Peachtree Training: Week 11/12 (34w Pregnant)

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Another Monday...

Monday

Did: rest

Tuesday

Did: 6.32mi @ 10:42/mi avg, Big 2

Walked the first ~1/2mi with teammate who's due tomorrow (eeeee!), and then ran the rest. Besides the insane 97% humidity and 72 degrees, this run felt amazing. My own bump was perfectly positioned for a comfortable run. No bladder (or other GI) trouble. No discomfort. No foot issues. Just a good, moist run. :D

Wednesday

Did: rest

I stayed the whole time at chorus last night, which meant I was pretty much go-go-go from my 4:10am alarm, through a 10K run, through a 10 hour work day, 1 hr commute home, 30min of choreo rehearsal, and three hour rehearsal, until I got home at 10:20pm... and couldn't sleep due to Bump + adrenaline. My 5:30am work alarm came early today, and I decided to treat myself to a venti iced latte on my way to work. (though it's totally just a placebo because, even non-pregnant, I always get decaf... lol)

Thursday

Did: 1mi WU, 4-5x1200/400, 1mi CD

We skipped the YMCA hill today and just met at the track, which kiiiind of felt like a cop-out, but the warm-up was hard enough on the track. I felt like there was no way I could go any faster than the near 12min/mi I was doing. :P 

After doing a half mile warm-up, I was not feeling like slugging through another two laps at that pace, and felt like just "getting it over with", so I proceeded with the workout, figuring I'd do a half mile cool-down at the end to balance it out. Plus, this would give me the option of doing 5 repeats if I wanted to (time-wise). 

When I started the first interval, I felt like I was barely moving faster than I had been during the warm-up. "No worries. No pace goals today. Just push for three laps, then recover for one... and do it four times," I told myself.

The first 1200 clocked in just under a 10:00/mi pace. Not what I was hoping for, but it gave me a benchmark to strive for on the remaining repeats: "Just keep a 9:59/mi". 

They got a lot faster as I went on. It felt like it took about two repeats to get situated/feel comfortable on the track, but, once I did, it was GREAT. Hooray, speedwork with friends.

Friday

Did: 8.01mi with stroller @ 11:07/mi avg, Big 3, ~1.25mi walk along with kid biking
I wasn't sure how this run was going to go when I started, but I was hoping to be able to run 8 today, and knock my long run out (instead of having to go through the crazy logistics necessary to fit it in on Saturday morning). I met up with the Friday Riverside crew and hung with people for the first two miles (though I gradually dropped from middle-of-the-pack to back-of-the-pack), and then ran solo for a bit. It's never truly solo running when I'm pushing the stroller, though, and I loved having my little one's company. We met up with a few friends with about a 5K to go, and enjoyed talking with them as we finished up. Bonus: I only needed three bathroom stops.

<3 my little running potatoes

Saturday

Did: 3.12mi with stroller @ 10:31/mi avg, Big 5
I didn't wake up until 5am today and SLEEPING IN IS THE BEST. :D :D :D

It felt so good to not have to wake up at 4:XX, push through an hour solo run, and then come back, change, and pack up little one for another round at the river or greenway. Instead, I stayed in bed until around 5:30, and lazily got myself and my munchkin together for a 7:15am start down at the river... for ONLY a 5K. Also SO NICE. 

I love how much this kid loves running with me :D 

Sunday

Did: 2.73mi with stroller @ 11:05/mi avg, 1.5mi zoo walk, 1.5hr front row dance audition
Took advantage of the new sidewalk between home and daycare to test out what running my munchkin(s) to school could/would be like. It's mostly downhill there, but super up-hill on the way back. Definitely enjoyed a few walk breaks, but got in a couple miles. This "only running ~3mi" thing isn't too bad... 

 After a family trip to the zoo (~1.5mi walking), I geared up for chorus front row auditions, round 1, with my "sweating for two" shirt and a venti latte (because today was a no nap day.... though who knows what good it did since I always drink decaf).

Total Weekly Mileage: 26.83mi run + ~3mi walking + 1.5hr dance

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I love stroller running :D It's so awesome to share with my little one
• I'm still grateful to be running and physically able to do what I want, even if I need a few more naps than usual to get through the day
• I cannot believe I only have five more weeks until we'll have a new little potato in the house! 

Peachtree Training: Week 10/12 (33w Pregnant)

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Blergh. So unmotivated in so many areas of life right now. 

