Well, another week in the books, and it was a toughie. So tough in fact that I haven't even blogged about it until now. To recap I had a 4-8-4 and 16 miles on Saturday.
Things got off to a good start and I had an easy 4 miles on Monday. When Wednesday rolled around, I was all prepped for my 8 miles (water and knowing the route) so I thought it would be easy. For some reason these Wednesday runs stink. I can't seem to get through them like I can the Saturday run. I finish the run ok, but it takes a toll on my body. My legs felt so fatigued that I decided it would be in my best interest to rest my legs on Thursday.
Last week I had done so well on the 15 miler that with an extra days rest I was confident that my 16 miler would be fine. I got to the rendezvous at 6:00 in the morning to get 6 miles in before I finished with my half marathon buddies who were only running 10 on Saturday. I ran with a few people at 6, but the pace was a little too fast and I could feel my shins really hurting. I was concerned that this could be one of those nightmare runs. I decided to stop to massage and stretch my legs before continuing for about 10 minutes. This seemed to work quite well, and I was able to get a good 5.5 miles in before the official group run.
With only 10.5 to go, I still felt like this was going to be a duplicate of last week, steady and successful. For the most part it was but the last mile and a half was horrifying. My grandmother could have probably passed me I was struggling so much. Thank God I did finally finish, but it wasn't pretty. What scares me is if this was the actual marathon, I would only have another 10 miles to go. OUCH!
Apparently everyone has runs like this, where they aren't good, but you get through them. Hopefully this wont happen on race day.
Next week I have a step back week of 12 miles. I am going to over achieve however and run 13.1 in the Atlanta 13.1 (half-marathon) race in Brookhaven on Sunday. Additionally, I am sure you all getting sick of my constant complaining of my ailments and aches. I have decided to cross train all next week to rest my legs for the upcoming increase in mileage to prepare me for the upcoming marathon.
Sorry for not posting any pictures this week. Leslie will take some next week at the 13.1 race. If you are interested in joining in this madness click here http://www.131marathon.com/13_1_Atlanta.htm
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Marathon Training: Week 10
So another week in the books! To recap, I was scheduled to run 3-7-4 this week and a whopping 15 miles on Saturday! I tackled the 3 miles on Monday, which has been my new strategy, to give my legs a rest-day after the first weekly run, instead of running three days in a row. At the end of Monday's 3 miler, it occured to me that it would be my last three mile run before the marathon. From now on, everything will be at least 4 miles or longer. A lot of people have told me how easy these 3 and 4 mile runs become as the training schedule goes on, so I am going to miss these quick 30 minute runs.
With a rest-day on Tuesday, I was ready to tackle the 7 miles I had scheduled for Wednesday. I went to Buckhead to run with my running group again, but this time I was prepared and brought my water. However, it did not all go perfectly like I had planned. There were no maps available for the run, and the only group of runners that were there were a group of men that are 8 minute milers. Being a 9 and a half minute miler, I made the wise decision to try to run with them for seven miles. This plan worked great until 2.3 miles in, when I had to reduce my pace. I was able to keep them in sight until about Mile 4. From that point on, I was on my own. With no map, and sucking down my water, I was slightly concerned that this could turn into a sticky situation. However, my manly sense of direction brought me to the finishing point with half a bottle of water to spare. When I got there, some of the guys were still waiting for me and expressed their relief that I made it back. Apparently, I was only about 6 minutes behind them. Which I felt was pretty good. I also learned that I had run 8 miles, as opposed to the scheduled 7. Oh well, I hope that pays off for me on down the road.
Thursday was just a 4 Miler for me, but I hadn't recovered properly from the previous day's run, hadn't worn my calf sleeves, or taken any anti-inflamitory meds. 2.5 miles in, my shin pain was unbearable and I decided to walk home and call it a night. I wound up doing just under 4 miles, but who cares... I did 8 the day before.
