Grandma's Marathon Training Week 5 Recap

Disclaimer:  I am running Grandma's Marathon in June 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!  

Last week, my family and I were on our annual trip to Orlando to visit family.  In recent years, I always have been marathon training during this trip and this year was no exception.  Lucky for me, I am doing a summer marathon which means my training week was one of my "easy" weeks on the Hanson plan.  No speed work, no tempo runs, just racking up miles.

Unfortunately, the minute I got off the plane in FL, I knew I was getting sick.  I ended up having a cold.  Every cold I get is usually of the sinus variety but this one was different.  My sinuses and nose felt fine but my chest and throat were awful.  At one point during one of the many fits of coughing I had, my husband half-jokingly asked if I had croup.

Coughing spells meant no sleep.  Given that my worst two days were days we were at Disney World parks, it was all I could do to get through those days.  I wasn't exactly going to get a run in in addition.

Which means, that I had more off days than I wanted. Ah well.  I still have 13 training weeks ahead of me.

Sunday, March 11

Plan Says:  Off.

What I did:  We had an 8:40 AM flight but I wanted to get a run in before I left so that I would have one less day to worry about getting miles in.  It was SO SO COLD and SO SO DARK and I didn't sleep well due to daylight savings time but I got it in.

4.0 miles, 32:47 (8:11 avg pace)

Monday, March 12

Plan Says: 5 miles easy

What I did: 5.21 miles, 39:16 (7:32 avg pace).  My only run on Disney property this trip.

Tuesday, March 13

Plan Says: Off

What I did: Off.  We went to Hollywood Studios this day and I felt like death.  Thankfully my in-laws kept me doped up on cold medicine.  According to my iPhone, we walked 5.6 miles through this park.

Wednesday, March 14

Plan Says: easy 4 miles

What I did:  We were at my in-laws condo this day, so no parks, and I went for an early morning run. 6.2 miles, 49:55 (8:03 avg pace)  

Thursday, March 15

Plan Says: easy 5 miles

What I did:  OFF.  We had early morning alarms set for Magic Kingdom and I had brought zero reflective items.  Still wasn't feeling great!  We walked 7.5 miles through the park according to my iPhone.

Friday, March 16

Plan Says: easy 4 miles

What I did:  Off.  This was the low point of my cold.  We went to Epcot this day and I was dying.  I had gotten no sleep the night before due to coughing and I had a headache.  Another 6.6 miles of walking through the parks though!

Saturday, March 17

Plan says: easy 6 miles

What I did:  9.25 miles, 1:14:06 (8:01 avg pace)

No parks were in the plan for this day and I felt like I was going to try to get in as many miles as I could.  Generally this was a nice run.  I explored new-to-me routes around my in-laws condo and I didn't feel too tired, although my legs were sore.

Weekly Total

Plan says: 24 miles

What I did: 24.67 miles

After several weeks of 30ish miles, I was hoping to be in the high 30s this week but felt my plan of getting in some miles, but also taking extra rest days was unavoidable since I was not sleeping well.  I was bummed to have had such terrible sleep on vacation since the weeks leading up to vacation were not exactly stellar in the sleep department.

The week ahead has my first speed and tempo runs so I will need to start getting some zzzs to keep up!  

Milwaukee Marathon Half Marathon Training: Week 6 Recap

If you stay true to the book on the Hanson's plan, they are anti-racing during training.  I stuck to this during my marathon training but I enjoy shorter races so have not stuck to this during my half-marathon training plan.  I get why they don't really encourage it - it messes everything up!  I wasn't sure which workouts to keep, what order to do them in, and/or which to modify so this week is a little all over the place.  I ended up skipping the long run entirely.

Additionally, I am still super tired during my runs.  I recall feeling like this around week 12 of the beginner marathon plan.  I didn't start speed work until week 6 of that plan - so this would correspond to week 12 of that plan.  I kind of am feeling a little overwhelmed that I still have 12 weeks to go on this plan.

Finally, the fam and I took off for a long weekend in Chicago leading up to the BTN Big10K race on Sunday.  That did nothing to quell my fatigue, even after taking Saturday off running.  One forgets how much walking is involved in the Windy City...and carrying/pushing two kids who are also not used to it!

