Marathon Training Week 4
Welcome to week 4 of marathon training! If you click on the activity links after the dates, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.
Day 22 | Monday, July 6: Cross-train for 30 minutes Rest
Ugh. I felt mopey and was suffering from a sugar withdrawal headache so I did nada for cross-training and went to bed early.
Day 23 | Tuesday, July 7: Run 3 miles
I keep repeating this, but I absolutely have to start doing these shorter runs slower. I ran the first 1.5 and last .5 miles of this run with Steven. We started out fast and I didn’t want to slow down. I also don’t want to over-train though! I promised myself I would run slower on Wednesday, but Wednesday’s run never happened.
Distance: 3.01 miles | Time: 26:10 | 1: 8:49 | 2: 8:52 | 3: 8:25 | 4: 00:02
Day 24 | Wednesday, July 8: Rest
I felt frustrated (and sorry for myself) since the moment I woke up on Wednesday, so I took the night off to relax.
Day 25 | Thursday, July 9: Run 6 miles
Six nice easy miles, at a comfortable “conversational” pace – check!
Distance: 6.00 miles | Time: 57:01 | 1: 9:25 | 2: 9:29 | 3: 9:47 | 4: 9:35 | 5: 9:24 | 6: 9:19
Day 26 | Friday, July 10: Run 3 miles
Three hot, accidentally race pace, PISSED OFF miles.
The two highlights (low-lights?) of this run both involved kids getting into my way ON PURPOSE. I wish I was imagining this, but their actions were obviously intentional.
The first time I was on the loop around our neighborhood park. I saw two kids on one motorized bike coming my way so I got over to the right edge of the path. They started swerving back and forth and back and forth over the path, crossing dangerously close to me before quickly swerving out of my way. The kid driving gave me a malicious look. I think it is the same kid getting in the way of cars on the street two weeks ago. What the heck?
The second time, I saw a kid dribbling a ball in the sidewalk, so again, I got over in the right edge to get away from him. When I got near him, he made eye contact with me, then he dribbled the ball in front of me and I had to stop and jump into the grass. What the heck?
Parents, anyone, reading this, what should I do? I doubt it is worth saying anything to these kids, but it is seriously frustrating me. These are not young awkward kids trying to figure out sidewalk etiquette. They are being little sh*ts on purpose. Maybe I should just stick to the early morning hours before the terrors get out of bed. Or try REALLY hard to ignore it.
Distance: 3.00 miles | Time: 26:34 | 1: 8:54 | 2: 8:56 | 3: 8:40 | 4: 00:02
Day 27 | Saturday, July 11: Run 6 miles at marathon pace
I set my regular alarm for 6:00, but had to rely on my kitty-cat alarm clock to wake me up at 7:30. Thanks Data! (Funny thing is, he started waking me up at 5:30 on Sunday. He’s a kind of unreliable alarm clock!)
Look! A talking shoe!
It was cloudy when I got to the park, so I was excited, thinking I wouldn’t be running in the sun. That quickly changed though! I got really hot right away. I was too lazy to put my hydration belt on, and ended up stopping at the car THREE TIMES for water. Yikes. I need to wear the belt next time!
The deceiving skies…
… quickly turned to sun!
I took a photo of my awesome bruised wrist to share with you all. I look forward to running as one of the few hours of the day when I don’t have to wear the stupid splint and wrap.
Pace runs make me so nervous and stressed out. I feel like I am constantly looking at the Garmin to keep on track. I feel guilty if my pace goes up at all. I much prefer the method we used for the half marathon – just putting the miles in, at ANY pace. I know this is the way to becoming a better runner though!
Distance: 6.00 miles | Time: 53:15 | 1: 8:55 | 2: 8:52 | 3: 8:57 | 4: 8:49 | 5: 8:55 | 6: 8:40 | 7: 00:03
Day 28 | Saturday, July 12: Run 11 miles
I found a new out-and-back trail to try near our house, but was concerned about getting too far out on the trail away from a toilet. The park by our house has a loop that goes by three separate toilet facilities (!!!) but I am getting kind of sick of running there. When I told Steven my dilemma, he suggested I run to the park by our house, then do a few loops there, to change things up a bit. I have always been a bit nervous about running on the shoulder of the street (especially with a 55 mph speed limit!), but it went well, and it was fun to run somewhere different for the first and last 2 miles.
