Training Week 49
My next race is the Chicago Marathon on October 10.
Running Highlight of the week: Running a spur of the moment 5K during my 13-miler!
Day 337 | September 20, 2010: 5 m run + strength
I ran a “test” 5-miler in my neighborhood to see how my left foot felt. I repeatedly landed on it funny during the 20-miler and it ached all day Sunday. It felt mostly okay during the run – maybe because I wore the Adrenaline 9s with inserts? The run was nice and easy, thankfully. Haven’t had many of those lately!
Look at my awful form in that photo! I thought your knees were supposed to land under your hips?! Granted, I put the camera on timer then ran by for fun (before I even ran), but come on…
Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 70° | End Temp: 68° | Time: 51:41 | Avg Pace: 10:19 | 1: 10:39 | 2: 10:23 | 3: 10:21 | 4: 10:17 | 5: 9:58 | WOW Negative Splits!
Strength + Stretch (done during my lunch break):
| 1 Arm Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25 lb | 7 Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb |
| 2 Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb | 8 Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb |
| 3 Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 9 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
| 4 Shoulder Press: 3 x 15 @ 20 lb | 10 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
| 5 Biangular Chest Press: 15 @ 30 lb, 2 x 15 @ 50 lb | 11 Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb |
| 6 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb |
Day 338 | September 21, 2010: yoga
Whoa. Core Yoga Flow kicked my butt! I kept talking about doing one of the other YogaWorks DVDs, and I finally had to to nut up and shut up (and do it!). Core Yoga Flow is about 43 minutes of sun salutations and poses (like Warrior). I was shaking and sweating. It felt pretty good… and demoralizing at the same time!
Day 339 | September 22, 2010: rest
Unless you want to count the .13 miles I ran, Wednesday was a rest day!
Day 340 | September 23, 2010: 6 m run
I fully intended to run 6 miles on Wednesday night, but I left the house, ran .13 and stopped. I just wasn’t feeling it. I went home, made myself pancakes, ate them, and went to bed. At 7:30!
I ended up running my 6 miles before work, in the park by our house (in the dark). My body felt really good, except running home to use the toilet… which happened on Monday too. I had too many snacks at work both days, and my stomach was revolting. I’ve had really good luck with not having to go #2 on my long runs so far, and I don’t want to mess that up for the marathon!
Notice the start time of my run below? Yeah. I had my alarm set for 3:00 and thought “that is crazy!” when it went off, and tried to go back to bed (until 4:30) but it was too late… Data heard the alarm and decided to sit on my head and purr. So I decided to get up and run.
Distance: 6.0 | Start Temp: 66° | End Temp: 67° | Time: 1:01:35 | Avg Pace: 10:15 | 1: 10:26 | 2: 10:06 | 3: 10:18 | 4: 10:24 | 5: 10:11 | 6: 10:05
Strength + Stretch (done during my lunch break):
| 1 Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb | 4 Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb |
| 2 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 5 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
| 3 Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb | 6 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
Day 341 | September 24, 2010: yoga
I was feeling lazy so I did the easy Yoga Works Beginners DVD.
Look – there are Chicago Marathon signs at baggage claim in O’Hare! Exciting!
Day 342 | September 25, 2010: 13.1 m run (7 + 5K + 3)
I already wrote about this run a bit yesterday – I arrived at Independence Grove and decided to run a 5K during my 13-miler at the last minute! I ran 7 miles, the 5K, then 3 miles.
For the first seven miles, I ran north on the Des Plaines River Trail. It was a perfect morning for a run. The air was crisp and cool with a slight breeze, but the sun was out too!
I loved running on the trails and seeing all the leaves… and listening to them crunch as I ran over!
I got passed a lot while I was running the first 7 miles. Everyone was being really friendly. I wore my 2010 Wisconsin Marathon shirt, which says “Say Cheese” on the back. One group ran by me and said “Cheese” then they all started talking about when they had worn their Wisconsin Marathon shirts last.
