So begins week one of training for the Harmonie Trail Marathon, this is part one of that week. The last two weeks have been tough, literally 2 days after the LBL marathon I was chomping at the bit to get back to running, but I needed to give my body at least a few days' rest. I did end up running Tuesday and... maybe Thursday then rested a few days. Last week I was going to put in a few more miles, it started off well enough.... though Monday I started back up on some leg strengthening and during Tuesday morning's run on the trails with the dogs, I kind of realized my legs were still recovering. ... Weather was bad on Wednesday, but that evening I did 3 sets of 30 Kettlebell swings....... BAD... BAD... BAD choice. Thursday morning I took Jetta for what ended up being an excruciatingly slow and sore 7 miles, my hamstrings and glutes were hurting... tight and painful. I knew immediately that I had made an awful decision, Kettlebell Swings involves a slight squat kind of position... I should have remembered that squats are no longer my friend.
Friday afternoon I went to see my massage therapist, a 2 hour massage focused on my legs. I didn't run Friday, Saturday or Sunday but decided to rest instead. I think the massage and the three days of rest did my legs some good, the top of my left hamstring still feels a bit tight but not bad.
Monday afternoon I took Dorian and the dogs for a 3.2 mile run, it was 57 degrees, sunny and 8 mph NNW winds. I was still feeling a bit slower than my normal easy pace.
Tuesday morning I took Jetta out for an easy 5 mile run, still felt slow and sluggish. It was 43 degrees, we ran the 5 miles in 50:39 with an average pace of 10:08 min/mile.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 10:14
Mile 3 - 10:08
Mile 4 - 10:06
Mile 5 - 9:48
I felt pretty good afterwards and throughout the day, so that afternoon I took Dorian and the dogs for an easy 2 miler that turned into a 3 miler. I felt real good during this run, though Rocky was lagging behind, but not bad. It was 61 degrees and 7 mph ESE winds. We ran 3 miles in 29:34 with an average pace of 9:51 min/mile.
This morning I kept trying to talk myself into staying in bed when my alarm went off at 4:05 AM, I tried to make excuses but reminded myself that Thursday is predicted to have extremely awful weather and would give me no chance to run. I need at least one rest day this week but it wasn't going to be today.
Jetta and I headed at the door at 5 AM, it wasn't quite as chilly as Tuesday morning but it was 45 degrees so I chose to wear capris. I was tempted to run just 4 or 5 and get in another 2-3 this afternoon but towards the middle I decided to go ahead and run 8 miles. Jetta does beautifully with these runs, and I am sure we won't do too bad during warmer weather since she isn't very thick furred.
We ran 8 miles in 1:21:17, still a bit slower than my average easy pace but I feel myself getting back in gear.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:45
Mile 2 - 10:13
Mile 3 - 10:01
Mile 4 - 10:15
Mile 5 - 10:15
Mile 6 - 10:00
Mile 7 - 10:09
Mile 8 - 9:38
That last split is where I want to get back to, but I am just happy to start getting my mileage back up.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Monday, March 21, 2016
The Following Days After the LBL Marathon
So The Land Between the Lakes Marathon..... my first trail marathon and my second marathon so far. It was brutal, amazing and definitely not easy and I definitely learned that I need to discipline myself with training for those hills, not just the mileage. I'll begin adding some stair bounds next week, probably 5-10 minutes for starters.
I had promised myself or my body a full week of no running after the race, I really expected to be so sore and tired that I wouldn't even bother trying to run........
- Sunday I was sore, and tired and achy as we headed home.
- Monday it was tough going up and down any stairs and any fast stepping or even the slightest pound of my feet would remind me just how sore my quads still were.
- Tuesday I woke up not very sore, actually not sore at all and throughout the whole day I could actually go up the steps and then back down them without any issue. So that afternoon I took Dorian out for an easy 2 miler, it was like 85 degrees so too warm for the dogs, I wore a new pairs of Asics GT 1000 4's as they had the same features as the GT 2000 3's EXCEPT NOT THE SAME CUSHIONING.... and that was evident in my quads which my left one was still achy and calves were tight but it wasn't bad.
I felt pretty good afterwards.
- Wednesday I woke up feeling absolutely no soreness, and none throughout the day so that was a great sign.
- Thursday I took Dorian and the dogs for a run, we ran 4 miles and no problem.
- Friday through Sunday just ended up being lazy and cold, so no running. I had new shoes I was fitted for, the Brooks Ravenna 7's and I've really been wanting to try them out.