Not driving there created another dilemma though – I couldn’t bring extra water. My hydration belt (this one) only holds maybe… 16 ounces total? And it LEAKS. I was definitely dehydrated today. I have been looking for a belt that holds more water, or a hand held water bottle, or maybe even a camelbak. Actually, I am really interested in camelbak, but worried about my back getting all sweaty and gross. What do you like to use for hydration? Have any of you used a camelbak?
Edited to add: My brother-in-law was disappointed that I didn’t mention I tripped over him and five of his friends on my way out the door that morning. So… Andrew (my BiL) was in town with his friends for a Cubs game on Saturday and the Brewers game on Sunday, and they all stayed at our house. It was fun seeing him and his friends, and finding spots for all of them to stay (three couches, one bed, one air mattress, and one sleeping bag!). Data enjoyed sleeping on their dirty sheets after they left. Ew Data, ew.
Distance: 11.00 miles | Time: 1:49:58 | 1: 9:42 | 2: 9:38 | 3: 10:24| 4: 10:08 | 5: 10:09 | 6: 10:03 | 7: 9:58 | 8: 9:46 | 9: 9:56 |10: 10:08 | 11: 9:59
Week Summary: 29 Miles
I seem to have fallen prey to the “I can eat anything I want, I am training for a marathon” mentality. Well, if that were true, would my jeans be this tight? My diet has been disappointingly junky lately, and feeling restricted by my wrist and moody all week surely didn’t help. I get through my runs just fine, but know I could perform better if I ate better, and lost a few pounds. I haven’t mentioned it, but I took my weight loss tracker off the site awhile ago, and stopped weighing myself. I didn’t want that to be a focus during training. I want my focus to be on feeling healthy. I’ll get there.
The end of week 4 means I am 25% through the training program! The marathon will be here before I know it! I just found out you can track the racers online during the race, so I will make sure to post all of that info closer to the actual date.
Themocracy
I still have my two bottle hydration belt…I am not going far enough to need more bottles. We went to a running store at the beach and they have some with lots of bottles, or are you thinking of one, that is back packy that has a whole bunch of water in it?
Sorry about your bruise. ouch.
That totally sucks about those dickhead kids. I’m trying to think what I would do. I wouldn’t want to take them head on, but at the same time I am just ballsy enough that I might have to say something. To be honest, if it happened again I would be tempted to call the non emergency line of the police department to let them know of the harrassment…just a thought.
What! I can’t believe what jerks those kids are! That just pisses me off, seriously. I don’t have any advice though, all the kids I come in contact with are assholes. It’s my job to hang out with them. 🙂
Yikes, sorry about those kids.
Great job running though! One of my friends is doing a marathon in October and I still so admire anyone who can do that!
Hotch Potchery – I was thinking the backpack thing, but maybe also the one with 4 bottles. I just worry that then I will have 4 bottles leaking all over me! 😉
ShutupandRun – Those were the two actions I was thinking of also. And whadya know, I have that number on speed dial on my phone… 😉 I am like the grumpy old neighborhood woman!
Shaina – LOL! So, just grin and bear it? 😉
Bethany – Thanks! 🙂 I think most people can run… it just takes awhile to train. It’s taken me a year to get this far!
UGH, I HATE JERKY KIDS. That really makes me so mad, and I really have no idea except for “Beat the crap out of them.”, which apparently is not always a popular answer. I vote for the call the non-emergency police number option.
I use a handheld bottle, which has been good so far. I know a lot of people don’t like carrying things. Since my Garmin beeps off every mile split, I use the chime to switch hands and take a sip of water; it’s worked out so far. I don’t know what will happen when I get into longer distances though…
With the kids, my first thought is to talk to the parents. But with kids that bad, I doubt it will do any good. 🙁 I’m sorry you have to put up with this. I still have annoying neighbors letting their German Shepherds off the leash and on to the sidewalk. Argh!
re: the hydration belt…you know, I haven’t tried anything because I feel like the extra bulk would seriously annoy me. But maybe I should give the belt you have a chance? When I was at the doctor yesterday, he said that I am “super hydrated” so maybe I am doing a better job than I realize. 😉
I wondered about the weight loss tracker, but figured you didn’t want to use it as a way to measure your progress any more. And to that I say–GOOD FOR YOU! 🙂
Ugh, jerky kids piss me off! I am so *that* lady I swore I would never be. 🙂 Are these middle school age kids? I wish I had some advice, but I avoid bratty kids like the plague (nice ones I like, I swear!).
