My husband ordered a new Garmin for me. I'm excited for it to come - it really would be helpful to know my times. I had absolutely no desire to run today. It might have been the windy, cloudy weather today or maybe just tired legs - but once I finished the workout I felt much healthier in my brain. Less than two weeks to the marathon.
2 mile warm-up and cool-down, 2 mile tempo (6:34, 6:49), 2X800 (3:04, 3:14), 2x400 (1:26, 1:32) with a quarter mile rest between each. One direction was downhill with the wind and the other was the opposite of course. My husband bought and sent me a new garmin watch. He knew I was too cheap to get another one on my own. I'm glad he did - it was nice to see where I'm at today. I think I'm about at the same level I was for the last marathon I ran. It would have been nice to feel faster, but I'll take what I've got. I'm a little concerned still about my legs not being 100 percent so I'm not sure I'll even match the time on my last marathon. We'll see what next Saturday brings. My main goal is to feel good on the last 6 miles - to feel like I'm still racing and not just holding on.
I went up the canyon for these easy miles. It felt strange to do so little on a Saturday. The canyon was PACKED!! I think everybody was getting a little tired of having to say hello to everyone going in the other direction. I saw some National Guard folk out doing their 2 mile for time. A couple of guys I knew were running so it was nice to talk to them and feel the military bond. One of them owns a business where he makes a breakfast cereal - kind of like oatmeal - called Rockit Fuel. It is made of lots of whole grains, is super-filling and tastes good too. Look for it at a whole foods store if you're a fan of such things.
One week to the marathon. Scary. My husband is making me go to bed by 10 or 10:30 at night, he's making me stretch during every conversation we have at night, he tells me to hydrate every time we talk and before we say goodbye on our Skype conversation for my night he tells me to visualize a positive race before I fall asleep. Honestly - the guy is so darned supportive and knows me pretty well to push me through all of these weaknesses of mine. Marriage isn't half bad.
1.6 warm-up and cool-down, 2 mile tempo (6:55 maybe - I forgot to push my lap button), 2x800 (3:18, 3:03), 2x400 (1:23, 1:28)
Alright, the marathon is this week so it is time for positive thoughts. I started out a little tight, but by the 400s I was feeling ok. I definitely need to get a good warm-up before the marathon starts. I drove the course yesterday so that my kids would get a good nap before church. It is really a scenic run which should be enjoyable. There are some ups and downs between mile 7 and 16 that might be a little tough, but at least I know they are there. In particular there is a hill at mile 15 or so that is a mile long that I really want to work well through during the race. Things get a little blah for the last 6 miles since those are all through town, but I know that stretch of road well and will hopefully be able to push myself through it.
3:10 would be awesome, 3:15 is about what I'm expecting, slower than 3:20 would be a bit of a disappointment. We'll see how it goes (:
Easy miles at my sister. I haven't run just 3 miles since my baby was a few months old. It felt like cheating. It definitely felt like a warm-up and then my run fell off the edge of the earth. Still feeling creaky, and old, and scared, and asking myself why I sign up for marathons anyway. Come on positive thoughts. Get back here.
I was supposed to do 4x400 today. But after 2 of the 400s I thought I was doing more harm than good. Inside my left leg just feels wrong. The ITB on my right side and my left achilles aren't doing too hot either. The thing I am taking comfort in is that over the last couple of weeks, as much as I haven't felt great in the legs, once I get down to doing my tempo runs or longer intervals I've been at least able to perform on par with what I usually do. My fingers are SO crossed that everything will hold together until 26.2 miles are done. Then my body can do whatever it wants...within reason.
So there is going to be a pacer for a 3:40 and for a 3:10 to help the Boston hopefuls out. I'm hoping to take advantage of the 3:10 pacer - it will at least be an added motivation if he/she is within sight.
Mostly easy - I did the last half mile at a 6:45 just to give myself some confidence that my legs work. I'm trying hard not to get discouraged about the fact that I didn't take care of my legs well in the last couple of months. But I've certainly learned my lesson. I'm going to do the simple things like stretch and keep up on getting new shoes next time I train for a race so that all the hard work I do in putting the miles in doesn't get compromised.
