Madison Marathon Training: Week 15/16 Recap

Disclaimer:  I am running the Madison Marathon presented by SSM Health in November as a BibRave Pro, which means my entry fee was covered for me. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!  Wanna run Madison with me?  Enter code MMRAVE18 at registration for 20% off!

I ended up doing a combination of weeks 15 and 16 last week in an effort to catch up to my plan.  If you missed last week's recap, I discovered that I am a week behind my training plan due to miscounting weeks.  I know.  Some days it is hard to count up to 18.  {Eye roll to myself.}  Anyways, I didn't want to entirely just skip week 15 because that is peak week on my plan so I ended up coming pretty darn close to peak week mileage.  Plan for week 15 called for 63 miles, plan for week 16 called for 56 miles.  I ended up with 61.7.

Overall it was a decent week.  I was very nervous about the 10 mile tempo and I felt so good that I ended up running it in 6:41 avg.  I think a lot of this has to do with afternoon vs. morning running.  I just do not usually feel good running first thing in the morning; and because of that, I am opting to really take advantage of some flexibility in my work schedule to accommodate afternoon runs during the week.  I had to choose between the 3 x 2 mile workout or the 4 x 1.5 and I chose the 3 x 2 because I find that to be more difficult. 

Here was my week:

Sunday Oct 21

Plan says:  8 easy miles

What I did:  8.15 miles, 1:09:21 (8:30 avg)

Monday Oct 22

Plan says: Off

What I did:  Off

Tuesday Oct 23

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 3 x 2 miles with 0.5 mile recovery in between each set, 1.5 mile cool down

What I did: This was challenging as my legs felt tired, but I was able to complete the workout and execute my pacing better than the first time I did this workout, a few weeks ago.  I had one of those "An OTQ marathon is running 6:17 pace and I struggled through running that for 2 miles, how am I eventually going to do a full at that pace?!" mental spirals that are so not helpful!

1.5 mile warm up, 11:43 (7:49 avg pace)

1 - 2 miles, 12:46 (6:23 avg pace) / 0.5 mile 4:15 (8:31 avg pace)
2 - 2 miles, 12:36 (6:18 avg pace) / 0.5 mile 4:19 (8:39 avg pace)
3 - 2 miles, 12:54 (6:27 avg pace) / 0.5 mile 4:02 (8:04 avg pace)

1.52 mile cool down, 12:19 (8:07 avg pace)

Wednesday Oct 24

Plan says:  easy 6 miles

What I did:  Squeezed this in on the afternoon.  6.51 miles, 53:10 (8:10 avg pace)

Thursday Oct 25

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 10 miles tempo, 1.5 miles cool down

What I did:  I left work early to get this done in the afternoon.  I was so so nervous about this...so much so that my legs felt shaky in the first few miles.  Good practice for race day, I guess.  I used the Gu Roctane gels and loved them so I think I will be using them for race day and just dealing with the viscosity.  (I have used Gu gels in all of my races to date and have been trying some other options because I find it difficult to choke down Gu in the last miles.  No other gels have been quite as successful as the Gu gels for me, so I'm just going to stick with them for race day.)

1.50 mile, 12:06 (8:04 avg pace)
10 miles, 1:06:53 (6:41 avg pace)
1.5 miles, 12:01 (7:59 avg pace)

Friday Oct 26

Plan says:  easy 7 miles

What I did:  7.5 miles, 1:00:47 (8:06 avg pace)

Saturday Oct 27

Plan says:  long 16 miles

What I did:  This is my third and final 16 miler on the plan.  My 16 milers have not been that speedy - and truthfully, I have felt tired for every single one.  As I mentioned earlier, I think a large part of this is that two of my 16 mile runs have been done at 5 in the morning, off of little fuel.  My best 16 mile run was the first one, which I had the ability to do in the afternoon, off of lunch fuel.  I haven't freaked out too much though because even though my pace is on the slow end, it is still within the range prescribed.  This is a case where I see other people's long runs on social media and comparison sometimes gets the best of me.  Head down...stick to the plan.  It hasn't failed me yet!

