Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #15

April 29, 2017 - Mel

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Vermont City Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!

vermont city marathon training week 15 blog

All bundled up for the Illinois half marathon, SO CLOSE to race day, and Chocolate Milk forever and ever. Amen.

It’s crazy to think that I’m on this “other side” of marathon training. With less than 5 weeks until race day, I’ve experienced about every type of weather forecast and every type of emotion. And to be truthful, I really wish training was over. I know that it’s good to have this insight having DONE all this training thus far to maybe not do a 20-week training program next time and that I’m capable of getting through the next few weeks. Though my focus and resolve to deal with every day bullshit (and the weather) has waned, and I’m really ready for it all to be over. Only a few more weeks until taper time, but I already feel like giving up.

And yes, I’ve got another marathon yet that I am training for this year. I KNOW.

This week I was proud to get all my runs done (despite having messed up my watch somehow TWICE), and I did all my strength and core workouts. *fist bump*

MONDAY Rest day. OH GLORIOUS REST DAY.

TUESDAY An easy run on the schedule, ending with 6×20 Strides and my at-home kettlebell strength workout. My warm-up routine for this day starts with foam rolling, and besides my calves, everything feels OK. Somehow, I messed up my watch when I got an incoming text — and somehow forwarded to my splits, and had to restart the workout. I finished 1.15 miles on the first cycle (12:01 average pace) and 5.44 total miles on the 2nd cycle.

Mile 2-6 Splits: 11:47, 11:51, 11:49, 11:56, 11:54

Felt really MEH about this easy run, but got it done. And then I felt like I tweaked something in my right knee coming out of a side plank. I guess it’s time in marathon training where THAT starts happening, too.

WEDNESDAY Another easy run, ending with 4×20 Strides and a core workout. Despite the weather not being too bad during the week, I opted for both easy runs on the treadmill. I messed up my first Stride by almost forgetting about having to do them, and stopped the treadmill.

4.27 miles / 11:50 average pace

Lots of foam rolling before bed, and spent some additional time with my Moji foot roller on my arches.

THURSDAY Rest day

FRIDAY It was nice to have a short week at work, taking a PTO day to drive out to Illinois for the 5K in the evening. Read my recap of Race 1 of the Half I-Challenge at the Illinois Marathon.

I was supposed to take it easy and have fun. Though I’m pretty sure that a PR is not exactly easy – but it felt easy! And I had fun! I mean, I was definitely sweating by the end of it and had that “high” of being able to push myself to the finish. Bonus: I ran by feel and didn’t look at my watch until I crossed the finish line. THAT FELT AWESOME.

Splits: 9:31, 8:41, 8:38

SATURDAY Read my recap of Race 2 of the Illinois Marathon Half I-Challenge (the Half Marathon).

A cold day for the race, but my cranky mood about weather turned quickly when I realized how much fun EVERYONE was having (I wanted to have fun!). My official finishing time made this my 2nd fastest half marathon. I felt strong; it felt easy. Go read my recap!

10k split: 1:04:45 [10:26 pace] 10 mile: 1:43:21 [10:21 pace] 12.4 mile: 2:07:13 [10:16 pace] finish: [10:09 pace]

SUNDAY Rest (and travel) Day — back home to Iowa and time to eat ALL THE THINGS.

WEEKLY RUNS: 4 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 27.16 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 301.72 miles

Only a month away until Race Day! Still time to register and join me in Burlington, Vermont for the Vermont City Marathon: Use code BibRave10 to save $10 on your registration!

Race Recap: The Illinois Half Marathon — Race 2 of Half I-Challenge

April 23, 2017 - Mel 1 Comment

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to The Illinois Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Illinois half marathon bibrave blog

Catch up onPart 1 of my Illinois Marathon race weekend and expo recap. For this post, I’ll recap the half marathon and summarize my overall experience in Champaign-Urbana.

illinois half marathon bib race weekend

And hey, I ran my 10th half marathon!

The college was celebrating its 150th birthday, and race day was a PARTY. When the Race Directors said that the city gets behind this race, they really meant it. And with the spectators having so much fun, I was feeding off that energy.

Illinois marathon race weekend birthday cake

Location: Champaign-Urbana, Illinois!

