Product Review: OOFOS OOmg

May 20, 2017 - Mel 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I received a pair of OOFOS OOmg shoes to review 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!

OOFOS women shoes OOmg

One of my favorite things about being a BibRave Pro is the opportunity to review new products to the market. I’m already a HUGE fan of OOFOS — owning a pair of their recovery slides and randomly winning a pair of the OOriginal sandal during an Instagram contest last year — but never have properly reviewed. Getting the chance to try out their new OOMG shoes gave me that very opportunity!

The first fully closed shoe with OOfoam technology: A combined OOFOS patented footbed design with a 4-way stretch mesh upper that takes stress off your tired soles and joints — providing natural foot movement that allows you to wear the shoe all day, every day.

Short story: OOFOS is ALL about recovery. As a runner, this is super important to me. While the OOmg is good for recovery post-run, they are designed as a lifestyle shoe and meant to be worn at all times.

OOFOS OOmg shoes at yoga — Perfect for commuting to POPUP YOGA

First impression: When I first pulled these out of the box, my first reaction was, “Oh, these are fug.” But seriously, the ugliness wore off when I put them on. These shoes are COMFY. To be honest, they don’t look bad when they’re on my feet, and they were so light. I instantly dubbed these my commuter shoes, as I have to do a good amount of walking from car-to-cube on my work campus; I have worn these to work nearly every day since I got them. I don’t care if I’m wearing a skirt, pants, jeans… fug or not, they have not ripped up my feet like other flats have. AND they’re a lot sleeker than wearing tennis shoes to work.

OOFOS OOmg recovery shoe

Fit: I do want to talk about fit a little bit. Out of the box, these fit snugly and comfortably. I loved how my arch was cradled and the elastic mesh was breathable and didn’t compress the top of my foot at all. Though on my left foot (which is not the wider of the two), my toenails were catching something on the inside-top front of the shoe (I do NOT keep my toenails long, so it was a weird observation). I notice the toe catching — not with every step — it feels like it might rip my toenail off (it’s probably an exaggeration, but it’s a jolting reminder when it catches). I haven’t worn my OOmg shoes with socks and imagine that would prevent, but the no socks thing was exactly why I LOVED these shoes. This hasn’t prevented me from wearing the shoes nearly every day, however.

I’m generally not in-between sizes, but I feel as though that’s where this shoe would fit me better. I haven’t yet tried a size 9, and I feel it would be too big, but I don’t have the comparison. OOFOS OOmg is the perfect post-workout and commuter shoe for me, while also giving me the benefit of:

– Reducing stress on feet, knees, and back
– Enabling more natural motion
– Being extremely light weight
– And being machine washable — which makes these perfect for a rainy day shoe!

OOFOS OOmg commuter shoes

Science!

Learn more about the OOfoam technology:

~~30-something~~ 40-something approved: I made an investment in comfort brands a few years ago because I was walking everywhere in Pittsburgh (I rarely drove), and I was tired of sore feet and nasty blisters or spots that rubbed (and eventually bled) — even from wearing flats. An ill-fitting shoe positively ruined my day! Though it’s expense to do so, I want to protect my feet; and dang it, I just want to walk comfortably and not have to travel with 382 shapes of band-aids.

OOFOS OOmg bibrave pro collage

The OOFOS OOmg shoe retails at $120, is sold in full sizes, and comes in three colors (black, gray, and citron green). I plan to get the OOmg in another color (likely gray) and can’t wait to see what’s next from OOFOS. At the moment, OOmg is sold in the women’s section of their website, but are considered unisex up to a certain size. Expanded men’s sizes are expected for next year.

Six Reasons I’m Running Route 66 Marathon

May 18, 2017 - Mel 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Route 66 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!

Route 66 Marathon Race Start

My race schedule for 2017 is officially full. Full marathon, that is. The Route 66 Marathon was one of those events that sounded like an absolute blast in recaps. The race takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 19, which also means I won’t be training for TOO long (hopefully) in the hottest part of summer.

And here’s 6 more reasons why I chose to do it:

1. I must be crazy, right? I could have come with 66 ways to answer that question. Signing up for another marathon when I haven’t even finished the one I’m currently training for? Don’t worry, I’m taking a little time off after VCM. But despite feeling exhausted and OVER everything related to marathons, I simply like to be in a structured training program that keeps me conditioned and is a challenge. Keeps me feeling like I could still be running with the 30-somethings. Or something.

2. My two favorite words: Fleece. Lined. Y’all know how much I love my cozy fabrics. This year’s finishers jackets match the color of the race branding and are fleece-lined performance. FLEEEEEEEECE. Bonus: it’s got pockets.

Route 66 Marathon - fleece jacket

3. Cross another state off my map. Before registration for Route 66 Marathon, I was going to color in 6 new states; now, it’ll be 7 in 2017. I’ve been to Oklahoma once — about 15 years ago — on a cross-country road trip adventure with my sister. There was a lot of arguing in those days before Google Maps (we seriously drove cross country with a FLIPBOOK from AAA). This trip it will only be me yelling at the British lady who commands my car’s navigation system. And for more cowbell.

