Week 16: Weather and work try to bring us down

Training was a little tough this week---we had days in the upper 90s with high humidity and thunderstorms in the beginning of the week, and Chris had an extremely heavy workload--he was actually at work from 8pm Tue-8pm Wed (well, except for the 3 hour nap he had here from 2-5am). As our runs get longer, it gets harder to work around these things; finding 20-30 minutes to knock out a few miles is one thing, but finding 1-2 hours or more can be difficult. I have to admit this makes me nervous, especially as the days get shorter, but we will find a way!

Our weekly stats:

Run 1:  3.06 miles in 30:29 (this one was 615am as the day was very hot and humid)

Run 2:  2.63 miles in 38:24 (this was supposed to be 4 miles, but C was called in for an emergency--not that I was complaining. It was 8pm and still 93 degrees when we started! Too hot.)

Run 3:  4.23 miles in 42:40  (this one was supposed to be 3 miles but I wanted to make up for the lost distance yesterday so I went further. I did this one alone due to C's work commitments.)

Run 4: 9.16 miles in 1:35:40 or 95:40  (luckily the weather broke and it was only about 65 degrees and overcast when we went out. Chris was an awesome running buddy, especially on the hills. I sure felt tired afterward though!)

Total: 19.08 miles

Thanks for reading!

Week 15: Taking a step back

One aspect of this training plan that I like is that every few weeks, the long run is cut back. The mileage builds and builds, and then you get a nice recovery week where everything feels just a little bit easier. This week was such a week. After running six miles for two weeks, and then a seven miler last weekend, this week our long run was a more manageable five. Of course our next long run is scheduled for a whopping NINE miles, so we can't rest for long. Onward and upward!

In other news, we finally received our official Marine Corps Marathon entries from Fisher House and also signed up for the pre-race Pasta Dinner (sponsored by Newman's Own) being held Saturday October 27. This will be a great opportunity to meet other Fisher House runners and fuel up for the marathon!

Our weekly stats:

Tue  7/10    3.04 miles in 30:38

Wed  7/11    4.04 miles in 40:46 (this one we finished in the dark!)

Thu  7/12   3.05 miles in 30:53

Sat  7/13   5.04 miles in 52:56  (this one was tough--temp was upper 70s, humidity not too bad, but we went out at noon and the sun was hot....course also had a ton of hills and we actually took a water break at C's work while running by. I didn't bring my vest since I didn't think it would be so warm: lesson learned!)

Total: 15.17 miles

Week 14: La tortuga blanca

The white turtle, that's me! Pale as a ghost and slow as molasses. At least that's how I felt most of this week. It was dang hot, and running in the morning didn't always work out (rain, sore muscles, the call of the cold pillow), so we did a lot of sunset running. We don't mind this so much except that it seems to mess up our sleep patterns; we wake up a lot in the night when we run so close to bedtime. Not so much an issue for me since I can catch a nap if I need to, but poor Chris has to get to work whether he feels rested or not.

Weekly stats:

Tue  7/3   3.01 miles in 29:56 (our only morning run, out at 630)

Wed  7/4   3.01 miles in 30:33

Thu  7/5   3.05 in 31:00

Sun  7/8   7.03 miles in 1:19:17 (or 79:17---even though we went out at 745pm, it was still around 85 degrees, though less humid than it had been. We also ran on local trails to take advantage of the shade.)

Total:  16.1 miles

Thanks for reading!

Week 13: Second verse, same as the first

First week of official marathon training was pretty uneventful; in fact, we ran the exact same schedule as last week. The weather was again hot and humid and I experienced a little bit of lower leg swelling and calf tightness after our weekday runs, which made me worried that my problems from last summer might be returning (my compartment syndrome/shin splints/stress reactions also happened in the middle of summer around the time I'd built up to 6 miles or so). However, as I have no shin splint pain nor the leaden, heavy feeling I had before, I think it is really due to the weather; the symptom reminded me more of the edema I got while 8 months pregnant in a house without A/C, but to a markedly lesser degree.

Accordingly, for our long run this week we were up with the birds at 615am, and while it was by no means cool, it was more tolerable and we finished the run with no swelling to be found. It is a curious thing to me that many of our shorter runs, while feeling easier on the one hand, also leave us with more aches and pains---we often find ourselves needing less recovery and feeling better after our longer runs. Maybe because we are keeping a slower pace, or perhaps because our weekday runs have left us feeling more warmed up? Whatever the reason, I'll take it.

Our weekly stats:

Tue 6/26    3.07 miles in 29:44 (had to do this one alone as C had a long day)

Wed  6/27   3.07 miles in 31:14 (this one was late, we didn't finish until after 9pm)

Thu  6/28   3.16 miles in 33:01

Sat  6/30  6.07 miles in 1:04:03 (threw in a couple of hills mile 4, it was a toughie!)

Total:  15.37 miles

Thanks for reading!