I had a much needed rest day on Friday, but I was really anxious about running 15 miles on Saturday. My running buddies in the group were scheduled to run 12 miles, so I decided to get up early and run 3 miles before running the remaining 12 at our traditional 7am Saturday Start. I took the first 3 miles slow, but everything seemed ok. And then I took plenty of time to stretch during the group announcements before we took off for our 12 mile run together. I did amazingly well for those 15 total miles. Especially the first 13. I was able to run with no pain, but I noticed I was getting a little tired during the 14th and 15th mile. The last two miles I noticed I was struggling to pick up my feet as well, and I tripped and nearly fell flat on my face TWICE in a span of about a half mile. Only a little embarassing in front of the entire group. Who cares though... I look like I run in work socks, anyways. All in all, another great week. I wasn't beat, but I definitely didn't feel bad about vegging out and watching football the rest of the day. Now, another week closer to my marathon.
The pictures last week got great reviews, so I have decided to share a couple of my post-15 mile ice bath.
Getting ready to ice down with a bathtub full of 5 bags of ice:
Sometimes I feel like this is the hardest part of marathon training:
Thanks for the comments. I will keep you updated next week!
With a rest-day on Tuesday, I was ready to tackle the 7 miles I had scheduled for Wednesday. I went to Buckhead to run with my running group again, but this time I was prepared and brought my water. However, it did not all go perfectly like I had planned. There were no maps available for the run, and the only group of runners that were there were a group of men that are 8 minute milers. Being a 9 and a half minute miler, I made the wise decision to try to run with them for seven miles. This plan worked great until 2.3 miles in, when I had to reduce my pace. I was able to keep them in sight until about Mile 4. From that point on, I was on my own. With no map, and sucking down my water, I was slightly concerned that this could turn into a sticky situation. However, my manly sense of direction brought me to the finishing point with half a bottle of water to spare. When I got there, some of the guys were still waiting for me and expressed their relief that I made it back. Apparently, I was only about 6 minutes behind them. Which I felt was pretty good. I also learned that I had run 8 miles, as opposed to the scheduled 7. Oh well, I hope that pays off for me on down the road.
Thursday was just a 4 Miler for me, but I hadn't recovered properly from the previous day's run, hadn't worn my calf sleeves, or taken any anti-inflamitory meds. 2.5 miles in, my shin pain was unbearable and I decided to walk home and call it a night. I wound up doing just under 4 miles, but who cares... I did 8 the day before.
I had a much needed rest day on Friday, but I was really anxious about running 15 miles on Saturday. My running buddies in the group were scheduled to run 12 miles, so I decided to get up early and run 3 miles before running the remaining 12 at our traditional 7am Saturday Start. I took the first 3 miles slow, but everything seemed ok. And then I took plenty of time to stretch during the group announcements before we took off for our 12 mile run together. I did amazingly well for those 15 total miles. Especially the first 13. I was able to run with no pain, but I noticed I was getting a little tired during the 14th and 15th mile. The last two miles I noticed I was struggling to pick up my feet as well, and I tripped and nearly fell flat on my face TWICE in a span of about a half mile. Only a little embarassing in front of the entire group. Who cares though... I look like I run in work socks, anyways. All in all, another great week. I wasn't beat, but I definitely didn't feel bad about vegging out and watching football the rest of the day. Now, another week closer to my marathon.
The pictures last week got great reviews, so I have decided to share a couple of my post-15 mile ice bath.
Getting ready to ice down with a bathtub full of 5 bags of ice:
Sometimes I feel like this is the hardest part of marathon training:
Thanks for the comments. I will keep you updated next week!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Marathon Training: Week 9
Another week in the books and this was a step-back week, so no major surprises. Although I've been trying to run on Mondays, this Monday I was in the car driving back to Atlanta from our Labor Day weekend. When we got home, I didn't have it in me to run. I should have though, because Tuesday was extremely busy at work and I missed the 3 miles.
Wednesday, I was supposed to bump up to 7 miles so I decided to join my running group in Buckhead for the run. However, this new strategy had its drawbacks. It was really hot running with the group at 6pm vs. late night or early morning. And unlike the Saturday run, there is no water along the course. I wish I had known that... before I showed up ready to run with no water in 91 degree heat. Luckily for me, about 3 miles in, someone was watering their grass and I decided to stick my head in their sprinkler. It wasn't much, but it kept me going. Needless to say, I don't feel guilty about only running 6 miles instead of the 7 I had on my schedule.