Glad this week is in the books.

Monday, July 17
Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 4 x 1200 at 5k/10k pace with 600 m recovery in between, 1.5 mile cool down

What I do:  I did 6 miles easy on Monday as I was going to do speed work on Tuesday.  I don't recall my rationale for this.

6.06 mi, 48:43 (8:02 pace)

Tuesday, July 18
Plan says: 0 miles

What I do: Rest.  I pushed the 1200s off another day because I overslept.  I overslept because I stayed up late to watch Spartan races on TV with the hubs.  #truth

Wednesday, July 19
Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 4 miles at half-marathon pace (6:44), 1.5 mile cool down

What I do:  UGH.  I had to do the 1200s.  I was using the 10K race on Sunday as my weekly tempo run (which no doubt will mess up next week too).  I had to do the 1200s after work when it was no joke 88 degrees and sunny outside.  At least the humidity was not off the charts.

It did not seem to matter though because they felt like hell.  My goal pace for 1200m is 4:35.  I only had one come in under that.  I did these on the road so 1200m = 0.75 miles.

1.5 mi warm up, 11:52 (7:52 avg pace)

1 - 0.75 mi, 4:38.9 (6:09 avg pace) / 0.38 mi, 3:13.1 (8:27 avg pace)
2 - 0.75 mi, 4:27.5 (5:54 avg pace) / 0.37 mi, 3:06.7 (8:19 avg pace)
3 - 0.75 mi, 4:41.8 (6:15 avg pace) / 0.38 mi, 3:22.2 (8:55 avg pace)
4 - 0.75 mi, 4:44.8 (6:19 avg pace) /

I was pretty dizzy and hot after this.  I ended up walking a bit as I wasn't even sure I could do a cool down.  I was back at my house and chugged 1/2 water bottle of Nuun and felt ok so I trotted along.  I cut the cool down short as I had to go pick up the kids and I was still feeling a little out of it.

1.12 mi, 9:40 (8:40 avg pace)

Thursday, July 20
Plan says: 6 miles easy

What I do: I was up in the morning!  Unfortunately, it was lightening and pouring outside so I stayed in bed and hoped to get in my run after work.  I was able to squeeze it in.

6 miles, 46:33 (7:45 avg pace)

Friday, July 21
Plan says: 6 miles easy

What I do:  I was going to try to get a long run in before we left for CHI.  OMG.  My legs would NOT move.  I called it quits at 4 miles, after stopping a bunch.  Absolutely no gas left in my tank.

4 miles, 34:28 (8:36 avg pace)

Saturday, July 22
Plan says: 12 miles at long run pace (7:30-9:00)

What I do:  0 miles running.  My legs were tired.  I had two full days of walking around.  My iPhone indicates that Friday was 4.7 miles of walking and Saturday was 5 miles of walking.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot but I probably walk 0.25 miles a day normally.  Ok...I just checked. 0.48 miles on Wednesday and Thursday before that.  I did a terrible job hydrating which I knew would come back to haunt me.  Add in two hot and sweaty kids who at times needed to be carried and pushed in a stroller, and you have two hot and sweaty parents.

Sunday, July 23
Plan says: 5 miles easy

What I do:  10k race plus 1.5 mile warm up.  It was not that great.

41:59, 6:46 avg pace.  Race recap coming tomorrow.

Plan Miles: 44
Total Weekly Miles: 30.6

Cellcom Green Bay Marathon Training: Week 7 Recap

The week of vacation running wasn't perfect, but I did get in some good workouts and while I totally missed the mileage goal for the week, I am happy with it.  It turns out that cruising and marathon training are not ideal companions.  Also, while I did get many opportunities to nap on our vacation, my night sleep was terrible.  ARGH.

Monday Feb 27

Plan Says:  8 x 600, with 400 recovery and a 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  600s should be at 2:18

What I did:  1 mile warm up, 8:27.  I did this on our hotel property - so 600m = .37 miles

1- 2:22
2- 2:19
3- 2:14
4- 2:17
5- 2:14
6- 2:15
7- 2:15
8- 2:18

My recovery 400s were in the 2:09-2:27 range.
1 mile cool down, 8:16.

