Saturday, January 31, 2015

12 weeks to Boston

Just popping in for a training update! I had hoped to post weekly regarding this, but between being a wife, mom, working(I have been working extra hours since it is flu season), interviewing for graduate school, and training I have not had the time to sit down to write this blog.
It is exciting that Boston Marathon is 12 weeks away! I am even more excited that training is going so well! Yes, there have been runs that are not enjoyable. As in, while running I keeping thinking "can this just be done?" However, so many of the runs feel amazing!
I had found on the Boston Marathon page a training plan, after looking at the training plan I got excited! I looked over the workouts (especially the speed workouts), and felt they would help me get to where I need to be. There were a lot of marathon pace workouts, which I feel will help me the most. In my last training cycle for No Frills Marathon, there were not ANY marathon pace work. During that marathon, even though it was a PR, I did not feel I could get into the pace I wanted because I hadn't practiced the pace. I feel this is going to get me that 3:20:00 marathon (or faster).

Here's what last week looked like for training:
Most of this was on the treadmill due to my work schedule and the fact that it is really dark in the mornings!

Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: Treadmill miles: 2x(4x800m) at 10k pace (6:40min/mile) with 90 sec recovery. 5 min between each set. Total miles for the run was 9.03
Wednesday: Treadmill miles: 8.86 miles easy pace
Thursday: Treadmill miles: Tempo run 3x15 min at marathon pace (7:30ish min/mile) with 5 min recovery     between sets. 10 miles total
Friday: Treadmill miles, 6.02 easy pace
Saturday: Treadmill miles 6 miles easy pace
Sunday: Got the day off work! 21 miles outside! Last 4 miles run at marathon pace. This was a tough run, but good. My legs felt really strong! Total runner's high!

View on my 21 miler
Part of the reason I feel that my running has been going so well is that I have been doing strength training. I had a gait assessment done and the therapist said that I need to strengthen my hips. I guess having 4 babies made them a bit weak, who knew? So, I have been doing exercises to strengthen my hips. I have also been doing squats, lunges, and planks regularly. I believe it's the little things that are making the difference.

Hoping your week and month are going well! I do hope to get another post up next week.

Question of the post:
What are the little things you are doing to improve things in your life?

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The first 3 weeks....

Hi friends! I hope that this post finds you well and that you had a great Christmas and New Years. Our household had a great Christmas even despite the fact that I worked Christmas. It was definitely a very challenging work week, but sometimes things happen that really make me thankful for what I have. I feel very blessed to have so many things. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband and kiddos.

As well as, a loving and supportive family. So many things to be thankful for that it would require a extremely long blog post and you are probably here to read about running, so.....
First day of training!

My first 3 weeks have been pretty much the same training wise. It looked a little something like this:
Monday: 5-7 miles easy
Tuesday: 7-10 miles with 3 miles at marathon pace (7:36min/mile)
Wednesday: 3-6 easy miles
Thursday: 7-10 miles 5x1000m at Marathon pace with 3:30 recovery in between
Friday: 3-6 miles easy
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 8-12 miles
An early morning long run

My training has felt really good! I few of these days where outside since we have had such nice weather. A few on the treadmill, which has it's benefits.
I had a gait assessment done by a physical therapist, which I recommend to everyone! She had me run on a treadmill and she took video. I am not going to lie, it was really weird being video taped! I kept thinking do I look at the camera or not. I felt like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights "I don't know what to do with my hands." She showed me that my hips are weak, probably due to having 4 kiddos. She gave me some tips on how to improve my form and strengthen my hips. I am excited to see the benefits of this!
I am also working on my core strength and I incorporating some strength training into my routine. I am making sure I get rest and focusing on making sure I recover properly. By recovering properly I will be able to nail the hard workouts and get that 3:20:00 marathon!
Until next week!
What are your goals for 2015?