16.01 miles, 2:14:38 (8:25 avg pace)

Plan Total: Between 56-63 miles

What I did: 61.7 miles

Product Review: Now Foods BCAA Big 6

Product Review: Now® Foods BCAA Big 6

Disclaimer:  I received both watermelon and grape BCAA Big 6 from Now® Foods in exchange for this review.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!

Roar talks about the benefits of including BCAAs in your diet, particularly if you are a female athlete

I first heard about Branched Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs, when I read Roar (a book I also recommend for female athletes).  I was excited to have the opportunity to test the Now® Foods BCAA Big 6 supplement through the majority of my training for Madison Marathon.

Just add water!

So what are BCAAs?  They are essential amino acids that serve as building blocks of protein, which helps fuel muscles during workouts and can help support recovery post-workout.  "Essential" means that your body cannot make them on their own, so you have to get them from your diet.  The Now® Foods BCAA Big 6 product makes this very easy.  You add a scoop of powder to 16-20 oz of water, shake, and drink.  Now® Foods sent me a shaker for this product, but I have found that it blends very easily by just shaking it in a regular water bottle too.

Watermelon and Grape BCAAs

There are two flavors, watermelon and grape.  I received the watermelon first so I have used that the most and liked the taste.  I prefer it with really cold water and ice so I keep a tub of it in my desk at work because we have an ice and water machine there.  This also helps me with recovery because often if I do a tough workout in the morning, I am racing to get to the office.

Yes, my desk drawer is really messy.

Then I got the grape in the mail and all bets were off.  I am forever Team Grape :)

I also like that the company, Now® Foods, is a highly-tested brand.  The company conducts more than 16,000 tests each month for identity, purity, strength and composition to ensure that what is on the label is in the bottle.  They are also third-party certified via Informed-Sport for added purity assurance.  This program certifies that their products have been tested for more than 200 banned substances by their anti-doping lab.

Recovery Day! Calf sleeves + BCAAs

My typical use of this product has been to aid recovery and I have been impressed with how my recovery has gone this training cycle.  If you have been following my training log, you know that I just bumped up to the Hanson's Advanced Marathon Training plan and it is a doozy.  I was super tired from all of the initial miles in the early weeks and I feel that the BCAAs are working for me.  I also like drinking a full bottle of the product before going to bed the night before a tough workout.

If you are interested in trying either the watermelon or grape, use this Amazon link to save 20% off.  This is a one-time promo code for your use.  It is not an affiliate link (i.e., I do not make any money off of it.)  You can also enter code 20NOWBCAA on Amazon.com for either flavor of the product.  The link or code are good until 11/15/18. 

You can also join in #BibChat on Twitter this week, which will be sponsored by Now® Foods!  Tuesday night, 8 PM Central Time.  Follow @bibrave for instructions.  (While you are at it, follow me @amyschlott )

Have you ever used BCAAs?  Let me know in the comments!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

CHI Marathon 2019

Do you know where you will be in 353 days?

On October 13, 2019 specifically?

I know where I'll be?

RUNNING THE CHICAGO MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I applied to the American Development Program two days ago and my acceptance just arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Madison Marathon Training: Week 14 Training Recap - And a BIG OOPS!

Disclaimer:  I am running the Madison Marathon presented by SSM Health in November as a BibRave Pro, which means my entry fee was covered for me. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!  Wanna run Madison with me?  Enter code MMRAVE18 at registration for 20% off!

The biggest thing that happened last week is that I realized that I am a WEEK BEHIND IN TRAINING.  Seriously.  I am not sure how this happened.  Obviously, I miscounted weeks.  I should have started the week of July 8 instead of July 15.  So annoying.  All in all though not a big deal.  What this means is that I will be missing a strength workout and a tempo run.  Given that I have been consistent throughout this training block, I do not think this is that big of a deal.

Last week was a recovery week.  It went well, although I was feeling decent all week - none of that deep fatigue that I have had in previous weeks which led me to have much less variation in pace than I typically do.  My easy runs were at a faster pace than usual. 