Normally Monday is my rest day BUT I had to go for a run, so I took Dorian and the dogs for a run this afternoon. We ran 4 miles, I am feeling great and cannot wait to get back on schedule.
I had promised myself or my body a full week of no running after the race, I really expected to be so sore and tired that I wouldn't even bother trying to run........
- Sunday I was sore, and tired and achy as we headed home.
- Monday it was tough going up and down any stairs and any fast stepping or even the slightest pound of my feet would remind me just how sore my quads still were.
- Tuesday I woke up not very sore, actually not sore at all and throughout the whole day I could actually go up the steps and then back down them without any issue. So that afternoon I took Dorian out for an easy 2 miler, it was like 85 degrees so too warm for the dogs, I wore a new pairs of Asics GT 1000 4's as they had the same features as the GT 2000 3's EXCEPT NOT THE SAME CUSHIONING.... and that was evident in my quads which my left one was still achy and calves were tight but it wasn't bad.
I felt pretty good afterwards.
- Wednesday I woke up feeling absolutely no soreness, and none throughout the day so that was a great sign.
- Thursday I took Dorian and the dogs for a run, we ran 4 miles and no problem.
- Friday through Sunday just ended up being lazy and cold, so no running. I had new shoes I was fitted for, the Brooks Ravenna 7's and I've really been wanting to try them out.
Normally Monday is my rest day BUT I had to go for a run, so I took Dorian and the dogs for a run this afternoon. We ran 4 miles, I am feeling great and cannot wait to get back on schedule.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
2016 Land Between the Lakes Marathon
I am trying to start this RR wore out, sore and with a brutal headache so I am not sure if I will finish it this evening.....
Alright, so this is/was my first trail marathon but my second marathon overall.... I tried not to worry about it being a Spring marathon with the potential for any kind of weather, but I will admit that I wasn't quite ready for the warm weather that we got. All this past week the forecast was saying scattered showers, t-storms, severe weather, etc... then by Friday evening it was saying scattered showers, then Saturday morning it was saying PM showers. So all this rain I was worried about didn't happen, but instead I got 60 degree temps which wasn't awful until the sun came out.......
I'll admit that I was really nervous and Friday evening I was really questioning on doing it, I am glad I don't listen to reason lol.
I was up at 4:40 AM, started my coffee, took the dogs out for a walk to get them to go potty. Got back, ate and drank and used the bathroom and got dressed, took Jetta out one more time so she would poop. Then I got the rest of the way ready and headed to the start, I tried to use the bathroom again but only peed.... so I was concerned.
There was no gunshot, no nothing, everyone just started going at 6:30. We were off on the road headed for the trail, the road was 1.7 miles and then the trail loop was 11.3 miles. The temperature didn't feel too bad early on, during the first loop. The hills really didn't start showing up until mile 7 or so, and they were definitely challenging. My garmin was on track for the first 2-3 miles and then slowly started getting off track by .1 miles each mile or so.
I was happy and feeling pretty good finishing up the first loop and my garmin was saying 12.4 miles at that point and it should've been 13.2 miles but my garmin was already falling off track.
By mile 13-14 I was beginning to feel it, and the sun was beginning to come out..... yeah so much for rain huh.... I was drowning my hat in any creek water I would find and putting it back on my head. I was burning up, and getting really tired.
I was wishing for the final aid station before the return back to the finish, and with each aid station I would eat orange slices - 2-4 of them, they were delicious. I also had some coke too, and some blue gatorade, but I mainly stuck to my water mixed with Hammer Heed (one scoop of strawberry, one scoop of Lemon-Lime), and my hydration bladder, and by mile 19 or so I had consumed all 3 energy gu's.
The hills were getting real tough, and the sun was just beating down on me, I was wishing for rain.... and the finish. I didn't expect to finish under 5:30:00... and heck I half expected to finish around 6 hours.
I couldn't even figure out where I actually was mileage wise, my garmin is always far behind. I cannot begin to explain how happy I was to see the last aid station but that last 1.7 miles was tough as hell on asphalt/concrete.
I was pretty surprised and happy to see my time at the finish - 5:19:48 so I made it under 5 hours and 30 minutes, and not too far behind my first marathon which was like 4:48:something.
My garmin of course finished at 23.9 miles, so it was like... 2.1 miles behind or something like that (my brain is still recovering).