This was a hard workout coming off of 2 8 milers, 2 days of walking around Disney parks ALL DAY, and done in some HEAT.  I was glad to be done with it and glad my paces were not awful.

Tuesday Feb 28
Plan Says: Off

What I did: off

We hit up Epcot this day so while I did not run, I still got a lot of walking in.

Wednesday Mar 1
Plan Says: 5 mile tempo run at 7:15, with 1 mile warm up and cool down.

What I did:   1 mile warm up, 7:51.  5 tempo miles (7:03, 7:06, 7:13, 6:56, 7:08).  1.1 mile cool down, 8:06.  7.1 total miles, 52:16.

This was by far the hardest workout of vacation.  It was so hot and humid this morning and I rode the struggle bus, but got it done.

Thursday Mar 2
Plan Says: easy 4 miles

What I did:  4.11 miles, 34:43 (8:27 avg pace)

Got this done early morning before my in-laws came to our resort to pick us up for the Disney Cruise!

Friday Mar 3
Plan Says: easy 6 miles

What I did:  I think I did 6 miles.  I ran for 48 minutes so I'm calling that 6 miles.  I did this onboard the ship.  Theoretically, one can run around deck 4 of the ship 3 times to get a mile.  When I ran, the had closed off one curve of the "track" so I ended up running a "U" shape for 48 minutes.  HOLY BORING.  This was a mental workout for sure.  Physically I felt really good.

Saturday Mar 4
Plan Says: 10 miles at long run pace - 7:54 for me

What I did: 
Ran a 5K plus a .6 mile cool down.

Ok...so you've been reading the week and I have been nailing all of my workouts. I'm about to ruin it for you!

I debated over running this 5K for a few days.  This was the day we were going to be on Castaway Cay which features a beautiful beach.  I'll be honest: I didn't really want to sacrifice beach time to run.  I do like the Castaway Cay 5K, even though it is totally a "fun run".  This was the second time I have done this "race".  It was a good chance to get some miles in off the ship on a beautiful island.  I decided to do it and run relaxed - no racing.  I still ended up finishing in 19:25 and won it very easily. I got a cool medal and still got to hang with my family on the beach the whole day.  WIN.

Sunday Mar 5
Plan says: Easy 6 miles

What I did:
Nothing.

Unfortunately I did not realize that we had to get off the ship EARLY and you had to put your suitcases out the night before.  That nixed the idea of getting an early workout in.  Then after a full day of traveling with two very overtired kids and getting home later than expected, I was not about to hop on my treadmill at 9 PM, knowing that I had to get up at 4:45 for Monday's workout.

Weekly Total
Plan says: 39 miles
What I did: 27.6 miles (womp womp)

7 weeks of marathon training done!  I missed two workouts but I feel that it is early enough in the process that I will be fine.  Trust me.  That beach was worth it :)

Last week in Review: Low Mileage, But Lots of Other Stuff!

Moving onto week 3 of the AMR Stride plan!  And My #RWRunStreak is going strong at 5 days...even though I REALLY wanted to stay in bed this morning.

Last week was a short mileage week.  I just barely cleared 20 miles for the weekly total but I did a track workout, a lot more yoga that usual, and a strength circuit (twice).  At this point, since I am not training for anything specific, I think the tradeoff in miles to gain diversity in workout was worth it.  My daughter also came out on a run and made it a mile (with a few stop breaks).  I was super excited about that.

Another thing I am trying to do more at work is use the standing desk options.  We all know sitting all day is terrible.  But it is easy for me :)  I gained a renewed motivation for interrupting my sitting ways after reading this book: Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally  I actually have colleagues remind me to go use the standing desk and peer pressure works.  :)  (For reference, we work in an open concept "Google" type office where we can rotate work stations throughout the day.)