Sunday Oct 14

Plan says:  6 easy miles

What I did:  6.15 miles, 49:33 (8:03 avg)

Monday Oct 15

Plan says: Off

What I did:  Off

Tuesday Oct 16

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 2 x 3 miles with 1 mile recovery in between each set, 1.5 mile cool down

What I did: I didn't feel great for the first 3 miler, but felt AMAZING for the second.  As I posted on my Instagram after this, I have noticed that the time it takes for my body to warm up seems to be increasing.  Also, I need to have a bit more fuel in the tank before doing a workout like this. Again, my goal pace for strength workouts is 6:37.

1.5 mile warm up, 11:43 (7:49 avg pace)

1 - 3 miles, 19:40 (6:32 avg pace) / 1 mile 8:17
2 - 3 miles, 19:07 (6:21 avg pace) /

3 mile cool down, 23:28 (7:49 avg pace)

Wednesday Oct 17

Plan says:  easy 6 miles

What I did:  Afternoon run!  This felt great.

6.01 miles, 47:17 (7:52 avg pace)

Thursday Oct 18

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 9 miles tempo, 1.5 miles cool down

What I did:  I had to do this in the dark morning, which I was NOT excited about.  My time for the tempo run was a full minute longer than last week.  I tried a Huma gel on this and it didn't exactly sit well with my stomach.  I think I will skip those for the marathon.

1.50 mile, 12:52 (8:35 avg pace)
9 miles, 1:01:38 (6:50 avg pace)
1.1 miles, 9:12 (8:21 avg pace)

Friday Oct 19

Plan says:  easy 10 miles

What I did:  I have been increasingly worried about the hilly course and mid-week, I found out that the woman I ran part of the Madison Mini half with was going to potentially run the Madison Marathon.  I am excited at the possibility of having someone to run with on race day!  I took advantage of my flexible Friday and actually drove to Madison in the morning to run part of the second half of the course and check out the hills first hand.  The good news is that I think the course is manageable, and that there are two hills in particular that stand out in my brain.  I anticipated that this would feel harder than it actually did given that I was doing it the day after my tempo run.

11.5 miles, 1:29:07 (7:45 avg pace)

Saturday Oct 20

Plan says:  easy 10 miles

What I did:  I had wanted to get 10 miles in but I didn't have a lot of time this day because I slept in and didn't do the early morning run so I did the amount of miles that I needed to do to hit the weekly mileage mark.

8.51 miles, 1:04:32 (7:35 avg pace)

Plan Total: 55 miles

What I did: 55.31 miles

Madison Marathon Training: Week 13 Recap

Disclaimer:  I am running the Madison Marathon presented by SSM Health in November as a BibRave Pro, which means my entry fee was covered for me. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!  Wanna run Madison with me?  Enter code MMRAVE18 at registration for 20% off!

I began this week staring at the intended weekly mileage number.  62 miles.  That is how many miles I had to cover in six days of running.  Last Sunday was a bit of a zoo - I had had very little sleep the Saturday night before and then got up to spectate at the Lakefront Marathon, quick zoomed home to change for a baby shower and then I just could NOT will myself out the door to go running.  So I started off a high mileage week with an unplanned rest day.  Not exactly the best start.

Except that it was.  Starting my week with a rest day was exactly what I needed.  I had a decent week and I logged 62.14 miles, a new weekly mileage PR.  I got all the workouts done and even CRUSHED my tempo run, which is mentally the most challenging workout for me.

My long run, the second 16-miler of the 3 prescribed over the course of 18 weeks, was actually my worst run.  I am attributing a lot of it to the weather.  I had to wake up EARLY on Saturday morning to get it done if it was going to get it done and it was dark for half of this and also freezing.  As in the temperatures were in the 20s.  I know as winter progresses, temps in the 20s will feel heavenly, but Saturday was not that day, especially when temps at the beginning of the week were in the 80s. For real!

All in all, I know not to rest on any one workout, good or bad, and the accumulation of miles is really my goal for this training plan to put myself in a good position to chase an OTQ in 2019.  I am doing well with this - a few stats:

• This October, I have already surpassed my monthly mileage from one year ago.  I logged 105.65 miles in October 2017 and today, 10/15/18, my monthly mileage is already at 116.41 and I have 16 days to go!

