Training Week 3 Haikus and Photos

It was another imperfect week, but overall fantastic. The highlight of this week was attending, crewing and pacing in the Vermont 100, where a friend of mine was doing the 100k. Seeing people doing something this crazy epic was a real motivation booster. What's 26.2 when somebody somewhere is running 100k or 100 miles at a time? I have previously said I am happy to max out at the marathon distance, but now I am not so sure. One hundred miles is some hardcore bass ass stuff. This trip resulted in a decrease in strength training sessions, one missed run and no swims, but it also increased my total assigned mileage for the week and provided some extreme hill work with the pacing, so overall success for sure and I'm glad I did it. This is my overall breakdown, pacing  and biking included.

Monday: 5.1 miles and ab routine 
Overcast day, which makes me far more comfortable outside running in the summer. I was able to run at a decent, albeit easy pace without enviously eyeing benches and cool places in stranger's front lawns to lie down. This always makes me happy. Wrapped up my run with 21 minutes of core strengthening.

Gray skies and dirt path
Keep me moving on tired legs
Short easy today

Tuesday: 9 miles + 6 strides (9.7 miles total) and leg strength routine
Suns out. Guns out. I began this run in dread, as is typical when it is hot out. I suffered throughout, but decided to work on changing my mindset. Before I went on my run, I looked up the benefits of training in the heat and learned that when I'm training in the heat, I'm also increasing blood plasma and potentially increasing my V02 Max, I'm decreasing my heart rate and increasing oxygen consumption. I'm also making my goal fall races feel easy in comparison. I chose to think about all of these things every time it hurt instead of "how will I ever run fast again? This can't possibly be helpful. Maybe I am overtraining." Oh, I also looked up the difference between overtraining and hating to run in the heat and determined I'm just being a big baby. Although the heat is still my greatest running nemesis, I felt like I was better conquering that sweaty bastard.

Still summer chugging
Under highways over tar
Winners never rest. 

Wednesday: 10.01 miles run, 4.14 miles cycled and 10 minutes of planks
All of that mental prep of the day before was totally forgotten and I was hot and whiny again. Also, I wore my hydration vest without a shirt and gave myself a lovely chaff scab this time (I don't know why that hasn't happened the 10 other time I did the same thing). I also decided on something new. Previously, it has been difficult to motivate myself to get on the bike for anything less than 10 miles, but knowing I would be gone for the weekend, I decided to just do what I could fit in before work and did a single loop around the local bike path. Finished up by doing a variety of planks and rushed to work as fast as I could.

This is the day I decided to write the haikus on the images

Thursday: 4.11 miles run, 14.69 miles cycled and core routine
I had more time before work today and decided to put in a bike ride as well. I have not done brick workouts as planned lately (as in bike first and then run like in an actual triathlon), because well, like everything... weather. I want to do the sweatiest workout first. All that sweat keeps me cool on the bike.

Friday: 8 easy miles and 4 fartleks (9 miles total)
I left for Vermont early on Friday and had to get it done at 5am. It was so hard to get out of bed and I did not leave enough time to do as many fartleks as I had planned or my strength routine, but I had a beautiful sunrise foggy run and could drive for 3 hours, knowing I put some quality work into my morning. I downloaded The Runner's World Podcast and listened to this during my drive.

Saturday: 19.3 miles of trail running at the Vermont 100
On Saturday, I spent the morning and afternoon crewing for Faith and Laura's 100k. I had met Faith's husband and other crew members the day before and we drove around and talked about running and races. It was awesome! Hanging with other runner-obsessed people is the best! After 5pm it got more awesome, because I paced Faith and Laura for 19.3 miles and climbed almost 3,000 feet of elevation. It was fantastic. There was almost no phone service and it was dark when my pacing was finished, so I never put this photo/haiku of my gross trail foot on my Instagram.

Sunday: Cycled 20.73 miles
I spent the early afternoon driving home and had also intended to run 4 miles, but after driving and biking, I was spent. I decided to let my body rest a little and watched the movie Cliffy with Mallory. We're going to download the Vermont 100 documentary when our attention spans are better.