Registration and Cost: As my disclosure states above, I received a free entry to the Half I-Challenge series. If you register for the race early, you can run the half marathon for as cheap as $60. There are several incremental increases as the race approaches; expo registration (pending availability) went as high as $90. The Half I-Challenge for the half marathon and 5K starts at $85 and goes up to $140.

Pre-Race: The communication from Illinois Marathon RDs was EXCELLENT leading up to race weekend. They utilized Facebook and Twitter and interacted with participants, and sent out several emails regarding race info, packet pickup, and after parties.

Illinois half marathon flat runner

Swag: Each race had its own drawstring race bag and t-shirt. The half marathon shirt is great — a bright neon yellow short-sleeved tee with a more breathable tech material. I also love that it’s v-neck. The drawstring bag for the half has a mesh back and extra zippered pocket in the front. I have SOOOOOO many drawstring race bags now; I wish that there was only one for the Challenge runners.

Weather: While I knew it was going to be chilly, race day was downright COLD — at the start it was feels like temp of 35. I was a little cranky about it, but also glad that I had an extra long sleeve. It was also pretty windy, so that added to my pre-race chill.

Course: The course for the half marathon was basically flat — and it was fast. A lot of it was run through neighborhoods and some through paved trails in a park, but none of it was boring.

Illinois half marathon course map

Start Line: Definitely not as crowded as the day before (thankfully). Not the same start location as the 5K, but still on campus near the Stadium and only a .5 mile walk from my hotel. There were wave starts and a countdown for each start.

Illinois half marathon start line blogger

Aid Stations: There is an oranges station sponsored by Meijer around mile 6, which was a nice surprise (I love oranges during races!). There were a few hydration stations with water and some with Gatorade (I missed the first Gatorade stop because I didn’t realize until I was already at the water tables). I got a strawberry-banana GU (my favorite!) at mile 6.5-ish, too. I was able to store my GU for later on when I had some awful stomach grumbling from hunger (I carried some Figgies & Jammies with me, but didn’t feel like “eating” during the race).

Finish Line: Muscle Milk (chocolate and vanilla) and bottled water on the field. I walked all the way up the stadium seats until I realized that I forgot to pick up my Challenge medals back in center field. After walking back UP the stairs, I saw the signs…

ERMAGAHD GLUTEN-FREE PASTA AVAILABLE IN THE CONCESSION STANDS!!!

illinois marathon post race gluten free pasta

I was more than a little excited (thanks, Biaggi’s!).

Fans and Experience: Crowd support was probably the most engaging and fun of any race in which I participated. There were signs everywhere (my favorite: “We’re blocked in our driveway, run faster!”) and spectators lined the streets and neighborhoods — high-fiving and cheering and handing out samples of beer and makeshift water stops and tissues to runners. I find some of the larger races to be overwhelming with people, but this was the perfect amount of energy; I was really feeding off it. It reminded me a bit of the neighborhood support when I did the Akron relay.

I particularly loved the genuine “Welcome to Champaign” (was that the mayor?) greeting as we ran through the downtown area and the “Finnish Line” (hilarious!). There were Cheer Zones and live music (I loved the multi-instrument band with the accordion and brass — I wish I caught the name of their group) and even Elvis! The entertainment was awesome throughout the course. Around 8-9 miles in, some friendly neighbors were passing out cups and cans of beer — not for me, obviously but if there was something gluten-free, I may have taken something; I was sincerely loving the energy.

Even better, the RUNNERS seemed to all be having equal fun.

illinois marathon finish in memorial stadium

After Party: The 27th Mile celebration was just outside Memorial Stadium, similar to the party the night before — free beer for participants and free cake and live music. After walking back to my hotel room, it was breakfast, a hot shower and a long nap; and then a friend drove in to hang out over night. I needed to fuel, so it was (gluten-free!) burgers and buffalo chicken dip at Scotty’s Brewhouse first, and then we drank wine and ate stinky cheese and caught up in the hotel room afterward. The weekend overall was a total blast.

illinois marathon post race drinks — Water, chocolate milk, coffee… I like options (and the hotel was EXCELLENT at keeping the breakfast going a little late for runners)

OVERALL
The Great: THIS RACE WAS AWESOME. SO FUN. ALL CAPS.
The Good: I negative split the 2nd half of my race — WHOOP!
The Bad: Blah, weather. Tolerable, but I thought winter was over!
The Ugly: As runners are approaching the stadium for the finish line, the course kinda narrows; well, I came up to a band of walkers spanned across the distance. It was irritating, and I got a little run rage-y — I may have yelled at them to move left (sorry).