• I have already put on 114.55 MORE miles in this marathon buildup at this stage than in my previous marathon buildup.  After 13 weeks of training for Grandma's Marathon (my current PR and first sub-3), I had logged 504.23 miles.  This cycle, after training for 13 weeks, I have logged 618.78 miles and I am feeling good.  I mean, I am definitely tired, but I don't have any weird pains, niggles or anything.  Project Pile-On-The-Miles-And-Get-To-The-Start-Line-Healthy is going well so far!

Generally speaking, I was terrified of the Advanced Plan, but it isn't too different than the Beginner Plan in these last weeks.  I thought the beginning weeks of the Advanced Plan were more difficult for me because the mileage ramped up so fast as compared to the Beginner.

Well, enough blabbing.  Here was my week last week:

Sunday Oct 7

Plan says:  Off

What I did:  The plan didn't really say "off" - I was supposed to do 8 easy miles - but as I already mentioned, I took my rest day a day early.  The gamble paid off.

Monday Oct 8

Plan says:  8 easy miles

What I did:  Here again Monday should have been my rest day, but having taken it already, I had 8 miles to do.  Ok. Done.

8.3 miles, 1:11:21 (8:36 avg pace)

Tuesday Oct 9

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 3 x 2 miles with 0.5 mile recovery in between each set, 1.5 mile cool down

What I did:  I felt a little off on this and did not do a good job pacing it - as you will see, I got slower with each rep.  Part of this was that the temps were unusually high.  It was sunny and already mid-70s when I did this. On the positive side, at least all 3 reps were under/at my goal pace of 6:37/mile and the second mile for each set was faster than the first.

1.5 mile warm up, 12:34 (8:23 avg pace)

1 - 2 miles, 12:38 (6:19 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 4:37 (9:14 avg pace)
2 - 2 miles, 13:00 (6:30 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 5:00 (10:00 avg pace)
3 - 2 miles, 13:14 (6:37 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 4:43 (9:26 avg pace)

1.5 mile cool down, 12:56 (8:37 avg pace)

Wednesday Oct 10

Plan says:  easy 7 miles

What I did:  A tired, slog of 7 miles

7.01 miles, 1:02:00 (8:51 avg pace)

Thursday Oct 11

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 9 miles tempo, 1.5 miles cool down

What I did:  I am sensing a theme of oversleeping on tempo run day.  ARGH.  I left work early to get this done before my kids came home and really it was a perfect run.  I felt a little creaky to start but all of a sudden, it was on.  I played it safe and did a shorter warm up in case I had to bail.  I didn't have to bail and made my cool down longer to accommodate.

1.01 mile, 8:03 (8:00 avg pace)
9 miles, 1:00:38 (6:44 avg pace)
2.01 miles, 16:59 (8:28 avg pace)

Friday Oct 12

Plan says:  easy 8 miles

What I did:  I felt really good, unexpectedly, for this and probably ran it too fast which came back to bite me on my long run.

8.2 miles, 1:06:59 (8:10 avg pace)

Saturday Oct 13

Plan says:  long 16 miles

What I did:  As I said - it was mentally so challenging to even get out the door for this.  I had to pull out the winter running clothes.  It was dark.  It was so so cold.  I was still tired because I went to bed late.  Mental victory here!  But wow, physically this was difficult and never got easier.  Mental victory here for not giving up!  I JUST squeaked by in the pace department for this one.  My "long" runs should be in the 7:17-8:47 range and my avg pace for this was 8:38. 

16.1 miles, 2:19:07 (8:38 avg pace)

Plan Total: 62 miles

What I did: 62.14 miles *New weekly mileage PR

Product Review: Buff® Original Reborn Headwear

Product Review:  Buff® Original Reborn Headwear

Disclaimer:  I received a Buff® Original Reborn headwear for free in exchange for a review as part of being a BibRave Pro.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!

The weather has TURNED in Wisconsin.  What a crazy week.  Earlier in the week, our temps were in the 80s and yesterday, I did my long 16 mile run in the 20s.  What the What?!

It was a good week to test out my new Buff® Original Reborn headwear.  This is not my first Buff® (it's actually my 4th) so I have to say that before getting this in the mail, I was already a fan of the company and its products.  I was first introduced to the company several years ago while helping a colleague who had lost her hair to chemotherapy try to find comfy headwear. 