Monday

Did: rest

Tuesday

Did: 6.31mi @ 11:02/mi avg

Walked the first half mile with teammates, and then started running. Had the same bladder issues for the first ~1.5mi(ish) of the run, but then bump settled into place and I enjoyed the rest of the duration, averaging around a 10:30-10:40 for the remaining miles. 

Wednesday

Did: ~2mi walking for work meeting
My feet were fine all day, but, in the evening, I had a random soreness on the inside of my right foot, and a spot that looked swollen. Nothing hurts when I walk, but the weight of my foot against the bed results in definite discomfort-- as if it's super bruised? Weird.

Thursday

Did: 5mi @ 10:40/mi avg

Wasn't sure how running was going to go this morning on the "bum" foot, but it felt fine to walk, so I was optimistic about running. Running was 100% fine, but I had the same discomfort/bruised feeling ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. No sort of motion hurts at all- only pressure, so I feel like it's really similar to a bruise. I just have NO idea what it could be, because there's no bruise there, and I have zero recollection of hitting it against anything or any potential incident that could have caused this. 

Workout went great this morning. I had to walk going up the YMCA hill, and the HS hill, but made it to the track eventually. I was excited about today's workout being time-based, since that meant zero pace goals and zero pressure to go faster, since it wouldn't end the workout any sooner. 

Paces:
3x3min/1min: 8:23/mi, 8:17/mi, 8:17/mi
3x2min/1min: 7:57/mi, 8:00/mi, 7:40/mi
3x1min/min: 7:11/mi, 7:31/mi, 7:15/mi
3x30s/30s: 6:31/mi, 7:04/mi, 6:07/mi

Friday

Did: rest
Still dealing with the weird bruised feeling on the inside of my right foot. No pain when walking, running, or moving it any sort of way, so I'm just kind of proceeding with life... 

Saturday

Did: 5.25mi with bump + 5.01mi with bump and stroller = 10.26mi @ 10:52/mi avg
I taped up my right foot for posterity's sake this morning, just in case there's something going on. For the first time ever in the five years we've run together, my training partner took a sick day due to a fever. Fortunately, she waited to text me until I was up, dressed, and about to head out the door. Whelp, let's see how this goes... 

No bladder problems. No bump discomfort. In fact, until mile 4.5 (when I had some serious GI trouble), this was a great run. The last ~800m home were the crappiest I've ever had. 

Two hours later, I was out for round two, meeting another friend for a stroller 5mi on the greenway. I felt a ton better on this run (and no GI trouble- wee), and think the two hours' break between 5mi segments did a lot to help my nearly 34w pregnant body make it through the distance so comfortably.

Sunday

Did: 3.12mi @ 10:52/mi avg, Big 3, 2mi stroller walk
Had a pretty good solo 5K this morning. No PF trouble, though I did tape for my run (and walk) as a preventative measure. A little bit of bladder pressure within the first mile of the run, but tightening/re-adjusting my maternity support belt remedied that. 

BumpLife

Total Weekly Mileage: 25.08mi run, plus 4ish mi walk

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Breaking the LSD into two segments with a bit more of a break between them helped a LOT.
• Running in Depends may solve one problem, but it introduces another: terrible, terrible chafing places that shouldn't be chafed... ever
• Having new "firsts" while running is always a humbling, educational experience
• I'm still enjoying running, but trying to find a new happy place in terms of what I focus on each week, whether that's time, distance, or just getting out and doing something. It's weird to feel so adrift.
• Really looking forward to Peachtree, and, more than the race itself, having it behind me. It might be nice to have a bit of a "break" before baby #2's arrival... 

Atlanta Marathon Training: Week 14/18

Week-beginning Thoughts:

FOUR MORE WEEKS. I CAN TOTALLY DO THIS. 

Monday

Scheduled: rest

Did: rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: 8mi

Did: 8.06mi @ 10:02mi/avg, Big 5
After almost a full week of blergh/struggle runs, today felt GRAND. Though my average pace was slow, that was mostly driven by my desire to stick with the group. I broke off on my own for the last mile and was happily running 9:30s. Yassssss. I needed this confidence boost going into this weekend's 20.  

Wednesday

Scheduled:5mi easy

Did: 5.06mi @ 9:447/mi avg, Big 5
While I had to do this one solo due to work schedule stuff, I actually really enjoyed it. There's literally no one else around at 4:30 in the morning, just me, running alone under the stars, through the cool night air. Beautiful. 