One crazy thing I was able to participate in over the weekend was being a running model for a local organization, Serpentijn Art & Athletics.  (Yes! A model! Not gonna lie - it was super fun!) The organization was founded by a friend's husband to bring art and athletics together to support organizations that benefit kids.  They collaborate with artists to design products, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the products benefits one of two organizations: Dreaming Zebra and Milwaukee MTB Kids Mountain Bike Team.

Their newest product is a beautiful gaiter designed by Emily Balsley.   I spent my Saturday wearing it running by Lake Michigan, running through Lake Park and running with Mags.  I also spent a lot of time wearing it while running errands, decorating our house for Christmas, playing spies with my kids.  If you are so inclined, you can check it out here (including some photos of me wearing it).  I am already anticipating that it will be one of my winter running staples.

Full disclosure - I will probably overshare more of the amazing photos taken by Darren Hauck on my Instagram account (@amyschlott) because they are AMAZEBALLS.  And how often do you get AMAZEBALLS photos taken of yourself?!

Here was my last week:

Monday: 30 minute Zen Run followed by Legs Up the Wall.
Zen Run = Basically trying to practice mindfulness while running.  Holy shitballs.  It is difficult, but rewarding.  I'm glad these are a weekly staple of the AMR Stride plan.  4.03 miles

Tuesday: off.  This was an unintentional day off, but looking back, it was appropriate since I technically will not have any off days until 2017!

Wednesday: Negative split run followed by Pigeon Yoga
First block:  2 miles, 15:39, 7:48 pace
Next block: 2.2 miles, 16:00, 7:20 pace

Thursday: Track workout!
1.78 mi warm up (run to track)
4 x 400 (1:24, 1:25, 1:26, 1:28) with jogging 400s in between (1:53, 1:54, 1:50)
1.83 mi cool down (run home)

Friday: 4 mile easy run, 30:53/7:38 pace followed by Lizard Yoga

Saturday: 1 mile run with Mags, 11:30 pace (plus "running" for photo shoot)

Sunday: 20 minute run, followed by 2 x BAMR Strength Circuit followed by Hamstring Yoga

Back to Running

I took a full week off.

No Running.

The first two days post-race were easy.  My legs, specifically my quads, hurt A LOT.  Didn't even cross my mind to go for a run.

Last Monday night, I was packing for our 5-day family vacation to St. Louis and Chicago and my bag was full without running stuff.  I considered switching bags, however, at that moment I thought, "It might be good to take a full week off."  So I kept my bag and brought ZERO running clothes along.

It was fun.  I ate ALL THE FOOD.  I drank ALL THE BEER.  I took ALL THE NAPS.

While the week wasn't entirely devoid of exercise due to the fact that we did a lot of walking (and chasing kids), by yesterday I knew my running vacation was up.

I also knew that I am a little lost as to what's next for me.  I have no races on the horizon.  2017 seems a long way off and although I have some things in mind, nothing that I am ready to commit to.  I know that one of the biggest threats to consistency for me is not having a plan.  I just love checking off those little boxes of workouts!!

I want/need a plan to say consistent, and yet, I also want to be free and not have to train for anything right now.

Enter the Stride Through the Holidays training plan by Another Mother Runner.  The plan is 5 weeks long, designed solely to keep you moving. No race at the end. Just 40 check boxes of workouts to do.  Best yet, 100% of the proceeds go to Heart Strides.  For $25, I thought it was well worth it to keep up my consistency game AND the added bonus of supporting a great cause.  (Helping moms prioritize self care!)  I signed up last night and checked out what the first workout (today) was: a simple 30-40 minute run.

So I returned to setting out my clothes on the bath tub ledge...setting my knuckle lights, house key, hat on the kitchen counter...setting out my shoes by the front door...setting my alarm for 5 AM.

Old habits die hard.  Sometimes, that's a good thing.

Week 8 Half-Marathon Training Recap

Week 8 featured the longest run in the 10-week plan and it's done!   Overall it was a good training week.

Monday: 4.2 miles 33:23 (8:08 avg pace) + 8 strides

I was pleased with the pace of this recovery run!

