I will randomly select one reader (from the comments on this post) on March 2nd, and you will receive a special gift of gratitude from me!!
I believe in this organization and this cause. Together you and I could change the life of one homeless man or woman in the DC / Baltimore area. Let’s give them this chance!
Marathon Musings – Week 9
This post is alternately titled “The week that wasn’t”. Did I run? Yes. Did I strength train? Yes. Did I do yoga? Yes. But am I where I should be for more than halfway to a marathon? Absolutely not. Despite scaling back my training exponentially this week… I’m still in pain.
Last night, after a good conversation with Mike, I’ve made the decision that it’s time to call it on the marathon. My knee isn’t ready for this right now. Everything in my body is screaming at me that continuing to push to train for this marathon isn’t the right decision. It’s time to stop fighting it and listen. One mantra that Tina uses a lot that I really love is… “Accept and adjust.” I know there’s going to be another marathon in my future, but it’s not going to be this March.
I won’t lie, thinking about having to admit that I was “giving up” on the blog gave me huge pause. But then I stopped at reminded myself two very important things. 1 – I’m not giving up. I’m not quitting. I am making a decision about what is right for my body and my mind. And 2 – As Amy also pointed out at one time, I can’t live my life as exhibit for this blog. (A “publicity stunt” as so so eloquently put it!)
Also… I’ve already run a marathon. Life bucket list item accomplished. Why can’t I just let it lie?? During our talk (that was probably painful for him but I really like to just beat a subject to death before letting it go), I confessed that I felt like I couldn’t be a hardcore runner or athlete without running marathons. I have this horrible habit of thinking that I should be able to do everything (and do it well) and if I can’t, I’m lacking in some way.
But I am a runner. I am a runner whether or not I ever run another marathon ever again. This is just an opportunity for me to find a different challenge. The challenge that is right for me at this moment in my life. And if you know me at all… you know I’m going to find one. This morning I woke up with a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. Accept… and adjust.
Luckily, the marathon I chose has a half marathon too! I’ve decided to defer down to the half and still fundrace for Back On My Feet! So Marathon Musings is going to change… to Half Marathon Musings! I’ve still got a half marathon coming up this spring and who knows… maybe there’s a new PR in it for me? 🙂
Here’s to running in health and happiness for many years to come!!
Marathon Musings – Week 8
Let’s make today short and sweet… just wanted to check in with you guys about marathon training (wanna know something weird… 9 times out of ten when I type the word “marathon” I initially spell it “Marathong”… what is that all about??)
Here’s what the schedule looked like this week:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 8M Tempo | Strength + Yoga | Speed (1k Repeats) | 6M + Strength | 5M | 15M | 7M |
I did a great strength circuit on Tuesday that I shared on the blog but also topped off the day with a 75 minute advanced yoga class at my old studio. I was supposed to meet a friend, but sadly she got stuck in traffic. In hindsight, even though this class ROCKED my socks off, I overdid it for what was supposed to be a “rest day”. This is definitely where I struggle with marathon training. It’s just so much RUNNING and I like to do other stuff too. So I tend to cram my other favorites into my rest days and they end up being well… not that restful.
Good news is my 15 miler on Saturday was a DREAM. My legs felt awesome. I did 15 miles in 2:37 which about a 10:30 min/mile pace. Perfecto (I should’ve probably run it a bit slower but WHATEVER) I finished that run being like “I’m going to kick this marathon’s ASS. Marathon training rocks, why do I hate it so much??”
Bad news… my knees were KILLING me by Sunday. I did my 7 miles but it was not pretty. By the end I could barely bend my left leg. I took an ice bath on Saturday but Sunday I had ice packs on and off my knees almost all afternoon. This is not good because this is exactly how my knees felt when I got injured fall 2011. Since that injury (which had me out of running for over 2 months and I was NOT happy), I went to a physical therapist who helped my build up more strength in my hips. She and I also worked together to fix my stride a bit. I was originally using a very quad-dominant stride with somewhat of a tendency for heel striking. Now my stride is more balanced with my hamstrings / glutes and I am much better about mid-foot striking.
I wasn’t anticipating this injury to flare up again. I thought I fixed my stride, I’m strength training again, I focus on all the right stuff… this shouldn’t be happening! Also… UGH. What else is going to go wrong this training cycle? First mono and now this?? This makes me feel frustrated. And a little sad if I can be completely honest.
This all has gotten me to thinking… is The Hanson Method the right approach for me? Honestly, I don’t know. The whole point of this training program is to reduce your risk of injury while also turning you into a marathon running beast. But maybe 6 days per week of running is just not what is right for my specific body?? I have been looking at a couple other training plans to see if maybe I could do a switch. I’m considering one of Hal Higdon’s training programs (either Novice 2 or Intermediate 1… depending).
