Marathon Training Week 17

I've pretty much gone off my training plan at this point. I switched things around, missed runs, and threw in a 5k race for good measure. I guess we'll see next week if that was a good idea or not!

Monday - Cross Training

Nope.

Tuesday - 4 miles

I have no notes about this run. I'm so not in a focused blogging mindset lately. I did have a decent last mile though, 8:26!

4.01 miles @ 9:38 pace

Wednesday - 6 miles

Nothing ended up happening running-wise on Wednesday because it was Tom's birthday and I was busy doing things like bake a key lime pie.

Priorities.

Thursday - 4 miles

This run felt great while it was happening, but was a little disappointed by my pace when I got home. Last mile was an 8:20 though, which I was happy with.

4.01 miles @ 9:21 pace

Friday - Rest Day

Yep.

Saturday - 4 miles

I decided last week to sign up for a 5k that was being held pretty close to the house (20 minutes away, everything is 20 minutes away). It didn't start until 10:30 which felt really weird - I'm used to super early starts for races!

The race was small (about 60 finishers) and pretty flat. It was a cool, misty morning and I was feeling pretty good. It is weird to run such a short race, and I had strange splits (my second mile was my slowest), but it was a fun race.

I ended up getting first in my age group, which never happens, and getting a new 5k PR! 24:45!

This is the first trophy I have ever gotten for running. I have to say, I'm a fan!

Now I have to figure out where to put it...

3.1 miles @ 7:59 pace

Sunday - 8 miles

I was tired from the race so I took it easy and just got it done. Not my best run, but my last "long" run before Steamtown next weekend.

8.02 miles @ 10:41 pace

Weekly Mileage - 19.14

I just have a couple of short runs on the plan this week, and then on Sunday it's time to run and run and run.

We'll see how it goes.

Taper Weirdness and We Have Walls!

Is it normal during the taper for your body to feel like it's forgotten how to run? I had 3 miles on the plan for today, and they felt awkward and terrible. I had to stop several times (twice to fix shoelaces) and just felt out of shape, and slow.

I was more than a little surprised when I got home and uploaded my run. With an average pace of 8:50, it's the fastest I've run in weeks.

That doesn't make any sense at all.

Buddy was a bit chilly this morning. Doesn't he look photoshopped?

We had rain last week, which put a stop to the construction for a little while. Today was back to the craziness. There was a lumber delivery, guys chipping up the garage floor and putting scaffolding up by the chimney, and guys putting walls on the second story of the addition.

Look how sad Buddy looks when Tom is outside without him.

The garage looked bad before, but this is much worse. Every construction project looks worse before it gets better.

Look how much bigger the house is getting!

They got all the walls up on the second floor today. There's going to be two new bathrooms, the master bedroom and a ridiculously large walk-in closet in there.

I can't wait!

Marathon Training Week 15

Last week was not the best for some reason. I'm just going to go ahead and blame the taper, because I don't have any other explanation.

In more exciting news: I broke 1,000 miles for the year! Last year I hit 1,000 miles in December after running every day in November. I guess I'm going to need a new goal after this marathon business is over!

Monday: Cross training. We had a bunch of construction madness going on at the house on Monday. Buddy was freaking out over all the activity, so I took him for a walk around the neighborhood. He was pretty wiped out after 2 miles.

Tuesday: 4 miles. It was stupidly humid out so I took it easy, plus that's what taper weeks are about, right? 4 miles @ 9:44 pace

Wednesday: 5 miles. I actually have "I have no memory of this run" written in my training log because I'm getting bad about writing in a timely manner. 5.06 miles @ 9:30 pace

Thursday: 4 miles. Thursday was my birthday and I was having a great time relaxing and eating (two of my favorite things), so I ended up taking a rest day. It's my birthday and I'll do what I want to!

Friday: Rest day. It was rainy and cold out, but I wanted to get my Thursday miles in - plus I like running in the rain. My shins were oddly tight/cramping, but otherwise this was a good run. 4 miles @ 9:05 pace

Saturday: 3 miles. Tom and his friend ran a Warrior Dash race in Connecticut, so driving and spectating took up most of my day. I didn't run. I'm ok with that.

The boys had fun. :)

Sunday: 8 miles. This was one of those runs you read about that happen during the taper - it makes you question your ability to run at all, let alone an entire marathon. It was fairly miserable, but I plodded along and got my miles in. 8.01 miles @ 9:37 pace

Miles this week: 21.07

This might be my last training week recap, since next week at this time I will be in full on recovery mode.

My Marathon Training Must Haves

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Now that I've (mostly) made it through my marathon training, I thought I would share a few things that helped me make it through this training cycle.

Shoes (duh) - I used to do most of my running on trails and the treadmill. This time around I was 100% on the roads, which meant that some of my favorite shoes didn't work as well for me as they had in the past. I used to do most of my running in Brooks PureFlows, but for most of this training cycle I have run in Mizuno Wave Riders and Saucony Zealots.

I have mixed things up shoe-wise for shorter runs, but for long runs, those are my go-tos.

Calf sleeves - This is the first training cycle I have run with calf sleeves.

I love the compression and support of PRO Compression Marathon socks (and wear them for post-run recovery), but the foot part doesn't work for me when I'm running. I need more cushion. I have had problems with my calves cramping during half marathons before, so I figured these couldn't hurt. I wore them for all of my long runs and I really feel like they have helped me. It's possible that it's all in my head, but either way works for me!