TL;DR: My weekend in Illinois was incredible. A 5K PR and my 2nd fastest half marathon time — and probably the best overall race energy and experience. They put on a great event there in Champaign-Urbana, and if you’re looking for some fun (or a PR), I would definitely add this race to your calendar.

Splits:
10k split: 1:04:45 [10:26 pace] 10 mile: 1:43:21 [10:21 pace] 12.4 mile: 2:07:13 [10:16 pace] Finish: [10:09 pace]

Illinois half marathon finish line

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2:12:55

Illinois marathon half marathon finishers certificate

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #14

April 17, 2017 - Mel

vermont city marathon blog runner

Love the light at this time of year, hanging out with my foam roller and other trigger point apparatus, and why does yoga give me hives???

Thankfully, I was able to shake off my training funk during a couple awesome-feeling easy runs. There’s something that happens in the span of a short half-hour run that allows for freedom to explore emotions tied to marathon training — rather than dreading the hours-long trod of long runs (maybe with too much time to think or your emotions to run the gamut). The lightness of running for fun returns, and then I feel full of hope again and ready to go to work.

MONDAY Rest Day — plus a massage after work. My session felt pretty mediocre, which is disappointing (as I’ve been seeing the same massage therapist for several months now). I’m hoping she was just having an off day, but it was bad enough for me to consider maybe scheduling my next appointment with someone else. Bummer.

TUESDAY Easy and Strides and strength workout all on the schedule. I felt OK enough to get in my easy run outdoors… but didn’t feel like doing either my Strides or my strength workout. I know, I know. I feel you judging me! But the weather was beautiful, so I was at least able to finish my 5 miles outside.

5 miles / 50:13 / 10:02 average pace

Splits: 9:50, 10:10, 10:04, 10:07, 9:59

vermont city training in iowa blogger

WEDNESDAY I opted to do Wednesday’s Intervals 8×400 workout on the treadmill to target consistent paces. And looking back, my 400s were considerable slower during this workout than they were a few weeks ago. Yuck.

5.98 total miles / 1:03:55 / 10:42 average pace

warm-up 12:04
1: 7:57 (pace) / 11:46
2: 7:51 / 11:55
3: 7:51 / 11:57
4: 7:59 / 11:52
5: 8:26 / 11:55
6: 8:20 / 11:51
7: 8:27 / 11:51
8: 7:53 / 11:57
cool down 12:09

THURSDAY Another solid Yoga Roots class. I took an extra 20 minutes before class started to lie in the yoga room in savasana and just BE STILL. It felt incredible. And then I broke out into a rash again mid-way through the class. ?

FRIDAY Rest Day! And lots of foam rolling before bed.

Vermont City Marathon training week 14 blogger — My Capital Striders buddies for this week’s 20-mile route — at one of our water stops sponsored by Fitness Sports.

SATURDAY The big fat 20-miler! Yes, I’m 6 weeks away from my marathon date, but I have 2 20-milers and another 22 on my plan. I know that I can easily run a half marathon distance. I’m confident even that 15 is challenging but doable. But I need practice on that really bad place around 18 miles in; hence, why I’m actually happy that my training is structured as such. I’m also not sure of my fueling strategy yet; I repeated what I used on a long run a couple weeks ago to see if it would get me through my 20… and I was getting indigestion from the Cytomax, which I’ve never previously experienced. SIGH.

There were a lot of moments during this run where I had to remind myself: How do I feel right now?

I was constantly doing a body assessment — what feels good and what doesn’t — to get myself present and not thinking ahead. Think about the mile you’re in… That’s one of the most important things for me right now in training. I already know these long runs will be hard (spoiler alert: it was). But thinking about that at Mile 4 won’t do me any good.

vermont city blog running training

The 20-mile course with the Capital Striders took us from Drake University all the way to the Fairgrounds, back through downtown, up Ingersoll and back to campus. I actually really enjoyed the route!

I did look to my 2015 marathon training to see what time I completed my 20-miler then (I only did one in that training cycle) — I finished this run 5 minutes faster. Cool thing to look at and compare for a little perspective.

