CO Training Week 3

Saturday, November 15: 12.25 miles (road)

Angela and I started with the masses from Rogue at 6am. Wow - that was way too overstimulating for me at that hour of the morning. Too many people, too loud. But, once we got on our way, we settled into our rhythm and everything was fine.

The plan for today was to run most of the first half of the Austin Marathon course - and, the Austin marathoners were supposed to run it as a paced workout. But, we were running "easy," which actually turned out to be MGP or faster because of the cold weather. It is such a relief to see our paces dropping from the slow trudge in the summer heat and humidity to faster with less effort in the cool/cold weather.

Why anyone would want to run/race that course is beyond me! The first few miles UP Congress are a challenge for sure, and the return into town on S. First didn't really seem like as much of a downhill to make up for that. But, everybody doesn't hate hills the way that I do, I guess.

Maybe because we were running a faster pace or maybe because the early hills took their toll, but for whatever reason I just wasn't really "feeling it" this morning. Angela offered that we could cut it short around 12 miles for the day, so I said sure. I had originally planned to do 13 today, so I was okay with the overall mileage.

Sunday, November 16: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3 mile recovery run.

Monday, November 17: 8 miles (treadmill)

Even though this week is a scheduled recovery week, I didn't drop down on my medium long run mileage because next week will turn into a week of no running for me while we are on vacation. So, that will be my recovery week. 

Tuesday, November 18: OFF

I really contemplated trying to get my usual Thursday run done today because we will be traveling that day, but I just had too much other stuff to do in the evening to get ready for our trip and I got home late from work. 

Wednesday, November 19: 6 miles (road)

Tonight was one of those nights where I really contemplated skipping the group workout. We are leaving on vacation tomorrow, and we still have a ton of stuff to do. It was also questionable whether I'd be able to get everything wrapped up at work in time to make it. But, somehow I did. So, I remembered how committed I had been to my MCM training when I didn't skip workouts (unless I was sick or out of town), even when I had work stress, other conflicts, or simply wasn't feeling it, and I changed clothes and made it Rogue on time. Want to run a marathon? Got to do the work!

As always, I was glad afterwards that I got the work done, even if it was a fairly easy workout of Straights and Curves. We're still doing these types of workouts around a neighborhood block rather than a track. So, we did 1.5 mile warm-up then 2 x 6 400's with a 1.5 mile cool-down back to Rogue. The weather was just right for the run, with temps rising into the 50's after our cold snap for the past week.

And, with that run, I am off to the Galapagos tomorrow. See you in Week 5! 

Thursday, November 20: OFF

Friday, November 21: OFF

Week 3 Total: 29 miles

CO Training Week 2

Saturday, November 8: 10 miles (road)

Angela is out of town this weekend, so I was on my own for this morning's run. I decided to start before the masses started at 6am because I wanted to get there early enough to get a parking spot in the lot at Rogue. So, I headed off around 5:40am or so following shortly behind another group that was also getting an early start. But, I quickly passed them and found myself alone - just me, my map, and headlamp. I saw a couple of other girls ahead as we approached the water stop a little over 2 miles in. I loved this route when we first did it during summer training because it is basically 4 short loops (about 2 miles or so) radiating out from the central water stop on Exposition. So, after I finished my first loop, then I saw more people rotating through the water stop, although I was still a loop ahead of everyone. The weather was fantastic, and I surprised myself with a faster pace in the cooler temperatures. This is the weather I wanted for my marathon two weeks ago! 


Sunday, November 9: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3 mile recovery run.

Monday, November 10: 8 miles (treadmill)

My left hip is clearly not happy. I was able to get through my run today, but my hip felt super sore and achy afterwards and interfered with my sleep when I moved at night. 

Tuesday, November 11: OFF

Wednesday, November 12: 6 miles (road)

Since Bobby changed our workout last week due to the rain, we ended up doing the original planned workout from last week tonight - vintage Marshes! What Rogue doesn't love this one? I started early again, although I know that Bobby wasn't happy about that. This was the first true cold weather run that we have had, so it was time to break out the gloves. I felt fairly strong and enjoyed the workout.


Thursday, November 13: 5 miles (treadmill)


Friday, November 14: OFF

Week 2 Total: 32 miles

CO Training Week 1

Saturday, November 1: 6 miles (treadmill)

Angela and I had originally planned to get back to our usual Saturday morning long runs with Rogue, but she wasn't feeling up to it today. After working really long hours the past couple of days, I decided to go ahead and get the extra sleep my body needed and run later on my own since I would be solo anyway if I ran in the morning. This was my first run since the marathon last Sunday, and it was good to know that everything still worked. My left hip was still getting my attention a little bit, but nothing that I was overly concerned about.

Sunday, November 2: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3-mile recovery run.

Monday, November 3: OFF

Tuesday, November 4: 8 miles (treadmill)

I switched my medium long run from yesterday to today because of scheduling issues. My left hip was definitely more angry during today's run (and afterwards), so I am happy that I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, November 5: 5 miles (road)

I had my post-race massage this morning, and I told Ann that my hip really needed some work. I told her that tonight's workout was a hill workout, so she cautioned me to take it easy if the hip was still hurting.

Our group workout was scheduled to be the Marshes. But, Bobby changed it at the last minute due to the rainy conditions. Not wanting anybody to slip and get hurt with all of the up/downhill that the Marshes entail, he sent us out for the LAB-Enfield-Exposition loop. With the time change occurring last weekend, it will be dark going forward when we start our evening workouts with the Sole Survivors at 6pm. I convinced Angela to start early with me tonight, so we headed out on our own about half an hour early. Other than dealing with the cooler, wet conditions (which you won't hear me gripe about because I would have welcomed this kind of weather when I was struggling with the summer heat) and the busy traffic on those particular roads (and nearly getting hit by a turning car), we had a pretty good run. My hip actually seemed to feel better as we ran. I ran without my Garmin because it was acting up, so I ran without concern for time/pace.

Thursday, November 6: 5 miles (treadmill)

Friday, November 7: OFF

Week 1 Total: 27 miles

(vs. 17 miles for week 1 of MCM training)

I am going to be adjusting the scheduled mileage to my particular needs for the next couple of months. While this is the beginning of the next round of marathon training for my May race, I also need to maintain a base level of fitness to run the half-marathons in Dallas next month and Houston in January (with two extended international trips thrown in during this period that will disrupt my training).

MCM Race Day!

39th Marine Corps Marathon 

10/26/14

After a night of disrupted sleep (thank you, K), my alarm went off at 4am just like it has for so many long runs on Saturday mornings with Angela during our training. Today was finally Marathon Day though! I was out the door in time to get to the metro station near our hotel promptly at 5am when the station started its early service for the race. But, I had to wait 20-30 minutes for the first train to arrive since mine was the last station before the race drop-off point. One of my biggest concerns was overcrowding on the trains based on what I had heard from others who previously ran the race. But, my early bird ways alleviated that issue, and I didn't have any problems with transport to the race. The marathoners exited at Pentagon Station and then we had to make our way over to the Runners Village nearby. I quickly made my way through the metal detectors and found my way over to one of several tents to relax and wait for Angela. Things were pretty relaxed and, surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people around yet.