Plus, it was 31 with the 10mph winds. Such perfect running weather compared to last week's 60-something. 

Note: had to use a foam pad under my right arch due to light soreness of that weird spot south of the ball of my foot. This seems to solve my problem, though. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, 4xmile/400, 1mi CD

Did: as scheduled, total = 8.13mi @ 8:59/mi avg, Big 5
During this week in Chicago training, we had six mile repeats for a total of 9.5mi of workout. Not wanting to near double digit weekday mileage so close to a big weekend run, I opted for four, thinking it was more reasonable, but still respectable After a few weeks away from the track (first for hill repeats and then for a long run schedule swap), I was pretty nervous about how this would shake out. Would I still be able to keep that 8:00/mi speedwork pace goal I'd had for this training cycle?

My first 800m was 4:03. I spent the next 800m thinking of how I was going to tell one of my training partners (who'd just moved a few states away) that I'd lost the pace without him around. Shockingly, I negative split, and finished with a 7:52 mile.

...and then another, and another. 

7:52, 7:52, 7:52

Holy what. I had not expected to be this consistent, this fast, or this comfortable. My last mile was a 7:38 (I may have pushed this one), which is approaching my normal mile repeat pace. Awwww yeah. 

Even better: I felt like I could've done the full six repeats today, no problem.

Friday

Scheduled: yoga

Did: nada
I didn't even make time for yoga today. That should give you an indication on how my non-running life is going :P 

Saturday

Scheduled: 20mi easy

Did: 22.02mi @ 10:10/mi avg, Big 5
Unsure of how my body is going to handle the long mileage this time around, I'd given myself options at the beginning of this training cycle for how LSDs would shake out. Going into this week, I knew I needed 20, but opened the door to hit 22 this week and begin a longer "taper" (though, real talk: is it actually a taper if I'm still planning to run 20mi next weekend?): if I got to 20mi and was still feeling good, then I'd go two more and knock it out.

I started with Teammate #1 at 4:40am, with a dismal forecast of rain and plenty of hills on the route. It was 48 degrees, and soon there was torrential downpour to accompany us up and down every hill. It actually felt kind of good... until they were pushed into our faces by 10mph winds. Then, the rain just hurt.

I dropped Teammate #1 off after 9mi, exchanging her for Teammate #2, who would accompany me along the rest of the route. I felt so grateful to have someone who would agree to run a half marathon with me at this hour, in conditions like these. Fortunately, the rain stopped within a few miles, and we had amazing conversation that took us through our next set of hills, until we were approaching the last bit of the route, which was all greenway. I remember telling her at the time, "Wow, it's amazing to not know how far we've run or how far we've got to go, but just have spent about an hour or so running and talking, enjoying it all the while."

As we arrived at the greenway for our last stretch, I decided I was feeling good. My upper legs and glutes had definitely been exhibiting signs of "marathon legs" (feeling tight and tired all over) since mile 11, but, otherwise, I felt great. The bottom of my right foot, near the ball, that had been bothering me off and on for the past two weeks wasn't. I wasn't feeling "over it" or tired like I had by mile 11 on last week's 18 miler. All signs were pointing to "go for it" in terms of knocking out 22.

We had a bathroom stop around 15, and another at 20 (could NOT be helped-- my 2-3 handhelds caught up with me), but the last out-1mi-back-1mi felt glorious. It was lightly sunny, low 50s, but still crisp, and I was feeling great. So great that we were hitting an 8:30 pace for most of the last mile, ending with a 9:06 split. 

It's times like these that I wonder how much what I do for a career really matters to me in my life. If I can be this happy and this fulfilled by friends, family, and running, does having everything I want in a job really mean that much to me?

check out that kick :) 

hills and then relief

Donesies!

Post-run, my family took me out for a celebratory breakfast, and then I remained insanely awake and productive the rest of the day, with a brief 2-hr nap. Hooray, training. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 5mi easy

Did: 6.87mi @ 10:42/mi avg, Big 5
Don't tell your training partner that you "only want 5, but.... coming closer to 7 would mean 50mi/week" if you don't want her to push you to hit 50mi. 

While I recovered really well from yesterday, I still woke up with sore legs. This was definitely going to be a recovery run. The Running Mamas had agreed to meet at 8:30am due to a late night at all households, but a morning rain forecast had me worried that we'd have to cut it at 4mi if we wanted any dry playground time for the kids. When I woke up at 5:30am and couldn't go back to sleep, I decided I'd start running solo at 8 and just see what I could get.

