Sunday, August 10, 2014

Marathon training week 4: Drama mama

Oh, how I hate drama. But this week, personal drama was unavoidable. No need to recap. You can read all about it here. Thankfully, it was all over with in 24 hours. I was worried about the impact on my runs, but maybe in spite of all the trauma to my psyche, I was able to get my runs under control and eek out some awesome pacing.



Monday: rest day. Well, a rest day from running, anyways...

Tuesday: was supposed to be an 8 miler, but lack of sleep from the events of Monday left me lagging. This night, I did get a good night's sleep, since both my boys were home and I didn't have to worry about them.

Wednesday: I pulled up my bootstraps and hit the road for that 8 miler. I had an fantastic run, with consistent split times, averaging about 9:10mins/mile, which is about what I wanted for this distance. I felt good. This was the run I needed, the one I've been looking for since coming back from my injury. I was smiling from ear to ear. When I got home, I hit the mat for my scheduled yoga session. I did the SeaWheeze 2014 routine again. And went to work smiling and calm.


Thursday: Once again, I had mile repeats x 5 on the plan. My goal was to get myself through all 5, at a fast pace but with consistent times for all. I met that goal and was happy to see my splits:


That 8:18? Well, I think these look pretty good considering that I've been all over the place with this! My Spotify playlist was great and the last song was Rob Zombie's Never Gonna Stop Me, which spoke volumes to me, and got me home. Nice work, and yes, I'm patting myself on the back. Next up was Crossfit. I don't know what got into Becky. While I was warming up on the rower, I saw her carrying the prowler outside. Ok. When I went outside to start the workout, she strapped the sled to my back. And put a 20# plate on the sled. She had my push the prowler with the sled behind me. O...M...G...! My hamstrings were screaming! When I finished after my first lap, I fell to the ground. She started laughing while I caught my breath. Holy sh**! I did 2 more laps of that and we headed back inside. I was sweating profusely. Actually, I think it was my hamstrings crying.


After the prowler, she had me do progressive deadlifts x 5; 5 sets with max of 115#. In between sets, I did overhead squats with sandbags x 15. And to top it off, I had to do 15 burpees, as fast as I could. Which wasn't very fast. When I got home, I stretched and foam rolled.



Friday: thankfully a rest day. Surprisingly, I wasn't all that sore! My morning in the clinic went smoothly, and I was able to get outside for a brisk 30 minute walk at lunch, which felt great.

Saturday: 5 mile tempo run. Again, working on consistency, I kept my Garmin set on pace instead of miles. I was happy to see this at the end of my run: 


It isn't so much the pace that I was excited about, it was the pacing. Not much variation there, and that's what I'm working on! Now if I can bring that to 26.2...

Sunday: Long run of 12 miles on the plan. I started out slower, but still faster than I'd like. My goal pace is 9:30, this run ended up being about 9:20 mins/mile. It felt hard, tho. I'm not sure why--if my legs were tired from the week or if that extra glass of wine I had last night took a toll. The weather was really nice when I started, about 69F and overcast, with a light breeze to keep me cool. It was fairly humid and I really sweated a lot. I also had some issues with my music--somehow a whole album of Incubus songs got downloaded onto my playlist, and I had to keep stopping to fast forward past them. I just couldn't listen to it--this run was too hard and I needed my running music to push me. I fixed that problem when I got home. Kind of interesting, usually when I run at the retention pond where there is a 2 mile path, I'm usually one of the few runners, sharing the path with walkers and bikers. Today there were some speedy runners--I watched them fly by. I had to hold back not to try to keep up with them. I kept telling myself that I'm running long and slow today. My inner competitor wanted to come out, I guess!



So a few things to work on...pacing is improving, for sure, but I still need to focus on that. I need to do more foam rolling and stretching to keep everything loose. Now I'll be increasing my miles, which should help with my confidence. 

And I'm hoping for a drama-free week. I'm really glad I was able to push through it. Maybe because this week, my runs were the only thing I could control.





25 comments :

  1. Looks like you had another great week! I had a crappy one last week so I am hoping for a better one this week.

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    1. I'm just glad the running is going well. I needed it. I hope yours picks up!

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  2. I give you a lot of credit for holding back and not letting your competitive spirit come out. Because you are speedy!

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    1. LOL! But speed isn't going to get me to 26.2, consistency is!

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  3. I came across your blog on the Running N Reading Weekend Update Link-Up. I technically write a book blog, but am also a runner and am training for my first half marathon, so am writing about running for the link-up. Pacing is so hard - especially for me since I'm used to the shorter distances (10K max) and am now attempting long runs for the first time. I have a hard time dialing it back, especially in the beginning of the run! This week is a 7 mile long run, longer than I've ever run before...so I'll have to be really good about my pace :)

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    1. Good luck on your long run! I do love those long slow distance runs!

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  4. Wendy, your running looks great this week - congratulations! It has taken me a LONG time to get to the point where I can consistently pace myself; it's still only possible with help from my Garmin and really paying attention to how I feel. The humidity has been ridiculous; no wonder your 12-miler felt tough! Your CrossFit workout was crazy...I am bowing down to you, you just can't see it - ha! Great post! Thanks so much for linking up today!

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    1. Pacing is the hardest thing I've ever done. But I know I have to do it--I want to cross that finish line feeling strong, not dead like I did last time!

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  5. Oh my goodness! I am amazed that you are including Crossfit workouts within your marathon training regimen. It makes me tired just reading about it! Pushing the prowler with the sled behind you? WOW. Just WOW. Congratulations on an incredibly strong training week! And I'll have to check out the SeaWheeze yoga, thanks for sharing it!

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    1. But as you'll see, I'm not running as much as you do in a traditional training plan! Trying to keep my legs strong instead of breaking them down with lots of miles.

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  6. That prowler pic is too awesome. What a fun workout. And awesome runs this week! Here's to a no drama week, lol!

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    1. The funny thing is, that picture wasn't staged. I dropped the the ground (rather dramatically) after the first lap because I was dying! LOL! This crossfit stuff is pretty fun, even tho it's hard!

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  7. Yes it sure is nice to have something completely separate from work and kids that is all yours to lose yourself in!

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  8. you are KILLING it! that is awesome - nice nice work :)

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  9. Fantastic workouts! That CrossFit session looks like it was killer...probably why your legs felt tired on your long run. I hope this week is drama-free for you and that your runs go just as well as they did last week! :)

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    1. I think you're right, about the CF workout and heavy legs. And yes, no more drama please!

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  10. Woman...you are on FIRE!!! I am so proud of those numbers. You rocked last week. xoxo

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    1. Aww thanks! So we know I can do it...physically! But mentally? That's what I need to work on...

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  11. Looks like a good training week. Nicely done. Thanks for linking up with us.

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