Workout Recap + Last Long Run!!!

We had another crazy weather week.... shocker.  Snow, wind, cold.  Mother Nature better get her poop in a group ASAP so everyone racing these next few weeks won't suffer!

Monday - CXWORX at noon and 8 miles after work.  That was my last mid-distance week day run.  All these lasts... I'm ok with that!

Tuesday - Cross training daaaaay.  Body Pump Express and some elliptical and arc trainer magic.

Wednesday - 5 miles on the treadmill and Jillian Michaels.  This was a toughy.  I wasn't thrilled about the idea of running on the treadmill, call me a paranoid FREAK.  Things tend to hurt after a treadmill run, and I can't handle that right now!  The run went ok, but it kicked my butt.  I posted earlier in the week about this work and my lack of speed training lately.  It showed.

Thursday - 6 miles.  My watch emergency really through this run for a loop.  No pun intended...  I stood in my driveway for a solid 10 minutes looking for the signal.  I gave up and quickly downloaded the Nike+ Running app on my phone.  It worked pretty slick.  I'm probably sounding like I'm from 1990 when I say I'd never used it before.  I have the Nike + on my iPod for treadmill runs, but I'd never used the GPS form outside.  I liked that it paused automatically when I was stuck waiting to cross the street.  I ran my normal 6 mile route, and the GPS was spot on.  I thought maybe it was telling me I was running a little fast.

Spoiler alert, my watch is fine.  I plugged it in and it had a software update.  It's linking up like a pro again!

Friday - REST.  Well, I went shopping, I think that's a workout in itself!

Saturday - 20 freakin' fantastic miles.  Last long run done!  To be perfectly honest, this was the first time I honestly felt like I CAN run a marathon.  Before this, I really wasn't too sure how I was going to survive those last 6 miles.  Now my focus is recovering from this run properly, and TAPERING!!!!!

I made this run the best dress rehearsal I could with fueling and gear.  I picked up a shirt and shorts to race in, hopefully the weather allows me to wear it!  I feel very relieved that this aspect of training is complete.  The biggest hurdle now is to keep my body feeling good these last two weeks.  I'm focusing on not eating so much crap (problem lately), getting plenty of sleep, and just thinking positive thoughts!

Tomorrow might involve some recovery miles, but otherwise it's all about Easter with the fam!  Have a great one!

Missing Speed

Last night I knocked out my last run with any speed work in the marathon training cycle.  Truth be told, I hadn’t done much lately, and I could tell.  I’ve been in body preservation mode the past few weeks.  I’ve had random pains in my feet and hips, so I’ve played it as safe as possible.  I’ve ran hills, but not as many as I should, and speed work has been pretty non-existent.  Oops.

I managed 5 miles, all on the treadmill, and it was rough.  I have some lofty goals for fall racing, and I know once my marathon recovery period is over, speed is back on the FRONT burner.

 HELLO SUPER SWEATY SELF... yikes.  Proof that I worked hard.

Finished off with some Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  Level One because I was wiped out anyway.

My goals be like:

Sub 1:40 half…. I want this BAD!

10K PR… preferably sub 46.

I’ll work towards this by:

Speed work.  Duh.  Track and treadmill.

HILLS.

More strength training incorporating HIIT.

On a random note, I finally purchased KT Tape PRO as opposed to the cotton basic version.  GET. THE. PRO!  Much better!  It stays put.

Another random, my delicious breakfast for supper last night.  Egg beaters, turkey sausage, low fat Eggos, PB2, half banana, and sugar free syrup.  Can't beat that!

 

Off for an evening run, rest day tomorrow, and last long run on Saturday!

16 days until Brookings!

Photo Dump

Welcome to my completely random photo dump...

We've had some really nice days lately, other than the blizzard of course, and this is fitting.  And hilarious.

While it's nice and I'm stuck at work, I'd rather be running.  And my new tumbler cup let's everyone know this!

I traded in my Malibu for my Escape, but it still makes me a little sad that it's gone.  Anyway, I admired how nice they made it look online, and it actually was sold right away.  You know the town you live in is too small when you see the car you traded being driven by it's new owner two days in a row.  Take care of my Boo!

Don't be hatin, you'd miss your '05 Malibu too if it looked this good!

I was running a little low on Gu thanks to marathon training.  Monday night a fresh box arrived on my doorstep!  This should last me a while...

And Espresso Love is the ONLY flavor of Gu I will eat.  Just FYI.

Speaking of eating, I have a slight candy addiction.  I attended our state financial aid administrator's conference at the end of last week, and since I was a first time attendee, I was recognized with my favorite candy!  It was an ice-breaker/get to know you type of thing.  So judge away FA colleagues.  I love my M&Ms!  My co-worker and I discussed how we never win anything.  Which is true, I'm not lucky at all.  Well, guess who won the $50 door prize!  HOLLA!

Last but not least, an awesome quote from my fave, Kara Goucher.  There have been several bumps in this marathon training road, but I've made progress none the less.  Keep looking ahead!! Less than 3 weeks to go!