I woke up this morning knowing there was positively NO way I could do an 8 mile tempo run. I did 75 minutes of cross-training to somewhat simulate the workout (purely time wise, not really in intensity) and even that was challenging. I think for this week I’m going to take a week from Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 plan and see how I do. Here’s what I’m thinking:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Cross Train | 4M + Strength / Yoga | 8M | 4M+ Strength / Yoga | Cross / Yoga | 17M | Easy Cross |
Anyone else ever changed training plans mid-cycle?? I’m freaking out a little over here (I know… BIG SHOCK. Whatever I’m just your run of the mill emotional trainwreck people!)
Marathon Musings – Weeks 5, 6 & 7
My holiday vacation turned into a slightly longer break from blogging too. But the good news is that during that time I’ve taken the opportunity to really think about the blog, my vision for it, etc. Sometimes I definitely found myself defaulting to like “hey look at this fun thing I did!” posts, so I didn’t have to think about or come up with good content. While I want my blog to be personal so there is a real person attached to the words I write, it’s not supposed to be a Xanga (haha I might be dating myself by referencing that… did anyone else have a live journal in middle school??? I totally did… it was SO emo). Anyways, I’ve come up with a formula that I’d like to follow for posts. This formula has a topic for each week day, but if I don’t have anything to write about I’m just going to skip posting that day. Anyways, you probably don’t care but just wanted to give you some news!
I’m several weeks behind on Marathon Musings but don’t worry I haven’t quit training! Far from it in fact. I have definitely gotten mono from Mike, but mercifully my symptoms have been 1/4 as bad as his were (my poor baby!). I took a doctor’s advice and took one week really easy. Then I tried to get back into it the next week and was able to complete everything except the long run (more on that later in this post). This past week I was finally totally back on track. Woohoo! Here’s what the weeks called for in the Hansom Plan:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5 mi Tempo | OFF | Speed (400M Repeats) | 4 mi | 8 mi | 8 mi | 4 mi |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5 mi Tempo | OFF | Speed (600 M Repeats) | 4 mi | 6 mi | 10 mi | 6 mi |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5 mi Tempo | OFF | Speed (800M Repeats) | 5 mi | 6 mi | 10 mi | 5 mi |
Here’s what I ended up dong:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| OFF | 5 mi | OFF | 5 mi | OFF | 8 mi | 4 mi |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5 mi Tempo | OFF | Speed (600M Repeats) | 4 mi | 3 mi | 6 mi | OFF |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5 mi Tempo | OFF | Speed (800M Repeats) | 5 mi | 6 mi | 10 mi | 5 mi |
Here’s what is going well:
1. Pacing / Speed: I’m getting a lot more comfortable with doing “easy runs”. Mike firmly believes that the sign of a runner “maturing” is becoming confident enough to do easy runs. I was out for my easy 5 miler on Thursday evening and I realized I was completely LOVING this run. When I got to mile 4 I was actually bummed out that I only got 1 more mile to be running. How weird is that? I’m also hitting my paces really well in my tempo runs, speed work, and long runs. My tempo runs are going to start getting longer this week and I’m looking forward to that. I traditionally haven’t liked speed work much, but I’ve been REALLY enjoying how challenging these workouts are.
2. Mileage: I’m back and able to get the miles in even though my body is pretty fatigued from the mono. I really needed that 10 miles on Saturday as a confidence builder. I have a 15 miler on the schedule for next Saturday and there’s no way I was going to feel ready without getting 10 miles in and feeling good. Unless the mono makes some sort of great surge this week, I feel fairly confident that I will be able to continue to stick to the program.
3. Stretching / Rolling: The frequency of my runs is definitely leaving my muscles tired and sore (the mono is probably contributing there too). I’ve been REALLY disciplined about stretching out after each run and using the stick (especially on my calves… holy god my calves are so sore all the time).
Here’s what I’d like to focus on this week:
1. Strength Training / Yoga: With the holidays and the mono, I’ve really only been able to focus on running the marathon miles. I really need to get back on track with strength training and yoga. I noticed a twinge in my knee this week, which suggests that I REALLY need to get back on my strength training game. I have 2 strength sessions on the calendar this week and a couple yoga sessions too!
2. Mental game: This continues to be a struggle. Two Saturdays ago I actually TRIED to do a 10 miler, but only made it the 6. Then the next day I was completely wrecked and couldn’t even fathom exercising. I have never started a long run and not finished it. This was a huge confidence killer. I came home really upset, talking about giving up on the marathon all together! I was asking myself questions like “Why am I even doing this? I hate it!” This week I want to focus on the goal and keep myself positive! Can’t let one bad run ruin everything!
Here’s a sneak peak at what’s up ahead this week on the schedule:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 8 mi Tempo (and light Yoga) | No Run (Strength Training + Yoga) | Speed (1K Repeats) | 6 mi (and Strength) | 5 mi (and Yoga) | 15 mi | 7mi (and maybe some yoga) |
Marathon Musings – Infected Addition
Annnnnddddd just like that… we’re 17 again.
Mike has mono… at almost 29 years old.