On the positive side, I do feel excited to be doing this race tomorrow and enjoying the canyon on a nice cool morning. My tempo runs and my repeat miles have been at the same pace or maybe faster than the last time I trained for a marathon. I've run more months consecutively than I ever have before. So those things will help me. I'm also excited to watch my sister do her first 5k since high school.
Utah Valley Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:10:38, Place overall: 16
Total Distance
26.20
Well its all over and done now. I guess I better give a few details in case I wonder next time I'm training.
Race start was 5:30 so I got up at 2:45am. That's early. It was cool at the top but I was well clothed. I did about an 800 warm up and then stretched and waited for the start. The first 20 miles went great. I felt great and I felt I could keep my pace up for a long time. I let a fast girl pace me and that really helped. But then I completely bonked the last 6 miles. 6 miles to go and everything left me. I felt like I was barely able to make it in. The last hammer gel was handed out at mile 19 and I couldn't get it open and I think part of my problem was being out of food. It was all I could do to keep my bowels together for the last 3 miles - so frustrating. But I have that problem with running if I don't eat enough. Odd. But true. Really. Anyhow. I can't be disappointed with a 3:10 right? The fast girl finished in 3:07:30 so I lost 3 minutes in 6 miles. Oh horrors. Anyway - she did great and I'm so grateful to her for helping me along. It was a super-fast marathon. The winners were at something like 3:48, 3:49 and 3:51. Nothing that Nan couldn't handle!
Oh, one more note for the future me in training. Dan had me take an ice bath when I got home from the race. I wasn't very excited about it - but oh what a difference it made. I can walk again.
So final lessons learned: stretch and get good shoes during training, do longer tempo runs during training, have a hammer gel plan and stick to it in a race. Next marathon I'd love a 3:05, but I might be hitting some stasis here. This might be my speed. I look forward to the next marathon, although it might be a year or two again.
18:38 pace. I was all ready for some active recovery - in my head. I tried to take one jogging step at the end of my driveway and realized I'd be having a nice walk. I tried again after a half mile of walking to pick up the pace, but my quads said I wouldn't be doing any running for a few more days. It was a nice walk anyway. I'll garden at my sisters for a couple of days to try to keep from feeling like a slug.
I'm feeling ready to have a good week of running next week as long as getting my kids watched comes through. My mother-in-law has left for four weeks so my easy-street is gone. I've been looking at other FRBers who ran the UV marathon and they all seem to be back to normal this week. Its pretty obvious I either wasn't prepared enough or I ran too hard - whichever way I want to look at it I guess. I'm ready to run and train for my next marathon - but I think if I can I'll let child number 4 come first. Right now I'll just have one last hurrah doing the Provo half in August. I do love running. And that is the truth.
These were early morning miles. It feels so darned good to get out, see the sunrise, and be glad you're not one of the people passing you in a car that is on their way to work at 5am.
An old river guide injury has been rearing its homely head. A nerve through my wrist and hand tingles like my lower arm has gone to sleep. The original injury came from rowing 10 people daily down a stretch of river. I'd wake up in the morning during the summer down there and realize I couldn't get my hands out of a c position. It came back recently because of all the weeding I've done at my sister's over the last couple of weeks. I was surprised that running far made it worse. Anyhow - them's is the breaks. I'd do that summer on the river all over again despite my tingly hand for life.
Not sure of the times, but around 3:20-25. My legs are still not in spectacular shape after the marathon but it sure felt good to run "hard." I have to run early in the morning for the next month and I'm lovin' what I'm getting done. I run, I fold laundry, I do dishes, I read scriptures - and then my kids finally wake up. Its really and truly awesome. But the payment is I'm really, really not getting any sleep now, I'm a little more grumpy, and I don't have time to read whatever I want at night. Oh the balance of life.
The miles were pretty slow today. I'm not quite recovered yet, but it sure felt good to be out in the early morning again. The wind was pushing around in no particular direction, I ran by a canal that smelled like wet vegetation, and the birds were holding nothing back in letting me know they were awake. I felt like I'd just woken up from a night of camping. That is a feeling I like. Hopefully in two months I will be camping and our family will be complete again. Looking at things fractionally, I don't have long to wait.