Tuesday: 5.04 miles, 39:05 (7:46 avg pace)

Wednesday:  Unfortunately I had another child-sleep related incident on Wednesday and I ended up trying some Hyland's Calms Forte to get back to sleep after tossing and turning for an hour.  YIKES.  I not only slept through the alarm, but I felt pretty groggy the entire next day.  I ended up leaving work to do this run by my office.  I was supposed to do 1 mile warm up, 4 miles cutdown, 1 mile cool down but I ended up starting fast so I just went with it.  My cutdown was supposed to be 7:20/7:10/7:00/6:50.  I cut down a little farther than that and finished with a 2 mile cool down.

4 miles, 27:00 (6:44 avg pace) 7:14/6:44/6:38/6:13
2 miles, 14:46 (7:21 avg pace)

This was faster than it should have been, I think because I was nervous I wouldn't get back in time to get my kids picked up.

Thursday: 5.5 miles, 43:48 (7:58 avg pace)

Flew out to Boston, then drove to Falmouth to meet up with some girlfriends from graduate school!

Friday:  off

Saturday:  I woke up and it was misting rain.  I brought along a pack of Gen UCan to try for the first time so, prior to heading out for my run, I drank about 8 oz of the 16 oz I made.  I brought the remaining 8 oz along in my hand-held bottle.  I didn't have any expectations for this run.  I didn't really know where I was going - I had some loose directions from my friend.  I ran along the ocean for the first few miles and then turned onto a wooded bike path and turned around at Woods Hole.  I thought about continuing through Woods Hole and attempting to return to the house but got nervous that I would get lost so just double backed the way I came.  I finished the rest of my Gen UCan by the 8 mile mark.  At 10 miles, I went back to the house and ran in to get my phone to run back to the harbor for a picture.  Overall it was a decent run.  I felt tired.  I do always struggle with new food, new environment so that may have contributed to feeling a bit off.

11.01 miles, 1:21:13 (7:23 avg pace)
Splits:
7:44
7:38
7:30
7:39
7:31
7:08
7:05
7:18
7:17
7:18
7:04

The Gen UCan went down well - I had no distress from drinking that.  It was a little chalkier than I expected, particularly the first half.  The second 8 oz was mixed a lot better from sloshing around during my run.  The taste was nice and light though.

Sunday: off

Total Week 8 miles: 31.64

The most exciting thing is that I broke the 1,000 mile mark for 2016 last week!  I didn't break the 1,000 mile mark until December last year.  I also have cleared 100 miles for October, which is my first 100 mile month since May (I just missed it for September).

Vacation Running: CHECK

Sorry for the delay in last week's training recap.  We were in sunny FL from 3/1 until yesterday which meant I had a week of training in SUN!

I almost think that running while on vacation is MORE difficult to plan for which is why I wanted to get my Tuesday speed workout done before we left.  This mean a 4:45 AM wake up call and a trip to the gym.

I am ok with running first thing in the morning if it is an easy/recovery run.  Not so ok when it is a tough workout, but so it goes.  I like having the opportunity to eat a full meal before a workout.   I shoved a Picky Bar in my face while driving and hopped on the dreadmill.  The workout:

1.6m warm up 

strides

3m @ 6:55

400m SLOW jog rest

2m @ 6:48

400m SLOW jog rest

1m @ 6:38

400m SLOW jog rest

400 @ 1:35

400m SLOW jog rest

400 @ 1:35

1.6m cool down

I got it done (although I cut the cool down short to get home to get kids ready) and then drove home. The kids were going to school for a half day, and I was working from home before our 2:30 PM flight to Orlando.

That left 2 short (4 m) recovery runs and a 16 mi long run to do while in FL.  I was able to get the 4 mile runs in very easily.

The long run presented a bit of logistical maneuvering.  We had planned to go to the parks over the weekend with my brother-in-law, who lives in FL and works for Disney.  I had set my alarm to get up EARLY Saturday morning to get the run in.  I learned that vibration for alarms does not work for me. I overslept.  

So instead I got up early on Sunday morning to get it done.  The air was cool, it was still a bit dark, and my legs were tired after 2 twelve hour plus days of walking around the parks.  We stayed at Saratoga Springs this year so I was able to run a route that went from Saratoga to nearby Disney Springs, back through Saratoga, through the golf course nature path to Old Key West resort and back to Saratoga.  I did that 3 times to get in the 16 miles and was able to hide water bottles in bushes along the way.