4. It’s ROUTE 66 — it’s iconic! Once of my favorite things about traveling for races is being able to see cities by foot. Tulsa is about a 6.5-hour drive from Des Moines, so I’ll get to map some fun roadside attractions — like driving by Pittsburg (without the “h”) in Kansas. Also, I am obsessed with seeing all this Art Deco architecture in Tulsa.

Route 66 Marathon - race sign

5. PARTY TIME. EXCELLENT. I tend to take myself too seriously in training — in life, too — but especially in races. I don’t know many races that actively promote the locations where you’ll find your first beer station (which means there are others???) or the #jelloshotscrew (wait… can we make that a hashtag?). Alls I’m saying is, someone running this race is gluten-free and requests a cider or a mimosa around Mile 20-ish (maybe I should have put that on my bib?). Also, orange jell-o is my favorite.

Route 66 marathon mimosas — THAT LOOKS LIKE MIMOSAS!!!

6. The World’s Shortest Ultramarathon. There’s an option of adding the Center of the Universe Detour to your registration and run an extra .3 miles to complete the World’s Shortest Ultramarathon. There’s a beer reward (can I have wine yet?) and a special commemorative coin to acknowledge the achievement. Also, there’s some crazy-cool, freaky echo thing happening at the Center of the Universe, and that’s the perfect kind of quirk that I love to discover in my adventures.

Route 66 marathon - center of the universe detour

This race has some good vibrations (wait… is that an acoustic pun?). I can’t wait to run with you in Tulsa and party like a marathoner (+.3).

DISCOUNT: I hear this race sells out every year — and with all the new race features for 2017 (jackets for relay runners, a really freaking awesome VIP package), now is the time to plan your Fall marathon. If you’re ready to register, use discount code 2017R66BR for $10 off entry.

Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #16

May 5, 2017 - Mel

What’s a little “accountability Monday” on Friday? One of these weeks I’ll get back on scheduled (likely, during my taper).

Welcome to Des Moines downtown murals

Came upon this awesome mural on the backside of Exile Brewing Company during my downtown run.

Look, marathon training is not all awesomeness and easy and rainbows and butterflies. Even someone fit and focused and goal-driven can succumb to the exhaustion of a 20-week training cycle (IT: ME). I’m determined not to quit, but my wheels are falling off and I’m feeling some unnecessary pressure from… somewhere, I don’t know.

MONDAY I didn’t have a specific strength training workout scheduled, but my coach provides a couple GREAT ones — including one where I can use my kettlebell. I wanted to change it up a little bit, so I did a round of one those Spell Your Name workouts found all over Pinterest (yeah, it included some burpees!). I followed that up with a round of my coach’s KB strength workout.

training run in grays lake des moines — Peek-a-boo. I see you, Des Moines!

TUESDAY A little different scenery for my evening easy run, as I had the Grand Blue Mile on my schedule with my husband — he’s not a runner, so this was SO much fun for me. Beforehand, I finished 5 (humid) miles from downtown to Gray’s Lake and back. It cooled off A LOT before the Mile race started, so much so that I had to go back to my car to put on my long sleeve.

grand blue mile race downtown des moines

Grand Blue Mile results: 10:00.40

WEDNESDAY I needed another rest day. Just feeling… off. So, no speed workout this week.

THURSDAY My first meet-up with the Green Runners, as we focused on cleaning up the area around Drake campus — to coordinate with the Relays. What a fun time! These group runs happen almost every Thursday for the next few (warm) months, and rotate around different locations in the metro area. It’s a fun group that caters to all running abilities (and even good for walkers) — you should join us! But get ready to do some squats. 😉

Des Moines Green Runners

While it was mostly walking on this route due to the neighborhood and traffic, we got in a mile.

FRIDAY If I had any plans to make up workouts, it wasn’t tonight! Though I enjoyed hanging out with the husband, watching movies and fattening up on Jeni’s Pistachio & Honey ice cream.

SATURDAY It’s been a couple years since I took a DNS, but I decided not to run the Drake Half Marathon on Saturday morning. This impacted my plan for my 20-mile run, but I planned to recover some of that mileage on my treadmill at home. I ended up with 8.69 miles before the machine started smelling like burning rubber so badly that I had to turn it off. Seriously, can someone recommend a better brand of treadmills?

SUNDAY I needed some redemption on my missed mileage from Saturday and a skipped run from mid-week; and despite the TERRIBLE weather conditions, the radar showed about an hour of no rain on Sunday morning (though, still 40 degrees and high winds, because Iowa). I was able to get in 8 miles before the rain started again. I felt good DURING the run — and even my paces were faster than I expected for an “easy” — though afterward, WOW, I felt positively drained.

april miles des moines runner blog — Don’t I look thrilled?

