Sunday, July 27, 2014

Marathon training Week 2: Things get real

Last week I was so excited and optimistic about jumping into marathon training for the Chicago Marathon October 12. Then came that tough 10 miler on Sunday. That run set the tone for the week, unfortunately, forcing me to do a little tough talking to myself. So here's how the week shook out:

Monday: Crossfit intervals at 6 am with Becky. It was a warm morning and she had a little station set up for me outside, complete with rower, slamball, medicine ball, kettlebell, and a mat. She also brought out the whiteboard, which I've seen her do in her CF classes but never with me. I was thinking this was not a good thing. Here's what I did:


In between each set I rowed 250m. You can tell that I don't love burpees. Slam balls? Yes please! Exhausting but very satisfying. Hello endurance!

Tuesday: I had a 6 miler planned, but I no sooner had gotten a signal on my Garmin, left my driveway, and headed down the street when I came up on a bicyclist lying on the ground in a pool of blood, his bike broken in half. A victim of a hit and run accident. I stopped my Garmin as I approached, and when I checked today, I ran a total for 44 seconds before I saw this. I stayed with the guy until the police and paramedics left. I decided to run but after 2 miles, my adrenaline ran out, my mind was reeling with what had happened, and I walked the rest of the way home. I've had some weird stuff happen to me on the run, but this really shook me to my core. 

Wednesday: After a really poor night's sleep, I was grateful to do yoga. I needed to stretch, but most of all I needed to relax. I did the same video from last week, the Seawheeze 2014 video. Not too taxing, but hits all the high points. Namaste. 

Thursday: Speed work, in the form of mile repeats x 5. The first couple of miles, I ran too fast again. I kept my Garmin screen set on "pace", so I could watch my speed, but it really is easier said than done. Mile 4 was when things started to get hairy for me. I was breathing really heavy and felt nauseous. I couldn't even complete mile 5. You can see where I fell apart: 


Then I went to see Becky for another CF workout. We talked about my bad speed session, and what had happened earlier in the week. While she validated what a terrible experience it was, she really stressed that I needed to get it out of my head and move on. Then she worked me hard. I did back squats, 3 sets of 65#, 5 reps each set. There was a box for me to sit on, which something new and kind of nice! I also pushed the prowler for 4 laps, and did kettlebell deadlifts 20# each hand alternating with front bar lunges x 2 sets. The kettlebell deadlifts were way harder than the ones I do with the bar. It was hard not to put the kettlebells down on my feet. And there is definitely less stability lifting the kettlebells than the bar. I felt it in my hammies and glutes. All good.

It should say "a runner's best friend", I think!
Friday: normally a rest day (because I usually work), I had the day off, so I did some more yoga. This time was Eoin Finn, In Pursuit of Happy Hips. This is a great video, set in British Columbia, and I felt great when I was done. Here is a clip from the DVD, which you can download from his website:



Saturday: I had a 4 miler on the plan, but decided to do 6 because mentally, I needed it. It was really humid and hot, and I got a late start. The park fieldhouse was closed and I didn't have any water with me. I started out way too fast for the conditions and paid for it. At mile 4 I was ready to quit, but I forced myself to slow down (this is a recurring theme here!) and finish the 6 I had planned. My mile splits weren't too bad but I felt kind of yucky when I finished. But I'm glad I pushed myself to finish. That's what I'm talking about!

Really, really sweaty!
Sunday: I have several bike rides on the plan, and I argued with Becky about them, because they take the place of the long run. She told me to trust the plan. Today, I was grateful for a bike ride. When I woke up, it was 72F and 90% humidity. A long run would have been torture today. As a matter of fact, while riding my bike, I came upon a lot of runners and not one of them looked at all happy. Most of them looked ill, and no one was moving very fast. I admit that I love riding my bike. I smiled pretty much the whole 30 miles. I ran into my friend, the former cop, who works the traffic lights at one of the busy intersections near a super church. It is always great to see him. A big plus for me too, because there was some creeper behind me on his bike, and he had no choice but to keep going once I stopped. He came back, saw me still talking to Mike, turned back around, and that was the last I saw of him. The wind started to pick up, but when I turned around to head home, it was at my back, and gave me some great mile splits. 30.5 miles in 2:01. I'll take it! And like I said on my facebook page, endurance is endurance, right?



Goals for next week: I'm going out of town for a few days, so I get to run in a different, pretty place. I'm going to get that speedwork under control! I'm hoping to get some kayaking and SUP in as well. Next Saturday is a half marathon, but I'm planning to use it as a training run and work on pacing, trying not to get caught up in the race. My ongoing challenge: I will continue to work on mental toughness too. My most difficult challenge!



13 comments :

  1. I hate burpees too but yes to squats and deadlifts!!

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  2. OMG!! That must have been so scary! He was lucky an NP came upon him. I'm sure he was very relieved to have someone there. Did you find out how he is?

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    1. I thought at the time that besides all his lacerations, he was going to be ok. I heard that he did go to the police station to file a report, so I assume he's ok. Thankfully.

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  3. LOVE LOVE LOVE the last pic - so very true!!!

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  4. Oh my goodness, seeing that accident must have been awful! Thank goodness you were there! I don't blame you for not being in the mood to run after that. Congrats on finishing your 6 miler! I've had to do the same thing lately--slow down and keep plugging along. Sounds like you had a great week!

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    1. I'm getting back on track...a little slower than I had hoped! You never know how things are going to affect you!

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  5. I can't imagine how jarring it would be to see someone after a hit and run! How awful! Sounds like you're killing it with the workouts! I love combining weights and running too.

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    1. It really was hard to come back from that for a few days. He called me yesterday--he's doing well. Whew!!

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  6. Wendy, I can't believe what happened! WOW! That's a tough thing to witness and then shake off, of course. Otherwise, looks like you had an excellent training week; way to go with that speedwork, and thank you for sharing this yoga DVD - this looks great, and I'm definitely going to check it out! Great post!

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  7. Yikes--crazy and sad about the cyclist! I'm so glad you found him and helped him out. Did you ever find out the outcome? And glad the week progressed better after that.

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    1. Actually, yes, he called me yesterday to thank me! He's back at work and doing well. He is going to court to testify against the paper man. All's well that ends well. He reminded me how lucky he was to be wearing his helmet. I'm so glad he's ok.

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