Everything hurts

Well, I am three weeks out from my marathon and everything hurts.

And not in a good way. My training came to a screeching halt about 2 weeks ago after my first 20 miler.

The run itself was good. I consisted of 2 5-mile out and backs on my favorite running trail. There are a couple of people in my running group also training for the Rock n Roll Raleigh full and I have loved running with them. I had pleasant company and mentally breaking up the run into 4x5-mile segments was a great way to get the run done.

When my Garmin did hit 20 miles I stopped and walked and stretched a bit, but my legs just completely locked up. It was quite painful, but I just attributed it to having run my longest distance ever. I continued stretching and rested the next day.

In the week that followed I developed a pain in my left hip that radiated down my leg. I tend to suffer through some minor hip pain at least once per training cycle. I decided to rest for a couple of days and concentrate on yoga. This combo has always worked immediately in the past.

This time it isn't working as quickly, or at all for that matter. Right now I am existing on ice packs and Advil. My tiger tail massager is my constant travel companion. I am contemplating calling a sports medicine office. I am getting really nervous about not being able to run this race that I have been working so hard for.

Until I know any better, I keep stretching and icing and try to remain calm.

RNR Raleigh Training Weeks 7-11

I don't even know where to begin.

I tend to break my life up into three compartments: Family, Work, and Running. Right now all three are demanding my full attention and the unfortunate result is that I feel like I am falling short at all of them.

I'm happy that I am taking a relaxed approach to this marathon. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a time goal. But it is a modest one, my main goal being to finish strong and happy. I want to know if my body and mind can handle the higher mileage. This approach is making it easier to handle the unexpected snags that life is throwing at my training plan.

Over the past few weeks we've had a couple of big snow and ice storms. Perhaps you've heard the South doesn't exactly handle snow and ice well?

(Source)

Luckily it wasn't all bad!

In more rural areas like mine the roads were covered in ice for days with each storm, which meant that everything was closed, including my gym.

Despite missing more mid-week runs than I would have liked, the positive is that I have been getting in my long runs. I'm getting into the thick of the training and starting to hit mileage that is new for me.

Two weeks ago, I had a fantastic solo 16 miler. I set out to take it nice and easy. The result was evenly paced miles (a huge deal for me) from miles 1-12 and progressively faster miles for 13-16. Overall average pace was only 15 seconds slower than my goal pace. It was an amazing run.

This past weekend was an 18 mile run which I had been nervous about. We were running the same route we ran a few weeks back. During that 14 mile run the last two miles were straight up hill. I struggled a lot and was a bit demoralized by the end. This run was amazing. We took the pace nice and easy. I killed the hills at the end and felt fantastic at the end.

See? I look totally happy.

All in all, I feel like I am doing the best I can in terms of training. I don't want to sound like I am making excuses, but my reality is that I have a husband who works 70-80 hours a week, my own full time job, and two kids who have school, karate, swimming. I've been as flexible as I can fitting in my training and I trying to be proud of what I am doing rather than be disappointed in what I should be doing.

Luckily the weather seems to be changing for the better and I am super motivated to do the very best I can in these next 6 weeks.

RNR Training Weeks 5 & 6

Considering that I am halfway through week 7, I'd say this recap is a little late. But honestly there isn't much to write. Both of these weeks were a wash for different reasons. Since I am training to finish and simply cover the distance I am not overly concerned, but I am glad it happened in the beginning of my training cycle.

Week 5: aka the week of the Polar Vortex.

I missed my mid-distance hill run because it was bitterly cold and the kids' school was delayed. Other wise it was an ok week. I got in 4 runs for a modest total of 19.25 miles. Had I gotten that 6 extra miles I would have been right where I wanted to be for the week, but it is what it is.

• Wednesday: 4 mile treadmill speedwork consisting of 1 mile warm up followed by 4 x 0.5 mi repeats at increasingly higher speeds, 0.1m rest between, 0.5 mi cool down. This certainly made the treadmill a little more tolerable
• Thursday: Holy cow my quads were sore from the workout the day before! An easy 3 mile treadmill run flushed them out.  Core work afterwards.
• Saturday: 10 mile long run with my running group. Would have liked to have tacked on a couple more miles afterwards but some really strong storms were rolling in complete with tornado warnings. I thought it best to pack it in and go home.
• Sunday: 2.25mi on the treadmill before my yoga class.

Total miles: 19.25

Week 6: aka the week I find out how effective my flu shot was.

I woke up on Tuesday morning feeling not well at all. I sat in bed for a good 45 minutes contemplating getting up and going to the gym to get my workout in but in the end decided against it. I was feeling a little feverish and overall not well.  By about 10 o'clock I was on my way home from work because I was feeling progressively worse throughout the morning. By noon I was on my couch unable to move. I stayed home from work the next two days battling a mild case of the flu/strep throat. Needless to say there was no running at all.