Even after a recovery muscle soak, my body felt sore and awful. I don’t generally feel sore after running, so it’s annoying and a little frustrating. So, no double digit long run for me in week #16, though still over 20 miles and 4 runs for the week. AND another 100+ mileage month for April!

A post shared by Mel! (@melliesmel) on Apr 30, 2017 at 12:09pm PDT

WEEKLY RUNS: 4 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 23.85 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 325.57 miles
TOTAL APRIL MILES: 113.3 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!

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!

Weekly Therapy: Loyalty and road trips and early morning alarms

April 21, 2017 - Mel

the week:
I purchased a lunch bag from eBags a few years ago and was sad when the interior lining started ripping away from the zipper. I finally replaced it a few weeks ago with something new, but strongly disliked its smaller interior capacity (less room for snacks!) and handles that don’t keep the back straight — and no short carry handle on the top of the bag (so high maintenance!). When looking around their site to find my original, I discovered that eBags-branded products have a LIFETIME WARRANTY against defects — and they replaced my well-loved lunch bag with a brand new one!

I’m in no way sponsored or compensated by the company, but I absolutely love when brands do right by their products and will shout my loyalty from the rooftops. I’ll love this lunch bag for another few years and all is right with my world and my many (many) meals and snacks that I need to bring with me to work.

weekend:
I’m off to Illinois to take on the I-Half Challenge (a 5K tonight and a half marathon on Saturday morning) and my first race as a BibRave Pro ambassador! This will be my 10th half marathon. CRAZY.

A friend is also driving up to Champaign to spend the remainder of the weekend with me, and I’m so happy to get to see her and drink wine, since it’s been YEARS. If the weather stays nice, we are planning on trail skating, too. #shutuplegs

seven things, seven days:
1. Remember my office fire from two months ago? Well I finally got a box of my personal belongings from my desk. Which included close to none of my belongings.
2. I had a dream this week where a parade of kids were wearing items from my closet that I haven’t worn in forever. What a message, eh? Must be time for another round of Cleaning of the Closets.
3. For my wedding celebration this summer, I requested a box of party dresses from my Trunk Club [referral link] — and she sent the PERFECT dress.
4. Collaboration creates mediocrity. According to Science. And me, a high performer.
5. Well, this is interesting: The new rules of hydration {via Outside}
6. That voice inside your head will make you a better runner — another great article from Outside.
7. Weirdly, success is about thinking you’re not too successful {via Science of Us}

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!

Product Review: Wrist ID Elite from Road ID

April 16, 2017 - Mel

Disclaimer: I received a Wrist ID Elite from Road ID to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review and write race reviews!

I often find myself running without my ID; while I almost always carry my cell phone, if there is an urgent situation it might not be the best way to identify me. I heard about the Road ID identification bracelet from other runners and have received flyers in expo bags from previous races. I knew the value of the product, but still procrastinated in buying myself one.

Road ID package blog product reviewer

I loved the packaging!

So I signed up immediately for the chance to review the Wrist ID Elite from Road ID with BibRave.

The Wrist ID Elite has options of silicone (several bright colors!) or leather bands, with a watch-style buckle. The faceplates come in classic, rugged and black edition, which are fully customizable and can include interactive ID information. The Wrist ID Elite is one size fits all, but the bands can be trimmed with scissors to fit. The Elite retail price starts at $29.99.

On my faceplate (not shown for privacy reasons) I included my full name, my spouse’s phone number, my mom’s phone number, my shellfish allergy, and noted that I’m “No RX” (no prescriptions).

First impression: Truthfully, I was annoyed at having to put the thing together; though the customization won over that 5 minutes of impatience. I have a tiny wrist, so I could cut the bracelet down as small as I wanted it. I loved the neon green band color and the many ways to personalize. I also selected a “SHUT UP LEGS” badge to add to my band.

Road ID review blog Shut Up Legs

If an extra band on your wrist is not your thing, Road ID has options for personalized faceplates to add to your Apple Watch, FitBit, or Garmin. I’ll likely get a plate for my Garmin watch, so I only need to wear one band. I love that it’s lightweight and sweat-proof during my outdoor runs. I plan to wear my Road ID during bike rides and trail skating, too.

Road ID at Ragnar product review — Road ID wearing at Ragnar Luckenbach

30-Something Approved: Since receiving the Road ID, I’ve worn it on all my runs. I always knew the importance of having one, and though a little late to the party, it’s a constant in my running gear rotation. If you frequently run alone (heck, even if you don’t), or in under-populated areas, and especially if you have a medical condition — a Road ID is highly recommended.

Road ID elite wrist blog review — I’m not allergic to wasp stings, but if you are, a Road ID is a necessity while being outdoors!

Discount: Receive a $5 gift-card to use towards their Road ID purchase by following this link: bit.ly/2ocFWMl. The $5 gift-card will be valid for 2 weeks after sign-up.

Join Road ID and other BibRave Pros for #bibchat on twitter on Tuesday, April 18 8pm CST to chat about Safety First and your chance to win your own ID band!

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

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