SUNDAY Happy Easter! I felt weighted down by all the food and drink from the holiday and never completed my Recovery run. I apparently have hit the point in marathon training where I keep making excuses not to do my workouts. At least I foam rolled again before bed? So, yeah, I need to stop that!

WEEKLY RUNS: 3 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 30.98 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 274.56 miles

Join your fellow runners in Burlington! New discount for Vermont City Marathon: Use code BibRave10 to save $10 on your registration!

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #13

April 14, 2017 - Mel

Hal Higdon quote I continued running

I’m pretty sure that I CONTINUED will be tattooed on my forehead at the end of all this.

I went through a super funky funk in Week #13. Here was my original note:

This was not a successful training week for me — and I’m generally feeling bummed out. I know you can’t rush marathon fitness, but I feel as though I should be better conditioned than how I feel during my runs (particularly my easy ones). I have my first 20-miler next weekend, and I just don’t know if I can do it.

But I feel completely opposite of that feeling as I’m sitting here today. I’m EXCITED about Saturday’s 20-miler, and despite feeling really fucking tired (sorry… ear muffs), I know that I CAN do it. So: SHUT UP, BRAIN.

MONDAY I should have looked at my training plan earlier; I didn’t realize that my strength workout was scheduled. I rested.

TUESDAY Easy run day, followed by a core workout. This run felt really good – and I must have been running the right effort level because I felt like I could have run 5 more miles.

57:48 / 11:32 average pace

Splits: 11:40, 11:31, 11:29, 11:27, 11:28

WEDNESDAY I had Intervals on my training schedule and took another rest day. We originally had our Broadway subscription tickets on Friday evening, but we changed our tickets since I had to wake up super early on Saturday to drive out to the Hawkeye race.

vermont city marathon training yoga cross training blogger

THURSDAY My weekly yoga class at Life Time Fitness; felt really strong and class was much-needed.

FRIDAY Rest for my 25k! Spent some time foam rolling before bed.

SATURDAY Drove out to Solon, Iowa for the Hawkeye 25k — a trail course and my first 25k race! Race recap coming soon. I wish I could have enjoyed it more (though I certainly did enjoy parts of the course), but I was too deep in my funk to really have fun. My effort level felt harder than what I thought it should be and I couldn’t push past the negative thoughts.

After finishing the 15.2 miles of the course, I ran another 2.08 miles. Those last miles were SO SLOW that I gave up trying to complete the one additional that I needed to make 18 for the day.

15.18 miles / 2:52:11 / 11:20 average pace

2.08 miles / 25:35 / 12:20 average pace

SUNDAY I waited until late evening to complete a run on the treadmill (after eating a bunch of tacos! haha) and followed my run up with another core workout.

2.06 miles / 25:13 / 12:13 average pace

vermont city marathon training BECAUSE — BECAUSE.

WEEKLY RUNS: 3 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 24.32 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 243.58 miles

Join your fellow runners in Burlington! New discount for Vermont City Marathon: Use code BibRave10 to save $10 on your registration!

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #12

April 6, 2017 - Mel

vermont city marathon training blog traveling runner

March mileage, a hot-and-sweaty Texas run, and How to Spot a Traveling Runner

I looked back my training blogs from my first marathon at the same training week, and I am consistently in awe of how I was able to run that race. Though I do miss run-commuting from work! And check out that comment about gels. Maybe I need to buy those lemon shortbread cookies again?

I’m in that part of training where I’m reconsidering all my choices to do marathons. This week, my brain is going to unhappy places and I’m finding all the excuses to cancel the remainder of my race calendar for summer and go back to racing half marathons. Or something. I know this will pass, but it’s an awful negative loop.

Blame it on the Texas heat for my mood maybe.

But this reminds me that I need to find my mantra for this race. Because things are bound to get ugly.

MONDAY My usual rest day. I had a great call with my coach — who had just finished her own Ragnar relay. So I got to pick her brain A LOT in preparation of my first adventure. One piece of advice she gave was to GET OUT OF THE VAN and lay flat whenever possible. It ended up being the best advice.

TUESDAY An easy run day on the treadmill at home — starting with some foam rolling and ending with a set of Strides.

4 miles (plus an extra .4 for the Strides) / 49:22 / 11:06 average pace

WEDNESDAY Tempo Run! We’ve been having some really unpredictable weather in Iowa, so it was another treadmill day. I’m not made about it, but sometimes doing speed work can be difficult. Like, are you supposed to have negative splits in your middle fast miles?

