2 Weeks Post-Race

I had a feeling I would neglect the blog a bit after the marathon. Turns out I was right. 15 days later and I’m back!

It’s been so weird not training for the marathon. My life pretty much revolved around it for 18 weeks. I was either running or  thinking about running or talking about running all the time. I’m glad to be able to focus on other things now, but last Saturday I also found myself missing my long run! So strange.

The week following the marathon I took it very, very easy. I biked and ellipticalled everyday, but with very little resistance and very little speed. I wanted to run at the end of that week even though my legs were still a bit sore, but I ended up not fitting it in. It turns out it was a good thing I didn’t have the time because with a few extra days off of running I felt 100% better. I think it took 8 days to feel totally normal again, which isn’t too bad if you ask me! It was also a nice change to relax!

I went for 2 runs this past week. The first was a 3.5 miler on the treadmill. Now THAT was weird! I didn’t do one training run inside, and I have no idea what compelled me to run on the treadmill this past week. It is definitely less natural than running outside. The second was a speedy 5 miler outside. I kept the pace under 10 minute miles and it was the perfect weather. I ran around my neighborhood and then down to the river. It was fantastic.

I have also added back in strength training, which I am loving! I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I did some great work outs where I did circuits of cardio and strength to keep my heart rate up. It was really fun!

I wanted to run 7 miles this weekend, but the weekend seemed to slip away from me. I’m starting to realize that I will live (shocker!) if I skip a run or two. I don’t want to slack off completely because Broad Street is in a month. But I’m going to try and take a more relaxed approach with this race.

I’ll try to start weekly recaps again, but no promises!

–Melissa

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Marathon Training – Week 18

Well, this is it! I don’t have any more work outs until Saturday. The next time I lace up my sneakers will be to run 26.2 miles.

So crazy.

This week (or half of a week) had some great work outs. Here they are:

Monday: Speed Work – I was a little surprised to see that I still had speed work on my schedule this week. It was a 10 minute warm up, 6×400 with 400 RI, and a 10 minute cool down. I killed it! I warmed up at a 10:07 pace. The fast 400 splits: 7:42, 7:16, 6:44, 8:41, 6:42, 7:42. Then I cooled down with a 1 mile jog and some walking for a total of 5.8 miles.

I didn’t mean to be that speedy, but it felt natural, so I went with it. I’ll admit for the resting intervals I just walked. I know I’m supposed to be tapering so I wanted to keep this “easy”.

Tuesday: Cross Training – I went to a Spinning class because I know they don’t make me sore and it’s still great cardio. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst Spinning classes I have ever been to. Actually, no, it was definitely THE WORST, ever. The class is supposed to be 45 minutes (which I actually prefer over an hour long class because my mind starts to wander), but the instructor cut it short at 35 minutes. The instructor did nothing but 2 count jumps for the majority of the class. It was so absurd that I started doing my own thing.  Since it was only 35 minutes, I went and ellipticalled for 15 minutes after and then stretched for a bit.

Wednesday: Short Run – This was the last run of training! I couldn’t believe it. This was a 3 mile run at planned marathon pace. Honestly, I don’t know what my PMP is. When I first started training I thought I could do it at 10:20/mile. Then once I got further into training I realized that was unrealistic. However, I haven’t really been consistent. Some of my longer runs have been great with paces around 10:45, others have been not so great, and I don’t even want to calculate my pace. So it really depends how I feel on race day. I’m going to push myself (obviously…I will be running 26.2 miles…) but pushing myself means different things on different days for me. So we will see! There was a part in the book, The Extra Mile, that I just finished that I liked:

“Training and experience can make you more ready and more likely to do better on any given day, but there will always be that occasion when, no matter how prepared you are, it just isn’t your day.”

Anyway, back to today’s run. I decided to just do a “comfortable run” this was definitely faster than PMP. The splits: 9:58, 9:48, 9:20. Then I cooled down for a couple minutes before I had to hustle home to get ready for work, for a total of 3.18 miles. I can’t remember the last time I just ran 3 miles! It felt amazing. It was also great because I hit snooze about a million times and I still had time to work out before work and still make it there on time!

Thursday and Friday will be rest days.

So there you have it. 18 weeks of training. Over 410 miles of running. (Honestly I thought this would be more! But still cool. And totally time for a new pair of sneakers after the race!) I can hardly believe I made it through training. I woke up before the sun most days and gave up a lot of sleep, but I did it (despite people telling me I shouldn’t even try)! Anyway, here we are, with just TWO days until the marathon!