The temperature was in the mid 50's in the pre-dawn hours, and the strong winds made it feel slightly cooler. I opted to go ahead and wear my throwaway warm-up clothes before the race, although I probably would have been okay without them. Angela and I chatted for a bit once we met up, then I suggested that we go ahead and make our way over to the staging area for the start since it was a bit of a walk from where we were hanging out. The race started on Route 110 in Arlington, VA between the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.

Leaving Runners Village to head over to the start

The sun started to come up, and we both made trips to the well-placed port-o-potties by the actual start area. Other than that, there wasn't much to do except wait. Angela surprised me with her calmness, especially considering this was her first marathon. So, we were pretty zen at that point about what we were about to embark upon for the next 4 hours or so. I was unhappy about the likely weather conditions, but it's not like I could do anything about it. It was what it was.

The opening ceremonies started about 30 minutes before the marathon start of 7:55am and included several skydivers arriving in the start area, including a Medal of Honor recipient carrying the American flag to the start, a flyover by two military helicopters, and a brief speech by actor Sean Astin who was also running the race.

Lined up at the race start along Route 110

We crossed the start line about 7 minutes after the gun time. As with all big races, it was crowded at the start (and, honestly, never really cleared out with more space along the route). Angela was a few steps behind me, which was stressing me out a little bit. She felt that I was going faster than she wanted to go, although I swear I was sticking to the plan of 10-minute pace for the early miles. I briefly stopped to take some water from my bottle at mile 2 and then she ended up ahead of me. I got back in front and kept turning my head to make sure she was behind me. At some point in the next mile, I lost her. I made a hard decision to just keep going at that point because I was afraid that if I stopped, then I wouldn't find her in the crowd or she'd end up passing me without me seeing it. It definitely wasn't the plan for us to separate this early, and I felt nervous at the thought of running the next 23-24 miles without her, but I knew we both had to run our own races. And, well, there was some downhill coming in the next mile that I knew I would want to let loose and take advantage of.

For better or worse, that got things turning over on a quick pace and I just rode it for the next 6 miles or so. I felt great, although I knew I was running a "stupid" race by doing so when one of my main goals for the day was to run smart. At one point while I was rolling along, a guy asked me what kind of pace I was planning to run. My reply, "Whatever feels good." Sub 9-minutes felt good, so I took it.

Another indication that things were not going smartly was that I was nowhere near done with my water bottle (which had Tailwind + water) when I was scheduled to swap bottles with K at mile 6. I saw him as I approached mile 6, but he didn't see me until I was passing him. I decided not to stop because I was cruising along at a good clip at that point and had barely drank 1/4 of my water bottle at that point (the plan was to drink 1 bottle/hour). Unbeknownst to me, he made his way to the other side of the road since I was on an out-and-back section, and he appeared again around mile 9. I wasn't expecting him until mile 12, so I was on the inside of the road not in a good place to swap bottles. Again, I chose not to stop even after seeing him because I still hadn't finished bottle 1 (at almost 1.5 hours in). I knew that this was going to come back to hurt me because I knew how warm the temperature was expected to get over the course of the run.

I started to have a weird stomach cramp around mile 10-11. I stopped briefly to try to work it out somehow. We entered the loop around the Tidal Basin during this stretch, and I was in need of a pick me up from K (and a new water bottle) at our pre-planned meeting point around mile 12. But, mile 12 came and went with no sign of K. At that point, I knew I was on my own with hydration/nutrition for the next hour or more. So, I had to stop at the aid station around the halfway point to refill my bottle with water and start drinking Gatorade.  I hit the halfway point at 2:02, even with a few walking breaks thrown in after mile 10.

I don't remember much after the halfway point other than I was already struggling with the headwinds (15-20mph) and sun with temperatures rising to the low 70's by the end of the race. I was starting to overdrink fluids and struggled with placing of the aid stations 2+ miles apart - my bottle was empty, my mouth was dry, and I was WARM. Not a good combo for me, and I started to get in a bad mental place.

But, the miles still kept clicking by, although there was definitely walking involved at several points. I *finally* saw K waiting for me at our next meeting point just before mile 19. This time he saw me coming and was ready to swap the bottles. But, I just told him that I needed him to jump in and run with me for a bit because I needed a mental boost and some encouragement. We ran together for a short ways until the 19 mile marker, despite his concern that he was going to get tossed off the course by a Marine. I made it to mile 19 at around 3 hours, then I had him walk with me for a bit while I talked with him about how I was feeling. I told him that I was probably going to implode and have a rough road ahead to the finish. But, then I took off again and tried to "rally" (as I was thinking of reading my first marathon coach's race report from Kona the day before).

From there it was a struggle though. The remainder of the course was extremely boring and the route was very exposed to the sun. I went through several bad patches, but kept trying to pull myself out of them with various mantras going through my head. Nothing really physically hurt per se, although my left hip had my attention to some extent since before the halfway point. More than anything, I was just having to mentally tough it out through the warm, windy conditions and uninspired scenery. I had been keeping an eye out for Angela on an out-and-back stretch through Crystal City after mile 21, but I never saw her.

As we approached the mile 26 mile marker, I finally got a glimpse of the finish line at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial ABOVE me. I had heard that the finish was uphill, and it was definitely going to be a push to get there. Not a lover of hills, especially at the end of a marathon, I stopped and walked for a few steps (which K witnessed from his vantage point nearby). Then, I got it together and pushed onward to the finish, slapping hands with the Marines that lined the course at that point. I finished with a smile on my face. 4:23:34 chip time; 4:30:49 gun time (on the linked video).

Then, it was time for my favorite moment of the day - getting my medal placed around my neck by a Marine. And, yes, I may have lined up for this particular cute Marine to do the honors.

I called K, who was waiting for me just outside the finish area. Then, I hung around to try to see Angela, who unbeknownst to me at that point had crossed the finish line just a minute after me. We ended up meeting for a celebratory moment at a nearby hotel.

Then, we went our separate ways with plans to meet later for dinner. K and I had planned to take the metro back to our hotel, but we were shocked to see the lines all the way outside of the metro station on ground level. Um, no thank you. So, we hoofed it back to our hotel, about 1.5 miles from the finish through Georgetown along some of the race route that I had traversed several hours earlier. But, I had no sense of awareness that I had run through there...more on that in a minute.

About to cross the Key Bridge into Georgetown for the 2nd time of the day

We made a pit stop to pick up some goodies at Georgetown Cupcake on our way back to the hotel - YUM!

We got burgers for a late lunch then got cleaned up and took naps before heading to Bethesda, MD to meet Angela and her family for dinner.