5 miles / 53:02 / 10:36 average pace

Splits: 11:04, 10:25, 10:04, 9:48, 11:41

THURSDAY Traveling Day — off to Austin, Texas for Ragnar Luckenbach

FRIDAY First day of Ragnar! I don’t want to spoil the race recap too much, but my first leg was 7.6 miles. And it was hot.

SATURDAY Ragnar Day Two: I had two legs — 2.75 miles in the middle of the night (yay!) and another 6.85 miles in the afternoon (still hot!).

SUNDAY Since this was my first trip to Austin, we walked around and explored downtown, including some of the riverfront trail. I honestly felt really good, considering what I put my body through over the prior three days.

WEEKLY RUNS: 5 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 26.7 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 219.26 miles

I also had 104.1 total miles for March — my biggest mileage month ever. CRAZY!

Join your fellow Maniacs in Burlington! New discount for Vermont City Marathon: Use code BibRave10 to now save $10 on your registration!

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #11

March 29, 2017 - Mel

vermont marathon training traveling run blogger

Running in shorts, running in birds, and running on new trails…

Earlier in the week, I decided that the combination of my “new” office location and the late start of yoga didn’t work for me, so I took it off my weekly schedule. I’ll be returning to my former office space next week, so I’ll be back to my 25-minute commute. Whomp, whomp. I had plans on Tuesday night, so swapped my usual Monday Rest Day to include an easy run — and then took ANOTHER rest day because I was just generally feeling like poop.

The good thing is, the workouts that I DID do, felt awesome. I mean (*spoiler alert*)… besides the long run in the rain. Having a confidence-boosting week — and finding the “wins” even in these tough runs — was a really good push over the halfway hump in my marathon training.

MONDAY YAY! They finished the paved trail by my house, and I now have a completed 4-mile loop nearby. The weather was brisk (probably too much so for shorts!) but pretty great considering how long winter has stuck around. I got in 4 miles + a set of Strides.

4.32 miles / 4:48 / 10:22 average pace

Splits: 10:25, 10:13, 10:14, 11:17

1: 6:16 / 10:54
2: 6:55 / 10:33
3: 6:46 / 11:21
4: 7:11 / 10:22

TUESDAY Scheduled Rest Day, since I had wine/dinner plans after work.

WEDNESDAY I felt like CRAP – tired, unmotivated and really stressed out. I didn’t run. And then I felt crappier because I “kitchen-sinked” my husband after he had been traveling for a couple days. SIGH. Moving on…

THURSDAY It’s like someone flipped a switch on my mood, and I was so glad that I delayed my run a day. I felt AMAZING — and my paces proved it.

5.75 mi / 57:37 / 10:01 average pace

10:23
9:04 (14:33)
8:32 (12:37)
8:49 (13:43)
10:35

Man, that was a confidence builder run! ? I used the sidewalks and trails around my neighborhood again because it was SO NICE and so many people were out and YAY SPRING IS COMING. I kept passing the same couple in different directions on the trail, and it kind of cracked me up.

FRIDAY Rest + foam roll

SATURDAY Well, this training run goes right in the memory books: 40 degrees, rain the ENTIRE time and good ol’ Iowa wind. It was miserable, awful, no good, terrible. But I finished my dang 15 miles sopping wet (13 with the Striders running group; 2 miles afterward on Drake’s campus). I was SO COLD after this run and shivering pretty bad by the time I got home (despite changing out of my wet clothes in the car). A super hot shower and layers of fleece fixed me right up.

I packed Cytomax with me to try again and snacked on a Pamela’s gluten-free fig newton bar (Figgies & Jammies) during the run — and didn’t take any GUs. I’m still not sure about my fueling strategy for the marathon and what’s really “working,” but I’ve got a WHOLE MONTH of long runs to tweak my plan.

15 miles / 2:37:20 / 10:29 average pace

Splits: 10:05, 10:20, 10:03, 9:56, 10:33, 10:38, 10:13, 10:05, 10:09, 10:48, 10:54, 10:40, 10:53, 11:32, 10:29

SUNDAY A 25-minute recovery run on the treadmill, followed up by a core workout.

2.20 mi / 11:24 average pace

Lots of foam rolling before bed! My legs were feeling pretty beat up, but by Monday I was back to normal.

