Today marked the end of week 2 of my possible marathon training, with today's long run of being 3.5 miles. This run, for some reason, was a bit tougher mentally and physically. However, I thought I was running about an 11:30 pace, but at the end of my run, according to running app ("Map My Run"), I was running closer to a 10:50 pace. My plan was to run the last few miles of the marathon course, plus a bit of the route that starts the whole race. Well, I took a wrong turn, and ended up being a bit off from the course...oops. I found my way back, and was running towards the stadium where the finish line is at. I was picturing people cheering me on, as if I was actually running the marathon, and it sorta made me a bit emotional for a moment. I know it sounds dumb, but that's what happened. There's always something about training on the course, picturing yourself coming around that last corner, and running down the incline, and touching the door that leads right into the stadium. For me, this was a BIG morale booster, as during my run itself, I was wondering how on earth would I manage to run 26.2 miles, given how I was feeling on just the 3.5 miles I was doing today. Yet, I was thinking that if I was "only" as tired as I was feeling right then for those last few miles, I would definitely be able to push through to the end. Then, reality kicked in. Chances are that this will NOT be the case, as I will most likely be completely exhausted by that point if I do the full, but will have to trust my body and training to get me to the end, and completely push those thoughts out of my head.
One thing I did realize today is that I really do need to keep track of my mileage, as I want to stay as close to my training mileage as possible. This includes days in which I do speed work. I forgot to bring my flip belt, which I use to carry my phone and other small running related items to speedwork, so I couldn't really keep track on how many miles I did. We did six sets of running 3 minutes at a "hard" pace, followed by 1 minute of a slower pace. I estimated somewhere around 2.25 miles of harder running (approx 600 meters), and maybe about 600 meters of slower running. I think total, I got in somewhere around 3 miles of work, but I'm not sure.
Normally, I wouldn't be that concerned, but I was planning on running in a 5k today10 , and due to finances, that wasn't the case. I'm trying to not be too concerned about getting the exact three miles based upon the fact that I ran 4 miles total on Tuesday, and got in at least two miles for speed work. I just don't want to do too much guesswork throughout the training. I know that being slightly off here and there isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I want to be at least close to the mileage.
For cross training, I'm still working on skating and gymnastics. In my gymnastics class, I've been working on holding handstands (MUCH easier said than done), and working on my "vault" and on front tucks ("flips") into our foam pit. My "vault" consists of running and jumping off of a springboard with about 7 springs, reaching out to a huge squishy mat (called a "resi" mat), going into a handstand, andfalling flat on my back in as straight of a line as possible. For the front tucks, I'm working on height and speed of my rotation into the pit, which is actually quite fun...a bit scary at first, but quite fun. Towards the end of class, my coach is having me do some conditioning, which may vary from week to week. At this point we're mostly focusing on abs and some upper body. Last week, he had me do 10 slow V-sits (feet and arms up, as if in a V position), then 100 hollow rockers. Hollow is a basic gymnastics position, kinda like that of a banana. The 100 rockers are KILLER. I have to do divide those up into sets of 10 or so, with a few seconds rest between each set, as they majorly work everything....abs, legs, arms to an extent, and back. For this, we literally get into the position, and "rock" ourselves back and fourth. It's WAY harder than itp looks!
Skating wise, I'm working towards putting together a program for my rink's exhibition in November, and continuing to work on improving my speed, edges, jumps, and spins. I've been working on two new jumps, both of which are hard for me, and one jump in particular, the flip jump, is giving me lots of trouble. I'm working on improving the technique so that I can hopefully land it soon, but it's just not happening at this point.
Challenge for next week....adjusting my schedule so that I can do my long run before I leave to volunteer at Skate America, whic is a major skating competition (as in Olympians will be competing). I got accepted to volunteer there as a an ice monitor for the actual competitions. I'm totally looking forward to this, but I need to figure out how I'm going to get all of my runs in, including my long run. I may see if I can change things up a bit, and do my long run towards the middle of the week, then one or two of my shorter runs before I leave. That way, I won't be behind on my training schedule.
On the plus side, I have found one food that seems to work really well with me for runs in earlier in the day...oatmeal. I just have some of the quick cooking stuff, but mix it with some milk, a bit of sugar, cloves, and/or cinnamon, and heat in the microwave. It filled me up enough to do the run without it being too heavy, as lon g as I gave it about 30 minutes to digest and go through my system some. I will have to keep it in mind for the longer runs that I may have.
