Big Sur Marathon Training--Week 3

Last week's recap ended after that long run in the polar vortex. That brutal 12 miler on Sunday really wrecked me, and I was as sore the next day as I have ever been after a marathon! Anyways, I did a lot of foam rolling, and by Tuesday, was ready to hit the road again. Here's the recap of my week.

Monday: Scheduled rest day

Tuesday: I had a 6 miler on the plan. It was still pretty cold but the sun was shining and I wanted to catch the sunrise. These winter sunrises have been spectacular! This was not a bad run at all, and I even stopped to do a side plank. Because there's always time to strike a pose. 6.25m/8:50m/m

snowy side plank

Wednesday: It was sunny and 32 and I made the decision to take my speedwork to the road. My treadmill is not calibrated correctly, and my treadmill mile splits have been messing with my head. I know, mind over matter, right? But I really wanted to go outside. So I drove over to the retention pond with the 2 mile loop where I did all my speedwork training for my last 2 marathons. Unfortunately, the park district didn't plow the path from Tuesday's snow, and I didn't think it would be safe for me to run fast there. Disappointed, I headed back to my neighborhood, and made the decision to run on the streets around the big park where I take all those running selfies. I had mile splits x5 to do, and away I went. When I took off my hamstrings both gave me a little twinge, as if to say, hey, WTF do you think you are doing? But they cooperated, and even though the people who live on those streets probably thought I was a freaking lunatic, I got it done and then some. 6 loops around took me back to my car and what I saw on the Garmin astonished me: 8:04, 7:55, 8:02, 7:59, 7:53. You betcha. And now I have a new place to do my speedwork.

Boom! Don't mess with me! 

After that I went to yoga. The theme was twisting, and naturally, we did a lot of twisting poses. I was really stiff at first, but it was good medicine after running like I did. My instructor introduced a pose which was new to me. It's called Brigid's Cross. I could not find a picture of this one anywhere! I can only describe this pose like a reclined revolved triangle on the mat, a pose which is a challenge for me standing up! It was tough. I felt really good after class though. 

Thursday I rode an hour on the bike. I found an cycling interval video on YouTube made by CTXC. Their videos are pretty good, except that for the majority of this video I "rode" behind a guy in white shorts again. Ugh! He did have a black panel that was strategically placed, so I should be grateful for that, right? After I finished, I sat in hero's pose to stretch out my quads. Still feeling twisty from yesterday, I threw in a twist. I hoped to twist that image of the guy's white bike shorts out of my brain. Oh, and I also needed to loosen up for my workout with Becky. 

Twisted hero's pose

After that, I went to see Becky. This was a drop down week for me, meaning lower weights. But higher reps, naturally. I did cleans into front squats and deadlifts again. Then she put a resistance band around my waist and my knees and had me squat onto a bench while she pulled on the resistance band. Hello hamstrings!

Squats with resistance bands

Friday was another scheduled rest day.

Saturday was predicted to be sunny and warm! The winds, which were hurricane-like on Friday, were down to a gentle breeze. I was out early to get my run in before I had to go to work. It was 48 degrees and I caught a beautiful sunrise. I also caught some speed. Hello, old friend! I'm glad to have you back again. 5.52m/8:27m/m

This run made me so happy!

Sunday I had 8 miles on the plan. The weather conditions were so much better than last Sunday's--it was 37F, no wind, but overcast. I decided to run to the retention pond. I started out fairly quickly and tried to reign it in, but my legs wouldn't have it. My foot felt good, so I went with it. I finished up at my house with a huge smile on my face! This was a quick one! 8.42m/8:34m/m.

Mid-run triangle pose

Mantra for the week: "Trust the process".

No kidding.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the week and my progress. Although I'm not running Big Sur for time, I'm happy to know that I can still knock out some fast mile splits. I had a slow start to 2016, and I was worried that the inevitable slowing down with age was starting to happen. Not yet. Whew. 

I really have to credit my coach--I have to believe that all this hard work she makes me do is paying off once again on the road. I do trust the process because this has happened every damn time we do a strength cycle. Hard work pays off.