2 happy marathon girls + George

And, with that, marathon day was a wrap.

From the MCM FB page after the race

Results

Overall, I feel okay about my race. But, I am also disappointed because I am confident that I could have had a better race under different weather conditions - temperatures in the 40's and 50's would have been preferred without the strong headwinds. I also didn't stick to my plan in terms of hydration/nutrition and pace, so I definitely wouldn't say that I met my goal of running a smart race. At the same time though, K reminded me that this was really my first true marathon back after the ankle injury. I made it through the training and ran a decent race, so hopefully I will only improve from here.

One thing about the race itself...for this race to be nicknamed the "Marathon of Monuments," I sure didn't see them. I ran those 26.2 miles with my head and visor down trying to shield the sun and my eyes forward on the ground ahead of me trying to find a clear path through the crowd to run through. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing to expect to see such a scenic course, and it didn't really turn out that way for me. K enjoyed the race from a spectator's perspective, but this is not a race that goes on my must do list.

What's next for me then? Well, I have a few half-marathons on the schedule for the upcoming months. And, the next marathon is already on the books -  The Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins, CO on May 3, 2015. Downhill, please! I already know that my training will be more disrupted over the next few months though with multiple trips planned. So, the training consistency likely won't be there until February or so, but at least I am not starting from scratch at this point with fitness. I think I will keep up with the weekly blog posts about my training for that race because I think it has helped with my accountability.

Thanks for following along on this journey!

Pre-race thoughts...

From MCM FB page this morning

We had a late night arrival into DC last night, but I was happy that everything went smoothly and we didn't have any flight issues. We woke up earlier than either of us would have preferred so that we could get packet pick-up/Expo stuff done in the morning to allow me time to relax the rest of the day (while K watches football).

And, I'm glad that we did! We took the metro out to the DC Armory, and I was surprised at how long the line already was to get into the building. It was significantly worse though as we were leaving. If it took us 30 minutes, then those people were looking at an hour plus wait to get in.

This is finally happening!

As I reflect on the last 6 months of training, a few things stand out to me...

I remember talking to Bobby on Day 1 of the training season about my uncertainty about how my ankle would hold up to the hills, speed, and terrain of a formal training program with Rogue for the first time since I broke it in 2010. It was a bit of a rough adjustment in the first 1-2 weeks, but I have been pleasantly surprised at the lack of issues with my ankle since then. I actually think my ankle is in better condition now than it was before I started training. Maybe the scar tissue has finally broken up or the hardware shifted into a more natural position...I don't know. But, I do know the constant swelling has essentially gone away, and my range of motion appears improved. I know that I won't ever love hills, but at least I have the motion in the ankle to climb them again.

I have been surprisingly consistent with getting my training runs completed, despite the heat, hills, and work and other life demands. This is probably the most consistent I have been in terms of sticking to the training program for a race other than when I trained for my first marathon and 50k races. I have more long training runs in my legs than I did for my first marathon - including that epic 22-miler last month. This leaves me feeling hopeful about my potential for tomorrow...but I also do not want to put unnecessary pressure on myself to perform. The goal that I initially had at the beginning of the training program was simply to make it to the starting line healthy. Mission accomplished. Now, that goal has evolved into running a smart and strong race - whatever that may translate to on my Garmin. Do I have a time that I'd like to hit? Of course. But, I also don't really have a realistic sense of how I can run in conditions other than the oppressive heat and humidity that I have been training in all summer. I'm just hoping that I can manage my hydration intake appropriately in the cooler weather, so that I can avoid the sloshing that has been my nemesis during so many long runs this summer.

I'm really happy that I get to run my goal race tomorrow with my training buddy and new friend! Angela was the first person that I talked to at our first Sole Survivor workout way back in May. What a pleasant surprise to find out that we were training for the same race at the same general pace! I'm excited to be a part of her first marathon tomorrow. The first one is always special.

I've been on weather alert for the past couple of weeks. The forecast is warmer and windier than I would prefer, but I have to just let that go and get my mind right. I need to use my philosophy from NYC last year and run with gratitude tomorrow. That means even more for this race given all that the Marines do for this race and our country.

So, trust in your training, Frank. One foot in front of another for 26.2 miles to get here:

Official marking of MCM finish line (from MCM FB page)

I got this. 

MCM Training Week 25

Saturday, October 18: 9 miles (road)

Angela and I started our last long run before the race next weekend at 6am. 6am! While it was nice not to have pasta for dinner last night and have to go to bed on the early side, I have to admit that the departure from our norm of the past few months just had me feeling "off." The run itself was fairly unremarkable other than the fact that it didn't take too long and it was still ridiculously humid at this point in October. Since the training schedule indicated that we were supposed to run 90-100 minutes, I had assumed that we'd run 10 miles. Angela had other ideas though, and what difference is a mile more or less going to make at this point anyway? So, 9 it was in my race-day shoes.


Sunday, October 19: OFF

Monday, October 20: 5 miles (treadmill)

Tuesday, October 21: OFF

Wednesday, October 22: 5 miles (road)

I had my pre-race massage this afternoon. I asked Ann to focus on my left hip and the usual right calf/soleus. Nothing out of the ordinary, but those areas needed some attention before the race.

Our last workout with the Sole Survivors before our race! Finally, it's our turn!

We ran a 2.25 mile warm-up over to LAB then did a 1-mile out-and-back section of that road at MGP. Other folks were running 10k pace, and I think we did a good job of sticking to our pace and not getting caught up with others running a faster pace around us. Now, let's see if we can do that on race day!

Thursday, October 23: 3 miles (treadmill)

With this run, that's all she wrote for this fall marathon training season! 

Friday: October 24: OFF

DC, here we come!

Week 25 Total: 22 miles

MCM Training Week 24

Saturday, October 11 - 15 miles (road)

When I checked the weather forecast yesterday morning, it was pretty clear that we were likely going to get rained on during our run this morning. Angela and I checked in with each other and considered running last night instead or maybe even tomorrow, but ultimately kept the plan as is. Our routine has gotten us this far, so why change it now?

Angela did have some time constraints she was dealing with this morning, so we met and started our run a few minutes before 5am. Thankfully, Caroline was there to open the building for us early birds, then we were off. We had to make a short detour for a bathroom stop for Angela within the first mile or so. As we got ourselves back on course, we felt a sudden change in weather - the cold front had arrived. Hallelujah! What a drastic change it was though - we went from mid 70's to low 60's just like that. And, it was a welcome change! Now, we were playing the game of how many miles can we get done before the rain arrives.

We ran this route back in Week 14 except we were going to cut it a little shorter today. Slight uphill on the way out and slight downhill on the way back - from my perception at least. And, with the cooler weather, I felt fairly good and strong other than really needing a bathroom stop about an hour into the run. Unfortunately, I didn't get one until closer to mile 11. And, within the next 5-10 minutes after my pit stop, the rain that had been threatening finally arrived. At that point, I was still running fairly well and didn't really mind the rain too much (the visor probably helped). I even added a slight detour as I got closer to Rogue to add on a tad more mileage to make sure I got the full 15 that I needed.