Food wise, I still haven't hit enough miles yet to really need fuel, but am hoping to start experimenting with those once I stat hitting about 6 miles. However, this week, I'm thinking of trying some minestrone and some tortilla soup, as I found some soup mix packages, sausage, and frozen chicken breasts. I figure I can try the sausage with the minestrone, and I know the chicken will go well with the tortilla soup. I can also add some of my own veggies and pasta to the minestrone soup, plus some avocado to the tortilla soup (and maybe some tortilla chips), so I'm hoping these will turn out really good. :)
Have a great running week!
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Possible marathon training first long run (3 miles)
As I had told myself earlier, I was going to do three miles tonight, as planned on the marathon training plan that I have printed out. We've been experiencing what I would describe as perfect running conditions....upper 50s or so, clear skies, with very gentle wind (being in East-Central Illinois, wind is always a factor), and my body basically telling me, "Let's run! We need this!" I gave a few thoughts for my buddy that I run for, and tried to picture a conversation we would have about me possibly doing the full marathon.
I decided to take things slow, not only to get in the mileage, but to also enjoy the weather, which ended up being a REALLY nice idea. Instead of getting the 3 miles, I ended up doing 5 after a short break, and realizing I still had lots of energy left, and wanted to enjoy my run more. I probably could have squeaked out one more mile, but it was starting to get dark, and so I wanted to get going home. I ended up running those miles at an approximately 11:30 pace, which felt very comfortable.
In terms of my pace, I'm sure that it's super slow for many of you runners out there, but considering that I may be doing my first marathon, I wanted to sure that I could cover the distance comfortably. I figure that at this point, it's better to be slower and longer, than faster and shorter. Areas such as speed can improve at a later date, especially if I can mange to continue to do speedwork in the winter months. I'm also still running with our local running club for "fun runs" on Tuesday nights, and my pace there varies. I've ran as fast as a 9:20 something pace and as slow as an 11:30 pace (and at the same time, I paced a friend of mine to her own personal 5k PR at the 11:30 pace...what a awesome feeling that was for the both of us!). It just all depends on what I feel like my body can handle, and sometimes who I am with. Regardless of my pace, I'm still running faster than those who sit on the couch.
We'll see how this journey goes over these next few weeks. Now, I just need to X off the long run for today. One day down....many more to go, but it's one less day I now have to do.
I decided to take things slow, not only to get in the mileage, but to also enjoy the weather, which ended up being a REALLY nice idea. Instead of getting the 3 miles, I ended up doing 5 after a short break, and realizing I still had lots of energy left, and wanted to enjoy my run more. I probably could have squeaked out one more mile, but it was starting to get dark, and so I wanted to get going home. I ended up running those miles at an approximately 11:30 pace, which felt very comfortable.
In terms of my pace, I'm sure that it's super slow for many of you runners out there, but considering that I may be doing my first marathon, I wanted to sure that I could cover the distance comfortably. I figure that at this point, it's better to be slower and longer, than faster and shorter. Areas such as speed can improve at a later date, especially if I can mange to continue to do speedwork in the winter months. I'm also still running with our local running club for "fun runs" on Tuesday nights, and my pace there varies. I've ran as fast as a 9:20 something pace and as slow as an 11:30 pace (and at the same time, I paced a friend of mine to her own personal 5k PR at the 11:30 pace...what a awesome feeling that was for the both of us!). It just all depends on what I feel like my body can handle, and sometimes who I am with. Regardless of my pace, I'm still running faster than those who sit on the couch.
We'll see how this journey goes over these next few weeks. Now, I just need to X off the long run for today. One day down....many more to go, but it's one less day I now have to do.
Potential Marathon Training Attempt #2
So I know that I was all gung ho about attempting a marathon last year. As some of you may have noticed, I basically fell off the face of the earth with the training. Unfortunately, I realized that the marathon was NOT for me, as my training got super off schedule (and getting sick with a stomach bug didn't help), and I was afraid of risking major injury and stress if I had attempted to continue to train for the marathon. I honestly found the mileage quite intimidating, and, I came to realize that my heart really wasn't into it.
As for the half marathon I did back in the spring, I did well under the conditions (again, it was cold and raining, but at least no storms this time), although I personally didn't feel as prepared as I ended up skipping a lot of the shorter runs. However, I did manage a PR of 2:17:56, which was quite shocking for me. Since then, I've been continue to run, although generally shorter distances, and had worked some on increasing my pace for a 5k (averaging a 9:30ish pace, according to my last timed 5k in August). I am still going to most of the "fun runs" with the running club here once a week, along with going to speedwork on a regular basis. I have not ran any timed races since the 5k in August, and I'm okay with that, as I generally don't run that many races during the year. However, as a whole, I haven't really been that consistent with my running, although I have tried to make goals of running 10 miles a week. It just hasn't been happening. I need some sort of plan to gradually increase the mileage, but without the stressfull thought of getting hurt.
