First, I want to address the obvious...the new blog name and web address. YAY! I really believe they suit the actual feel and content of this blog so much better than the other name did. The other name basically gave people the idea that this blog was 100% about running when it's not. I write about my efforts at weight loss and about what's going on in my life as well. This is just a much better fit in my opinion. I hope you like it too!
Last week went fantastic as far as my marathon training is concerned. Here’s what it looked like so far:
• Sunday: ran 4 miles
• Monday: ran 3 miles
• Tuesday: ran 5 miles
• Wednesday: worked overtime Tuesday night, so just slept
• Thursday: ran 7 miles
• Friday: worked overtime in the morning, so no run
• Saturday: opted to let the hamstring rest, so no run again
That
gives me a total of 19 miles in 4 runs for the week. Not a whole lot
of miles considering I’m training for a marathon and they really
recommend an average of like 40 miles a week…but
I’ll get there. Before this is done, I’ll have 40 mile weeks…mainly
because I’ll be doing 18 to 22 mile long training runs. Haha! But, for
right now, I’m just easing into it. My goal for this marathon is to
finish within the 6.5 hour time limit. That’s
it. So, just easing into increasing my mileage is just fine for that
goal. I’m not going with any published marathon training. I’m just
doing my own thing. I had found a 3 day a week marathon training plan,
but it’s too rigorous and demanding for someone
who’s goal is to just finish. I don’t really need to do any speedwork
with that goal. I mean, really, it would probably still be a good idea
to do it, but I don’t really think it’s necessary *for me*.
Last
week I worked out a tentative run schedule for this week and the next 2
weeks. If I don’t pick up any more overtime shifts, it will go as it
is currently written, but if I pick up overtime,
I will have to rearrange some runs and add mileage to some of the days
to make up for it. I’m adding a mile to my long run each week. I think
that’s smart to build that up gradually. And then, as each week goes
by, more and more of my other runs will be
what I consider “median” runs, the 5-8 mile range. But, as my long
runs get longer and longer each week, I’ll be able to stick a shorter 3
or 3.3 mile run in there every now and then, give my legs a little rest,
you know?
But,
training is going great so far. I did have a bit of a twinge in my
right hamstring during my 7 mile run on Thursday last week. I had to
stop a couple times during the run to stretch
it out so I could continue and finish the run. One of my coworkers, I
think I’ve mentioned before, used to be a physical therapist, so I asked
him to do some acupressure on the hamstring after we had gotten to
work. He said that it was lactic acid build
up, which I’m sure is completely due to me not running for a month and
then bam! running 3 days in a row. He got it to release and it was so
much better.
Last
Sunday I got to thinking I needed to register for a race in October
because, at that time, I had none on the burner for October. Not even a
list of “maybes” to choose from. I hadn’t
looked into it at all. Well, I started doing some research online and
found the Hill Country Marathon & Half Marathon. It happens in
Marble Falls, TX which is about an hour and a half drive away from where
I live. I’m not about to drive an hour and a half
and immediately run 13.1 miles. Besides, I don’t think they have race
morning packet pick up, so I would HAVE to go the day before and rent a
hotel. So, a 3 hour round trip driving plus a stay in a hotel. That’s
some serious $$. But, I decided that when
I get paid next week, I would register for it. It’ll be a great
training run at about the halfway point to my marathon in December.
Well, Tuesday evening, I got one of my emails from Groupon and the main
offer in this email was for the Austin Halloween Half
Marathon!!! $50 registration fee. The Hill Country Half was $75
(discounted from $85 due to my being a veteran). Also, the Halloween
Half is only a 30 minute drive from where I live and, if I can’t get the
day before the race off work (I requested), then
they have race morning packet pick up! YAY! Also, no hotel stay
necessary. They encourage costumes and while I haven’t made a final
decision on what I will wear, I WILL be dressing up to run this race.
So, here’s my race schedule for the remainder of 2014:
• Sept 6th: Frozen Hot Chocolate 10K (dedicating this race to my grandpa that just passed away as the service for him is the same day)
• Sept 14th: Run With The Heroes 5K
• Sept 27th:
NAMI 5K (this is a walk, not a race, so doesn’t really count, but I’ll
be doing a scrapbook page on it, so figured I’d include it)
• Sept 28th: Schlotzsky’s BunRun 5K
• Oct 25th: Halloween Half Marathon
• Nov 8th: Karaoke 5K
• Nov 27th: Thundercloud Turkey Trot 5 mile
• Dec 14th: Dallas Marathon (also my birthday!)
Something
else I did last Sunday was look into some races I want to do next
year. Here’s the rundown of the ones in my sights right now:
• the Austin Half Marathon
• the Alamo Half Marathon
• the Stand Up 5K
• the Autism Speaks 8K
• the Portland Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon
• the Freedom 5000
• the Austin 10/20 (if it doesn’t conflict with another race, which I think it does)
• the Run With The Heroes 5K
• the Thundercloud Turkey Trot 5 mile
There
are some other runs on my radar, but those are the main ones. I would
like to do a duathlon in July, but I’m still undecided about that. But I
do want to do an organized event that
at least includes the bicycle. But, we shall see what happens next
year.
This week, my marathon training looked like this:
• Sunday: 3.3 mi
• Monday: 5.7 mi
• Tuesday, worked overtime Monday night so just slept (aka-rest day)
• Wednesday: 5 mi
• Thursday: 8 mi long run
• Friday: 6.5 mi
• Saturday: rest day
I
have to say, I’m REALLY loving getting up early almost every morning to
run. I’m apparently really excited for it because I’m usually waking
up anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour BEFORE
my alarm goes off. Haha. I haven’t had to fight or bargain with
myself or talk myself into getting up, getting out the door and going
for my runs.
Before
I took that month off from running, it was ridiculous trying to get
myself to do my runs and to make sure I was doing 3 a week. There right
before I stopped running, I was only running
once, maybe twice a week. Now, I’m happily…HAPPILY…running 4-5 times a
week! I’m so happy I’ve gotten my running mojo back. Part of the
reason I think I’m super motivated to run now is due to my grandpa’s
passing. I’ve decided that not only am I going
to dedicate the 10K I’m running on Sept 6th (services for
him are happening that same day) to his memory, but I’m dedicating my
entire marathon training and the marathon itself to him and his memory.
I want to make his soul proud of me.
Happy
news! I bought a third pair of running shoes to rotate with my other 2
pairs while I train for my marathon. I might end up replacing my pink
shoes (Mizuno Wave Inspire 9’s) in October
or November just because they already have over 400 miles on them…but
we’ll see how they’re performing. I haven’t noticed any telltale signs
of breakdown going on with them, so they may still be good for a few
hundred more miles <looks hopeful>. Anyway,
the shoes I bought today are the next installation of my pink shoes;
they are the Mizuno Wave Inspire 10’s…they come in multiple color
options and I chose the medium blue with the pink roadrunner logo.
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