I’m so nervous for a few reasons (warning, the rest of this is a lot of rambling, but it’s helping me get out some of the jitters!):

1. I’m afraid I won’t finish. This doesn’t mean I’m not going to give it my all. But, you never know what might happen.

2. I’m afraid I won’t finish in time. This course has a 5 and half hour time limit. From what I’ve read, this is pretty short for a marathon, most seem to be 6-7 hour time limits (though I could be wrong). When I signed up for the race it said the course time limit was TBD, so I didn’t think much of it and assumed it would be something reasonable for a race like a Rock and Roll race which caters towards more casual runners. There is a cut off point around mile 12 and if you aren’t there in time they will make you go towards the half marathon finish instead of continuing on to do the full marathon. I don’t anticipate needing to go to the half marathon finish. I have run 12 miles many, many times in an hour less than the cut off time, but I’m concerned about when I cross the START line, because that will cut into my time to get to mile 12. I guess the worst that happens is I run a half marathon on Saturday.

3. I am having back pain again. I scheduled an acupuncture appointment for this afternoon, so I’m hoping that she gets all the kinks out, and FAST! because the last time I had this back pain I made it less than a mile into my long run before quitting and running straight to the place where I get massages.

4. The weather. I have been stalking the weather in DC like it is my job. First it said it was going to be hot. Then it said rain. Then it said thunderstorms. Now it says hot again. I have done every one of my training runs in 30-40 degree weather (except for the 18 miler which was sooo chilly). I am used to bundling up just a bit and feeling warm but not too warm in all my layers. I have done all my long runs with a jacket also. I put my phone (which has my music) in one pocket and my Gu in the other pocket. I wear my Camelbak too (I have decided to wear this for race day also. I’d rather have it and not use it than want it) but it’s annoying to get anything out of the pockets because you have to take it off.

I think I have decided that I will wear a tank top instead of my usual long sleeve turtleneck as my 1st layer, and then a long sleeved tech tee as my top layer (which I usually wear as my middle layer). Then I will put my phone in my Camelbak because I don’t think I will need to take it out for any reason, and in the off chance that I do need to, I’ll just take off my Camelbak, which isn’t the end of the world. Then I’ll put my Gu in my Spi Belt. Yes, I will feel like a pack mule and a little ridiculous with all these “extras” with me while I run, but I think this is the best bet. I want to carry my own Gu even though they have it on the course, because the flavors (Strawberry Banana and Blueberry Pomegranate) sound terrible to me. I also plan to wear my ear warmer because my headphones fall out otherwise, and if I get too hot I’ll just toss it.

Even with all these fears, I am SO excited too. I am already itching to run and I can’t wait to get out there and give it my all!

And since this post is already very random and long, how about a Dad picture:

Ready or not…

–Melissa

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Marathon Training – Week 10

Week 10! I can’t believe it’s already been 2 and a half months of training. Less than 2 to go. Wow. This week had the potential to be very, very, VERY challenging. I started a new rotation at work. My days looked something like this:

5:00 or 5:30 am (depending on the day) – wake up and work out

7:20 am – leave for work

8:20 am – get to work

10:15 pm- leave work

11:15 pm- get home and go to sleep

Repeat.

Ouch.

But, I managed to make it through the week. I’m going to take it one week at a time. Only 5 weeks to go until I’m back to my “normal” work. It’s pretty crazy how a week ago I couldn’t even imagine waking up this early, but that was back when I got out of work around 6ish. So, now that I am much more pressed for time I have to make it work somehow!

So, this weeks work outs:

Monday: Speed Work – Warmed up with 1.06 miles at a 9:36 pace. Then it was 8×400 with 1:30 of rest in between each quarter mile. The 400 paces were: 7:56, 7:47, 9:36, 7:40, 7:48, 8:36, 8:03, 8:03. I’m not sure what happened with that 3rd 400, but otherwise I thought that was a great run. Then I cooled down with a mile of running and .3 of walking, for a total for the day of 5.06 miles.

Tuesday: Cross Training – During my normal work routine, I can never get to spinning class (6 am on Tuesdays) in time. This week, I made it! It wasn’t the greatest teacher ever, but it was nice to be in a class that early and have someone else push me.