Workout Recap 4/7 - 4/13

Week 14 of marathon training... yikes.  I am pretty honest with anyone that asks me how it's going.  I'm ready to be done for a while!  I'm ready for a break.  It's been hard to stay positive and focused these past couple weeks.  Honestly, something usually hurts every day.  It's usually not the same thing.  I've had the issues with my feet, some on-going Achilles tendinitis that shows up every once and a while, a shin splint here or there, and of course my lovely right hip.  Complaining aside, I'm learning how to cope and listen to my body.  My mileage hasn't been that high, and I've taken more rest than I used to back when I didn't really listen to my body.  I call these weeks SURVIVAL MODE!

Monday - I had the day off work and was recovering my legs from my 20 miler the day before.  I used the elliptical and lifted a few weights focusing on shoulders.   Nothing major.

Tuesday - Body Pump Express and 7 miles after work.  These miles felt amazing!  I felt strong and energized.  Once I got done, my feet had a different opinion.  I ended up with a pretty big blister on the bottom of my pinky toe from the 20, and it wasn't too happy after the 7.

The next couple of days, my feet looked like this... (LOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK!)

Wednesday - Did not go as planned.  I woke up early to get my run in before work since I wouldn't be able to after, and well, one step out of my on my poor foot and I realized it wasn't going to happen.  Back to bed... my only activity was CXWORX at noon.

Thursday - My feet felt better after resting, so I made it out for 6 miles early Thursday morning.  I had a work conference the rest of the day and wasn't able to get out and enjoy the rest of the nice weather.

Friday - 4 miles, 20 minutes elliptical, and weights.  I was off at 2:00 when the conference ended, so I made my way outside to enjoy an easy run.  I also got a nice walk in with my mom.  The sunshine was amazing!

SHORTS!

TANK!

RUN! (this pic was taken today, when it's freezing and I'm wearing my fuzzy jacket...)

Saturday - 10 miles plus 3.1 in the Operation Steel Warrior 5K.

Sunday - REST!

Mother Nature... WTF?!

It was almost 80 degrees yesterday, and humid.  I was drenched with sweat after my training run and 5K.  And this is today:

It's literally a blizzard outside today.  Nothing in Nebraska should surprise me anymore.  Last year on April 12th, I believe it was, we actually had a snow day at work.   I work at the community college in town, and while we have a significant student population that commutes, we rarely close.  This year our April blizzard happens to be a weekend.  Go figure.

I was planning a running rest day anyway, so my couch time and plan to not leave the house today ends up working out.  

In honor of the snow, here are a few more pics from the SUN and the race yesterday.  

Please note my face of death.  I really wish I had some attractive action or finishing photos to show off, but I don't. 

Operation Steel Warrior 5K

I ran a 5K this morning after my 10 mile training run.  It's local, and for a great cause.  I definitely couldn't resist, and couldn't race.  My goal was to go out as easy as possible and just get the miles in, not worry about time or placing.  This is VERY hard for me because I'm incredibly competitive, but it was refreshing to have a different mind set going into a race.

This race was a fundraiser sponsored by the four Nucor divisions in Norfolk, NE. Money will go to Operation Steel Warrior which supports the construction of "Smart Homes" for severely wounded service members. Nucor's current recipient is Captain Ben Harrow, who lost both legs above the knee and a large portion of his right arm, which included two fingers on his right hand. 

I ran my 10 miles first and came home and foam rolled and changed into dry clothes.  I met up with Heidi before the race.  I was pushing the time pretty close, I was actually the last person to pick up my packet... OOPS.  That's how I knew I was taking a laid back approach to the race!

It was an out and back on the Cowboy Trail here in Norfolk.  Easy and flat.  My goal was to run my slowest 5K, and it was actually my second slowest at 25:17.

It was a small race, I ended up third in my age group and nabbing a medal.

Heidi placed first in her age group, and super speedy JD won overall.

Workout Recap...sort of

This past week was a long, blur.  A tragic family loss, not a lot of good sleep, and too many thoughts.  I think Luke Bryan's line in Drink a Beer was fitting.  "Sometimes the greater plan is kinda hard to understand, right now it don't make sense."

So on to the workouts or the lack there of this past week.

Monday - CXWORX and some cross training.  I did a 5K on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the arc trainer.

Tuesday - Body Pump Express and 6 miles outside after work.  I don't have many watch pics this week.  My pace wasn't great, my legs were heavy.

Wednesday - CXWORX and 7 miles.  

Thursday - 30 minutes of weights at lunch.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 3 miles and some quick abs.

Sunday - 20 miles.  

FINALLY got this one done.  It's one of those things that just looms over your head during marathon training.  The big 2-0.  I've done one before, but there is always a bit of nervousness associated with 20 miles.  I took 2 Gus and drank Powerade Zero.  My handheld started leaking bad and made a huge mess with about 5 miles left.  I have extras, and this one was old, so I ended up throwing it away with my 5 miles left.  I don't know why those last 5 miles of a 20 are so hard.  I was hurting pretty bad, and my right hip has been iced and KT taped heavily ever since.  Let's hope I can recover strong this week and not end up with a hip repeat of last time...