The weekly breakdown:
Run: 57.59 miles
Bike: 39.57
Swim: 0
Strength: 1 hours and 23 minutes total

Training Week 2 Haikus and Photos

July 4 - July 10, 2016

Week two of marathon and triathlon training is in the books. I did a great job getting my running miles in and some decent strength workouts. However, I completely failed training for triathlon. One reason: weather! The beginning of the week was horribly sticky nasty hellishly hot. I did my runs and they took foooooreeeeeeveeeeeer, causing two problems: I didn't have time to bike and I didn't have the ability to move my body outside anymore. I basically died. Over the weekend it was cold and rainy, so no swims. Of course, if I was a badass swimmer, I would have done it anyway, but alas, I am a wee baby when it comes to being wet and cold. My marathon is my top priority, so I didn't let the heat keep me inside and made running and strength training my number one with no excuses. Here's how it broke down.

Monday: Arnold Mills Fourth of July Four Miler Race, 4.01 miles
This was a big disappointment for me. We had been camping and I spent the weekend eating shit and not drinking water. I totally didn't take care of myself. Combine this with a hot day race and it wasn't pretty. I was running into every spectator with a hose, all up in the water stops and at one point I walked. I literally ceased to care at all and just wanted to be done with the whole experience. Then I placed fourth in my division and was a minute behind first. Lessons learned: Take care of yourself before races and don't punk out!

Thirsty from the start

Cramping, tired, giving up, hot

Regret is painful

Tuesday: 9 easy miles run, 4 strides and leg strength routine
Killed it. I was still fired up from cutting it so close at the race and letting myself give up that I got through this, no problem.

Hair in sweaty knots
Sweat from eyes and finger tips
Drenched from the inside 

Wednesday: 10.01 easy miles, ab routine
OMG! I am just not a heat runner. I hate to complain, but that is all that was happening in my mind. I decided I hated running and did not know why I do it. I was so slow and no amount of self-pep-talk or physical pushing could fix it. Should have been a brick workout, but I prioritized my run and did that first due to the heat and good thing, because I ran out of time before work to get back outside on the bike.

Salty pain stings eyes
On the road in hell degrees
Someone kill me now

Thursday: 6 easy miles and 4 strides
Seriously, the heat! I thought I would be okay since I was running less than Wednesday, but I kinda hoped for death during this run. Slowest!

Usual suspects
Are fewer on the dirt path
Summer keeps them in

Friday: 8 miles easy and 5 timed fartleks, core routine
Overcast and super cool for summer! I was so happy, because I could run again and I liked it! Knocked this out, no problem and the fartleks added a mile and a half to the run. Got everything done before work and felt totally satisfied with the day.

Overcast cool day
Finally running is fun
I remember this

Saturday: Rest day, but walked my dogs almost 4.5 miles
Went shoe shopping and didn't find anything. 

Rest, but legs don't sleep
Walked these dogs full Blackstone path
We all sleep tonight 

Sunday: 12 miles long run, core routine
Killed it! I bought new shoes beforehand and tried out some new New Balance Vazee 2090 (I also got the Saucony Kinvara 7!) and felt so light and fresh. It was cool enough and comfortable for running. Loved everything today. Watched the documentary The Highest Race on Amazon Prime and determined I have no desire to EVER do that. I'm excited for Detroit Marathon though.

Fresh legs and fresh shoes
Dreaming of awards, goals smashed
But first today. Now.

The weekly breakdown:
Run: 51.53 miles
Bike: 0
Swim: 0
Strength: 2 hours and 15 minutes total

Total Time Invested (dog walking included): 11:44:34

Training Week -1

For a little while at the beginning of this blog I was updating what was going on with my training once per week. I would like to begin that again as one more method of accountability. I hope my two readers (or perception of thousands of readers) will keep me honest. Side note: please subscribe to my blog, so this feels a little less in vain. 

My training for the Women's Triathlon in September and Detroit Marathon in October begins tomorrow and I did a little work this week to help me feel ready. Here are the numbers.