Yet...funny enough, I've had the slight idea of attempting the Illinois Marathon here again. I honestly don't know if I can seriously commit to it, but I have came across a plan that sounds much more do-able in terms of very gradually building the mileage. IF I were to attempt the full marathon "for real" this time, I would have to start with my first long run tonight. I have ran one other time this week, totalling four miles, so skipping the first few miles won't kill me. What I'm considering using is Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Supreme program, which is over the course of 30 weeks. If I start this plan today, I would have about 3 weeks leeway, in case something was to come up, as the race is on April 22 (and hopefully, we will have good weather this time). Ideally, I would like to have at least a god week or so where I don't run at all, except for a few short "shake out" runs, so that I can be well rested, fueled up, and all that good stuff.
So, in the meantime, what I'm thinking is attempting at least the first few weeks of the program (say up to week 6 or so), and decide from there if I want to continue on with the training. That way, at least I'm gradually gaining some mileage, Even if I decide to not do the full, I will at least have some decent "base mileage" under my belt again to make the training for the half a bit easier. If I do the half again, I do not know at this point which program I will use, but it will most likely be a slightly more advanced option through Hal Higdon again.
Cross training wise, I'm still figure skating and taking gymnastics. This is where the thought of getting injured concerns me, especially as my mileage increases as I'm still very active in both sports. I'm often skating at least 3-4 days a week, with being in gymnastics one night a week (just a hour though). With that much demand on my body, I may not get a lot of pure rest days, which is a bit of a bothersome thought. What I might have to do, especially later on in the training, is potentially cut down a bit on the skating to allow for better rest with my legs. However, that is a decision I will make further down the line, when and if I get to that point.
In the meantime, here's the link to the training plan that I am considering, and we'll see what happens!
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51143/Marathon-Novice-Supreme-Training-Program
As for the half marathon I did back in the spring, I did well under the conditions (again, it was cold and raining, but at least no storms this time), although I personally didn't feel as prepared as I ended up skipping a lot of the shorter runs. However, I did manage a PR of 2:17:56, which was quite shocking for me. Since then, I've been continue to run, although generally shorter distances, and had worked some on increasing my pace for a 5k (averaging a 9:30ish pace, according to my last timed 5k in August). I am still going to most of the "fun runs" with the running club here once a week, along with going to speedwork on a regular basis. I have not ran any timed races since the 5k in August, and I'm okay with that, as I generally don't run that many races during the year. However, as a whole, I haven't really been that consistent with my running, although I have tried to make goals of running 10 miles a week. It just hasn't been happening. I need some sort of plan to gradually increase the mileage, but without the stressfull thought of getting hurt.
Yet...funny enough, I've had the slight idea of attempting the Illinois Marathon here again. I honestly don't know if I can seriously commit to it, but I have came across a plan that sounds much more do-able in terms of very gradually building the mileage. IF I were to attempt the full marathon "for real" this time, I would have to start with my first long run tonight. I have ran one other time this week, totalling four miles, so skipping the first few miles won't kill me. What I'm considering using is Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Supreme program, which is over the course of 30 weeks. If I start this plan today, I would have about 3 weeks leeway, in case something was to come up, as the race is on April 22 (and hopefully, we will have good weather this time). Ideally, I would like to have at least a god week or so where I don't run at all, except for a few short "shake out" runs, so that I can be well rested, fueled up, and all that good stuff.
So, in the meantime, what I'm thinking is attempting at least the first few weeks of the program (say up to week 6 or so), and decide from there if I want to continue on with the training. That way, at least I'm gradually gaining some mileage, Even if I decide to not do the full, I will at least have some decent "base mileage" under my belt again to make the training for the half a bit easier. If I do the half again, I do not know at this point which program I will use, but it will most likely be a slightly more advanced option through Hal Higdon again.
Cross training wise, I'm still figure skating and taking gymnastics. This is where the thought of getting injured concerns me, especially as my mileage increases as I'm still very active in both sports. I'm often skating at least 3-4 days a week, with being in gymnastics one night a week (just a hour though). With that much demand on my body, I may not get a lot of pure rest days, which is a bit of a bothersome thought. What I might have to do, especially later on in the training, is potentially cut down a bit on the skating to allow for better rest with my legs. However, that is a decision I will make further down the line, when and if I get to that point.
In the meantime, here's the link to the training plan that I am considering, and we'll see what happens!
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51143/Marathon-Novice-Supreme-Training-Program
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