Now, if I could just get that PF to go away, things would be darned near perfect. Is that too much to ask? While it's not any better, it sure isn't any worse, and for that, I am grateful.

How was your week? Any successes or achievements? Is the weather getting more tolerable by you?

I want to welcome everyone from Kristen's Blog Hop! Today's my showcase day, and I'm excited to share my training log with you. This is what it's all about for me. Running is my metaphor for life. Work hard, dream big. And never ever give up.

I'm also linking up this post with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap! As always, they are the hostessses with the mostest! Check out what everyone else has been doing. 

5 new things to love on the run!

It's the month of love, right? I've been trying out some new fitness related items! Besides the SLS3 Dual Pocket Run Belt that I'm reviewing and giving away below, what else am I loving on the run? Or the bike....or the mat?

For inspiration: 
For Christmas, my sister gave me a Momentum wrist wrap with the mantra "just breathe" written on it. I'm sure she had no idea that so far this year I would need frequent reminders to do just that. I wear that bracelet every day and am grateful for the prompting. I just love it. My friend Zenaida hosted a giveaway on her blog, and I won a Momentum wrap from her! That one reads "stronger than yesterday". Sometimes I wear both. I need all the reminders I can get to stay tough! Since you can customize the mantras, you can make the wrap all your own. I had one made for my coach Becky with her favorite mantra "good vibes only". I can't believe she didn't already have one. I also ordered a wrap for one of my little patients who just finished a year and a half of chemo and radiation. Hers says "you are your own superhero". She is my superhero.

photo courtesy of Momentum designs

For fun!
One of my readers, Barbara Valentin, reached out to me about the book club. She's an author of contemporary romance novels and wanted to know if I would be interested in reading her book, False Start (affiliate link). The story is about a newspaper reporter who gets assigned to train for and run the Chicago Marathon. The catch is that she has to work with a coach, who just happens to be her ex fiance's brother. While this isn't the book genre we read for the book club, the book sounded like it would be a fun read. Valentin offered to send me a copy for my kindle, free of charge. Valentin is a great storyteller, and this light entertaining read would be enjoyable for anyone looking for something fun to read. Plus it's about running, and that's a win!

affiliate link

For the bike:

So it's no secret that I've been spending time on the bike trainer. I really enjoy this form of cross training. But how to track my speed, my cadence, and my miles when I'm not moving forward? I did my homework, and instead of buying a bike computer, I bought the Wahoo Blue SC Speed and Cadence sensor. (affiliate link) This device works via bluetooth with my iPhone. It's compatible with Android as well. I downloaded the Wahoo fitness app, but you can use it with a variety of fitness apps. Being a numbers person, it's been fun tracking my rides. I'm looking forward to the warm weather rides and road testing it.

affiliate link

But wait...how do I use my iPhone on the bike? Have no fear, there are plenty of handlebar mounts out there. Again, I did my homework and chose the Koomus Bike2Go Universal Smartphone Bike Mount Holder Cradle (affiliate link) (KB2GUSBMHC for short). I had my son install it for me, which he did in no time flat. I love it. The cradle is adjustable and holds a variety of phones. You can also adjust the tilt. There's a tether that inserts into your headphone jack in case the phone slips out of the mount. I've only used the KB2GUSBMHC on the trainer, so I'll fill you in on it's performance once I'm back on the road.

affiliate link

For the run:
Ok, now to that SLS3 Dual Pocket Run Belt. I knew that when SLS3 asked me to review it that I was already going to like it. Double Pockets? Yes, please. Waterproof? Yes, please. You know I love my SpiBelt. But even though it stretches, it doesn't hold everything I need. Plus I hate having everything all in one pocket. I'm always afraid I'm going to drop something and lose it.  The SLS3 Dual Pocket Run Belt solves that problem for me. Now I have a pocket for my phone and one for everything else. The pockets are large enough to hold my iPhone6. The waterproof material is a plus since I run outside no matter what the weather. It comes in a variety of colors. The belt is wide, adjustable, and comfortable. The only problem I had was since I like to wear the belt low around my hips, it would tend to slide up and I had to keep adjusting it. Other than that, I really can't recommend this belt enough. I'll be taking it out for a long run this weekend, so we'll see how it really performs!

you know that's not me!
photos courtesy of SLS3 and Amazon.com

What running/fitness gadgets are you loving lately? Any running related books you want to recommend?

