Training Rundown Week 9-MS Run The US

Less than 90 days until my MS Run The US start line! I think I'm much more nervous to hit my fundraising goal compared to running 175 miles over 7 days! I guess that's a marathon runner for you though.... I came down with a bit of a cold/ major headache/ sore throat on Thursday and ended up switching my runs around a bit to accomodate that as my rest day. We also got hit with a bunch of snow all week, so I spent most of my runs on the treadmill because the roads were a disaster early in the morning and also super chilly out (less than 10*...too cold for me to be outside running!). 

MONDAY: 1.5 mile warm-up; 8 miles at tempo 8:20 (last mile 7:53); 1.5 mile cool-down--> 11 miles total. All on the treadmill + 20 minutes of strength + 30 minutes of yoga

TUESDAY: 7 miles easy; actual: 6 miles easy (all I had time for) @ 10:19. So snowy outside and no clear roads/trails. Much more like a trail run than a road run...

WEDNESDAY: 1.5 warm-up; 6 x 800 @ 7:13 (actual: 7:08 pace) with 400R between sets; 1.5 cool-down (actual: .75 cool-down). All done by 6:30am and on the ice teaching by 7am. Did this on the treadmill because roads were not clear and had to cut my cool-down short because of time constraints. 60 minute Jumpboard Reformer class at lunch.

At least I had a rose to keep me company on the treadmill this morning!

THURSDAY: REST DAY

FRIDAY: planned 8 miles easy. actual 6 miles easy @ 10:00. Still felt a bit off, so cut it after 6!

Cold & Snowy!

SATURDAY: planned 16 miles @ 9:03-9:18 pace. actual: 13.25 miles @ 9:10 pace. Was on the treadmill and still felt a bit weak from being sick the past two days. 

SUNDAY: 8.0 miles easy @ 9:50. Finally felt stronger and got to run outside as well! Perfect morning before teaching skiing. 

Positive Splits:

• Got in 3 strength training sessions
• Hit my paces and felt strong on both my speed & tempo workouts
• Fit in 30 minutes of yoga!
• Hydration and rest were key this week

Negative Splits:

• Got a bit of a cold...boo...and had to readjust my training days
• Most runs on the treadmill
• Definitely did not foam roll enough! 

MS Mondays- In The NEWS

I'm pretty convinced that there will be no greater show than The Office and Michael. Anytime I need to be cheered up or need to laugh I put on the episode when Dwight simulates a fire drill. Gosh it is just so amazing. 

Maybe we should just always start our Monday mornings with a 3 or 4 minute clip from The Office? What would be your choice show or episode to watch just a few minutes of to get you going for the week ahead? 

I hope you had a great weekend! I spent it working (for the most part), so I'm definitely counting down the days until Saturday when I finally get a day off! I've got another tempo run on the schedule today (8 miles @ tempo & 11 total) and then community core yoga donation class at 6:30pm (hoping its a successful one this week)! Happy Presidents Day as well! Very jealous of those who have today off....

I wanted to share with you an article that was published by The Bridgton News about a month or so ago and it perfectly summed up my reasoning behind running my MS Run The US relay segment and also more about my running journey to get to where I am today. I hope you enjoy!

"....I had known about MS Run the US for a few years. I looked into the application process a few times, but had always missed it (the application process starts in August, but the relay does not begin until April). I remember marking on the calendar this year when the applications opened and it just so happened to open a week after my grandfather’s passing...."

".....While out on a run, Stacy is often inspired to dig deeper and push on despite tired leg muscles by memories of her grandfather..."

You can find the full article HERE. 

How was your weekend?

What helps get you in the mindset to start another work-week? 

Training Rundown Week 8-MS Run The US

50 miles this week! I somehow always feel like it takes me a bit to adjust to running 50ish miles a week and then it becomes easy (ier). It's crazy to think that I'm now less than 100 days away from my MS Run The US start line AND less than 8 more weeks until the Salt Lake City Marathon! I was able to hit all of my paces this week and am feeling really strong. I shifted back to my early AM workouts and think that was a major difference in feeling more like myself and not so 'scatter-brained'/ in a funk!

Monday: 10 miles; 1.5 warm-up; 7 miles @ TM 8:20-8:35 (actual: 8:22); 1.5 cool-down. I love when I start getting to the point where I can hit my goal marathon pace without even looking at my watch every 2 seconds. 60 minute Yoga class after work!

Tuesday: 6 miles easy @ 9:43. I split this run up between teaching skating and did about a mile before with Stella and the remaining 5 afterwards solo. It's SO nice to run outside after work and have it still be light out.

Wednesday: 8 miles; 2.0 warm-up; 3 x 1600 @ 7:13 (actual: 7:08, 7:07, 7:05); 2.0 cool-down. I did this on the treadmill since it was cold out and I'm just not a fan of speedwork when it's chilly. 60 minute Pilates Jumpboard Reformer class at lunch.

Thursday: 6 miles easy @ 9:43. ~300' elevation gain. 

Friday: 10 miles easy @ 9:58. 600' elevation gain. 15 minutes of strength & stretching.

Saturday: 10 miles easy @ 10:52; 1, 392' elevation gain. Almost died on this one, but really glad I pushed through it!! SOOO much elevation gain and so hard. My legs were completely dead afterwards

Positive Splits:

• Hit my paces in each workout
• Got in 2 strength training sessions
• Finally got to go to Yoga!
• Foam rolled almost each night before bed...really helped me sleep well!

Negative Splits:

• Nutrition wasn't the best this past week.
• Easy runs (for the most part) were a bit fast

MS Mondays- ALL ABOUT my FIRST Fundraiser!

Monday...Monday...it's here wayyy too soon! Am I right?!? Is this how people who love their job also feel or is just the rest of us who haven't quite exactly figured things out yet? Either way, our weekend freedom is done and gone and now we've got 5 more days until we get it again! I hope you had a GREAT weekend. We got outside for a bit on Saturday and managed to get ALL the chores done on Friday night, so a weekend of fun (..or well just a Saturday of fun for me as I had to teach both skiing & skating on Sunday) it was. 

I wanted to share with you today all about my first fundraiser that I had for MS Run The US! I did some tabling at City Market (local grocery store) and honestly had NO IDEA what to expect. I either thought it would be slightly successful or a total flop (yeah..not very high expectations at all)! I created a few posters that had what I was doing and why I was doing it in SUPER simple wording, so that it was easier to read and those that were interested could ask me about it or just simply walk on by. 

I think that having the posters really visible next to my table helped immensely because we (Alex helped me out for most of the 3.5 hours..) even had someone drive by and hand out us some money to put in my donation jar!

It was super windy out, so we taped everything down extremely well and had just a few fliers out on the table (one about my yoga fundraiser and one explaining the run) and then some MS Run The US brochures. I only had a few people who actually took the fliers or brochures, but most were just interested in learning about what I was doing and why I was doing it!

I had a goal of getting ~$100-150 from the day (especially since it was so cold) and ended up getting $272!!! I couldn't believe how successful I was and also how many others I spoke with who either had a connection with Multiple Sclerosis or Running! Gosh...I really love my little community when events like this go so well.

I have another tabling in 2 weeks and can't WAIT to get it going! I'm also starting to brainstorm a few other fundraisers I could put together before my relay...so hopefully something will come together soon for them!

How was your weekend?

Any experience with fundraisers?! Any advice??

Long run this weekend- yay or nay?

PS The Olympics must really stress me out because we've nearly eaten an entire bag of sour candy that I got on THURSDAY. Gosh I just love all the Olympic coverage sooo much! What's your favorite event?