Fast forward several hours and we had our end-of-the-season party at Bobby's house tonight. It was a night of gratitude and community - a reminder of why I love Rogue.

Bobby and his MCM girls

Sunday, October 12 - OFF


From the MCM FB page this morning:

"Months of dedicated training. Battling to push yourself to ever greater distances with sights set on one thing-the Marine Corps War Memorial. Cue the butterflies...Two weeks from right now you will charge the District, Beat the Bridge and Take the Iwo. Bring on M-Day!"

Monday, October 13 - OFF

Switched medium long run to tomorrow due to schedule conflicts.

Tuesday, October 14 - 6 miles (treadmill)

Easy 6-mile run. Felt great! Could have run more. Isn't that what tapering should feel like?

Wednesday, October 15 - 5.5 miles (road)

Tonight was a bit discombobulated to say the least.

When I picked up the map for the workout, I realized we were heading out on a different warm-up route to a new workout location than we have been to before this training season. Angela and I were, to some extent, blindly following the lone girl in front of us when she doubled back upon realizing we were off course about a half mile in. We backtracked to the likely intersection that we missed, and we were surprised that we didn't see others from our group (except for the lone girl who had been following Angela and I). It took us a few minutes to regroup, but then we managed to get it together and found our way on the Johnson Creek Trail up to Enfield. It ended up being about a 2-mile warm-up, and Bobby had held off starting the workout until we arrived.

The plan was that 10/26 marathoners were supposed to run 6x800m at 10k pace with 3min walking/jogging recovery. Bobby had initially told us that the loop was a 400m loop so we were supposed to run it twice at pace before recovery. But, shortly after we started out, I didn't have a good feeling that we were following the correct route because it seemed that we were running farther out than a 400. Well, it turned out that we were on the right route, but it was actually an 800m loop. So, when we came back through after the first set, Bobby immediately sent us out on another loop for what basically turned into a mile at pace.

Then, we regrouped and I ran the workout as intended for 2 more 800's with recovery in between (3:49 and 3:55 for the 800's, respectively). But, Angela ran the 2-800's together again for another mile repeat. Silly. So, she was waiting for me when I got back from my 4th 800 and said that she wasn't going to do anymore because it was too dark to really see the road terrain in some places. I definitely agreed because who needs to turn an ankle or something this close to the race over something like that? I know that we run for hours in the dark on Saturday mornings lately, but I have my headlamp to light the road. So, we went ahead and headed back to Rogue, although on a different way than we came because we all agreed that it was too dark to take the trail back with the tunnels along the way.

I felt somewhat guilty about not getting in the last two 800's, but I had to reassure myself that it wouldn't have really had a physiological benefit for my race anyway. So, the risk was greater than the reward. 

Thursday, October 16 - 4.5 miles (treadmill)

Easy run to start breaking in my race-day shoes.


Taper madness is starting to set in!

Friday, October 17 - OFF

Week 24 Total: 31 miles

MCM Training Week 23

Saturday, October 4: 18 miles (road)

After spending much of yesterday on the couch doped up on all the meds I could get my hands on (and starting another round of antibiotics), I wasn't sure what to expect from today's run - especially since I was running solo with Angela out of town this weekend. K tried to convince me to start at the official group start time for safety reasons - he wasn't keen on me running on my own in the dark for 2+ hours, including a jaunt on the East Side. But, I stuck to my routine and started around 5am. For the record, I followed a couple of girls who I see a lot on long runs for a few blocks, but then decided I wanted to run a slightly faster pace. Shortly after I passed them, I could hear footsteps coming from behind, and I soon had a rabbit to follow for the first few miles until I lost her while I stopped at the mile 4 water stop. Then, it was just me and my headlamp. Man, it takes a lot of mental energy to figure out where to go when it's dark! Angela usually navigates for us, so I generally just follow her. I didn't get lost though, but I was pretty happy to reach the turnaround point since it would be light soon, I had a general sense of how to retrace my steps, and there were more runners heading back who had run less distance.

The schedule called for 18-20 miles today, and I remained uncertain about how far I was going to go until it was time to make the call of when to turn around. The weather was cooler, so that was in my favor. But, I could definitely feel the general lack of energy from being sick. So, I called it at 18 today, with a slight negative split for the run (even with walking a couple of the hills on the way back in). Not terrible for being sick, I guess.

And, with that run, my fitness is in a lock box until race day. Recovery week is coming up followed by two weeks of taper. Almost there!


Sunday, October 5: 3 miles (treadmill)

I still felt pretty lethargic and sick today, but I managed to get my easy 3-mile recovery run done.


Race Day is 3 weeks from today!

It was pretty exciting to see how well most of our training group ran today in Twin Cities - lots of PR's all around. It gives me hope that my training will pay off in DC (if the weather is favorable)!

Monday, October 6: OFF

Loved seeing this FB status on the MCM page this weekend:
"Congrats to all the runners who arrived in Taper Town this past weekend. Next stop, Marathonville! Happy M-20!"

I had a massage this morning - super tight right calf and soleus, the usual culprit. She also noticed some tightness in my left hamstring, which she was somewhat happy to see since it means that muscle is actually being activated when I run.

I switched my medium long run today to tomorrow because I am still not feeling 100% and due to schedule conflicts.

Tuesday, October 7:4 miles (treadmill)

Since it is recovery week, the medium long run for yesterday was scheduled to be 4-7 miles. I had planned to run 6 miles, but cut it short and did the minimum instead. I had the tingling/numbness in my right foot while I was running because of my tight calf. Need to work on rolling it out.

Wednesday, October 8: 3 miles (road)

I was glad that I only did the shorter amount of mileage for last night's run when I later saw how long tonight's workout was going to be. 7+ miles during recovery week, really? And, if you hadn't noticed, it's still hot and humid with temperatures in the 90's.

We were supposed to do a ladder workout at 5k pace, but Bobby changed the workout at the last minute so that his fall and spring marathoners would all just do the same workout instead. So, we got off easy. Instead of the 7+ mile workout scheduled, we did a 1.5 mile warm-up/cool-down and short (like 250 feet) hill strides at hard effort. I was grateful to be done on the earlier side tonight because life outside of running needs some attention, too.


Thursday, October 9: 5 miles (treadmill)

Easy 5-mile run (the max amount for today to make-up for doing the shorter mileage earlier this week).

Friday, October 10: OFF

Week 23 Total: 33 miles

MCM Training Week 22

Saturday, September 27: 20 miles (road)

It's going to be October in a few days, and the official start of Fall was earlier this week. Is it too much to ask to be done with these warm, humid mornings already?!? After our great 22-miler two weeks ago, I got served up some humble pie during this morning's run.