The Original Reborn line continues to live up to the high standards of the company.  It is pretty cool because each Buff® in this line is made out of 100% recycled material.  In fact, each Buff is made out of two water bottles!  The fabric might be new, but the product still delivers on high performance and versatility.  It is also nice and soft.

I like wearing the Buff® either as a headband or a neck gaiter.  The headband helps to keep my hair and sweat out of my eyes and on cooler days, I will just bring the fabric down around my ears.  You can also still have a nice ponytail going with this look!  I had an AMAZING tempo run last week, thus the thumbs up:

The Buff®-as-ear-warmer also works well with headphones and sunglasses.  I had a mid-distance easy run on Friday that I listened to Rich Roll interview KJ Dell'Antonia about being a happier parent (highly recommend that one too).  My Buff® fit nicely over my headphones and sunglasses without being too tight or irritating.

In really cold temps, I prefer the Buff®-as-gaiter for extra warmth around my neck.  The first really cold run of the year is always a bit shocking.  I had thought I was going to be overdressed, but I was thankful for each and every one of my layers on Saturday morning:

The gaiter is nice for warmth when I am not doing physical activity.  I put it on the other day to wait for my kids' bus to arrive!

Do you have any Buff®s?  How do you like to wear yours?

Madison Marathon Training: Week 12 Recap

Disclaimer:  I am running the Madison Marathon presented by SSM Health in November as a BibRave Pro, which means my entry fee was covered for me. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!  Wanna run Madison with me?  Enter code MMRAVE18 at registration for 10% off!

Another week of marathon training under my belt.  I had a hard time gearing up for another week after the sixty one mile week.  I honestly was so tired and poured a lot of mental and physical energy to hit all of the miles in the previous week that I couldn't fathom doing it again. 

But the fact is the miles still got logged.  If marathons reward consistency than I better get a big reward come November 11.

Sunday Sept 30

Plan says:  Easy 6 miles

What I did:  My son announced that he wanted to go running so of course I took him up on it.  He is four years old so I knew it would be an interesting adventure.  He made it 0.5 miles of running super fast, then stopping to walk, then restarting with some skipping and shifting to galloping.  It was a fun way to start a recovery run, and one that I felt every step of coming off a high mileage week.

6 miles, 54:08 (9:00 avg pace)

Monday Oct 1

Plan says:  Off

What I did:  Off

Tuesday Oct 2

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 4 x 1.5 miles with 0.5 mile recovery in between each set, 1.5 mile cool down

What I did:  I've taken to doing my speed/strength workouts on Tuesdays because I work from home on Tuesdays and it allows me to sleep in a bit more and run in the daylight.  This workout went very well.  I felt really strong.  My goal pace for these is 6:37 and I ran them too fast, but again, I decided to go with it.

1.5 mile warm up, 12:30 (8:20 avg pace)

1 - 1.5 miles, 9:25 (6:17 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 4:38 (9:16 avg pace)
2 - 1.5 miles, 9:25 (6:17 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 4:43 (9:26 avg pace)
3 - 1.5 miles, 9:31 (6:21 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 4:48 (9:37 avg pace)
4 - 1.5 miles, 9:30 (6:20 avg pace) / 0.5 miles 4:37 (9:14 avg pace)

1.5 mile cool down, 12:55 (8:37 avg pace)

Wednesday Oct 3

Plan says:  easy 6 miles

What I did:  WOWSA.  I was TIRED for this one.  This is what I get for overdoing it on the strength workout!

6.1 miles, 55:37 (9:07 avg pace)

Thursday Oct 4

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 9 miles tempo, 1.5 miles cool down

What I did:  EFF.  I woke up at 5:37 AM for this which is 37 minutes late.  I had no choice but to try to get as much done as possible that morning because the calendar was not going to allow any makeups later in the day.  I ended up shaving off a mile from the cool down.  This was a tough one for me.  My legs felt fine but overall I think I was fatigued because I felt like I was running faster than I actually was and could not make the legs fire faster. 