Run: 40.06 miles

Cycling: 25.2 miles

Swimming: 2.2 miles

Strength Training: not much

Yoga: None

This has been a very exciting week. The highlights include being the Detroit Free Press Runner of the Week, feeling like I am really working on the swim and getting used to being in open water, trail running with new runner friends and just now making a full week of healthy meal prep, so I start this new phase of training strong and nutritionally sound. 

A great shot of Mallory and I running this weekend.

My second swim of the season.

Funny note: I think it is likely hilarious to watch me swim in the open water. It goes like this: swimmy swim swim, see a leaf or get touched by a piece of grass, startle, stop, look around, swimmy, swim swim, repeat. However, by the end of more than a mile back and forth in the pond today and 45 minutes in the water,  I stopped being scared of leaves and nature, so thumbs up to me!

Trail run with our new friends Faith and Aimee. 

Being famous in the Detroit Free Press Sunday Paper!

Some of the amazing food I just made

As a new triathlete who hasn't officially even begun training, here's what's scary to me right now. I don't know anything about cycling or swimming. I can do both without dying, but that's about the extent of my talent and knowledge. I don't know about form, technique, speed or other drills AT ALL. I don't even really know where to look. My knowledge is so poor on cycling and swimming, I can't say any more than that. Technically I can do a sprint triathlon no problem right now, but doing it well, that's a wholly different story. I also don't know what it would mean to do it well. Yep, I cannot even define well. There's a lot of learning to be done in the world of triathlon and some quality work to be done in the world of marathon for the next several weeks. 

Here's to killing 12 weeks of triathlon training and 16 weeks of marathon training. Cheers!

First Week in Recovery

Recovering after a marathon and an intense training cycle is WEIRD. A massive part of my life that I didn't entirely enjoy, but somehow needed for mental and physical well-being, has been temporarily disabled. I'm still high from Sugarloaf Marathon, excited about Boston 2017 and want to get right back into training hard to accomplish more goals, but I'm not even sure what those goals are yet and I know this is no time for "going hard" at anything. Like planet earth, the body has its seasons and this is winter for me. Granted, a very short winter, but winter, none-the-less.

So what are some things we can do to keep our bodies active and our minds entertained in the metaphorical winter of training? This is what I will be doing.

1. Move Way Less Everyday

It's important to avoid overdoing it, so I'm able to train hard again and get the most from my future training, but also keep up some level of fitness and activity. For me, in spite of how excited I am about my recent success from the heavy training, not long ago, my mind was pretty sick of it and longing for this break. Even if I think I'm totally stoked and mentally ready to go, the truth is that my mind would like to be enjoying running rather than running hard or maybe not running at all for a little while.

This is my week in training...
Monday: Walked 4.12 in the morning and 1.54 in the afternoon at work
Tuesday: Walked 4.01 in the morning and 2.02 in the afternoon at work
Wednesday: Walked my dogs 4.2 miles
Thursday: My legs felt fine so I tried a run -- 4.1 miles
Friday: Ran 4 miles
Saturday: Ran 3.84 miles on the trail
Sunday: Ran 3 miles

Total:
Ran 14.95
Walked 15.91 (actually more since I forgot to use my watch two or three times)

The walking was so helpful at the beginning of the week and I decided I would only run when I was feeling little to no soreness. I also ran very slowly with each run this week. Next week I plan to continue walking if I feel sore and run short and easy when I feel good.

This guy loved the extra walks and it thoroughly calmed his nerves as you can see.

2. Decide What Comes Next

I've also been thinking a lot about future goals and races and getting very excited. This is another busy year, full of goals and races, but my main number one goal for the year was to get a major BQ in Sugarloaf and now that it's accomplished, it's time to figure out how to direct my future training energy. The races I am most excited about for the rest of this year are, well, all of them! I am registered for 7 more before 2016 draws to a close with everything from a 1 miler to the Detroit Marathon, a six-hour-race and a sprint triathlon in the fall just to try something different. I know I would like to see what I can really do in the half marathon if I give it my all, but I don't know which one from my list to pick as my goal race. Today I rewrote my goal/race/workout board in our basement gym and made up a simple training week just to keep me focused and moving.