WEEKLY RUNS: 4 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 27.3 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 192.56 miles

New discount for Vermont City Marathon: Use code BibRave10 to now save $10 on your registration! Prices are set to go up on April 1, so this is a great time to commit to your summer marathon.

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #10

March 22, 2017 - Mel

As the runners like to shout out: WOOOOOOOOOOOOAH, WE’RE HALFWAY THERE! Halfway through Marathon training!

This was a drop-back week for me, as I rest and recover from the first half of training — and prepare for some serious mileage. Per my conversation with my Coach, the theme of the week was: Focus on something other than running. Kinda weird coming from a running coach, right? But the intent of that was to save my mental energy and let my brain refresh. I think most of us runners — especially those in the middle of marathon training — seemingly eat, sleep, bleed, (eat again probably) running. The downtime can help a runner be reflective in how training is progressing, but also be a wake-up call to do. your. strength. training. That said, this was also the week to NOT add anything crazy or new into my schedule.

As Coach says: There’s plenty of weeks left to worry about training (and mileage and fueling and… and…). FOCUS. Worry about other things, like, GETTING MARRIED.

vermont city marathon halfway training blog

My weekly plan included only 3 runs (all easy), 2 strength sessions, and yoga.

MONDAY Rest – and bi-weekly Coach call.

TUESDAY Strength workout for runners with kettle bell and TRX.

WEDNESDAY Easy 3-mile run (ran 3.17 to celebrate the upcoming holiday ?)

39:09 / 12:21 average pace

THURSDAY Skipped yoga; felt pretty energy-drained (thanks, PMS) and distracted about work and wedding stuff. Probably all the more reason to go to yoga, right? NOTED, UNIVERSE.

FRIDAY Wedding Day (and Rest Day) 😉

SATURDAY 7 easy miles on the treadmill

1:25:58 / 12:16 average pace

SUNDAY Easy 2-mile recovery run. A beautiful day in Iowa — we saw 70 degrees in the late afternoon! And though my motivation to run was low, I really wanted to be outside. Followed up my run with two rounds of my strength workout using both my kettle bell and TRX.

19:49 / 9:52 average pace

I also had a massage on Sunday morning. Every month, I’m dealing with a different issue – right hip, left calf, right glute, left hamstring… this session, seemingly a bungled up right quad. The last couple days I’ve had some right knee issues, and I wondered if something else might be the root cause. So, I’m spending some extra time stretching my quads (like, really stretching) and focused foam rolling. And I’m probably not going to wear those shoes on a long run anymore, just to be safe.

WEEKLY RUNS: 3 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 12.7 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 165.26 miles

Getting so excited to see Burlington in person again!

The Vermont City Marathon is only two months away (plenty of time for experienced runners to train!). Use discount code BibRaveDsct17 to save $5 on your registration! Prices are set to go up again April 1.

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #9

March 18, 2017 - Mel

vermont marathon training blog week 9

Longest trail distance (and a crazy map drawing!), easy runs at home on the treadmill and more strength training with the kettlebell.

I got two awesome runs out on the dirt trails during week nine of training — which was not quite following my written workouts, though it helped me through a kind of a stagnant, tired patch of my marathon training cycle (go away, cold weather!). Though I went off-plan on my coach, I did ask in advance if swapping my long run day to Sunday was OK (and what workout I should do on Saturday) — AND got in SIX days of workouts. And then I did my longest run ever on dirt trails. It was a good week to kind of go “rogue,” since now I’m enjoying a cut-back week for my marathon training mid-point.

ON THE SCHEDULE:

Two strength workouts
YOGA!
Tempo Run
Long Run
A couple Easy runs
MOAR FOAM ROLLING!

MONDAY Scheduled Rest Day! I also did some foam rolling on my calves and feet.

TUESDAY Strength workout with my kettlebell (I’m seriously so happy that I asked for this for Christmas!). I also love starting my week with strength — a nice ease-in after resting, which helps me focus for the week ahead.

WEDNESDAY Tempo Run on the schedule… but I ended up meeting a couple trail buddies at Jester Park after work for 5 miles. I did one of my long runs here in the fall, and it’s such a wonderful park.

5.2 miles / 57:50 / 11:12 average pace / 127 elevation gain (per Garmin)

THURSDAY Finally back to my Yoga Roots class after a couple weeks off. It felt GLORIOUS — even though it’s always so hard — but the instructor always keeps the mood light and makes us laugh and reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously.