OMG, was this ever a recovery run. I think my first mile was an 11:11, and it was all I could do. Running recovery miles solo is great, because I literally did not care about my pace. I went as slow as I wanted to, despite my munchkin telling me "I want to go faster, Mommy. Put on your jet engines and gooooooooooooooooooooo". I got a little over 2mi in before meeting up with the other mama. We went further than I had planned, and she pointed out that, by the time we were back at the cars, I'd only be about a mile short of my 50, so, really, we should just do another half mile ONB. 

Okay...

So we did. And it was good. And now I've hit over 50 miles in the week, and I'm still feeling awesome. BOO. YAH.

Total Weekly Mileage: 50.07

Week-ending Thoughts:

1. Unicorn.
2. So proud that my body's held up so well this cycle. 
3. TGF Running. This has been another really trying week in my personal/professional life, and I'm so grateful for what running has done to get me through so many of these challenges in the past few years. 
4. It's all downhill from here. Hellooooooo, TaperVille. I'll still be hitting low-to-mid 40s for the next week, but it feels awesome to have gotten a peak mileage week out of the way, still feeling awesome and healthy and capable.
5. There's a special moment in every marathon training cycle when you finish your longest run and know you've truly done the hardest part of things (including the race, because training is 10x harder than the actual race). You know you've accomplished what you wanted to, and the rest is truly just a victory lap. I'm there. :) 

Atlanta Marathon Training: Week 13/18

Week-beginning Thoughts:

I feel so freaking awesome. No soreness. No fatigue. No creeping injuries. This is probably the best marathon training cycle I've had? Not sure if that's because I was just in really, ridiculously good shape when I started or if just running mileage without pace goals merits the credit.

Monday

Scheduled: rest

Did: rest

So much for that "feeling great" thing. I had some general abdominal discomfort this morning and was pretty OK taking a rest day.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 8mi

Did: 8.02 @ 9:55/mi avg, Big 5

Oof. 53 degrees and 91% humidity really crushes your spirits after months of temps in the 20s. I felt heavy this whole run, and started questioning if I was going to make it through. By mile 6, I finally felt "good enough", but this may be a turning point for me in this training cycle. Things might finally be catching up.... 

Wednesday

Scheduled: 5mi easy

Did: 5.06mi @ 10:04/mi avg, Big 5

Another hot and humid morning, and another round of marathon training pains to go along with it. I wore a new pair of shoes and felt some definite discomfort on my right arch, just under the ball, similar to that problem that I was dealing with last spring. I'd go to a doctor, but, when I went last time, they just told me it might be a mild strain, to ice, put a support pad in my shoe, and keep on keeping on. So, that's what I'll do again... and maybe not wear those new shoes again for awhile. 

soggy, dark, humid morning

Thursday

Scheduled 16-18mi easy

Did: 18.16mi @ 10:25/mi avg (13.11+5.05 with stroller), Big 5

I had another out of town committee meeting scheduled for the weekend and knew I wouldn't be getting up to run 20+ miles solo, especially when I needed to be DONE by 7am for committee work. So, I swapped long run and speedwork days, and recruited my teammates to start at 4am on a work day to get me through the first 12mi. I was not excited about the route, though. To stay off too many hills (teammate request), we were limited to the road near my house. After they dropped off, I was limited to the road near my house due to: 1) no sunlight = no greenway and 2) heavier morning commute volume = no random road crossings like the ones we can make at 5am. This meant I'd be running more or less the same 4-6mi stretch over and over. 

Plus, I was super nervous about how my foot would hold out after yesterday's discomfort. >_<

I got up at 3:30am, stuck a pad from my podiatrist under the ball of my right foot, and headed out to meet my teammates. As soon as I walked out the door, I was greeted with  a delightful 63 degrees. Well, it's delightful if you're standing still. 

Within the first two miles, Teammate #1 and I were sweaty and hot. I briefly wondered how time of day might factor in to the "Aggregate Hotness Rule", which combines physical attractiveness, current climate conditions, and your individual effort to determine if it's appropriate to run shirtless.

We circled back for Teammate #2 after two miles, and began a ~4mi ONB, followed by the traditional 10KTuesday route. It was much tougher than I'd anticipated. Not sure if that's due to my being so far along in things, getting up at 3:30am, the out-of-nowhere heat flash from 30s and delightful to 60s with 90+% humidity, or the fact that finishing this run would put me well over 50mi in a single seven day period (which might be my longest seven day stretch ever?).