Not sure if I should even bother posting my splits since it was off by 2.1 miles, so I don't think I will bother. It was 5:19:48 for 26.2 miles, with an average pace of 12:12 min/mile and an elevation gain of 1,808 feet so pretty close to their 2,068 miles I guess.
These are definitely tough, and a lot more brutal than road marathons but mainly because I am so used to road races and worrying about my finish time. I need to learn some humility and get over my pride if I am going stick with trail races and get into ultra-marathons, pride and vanity has no place on the trails. I do enjoy the atmosphere much more than road races, and talked to a few runners doing the 60k, they suggested that if I was feeling good on the 2nd loop I could upgrade to the 60k..... yeah I knew by the middle of the 2nd loop that wasn't going to happen.
But I enjoyed it very much, it was brutal and challenging... I earned this medal and even though it was a half hour slower than my first marathon, I truly feel as if I redeemed myself.
Alright, so this is/was my first trail marathon but my second marathon overall.... I tried not to worry about it being a Spring marathon with the potential for any kind of weather, but I will admit that I wasn't quite ready for the warm weather that we got. All this past week the forecast was saying scattered showers, t-storms, severe weather, etc... then by Friday evening it was saying scattered showers, then Saturday morning it was saying PM showers. So all this rain I was worried about didn't happen, but instead I got 60 degree temps which wasn't awful until the sun came out.......
I'll admit that I was really nervous and Friday evening I was really questioning on doing it, I am glad I don't listen to reason lol.
I was up at 4:40 AM, started my coffee, took the dogs out for a walk to get them to go potty. Got back, ate and drank and used the bathroom and got dressed, took Jetta out one more time so she would poop. Then I got the rest of the way ready and headed to the start, I tried to use the bathroom again but only peed.... so I was concerned.
There was no gunshot, no nothing, everyone just started going at 6:30. We were off on the road headed for the trail, the road was 1.7 miles and then the trail loop was 11.3 miles. The temperature didn't feel too bad early on, during the first loop. The hills really didn't start showing up until mile 7 or so, and they were definitely challenging. My garmin was on track for the first 2-3 miles and then slowly started getting off track by .1 miles each mile or so.
I was happy and feeling pretty good finishing up the first loop and my garmin was saying 12.4 miles at that point and it should've been 13.2 miles but my garmin was already falling off track.
By mile 13-14 I was beginning to feel it, and the sun was beginning to come out..... yeah so much for rain huh.... I was drowning my hat in any creek water I would find and putting it back on my head. I was burning up, and getting really tired.
I was wishing for the final aid station before the return back to the finish, and with each aid station I would eat orange slices - 2-4 of them, they were delicious. I also had some coke too, and some blue gatorade, but I mainly stuck to my water mixed with Hammer Heed (one scoop of strawberry, one scoop of Lemon-Lime), and my hydration bladder, and by mile 19 or so I had consumed all 3 energy gu's.
The hills were getting real tough, and the sun was just beating down on me, I was wishing for rain.... and the finish. I didn't expect to finish under 5:30:00... and heck I half expected to finish around 6 hours.
I couldn't even figure out where I actually was mileage wise, my garmin is always far behind. I cannot begin to explain how happy I was to see the last aid station but that last 1.7 miles was tough as hell on asphalt/concrete.
I was pretty surprised and happy to see my time at the finish - 5:19:48 so I made it under 5 hours and 30 minutes, and not too far behind my first marathon which was like 4:48:something.
My garmin of course finished at 23.9 miles, so it was like... 2.1 miles behind or something like that (my brain is still recovering).
Not sure if I should even bother posting my splits since it was off by 2.1 miles, so I don't think I will bother. It was 5:19:48 for 26.2 miles, with an average pace of 12:12 min/mile and an elevation gain of 1,808 feet so pretty close to their 2,068 miles I guess.
These are definitely tough, and a lot more brutal than road marathons but mainly because I am so used to road races and worrying about my finish time. I need to learn some humility and get over my pride if I am going stick with trail races and get into ultra-marathons, pride and vanity has no place on the trails. I do enjoy the atmosphere much more than road races, and talked to a few runners doing the 60k, they suggested that if I was feeling good on the 2nd loop I could upgrade to the 60k..... yeah I knew by the middle of the 2nd loop that wasn't going to happen.
But I enjoyed it very much, it was brutal and challenging... I earned this medal and even though it was a half hour slower than my first marathon, I truly feel as if I redeemed myself.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Only 3 More Days.... 2.5.......