FRIDAY Started off with a 5-minute walk and then ran for 40 minutes at an easy pace. Back on the treadmill!

3.62 miles / 41:18 / 11:24 average pace

SATURDAY Since I swapped my long run to Sunday, my weekend Recovery Run became another easy run. Another notch on the treadmill. And some foam rolling to keep those tight muscles in check.

2.0 miles / 21:53 / 10:56 average pace

trail sisters running blogger — Ready for trail running season!

SUNDAY Met a flock of Turkeys (or, since we’re domesticated, do they call us a Rafter of Turkeys?) in the city at Center Trails for my long (and cold) run of the week… just in time to meet Daylight Savings Time square at 8am CST. These trails are AMAZING — and probably my favorite in the area so far (there are SO MANY trails here in Iowa to explore!). I love the mixed terrain and that these are tucked into city limits. There’s a lot of activity here — and a lot of fat bikers (not bikers who are fat). I love to see mixed use of the trails and people out having fun outdoor in winter. The Center Trails webpage also has a conditions indicator — like when it’s closed due to it being too wet and muddy.

I did another test run with Cytomax, and I’m still unsure if I want to use it on marathon day. I have only a couple more weeks to decide and fine-tune my fueling strategy. At this point, I haven’t really found something that I love OR something that I dislike — mostly just “this works” and adaptable to everything so far (I am not a light packer!).

I was SO COLD when I got home (there were multiple layers of fleece) and I couldn’t nap, which was a bummer. But a big ol’ bowl of chili for dinner was just the ticket to warm me up.

14.08 miles (trails) / 2:56:21 / 12:31 average pace / 358 elevation gain (per Garmin)

WEEKLY RUNS: 4 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 24.9 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 152.56 miles

Isn’t Burlington so pretty???

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #8

March 10, 2017 - Mel

vermont training running blog

Tired feelings, new Launch Shamrocks and BibRave buddy!

Week 8 was my time to focus on foam rolling, recovery, and good habits in general — especially as it was my first 25+ mile week since November. Daily stress is fatiguing me pretty hard, and I know big mileage weeks only add to that feeling. And there are a LOT more weeks that are going to feel like that. I haven’t raced in a while though, so I’m getting excited as I approach some of those dates on my calendar.

MONDAY Rest Day

TUESDAY This felt like the longest 4 miles that I’ve ever done! But my paces were pretty fast for a slower-than-easy run. This is probably why I’ll always run with a watch.

4.32 mi / 42:39 / 9:32 average pace

Splits: 9:44, 10:25, 9:47, 10:03

Ended the run with 4×20 second strides (and a big chocolate milk, of course).

WEDNESDAY Rest Day (planned in advance, since I had a social thing after work)

THURSDAY Interval training day! I always get so excited for speed workouts, as they allow me the time to FOCUS on my runs instead of zoning out on the treadmill watching the third season of Desperate Housewives. And while I can’t run fast for long distances, running fast is SO FUN. Though running fast on the treadmill kind of freaks me out!

vermont marathon blogger winter running

Overall, this was a weird run. I felt like my legs couldn’t turn over any faster, though felt like I didn’t even workout when my sprints were over. I was running so hard on those 400s but not even out of breath!

5.98 mi / 55:14 / 9:14 average pace

warm-up mile: 10:49
1 – 1:27 / 2:41
2 – 1:23 / 2:52
3 – 1:24 / 2:42
4 – 1:25 / 2:41
5 – 1:27 / 2:38
6 – 1:30 / 2:42
7 – 1:29 / 2:41
8 – 1:17 / 2:42
cool-down mile: 11:15

Finding bad habits in the week already taking over, I made sure to get some foam rolling in after my run.

FRIDAY Rest Day (unplanned). Skipped my strength workout that was on the schedule, since some impromptu fun plans came up after work. I moved my Strength Day to Sunday, alongside my recovery run. I still need to do better on getting in my strength workouts and foam rolling.

SATURDAY Long run with the Capital Striders in the AM (UGH, start times changed to 7am, and it was ROUGH — but I made it). I completed the 12-mile route, and then came home to do an additional 2 miles on the treadmill. I honestly just had enough of the cool weather, and I was REALLY hoping to enjoy the expected 65-degree day. Alas, it was NOT in the 60s at 7am and wasn’t until well into the morning that the temperatures warmed up. At least it was sunny?