My left glute was sore within the first 5K. My legs were tired within the first 10K. I was definitely in "marathon mode" by the 10mi mark. Since I realized on the run that, if I kept going along, I'd miss seeing my husband and kiddo (since I was traveling for work that morning and wouldn't be home until Saturday night), I decided I'd try to hit a reasonable mileage, get home by 6:15, and then go out and finish the mileage once the sun came up with my munchkin in the stroller.

I pushed myself to continue for another two miles after my teammates dropped off, wanting to finish a half marathon, which would leave me with only 3-5mi to go to hit my goal mileage for the day. Those two miles were a TRUDGE. I barely kept an 11min/mi. 

Got home, changed sports bras and shirts, grabbed some chocolate milk, said good-bye to my husband, and then got the munchkin ready to head out. 

alright, let's finish this

Having the company of my little one was huge. I kept playing mental games of "just one more ____" to get through it. I trudged. I plodded. I resorted to little one coaxing me up hills with "I think you can" on repeat and helping us "put on the stroller's jet engines" (i.e. making motor/engine noises. I finished.

That was definitely the hardest run I've had in several years. I never felt like I should stop or that it was beyond me physically to keep going, but definitely had the mental "oof, I want to stop" that I had to overcome. I wanted to finish the mileage more than I wanted to stop. This felt like my first 15mi run ever. This felt like the Chicago marathon, where "marathon legs" set in at 13-- way too early. But I kept on going. Today was a win.

...but, man, I hope Publix weather isn't like this. That would suuuuuuuuuuuuck. 

Friday

Scheduled: 6-8mi

Did: 20min yoga, 4.5mi walk
When I saw that I'd hit over 55mi for the past seven days, I decided today would be an appropriate rest day. 

So, I took the morning to do some stretchy "yoga for tired legs", and then got some extra active rest in later in the day in the form of a 2.25mi walk to/from dinner at a work conference. 

Saturday

Scheduled: strength or yoga 

Did: 6.3mi @ 9:55/mi avg, Big 5
I'd wanted to get up and do a run around Clemson's campus this morning before committee work began, but, the weather was significantly different from the forecast when I'd packed two days ago. So, stranded without appropriate gear, and a little freaked about running sans flashlight (since I'd forgotten it), I opted for a treadmill run. 

OMG. This was another rough run. It was 68 in the hotel gym. WAY TOO HOT for a run. I ended up wearing a towel around my neck the entire run, which was soaked by the 1/2 way point. To help myself mentally, I ran with the treadmill in kilometers, ticking off tenths of the way until I'd get a 10K. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 4-6mi easy

Did: 6.64mi @ 10:19/mi avg with stroller, Big 5
Weather report had 41 with zero percent chance of rain at 7:30am. After getting the kiddos set and running about two miles, we had 10mph winds that made it feel like 30s and rain. Stellar. This was a tough run. I slowed down for the first bit to stick with my other running mama this morning, but can't say that I wanted to go that much faster. I was grateful I'd brought an extra layer of clothes to wear at the post-run playground date, because I ended up putting those on DURING the run. 

For some reason, I had 6-8mi in my head, and ended up going just beyond 6. So proud.

Total Weekly Mileage: 44.1 (40-45, 43= goal)

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Still a unicorn.
• I'm so excited that there are only five weeks left. 20mi this coming weekend, then a 22 miler, and then it's "all downhill from there". I mean, I'll still have 20mi to run the following weekend, but I'll be at the USATF Masters Indoor National Championship track meet, so a good bit of those miles will be on the track during various events (where I'm literally just there to score points, and the amount of points I score for the team won't really change if I'm pushing my hardest at each event or just scoring a legal mark-- weeeee, under-represented age group), and the rest will be warm-up/cool-down mileage. 
• I looked back in my GSheet of every run I've ever run since making my "average a mile a day" resolution back in 2012. Evidently, my max mileage in a seven-day period was 69, during Chicago training, but that was when I did a long run on Sunday one week and Saturday the "next". Especially since circumstances are different this time with the whole motherhood thing, I'm gonna call my Friday-Thursday of this week equally, if not more-so, impressive.
• Still so proud that my legs and body in general is holding up so well. I'm two weeks out from peak mileage and still feeling better than I have during any other marathon training cycle ever. My mileage is less than Chicago, but not by too much. The biggest change is just the intensity.