Wednesday: Tempo Run – This was supposed to be 8 miles at a 10k + 40 second pace. (On Wednesday I got confused and thought it was 10k + 20 seconds.) For me that means 10 minute miles. Totally do-able. But….this was one of the worst runs ever. I think it was a combination of being over tired and thinking I had to do it faster than I really had to. My legs did not want to run. At all. So I ended up walking a ton of this run. Oh well. The splits: 9:53, 10:33, 11:57, 11:36, 14:46, 12:43, 12:25, 12:16. Not pretty. But I still managed to move 8 miles even before most people wake up in the morning, so that has to count for something, right?

Thursday: Cross Training – Elliptical and upper body weights. Pretty standard for a cross training work out. I really love weight training. Feels so good! Then I stretched for a while because my new desk chair is beyond uncomfortable. That felt great too!

Friday: Cross Training – I did a fun little cardio circuit. Bike, elliptical, arc trainer. Then I did some planks and called it a day.

Saturday: Rest – I also have to work Saturdays until the end of February. This makes squeezing in long runs a bit more tricky, but I think I can make Sunday long runs work. I thought about hitting the gym but it wasn’t open before I left for work and I was beat by the time I got home. It was nice to relax on my couch for a change.

Sunday: Long run – this was a step back week. It’s official. Step back weeks are the greatest thing to EVER happen to marathon training plans. EVER! I had to do 12 miles today. 12 miles…psh easy! I was feeling really great at the start of my run and didn’t really want to start with the walking breaks. But I forced myself to do it anyway because I think I really want to run the race this way (.9 mile run/.1 mile walk). Well, it totally worked. Not to brag, but I killed it today. The splits: 10:22, 10:34, 10:26, 10:34, 10:50, 11:02 (it was icy here and I had to slow down so I didn’t wipe out), 10:17, 10:19, 10:05, 10:45, 10:09, 10:37. Then I cooled down for 1.08 miles with walking. I actually ran into Mom at 11.48 miles, stopped to chat for a second, finished the last half mile and then met back up with her for the cool down. But did you see that!!! Only ONE mile above 11 minutes. This was a total confidence builder. Woo hoo!

Total miles: 24.14 miles

Back to the super early work outs tomorrow. Let’s hope I can do it again this week!

–Melissa

 

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Marathon Training – Week 5

This was not a good week. My runs were terrible. I know that not every run can be great though. So hopefully next week will be better.

Monday: Cross training – I headed to the gym before work for a half hour of elliptical and a half hour of weight lifting. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Tuesday: Birthday Speed Work!!! – I started with a mile warm up at a9:57 pace. Then I did 6 x 800 with 90 seconds rest in between. My 6 half mile splits were: 8:30, 7:18, 8:42, 7:12, 8:14, 8:52. Then I cooled down with a mile at 9:32. I walked until I got home for a half mile for a total of 6.05 miles.

Now I know that the splits SOUND good. But, this was terrible. I felt awful the whole time and it was just not fun. I think I will try to tone it down a little for next week’s speed work.

Wednesday: Cross training – I almost overslept so I only had time for 15 minutes of elliptical and 15 minutes of weight lifting. It was too short, but better than nothing.

Thursday: Tempo Run – I had a pretty crazy day which involved me going to New Jersey for a birthday dress I had put on hold. But I didn’t end up getting that dress and spent way too long shopping. But! I found a dress I had been wanting for a while on a super great sale!

I didn’t get home until really late and went for my run much later than I had hoped. Luckily I only had to run 5 miles instead of the 6 that I had been running in past weeks. The splits: 9:15, 9;27, 9:35, 9:14, 9:02. Then I cooled down for .4 miles.

Friday: Rest – I wanted to wake up early and go to work out with mom. But, I didn’t sleep very well and decided that sleeping and skipping this work out would be better for my marathon goals.

Saturday: Long run – I had 12 miles on the schedule today. It was horrific. My legs would not listen to my brain. I started off slow in hopes that I could finish strong. That didn’t turn out so well. I started off slow and then crashed and burned. I ended up walking a lot. I would run for one song, and then run/walk whenever I felt like it for the next song, and kept alternating. It worked to get the run over with, but it was much slower than I had hoped. I ended up running the whole last mile and pushed really hard to finish strong. Then I cooled down with walking until I got home. The splits:

Mile 1	11:39
Mile 2	10:57
Mile 3	10:48
Mile 4	10:36
Mile 5	10:37
Mile 6	11:35
Mile 7	12:38
Mile 8	11:16
Mile 9	12:07
Mile 10	11:43
Mile 11	14:20
Mile 12	9:58
Cool down .96	18:45

I was disappointed with the run. But like I said, not all runs can be perfect. I run 10 miles this week and 12 the week after so hopefully those will go more smoothly.