The weather is slowly changing for the slightly better, and RD's say these trail are very hard packed so in most cases the rain water just runs off the trails so hopefully they'll be in better shape than my trails are in these conditions.
Less than 24 hours and we'll be in Grand Rivers, KY... finally the wait is over and we will be down there and I'll be counting down the hours to packet pickup and then the race!!
I've ran twice this week, Monday and Tuesday. I ran 4.3 miles Monday afternoon with Dorian in the stroller and both dogs on their leashes, then Tuesday morning I took Jetta for a 4.1 mile run. I thought about going out this morning for another easy 3-4 mile run, but decided that it would be a better idea for me to save my energy and legs for the next 3 days until the race. Since I chose to miss this morning, with all the rain going on I've got no choice but to not run until the race now.
I really don't have much else to say, I'm excited, I am nervous that something is going to happen or go wrong that is going to prevent us from leaving and heading to Grand Rivers, down the condo. ... I guess I will be a little more relaxed once we get going and even more relaxed once we get down there. Packet pickup is Friday, not sure why but I always enjoy picking up my packet and looking everything over and preparing my race clothes.
I am going to be really nervous Saturday morning as I get up, get dressed and head to the start. It's going to be a really tough race, my second marathon and my 1st one on trails and with some high elevation gain.... the highest I've ever dealt with.
Anyways....... I am done blabbering.
Less than 24 hours and we'll be in Grand Rivers, KY... finally the wait is over and we will be down there and I'll be counting down the hours to packet pickup and then the race!!
I've ran twice this week, Monday and Tuesday. I ran 4.3 miles Monday afternoon with Dorian in the stroller and both dogs on their leashes, then Tuesday morning I took Jetta for a 4.1 mile run. I thought about going out this morning for another easy 3-4 mile run, but decided that it would be a better idea for me to save my energy and legs for the next 3 days until the race. Since I chose to miss this morning, with all the rain going on I've got no choice but to not run until the race now.
I really don't have much else to say, I'm excited, I am nervous that something is going to happen or go wrong that is going to prevent us from leaving and heading to Grand Rivers, down the condo. ... I guess I will be a little more relaxed once we get going and even more relaxed once we get down there. Packet pickup is Friday, not sure why but I always enjoy picking up my packet and looking everything over and preparing my race clothes.
I am going to be really nervous Saturday morning as I get up, get dressed and head to the start. It's going to be a really tough race, my second marathon and my 1st one on trails and with some high elevation gain.... the highest I've ever dealt with.
Anyways....... I am done blabbering.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Taper Madness, Grumpiness, Thoughts..... Yadayadayada
Okay so it really isn't any different from any other blog except less running, and I am going crazy. This back and forth weather is just killing my husband and Dorian, colds and running noses, it's just tough as hell for them. I hope this crap levels out so everybody can relax next weekend.
It's Wednesday, and today is almost over so that means tomorrow marks only one more week before we head to Grand Rivers, one more week to get a few runs and rest in and worry about the weather and the trails.... yep I am a little worried. I mean granted, it isn't nearly as bad as last year since last year they had to run the whole race on roads due to the 2 feet of snow underneath ice on the trails. It was bad, the last 2 years have been bad for LBL but last year was the worst.... I think LBL has been going on since 2004 and the years that had the most ideal conditions were - 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 before tough weather.
It doesn't seem like we'll be dealing with snow (crossing my fingers and knocking on wood) but it might be muddy. I am just hoping and praying that the rainy weather suddenly just goes away by next Wednesday and give the trails a chance to start drying. Even if it doesn't, it won't scare me away and I don't expect a PR on this course but I would like to have a lot of fun and enjoy the trails.
I've ran 17.9 miles this week, 6.5 Monday morning with the dogs on the trails and then 3.4 miles that afternoon with Dorian in the stroller and the two dogs on the leashes. I was actually pleasantly surprised at just how well Jetta did on her first time running on leash with Rocky and next to a stroller, she did really well.... much better than when walking. Tuesday didn't happen, Dorian had some night terrors and leg growing pains.... and then it just rained and rained all day Tuesday before stopping in the evening and then the temperature began to drop down. So we've got cold weather today and through Friday, but then it starts climbing again... and hopefully for the last time and for good.
Looking at Grand Rivers' forecast, next week is showing rain on accuweather.com but not a lot of rain at all on my 14wfie, if at all. I know weather.gov is better at predicting but doesn't really go beyond a week on the forecast.... stupid thing.
