Feet Move Forward

Okay, it's time to get real. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was shouting from the rooftops that I wanted to run a sub 3:10 marathon , a goal I knew would be a big reach but feasible if I worked my butt off. After 11 weeks of training, I think I need to reevaluate. I haven't been feeling great for the past few weeks and have tried to cut some miles out and modify some workouts to get back on track. It's not happening. I'm exhausted. I'm battling annoying pain in my left calf and right hip. In short, I feel like I'm falling apart. So here is my Week 11 review. And this, my friends, means you are 100% up to speed on my training. Planned: 70 miles Actual: 52.53 miles Monday Rest Rest Tuesday AM- 6  miles PM- 4 miles 0 miles. Had planned to take a break during the work day to run and it was super crappy out so I didn't. I had a hair appointment . And I didn't even feel bad about not running. Wednesday 15 miles 0 miles. C...

Recovery Week. After how awful I've been feeling the past few weeks, I went into this week with the plan to run my important workouts but allow myself to cut some miles/take days off if needed. I was hoping that it would refresh me a little for the coming weeks. Planned: 58 miles Actual: 42.5 miles Monday Rest Rest Tuesday 9 miles 9 miles; 1:12:06 Ran on the treadmill. Had to stop a couple miles in to rub out some shin pain. It starts in my inner left shin and then sort of radiates around my calf and up the back of my leg, ending up in my butt (that's definitely NOT wss). Wednesday 9 miles w/ 6 x 800 meters @ 5K 7 miles w/ 6 x 800 meters Meetings at work tonight so left the office in the afternoon to head to the gym. Traffic was really bad once I got there so I was super crunched for time. Calf hurt again but made it through all of the intervals with pretty consistent effort. Jogged 90% of time between intervals. Thursday 6 mile recovery 0 miles. No running ...

This pretty much sums it up.  I know this is pretty late- Ragnar fever is over and you all are fully recovered. Maybe this will help you relive some of the excitement. I wasn't as late with the recap that I posted on the TCM blog . You can read my Lessons from Ragnar post over there. Here's a recap of my legs: First Leg Desperately seeking water HOT and humid leg. Full sun on fresh black top. It was so hot that I actually removed my shirt. If you know me at all, you know what a big deal that is. My Garmin said 6.09 miles in 45 minutes for an average pace of 7:24. I finished this leg feeling really bad about how I had run and not really looking forward to my other legs. Second Leg Check out that elevation profile. I started this leg around 11:30 p.m. so it was dark. Like pitch black dark. And I was scared. So I ran as fast as I possibly could. I saw my first miles tick off in 6:59, 6:49 and 6:47 which is pretty  much faster than my 5K split...

Week of September 5- 11 TIRED again this week. I think I need to cut some miles out.   Planned: 67 miles Actual: 56.25 miles Monday Rest Rest Tuesday AM- 6 miles recovery PM- 4 miles recover AM- 6 miles, 47:48, 7:57 average pace Didn't run again today. Tired again. Wednesday 14 miles 9.5 miles, 1:19:09, 8:27 average pace Hyland with R.E.D. Major stomach issues. Spicy green curry at lunch. Enough said. Thursday 6 mile recovery AM- 7.20 miles PM- 5.3 miles Tried to make up for missed miles yesterday by tacking on some extra today. Neither run was great. Friday 13 miles 13 miles, 1:45:16 Ran before work and was exhausted. Saturday   16 miles with 12 at Goal Pace 16 miles with 12 at sort of goal pace Flip-flopped my Sat/Sun runs. Did the Capitol Run with Life Time. It got sort of hot out and I wasn't carry fluid with me. I was also running alone for a lot of the time. I definitely did not hit 12 at my goal pace but I d...

Late again. Week of August 29- September 4 I think last week marked my last decent week of training. I had just come off of my highest mileage week and was feeling great. Now I'm exhausted. All. The. Time. Planned: 66 miles Actual: 56.25 miles Monday Rest Rest Tuesday AM- 6 miles recovery PM- 4 miles recover AM- 5.75 miles. Didn't run again that night. Exhausted, body hurt. Wednesday 14 miles 9 miles, 1:18:58, 8:48 average pace I'm pretty sure my lack of miles today and my pace says it all. Sucked.    Thursday 5 mile recovery 5  miles, 38:33; 7:42 average pace I may or may not have been hungover when I went out for this run. And in a hurry. Friday 11 miles with 6 miles at half pace 11 miles with 6 miles at half pace Ran to the gym for a warm up and did my half pace miles on the treadmill. Halfway into the miles, I didn't know how I was going to hang on. But I DID. 7:00, 7:02, 7:01, 7:01, 7:01, 6:59. Couple miles cool down to roun...

I know I'm super late with posting these. To backtrack a little, this is from the week of August 22-28. This training week marked my highest mileage ever. I spent a lot of time this week thinking about how 40 mile weeks used to seem tough. Now I eat 40 mile weeks for lunch. I feel like my body has responded really well to the increased mileage. I've been conciously running my recovery runs as recovery; slowing my pace down, sticking to flat trails, etc. Planned: 68 miles Actual: 68.41 miles Monday Rest Rest Tuesday 10 miles w/ 5 miles at half pace Another run to restore my faith in my ability to maintain my goal marathon pace of 7:15. It was pretty humid so I ran from my apartment to my gym as a warm-up and did my tempo miles on the treadmill. My legs were pretty sore during the warm up and I actually rolled out a little on the foam roller once I got to the gym. For my tempo miles I used the whole set it and forget it- sort of. I felt so good during them that I ...