Week In Review: Week 12

Only one month to go until Shamrock! One more week of training and then taper begins! Oh the madness and the doubts are about to begin!

Monday: 3.5 miles at 6-8% incline.

Tuesday: 5.25 miles on the CycleOps trainer + 30 minutes of yoga.

Wednesday: 10 miles with 4 x 1 mile at 5k pace.

Thursday: 5 mile recovery run.

Friday: 6 miles with 4 at tempo.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: 21 miles.

Total: 45.5 miles running and 5.25 cycling.

Sunday's long run was pretty intense. The weather was brutal with temperatures in the teens and wind chills much colder. On and off snowfall plus icy roads made for a rough day. I kept the pace exactly where I wanted it until my last 6 miles when my lips cracked, my hands went numb, and my face felt like it was on fire from the wind. I still finished though! Mental toughness for the win!

Blowing snow over the lake

 

My personal frozen hell

Week in Review: Week 11

It feels like it should have been unlucky 13. Nothing went right this week. After I forced myself to do my scheduled 10 miles on Thursday I had to work all day Friday. I worked 8am to 7pm or so and then headed home. I was supposed to run 5-6  miles that night but figured I would switch it with Saturday's rest day.

Actual schedule:
Monday: Yoga + cross training
Tuesday: 6 miles
Wednesday: cross training
Thursday: 10 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: (5-6 miles) *ended up resting
Sunday: 12 miles

Shane finishing his 5k on Saturday

Saturday Shane was planning to run a 5k in Kittaning. I agreed to go with him to take pictures and cheer but I didn't plan to race. Looking back I should have. I would have won second place woman and at least gotten a workout in! Shane did really well, taking second place male despite the icy conditions and cold. After the race we went to lunch and then picked up a few things. By the time we got home it was almost dinner time. We decided to watch a movie and then eat. As soon as I ate my stomach began to hurt. Within an hour I had a blinding headache. It was all I could do to stay awake until an acceptable bed time. I couldn't even force myself to try to walk or run.

Shane and his trophy

I woke up today feeling fine but worn out. Shane and I had made plans to run 12 miles with some friends but by the time I dragged myself out of bed we were running late so we told them to go ahead without us. We made it to the trail and found an ice slick. Shortly after the one mile mark (which took us 12 minutes) we decided to head out onto the roads of the township. No sidewalks, small shoulder, busy roads, and no flat terrain. It was slow going but we made it an adventure and explored housing plans and communities that we've never had a reason to tour before. We ended up with just shy of 2,600 feet of vertical gain in 12 miles!

Elevation profile

In the end I finished out the week with only 28 miles. It's my lowest week of the year so far but my coach reminded me that life happens. Now to forget about the bad week and focus on getting back on my game for week 12! 

Week in Review: Big TEN!

This has been a week of highs and lows and crazy times. I sometimes doubted myself but in the end I always exceeded my own expectations and usually had fun doing it.

Yes, I giggled. I'm still 13 at heart sometimes.

Monday: 7 mile steady state run. Ended up being a progression run because the effort felt too easy.

Tuesday: 2 mile warm up, 1 mile/800m/400m/200m ladder workout then repeat in reverse. 1 mile cool down. Total: 8.5 miles + 30 minutes of yoga

Wednesday: 8.5 mile easy run.

Thursday: 1 mile warm up, 60 minute tempo run, 1 mile cool down. Total: 8.5 miles + 15 minutes of yoga.

Friday: 6.5 mile easy run + 30 minutes of yoga + 30 minutes of core strength.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: 21 mile long run.

Total: 60 miles in 10:25:01

To add to the craziness of the week our treadmill was still out of sorts. It wasn't until today that a maintenance guy was able to come to our house. It turns out Shane and I aren't exactly 'average' treadmill users. The technician was able to see how many miles are on our roughly two year old treadmill. The answer? 1,804 miles and 284 hours of use. Unfortunately the model we were sold is not up to that kind of use and beating, especially at the speeds Shane and I need to run for speed work and such. Replacing the drive belt (and possibly the motor) is a temporary solution but it's only a matter of time before our treadmill goes to an early grave. So now the hunt (and RESEARCH this time!) is on for a new and commercial-grade torture device.