The workout was:

16 miles run as 8m easy and then 8m @ 7:10-7:20 (making sure to finish faster than you start the faster section ex. 7:25/20/15/10/05/00/655/650 or similar;  if you feel really good, you can push the last 2-3m)

After talking with EH after last week's 20 miler, the plan is to start long runs with the first three miles in the 7:45-8:00 window.  My first mile of this 16 miler was 8:32.  I was TIRED.  It took me a full hour to get into the swing of this run, but managed to finish in 1:59:32 with these splits:

First 8 Miles:
8:32

8:00

7:54

7:19

7:45

7:36

7:38

7:38

Second 8 Miles:

7:25

7:18

7:18

7:15

7:23

7:00

6:40

6:52

While I felt tired, I wasn't dying. I was pleased with the run.

More so, I was pumped that I still got the full week of training in while on vacation!!!!!!!

Total Miles Last Week: 34.18

Total Miles Per Plan: 34.75 

ONLY SIX MORE WEEKS UNTIL RACE DAY!  

Heard on the Run:

I intentionally left my iPod at home so all of my FL runs were done without podcasts.  Thus, this week's list is fairly short:

1. Serial Podcast Hindsight Part 2

2.  Running on Om Episode 181: Stephanie Howe on the Intersection of Running, Nutrition and Intuition

I didn't completely finish this because I had to pull out music to get me through #TreadmillTuesday.   Howe talks about her dissertation research on hormones and appetite suppression in the female runner. The one takeaway I have from this is forcing myself to eat in the 30 minute window post-workout.  I never do this because I am not hungry and now I know why!

Marathon Training Week 13: Things Fall Apart

This week, I started a new job...and started 5:30 AM wakeup calls so that I can be in the office by 6:45-7 so that I can leave around 3. I started a new job...with a cold.  FOR REAL.  This winter has been awful for me and sickness, as I have whined about before.

Title references a novel, but also how I feel about marathon training over the last month.  I have had some great workouts but also have missed a lot of workouts.  The book that my training plan is from has a section on best and worst times to train for a marathon.  "Starting a New Job" is on the worst time list...and I totally get it.  While I had no control over the timing of the new job, I didn't really think it would be that disruptive.  This week we also had a mini-vacation to Wisconsin Dells with my family which was very fun!

Unfortunately, this was one of my worst running weeks.  I could not get it together people!  Read on.

Monday 3/23

Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles

What I do: First day of my new job, I'm high on life and I get a run in!  

Total: 4.01 miles, 7:37/mi

Tuesday 3/24

Plan says: 1-2 mile warm up, 3 x 2 mile tempo run with 0.25 mile recovery in between, 1-2 mile cool down

What I do: It was super cold and dark by the time I got around to running and so I headed to the treadmill.  My head was pounding from my cold and I gave up on this workout after 1.36 miles.  

Total: 1.36 miles

Wednesday 3/25

Plan says: Rest or cross-train

What I do: Rest

Total: 0 miles

Thursday 3/26

Plan says: Easy 9 miles

What I do: Rest - still not feeling great, zonked after work days

Total: 0 miles

Friday 3/27

Plan says:  OPTIONAL 3-4 miles

What I do: I had the day off as we were heading to vacation mid-morning.  My plan was to get Thursday's 9 miler in before we left.  It was 15 degrees outside and windy.  I made it a mile and couldn't feel my fingers so I quit.  Things Fall Apart people!

Total: 1 mile, 7:36

Saturday 3/28

Plan says: 15 miles, strong 20 minute finish

What I do:  After a day at the waterpark, I left my family to try to get some miles in.  I ended up with 5.37 miles in 38:57.2 (7:15/mile).

Sunday 3/29

Plan says:  Rest

What I do: We arrived back home mid-afternoon.  I was so annoyed reflecting back on this running week at how I just gave up on so many workouts that I forced myself to go out on a regroup run without a watch.  My attempt at a reset.  