Thursday was a 4 mile run and it was very difficult. But I couldn't cheat since I had skipped Tuesday and cut Wednesday short by a mile.
Saturday represented a step-back run for me, running just 10 miles with the group. It wasn't too bad and I feel geared up for another week of training this coming week.
As promised, included some photos of all the gear I have purchased to help me through this journey.
TRAINING CALENDAR: This is where I have all of my runs scheduled out from Day 1 of training through Marathon Day. Its on the wall in my garage, so I have to look at it every day.
CALF STRETCHER: Not sure if this is really its name. But it does a great job stretching my calves. This has been really important for me to help keep my calves loose and help minimize shin splints. Also note the running shoes that I wear only during training.
RUNNING SHORTS: Did you know that real running shorts have a liner sewn into them?
THE STICK: A great way to massage the calf and hamstring. It helps to have a teammate willing to roll it on you.
FOAM ROLLER: When The Stick isn't enough, the foam roller can also help loosen muscles on the entire leg. Especially useful when your teammate is mad at you.
MY TWO FAVORITE THINGS:
1. GPS WATCH: The GPS watch is super cool. It can track absolutely everything from my heartrate, distance, pace, elevation, grade, calories, to my horoscope ;).
2. BODY GLIDE: This is a life saver. Enough said.
WATER BELT: 6 bottles.
CALF SLEEVES: I get asked about these the most. They help with shin splints and speed up post-run recovery time.
That's it for this week. I will post again next week after my new personal long of 15 miles next Saturday.
Wednesday, I was supposed to bump up to 7 miles so I decided to join my running group in Buckhead for the run. However, this new strategy had its drawbacks. It was really hot running with the group at 6pm vs. late night or early morning. And unlike the Saturday run, there is no water along the course. I wish I had known that... before I showed up ready to run with no water in 91 degree heat. Luckily for me, about 3 miles in, someone was watering their grass and I decided to stick my head in their sprinkler. It wasn't much, but it kept me going. Needless to say, I don't feel guilty about only running 6 miles instead of the 7 I had on my schedule.
Thursday was a 4 mile run and it was very difficult. But I couldn't cheat since I had skipped Tuesday and cut Wednesday short by a mile.
Saturday represented a step-back run for me, running just 10 miles with the group. It wasn't too bad and I feel geared up for another week of training this coming week.
As promised, included some photos of all the gear I have purchased to help me through this journey.
TRAINING CALENDAR: This is where I have all of my runs scheduled out from Day 1 of training through Marathon Day. Its on the wall in my garage, so I have to look at it every day.
CALF STRETCHER: Not sure if this is really its name. But it does a great job stretching my calves. This has been really important for me to help keep my calves loose and help minimize shin splints. Also note the running shoes that I wear only during training.
RUNNING SHORTS: Did you know that real running shorts have a liner sewn into them?
THE STICK: A great way to massage the calf and hamstring. It helps to have a teammate willing to roll it on you.
FOAM ROLLER: When The Stick isn't enough, the foam roller can also help loosen muscles on the entire leg. Especially useful when your teammate is mad at you.
MY TWO FAVORITE THINGS:
1. GPS WATCH: The GPS watch is super cool. It can track absolutely everything from my heartrate, distance, pace, elevation, grade, calories, to my horoscope ;).
2. BODY GLIDE: This is a life saver. Enough said.
WATER BELT: 6 bottles.
CALF SLEEVES: I get asked about these the most. They help with shin splints and speed up post-run recovery time.
That's it for this week. I will post again next week after my new personal long of 15 miles next Saturday.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Marathon Training: Week 8
Sorry for the late post everybody! It's been quite a week.
Leslie and I went to North Carolina to visit my grandmother for Labor Day, so it has been tough to get back and post. However, unlike not sticking to my blogging schedule, I did stick to my running schedule this week.