Angela and I headed out a little after 5am as usual. A lot of our training group is in taper mode for their race next weekend, so there were only a few familiar faces starting at that hour. It was super humid when we started, and I didn't take it as a good sign that I was already drenching myself with water at the first water stop 2 miles in. It didn't get better from there either. Same old drill - soaked socks/shoes after about an hour, drinking a lot of fluids which led to a full belly. I was not in a good place mentally for much of the run because I was frustrated that it was taking so much effort to run. I told Angela about halfway through that I was in a negative head space, and she tried to pull me out of it. But, it didn't really work because the damage had already been done at that point. I let her go at about mile 15 while I stopped for a bathroom break hoping that would help. I hit a water stop a few minutes later and essentially just consumed the fluids that I had just gotten rid of, so it didn't really help that much in the end. I had a sharp pain on my right side deep in the stomach muscle that I had to baby for the next mile or so. But, then I was able to work through it and finish up the last couple of miles fairly strong.

I asked K this afternoon to check the weather in DC to give me piece of mind that the weather should indeed be cooler for race day than what I have been plodding through these past few months. With another month to go, he assured me that it should be. So, I will remain hopeful...especially with the weather forecast for next weekend looking to bring temps back down here into the 60's (or maybe even 50's?) so that I can get in one more confidence-building long run before taper.

Sunday, September 28: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3 mile recovery run. 

Race week is 4 weeks from today!

Monday, September 29: 8 miles (treadmill)

This should be the last medium long run that is over an hour, as recovery week is next week followed by taper! Moving forward after MCM I would like to get these medium long runs more consistently in the 10-mile range, but I struggle with getting this done from a time perspective on a work day. 

Tuesday, September 30: OFF

Wednesday, October 1: 5.5 miles (road)

It's October today - where are the Fall temperatures?! It was so warm and humid again tonight. I told K that it felt like I was running with a wet diaper on toward the end of the workout because my shorts were absolutely soaked through from sweat. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

We did this workout in Week 19, so we knew the drill. The focus is on maintaining MGP (which, honestly, I haven't really settled on for race day because it seems to vary so much in the weather conditions that we've been running in here). 

We did two sets of the following:
"800m at MGP
400m EASY
800m at MGP
400m HARD
800m at MGP"

I used my time estimate from a few weeks ago for the 800's of  4:53-5:07.  I noticed that I had a really hard time backing down to MGP for the final 800 following the fast 400 toward the end of my first set. So, I made a focused effort on that for the second set, and I did better. I didn't really time each segment of this workout, but I averaged around 9:30/mile pace for the first set and 9:50/mile pace for the second set.

Today was a perfect example of not really wanting to run initially, but being happy I did and feeling better afterwards. My stress level from work has been pretty high lately, and I also seem to be teetering on the line of getting sick with my usual allergy/sinus infection crap. I know that Angela counts on me to be at the workouts, so I showed up and did the work. And, what do you know, I relieved some of my stress in the process (even if only for a little while).

The majority of our training group did an abbreviated workout tonight before heading off to their respective marathons this weekend. It was bittersweet to watch them finish up and head back while Angela and I trudged on for another set. But, we're almost to our own start/finish lines. Our time will be here soon enough.

Thursday, October 2: 5.5 miles (treadmill)

Very similar to yesterday, I felt worn down physically and stressed from work, so I wasn't very motivated to get my run done. Notice that I broke it down into a .5 mile though just to get it done and even out from last night's mileage. 

Friday, October 3: OFF

Week 22 Total: 42 miles

MCM Training Week 21

Saturday, September 20: OFF

Today's long run for recovery week is scheduled to be 10-12 miles. In order to get some practice in a race simulation mode, I found a half-marathon that I am going to run tomorrow instead. So, I switched tomorrow's off day for the final day of recovery week with today.

Sunday, September 21: 13.1 miles (road)

The Texas Road Romp Half Marathon in Waco, Texas

It was hot, hilly, and I suffered. The End.

So, an ad for this race popped up in my FB news feed last month, and I thought it would be a good race prep run for me. I never intended on "racing" it, but wanted to get out of it the practice of doing a long run on a race course with mile markers, aid stations, etc. The course was described as "mostly flat with a few small hills." Since the race was at the end of September, I was also hoping for cooler weather. Well, neither of those things actually turned out to be true.

We drove up to Waco on Saturday afternoon and had some extra time after picking up our packets nearby, so K convinced me to drive the race course. The map of the course had looked pretty confusing, and he was concerned about inadvertently going off course (ya know because he wouldn't have throngs of people ahead of him to follow like us middle of the packers). We were both glad that we previewed the course though because the course was definitely hillier than either of us were expecting. Expecting a flattish course and then running into some of those hills during the race would have destroyed me mentally, so I was able to adjust my expectations and reaffirm that my plan was to run easy, especially since this is my long run for recovery week.

The race didn't start until 8am, which was already a red flag for me. Remember, I start my long runs at 5am and usually finish between 8-9am. The temps at the start were in the mid 70's and probably close to 80 when I finished. The first few miles of the course went through Cameron Park, which had quite a bit of tree cover (but the trade-off was that this part of the course had more hills). Then, we entered a brief neighborhood section (with more hills) as a transition to McLennan Community College (hills here, too). Unfortunately, as we exited the campus at around mile 8, we hit a flat stretch along the side of a busy road which was very exposed to the sun for the next few miles. Since we drove the course in advance, I knew that this stretch was going to be tough because it was going to be warm and boring. And, sure enough, this is the stretch that broke me.

I started out running 9-ish minute miles for the first couple of miles, which was faster than I would normally run for an easy long run so I am going to have to be careful about going out too fast at MCM. But, I knew the first couple of miles were flat and the hills were coming. I ran a few of the first hills, but then just walked the uphill and cruised the downhill so I think the pace probably evened out. I walked the water stops and took water (then Gatorade at the later stops) at each stop and also dumped the remainder of the water over myself to try to cool down.

I finished 10k in about an hour then 9 miles in about 1:30. But, at that point, I was cooked from the heat and had the boring, exposed stretch of road ahead of me. Mentally, I just shut down and was done. I was also having tummy issues because of the excess fluid that I had consumed because of the heat, which didn't really help matters since I had needed to go to the bathroom pretty much since mile 1. I was also frustrated because I thought the course was long, and I heard from others that their GPS was also off by about .3-.5 mile. I walked a lot in the last 4 miles and just wanted to be done. I was so miserable because of the warm weather. The race finished on the Waco Suspension Bridge, which was very uneven in terms of surface so it was difficult to run the last .1 to just finish the thing in 2:15. My first words to K when I saw him at the finish were "That was awful!" But, he won the race by 11 minutes, so apparently it was only awful for me.

Race week is 5 weeks from today! 

Monday, September 22: 8 miles (treadmill)

I considered switching my medium long run until tomorrow because of the race yesterday, but I had more time today so I went ahead and got it done. I felt somewhat sore during the day, but I was actually surprised by how good I felt while I was running.