Total miles: 4.6 (calculated after the fact with gmap-pedometer)

Week 13 Total Mileage: 16.35 miles

Completed 1 of the 4 mandatory workouts.  

Marathon Training Week 10

Overall I am happy with the week even though I missed one workout due to the cold and bad planning.  After a beautiful weekend in the 40s, I am hoping the cold is going to make an appearance less and less!  I am REALLY EXCITED to have to use the treadmill less during evening runs due to daylight savings time.  Things are looking up, people!

Monday 3/2
Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles

What I do: I was still in FL and thus ran 5 miles in 80 degrees.  It was glorious.  No watch so not sure how long it took me.

Total: 5 miles

Tuesday 3/3
Plan says: Negative Split 4 miles (2,2)

What I do: I wanted to get up early and get a final workout done in FL before we had to head to the airport but it didn't work out because the kids were up and there was packing.  By the time we got home, grocery shopped and unpacked, I was pooped.  No gym for me.

Total: 0 miles

Wednesday 3/4
Plan says: Rest or cross-train

What I do: Tuesday's negative split workout on the treadmill.  WOMP WOMP.  Do you know how hard it is to go back to a treadmill after running in tanks and shorts outside for a week?!

First 2 miles: 7.8 mph (7:47 pace)
Last 2 miles: 8.3 mph (7:14 pace)

Total: 4 miles

Thursday 3/5
Plan says: Easy 5-6 miles

What I do: Nothing.  I forgot that the hubs was not going to be home due to an overnight meeting so no childcare = no running at night.

Total: 0 miles

Friday 3/6
Plan says:  Optional 3 miles

What I do: Usually I do not work on Fridays which can mean an easy way to make up a workout that I may have missed during the work week.  However, due to vacation and the fact that I am leaving, I worked this day and then met a friend for drinks after the kids were in bed.  Friend with drinks trumps workout every time in my book.

Total: 0 miles

Saturday 3/7
Plan says: 20 miles

What I do: Curse.  Did I mention that I can count the nights that I have slept through the night in the last month on one hand?  Friday night was no different.  Thank you children.  That combined with the 2 beers I drank Friday night and I was needing some super strong coffee Saturday morning.  I was not in the mood to run 20 miles.

I still did not have a GPS watch so I planned a route using gmap pedometer.  My planned route ended up at 21 miles.  All that clicking was driving me bonkers so I guessed at how much to chop off so I would only do 20.

I may not have had a GPS watch but I did have a running watch...somewhere.  We got the kids down for naps and I started looking for it and after 30 minutes gave up.  The next thing I had to use was my phone, which is enormous.  There was no way I could carry that and 2 bottles of water.  I decided to leave the stopwatch on my phone running in the house, starting and stopping it as soon as I walked out/in the door.  Armed with 3 Gu pouches and 2 bottles of water, I was off!

My route was two big loops so that I could stash water and not have to carry it the entire time.  It was a gorgeous day and I was a little hot because I still dressed like it was 20 degrees cooler.  The first loop was 11 miles and fairly uneventful save for a few backtracks because I couldn't find where I left the water bottle and soggy feat from running through so many puddles due to melted snow.

On my second lap, I ran into a couple that saw me an hour prior and the lady yelled "HOW LONG ARE YOU RUNNING?! GEEZ!" and I replied, "I'm doing 20 miles today!".  It was then that I knew I would finish.

I felt really good.  I used gels at approximately 7 miles, 14 miles, 18 miles and finished the two bottles of water (32 oz). I could have used more water but it was fine.

I got back home to stop my phone and the time was 2:31:38 or 7:40 pace!  Given that this was likely a little off due to stopping at stop lights, I was happy.   I really really tried to start slow to be able to finish strong.

UNFORTUNATELY I really only ran 19.75 miles.  I chopped off a bit too much in my mental guessing.

Total: 19.75 mi

The runners world calculator says this workout burned 2,031 calories.  THAT IS INSANE!!!  Pass the girl scout cookies!!!