To recap, I had a 3-6-3 last week. And a whopping 13 miles on Saturday. If you remember, week before last, I had decided to move my Tuesday run to Monday to help avoid the dreaded shin pain later in the week. It worked out well, and I wanted to do this again this week, but I was starting to come down with a cold and felt tired on Monday, so I pushed the run back to Tuesday. On Tuesday, I still wasn't feeling great, but I decided to walk my neighborhood and just see how I felt. I noticed after walking a half-mile, that my heart rate wasn't any higher than normal so I decided to run a mile and see how things went. First mile was good, so I completed the 3 mile run. Didn't set any records, but another training run down.
Wednesday I felt mostly the same, so I decided I was going to brave the 6 miler. It was a little easier to get motivated because my neighbor wanted to join me for the run. After completing the 6 miles, I was more worried about my shins than I was my cold. So I guess that meant my health was ok.
Not wanting to overdo it, I did take Thursday off and packed for my trip to North Carolina.
Saturday was quite a big day since it was my first long run by myself (away from my running group) AND it was in the NC mountains AND I still had the remnants of my cold. I thought it would be neat to run to Virginia and back to say that I had run across a state line. I didn't take into account how freaking hilly this stupid idea was. The first 4 miles were brutal. But I stuck with it. After crossing the Virginia line, the rest of my run was remarkably normal and I felt great. Miles 5-9 were a breeze. Given the difficulty of the course I began to fatigue a little and by mile 13 I was running on will power alone. However, I did finish and I am very proud of myself. I essentially ran a mountainous half marathon carrying my own water along the way. Though the perk of running home to grandma's house is that you get ham biscuits, eggs and grits when you get there.
The week ended with a simple 5 mile walk as cross training, and now it's off to focusing on next week. Next week will be a step-back week for me, so I will run a 3-7-4 and a 10 miler on Saturday. I will try not to bore you and provide an equipment update for you next week in addition to my blog post, so stay tuned.
Leslie and I went to North Carolina to visit my grandmother for Labor Day, so it has been tough to get back and post. However, unlike not sticking to my blogging schedule, I did stick to my running schedule this week.
To recap, I had a 3-6-3 last week. And a whopping 13 miles on Saturday. If you remember, week before last, I had decided to move my Tuesday run to Monday to help avoid the dreaded shin pain later in the week. It worked out well, and I wanted to do this again this week, but I was starting to come down with a cold and felt tired on Monday, so I pushed the run back to Tuesday. On Tuesday, I still wasn't feeling great, but I decided to walk my neighborhood and just see how I felt. I noticed after walking a half-mile, that my heart rate wasn't any higher than normal so I decided to run a mile and see how things went. First mile was good, so I completed the 3 mile run. Didn't set any records, but another training run down.
Wednesday I felt mostly the same, so I decided I was going to brave the 6 miler. It was a little easier to get motivated because my neighbor wanted to join me for the run. After completing the 6 miles, I was more worried about my shins than I was my cold. So I guess that meant my health was ok.
Not wanting to overdo it, I did take Thursday off and packed for my trip to North Carolina.
Saturday was quite a big day since it was my first long run by myself (away from my running group) AND it was in the NC mountains AND I still had the remnants of my cold. I thought it would be neat to run to Virginia and back to say that I had run across a state line. I didn't take into account how freaking hilly this stupid idea was. The first 4 miles were brutal. But I stuck with it. After crossing the Virginia line, the rest of my run was remarkably normal and I felt great. Miles 5-9 were a breeze. Given the difficulty of the course I began to fatigue a little and by mile 13 I was running on will power alone. However, I did finish and I am very proud of myself. I essentially ran a mountainous half marathon carrying my own water along the way. Though the perk of running home to grandma's house is that you get ham biscuits, eggs and grits when you get there.
The week ended with a simple 5 mile walk as cross training, and now it's off to focusing on next week. Next week will be a step-back week for me, so I will run a 3-7-4 and a 10 miler on Saturday. I will try not to bore you and provide an equipment update for you next week in addition to my blog post, so stay tuned.
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