I have a water belt that holds 4 bottles (I bought two 10 oz. bottles, and pair them with two 6 oz. bottles it came with). I LOVE it because the belt is velcro and I wear it low on my hips, so it doesn’t bounce around. I’ve been curious about the Camelbak but it looks like it might bounce around? You’ll have to let us know if you get one!
Ouchie mama! Your wrist looks so bad!! I hope you heal supa fast!!
And as always, remember to RepHresh after every run! 🙂
If I ran places without water fountains, I’d definitely invest in a camelbak. Being sweaty should be the least of your worries. That way, you can carry your water, plus an ID, money and a phone in case of emergency!
As far as those kids go? Call the police. Seriously. YOU shouldn’t be intimidated from running there. No matter what time of day it is. And if these are repeat offenders, my guess is your call is something other people have thought of doing. They deserve a little chat with the cops.
Call the non-emergency police number on the kids, the only issue is knowing where the kids live. If you know where they live, I’d report their a$$es ASAP. But as someone else mentioned, I’m not sure what good it would do, badly behaved children usually represent badly behaved parents. (Ok so the evil side of me wants to tell you to carry mace to protect yourself should you need to….)
Seriously…you ran 29 miles in a week. How freaking awesome are you!!!! I have a camel back that I take on really long walks (no where near the distance you go) and hikes, and I personally love it. But since I’m not a runner, I’m not sure how great they would be for that purpose 😀
If it were MY kids doing that, I would want you to come talk to me. But my kids wouldn’t be doing it on purpose, so I guess it wouldn’t be an issue. I get so frustrated when kids are mean/bad on purpose. My kids don’t do that but a lot of kids in our neighborhood do. My house is at the back of a circle street so you can take two diffrent streets to get to it that are really the same street just with different names at the end and beginning (does that make sense?) I have to switch up my route depending on which side the kids on bikes in the middle of the street are on. They seriously don’t move even when a car is coming. They sit in the middle of the road. They don’t even move when a car is waiting, they just sit there and look at you with that look on their face…probably the same look you saw when running. Very frustrating! Especially frustrating when my kids don’t understand WHY someone would do that and then sort of get picked on sometimes because they follow the rules and do the right thing.
My first thought for the kids on the motor bikes is to clothesline one of them. I can’t stand putzes who think they have to prove their manhood like that. The kid with the basketball. I probably would have stopped dead in my tracks, looked him in the eye and said, “Excuse me, but have I done something to hurt you?” Then when he stutters a bit, I’d say, “Well, then, I’d appreciate you making way for me rather than trying to force me to break my leg.”
It’s worked for me before.
OMG – I would sooo want to plow into those kids! That would teach them a lesson – but also risk injury to yourself. Knowing me I would probably get out of the way and then turn around and ask if the kid was blind. The subway has made me mean, what can I say.
I love Data’s food bowl decor – where did you find them? Manny is in the market for some new stuff.
Good work on the marathon training! I love ur dedication!
i’m so bad at confrontation even if i want to be, so i’d probably run around the kids but give them that “you have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME” stinkeye look. and then maybe fake a little shoulder at them the next time if they still did it. you know, like how big scary dudes do that shoulder shove at guys they’re trying to intimidate? like that. 🙂
Damn, girl. I think a lost a couple pounds just reading this!
Oww your wrist looks like it hurts!
Good ob on your marathon training! I think every training cycle includes good and bad days. You
re rocking it!
Great job on week 4! I hear you on the eating. I have been so hungry all the time and not eating well…
Take care of that arm!
Carry a small squirt gun with you, and spray the crap out of them if they come near. Or just dump a bottle of water on them. Perhaps that will make them think twice about messing with you.
And to Tori- Honk at those kids, like really lay on the horn. The more attention is drawn to them the more likely they are to move.