3. Adjust Training Plan

Downtime after completing a goal or race is an ideal time to consider what went well and what could have gone better. I'm happy to say I think I've got the pacing and fueling for endurance down, which was my past weakness. I've also worked on my mental game and getting through motivation lows, but I'm also thinking about what I have been missing physically with all of this training, like climbing, kayaking, biking and skating and hoping to fit in some more activities in the meantime. Yes, I would like to PR again in Detroit, but it's not as important as it was to kill it last week, so it's okay to back off the training a little and allow for some fun. I'm trying to figure out what to do for my next marathon training plan and how to fit in more pleasure since I reached the big BQ goal. And, it's almost summer! For now, I think I would like to do the advanced plan I just completed with some twists. Twist number 1 is I need to add a little biking and swimming, since I have a triathlon coming up and twist number 2 is I want a rest day. By rest day, I mean PLAY day, so one day per week to skate or kayak or whatever else I want to do instead of run, bike and/or swim. Twist 3 is adding scheduled rolling, yoga and food prep, so I don't end up neglecting those things more often than not like I did with this last training cycle. There's still plenty of time to figure this out and get it into writing though.

4. Do Other Cool Stuff

Recovery time is a great time to think about those other goals that may have been forgotten while I was busy getting extra sleep, running all morning and weight training in the evenings. I mean, there is more to life than running right? For one thing since my last race, I've written in this blog. I've also completed a Rubik's Cube and I am working on being able to do that without following YouTube videos for every little step. #lifegoals It's also a great time to keep working on my basement art studio and complete a few neglected household and craft projects. I could even work on developing a meditation routine.

My home art studio continues to need ceiling tiles and a cover for the fuse box.

5. Just Relax

Easier said than done. I'm not a fan of this one, but it would have been lovely to go for a massage and take a couple of really gentle restorative yoga classes that are more about lying on the floor than arm balances and warrior poses. Even spending more time sitting on the back patio in the sunshine with the dogs at my feet would be lovely.

Home yoga studio where I could be perfecting my corpse pose any day now.

Training Week 10 Review

Run Mileage: 45.46
Bike Mileage: 10.82
Yoga Classes: 1
Time Strength Training: 2.15
Swimming: 0

I have learned a couple of "hacks" this week that did, or would have had I thought of them earlier, made this week stellar. 

First, something I have been struggling with: I call it TEMPO TUESDAY, also known as, "just kill me now." I am not a fan of Tempo Tuesday, until the past week and today. I consistently felt like the most out of shape piece of rotten banana for every tempo run. I struggled immensely to keep up on the assigned pace, worried about how I was going to make the paces grow longer in upcoming training, and worst of all, experienced some self doubt. Yeah, so remember how I have complained about running in the heat? While it's getting easier and I am able to run faster in hotter temperatures, I still struggle if I don't get out at the exact right moment of the day... which I don't... often... especially when procrastinating a run I anticipate will suck. So, I got this idea, and maybe it is cheating, but it's working. I am feeling stronger, faster and my confidence during tempo runs is building. I call it the "out in out" run. It goes like this, I run my warm up miles in the blazing heat, ending at the gym near my house. I then hop on the treadmill and do my speed work with the air conditioning, setting the pace I need, maybe a little elevation if I'm feeling good or guilty and kill it. I then run a mile home and do whatever my strength assignment is for the day. My tempo time on the treadmill is feeling easier and I realized today I will have to increase it a little. After being in the heat, it feels like nothing and my heart and breathing are easy peasy. I don't know if this is a horrible idea or not, but right now I'm enjoying this technique. Perhaps when the weather improves I can take it to the road and it will still feel easy. That's the hope anyway.

I made a setting on my Garmin for outside inside runs so they will be measured as individual workouts. 

The other thing I learned was thanks to a weekend outing at Minuteman National Historical Park. Mallory and I decided to take a field trip to this park that we've passed on our way to our Northern New England neighboring states. We both had runs planned for later in the day. Much to our (or maybe just mine) surprise, this would have been an amazing place to run and people were running and riding bikes all over the place. There were dirt trails and beautiful landscapes everywhere. My guts were screaming for a run, but alas, I was left to stroll the park in my jeans and non-running sneaks, wishing I had just brought a change of clothing. Therefore, meet the emergency run kit!