Splits (14): 9:38, 10:08, 9:41, 9:35, 10:24, 10:23, 9:53, 10:02, 10:06, 10:02, 9:58, 10:08
Splits (2): 11:12, 11:00

My Striders buddies keep me fast!

SUNDAY I originally planned to meet some Turkeys out on the trails, but I had a gnarly headache in the morning — and I just knew there was no way I wanted to wake up for another 7am run. No fun on the trails for me!

vermont city marathon training recovery day — Ahhhhhhhh….

Sunday is my weekly recovery day; beyond doing my usual recovery run, I also needed to make up my skipped strength workout from Friday. I want to start GOOD recovery habits rather than using Sunday as a make-up day. So I finally took my first epsom salt bath using the San Francisco Salt Company’s Epsoak Muscle Soak. I get really antsy sitting in baths (similarly, I always think 5 minutes is TOO LONG for foam rolling. Patience is not my virtue.), but forced myself to stay the entire 20 minutes. And my body felt GLORIOUS when I was done. All my muscle soreness was gone (along with my hot water to shower afterward).

On Sundays, we recover. If I’m not having a massage, I’ll be using the salts. And foam rolling for longer than 5 minutes. Promise.

WEEKLY RUNS: 4
WEEKLY MILES: 27.1 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 127.66 miles

The Vermont City Marathon is this Memorial Day Weekend. Want to join me in Burlington? Use discount code BibRaveDsct17 to save $5 on your registration! And psssssst… check out my giveaway for your chance to win a pair of Hoka One One running shoes.

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #7

February 27, 2017April 19, 2018 - Mel

vermont marathon blog training week 7

Crazy week. And crazy weird temperatures!

Despite a crazy week, I completed all of my scheduled workouts! Coming back from vacation, I was eager to return to my routines. I feel like I can adapt well to being thrown off my usual schedule, but I definitely feel the impact of stress when things change in my usual routine. So, this week’s runs and workouts were MUCH needed to help me deal.

MONDAY: Rest day and return to work; but wow, did my hips feel sore from the weekend.

TUESDAY: Random day off (my work building caught fire!), so I did my kettlebell-focused strength workout in the early afternoon.

WEDNESDAY: Easy 5-mile run + core workout

10:21 average pace

My first mile felt pretty rough but got easier — and it was 72 degrees in Iowa!!!! Since my office was still closed, I got to run in the afternoon on the Greenbelt Trail in Clive.

Splits: 10:35, 10:29, 10:24, 10:05, 10:13

THURSDAY: A fun but TOUGH Intervals workout — 6×400 (400m recovery) with an easy mile warm-up and cool down. I was a little freaked out about sprinting so fast on the treadmill, and it took so much focus.

warm-up: 11:17

400 splits:
(1) 1:45 / 3:04
(2) 1:40 / 3:09
(3) 1:46 / 3:23
(4) 1:43 / 3:04
(5) 1:40 / 3:04
(6) 1:42 / 3:32

cool down: 11:30

Finished with foam rolling — which is something that is seriously lacking in my training right now.

FRIDAY: Wow my body is tired; bless this rest day.

SATURDAY: The Long Run That Could – I had 12 miles on the schedule, but I totally mismanaged my schedule and ran out of time in the morning (Who makes a hair appointment for 10:30am on a Saturday in the middle of marathon training?!) I finished 11 miles – a fast finish workout at that — just in enough time to shower for 5 minutes, dress, and drive 20 minutes to my salon.

Splits: 11:19, 11:10, 10:58, 10:54, 10:54, 10:59, 10:45, 10:21, 9:53, 9:30, 8:51

marathon training iowa blogger vermont race — Motivation for a 11-mile training run!

SUNDAY: An afternoon recovery run (25 minutes at a slower-than-easy pace), followed by a core workout.

11:22 average pace

Finished with my Core workout and foam rolling of my glutes and TFL.

WEEKLY RUNS: 4
WEEKLY MILES: 23.2 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 100.56 miles – WOO! Century Mark!

Join me in Burlington this Memorial Day Weekend for the Vermont City Marathon! Use discount code BibRaveDsct17 to save $5 on your registration!

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