See the moon in the photo above?
I took the Chocolate Outrage GU after the 7 miles. I’ve been avoiding this GU flavor for a long time, but Mica said she liked it, so I finally gave it a try. She was right! It’s yummy!
I ran my 5K after a very short break, then ran my slow 3 miles immediately after the 5K. I really liked breaking the run up like this. It pumped me up! And I felt great the whole time!
Run stats: I took the Chocolate Outrage GU at 7. I only drank three of my 8-ounce water bottles. Crazy! I took a short break at 7, and at 10.1. I wore the Brooks Adrenaline 10s sans inserts. I wore the Target C9 bra and did chafe a bit where I can’t show you (under my right boob). I skipped the ice bath because I was pretty cold when I got home. I spent a lot of the time after the run coughing. Does running in the cold make you cough even after you are done? It may be that I had a cold too… but I remember the coughing from last year.
The First 7 | Distance: 7.0 | Start Temp: 53° | Time: 1:12:23 | Avg Pace: 10:20 | 1: 10:31 | 2: 10:47 | 3: 10:21 | 4: 10:12 | 5: 10:21 | 6: 10:08 | 7: 9:58
The 5K | Distance: 3.1 | Time: 27:18 | Avg Pace: 8:48 | 1: 8:41 | 2: 8:52 | 3: 8:57 | 4: 00:46
The Last 3 | Distance: 3.0 | Finish Temp: 55° | Time: 33:56 | Avg Pace: 11:18 | 1: 11:11 | 2: 11:25 | 3: 11:18
Day 343 | September 26, 2010: yoga
I had grand plans (in my head) to go on a long bike ride, but decided to stay at home with Steven. He just got back on Friday and has a pretty nasty cold. I did the Yoga Works Beginners DVD instead. And had a super sore neck again! I actually noticed how sore it felt after Saturday’s run, so I must be tensing it up.
Week Summary: 24.1 miles
I had a pretty good “workout” week. I would have liked to do some cross training, but oh well. And I am honestly not sure if I will try to fit it in in the next two weeks before the marathon.
The Chicago Marathon is only two weeks away. Yikes!
I mentioned I had some left foot pain on Monday. It didn’t hurt all week, until I noticed a slight ache it in doing yoga on Sunday. I will have to ice it.
I removed my toenail polish this week so that I could watch out for any black toenails… do you think the one in the picture below looks black? It’s definitely bruised, and it definitely hurts (the red spec near the top is polish that won’t come off).
Notice how the top of my toe is all peeled off? That is from blisters that form there. And the poor toe next to it… the top of the toenail broke off. And on the big toe too.
And on my right foot, I have lots of interesting blood blisters things on the sides of my toes. Fun times.
Does anyone else have toes that look this hideous?
Themocracy
You had a great running week! I’m in awe that you got up at 3AM to run! Also, I love that you started a run, said this sucks, and went inside. There are a few times I wish I would have done that.
As for your toe, it’s definitely going to be “black”. It looks just like mine did. It will stop hurting in a few days, especially if you clip the toenail super short. But if it’s anything like mine, it will get darker and darker until it really does look more black than bruised.
Thanks for the toe advice, I was hoping you’d give me some! I hate clipping them super short, but I better do it before 10/10/10!
I bet there will be a lot less runs I just want to quit after the marathon is over. Having less pressure will feel nice!
That trail looks beautiful, especially now that it is turning into Fall. I bet it was a really satisfying run.
Um, 3:17am? UGHHHH WHAT?? THAT IS NO MAN’S TIME. Maybe I should try that once, over break or something when I don’t have to be up for class. It might be fun then…
Did you like the Wisconsin Marathon? It was one of the ones that I might consider for 2011.
Also, I’m glad my advice didn’t steer you wrong with Chocolate Outrage. I think it kind of tastes like pudding once it’s warm and you’re carb-empty enough.