Tuesday, September 23: OFF

Wednesday, September 24: 9 miles (road)

Angela sent me a text last night after getting the email details from Bobby about tonight's workout questioning whether the workout was really going to be this long. Oh, yes, ma'am. I remembered it from Week 16 when we finished super late in the evening. With that in mind, I convinced her to start the workout on our own shortly after 6pm since we were already at Rogue before Bobby assembled the group at 6:30pm and set off closer to 6:45pm. Turns out we made a great decision to do so because Bobby actually wasn't there tonight.

We had a 2.25 mile warmup over to the Pemberton neighborhood then we did several 1.5 mile loops focused on maintaining a "hardER" pace but not "hard." I knew what to expect since we had done this workout before (Angela had missed it though), and I remembered struggling with the effort in the heat. So, I was thankful for the cooler temperature in the low 80's and for Angela to pace with.

We had to run 2 loops at a steady pace without stopping. We went through the first loop in a little over 14 minutes, which was a minute slower than when I previously did the workout (then bombed out in the 2nd loop). But, this time we picked up the pace in our second loop, and our total for the 3 miles was 27:19 (9:05 overall pace), which turned out to be 40 seconds faster than in the prior workout (despite starting slower tonight). Hmm, maybe there's a lesson in there, mel!

After several minutes of stopping to recover, we went out again for another loop and clocked it at 12:57 (8:38 overall pace) for the 1.5 miles. Start slow, finish strong.

Then, it was back the 2.25 miles to Rogue as it was getting dark. So, so glad that we started when we did!

Thursday, September 25: 6 miles (treadmill)

Easy run on the treadmill to finish off the week.

Friday, September 26: OFF

Week 21 Total: 36 miles

MCM Training Week 20

Saturday, September 13: 22 miles (road)

Oh, Crestview, you treated me well today! Today was one of those runs that I want to bottle up and hold in my memory for race day. I cannot even begin to express how hopeful I was about having a good long run with the first true fall temps of the season this morning. And, it did not disappoint!

Angela and I set off a few minutes after our usual 5am start time. The temperature throughout the run stayed in the lower 60's. I wore a short-sleeve shirt for the first time all training season and that felt just right (although my core was cold because I was so wet). Much of the run was in drizzling, cold rain into a headwind, but it was a welcome change from all of the hot and humid runs that we have endured over the past few months. The route was also "fairly flat," although it was definitely gradual uphill on the way out, which meant gradual downhill on the way back...my favorite.

We were undecided until mile 9 or so whether we were going to run 20 or 22 today. While we both needed a good confidence-boosting 20-miler under our legs (and in our heads), we also wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather and flatter course to push for 22. We both felt amazingly good, so we went for it. And, might I add that I have always maxed out at 20 when training for previous marathons, so this was new territory for both of us. And, I'm so glad that we did it because I couldn't have asked for a better run!

I never really had a bad patch (although we did need to make a bathroom stop about halfway in) - either physically or mentally. I felt really strong in both aspects the entire way. We were supposed to run 20 miles today with the last 10 at MGP. But, MGP is generally close to our easy pace anyway, so we weren't overly focused on that. I did, however, negative split the heck out of this run! With strong legs, a positive attitude, and of course the cooler weather and downhill, I just let the faster pace come when it did and ran with it. The last 5 miles were sub-9 minute miles, with miles 20 and 21 clocking in around 8:09 and 8:07, respectively. Who knew I could do that?!?! This truly was unlike any run that I have had before.

We both finished up with smiles on our faces, strong miles in our legs, and the confidence to take on our race next month! Today was the last long run for a lot of folks in our training group who are racing Twin Cities in 3 weeks. I kind of wish that we were kicking off our taper too with this strong run as our last long run before race day. But, we're not done quite yet.

Sunday, September 14: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3-mile recovery run. Even though the temps were still relatively cooler today, I opted to do my recovery run on the treadmill instead of the road because I didn't want to run too fast after yesterday's run and truly use it for recovery instead.

Race Day is 6 weeks from today!

Monday, September 15: OFF

Recovery weeks starts today!

Because of my work schedule, I switched my medium long run today with my usual off day tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 16: 5 miles (treadmill) - New shoes

I had a massage this morning and didn't get quite the clean bill of health that I had been getting in the past few visits. Ann felt several adhesions in my right adductor, which are likely remnants from all of the issues that I had recently been having. Right calf was tight, but not as bad as it has been in the past.

Ran easy 5 miles on the treadmill in late afternoon. Felt good.

Wednesday, September 17: 6 miles (road)

Tonight's quality workout was 400's at a fast pace around the neighborhood block that we've been using in lieu of the track this season. As we were doing our 1.5 mile warm-up over to the O'Henry area, I commented to Angela that the hills seemed much harder than usual, and she agreed. The weather was super humid this evening, but I also think that my body was ready for the recovery week after the back to back 20 mile long runs that we've done.  

In terms of pace for the 400's, Bobby just said to run "fast - whatever that means to you and your body tonight." Well, based on the difficulty I had with the warm-up, I wasn't sure how fast my fast was going to be. But, all was not lost. We did 2 sets of 3 400's with 400 recovery = 3 miles total. My splits for the fast 400's were: Set 1 = 1:52, 1:49, 1:55; Set 2 = 1:52, 1:48; 1:50. This is comparable to the times I ran for 400's at a hard effort during a different type of workout two weeks ago (1:48-1:56).

Thursday, September 18: OFF

Switched my off day tomorrow with today. 

Friday, September 19: 4 miles (treadmill)

Easy 4 miles on the treadmill. Had some tingling/numbness in my right foot while running, which is usually an indication that my calf is tight.

K and I are doing a half-marathon on Sunday, so I am not running tomorrow morning. It's so nice to have a Friday evening where we don't have to eat pasta and then I have to go to bed super early to run in the morning! 

Week 20 Total: 40 miles

MCM Training Week 19

Saturday, September 6: 20 (-ish) miles (road)

Didn't see this posted on the MCM Facebook page until after I had finished my run this morning. Wish I had seen it beforehand because I needed the inspiration boost.

Today was the other long run date that Bobby had told us to mark on our calendar several weeks ago. The long run route for today was "Hills to Heaven," also known as a 22+ miler which features a lot of hills that we have previously run with Ladera Norte thrown in as the bonus.

I got to Rogue at 4:45am for my 5am planned start with Angela, but we didn't actually get on our way until closer to 5:15am. A lot of folks had already headed out before us, and we caught up to a group of Sole Survivors in the first couple of miles. But, then we were largely on our own again for much of the way.

Early on I noticed the pain in my knee that had been apparent for the past 2 days, and after some thinking, my best guess is that the highly cambered road from the mountain miles last weekend might have been the culprit. As the run progressed, the pain definitely seemed to be more of a pulling on the inside and outside of my right knee, which seemed to be aggravated by the road camber and uphills. Not the best scenario for today's run.

