BTTG: Week 1

Back to the Grind

 

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How many times have I run at or around 12.31 miles at MP?! Enough to know I shouldn't be as sore as I was following my DNF on Sunday. Crazy pants.

Dani snapped this pic sometime after 10 miles.

 

 Since all I did was a glorified tempo run at Erie, I decided that (after several conversations with my best/coach friend) I would mostly copy my Erie program, but tweak it as needed. Here's what I am sure of: My legs have been tired from the start for all of my marathons this year. Little Rock was due to running a 5k that was too fast the day before. I have no idea why I was tired for Carmel. For Erie, I'm not sure why, either...but it was a different tired than I felt at Carmel.

 

There are several things I'm not sure of right now:

 

1) Am I running too many miles? A couple of years ago, I peaked at 59-60 miles per week...felt fine and ran well. My goal this time around was to get close to that, so I peaked at 58 miles. In the winter/early spring, I peaked at 50. Should I return back to 50 being my max?

2) Are my speedier workouts appropriate? Are they the ones I need to be doing to focus on my weaknesses? Am I doing too much speed and not enough race pace?

3) What does an appropriate taper week look like for me? For Erie, I followed the taper I did for Pig (my PR race). Am I resting too much...not enough? Do I need to not take off two days in a row?

 

That's a lot to ponder, but here's what I decided. For the next few weeks, I will decrease my overall weekly mileage...peaking at 50, I will continue to focus on putting race pace miles in my long runs, I will do a steady state run every week, and I will have just one important speed workout rather than the occasional two.

 

• 9/11: 6 miles, 8:56/mile. I was so freaking sore when I woke up. I wanted to get some recovery miles to see how I really felt. The run felt fine, but I could feel the soreness in my quads, abs, and pelvis. I couldn't believe how sore I felt after how little I did the day before.
• 9/12: 7.05 miles, 9:31/mile. The plan was 12 x 1 minute fartleks and a total of 9-10 miles. I was not feeling awesome. I woke up at 3:50 a.m. to meet some friends at 4:30. I got there early so did a mile solo before doing another 3.3 with Ellen and Melissa. As I started my fartleks on the track, I knew it would be a rough workout. I ended up stopping at 8 fartleks and just finishing up the mile for my cool down. I'm looking forward to my rest day!
• 9/13: Chest/Back/Legs, 30 minutes. Running rest day. Almost sinful not to run birthday miles! I needed the rest, though.

  

  A rainbow for my birthday.

• 9/14: 8.35 miles, I have no idea per mile; Bis/Tris, 30 minutes. Today's run was a combo of three runs! Yay! I planned to run 5 miles with Sarah at 5:20 with the intention of getting the other three beforehand...didn't happen. I got a total of 5.17 miles with Sarah (9:16/mile), 1 mile with my dog, Sophie (9:24/mile), when I got home from Sarah's, and another 2.18 after work (8:40/mile). Now let's see if my butt can get up early in the morning.

  

  Post run selfie with Sophie.

• 9/15: 17.01 miles, 8:50/mile. Today's workout called for 17 miles with the last 6-7 at marathon pace. Since we are spending the weekend at Lake Erie, I wanted to get my long run out of the way. Even though I had the day off work, I needed to get finished early. I wasn't very fond of that 3:45 a.m. wake up call. I met up with Tamara, Marcie, and Brandi. We did a short loop and picked up Katie. I did a total of 10 miles with these ladies before setting off on my own. As we were finishing the first 10, I felt like I needed to poop. I was hoping the park bathrooms would be open even though it was still dark out. Unfortunately, they weren't! UGH. It seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks all of a sudden. I knew I couldn't hold it any longer!! I ran to the van to get some napkins then set off for the nearest bush. This was a running first for me! I cannot believe I freaking pooped in the bushes. I mean, my friends do it all the time, but I've never been that desperate. Despite my embarrassment, it was worth it because I felt so much better. I finished my run with 7 progressive miles from 8:16/mile to 7:53/mile!

  

  
  

  

  We had a fun morning at the park!

  
  

  

• 9/16: 8.01 miles, 8:16/mile. I was initially planning to rest today and run this workout tomorrow...BUT, when your kids are driving you nuts on your weekend away to "rest," you go run to get away. I thought for sure this workout would have been tough simply because of my mileage the past couple of days. The goal was to run 8 miles with 6 at steady state pace (8:20-8:35). I was planning a 2 mile warm up followed by the faster miles. When mile 1 was 8:19, I let out a little "oops" and decided to do the first 6 as my faster miles followed by a cool down. I guess I was feeling good and comfortable, so I went a little fast. My average for the first 6 was 8:11/mile.

  

  Morning exploration with James.

  
  

  

  Afternoon run to shake off the crazy.

• 9/17: REST. Enjoyed a beautiful morning at Lake Erie, drove home (major car sickness), went to small group, and tried to survive the evening.

  

  Sunday morning sunrise.

  
  

  

  Finally home!

 

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I felt so much better as the week progressed. By the time I got to my long run on Friday, my body felt good. My outlook has turned to positive again, and I'm ready for the next challenge.