Lake view during my long run

 

Another exciting event this week was Shane's first published article. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but Shane started his own blog. He has a knack for writing apparently (though he still needs help with spelling - must be a boy thing!) and the Mon Yough Trail Council asked him to contribute an article to their Milepost newsletter. I'm very excited for my husband!

 

 

Shane's article

 

The weekend was the most up and down part of the week. From Saturday to Sunday one of my friends was running Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Endurance Run. She is very similar to me in terms of running times and distances. However, she has trained REALLY hard in the last several months and I was interested to see what it would mean for her in terms of ultra performances. I was thrilled to see her finish with a smile and collect her first buckle. It gave me a lot of hope for Burning River in less than 6 months! EEK!

 

Another view of the lake

 

As I drove to North Park for my long run Sunday morning I was saddened to learn of the passing of a member of the running community. I decided then that the frigid temperatures and blowing snow didn't matter. I was lucky to be out there and able to run. I threw in an extra mile to honor the indomitable spirit of a women that many knew and loved. Her passing will leave a hole in the hearts of many runners.

 

Despite the ice clinging to my brows and lashes I was determined to make it a good run.

 

In all, it was an excellent week for my running and, even though I may have to suffer through the weather more often in the near future, I am blessed to be a runner. Whether I have a treadmill or not, whether I ever get that one hundred mile buckle or not, and whether I ever hit all 50 states or not.... It's been a hell of a ride and I'm glad that I've been able to share it with so many inspirational people.

Week In Review: Week 9

Not much longer now! Shamrock Marathon is almost here and that means peak training followed by taper madness begins next week! This week, however, was nice and easy.

Monday: Off.

From Saturday's long run.

Tuesday: 5.5 miles easy.

Wednesday: 2 miles warm up, 8 miles with 1/2 mile hard, 1/2 mile easy. 1 mile cool down.

Shane did 11 miles in the snow.

Thursday: 3 miles. This was supposed to be a one hour easy run like Tuesday but I just didn't feel all that great.

Friday: 1 mile warm up, 8 hill sprints, 1 mile cool down. Total: 2.5 miles.

So glad I can go eat and get warm after 12 COLD miles!

Saturday: 12 miles with the Greater Pittsburgh Road Runners + strength training.

Sunday: Core work.

Total: 33 miles. Can't believe I'm calling that an 'easy' week!

Week in Review: Week 8

Two months down already! I can't believe I'll be starting to taper for Shamrock in just another month or so! This week was a great week aside from the dog incident. I also got in some fun on the trails so I have some pictures to make this a little less boring.

Shane decided to jump a stream instead of taking the bridge

Monday: 4.5 miles of hill work. 10 minute warm up, 5 minutes at 8% incline, 2 minutes at 4% incline, repeat. Really happy with how much easier the hills are becoming! I actually forgot I was on 8% at one point and tried to increase it!

Taking a tree over the water

Tuesday: 50 minute tempo run. 7.25 miles. I actually didn't feel like this was tempo effort. Guess I'm getting faster!

Sleep running? :)

Wednesday: 7.25 miles of 9:1 run/walk. Not much to say about this workout.

I took the bridge

Thursday: 6.5 miles including 8 x 400m repeats. I really surprised myself by being able to complete this one at the prescriped paces.

Shane stopped to do pull-ups during the run

Friday: This is the day I was jumped on by the dog. It should have been a repeat of Wednesday. Instead it ended up being 1.14 miles on the trail and 1.86 miles on the treadmill to make 3 miles total.

Horses!

Saturday: 18 mile long run. I had to break up my long run because Shane's parents were watching the girls. I ran 15 miles in South Park and then ran the 3 miles home from his parent's house to our house.

