Monday, April 9, 2012

Marathon Monday: Week 14 & that time I ran 20 miles

Happy Monday, everyone!

Training recap:


26 days until Pittsburgh...less than a month!  Honestly, I'm excited to get this race done with.  Four and a half months of training is a lot and I'm ready to free up my Sunday mornings (instead of spending hours on the trails.)  It's time to start tapering down--how exciting!


Last week was my highest mileage week thus far!! On the downside, my cross-training was sub par.  I cannot seem to balance the two!  On the upside, my 20-miler went so well; I recovered very quickly and today, I'm surprisingly not too sore (I'll talk more about the run below.)

Before I begin with training, I want to start with reviews of two products I'm loving.

For weeks, I hunted for the perfect yoga/gym bag.  I had my eyes set on the Lululemon Bliss Bag, but I couldn't justify spending $128.00 on it.

I searched on amazon, overstock, etsy and a few other discounted sites and couldn't find what I was looking for.

Then, when I was shopping in Whole Foods last week, I came across this little number.  It's the Gaiam Metro Gym Bag {on sale!} and is the perfect size to hold my gym clothes & shoes, a water bottle, and my yoga mat.  For $25.00, I thought it was well worth it!

Next up: this top from Lululemon (similar top here)

*I apologize for the horrendous photos.  Please excuse my messy room.



I can't find it on their website but they do carry it in stores.  Personally, I always have a hard time trying to decide what I want to wear to yoga.  I like wearing baggier tops, but they always ride up when I'm in downward dog.

So, props to this top for cinching the jersey at the bottom!  It keeps it from riding up while providing some breathing room.  This piece was pricier, but I think it was a worthwhile investment.  I love it!

Training this week:


Monday: Rest day

I was exhausted from my run on Sunday. This was much needed.

Tuesday: 75-minute Restorative yoga class

Okay, Tuesday hit me hard. I was absolutely wiped out (I swear, there's something about Tuesdays!) so I decided to try a restorative yoga class.

Consensus: I'm glad I tried it, but I will not be going back. There was much more meditation and holding still than expected. Although I like the "your body needs rest" mantra that went along with the class, I am terrible at calming my mind and body. We did a total of 5 poses in an hour and I was going a little nuts by the end.

Wednesday: 5.8 miles/ 9.3 km


This run was very, very challenging. My legs were so, so, so tight and they felt like weights as I ran. My stomach was also in knots (probably due to work stress) so I struggled. But, the weather was beautiful as I ran along the National Mall.

5.8 miles/51:00/8:51 pace
9.3 km/5.48 pace

Thursday: 8.21 miles/13.2 km

This was the first mid-week long run I've done in awhile.  Although it took about 4 miles to warm up, I felt great!  I ran through The National Mall, crossed the bridge over the Potomac, and followed the trail past the Jefferson and back to my house.

8.21 miles/1:11/8:40 pace
13.2 km/5.38 pace

Friday: Unintentional rest day

Rested up for my big run on Saturday! (Meant to go to yoga but I ran out of time)

Saturday: 20.01 miles/32.2 km

This was a big run and the longest I'll go before my race.  A variety of factors played in my favor and this run was incredible.  Not only did I finish feeling strong, I actually had the energy to run more.  Starting at mile 16, I was averaging 9:00/miles.  I was on a high, that's for sure.  This run was definitely a confidence booster!

Pre-run meal:  
During-run refueling:
Post-run meal:
  • 1 banana, peanut butter and chocolate whey protein shake
  • 1 plate of pasta and tomato sauce

I also did an ice bath, rolled out my legs and stretched throughout the day.

On most of my runs, I will stop my watch at a traffic light, to tie my shoe, etc.  This time around, I kept my watch going to simulate 'race-day' feelings.  Dom and I stopped to walk at mile 5, 10 and 15 for about 120 seconds.  We've read multiple articles that talk about the importance of walking.  Although I'm skeptical and hate stopping because it messes up my 'groove,' I do believe it gives my muscles a minor chance to recover.  

20.01 miles/3:26/10:16 pace
32.2/6.4 pace

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this time!  Never in my life did I think I could run for 3.5 hours.  The human body and it's ability to adapt truly amazes me.

Sunday: Rest day.  Happy Easter!

Aren't these guys the cutest?!
Dom cooked an amazing brunch, followed by a nap and Easter-egg coloring.  We went for a walk in the neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful weather before he had to hop on a plane for business :( 


Weekly Total


Miles/km this week: 34 miles/54.7 km
Yoga: 75 minutes
Strength Training: 0 minutes
Cycling: 0 minutes

Thoughts

When I started training for this marathon, I hoped to run a sub-4hr race.  Now that I'm 14 weeks into training, I don't think that is an achievable goal.  Marathon training is a huge time commitment; a commitment that I wasn't willing to sacrifice all of my free time for.  In that respect, I probably haven't put in as many miles as I should have to guarantee a 9:15 mile pace or below.

My newly revised goal is to finish the race.  A bonus will be to average under 10:00-min miles.  Mental math concludes that I will have to run a 4:15:00 marathon or under to complete my goal.  Wish me luck!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

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