I was feeling well enough on Saturday to attempt my long run with my running group. Whether or not it was the smartest idea, I will not say. It was a cold cold 13 miles. The last mile and a half was all uphill and I was definitely feeling tired, but I got it done.

Total miles: 13
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Overall I am not beating myself up. I feel I am doing the best I can with the time I have and I still have a lot more time in my training plan. I am just praying that this brutal winter weather will let up so I can spend a little more time outside.

RNR Raleigh Training Week 4

Maybe you heard on Twitter that it is a little cold outside? Here is my personal favorite way to stay warm! He's going to be too old and too cool to cuddle with his mama soon. I am soaking up every possible moment.

I have a feeling that when I start getting into the thick of marathon training -  a time when the newness of training for a new distance wears off but the race is still many weeks away - that I will look back on this week for some motivation.

So much seemed to go right for me this week:

• Monday - Rest 
• Tuesday - 4.6 miles to get to 700 for the year (200 miles over my original goal!)
• Wednesday - 3.1 miles to start the year off right.
• Thursday - 6 miles on my hilly route
• Friday - Rest 
• Saturday - 14 mile freaking cold long run
• Sunday - 2.5 shakeout miles on treadmill to hit my first 30 mile week. 1hr yoga class.

Total miles: 30.2

I am not really following a set training plan for this marathon. I know I want to run 4-5 times per week. I have my running group's long run schedule which I will start following once the weekly group runs hit 12ish miles. Until then I want to keep my long runs between 10-12 miles. During the week I want to run one run where I push my speed, one mid-distance hilly run and one or two short easy runs. Somewhere in there I will try to be more diligent about core work and cross/weight training.

This week was one of my first weeks running 5 days and my very first week hitting the 30 mile mark. I didn't set out to run my highest mileage week ever but between not having work this week and feeling great while running it just happened that way.

I am trying to be relaxed about the whole thing. My race pace is not too challenging for me since my goal is to finish this race healthy and happy. My "speedy" runs are based more on effort than actual numbers. Mostly I am experimenting with adding more running days to my week and running higher weekly mileages.

This week, everything seemed to go well. I ran in my neighborhood for the first time in a really long time and was able to crush 3 different hills that I used to have to walk up. I love seeing progress like that. My 6 mile run on my hilly trail also went really well.  I am starting to feel really strong on a couple of the steeper hills that traditionally give me trouble. My splits for the 6 miles were pretty even. Slow for me for sure, but usually they all over the place because of a few steep hills.

My long run was supposed to be 12 miles - 8 with my running group than 4 more miles afterwards. A couple of other people from my group were heading out for 6 more and told me that the particular trail was not a great place for solo runners. I was (easily) convinced to tack on the extra miles and ended up having a fantastic negative split run, despite the freezing temps.

Bare, frozen wetlands on my long run. I miss the color
green and temps that don't start with the number 1.

Mostly likely I won't see another 30-something week for a couple more weeks, but I really had some fun this week. My confidence is definitely high right now!

RNR Raleigh Training: Weeks 2 & 3

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of Christmas, road trips and running.

My devil elf.

Week 2: This was a crazy week between work and the kids' holiday events at school. The result in terms of running was nothing very impressive, just some more base building. A last minute trip to South Carolina cut out a 4th day of running for the week. But snuggles with my 7 week old nephew made up for it.

• Wednesday: 3.1 mile progression run with strides on the treadmill at the gym. Rush home so the hubs could get to work early
• Thursday: 5 miles on my go-to trail for hill training. Pretty chilly, but nice to be outside
• Sunday: 10 miles in South Carolina

Total miles: 18.1

We drove to South Carolina on a whim to visit my husband's sister and her 7 week old baby. I was able to find a rail trail in Greenville, which I was pretty excited about. I figured a rail trail would be a perfect place to run my long miles and not get lost. Famous last words. The first three miles wove through the downtown area with quite a few twists and turns. The trail was usually clearly marked, but there were times where I made a wrong turn, stopped and stared for a while before finding my way. When I was finally out of downtown the trail straightened out but I was almost immediately halted by a freight train stopped across the the trail. I waited for a while trying to figure out a way around and almost gave up and headed back when it finally started moving.  Just as I turned around at 5 miles the skies opened up and I spent the rest of the run in a torrential downpour with no rain gear. It was quite the experience, but I was grateful for the new scenery.

 

Week 3: Finally my schedule allowed me to add a 4th day of running to the mix, even with our second road trip within a week. 

