Week 21: Getting lost, but still getting it done

Sorry I'm a little late this week in posting---we spent last weekend at a wonderful wedding and then yesterday the kids started school--so lots going on!

Training this week was a bit discouraging for me; after feeling pretty good about our 13 miler, our midweek runs felt worse and worse. My shins were aching, though never to the point I had to stop running; my right hip was sore; and my quads burned. By the end of our run Thursday night, Chris was suggesting a new schedule to break up our midweek runs instead of doing them three days in a row. Sounds good to me!

Taking Friday off really helped my aches and pains and Saturday I felt tired but ready to go. No shin pain at all, which was a huge relief. Since we were in an unfamiliar town for the wedding (well, we did live there over 10 years ago, but were not often in need of 10 mile running routes), I had researched routes on a few websites--try US Track and Field, map my run, or Runkeeper-- and found one that worked. Because it was somewhat twisty-turny, I wrote down the directions on an index card and carried it in my hand the whole way. Somehow we still managed to get lost twice, but luckily with some help from a fellow runner and Chris's good eyes we only went about .3 mile out of our way.

Weekly stats:

Tue 8/21      3.02 miles in 29:03 (possibly the root of my aches and pains later in the week--this was fast for us!)

Wed 8/22     7.04 miles in 1:14:50

Thu 8/23      4.02 miles in 43:37

Sat  8/25      10.31 miles in 1:50:00

Total miles:   24.39

Thanks for reading!

Week 20: 13 miles in one go!

This week we hit a milestone of sorts--our long run was 13 miles, which is a half-marathon (well, technically you have to go an extra tenth of a mile, but when you've run 13 miles, who cares!). While last week's 12 miler felt a bit tough, especially towards the end, this week's long run felt pretty darn good. That isn't to say we weren't tired the last few miles, but as far as major aches and pains, or an overwhelming desire to stop and never run again? No.

The situation was probably helped by the fact that the weather was a gorgeous 60 degrees AND we had friends Brian and Ryan along for part of the journey. It is always fun to run in new places and with new people!

I would like to update all of you on our fundraising efforts. The September 21 deadline is just about a month away and as of today we have raised $725 of the $1000 we have pledged to Fisher House. Thank you to everyone who has already donated! If you know of anyone who may be interested in supporting our cause, please share this blog with them.

Weekly Stats:

Tue 8/14       3.06 miles in 30:37

Wed 8/15      6.22 miles in 1:04:59

Thu 8/16       3.08 miles in 31:03

Sat 8/18        13.04 miles in 2:26:02  (just about the same as last week's pace, includes a walk while Chris had to take a call from work)

Total miles:  25.40 miles

Thanks for reading!

Week 19: He was right!

So it seems Chris was correct--things WERE back to normal this week. We had sore muscles, a lack of desire to run in the early morning hours, and somehow the fortitude to run 12 miles when our longest previous run was only nine. It is weeks like this that convince me a large part of marathon training is mental; telling yourself you can do something, manage one more mile (or even half a mile), has as much to do with success as the conditioning of your muscles and lungs. I was quite tired at mile 10 of our long run, and I really could have stopped---but my mind wouldn't let me. I had to keep going until I collapsed or threw up. Neither of those things happened, so I kept on going.

I also have to mention how crucial the support of a partner can be, especially on those tough long runs. I was strangely up and ready to go Saturday morning, while Chris slept on; I felt terrible waking him but wanted to beat the heat. He told me that I kept him going in those early sleepy miles, but I was extremely thankful for his support on those final few miles. His wonderful words of encouragement only solidified my own desire to finish strong (ie, still jogging and not crawling)!

Weekly stats:

Tue 8/7       3.05 miles in 30:05  (Chris had to miss this one due to a long workday. I went out midday and luckily the weather was nice!)

Wed 8/8     6.02 miles in 1:04:25  (we hit the trails and finished in the dark)

Thu 8/9      1.40 miles in 15:00  (we headed out late and got caught in a heavy thunderstorm--we were supposed to run 3 miles this day)

Sat 8/11     12.1 miles in 2:14:18  (a nice run on the Baltimore/Annapolis rail trail)

Total miles:  22.57

Thanks for reading!

Weeks 17 & 18: Some time off and a tough return

Greetings to all! I hope no one was too worried last week when I did not post; we took some family time away and could not run for various reasons. While our vacation was wonderful, it was a tough week to miss in training. We were scheduled to run 3-5-3 and 10 miles for our long run, and though we did a ton of walking and stair climbing, it really is not a substitute. In terms of overall fitness, I don't think we lost much, but in RUNNING fitness? Yeah, it was tougher than we thought it would be getting back on the road.

Upon our return, we picked up our training with week 18 as scheduled (well, except for the long run, see below). We did not want to injure ourselves, so we did take it a bit easier on pace, which was no problem due to the ever present heat and humidity! Our first run back didn't go too badly. The second one was dubbed a "slog" due to our slowed pace and the fact that we felt like we were running through a sauna. The third run was better as it was in the morning and we had the lovely company of Christy (and thanks to Adam for getting breakfast while we were pounding the pavement).

The long run was awful! We headed out early but the heat was already coming on. We were fatigued and sore from the weekday runs; within the first few miles I had to stop and stretch my calves and Chris and I both had to take a walk break. Now, we were only scheduled to run 7 miles---it was a step-back week---but we'd had a step-back week the week before (when we didn't run at all). Next week jumps up to 12 miles, and it seems impossible (for me) to do 9, 0, 7, and then 12. So we decided to cover 9 again, if possible, even if we had to walk.

So walk we did, mostly up hills, and we kept a slow pace and drank a lot of water. We called this run a "wog". In the end, we didn't quite hit 9 miles, and we probably walked about a mile, so I estimate we truly only ran 7.5 miles or so anyway.

Stats for Week 18:

Tue 7/31       3.05 miles in 30:46

Wed 8/1       5.01 miles in 55:47

Thu 8/2         3.04 miles in 30:43

Sat 8/4          8.51 miles in 1:36:48 (an 11:24 pace--even with walking, fast enough for us to complete the marathon if necessary)

Chris says he is sure we will be back to normal next week--I sure hope so! That 12 miler looming ahead is looking a little scary....

Thanks for reading!