I'm trying not to fret over it, I've got other things to worry about right now. Business is slow, or at least production is slow... I am really not sure which one to say right now and I am really worrying. I want to think about the Mark Twain Endurance 50, but I am too afraid it won't happen if business doesn't pick up soon.
I've added one work out to my plan though, once a week I am going to do stair bounds on our two flights of stairs at work (28 steps total). After next weekend and my one full week's rest from running, I plan to add a workout of 5-10 minutes of stair bounds on Wednesday, then after the Harmonie Trail Marathon at the end of May, I am going to do my best to increase it to 20 minutes every Wednesday - this is also while having ran 10 miles that morning.
Anyways, it is now Friday... I think I started this bloop on Tuesday and just can't seem to finish it. I didn't run on Thursday but this morning I took Jetta out on the roads with me, it wasn't too awful but there were a couple times she annoyed me. We ran 8 miles which gives us 25.9 miles so far this week, I figure a 40 mile week is a good easy week... right? Next week will be even less, I'll run Tuesday and Thursday morning - probably 5 milers on both days. My sister wants to go for a 2 mile easy run on Monday afternoon, so I will probably do that with her.
Tomorrow I'll either run a 10 miler or split it in two, run 5-6 miles in the morning and then 4 later in the day with Dorian and the dogs. Sunday I'll probably do another 10 miler or something.
It's Wednesday, and today is almost over so that means tomorrow marks only one more week before we head to Grand Rivers, one more week to get a few runs and rest in and worry about the weather and the trails.... yep I am a little worried. I mean granted, it isn't nearly as bad as last year since last year they had to run the whole race on roads due to the 2 feet of snow underneath ice on the trails. It was bad, the last 2 years have been bad for LBL but last year was the worst.... I think LBL has been going on since 2004 and the years that had the most ideal conditions were - 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 before tough weather.
It doesn't seem like we'll be dealing with snow (crossing my fingers and knocking on wood) but it might be muddy. I am just hoping and praying that the rainy weather suddenly just goes away by next Wednesday and give the trails a chance to start drying. Even if it doesn't, it won't scare me away and I don't expect a PR on this course but I would like to have a lot of fun and enjoy the trails.
I've ran 17.9 miles this week, 6.5 Monday morning with the dogs on the trails and then 3.4 miles that afternoon with Dorian in the stroller and the two dogs on the leashes. I was actually pleasantly surprised at just how well Jetta did on her first time running on leash with Rocky and next to a stroller, she did really well.... much better than when walking. Tuesday didn't happen, Dorian had some night terrors and leg growing pains.... and then it just rained and rained all day Tuesday before stopping in the evening and then the temperature began to drop down. So we've got cold weather today and through Friday, but then it starts climbing again... and hopefully for the last time and for good.
Looking at Grand Rivers' forecast, next week is showing rain on accuweather.com but not a lot of rain at all on my 14wfie, if at all. I know weather.gov is better at predicting but doesn't really go beyond a week on the forecast.... stupid thing.
I'm trying not to fret over it, I've got other things to worry about right now. Business is slow, or at least production is slow... I am really not sure which one to say right now and I am really worrying. I want to think about the Mark Twain Endurance 50, but I am too afraid it won't happen if business doesn't pick up soon.
I've added one work out to my plan though, once a week I am going to do stair bounds on our two flights of stairs at work (28 steps total). After next weekend and my one full week's rest from running, I plan to add a workout of 5-10 minutes of stair bounds on Wednesday, then after the Harmonie Trail Marathon at the end of May, I am going to do my best to increase it to 20 minutes every Wednesday - this is also while having ran 10 miles that morning.
Anyways, it is now Friday... I think I started this bloop on Tuesday and just can't seem to finish it. I didn't run on Thursday but this morning I took Jetta out on the roads with me, it wasn't too awful but there were a couple times she annoyed me. We ran 8 miles which gives us 25.9 miles so far this week, I figure a 40 mile week is a good easy week... right? Next week will be even less, I'll run Tuesday and Thursday morning - probably 5 milers on both days. My sister wants to go for a 2 mile easy run on Monday afternoon, so I will probably do that with her.
Tomorrow I'll either run a 10 miler or split it in two, run 5-6 miles in the morning and then 4 later in the day with Dorian and the dogs. Sunday I'll probably do another 10 miler or something.
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