Training Week 104
I am training for the NYC Marathon on November 6th.
Day 722 | October 10, 2011: rest
Day 723 | October 11, 2011: cross
Tuesday was our last day with our friends. What a bummer! Gina and I got one more workout in – we walked 1 mile, then ran 3 minutes every half mile until we got to 3.5 miles, then walked .85 more miles (with one more minute of running thrown in). Total amount was 4.35 miles.
I am impressed. I took Gina back on the hilly trail by my house and she dominated those hills!
Day 724 | October 12, 2011: 4.25 m run + strength class
Erin and I were emailing in the morning and I asked if she had her running stuff with her thinking she would say no and I would be on my own for lunch… but she did have it! Yay! We ran just over 4 miles south of the downtown loop and back. It was warm and sunny, but we kept up a fast pace. I didn’t feel like we got to talk for very long. I miss our slow long runs together!
In the evening I went to the strength class. We did the same type of workout as the week before (plyo box and weights, lots of pushups) but I had a headache and felt kind of out of it. My left heel was also killing me. I gave the class as much as I could!
Distance: 4.25 | Temp: 71° | Time: 38:47 | Avg Pace: 9:08
Day 725 | October 13, 2011: strength + 8 m run
Brian came over for a strength session around lunch time. He brought some fun large, soft balls (8, 10 and 12 pounds) to toss around and do other crazy things with (pushups with my feet on the ball – barf). He also brought weighted bars. It was a fun workout. I like working with those big balls. Alright, go ahead and insert joke here.
After work, I went running in the rain. I tried a new route – I took the trail by my house to the end then through downtown Round Lake and then on the trail again back to my house. It was fun to run someplace new! It rained for about the first 6 miles, but then the sun came out and a rainbow too!
I must note, I think it is just wrong to be wearing a tank top in October in Chicagoland.
The run went well and I felt good. But I stopped a lot because I kept getting texts. Bad habit – that is not a realistic way to run and I need to quit it. I did stop to send a text of this deer to Gina. She couldn’t see it. Hmm, I wonder why (I zoomed in big time on this photo and you can still barely see the camo-deer)?
Distance: 8.0 | Start Temp: 62° | End Temp: 58° | Time: 1:19:42 | Avg Pace: 9:57
Day 726 | October 14, 2011: 6 m run
The only time I had to work out on Friday morning was early, before work. Meaning I got up at 4:00 am, ran in the dark the whole time, and my legs never woke up. Seriously, it’s a good thing I allowed so much time to get 6 miles in, because I ran really slow. The only thing that sped me up was the sudden urge to go to the bathroom in the 3rd mile, which had me sprinting back to the house (no accidents, yay!).
It was noticeably more cool than the day before – high 40s and windy.
Also, I didn’t think I would have anything to share with you from this run, but at the very end, I noticed a tiny little lizard thing on the sidewalk as I was running. Aww.
Distance: 6.0 | Temp: 47° | Time: 1:05:34 | Avg Pace: 10:55
Day 727 | October 15, 2011: 20 m run
A few things were making me nervous about this run:
- The wind
- The hills
- Using my handheld water bottle for the first time
- My outfit (thought I would be too warm)
- Running 20 alone
But the run was fantastic! The wind was tough, but I just dealt with it. It was pushing me from side to side in the first half, then in my face for most of the second half. I just tried not to get upset that it was slowing me down so much.
The hills were not too much of an issue. I am getting a lot better at running them. I’m not fast, but I feel fine going up. I still struggle running on steep downhills though.
The water bottle was great! At first I was worried that my hand was too sweaty, but I would just dry it off every now and then. I fit 4 GUs in the pouch (took at 4, 8, 12, 16) and filled up the water bottle twice (it’s 22 ounces). I loved the cap on it – very easy to open and close. And my hand was only numb for a few seconds at the end of the run.
My outfit (shirt, arm warmers, shorts) worked out perfectly. I was worried I would be too hot, because I normally would have worn a tank with these temps, but I thought with the wind, I would be cooler, and I was. And the arm warmers were great for wiping my nose on.
And to help with the running alone part, I put five Jillian Michaels podcasts on my phone, and that kept me very entertained!
I am surprised my last 20 went so well. I felt great the entire time. I would have liked to run faster, but the wind was killer, and at this point, I am happy to be running this much with no injuries. And I made sure not to stop and screw around a lot – I just stopped at streets with traffic, to go to the bathroom/get water, and get rocks out of my shoes.
Distance: 20.0 | Start Temp: 45° | End Temp: 55° | Time: 3:39:33 | Avg Pace: 10:58.5
Day 728 | October 16, 2011: Corn Maze “5K” (2.75 miles)
I ran the Corn Maze “5K” (somewhere between 2.7-2.9 miles this year) with my brother-in-law Andrew. Steven spectated from an observation tower! More details on the race later.
Click to see larger. I am in purple. Yes. The same outfit as Saturday.
Week Summary: 41.0 miles
Themocracy
Hooray!! Your 20 miler kicked so much booty! SO so so impressed.
When I run with my handheld, I tend to pop my thumb under the top elastic band, it feels a bit more natural to me – might want to try it and see how it feels. If anything, changing the way you hold it on and off during the marathon can be a good distraction 😛
Oh, I will try that!
Do you always carry it in the same hand? I think it would feel weird to carry it in my left hand!
I actually prefer carrying mine in the left hand, but switch it during my runs… not sure if that helps me be more balanced 🙂
That corn maze scares me! I hate those things, always get afraid that it will turn into the shining or harry potter and something scary will happen. I’m a weiney! Love the visor! Can’t wait for you to hit the streets of NYC, that will be so amazing.
Another awesome funfilled week and rockstar running! Congrats on your solo 20! And that Cornmaze 5k sounds like such a fun race. 🙂 How did it feel to do a 20 miler so close to the marathon? No biggie I bet?! Great job.
So close to the last marathon? Or the upcoming one? 🙂 My legs felt really good after Milwaukee so the 20 was a breeze 🙂
So glad to hear your 20 miler went so well – good job! You are going to have a great time at your marathon.
You had an awesome week! So many miles!! Way to tackle that 20 miler by yourself. I’m glad I didn’t have to do mine alone (though I believe I could have).
Can’t wait to hear about the corn maze 5k. Looks like Steven had a pretty good view.
I’m so happy your 20 miler went well! Maybe you don’t need me after all. Just kidding. I was probably a nice mental boost to know you could do that on your own. Just keep that in mind in NYC! I bet it was nice to not have your water bottle on your waist. It will be easy to refill the handheld during a race.
I was thinking that during my run yesterday – I just need to imagine NYC like a long training run 🙂