Week 5 Marathon Training

The plan for this week!

Monday: 3 miles (before A&P exam)
Tuesday: 5 miles (after A&P lab)
Wednesday: 3 miles plus weights
Thursday: Yoga I have to skip this week. I have to go to Portland for a Dr. Appt
Friday: Long Run-10 miles
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Cross-train. I would really love to swim or bike perhaps. Maybe I will take today to do the yoga I missed.

I have been resting most weekends. With our family's schedule, I usually can't get out for a run. Thank goodness my weekday schedule is different! This week because I have a Dr appt on Thursday, I will just consider it a rest day instead. I have read that a rest day before and after a long run is very beneficial anyway.

Nine Miles and a Congratulations From Paula Radcliff!

Run: 9 Miles, Long Run
Location: Astoria Riverwalk (a lot of it!)
Run Time (if applicable): 1:18:03, 8:39 splits
Run Start: 8:05 am
Temperature: 42 degrees
Weather: Cloudy

Notes:


I will admit, all week this run stared back at me in my planner and I was intimidated! "Long Run-9 Miles"...it sounded painful, it sounded hard. It scared me to think I could hurt myself...was I ready? Was it "too much, too fast"? 


But all in all, if I want to run a marathon, I have to give this training plan a chance.  After all Hal Higdon knows his stuff! So I went into it with Jeff Galloway in my head once more..."go slower, give yourself permission to walk when needed". It was just about finishing the distance, not about speed. Okay.


The sun peaked out this morning and I was afraid to get false hope because the weather called for rain. So I dressed for rain just in case...and I wore a hat. I was not going to let the weather be an excuse for not finishing this important run. I felt blessed that I did not get rained on. 


Miles 1-3 were far east on the Riverwalk, past Pier 39, where the trail becomes quite rustic along the old railroad tracks. I enjoy this area. From the beginning my goal was to keep my pace "gentle" and to really be aware of how my joint were feeling so I did not push it too hard. 

Around mile 4 I got warm so I had to run with my coat tied around my waist. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad either. I kept thinking of this running jacket that I would LOVE from Lulumon... And at mile 4.5 I loved hearing the Nike+ tell me I was at the halfway point! 


Then around mile 7 the wind picked up and I started to feel cold so I put my jacket back on (exciting news, right?!?). Only two miles left! 


Then the Nike+ notified me when I had 400 meters left, 300 meters left, 200, then 100. That was pretty cool! But the best part was the personal congratulatory message I received upon completion! 


"This is Paula Radcliff. Congratulations on your longest workout yet!" That was so awesome! I felt like she was welcoming me into a secret club or something :)


Bummer was that I did not map my course very well and I had parked about 2 miles from my ending point. No, I don't count that part, I will still call this a 9 mile run. But those two miles were just a bit too much. I had started to cool down too much and my legs were just tired (understandably). I made myself stretch along the way to the car.


Hydration: I drank two tall glasses of water before bed, then one right after my morning cup of coffee. I had debated whether I should run with an amphipod bottle. I didn't end up doing it though, they drive me nuts. Apparently I did just fine without it because I did not feel any symptoms of dehydration. I guzzled down a bottle of Propel Zero right off the bat as I cranked the heat in my car. Then I showered, drank my chocolate protein shake (yum!) and went about my day. 


I'm pleased with how my body handled the run. I expected a lot of aches and pains. My left lower leg was feeling some shin pain but overall not too bad. At about mile 8 I started to feel the strain in my knees. But after I stopped any discomfort did as well. I will do plenty of stretching and rolling tonight, as well as re-hydrating and maybe I will reward myself with a killer bubble bath :)


And one last interesting thought...the marathon will be today's run times roughly 3!! 

Smelly Gym Clothes

Over a month ago, I asked some ladies that I know to give me their best tips on getting the "gym stink" out of your workout clothes. I thought these tips could be helpful so here they are!

Adding baking soda (yes, this has worked for me!)
Adding a T of Clorox 2 (also has worked for me!)
Oxyclean Free and Clear
Tide Sport
Always wash gym clothes separately(especially if they are synthetic material)
Pet urine remover
Combination of: ALL or Method Free and Clear, a scoop of baking soda, a tsp of Clorox 2 and fabric softener

Speed Work/Weights

Run: 3 miles, 2 increments, speedwork
Location: Treadmill (blah!)
Run Time (if applicable): Did not time myself
Run Start: 8:05 am
Temperature:  regular room temp
Weather: N/A

Notes:

I am sick of contending with icky weather. Whether it is freezing or drizzling or I get poured on. I was just fed up with it today so I immediately dressed for the gym/treadmill. Funny thing was that the weather was quite mild, just cloudy and cold with peaking sun from time to time. But I still used the treadmill instead and tried something new. Here was my workout:

3 miles on the treadmill turned into 1.5 miles because my shins were taking a beating. Then I went ahead and did some weight training which felt really great. Then I felt like I had it in me to finish the 3 miles so I did another 1.5 miles.

So while at first I thought I would not finish my entire 3 miles I had scheduled, breaking it up was great because it became a sort of speed workout. The first 1.5 miles were at a brisk 8:30 pace. The weights in the middle exhausted my muscles, so the faster pace (around 8 minute miles) for the remaining 1.5 miles felt really, really tough. I considered it "last stretch" training.