Emergency Run Kit

The emergency run kit goes in my car and includes shoes, socks, shorts and running shirt, allowing me to run anywhere I have my car close by. I never know when the need for speed will overwhelm me, but from this moment forward, I shall be prepared. Bring it!

Minute Man National Park: You shall not be left unroll again!

In more good news running has become increasingly easy and enjoyable most of the time. I have been running most runs with negative splits, not because I am trying, but because as my body warms up, it just feels better and easier as I go. On one six miler this past week, I did the sixth mile at a 7:20 average pace, just because it felt right. I probably shouldn't, because that's not a part of my plan, but every now and then I need to have a little fun with it and challenge myself. Running is feeling good again.

Marathon Training Weeks 8-9 Review

WEEK 8
Run Mileage: 29.09
Bike Mileage: 0
Yoga Classes: 0
Time Strength Training: 2:56
Swimming: 0

WEEK 9
Run Mileage: 44.31
Bike Mileage: 11.57
Yoga Classes: 2
Time Strength Training: 3:10:16
Swimming: .3 miles

I missed a week of blogging, so this is a double training week in review. There are two important changes that were made over these two weeks. The first is diet.

During week 7, Mallory thought she would like to try being vegan for a week, so we both took a seven day vegan challenge among the two of us. We loved it. Almost instantly, we felt as if we had more energy and mental clarity. In fact, my own energy and mental clarity resulted in not feeling the need for any caffeine on my way to work by day two, which therefore resulted in a horrible caffeine withdrawal nauseating brain piercing migraine. (However, once that was over, I kept up being caffeine-free, because why not). The food was great. I cooked a lot over the past couple of weeks and we ate a lot more fruits and vegetables. I made a point of having a smoothie and leafy greens everyday. However, extra focus on the berry and green nutrients wasn't really all that necessary as we have both been chowing through in-season, nutrient-rich edibles like bunnies. I have done almost all of the grocery shopping in the produce section, which makes my life easier too. I think the prize for the best prepared vegan meal goes to  Best-ever Vegan Quinoa Chili from Making Thyme for Health. I made this one evening after dinner and we had it for a couple of lunches throughout the week. It's phenom. Even if you're not vegan, it is so worth your time.

Being vegan was so good that after 7 days, Mallory and I decided to make it 30. I'd be lying if I said I don't think about cheese and ice-cream, but the food is overall so much better and we are both feeling GREAT. 

Photo stolen from Making Thyme for Health

Guess what else happened possibly as a result of this new way of eating? No DOMS. No sore legs and calves. Easy recoveries. This is my rest day. And my weekend was nuts: 18 mile HOT long run, core workout, 5.25 mile trail run, .3 mile swim, leg routine, 12 mile bike ride. Normally I would wake up today and not even be able to straighten my legs after all that, but I bounced right up feeling like I walked my dogs around the block this weekend rather than put in a ton of hard miles. This is a noted benefit to being a vegan athlete and the reasons are unclear. One theory is that the food is easier to digest so the body can focus more on repair and wellness rather than digestion. The other theory is that the food is incredibly nutritious, and all that goodness results in a healthy body that recovers well from strenuous exercise. 

Also, on Saturday, I tried these for the first time after my long run.

Dr. Cool Ice Wraps

These are Dr. Cool Ice Wraps (size medium). You wet them and put them in the freezer and then wrap yourself up in them. It's an alternative to an ice bath, which I would never do. No thank you. The coolness doesn't last as long as I would like, but even a few minutes of this after a run while sitting outside on a hot day felt amazing. I won't do this too often, but I knew this was going to be an exercise-intense weekend, so it seemed appropriate.

The other important change that has gone into the past two weeks is a commitment to my strength training. I mean, I have been pretty consistent with my strength training since beginning this training cycle, but I often missed a workout or two each week, especially after long runs, but not in these past two weeks. I have been KILLING IT! 

I have been wanting to go do a long run on the Newport course, but haven't made the commitment to driving there early in the morning yet, so no new or interesting locations for running. However, we are still enjoying going trial running and pond swimming every week or two. My pond swim is getting stronger and further. I'm still slow and it's still tough, but totally getting better. I can now swim from one end of the swimming area and back without stopping as was my goal. New goal is to get to .5 miles. 