Shorts - Until this summer I pretty much always ran in capris. I could do that because I had my treadmill in our air conditioned basement. I haven't used my treadmill since we moved because it's currently in the garage, which is definitely not air conditioned. Every single run has been outside, which means I had to find some shorts that worked for me. Loose shorts ride up, move around and generally drive me insane, so I ended up finding a couple of pairs from Oiselle (the Long Flyte and Vela shorts). They have perfectly respectable inseams, so I don't feel like things are exposed. They're also super comfortable and don't ride up.

Body Glide - No matter how in shape I get or how thin I am, my thighs will always touch. That's just life. Body Glide has saved me from some serious pain this summer. It's cheap, it's easy, and it makes it so you can run chafe-free for hours. Necessary.

TomTom Runner Cardio - I'm addicted to the data. I need to know how fast, how far, the elevation, my heart rate (with no chest strap!) and anything else my watch cares to tell me. I have gotten better about not checking my pace every three seconds, but I love having the stats to check out after my run. Plus I'm terrible at planning my runs, so I'm a big fan of running out until my watch tells me I'm halfway, and then I turn around and head home!

Road ID - Especially if you're like me and you don't usually run with your phone (I pretty much only take it on long runs), a Road ID is a great idea. Mine has my name, birth year, Tom and my mom's phone numbers, my blood type, and the fact that I don't have any known allergies. All great information to have readily available just in case. You can personalize them however you want, and there's even space to add a motivational quote if you want. I keep mine with my watch so I actually remember to wear it on my runs.

Sunscreen - You don't need me to tell you to wear sunscreen, right? I'm a fan of the spray kind for my body because I'm lazy, and I absolutely love the Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF for my face. If you read the reviews, you'll see that some of the bristles fall out, and that if you don't follow the directions you can make a big mess with it. Neither of these things is a big deal to me, and I love not putting goopy sunscreen on my face. I somehow made it through summer marathon training without getting a sunburn this year - gold star for me! The only sunburn I've gotten is when I was spectating at Tom's adventure race and completely failed to put sunscreen on my legs.

Hydration Pack - I hate carrying things when I run. I will do everything in my power to not hold anything. I have a Nathan Trail Mix fuel belt that has worked alright for me in the past, but the water bottles are tiny, and I knew they weren't going to cut it for my longer runs this summer. Enter the Teton Trailrunner 2.0 - you can't escape the sloshing sound no matter how you carry your water, and there is a slight plastic taste, but this pack does the trick.

It has a small mesh pocket on the front where I keep everything from my fuel to my phone (in separate ziplock bags). It is open at the top, but I never once had anything fall out. The only thing I really wish this pack had is a place to clip my house key.

Race day is officially a week away - I can't believe it's already here!

Taper Week Workouts

It's taper week around here. I've been really trying to keep my easy runs easy, because I hear that's good for you. I've also been doing the Lunge Matrix before every run, because adding new things to your training is an excellent idea right before a race...right?

The basement has been super hot lately, so I put the fan on a chair right next to me. It helps.

This is what this week's training looked like:

Monday: 4 east miles @ 9:51 pace
Tuesday: 4 easy miles @ 9:44 pace
Wednesday: 4 miles with 2 mile repeats @ 7:30
Thursday: 4 easy miles @ 9:53

Buddy and I hung out on the floor for a while after my run on Wednesday.

And then things got a little silly.

The Rhinebeck Half is on Saturday, and, as usual, I don't really feel ready. The last time I checked, the weather is going to be a little iffy - possibly rainy. I'm still hoping that changes.

Of course I'm hoping to do well, ideally getting a PR. Since West Point was only a few minutes off of my best time (and it was hill madness), I really should be able to get there. Mostly I just need to get out of my own way and I'll probably be just fine.

I don't have a good segue, so enjoy a couple of cute Buddy pictures and have a good Friday!

Super Random

It's taper week for me, so there's not a lot of terribly exciting things to report. I ran 4 miles today - exciting, no?

Instead I'm going to give you a bit of a photo dump. Most of it is pictures of Buddy, so I think you'll enjoy it. 

I got a new cell phone case! Yes, those are cheeseburgers. One of my college roommates has an Etsy shop (check it out HERE) full of her super cute artwork and a shop at Society6 (browse away!) as well. 

A wasp decided to make his (her?) home in our mailboxes. See it in the upper right corner? It isn't there anymore because Tom is much braver than I am and took care of it. He didn't get stung or anything!

New seasonal chapstick flavors!

How is this comfortable?

Buddy in the springtime.

An upside down view.

Up close and personal.

He's kind of a weirdo.

I'm starting the race week ritual of checking the weather and trying to decide on a time goal. Right now it looks like a high in the mid 70s with light rain. I'm hoping that changes. As for a time goal...well, I've still got some time to think about that.

That's a Lie

It's taper week! That means I have less miles to run and more fidgety energy to burn - a dangerous combination. I also have a cold, which isn't related, but it's still true.

Let's take a minute to review the absolute terror that is the West Point elevation chart.

Note that it is in meters. That means the course climb is actually 1,437 feet. Remind me why I signed up for this race?

I decided that since it is my first race of the year, and will most likely result in death by hills anyway, I'm going to run by feel and not worry too much about time.

That's a lie of course, I will care a little bit about time.

Today was an easy 3 miles on the treadmill. I know I need to get outside one of these days, but my laziness is pretty impressive.

Not as impressive as Buddy's, but still.

Things are getting springier around here. 

It's even supposed to hit 60 on Thursday! And it's supposed to rain. You win some, you lose some.

What's the hilliest race you've run?