We were in the dark for the first 6-7 miles or so, and as I have mentioned before, I think I run some of those hills better when my head doesn't interfere because it can't see what's coming. I checked in with Angela though around 8 miles in and said I was thinking of just doing 20 (which the turnaround for just so happened to be right before Ladera Norte) because I was worried about my knee. She was on board with that plan because she had time constraints she was dealing with that morning anyway. But, no worries, we still got in our share of hills on that route, so I didn't feel bad about turning around when we did.

After the turnaround at mile 10 (which I had at about 9.7 on my Garmin), we had a nice 1-2 mile downhill stretch where I could really relax and let go. I pulled away from Angela and was on my own for this stretch, but I knew she'd catch me when the road turned upward again which it inevitably did. I walked a lot of the uphills on the return stretch because that seemed to be what aggravated the pulling on my knee the most and because of my negativity about hills. Thankfully, since we did so many hills on the way out, I had some nice downhill stretches ahead of me on the way back.

Angela ended up taking a more direct route back to Rogue at about mile 16, so we went our separate ways as I trudged on to get closer to 20 since we had already cut the route short. On a more positive note, I handled my salt and fluid intake better than my last 20 miler two weekends ago. Better, but still not great. I took a salt tab every 30 minutes, (tried) to make my 20 oz handheld bottle with Tailwind and water last for an hour, and only take 1-2 small cups of water or Gatorade at water stations as needed. I also used a cup of water to pour over myself at several aid stations to help with cooling my body down. No tummy sloshing, but more guzzling of the water in my handheld than I should have a few times - more sipping, less guzzling next time, mel.

The prospect of an ice bath at Rogue when I got back was what got me through the last few miles. Today was the fall marathon training kick-off at Rogue so they had a lot of vendors and food set up for the runners who were starting their training today. They were long gone though by the time I made it back from my run, and Rogue folks were busy tearing down the stuff from the kick-off party when I got back. Not seeing the big tub out for the ice bath, I made a beeline to a small kiddie pool filled with water and ice that I saw set out. I promptly took off my shoes and hopped in without even giving it a second thought. I got a few looks because the pool had apparently been used for something else earlier and wasn't necessarily meant as an ice bath. Hey, a girl has to do what a girl has to do after 20 miles!

Ah, this felt like heaven after Hills to Heaven!

Sunday, September 7: OFF

Didn't do my 3-mile recovery run today because I wanted to give my right leg an extra day off given the pain that I have been having for the past few days.

Race Day is 7 weeks from today!

Monday, September 8: OFF

Switched my medium long run until tomorrow in favor of getting an unplanned massage in an attempt to work out the tightness in my ITB and adductors that are pulling on my knee. I couldn't make it work with my schedule to get in to see my regular massage therapist this week, so I had to settle for one of the more convenient massage places in town that could get me in during the evening. Unfortunately, I ended up with a therapist who doesn't really do sports massage and had never worked on someone with the issues that I was having. She seemed more interested in my "record-breaking" tight calves - yeah, yeah, I've heard that a time or two before. But, hopefully, the right quad got enough love to loosen up a bit. I'll test it out in the morning.

Tuesday, September 9: 9 miles (trail)

Did something that I never do today - got up early and went out to run TLT (with K in tow). The pain in my knee was less apparent, but still noticeable in my adductors at times which seemed to contribute to a twinge of pain on the inside of my knee every now and then. It was a really sloppy run - my pace was all over the place, the weather was super humid and warm, and I wasn't monitoring my fluid intake as well as I should have so I ended up with sloshy tummy halfway through. It was really a struggle to get through this run, and honestly, deflated my confidence that I was struggling this much at this point in my training.

Wednesday, September 10: 5.5 miles (road)

Ya know what? It's still hot and humid. And, my shoes were still not dry from my run yesterday morning!

We ran a 1-mile warm-up to the Clarksville neighborhood then we did a pace workout focused on MGP:

2 X "800m at MGP
400m EASY
800m at MGP
400m HARD! – hard, hard, hard!
800m at MGP"


Since the point of this workout was clearly about running MGP and not fast, I made a concerted effort to stick to a slower pace tonight (4:53-5:07 range for the 800). I told Angela that she was the leader for the workout since I tend to take us out too fast. She commented that she didn't know how to reign me in when I start going too fast. But, I didn't let my legs get ahead of my head tonight. We ended up averaging about 9:30 for each of the 4 miles, so I think it was a win. Although, I didn't really care for doing this workout where we did it because the roads were too busy with traffic. I do think the pace adjustments for the terrain changes (up or downhill) were good practice compared to doing this workout on a track though.

We took a shortcut back to Rogue after the workout, so we ended up cutting our cooldown a half mile short. 

Thursday, September 11: 6 miles (treadmill)

Easy 6 miles at the gym. No more pain in my knee so that is a good sign. 

Friday, September 12: OFF

Week 19 Total: 40 miles (missed recovery run this week)

MCM Training Week 18

Saturday, August 30: OFF

Today's long run for recovery week is scheduled for 8-10 miles. But, I am switching my long run day to tomorrow which is scheduled as an OFF day due to recovery week.

Sunday, August 31: 13.1 miles (road)

Pier to Peak Half-Marathon in Santa Barbara, CA

Here's the race description from the race website (bold added by me):
"Santa Barbara's Challenging Half-Marathon takes you from the famous Santa Barbara Friendship Dolphins Fountain at the edge of Stearns Wharf, past the "Queen of the Missions" and on up an elevation of 3,996 feet to the Majestic views at La Cumbre Peak. Capture the panoramic layout of the city, SB Channels and the Channel Islands. You can see where you started from 13.1 miles (sea level) earlier."

Sounds just like my kind of race given my passion for hills, right? HA! But, it was my idea. When we were looking at possible places to go for Labor Day weekend, I cross-checked possible destinations with area races, and this is where we ended up!

We got down to the start area at the harbor shortly before 6am for the 6:30am race start. I had been hoping for a nice chill in the air to start the race, but no such luck. The weather was much warmer than I had hoped, although there was no humidity to make it unbearable like it is in Austin right now.

Stearns Wharf

Pre-race briefing at sunrise

Start of the race at the Friendship Fountain at the wharf

This was a small race with about 400 participants. The walkers set off at 6am and the runners followed suit at 6:30am. The race started climbing gradually from the start, as we made our way away from the water through town for the first couple of miles. My first and second miles were 9:42 and 9:46, respectively, and I could definitely feel that we were going uphill at a gradual incline. Then, we hit the Old Mission and that's where the climbing really began once we turned onto the roads that went into the foothills of the mountains. From there, it was double-digit minute/mile pace onward and upward.

Old Mission Santa Barbara - yes, we are headed for those mountains in the distance!

There was minimal respite from the ascent, but I managed to run fairly steadily with a few walk breaks when needed for the first 5 miles or so. I finished the first 5 miles in about an hour. But, the climbing was unrelenting and there was more and more walking with less and less running as the miles went by. I finished 7 miles in about 1.5 hours. But, then it was mostly walking for the last 6 miles (finished in 3:10).