Pond water is nasty water! I swim faster when I think about what might be floating in here.

Marathon Training Week 7

Run Mileage: 26.01
Bike Mileage: 0
Yoga Classes: 2
Time Strength Training: 1:06:11
Swimming: 134 yards

This was my first cutback week in this training plan and I really felt it was well deserved. I am pretty impressed with myself for hitting my mileage as planned. Pace, not always, but close. I have worked hard the past several weeks. I feel like I'm doing okay, continuing with my cross training and feeling strong enough to continue. It takes so much effort (as I was told it would) that it's hard to know if I'm getting stronger for sure, because my legs are often pretty pooped and the workouts feel tough. These next two weeks of cutting back might provide the recovery that will allow me to see what progress has been made so far.

This was the first week of the past seven that I missed a run from my plan. On Friday I was under the impression my allergies were acting up. On Saturday I assumed they were still acting up, although I felt feverish and tired and did my long run anyway (it's the most important after all). By Sunday I realized I had a cold. I only had 3 miles and some strength training on the schedule, but I just could not. I probably slept 12-13 hours that day and just wanted to go back to bed. I kept waiting and putting off my run for the weather to be better (it was hot) and to feel better, but it just kept getting hotter and I kept feeling sicker. I had a 3 miler. I did not do it. I feel a little guilty. There is really something to be said for doing runs first thing in the morning, because I would have been better able to fight it then and get it done in spite of not feeling amazing.

I've been trying to take cutting back seriously and allow my legs as much rest and recovery as possible while sticking to the plan. Less yoga. No biking. I swam around the pond for about 4 minutes. Easy peasy. Sorta. And 3 miles short, but I'm just gonna keep keeping on.

I have no exciting photos of runs this week, so I leave you with this shot of my new Newtons and Zensah compression socks.

Marathon Training Week 6

Run Mileage: 41.15
Bike Mileage: 0
Yoga Classes: 1
Time Strength Training: 1:11:14
Swimming: 500 yards

This has been a dramatic week of training and learning.

First the lows: I will be writing a review for the Independence Day 5k I did before this training week, but between getting a PR at that 5k and running 6 miles of trails, followed by 11 miles on the street the next day, I totally KILLED my legs and wasn't ready to take on this past week of miles. I mean killed in a good way. Killed as in my lower limbs were so sore for days after that weekend. I could not do any of the paces I was supposed to hit. I physically was incapable. I was able to run but slowly. My legs felt like I was running in ankle weights through pudding. It was rough going. Everyday I attempted my assigned speed work and everyday I failed. I watched in terror as my V02 max and race predictions began to drop with each run.

I contacted my coach and asked for advice. Do I rest, do I lower my miles, lower my pace? What's the best way to take care of myself so I won't get hurt and will get faster.  He suggested I keep at it, don't lower the mileage and do what I can in terms of pace. So I did and struggled with every single run all the way through until Friday when I was finally feeling normal again and could do speed work as assigned. It was so depressing and frankly, also scary. I looked up burn out and worried I was wearing myself down and being counterproductive in my training. It was a real funk. My coach also suggested extra rest and looking into my nutrition. I got an hour extra sleep every night and ate about as well as ever, focusing on getting plenty of vegetarian protein.

Friday I had strides on the menu and I strode! My legs finally felt pretty normal again. Ah, the relief! The soreness and feeling of weight in my calves passed. My V02 max began to return to previous highs.

I should probably point out that at no point did I feel injured. I was just ridiculously sore. This was not rest time and although I had several workouts that sucked because I felt so slow and heavy, runs that made me doubt my potential, I was able to pull through it and it got better. I feel like I conquered that low. Am I stronger? Who knows? But I'm back to normal.

Which leads me to the highs of the weekend...

I went on a weekend vacation to see my awesome in-laws in Michigan. They are absolutely amazing and fantastic! Honestly, love them. On Saturday I ran a 5k with Mallory and her mom. It was her mom's first, having just completed the Couch to 5k program. And, she rocked it! She ran the whole thing. No walking and pretty decent time.