Poor guy has been sick now for over two weeks. At first we thought it just was a really bad flu, and I tried to be really careful not to get it too. Then he got tested at the doctor and sure enough… it’s mono. Unfortunately, the incubation period for mono is 4 – 7 weeks (Thank you WebMD). Which means that I was exposed to it long before he started having symptoms. Have I also mentioned that I never had mono when I was younger? BLEH. I thought maybe I wouldn’t get it. I thought my iron immune system would beat the odds. Then yesterday, I started getting a sore throat… and the body aches. Today I’ve got the sore throat, the body aches, the fatigue, and the headache. I’m not full on as bad as Mike is… so a tiny part of me is still holding out hope. Looking at how sick Mike is right now is like a terrifying crystal ball into my future. This is going to suck.
This is all a way of prefacing this post because if I do in fact have mono… I don’t think there is going to be a marathon in March. That part has really been the hardest for me to think about. But mono could mean (at least) a solid month off from training… from running really at all. I think it’ll be too much time off to be marathon ready. So while I’m not giving up all hope just yet… I am trying to prepare myself mentally for that.
That being said let’s talk about this past week. Here’s what it looked like:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5M | Rest | 4M | 5M | 4M | 6M | 4M |
I got all of these in except Sunday (when I was feeling sick). I honestly could’ve still gone and run, but I was kinda feeling a little down about the potential of getting so sick. I kept getting in my head like “What’s the point? I’m not going to be able to do the marathon, I might as well just give up now!”
But this morning, I’ve decided to override that tendency for now. I don’t know that I have mono yet. I don’t have all the symptoms yet either and the ones I have are relatively manageable. I need to keep on keeping on. I’m going into this week hoping to keep my schedule going as planned.
I was actually really proud of this week! I got up every single morning to exercise, which was a big deal for me! On Thursday, I had to be at work at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am so obviously that meant I wasn’t going to get my run in in the AM (I just did 30 minutes of yoga at 5 am… what up!). I was really nervous I was going to bail on my run because my work day was going to be so long. BUT I brought my clothes with me to work and went for a great 5 miles after the day was over around the mall. I was really glad that I did it 🙂
Strength training, yoga, and stretching were also ALL on point this week. So I had a great week… I can’t let this mono business derail me before I know it’s happening for sure!! On to the next week! Here’s the plan… things are starting to get interesting this week!
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5 mi Tempo | Rest | Speed (12x 400M Repeats w/ 400M Recovery) |
4 mi Easy | 8 mi Easy | 8 mi Long Run | 4 mi Easy |
Marathon Musings – Week 3
I am just not doing well making these appear regularly on Monday am I? Oh well.. TUESDAY!
3 weeks of Hanson Method Marathon Training Down!
Here’s what the week was supposed to look like:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5M | Rest | 3M | 3M | 5M | 5M | Rest |
Here’s what the week ended up looking like:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Rest | 3M | 5M | 3M | Rest | 10M | Rest |
Same # of miles but I juggled some days around. I don’t want to make a habit of that, but life does happen! Monday was an unscheduled rest day. I threw in some light strength training / walking to get myself moving but Mike was REALLY sick. I really wanted to spend time with him (especially because he has been gone all weekend with his friends) so I decided to move the week around. I also lumped my Friday / Saturday runs into one big run because I ran the Surf-n-Santa 10 Miler. I planned to out for an easy 3 on Sunday, but Mike really encouraged me to rest. I wasn’t exactly difficult to persuade! Let’s check in on some stuff!
Pacing: It’s going pretty well! I did my Tuesday 3 miler at slightly higher than marathon pace (10:45). Wednesday’s 5 Miler I wanted to do at marathon pace (10:30). I went out a little too fast (around 9:45) but was able to slow it back to marathon pace for the second half. Thursday I did easy pace (11:00). Saturday obviously was very fast, but I was racing!
Hills: I’m trying to be very intentional about adding challenging hills into my runs. My marathon course will include some hills and I want to be ready for them. My Wednesday run was actually really challenging. Basically the entire second half of the run was uphill and by the end I was definitely tired. I ran that same course again on Monday though because I want to see how much better I can get at that extended hill.
Strength Training / Yoga: Keeping up with strength training a lot, especially thanks for the 2012 Closeout Workout challenge! I will have a recap for that soon… but I did full body strength training on Tuesday and Thursday after my 3 milers. Every night I’ve been doing at least my 75 reps before bed too. I eased off them a little for the race but started back up with those. I did yoga a couple times last week (Wednesday and Thursday) but I really want to get it up to 3 times this week!
Stretching: Apart from wanting to add more yoga… I’ve been SO good about stretching out after runs and I think it’s having a huge impact. I found a good plan for me is to come in from a morning run, get a glass of iced coffee w/ chocolate milk (what up caffeination and recovery all in one cup!) and stretch out for 10 minutes while watching GMA. My muscles are feeling so much better during and after runs… woohoo!
I’m starting to miss my higher mileage runs but I know we’re going to be there very soon. All in all… three weeks in and things are going great. I feel strong and confident right now… so I’m trying to ride that out!
Here’s what this week is going to look like:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 5M | Rest | 4M | 5M | 4M | 6M | 4M |
First six day week of the plan! Check back next week and see how it goes 🙂
christinazimm
Pennies on the Run 