Look closely to see the road where we just came from

I knew there was a brief out-and-back stretch toward the end of the course that I was eagerly anticipating because it included some downhill where I could let my legs actually get some turnover again. Finally, at around mile 11, there was a .25 mile out-and-back where I got to actually move again like a runner on the return part! But, I was super disappointed that it was so brief. As I passed the water stop and took a minute to refill my water bottle, I asked if that was all of the downhill and the volunteers assured me that there was more to come. So, happily off I went at a nice pace (and with a smile on my face) until about mile 12 when the road definitely turned upward again all the way to the finish.

Race finish at the summit of La Cumbre Peak

I knew that the final stretch was a nasty little climb to the top when you are just ready to be done, and sure enough, it was one final switchback. But, then I was rewarded with the beautiful views at the top and reunited with K who had finished about an hour ahead of me.

We started way down there!

View of where we finished from the Santa Barbara Courthouse Observation Tower after the race

Race Day is 8 weeks from today! 

Monday, September 1: OFF

Because of yesterday's race, I planned to switch my medium long run day to tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 2: OFF

Unexpectedly, we didn't get home from our trip until today, which completely threw off our schedules. So, I missed the medium long run for the week - oops!

Wednesday, September 3: 6 miles (road)

Dare I say that I noticed a reprieve from the intense heat during tonight's quality workout (although I believe the temp still topped out at 100 degrees today)? Tonight's workout was a speed workout, which varied depending on the date of our target races. Instead of Yasso 800's, we had the pleasure of doing the following:

1.5 mile warm-up
3 sets x 800m @ 10K pace + 400m moderate run + 400m @ 5k pace
1.5 mile cool-down

Using our marathon goal time (which isn't really an aggressive goal time for me), Bobby had asked us to come ready with our paces for the 800 (4:19-4:33) and 400 (2:06-2:13). We didn't do this workout on the track, which makes it a little weird doing this kind of speedwork. Instead, we ran around a neighborhood block which had some terrain and slight elevation changes to negotiate.

Honestly, I was nervous about this workout all day because I have been having such a hard time with "hard" efforts in the heat. Maybe it was a slight temperature drop or the shorter period of intensity, but I actually found this workout to be fairly easy and enjoyable. All of my laps were too fast, even though I tried to make a focused effort to slow down as the workout progressed (particularly on the final 800).

Set 1: 4:03 800; 1:56 400
Set 2: 4:02 800; 1:52 400
Set 3: 4:15 800; 1:48 400

This was the first hope I had for running faster and easier once the temperature starts to cool down...eventually.

Thursday, September 4: 6 miles (treadmill)

I started to have some weird pain/tightness in my right knee today at work, but it didn't seem to affect my run tonight. Will keep an eye on it. 

Friday, September 5: OFF

Week 18 Total: 25 miles (missed medium long run this week due to travel) - YOWZA! This turned into more of my recovery week than last week!

MCM Training Week 17

Saturday, August 23: 20(-ish) miles (road)

When I found out the route for today's run early in the week, I was pretty happy. First of all, I was relieved that it wasn't as loaded with hills as last week's run. And, I know that I have previously had a good, confidence building 20-miler on this route, so I was hopeful.

Late yesterday afternoon, Angela asked if I was up for starting at 4:30am today. I didn't really hesitate when I replied yes. Anybody that knows me well knows that I am NOT a morning person under any circumstances, so I really think my early Saturday morning runs reflect the commitment I have to training right now.

Bobby drove up to Rogue just as Angela and I were about to head out on our own. The building wasn't open yet, as most sane (and fast) folks wouldn't be starting until 30-60 minutes later. Thankfully, I was able to pull up the route on my phone, so we were able to use that to navigate our way, although it took some extra time to stop and look up the directions when we needed to. The route was also much different than I remembered it to be, but generally was gradual uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back. Angela commented that my pace seemed faster today, not only on the downhill but also the uphill.

Since we started so early, I knew we wouldn't hit a water stop for quite awhile into the run. So, I opted to run with my Camelbak this morning in order to minimize any stress about not having enough water. As it turns out, not having enough water might actually be a blessing for me because I continued my pattern of overdrinking, which led to a sloshy tummy for the second half of the run. Angela had tummy issues as well, so we had to stop and walk some in the last hour until we found a bathroom.

My hydration issues are the main problem that I am consistently having on my long runs in this warm weather. For the most part my legs and cardio feel fine. So, the first thing that I did when I got home after the run was to email Meredith to work out a hydration/nutrition plan for summer training and race day. I should have done this a long time ago!

I hopped into the ice bath at Rogue after the run, and it felt amazing! Will definitely continue to do that when possible. Overall, no fatigue or soreness after the run.

Sunday, August 24: 4 miles (treadmill)

I usually only do an easy 3-mile recovery run on Sunday, but I felt good (must have been the ice bath yesterday!) so I went ahead and ran 4. Could have done more, too.

Race Day is 9 weeks from today!

Monday, August 25: 6 miles (treadmill)

Recovery week starts today! Woohoo!

Similar to yesterday, I originally planned to do 5 miles, but I felt good so I kept going for 6 (which was still within the prescribed range for today). 

Tuesday, August 26: OFF

Wednesday, August 27: 3 (-ish) miles (road)

I met with Meredith this afternoon to work out a strategy for hydration/nutrition for the rest of summer training and race day. Upon hearing about my challenges, she felt that I haven't really acclimated to the heat yet, and that more often than not, when I am downing a bunch of fluid, it is more about me being hot and trying to cool myself down than truly being thirsty (because I am clearly drinking enough). And, I definitely need to match up my salt intake with my fluid intake. So, bottom line is drink less and take more salt. I'm oversimplifying a bit, but you get the point.

We started tonight's workout with the Sole Survivors from Coach Bobby's house instead of Rogue. We did a warm-up of 1.25 miles over to a nearby hill in his neighborhood (that we actually ran up to get to our workout location last week). Then, we did hill repeats at about 75% effort. I'm not sure exactly how long the hill was, but my "hard" effort only lasted about a minute or less so it was very reasonable. Walk down the hill and repeat (somewhere between 6-8 times, I think?). Then, we reversed our route back to Bobby's house for the cool down.

Then, we really got to cool down with Amy's Ice Cream, which Bobby had catered for us at his house. What an amazing coach!

Thursday, August 28: 5 miles (treadmill)

Easy 5 mile run at the gym. 

Friday, August 29: OFF

I had a massage with Ann today - not only for recovery from the past couple weeks of hard training, but also in preparation for the half marathon that we are running on Sunday. It's going to be 4,000 feet of climbing, so she paid special attention to working on my range of motion for my ankle to make sure it's up for the incline of the route. Other than that, no particular issues today - still doing great!


Week 17 Total: 38 miles