Taper time and how this training cycle went

Hi friends!
The Boston Marathon is less than 2 weeks away. I really am shocked at how fast this training cycle has gone so far. I feel like I just started training! However, I am really amazed at the training I put in and I am proud of what I have accomplished. Now we will just have to see what this training has done on race day!

In hindsight I wish I would have documented my training more often on this blog. It would have been fun to look back and see how I was feeling during the training. Between family, training, and work it just seemed that the blog got pushed on the back burner. Marathon training involves a big time commitment and I chose to spend my extra time focusing on other priorities.

Overall training went well. I am happy to say that I have been injury free and feel ready to race. My training over the past 14+ weeks has looked like this:
Monday: REST DAY
Tuesday: Speed work, usually intervals of various lengths
Wednesday:Middle long run (10-13 miles)
Thursday: Marathon Pace workout
Friday: Easy run
Saturday: Easy run
Sunday: Long run

Favorite spot on one of my running routes

The one thing I am grateful for is having a husband who is supportive of this dream of mine. There were many days that he watched the kids so I could run 3+ hours. He's pretty awesome!

Secondly, I am thankful to my parents. There were many mornings that my parents took time out of their day to help watch the kiddos so I could get some miles outside. It would have meant A LOT more treadmill miles without them.

Thirdly, I am thankful for an awesome running partner. It sure made the long runs easier! I don't know if I am going to be able to do long runs alone again! Plus, it was great to have someone else doing the same training. I definitely felt motivated to run on days I didn't want to run because I knew she was out their running her butt off too.

Lastly, I am thankful for the God given ability to be able to run and run fast. I feel blessed to have running in my life, it has helped me to realize I am capable of what I set my mind to. Sometimes it involves a lot of hard work, but when I am able to go out an pursue a dream it makes it worth it. Happiness really is found in the pursuit of a dream. Boston has been a dream of mine since I was running cross country in high school. Wat before I ever had run a marathon I knew I wanted to run Boston some day. I am giddy with excitement!

I am so excited to hit the streets of Boston and run the race I have been dreaming about.

So about that marathon....

Sunday, June 1st. I got up at 4 am. I had my race attire ready to go. I had my pre race breakfast and left for the Minneapolis Marathon.

 It was raining in the morning with some thunder. We got word that the race was going to be delayed an hour. At 7:45 AM the race officials canceled the Marathon because of the weather. I have not idea what it takes to plan an event like this and all the safety measures that must take place to make sure every runner is safe. I am sure that they would rather err on the side of safety versus taking the risk that a runner would be injured due to weather. But, it is a real bummer.

I wish that this post was a post telling you how I rocked the marathon and how I nailed my goals. It's not that kind of post. It is not going to be a post where I complain about how I got up at 4AM many mornings to get my workout in or how I did 16 miles on a treadmill to get my miles in, or how I ran in a blizzard, etc. I could sit here and complain, but I will not let something that was out of my control get me down! Like I said in my first post," it just make you stronger."

instead of wondering what could have been, I am going to focus on what will be. I am going to find some new races to do this summer. I am going to do some 10ks, 5ks, and half marathons. I am going to do the Whistle Stop Marathon and the No Frills Marathon. I am going to focus on getting stronger by doing strength workouts, core work, and cross training. Plus, I am going to fall in love with running again and have fun with it. I am excited about training this summer and enjoying time with my family. I hope you continue to follow along.

Uff Da Half Marathon Recap

Greetings friends! Just thought I would pop in to give you a recap of the Uff Da Half Marathon. The Uff Da Half Marathon happens yearly around this time. It is part of Syttende Mai Days in Woodville, WI. It is a small race that has both a 5K and Half Marathon. Around 80-90  people in the half marathon It is an out and back course on scenic abandoned railroad bed. Flat and Fast! (If you remember from my first post, where I talked about my 10 mile run turning into a 15 mile run, this is that same trail.)

I chose to do this race as part of my long run for the week. My training plan had 16 miles on it, so I figure add a 1 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down, BOOM- 16 miles. I was nervous going into this race because I hadn't raced a half marathon in a while, plus it was the first race of the season for me. I also wanted to see if I could get a PR for my half marathon.

My friend Jess and her co-worker picked me up around 6:30AM and we were on our way. We got there with plenty of time to spare before the race. SO we got in a mile warm up, made a port-a-potty stop, and got close parking. The weather was great! Sunny and 45 degrees at the start= perfect! I kept going back and forth over whether or not to wear a long sleeve shirt or not, but opted for short sleeves. Glad I went for the t-shirt because I got warm quickly.

The gun went of at 8 AM and we were off. I made my self go slow the first few miles until I could get in a good rhythm. It usually takes me the first few miles before I start to feel strong in my races. Even with my slower start I was still in the lead packs of runners. I worked my way into a 7:20ish pace. I started to catch runners in front of me and would pace myself with people running a similar pace. I find this helps keep me on target pace. At the turn around spot  I could see hoe far the lead female runner was ahead of me. She became my focus! I chose to focus on trying to catch her for the rest of the race. I will tell you I was close to catching her. If I had about 200 more yards I would have caught her at the finish.

My time was 1:36:36, which is a PR by 12 seconds. I was 2nd female, 1st in my age group, and 7th overall. I was happy with this race. It was definitely a confidence booster. What made the race even better  was Dan and the kids cheering at multiple spots along the trail. It was so great to see their smiling faces and hear them ringing the cowbells.
Next up: tapering for the Minneapolis Marathon!
Just wanted to leave you with something that made me giggle. I think mostly runners or anyone who has run a race will get this joke.

Resolutions so far

Hello my friends! So it is about a week or so into our new year. I love the start of the year because I feel like so many of us are embracing change and taking new steps towards goals. So, since it is a week into  the new year, I thought I'd share how my goals and resolutions are going....

It has been freezing, literally like below zero temps for over a week which has made for A LOT of treadmill running. Some people will call it the DREADMILL, but I choose to focus on the good running it has been allowing me to have even on the coldest of days. We did have a little warm up one day so, I took full advantage and got some miles outside. Even though the winds were 20mph and it was single digits for temps, it was GLORIOUS!

Loving that I got these Yak traks for Christmas and loving the new running tights, super warm

I am also proud to say that I have gotten two strength workouts in this past week. It is really showing me how week my core is right now. I am excited to get super strong this winter. Woot, woot!


On the whole eating clean thing.....well this is where I am not doing so hot. I think that I had tried really hard to not over indulge during the holidays that I am now over indulging on sweets. However, this is something that I will be working on this whole year so I am going to focus more on this. That's the thing about resolutions you may not be prefect at them right away, but as long as you (I) don't give up on them I will hit those goals. 

How are your resolutions going?