• Tuesday: 3 treadmill miles
• Thursday: 6 miles on hills. This was a great run for me because it was the first time I made it all the way around a challenging 3 mile loop twice. It's been a goal of mine for a while now but I always manage to talk myself out of it.
• Saturday: 11 miles through Lancaster County, PA. This was definitely one of my favorite runs in recent memory. It was sunny, yet chilly and the scenery was just amazing.
• Sunday: 3 easy treadmill miles at the hotel

Total miles: 23

 

The Best of 2013

As per usual, I am a little late to the party, but I  sure do love Miss Zippy's Year in Review. 2012 was a pretty good year for me and I am psyched to say that 2013 was even better!  So let's get to it.

Best race experience?

This year was pretty stellar when it comes to racing. I PR'ed in the 8k, 10k, 10 mile and half marathon distances. It's too hard to pick just one race so I'm going to break the rules on the very first question and pick 2 races.  For the spring, my favorite memory is definitely the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I have wanted to run this race forever and it did not disappoint. I had a really strong run and had so much fun running through the streets of DC.

Without a doubt the Philadelphia half marathon will always be one of my favorite running memories. I have had the goal of a sub 2:30 marathon for 3 years now and I finally achieved it in my hometown. Coming off of a foot injury I worked hard all summer and it paid off this November!

Best run?

I had to think hard about this one but definitely my 12 miler in Boston wins the title this year. I love Boston so much and miss living there, so it was awesome to have the chance to go back this past September and run along the Charles and on paths where I first found my love of running. Everything came together perfectly and I had a really strong run that day.

I will always love that dirty water

Best new piece of gear?

I'd have to say my Garmin 10. This year I committed to the Galloway method of training and like having my GPS and interval timer all in one.

Best piece of running advice you received?

This comes from my amazing partner in crime running, Bang: "Stop running like an a$$hole". It might seem a little rough but, not only is it our sense of humor, but it came from a place of love. This year I've learned that pacing myself results in better overall times because I don't go balls to the wall in the beginning of a run only to blow up in the end because I wasted all of my energy in the beginning. I'm pretty sure this is the underlying reason for PRing in nearly every distance I raced this year.

Most inspirational runner?

This is easy for me. After years of running and training solo, I found an awesome running partner and friend. It is so much nicer and easier having someone by your side through all of the ups and downs of training, a cheerleader at races and a therapist when you are injured. This year has been great for my running and I owe a lot of it to her. (Now if only her own foot would get better, I miss her terribly)

#runlove

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? So much fun! I feel like I progressed so much this year and just had a great time doing it. Reeling from the confidence I've gained, I am so motivated for 2014 where I will attempt even bigger goals!

RNR Raleigh Marathon Training Week 1

Last week was the first week of my 18 week training cycle for my first full marathon!  I had the thought to keep up with the training on my blog so I can look back on it afterwards and remember what I've done and how far I've come. I'm not sure how interesting and entertaining it will be for others, but I'm going to give it a go anyways!

As far as a training plan goes, I have my running group's plan for the long runs, but the mid-week runs are up to me to figure out. I wish I had enough extra cash for a coach, but I don't so I am going to do my best to figure out on my own what works best for me and my family's schedule. I've been checking out a few different sources like Hal Higdon and the New York Times Run Well Blog (Thanks Courtney for sharing this with me!). I'll have to compare them and figure out something that will work. But for the early weeks of training I am going to try to get in definitely 2 and maybe 3 mid-week runs. Add that to 2 runs on the weekends for 4-5 days of running per week.

I have a modest time goal (5:30) so I won't necessarily be focusing on speed during my training, but rather time on my feet. And hills. Lots of hills to prepare myself for running in Raleigh.

For week 1 I was happy just to have some structure back into my running. I didn't have quite the week I planned, but overall I am happy with how it went.

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 3 easy miles on the teadmill + Core work

Wednesday - Sleep (after 3 nights of not being able to sleep, I slept right through the alarm. I needed it and didn't beat myself up over missing this run)

Thursday - 4.3 miles on the treadmill with the 2 middle miles at HMP. This run was just plain fun.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 10 miles. 4 miles with my running group + 6 solo miles. Felt great to be out there for a long run since this was my first double digit run since the Philly half.

Sunday - I had planned for 3 easy miles but when this face is begging you to bake Christmas goodies with her you don't say no. Christmas memories >>> easy miles.

She's a goober.
We set a family PR in rice krispy treat eating.

Total miles: 17.3

Overall, there's definitely room for improvement. Missing 2 runs in my first week does not bode well, but it was a nice gentle transition back into training after 3 weeks off.