Loco Marathon Training RUNdown Week 9: 9/23-9/29

I had a GREAT week of training last week. I felt really strong, got in an pretty solid 20 miler, and even felt like I could keep running by the end of the week (although my legs were definitely sore for a few days post long run!). I’ve got a cut-back week now and then peak week and then it’s the taper!?!? It’s crazy how fast this 26.2 came and I’m real excited to get another one under my belt.

Monday, 9/23: 10 miles with 8 x 800. Split half on the road and half on the track (before school started). splits were: 7:27, 7:25, 7:16, 7:14, 7:14, 7:24, 7:20, 7:03. It felt real good to have my last split be the fastest!

Tuesday, 9/24: 5 easy miles at 9:56 pace on a new-to-me trail!

Wednesday, 9/25: 6.01 easy miles at 9:50 pace

Thursday, 9/26: 20.01 miles at 9:33 pace. Nothing overly crazy with my pace (I just wanted it to feel easy) and had my fastest miles in the last bit!

Friday, 9/27: 6.20 easy miles at 10:07 pace. Legs felt dead. This was challenging

Saturday, 9/28: 5.02 easy miles at 9:58 pace

Sunday, 9/29: rest day

Total mileage: 52.2 miles

Total Elevation: 1, 594’ up

Loco Marathon Training RUNdown Week 8: 9/16-9/22

We’re almost a month out from my marathon! I’ve got 2 more 20 milers left on the schedule, then we will be in the taper! It’s crazy to think just how close I am to running my 8th marathon?!? I’ve been really enjoying my own ‘self-made’ training plan this time around and am hoping that it will get me to the start line feeling stronger and more prepared than ever (only time will tell).

This last week was a cut-back week for mileage and I fit in my half marathon by taking a few extra rest days and cross training days instead of running all the miles. It felt good to mentally step-back for a minute, get in a long run in a race-format, and recover well post-race.

Monday, 9/16: 1 mile warmup/ 2 x 3 mile repeats (8:10 & 7:59 avgs)/ 1 mile cool down -> 9 miles total

Tuesday, 9/17: 5 miles easy post-clinical shift

Wednesday, 9/18: strength training & 20 minutes on the bike!

Thursday, 9/19: 6 miles easy

Friday, 9/20: Rest day

Saturday, 9/21: 7 miles & 13.13 race miles!

Sunday, 9/22: Rest Day

Total Miles: 40.2 miles

Total elevation: 873’ up



Loco Marathon Training RUNdown Week 7: 9/9-9/15

I was skeptical of this marathon training cycle. It was the first 26.2 where I created my own training cycle. I utilized what I learned from my previous races and tailored this one (shorter build-up of 12 weeks) to my needs. I added in cut-back weeks that included 5 days of running and 1 day of cross training, along with 2 speed sessions every-other week. I knew that my general fitness for a PR marathon was within me, I just needed to bring back some of my speed that I built from Eugene and maintain it for my upcoming race. This last week I finally hit a few breakthroughs.

I had some killer speedwork on the track on Monday and then followed that up with a negative-split 18 mile long run on Thursday. I felt mentally (& physically) strong come Sunday (and tired ofcourse). I’m focusing on keeping my mind “in the run” and being really smart on my easy days (I don’t mind walking if I need to in order to keep my heart rate lower). I’m checking my ego at the door and trying to push my boundaries on my speed days. I’ve got my first half marathon of this training cycle on Saturday and while I don’t have any expectations, it would obviously be great to finish the race feeling strong and confident. You never know what race day will bring, so I’m lowering my expectations and being smart that my big goal is still 5 more weeks out!

Let’s look back on my runs last week!

Monday, 9/9: 6.02 miles with 4 x 1200 (.25mile recovery between sets) & strength

Tuesday, 9/10: 5.07 miles easy at 9:40min/mi

Wednesday, 9/11: Rest Day!

Thursday, 9/12: 18 miles at 9:26 min/mi avg pace and post-run stretching/recovery

Friday, 9/13: 3 miles in the AM, strength, 4 trail miles in the PM. 11:00 min/mi avg pace

Saturday, 9/14: 6.01 miles easy at 10:46 min/mi avg pace

Sunday, 9/15: 6 miles easy at 10:38 avg pace

Total Miles: 48.1 miles

Total elevation: 2, 057’ up

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Ever made your own training cycle? How’d it go?

Number of days you prefer to run per week? Any cross training you love to do?

Lessons Learned: Seventh Marathon

I wish I could say that I’ve got it mastered from my seventh marathon. I know when things will hurt, how to push through them, the secret sauce to power through to that finish line, but I don’t. This marathon was part of my 50 miler training, so my ultimate goal was to still not get injured (among I also thought that getting a sub 3:40 really wasn’t too far off). Oh, how I still have so much to learn!

You can’t train for a bad day. They will happen and it’s just a fact of life.

You also can’t train for stomach issues. You should still try to take gels in (I didn’t until much later in the race, when I should have tried to take another one sooner).

Be proud of your effort through the race and beyond. There will always be things out of your control. Show up to the start line knowing you gave it your best (or being realistic and knowing that you haven’t) and give it your best that day.

Training on hills is necessary.

Don’t slack on marathon paced miles. I slacked on these a bit (they were HARD) and paid for it.

Don’t rely on an awesome half marathon PR to pull you through on the marathon. I got a big half marathon PR 5 weeks out from race day and maybe had too much ego (that I will get my time goals) leading into the full.

Finding out what works well for you (nutrition-wise) the days leading up to the marathon is really important. I’m still working on this one.

We’re all up to date on my marathons! Cheers to 6 more weeks of training before my eighth marathon! Also shocker- I’m not using this as a build-up for anything else! It’s all marathon-focused over here right now.

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What works well for you for fuel before race day?

Anyone else find marathon (or race pace) miles super challenging?

Lessons learned from your past races- tell me what they are!?

Lessons Learned: Fourth Marathon

2017 was a crazy year for me. I ran THREE marathons after going from a marathon a year. I guess you could definitely say that I caught the marathon bug after Disney. When I look back, 1. it’s crazy to me that this was just two years ago?!? 2. this was a really pivotal year for me on so many levels. I got a new job, I tested out two different training plans for my races (or three if you also count Disney), we moved out to a more residential neighborhood where I could run hills!, re-vamped my diet and found a real love for cooking whole foods, and began this BLOG! So, here are some lessons I learned from my fourth marathon:

Never underestimate the power of good wholesome foods and cooking your own meals. I started doing a bunch of meal-prep, re-introduced carbs, and found that beets and molasses really don’t taste so terrible.

Adding in speed-work and pilates is a MUST when marathon training. I began working with the local Pilates studio and learned so much body-awareness. I miss those gals so much. They were the best.

I learned the power of stepping-back from training so crazily and learned the power of resting. Between Disney and Revel Rockies, I was hospitalized with a Kidney Infection (where I first truly discovered the power of having a great nurse!) and also found out that I was severely anemic! I think this helped with my 10+ minute PR as well.

The treadmill and speedwork became my best friend.

Having a time-goal is GREAT, but having fun should be your “A” goal (always)! I went into this race with the big goal of a sub 4 hour marathon and when I didn’t achieve that, I came across that finish line really disappointed. It didn’t matter that I had a big PR- to me, I had failed.

Wearing shorts when you race should ALWAYS happen. To me, they make me feel powerful and strong.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. It took me 26.2 miles to learn this, but it was the best lesson that came out of this race!

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Anyone else struggle with being too ‘stuck’ on a time goal?

How did you feel when you made a big jump from PR times on a race? Happy? Elated? Disappointed?