The trail run was a lot of fun! I kind of wished I kept going, but I had to go back for the 5K!
Ha. It is nice to be the only one up and running, but I only did that so I could spend that night cleaning the house!
We ran the WI half the last two years and are planning to do it again this year. Erin and I are even talking about doing CU then WI the next weekend! The half course is an out and back that starts downtown, goes along the lake to a college and comes back. The downtown area has the most crowd support, but the path along the lake is a bit hilly, with less support, and the road has some potholes. I’ve heard the full is pretty brutal, because you go out in the country (Susan ran it in 2009) and, well, you’re out in the country.
The race is organized really well though, and the first year the weather was perfect. And the lake is beautiful. It’s just… discouraging seeing runners come back when you are not sure where the turnaround is, you know? With all that said, I am pretty sure we will run it again. And it’s not that expensive.
Do you want me to let you know if Erin and I do CU and WI back to back? We will probably decide late spring. 🙂
I’m glad you answered Mica – I was wondering about that one too. I’ve found out and back’s to be really mentally tough, especially since I’m a pretty pokey runner.
Chocolate GU is my fave…and yeah, my feet are pretty ugly right now (then again, my feet are pretty ugly without running added in!).
My toes look much, much worse! My newest addition is a blood blister that matches my toenail polish.
Seriously can’t believe you woke up at 3 am to run!
My toes go through phases… and oddly enough, it doesn’t seem to be based on increased mileage or anything. Right now they look pretty decent – some funky blisters on the bottoms of my toes, but no blood blisters or bruised toenails. I’ve broken up my last 2 long runs (last week I had Chris meet me for the last 6, this week I raced a 10k at the end) and I really like it too!
Does Chris run with you or ride his bike? Either way, it is fun to meet up with another person during a run! 🙂
I’ve had a toenail turn completely black…and STAY black, but never fall off. I’ve heard that you can poke a needle through the actual nail when this happens to relieve pressure and let the blood seep out, but the pain sometimes isn’t worth it. *shudders*
Oh gosh. I will stick a needle in to a BLISTER, but my toe… OWWWW!!!
I so love your neighborhood. Could you bring some of those 50 degree days here? It is soooo hot here that I can’t take it anymore. I need some fall!
If you end up in AZ, I’ll have some chocolate #9 gu here for you. It is vegan!
What is the cool temp of your fall? 90? 85? 😛
Wow! 3 AM runs are amazing! That was certainly never part of my marathon training (although it doesn’t sound like you had planned on this).
Thanks for checking out my blog: laurenruns.wordpress.com
not related to anything, but I like your dress in the o’hare photo!
my feet don’t look quite that bad, but my toes are swollen up like little sausages and i think that’s pretty darn funny.
Thank you! I wanted to look nice when I picked up Steven. That is me trying to look nice 😉
I want to see your sausage toes!!!
Sounds like the perfect workout week! You will rock this race!
I can’t wait to start marathon training (someday ;)) and have messed up toes. War wounds to be proud of! 🙂
When I was a kid I always went running with my dad through the woods and trail running is still my favourite. Maybe I should look into some races. Would be fun!
Cool! Does your dad still run? You should start looking at fulls… it’s never too early! 😉
um, your toesies look mahvalous compared to how mine look right now! i bet that toe will turn black for sure, and then you can join the club. i’m down to five “normal” toes, and even that adjective is being generous. i’ve got a couple black ones, and some that have just completely come off. so gross. the five remaining are decent, but lots of blisters all around. im used to it now. though, i do miss my pedicures in the summertime!
Only five?! Wow. We need to see a picture of this. Come on. Maybe after Chicago? 🙂
You’ve definitely got runner’s feet. I’ve read you’re not supposed to get a pedicure before a big race, but afterwards, that’s top on my priority list!
Great job! And wow, your poor toes! Ow. I started to put some anti-friction cream on my toes before my long runs. It seems to help. It could be in my head though 😉