Nutrition Update for February

For my PE class (and for my own benefit), I felt it was time for an update on how I am doing nutrition-wise:

Recap/progress of Nutrition Goals

1) Cut back to only 2 cups of coffee per day: I feel like I have successfully done this!
The benefits have been that instead of coffee I am drinking more water [see #2], and also thanks to less coffee, I don't have to deal with the caffeine high/crash that I was dealing with from time to time because of too much.


2) Drink more water: I have definitely been successful with this. I honestly have not had to give this much conscious thought because the more I run, the more I thirst. So I have been drinking anywhere between 48-64 oz of water a day easy. I have also noticed how hydrated I am makes a huge difference on the "heaviness" in my legs the next day. 


3) Substitute more veggie munchies for carb munchies: I have not been monitoring this much so I really don't know. I can say we haven't had much carb munchies in the house. I'm sure I have not been doing as great with this goal however.


4) Eat a more balanced number of calories throughout the day so that I do not overeat due to feeling "starved" by nighttime: This is going really well. Just having my routine set helps. I bring a lunch to school that is filled with a lot of healthy snacks so it is easy to grab something while studying. So while I don't really sit and eat a focused lunch, I do eat throughout the school-day and I am not super hungry once I walk through the door in the evening.


Nutrition Log:

2/21

1 cup of coffee
-half and half
-1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup whole oatmeal
1/4 cup (canned) peaches
1/4 cup craisins
2 T. milk
1 pint chocolate milk (post-run)
32 oz water (drinking all day, just up to this point)
1/2 pb sandwich on ww bread
1/2 apple (threw away the rest because it was kind of gross)
1 pineapple greek yogurt
1 cup whole grain baked chips
1 cup baby carrots
More Water

I have to admit that once I got home, I totally lost track. I know that when I got home I made a cup of coffee and for dinner we had a great pork roast that I had thrown in the crockpot, and I guess I didn't really eat any sides. I had a glass of apple juice with it. Then I snacked it up later with a bowl of chocolate cheerios, some strawberries and a cup of key lime pie yogurt-yum!. Maybe I would not have snacked as much but I completely forgot I was trying to keep track of a healthy eating day.

I can recognize that lately I have really craved chocolate, but I haven't bought many snacks or sweets in a while. But I think for the sake of my sanity I need to buy a few high-quality dark chocolate bars and have pineapple greek yogurt and key lime pie yogurt available as sweet treats. All satisfy my sweet tooth cravings in a sensible way.

It's Tuesday

*I just couldn't think of a fun title...

Run: 4.5 miles
Location: Irving St-Hills
Run Time (if applicable): Did not time myself
Run Start: 8:05 am
Temperature: 45 degrees
Weather: Heavy Drizzle

Notes:

I hated taking a 4-day weekend off of running. Man, a great run makes all the difference in the world! It has been dreary and icky lately, with very little sun. I have been feeling some S.A.D. I think and going for runs sure helps! We spent the weekend doing a lot of to-do's and broke in the trailer for our first camping trip. It was fun :) But then we got home, the house was trashed, I had homework to do and I just felt icky. Not to mention I tweaked my neck (like I mentioned) and that made me feel icky too. I am not really myself when I do not run.

So that being said, this run felt great! The hills were challenging as always, and I gave myself some "catch your breath" breaks. I would say, "10 deep breaths then get going" and it worked. I got rained on but with a jacket on it wasn't so bad. I have really found that tightly securing my hair back in two french braids makes a huge difference too! Maybe I won't have to cut my hair after all.

Once I got back, I celebrated with a pint of ice-cold chocolate milk. My favorite.

Tweaking my neck and my schedule

I am writing this little post because it encourages me when I can write out what is coming up so I don't get stir-crazy waiting for my next scheduled run. I have taken a few days off for a few reasons...and honestly I can't stand taking days and days off!

Friday I ended up skipping my 3-miler thanks to some problems with DH's schedule and adjustments needed in our weekend plans (I'll skip the long, boring explanation). Then this weekend I tweaked my already-tweaked neck/shoulders. So...I have taken the long weekend off. The hero in me says, "Just power through! Just get a couple of miles in!" and the mother in me says, "No...take care of your body or it will hate you!"

It is so hard to take breaks if you are injured in any way, shape or form, especially once you have found a nice groove in your training. Technically my "injury" is in no way running-related and won't sideline me for long. I just don't want it to get worse before it starts getting better (which has been the case).

I have been putting off getting chiropractic adjustments into my schedule. I have no excuse except I have just been procrastinating. *tisk tisk*  I am calling and getting that ball rolling Tuesday.

I am now officially following a marathon training plan. I noticed in the last couple of weeks I was only averaging 2-3 runs a week. Given that they were between 5-7 miles helped keep my mileage up but that still didn't seem like enough. As I apply my new training plan, I know I will be able to get out for runs more often.

We purchased a new travel trailer last weekend and went to pick it up this weekend. It has been a lot of work/time initially but we're so excited and know it is going to be such a great help for all of our adventures! We love getting out and love camping, but we found the first year we lived here that purely tent camping was just too exhausting with the kids. Everyone was always dirty, tired and miserable. There were a few times we got stuck in the rain, and once in a sand-storm! No fun. We will still bring our tents, but overall, it will be great to have the convenience of our trailer. We can go further with confidence knowing we have a comfortable place to recharge each night...and we can take it to race destinations and stay overnight the day before.

That all being said, my next planned run is on Tuesday afternoon. See you then!