1.5 miles, 13:28 (8:59 avg pace)
9 miles, 1:02:21 (6:55 avg pace)
0.5 miles, 4:16 (8:32 avg pace)

Friday Oct 5

Plan says:  easy 10 miles

What I did:  You can run when you are tired.  Are you sensing a theme this week?  There is a such a fine line between the cumulative fatigue that is a normal part of marathon training and "bad" fatigue that is counterproductive.  I think I toed that narrow line last week. 

10 miles, 1:26:46 (8:40 avg pace)

Saturday Oct 6

Plan says:  easy 10 miles

What I did:  I was excited to run with some of my high school cross country teammates this morning as part of a reunion run that a friend organized.  Logging miles solo can get old so a group run was a welcome refresh.  I did five miles with the group and then stayed on the trail to do 5 miles by myself to get my 10 logged for the day.  I was feeling really good on my second set of 5 that I was clocking MP miles without trying.  {Insert SHRUG}  Marathon training really messes with your head!  I mean the day before I was spiraling down the "Omg am I overtrained? Why am I so tired?" path and twenty four hours later I am effortlessly running sub 7 miles.  Who knows?!

4.98 miles, 43:19 (8:43 avg pace)
5.02 miles, 35:50 (7:08 avg pace)

Plan Total: 55 miles

What I did: 54.13 miles

Madison Marathon Training: Week 11 Recap

Disclaimer:  I am running the Madison Marathon presented by SSM Health in November as a BibRave Pro, which means my entry fee was covered for me. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!  Wanna run Madison with me?  Enter code MMRAVE18 at registration for 10% off!

Week 11 was to be my first ever week in the 60+ weekly mileage territory.  To say I was a little freaked out was an understatement, but as with all marathon training, I just focused on each day at a time.  And I did it.  Logged every one of those 61 miles.  

Sunday Sept 23

Plan says:  Easy 8 miles

What I did:  8.1 miles, 1:08:49 (8:30 avg pace).

Monday Sept 24

Plan says:  1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 1 mile with 400m recovery at marathon pace minus 10 seconds, 1.5 mile cool down

What I did:  Overslept.  We had plans to watch my niece run cross country in the afternoon so there was no fitting this workout in given that I missed it in the morning.  I took my rest day a day early.

Tuesday Sept 25

Plan says: Off

What I did:  Mile repeats!  I am now in the "strength" section of the Hanson's marathon training plan.  This is all familiar to me - starting with the mile and work up to 3 mile repeats.  My goal for this section is to pace everything at a 6:37 mile pace.  I don't know if it was the rest day, if it was the cooler weather, the fact that last week I had to do mile repeats at a speedier pace, but I ran all of these way too fast and felt good doing it.  I've learned not to put a lot of stock in a single workout, good or bad, but I do think having a really good workout is good for confidence building. 

1.5 mile warm up, 12:32 (8:21 avg pace)

My miles were: 6:08, 6:10, 6:16, 6:12, 6:20, 6:20

1.5 mile cool down, 13:01 (8:37 avg pace)

Wednesday Sept 26

Plan says:  easy 7 miles

What I did:  switched my Thursday and Wednesday so I wouldn't have two big workouts in a row.
7 miles, 56:45 (8:06 avg pace)

Thursday Sept 27

Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 8 miles tempo, 1.5 miles cool down

What I did: Decent tempo run.  It was my last 8 mile tempo run - next week these get bumped up to 9.  The 8 mile tempo runs were good.  I actually got every single one of them in at/around goal marathon pace (6:52). 

1.5 miles, 13:13 (8:50 avg pace)
8 miles, 54:40 (6:50 avg pace)
1.5 miles, 12:47 (8:31 avg pace)

Friday Sept 28

Plan says:  easy 8 miles

What I did:  8.4 miles, 1:13:03 (8:42 avg pace)

Saturday Sept 29

Plan says:  long 16 miles

What I did:  The longest run you do on a Hanson's plan is 16 miles and you do 3 of them.  This was my first one and it went very well.  I felt good.  Overall I felt tired, but my legs had enough pep where this wasn't awful.  I took that as a good sign.

16.01 miles, 2:05:14 (7:49 avg pace)

Plan Total: 61 miles

What I did: 61.04 miles

SIXTY ONE MILES.  I am proud of this week.  We can do hard things!!