It's a wrap!

It's the end of the year as we know it...

It's time to take down all the holiday decorations and get back to my regularly scheduled life. But first, I've got a few loose ends to tie up here on the blog. The Weekly Wrap, hosted by Tricia and Holly, is the perfect place to do it! You may want to check out what everyone else is posting and while you are there, wish Tricia and Holly good luck on the WDW Marathon, happening next weekend!

So let's get this party started! First things first, a few leftovers from 2015:

I did a data dump with my Garmin and found all kinds of fun statistics. I'm kind of a numbers geek. My Forerunner 10 gave me a surprisingly large amount of interesting (at least to me) data. I've summed it all up in this fun infographic:

This week I received a few reminders of some awesome events I participated in this fall.

My official Chicago Marathon participation certificate arrived:

In case there was any doubt.

I also received some photos from the Underground Polar Express run that I participated in a few weeks ago. A fun day with friends, it was a great event for a good cause. I'll be back. So fun.

Me, Marcia, and Sara

Never one to miss a photog! But check out the shirtless guy behind us. Really? In December? At a Santa run?

This past week, I hit my final goal for 2015, that #RunThisYear goal of 2015 kms/1252 miles that I set for myself one year ago. That is my highest yearly mileage ever, and this was my first year ever that I didn't miss any time on the road for injury. I am thrilled with that, and I need to give credit to my coach Becky, who has worked hard with me to strengthen and balance my glutes, hips, and hamstrings. She also developed a marathon training plan for me which was tough, but effective. Low miles, lots of cross training, and plenty of mental toughness sprinkled in.

As promised, after this run, I hung up my running shoes to devote some time to recovery. Hoping my hiatus will be brief. But I need to get this PF under control. My love/hate relationship with my faux Strassburg sock continues. Got heel lifts? Downward dogs? Compression sleeve? Foot strengthening? Did you even know this was a thing? According to this article, it is THE thing for PF.

So yes, I'm doing those heel lifts. What else can I do?

The first thing I did was treat my feet to a pedicure on New Year's Eve. Afterwards, I slipped on my new Oofos sandals, which I won from Kim at Kooky Runner. I think I'm in love. Let's just say these flip flops are my new favorite thing! Have you tried them yet?

It's all about the pretty toes...and the super comfy shoes!

I also went to see Becky for my weekly workout--she had me doing more cleans, front squats, and deadlifts. Since she's a corrective exercise specialist as well as an endurance coach, I asked her for any advice she could give me that I wasn't yet doing for my foot. She talked with me about doing some arch rolling on the lacrosse ball as soon as I get up in the morning, before I even stand up.

Since Becky was on board with my plan to take some time off running, I was able to leave the CrossFit box with a bike trainer to use for the winter. Can you say win?

Thanks to YouTube, I rode for an hour on Saturday through the Italian countryside and on Sunday, I rode along the beach and up a mountain. I'll be sharing more about indoor bike training in a separate post, but let's just say it is a worthy successor to the treadmill. Equally as boring and tough. I wore my heart rate monitor to make sure I was getting a decent workout, and I stayed in "the zone". Oooh, the pain! The sweat! My husband had to turn on the ceiling fan. I chugged my Nuun hydration throughout.

Completely non-running related but worth a mention: I went to see the movie Sisters with my sister Lisa. We had heard that the movie had received mixed reviews. But it's Tina Fey and Amy Pohler! We both thought it was hilarious. In fact, we laughed so hard we cried. If you liked Bridesmaids, you'll like this one. There are so many one-liners that I can't remember them all.

We decided that we need to up our dance game. Not that we ever had one...

What did you do this week? Ready to go back to reality? Seen any good movies (besides Star Wars?)