Basking in our post-run glory and shirts by the pool.

I also rocked it. Although I was way slower than my 5k the weekend before, guess who got first place female overall? Yes, I did. (More on that in the race recap.) Not only that, but I ran before the race and ran home after the race to get my full miles in.

But, I am most proud of myself for following through with my long run and strength training the following day while on vacation. I totally didn't want to, but I knew the pain of not doing it would be worse than the pain of going out early and getting it done. So, I ran 17 miles while on vacation and did a core workout. Michigan is really pretty and I enjoyed touring the town by foot even if I did not especially appreciate hitting the road for three hours while on vacation.

Example of the scene from my Michigan long run.

Another scene experienced during my 17 miles in Michigan.

I saw several deer during my run and this is one of them.

Today my legs are feeling perfectly back to normal and deserving of my scheduled two weeks of cut back miles! You deserve a break legs. Chill (a tiny little bit).

And also, I spent a bunch of time in the pool at Mallory's uncle's house. I practiced strengthening my swim, although it's still really tough and exhausting. However, if I keep up the trying, I'm gonna own the pond here by the end of summer!

Marathon Training Week 5

Run Mileage: 41.15
Bike Mileage: 0
Yoga Classes: 2
Time Strength Training: 1:08:36
Swimming: 8 minutes!

This week presented with time challenges. I am blessed with a career that allows for flexible hours, particularly in the morning. As an art therapist/mental health counselor, working primarily with kids, the majority of my self-scheduled hours come in the afternoon, leaving everything before noon all to myself to get it on with my fitness. This week I had a couple of morning commitments. I missed a yoga class to make sure I got my miles in earlier and my strength training was not on point. The good news is I got my runs in as prescribed, tried a swim (most suckily -- swimming is hard) and went to see a sports nutritionist to talk about proper fueling during long runs and races (my Achilles heel of running) and check in on my vegetarian, considering-vegan fueling.

My current nutrition assignment is to just try eating anything I want on my long runs to see what I will actually ingest. I am lucky in that I don't ever feel sick to my stomach when running, but I don't want anything. I run marathons on water. WATER! So stupid. I would definitely improve if I could just knock that one little tendency. This week on my long run, I tried 2 fruit source bars from the produce department and didn't hate them. Progress!

Fruit source: Not gross while running

This didn't happen during a run, but I tried spiraled zucchini which was the meal success of the week.

My adventure workout this week was another trip to Chepachet, Rhode Island where I ran about 7 miles of trails and went for a very short and pitiful swim in Pulaski State Park. I enjoy trail running, but I wonder if it is helpful or harmful to my training. It's hilly and rocky and my pace is not as prescribed. However, my feet are moving all over adjusting to every root and crevice and muscles working hard in a different way up and down the hills. Most significantly, I'm having fun and enjoying running, which gets tougher the more focused I get on pace and distance and getting the training just right running the same places over and over. I'm going to have to research and maybe ask my coach about pace and trails. Good idea or bad? This likely won't be the last you'll hear about this.

Trail running in Pulaski State Park

I set fitness goals for myself that have more to do with having fun than reaching a certain goal. This summer I set a goal to use my surfboard and swim in open water. Pulaski State Park is awesome! It's free and has trails, bathrooms with running water and soap as well as a swimming area that isn't too crowded, at least so far. On Sunday after our trail run, I decided to accomplish one of these goals and go for a swim. I'm a big baby when it comes to cold water, so although infants and their grandmothers were gleefully bounding right in, it took me a good twenty-minutes of whining and tiptoeing. Finally, I made my Garmin, which has a swim function give me that extra push. I hit the start button and made myself waste no more time. Of course, it wasn't so cold once I got it.

I haven't swum in maybe three years. I always imagine myself a strong and amazing swimmer. I mean, growing up in California means I can do all sorts of sporty things right? I lived in the water. I can totally swim. I quickly realized swimming is not "like riding a bike," and running has nothing to do with swimming endurance. Granted I can still swim without drowning, but I cannot swim great distance or for extended periods of time. I swam a total of 8 minutes and was completely pooped. I felt muscles in my arms and legs that apparently atrophied since my last swim. I flopped from my stomach to my back, tried one stroke and then another. Exhausting! So, my revised summer swim in open water goal is now to swim from one end of the designated swim area to the other and back STRONG.