Sunday: Cross training – I ellipticalled for 1 hour.

Total miles: 23.45 miles

So tired from birthday weekend. I’ll try to write more next week!

–Melissa

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Marathon Training – Week 2

Week 1 seemed a lot easier than this week. But, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I was traveling to and from/running in Antigua. Here’s how this week went:

Monday: Speed work – I wanted to work a half day because I had so much to do before leaving for Antigua. But, I ended up working a full day. I squeezed in my speed work after work and before packing. Per my training plan, I started with a 13 minute warm up. I warmed up at a 9:12 pace and got in 1.42 miles. Then I did 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes easy 6 times. My fast splits were 8:27, 8:35, 8:48, 8:31, 8:05, 8:36. Then I cooled down for 15 minutes. My total mileage for Monday was 5.44 miles. I was glad my fast splits were more reasonable this week. My goal pace for those are 8:34, so I was right around there.

Tuesday : Off – I was traveling to Antigua and left my apartment at 4 am. A workout was not in the cards.

Wednesday: 5 miles – It was supposed to be a 6 mile tempo run, but running in Antigua is HARD. It was very hot outside and after the first 2 miles I did a run/walk. I really don’t want to cheat myself on my training, but this time I think I made a good judgement call. I finished the 5 miles in about an hour. After my run, I went to kite surfing lessons. So we can call that cross training too 😉

Thursday: 1 mile run, 3.92 mile walk – It was supposed to be a cross training day, but Vic asked me to go for a 1 mile run with her. And who am I to say no?! Then we met up with Mom, Aunt Helene, Aunt Joyce, and Uncle Archie for the rest of our walk. It was equally hot as the day before and I was glad I only had to run 1 mile. I am also glad that I got in that extra mile so I still hit my weekly total that I was aiming for. Then I went kite surfing again!

Friday: Rest –  Too much rum punch + too much sun + staying up late = much needed sleep-in morning. But I did kite surf again.

Saturday: Walk – I’m not sure how far we went, but I would guess it was around 4 miles. Then I sat on the plane for hours on my way back to Philly.

Sunday: 9 mile run – This run was HARD. I think it’s because I was still so tired/dehydrated from traveling, but  I sucked it up and pushed through. I finished at a 10:20 pace, which is right on target but I still don’t feel great about how I felt during it. My splits were: 10:13, 10:25, 10:17, 10:27, 10:37, 10:33, 10:37, 10:22, 9:28. I pushed myself so hard during that last mile. Then I cooled down for .87 miles with walking until I got home. I stopped around mile 5 to fuel. I ate half of an espresso Gu. It was my first time using Gu and I think I took in too much water, but I did like the Gu a lot. It tastes like frosting! I only had half because I wanted to make sure it didn’t mess up my tummy at all. I ate the rest of it just before mile 8. Even though it was a painful run I’m glad I made it through it!

Total miles: 20.44 running + all the walks in Antigua.

I just bought a new pair of sneakers and some Gus to experiment with fueling to see what works for me. I can’t wait to try out my new kicks on my next run!

Now it’s back to reality. No more paradise and back to work, but I’m ready for week 3!

–Melissa

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Wardrobe Malfunctions

What a yucky rainy day! I got SOAKED during my walk to work. The dress I was wearing was black and white and I was wearing a black belt. Since I got all wet, the black from the back of the belt bled onto the white part of the dress. This happened once before and I’ll take it to the dry cleaners and I’m sure they will fix it but the little man who works at my dry cleaners yelled at me for it last time. Why I am afraid of a 4 foot tall dry cleaner is beyond me….

After work I hit the gym (because it was raining again) for a treadmill interval run. When I got to the locker room to change into my gym clothes I realized I had another wardrobe malfunction. My gym clothes were soaked from the monsoon in the morning! I was on the phone with Vic and she said it didn’t matter, so I put them on anyway, but they were so cold!

I did 3 sets of intervals for 10 minutes each. Set 1 was one minute at 8.0 and one minute at 4.0. Set 2 was one minute at 9.0 and one minute at 4.0. Set 3 was one minute at 7.0 and one minute at 4.0. Then I walked for 5 minutes at 4.0, ran for 10 minutes at 6.0, and walked again for 15 minutes at 4.0. I was planning on running more at the end but walking felt like a good way to unwind considering it was almost 9 by this point. This ended up being 5.37 miles in 60 minutes. The intervals were actually not that hard but running faster than 9.0 scares me! Maybe I will try for 9.1 and go from there next time.