Tiny Shane but pretty trees

Sunday: This was scheduled to be a rest day but since Friday got so messed up I went ahead and did 3.5 miles of 9:1 run/walk. It felt fine which I was pretty excited about the day after a long run!

Total: 50 miles in under 9 hours of running! Woah!

Week in Review: Part 5 (End of the Year!)

This week was my first cutback week of the training cycle. I was looking forward to it but also dreading it. I really enjoyed seeing big numbers the past few weeks and I hated to see my average drop back down right at the end of the year. I decided to use it as a mini-taper for an end of the year PR attempt at the Harmony Silvester 5k. Shane and I have raced this for three years now and I set a PR last year. I hoped to repeat that feat this year.... But you'll have to wait for my race report tomorrow!

On to the training week!

Monday: 3 miles in 37:05 (run/walk) + weights.

Tuesday: Off (Christmas!)

Wednesday: 1 mile warm up, 8 hill repeats at 10% incline, cool down + CrossFit WOD. Total: 3 miles.

Thursday: 1 mile warm up, 6 miles steady state. Total: 7 miles.

Friday: 2 mile warm up, 6 x 200m repeats, cool down. Total: 4 miles.

Saturday: 3 mile walk.

Sunday: 3 mile easy run.

Total: 23 miles in 4:08:27.

Week In Review: Week 3

This week has really been so much better. I feel like I'm finally getting into the swing of training again. It was my highest weekly mileage in a really long time and I didn't die. There may be hope for me yet!

Monday: 5 mile walk + CrossFit. 5 rounds of 7 deadlifts, 30 squats, and 7 handstand pushups.

Working on my HSPU!

Tuesday: 5 miles with 3.5 at steady state pace.

Wednesday: 7.5 miles using 9:1 run/walk + arms and core workout at home.

Thursday: 6.5 miles with 7 x 800m at 8:34 pace with 400m recovery.

Friday: 5.5 mile walk.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: 15.65 miles of rolling roads.

Looking good post long run in my INB capris and rock n roll shirt!

 

Shane and a group of our friends ran today's long run with us. A couple of the guys run sub-6 minute miles. Shane went out with the 7:30 pace guys and I followed a pair of ladies hoping they would be more my speed. We ran along chatting and I realized I was wrong! First mile was 9:24 and they only got faster from there! Thankfully I caught up to one of the guys who was going around 9:40 pace and decided to hang with him instead. He was done after 10 miles but Shane headed back out for the last 5 with me and in the process finished his longest run ever! Super proud of him for hanging tough!

 

Of course, the best part of long run days is eating and drinking! And as soon as we finished our run Shane and I headed to Max & Erma's for lunch. I had a delicious Cabo shrimp salad and Shane had a steak and ribs platter. I was going to get a picture of his lunch but it was gone before I could blink!

 

Yum!

 

And I topped it off with a Sam Adams Seasonal! Carb (re)loading at its best! I was good and had a water too.

 

 

Let's hope week four brings just as much fun and goes even better!

Week In Review

I think it will help me (and maybe those of you who want to follow in my madness) if I post a review of my training. I'm going to try and make this a weekly post, hopefully every Sunday, and use it as a way to keep my motivation up.

Because we all need more cat pictures on the interwebz

 

So here is the week of November 26 to December 2 in review:



Monday: 5.5 miles at 10:45 avg. pace + CrossFit

Tuesday: 6 miles at 9:58 avg. pace. This included speed work intervals.

Wednesday: 5 miles at 11:56 avg. pace. Recovery run + CrossFit.

Thursday: Rest. (Sick)

Friday: Unscheduled rest day due to being sick.

Saturday: 6 miles at 9:52 avg. pace. The middle miles were fast tempo.

Sunday: 10 miles at 11:20 avg. pace. A shorter version of a long run.

Total: 32.5 Miles


All in all it was a good week except for the illness that snuck up on me Wednesday. Let's just hope this week doesn't hold any nasty surprises!