Sunday 3/8
Plan says:  Rest

What I do: Rest.  The weather was SO NICE that I attempted going out to get in Thursday's missed workout.  I got about 0.1 miles before turning around because my legs were so sore!

I did get to our local running store and have a new gps watch.  PHEW!  All that gmap pedometering was driving me crazy.

Week 10 Total Mileage:  28.75 miles
Completed 3 of the 4 mandatory workouts.  

Marathon Training Week 9 Review - HALFWAY DONE!

Last week was an epic one.  Last week of brutal February and I spent it in mostly sunny FL! We took the kids on our annual trip to FL to do Disney World and visit my BIL.  And shocking, it is somewhat easy to get runs in when:
1) You and your husband are both on vacation from work;
2) It is not only in POSITIVE temperatures, but in the 60-80 degree weather range;
3) You have extra sets of hands to watch your kids.

Needless to say, I had a stellar running week, which I desperately needed.

Crazy enough finishing this week means that I am exactly halfway through my training plan - 9 weeks down, 9 weeks to go!

Monday 2/23
Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles with 10 strideouts

What I do: Nothing.  I worked 8 hours before heading to the aiport to catch our flight.  We ended up having a big delay so ended up getting to our hotel around 12:30 AM instead of the 8:30 PM we anticipated.

Tuesday 2/24
Plan says: Tempo workout - 1-2 miles warm up, 4 x 1 mi at tempo pace with 0.25 mile recovery in between each, 1-2 miles cool down

What I do:  First run through Old Key West resort at Disney World! They had a running trail that was about 1.5 miles and also linked up with a trail that connected to Saratoga Springs resort.  I was happy to have my Garmin along so I could just wander around linking to different paths/trails and not have to do the pre-determined resort loop.  I didn't do the exact workout because I didn't copy down the plan right and missed the 0.25 mile recovery so instead of a 4 x 1 mi tempo intervals, I did a 4 mile tempo run, no recoveries.

1.25 mile warmup at 8:00 pace
4 mile tempo run at 7:00 avg pace
1.32 mile cool down at 7:38 pace

6.58 total miles, 48:01

Wednesday 2/25
Plan says: Rest or cross-train

What I do: We went to Magic Kingdom for 12 hours this day - so a LOT of walking.  I'm counting that as cross-training!

Thursday 2/26
Plan says: Another speed workout.  7 miles as 10 min warm up, 8 x 4 min in Zone 3 with 3 minute reovery, 10 minute cool down

What I do: 10 minutes warm up, 8 x 4 minutes with 3 minute recovery, 7:40 coold down.  I hit 8 miles by cheating on the cool down so I stopped.  I probably did this in Zone 4, not 3.

8.01 total miles 57:26 (7:10 avg pace)
Mile Splits:
7:39
7:06
7:01
6:58
7:06
6:59
6:58
7:36

Friday 2/27
Plan says:  Optional 4 miles

What I do: Monday's missed workout - 5 miles easy with 10 strideouts incorporated.  My last run through the resort path.

Unfortunately, I ended up dropping my Garmin in the process of taking my long sleeve shirt off (I had put my watch on over the shirt and had to undo it to take my shirt off) and the screen no longer works!  So I guess I will be using some birthday money to replace that!  I have no idea what pace or time this run took me since I only brough my Garmin as a watch on vacation.

Saturday 2/28
Plan says: 13 miles, with a strong 15 minute finish

What I do:  It was pouring out and we had planned on going to Hollywood Studios so I had a "rest" day which really meant another day walking around the park.

Sunday 3/1
Plan says:  Rest

What I do:  Long run. We were now in Celebration, FL which I have run in plenty of times, including training for the Chicago Marathon in 2006.  Unfortuantely I had no watch to figure out exact distance or pace/time and using the Gmap Pedometer on an ipad is not optimal.  I did what I thought was 13 miles based on my gmap pedometer work, but when I got back home to WI and re-traced my route using Gmap Pedometer on a computer, I ended up with only 12.62 miles.  It was done pretty quickly though because we headed off to Epcot after I got back!  More walking!

Week 9 Total Mileage:  32.21 miles
Completed 4 of the 4 mandatory workouts.