Post swim

Marathon Training Week 4

Total Run Mileage: 33.02
Total Bike Mileage: 13.59
Yoga Classes: 3
Time Strength Training: 01:33:42

As discussed in last week's training review, I am feeling that it is so important to have some runs that are more about the pleasure of running than hitting a pace or distance. For me, following a strict training plan can result in running feeling like work, which it is, but it's not fun work when I'm focused on maintaining a pace and getting in some speed. I need breaks from this in which running is an adventure and just feels good.

This week I had a pleasure trail run with Mallory in Chepachet, Rhode Island. This was not on my schedule in terms of distance or pace. In fact, there will never be a trail run as part of my training before the marathon (now in twelve more weeks), but I did it anyway and don't feel guilty about it. Trail runs strengthen the feet and ankles. Variety is good. Mallory and I ran together, which we don't get to do often anymore due to us both following different plans with different demands. Running has been a very solitary activity the past several weeks and it was nice to have company and explore a new place. I really wanted to add a swim in the pond after this run, but it was too cold. 

Here are some photos from the experience...

I found this guy and he peed on me three times!

Also, I am trying to focus more on nutrition. This upcoming week I will be seeing a sports nutritionist to help with appropriate fueling. In the meantime, I spent the morning preparing dinners for the week. Before noon, I had one meal in the crockpot and another cut up and ready to put in crockpot later in the week. In addition to vegetarian crockpot meals, I have also made a couple new items from The Runner's World Cookbook. This past week we tried Almond Butter and Pear Sandwiches (AMAZING!) and homemade Chickpea Tomato Soup!

Layered Mexican-Style Casserole

Asain Sweet Potato and Corn Stew Ready to Cook for Dinner on Wednesday

Last of all, I also retired one pair of Newton running shoes and replaced them with two new pair that I got on major sale! Newtons are my brand! I really believe these shoes are helping me avoid injury and improve my pace. Most recent major PRs happened in these. Granted there's also been a lot of work on my part other than wearing these killer shoes, but still.

New Trail Running Shoes on Their First Run

New Road Shoes on the Treadmill

Next week begins a two week period of increased mileage and longer long runs. Here we go...

Marathon Training Week 3

Total Run Mileage: 33.03
Total Cycle Mileage: 29.41
Yoga Classes: 3
Strength Sessions: 4

This week, I want to give a general overview and tell you about the my best run.

I hit my mileage and my workouts. I did my biking and all that goodness, in addition to getting in yoga several times this week. Overall, it went well. I worked on getting my runs done in the best possible temperatures for the day, which decreased my overall suffer score, although I'm still not enjoying the runs as much lately.

However, one run really stood out this week and was AMAZING!

On Thursday, I had 5 miles with some strides scheduled and also needed to take Mallory to catch the ferry for Block Island around 7:30am, which is my running time, so guess what. That's right, I ran the beach. Well, I didn't exactly run the beach. Actually, I drove around, looked at the Point Judith Lighthouse and tried to find a place that felt right to leave the car where I wouldn't worry about getting towed or ticketed. I found this lovely little lot where parking is free and it led to trails! The trails led to the beach and the beach led to the road where I could run through neighborhoods with a view of the ocean. All within my 5 miles. So amazing! Also amazing, it was a weekday morning, which meant only a handful of other runners were out and about. No tourists or beach goers. No traffic. Super gorgeous out and better yet, all mine!

Here are a few photos I took after completing my run and walking around some of the prettier scenes of the morning.

I mean, seriously, how gorgeous was my run? It got me thinking that I don't want to take the exploring out of my training and there are many ways to hit my mileage and workouts without feeling like a machine or boring myself. Going someplace new and beautiful is one of those ways. Hence, my desire to make a point of trying to do something like this weekly.

Also, my hopeful qualifying race will be in Newport, RI, which is not too far from home. I would like to do some of my long runs on the actual course, so I can feel as prepared as possible. Newport, RI isn't such a shabby place to put in the miles either...