Bed time! I’m hoping to get an upper body work out in the morning because my best friend is coming to Philly tomorrow night! And then we are off to the beach! I think a boardwalk run is in my future!

–Melissa

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Mission Accomplished

I just got back from an awesome run! So, I feel like I always talk about my terrible ability to wake up in the morning, but it happened again. Last night I woke up at 2 am and could not fall back to sleep until 5 am. So annoying!

Of course I missed my first alarm (the one I set to work out in the mornings) and only managed to get up for my second alarm (the one I set to just get to work on time). I packed up my gym gear so I could go after work.

It looked rainy all day and I figured I would just run inside (it was a cardio day today), but when I left work it was GORGEOUS outside and I knew I had to run outside. I decided to not worry about time and just see what I could do. But, once I started going I felt great and decided to push myself to get three sub-10 minute miles.

Mission accomplished! My splits were: 9:42, 9:28, and 9:11. Yay! Then I walked for a while, then I did 5 sprint intervals (each tenth of mile in around 40-45 seconds) then I walked some more, for a total of 5 miles.

Off to enjoy the rest of my night!

–Melissa

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Another Race

I have to make this really quick because I was supposed to be DONE with my run by 10 today so I could study. But, I slept later than planned and didn’t leave for my run until 10:45. Whoops. I must have needed my sleep after partying for  Aunt Nancy’s 50th all day yesterday 😉

Cousins

Mom and Aunts

Sisters

Anyway, I was planning on doing 4 miles. Once I realized how humid it was I said to myself…”wellll maybe just 3″. But before I knew it I had run 4 miles and decided to do one more of walk/sprint intervals. So in total I did a little over 5 miles but only ran 4.5 of that.

From the moment I left on my run it looked like it was going to pour, so I decided to go up and down every side street so that I tacked on mileage without being very far from my apartment in case I had to get home quickly in the rain. It added a whole extra mile to my usual route!

The walk/sprint intervals were REALLY fun. I usually reserve intervals for treadmill workouts because it’s easier to control. Since it’s harder to tell when running outside, I decided on walking instead of jogging/slower running. Every tenth of mile (according to my Garmin) I would sprint for 1/10th of a mile and then switch back to walking. It ended up being about a 12 minute mile which I think is pretty good since half of it was walking at a very leisurely pace. Next time I think I would focus on walking a little faster during my easy tenths.

Last night I was on the phone with a friend and she asked if I wanted to do a Memorial Day 10k with her. I am going to be down the shore for Memorial Day weekend with her and another friend who also runs so I think the 3 of us will probably do it! I’m excited for another race!

Laundry, grocery shopping, STUDY! Ahhh! 9 days til Reg….

–Melissa

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Duck Lips

4 or 5 years ago I got a really bad sun burn. So bad that my lips swelled and I looked like a duck.

Now I’m slightly afraid of the sun. When I go to the beach I’m typically the shiniest person there because I put on sun screen like it’s my job. Ever since then, I burn so easily you would think I am a natural red head or something. Well apparently sitting in the sun for a few hours studying was a really bad idea because my entire upper back is bright red. It hurts when anything touches it, including the back of a chair and my bed. And my sports bra. I really hope that it is slightly less painful by Sunday! Ouch!

Tonight I headed out for a 5 miler. It was hot, hot, hot! Luckily it looks like the weather will be a little cooler on Sunday. I’m crossing my fingers! I tried to relax and just let my legs go, sort of unattached from the rest of me. It worked! I wasn’t pushing overly hard and yet my pace was right on average for me. I’m going to try to do this for the race too. I’m pretty nervous about surviving the 10 miler!

5 more days!

–Melissa

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More Strength

After yesterday’s weight lifting I felt awesome. So I’ve decided to do more of that. For now it will be in addition to running because I do have that whole 10 mile race  thing coming up. You know, the one I’m completely under trained for. Yikes.

I decided on a mini strength routine and a treadmill run tonight after work. I was half way through my strength training when I remembered I had worked some of the same muscles yesterday. Oops. But, since that work out was at 5:30 am and this one was at 6:30 pm we can pretend it was 2 days apart. Right?! Right.

I did this circuit 3 times:

-squats
-jumping jacks
-crunches
-plank
-hamstring curls on the ball
-crunches with legs on the ball

Then I ran 5.5 miles in 50 minutes with another .5 miles of walking to cool down.

Then I rushed home to catch an episode of Extreme Couponing.

Don’t knock it til you watch it. So good.

–Melissa

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