6.2 (see Race Recap)
Tuesday
Distance - 8
Pace - 10:17
Hello quads! Hello calves! Its not happiness to hear from you. Lol. Most of me wanted a rest day today. I was for sure sore. I take that as really good sign. But my Chicago schedule is a real motivator. I am now pretty obsessed with trying to hit 40 miles per week as often as possible, and at least every other week. Plus formatting cells green .. that's seriously important! Last week needed to include taper for Peachtree, but this week, I have no excuse. (except maybe post race recovery, but ain't nobody got time fo dat!).
Thank goodness for Michele. I had made a run date with her, and (darn) it didn't rain. So we were running. The calendar is typically calling for 6.2 on Tuesdays until later in the training, but we also ran nothing Sunday. If I want to hit 40, 7.5 - 8 miles was needed.
Pace-wise, I am thrilled. If I had been alone, this would have eventually turned into a 12 minuter miler FOR SURE. But, I forced us to stay easy 10:20-10:30 to start, until about the 4 mile mark, and then Michele's built-for-distance steadiness kicked in, and she pushed us to 10 - 10:10 the 2nd half. We tried something new: we actually talked a lot! LOL. I wanted to start off with a TRUE easy. She forgot her watch, so was game. I told her we had to alternate story telling, and we did! We stayed and talked together like that for 5.5 miles. Seriously helped pass the time. At that point, I really started to feel the burn .. and bugs started attacking us .. so I fell to running a bit behind her. She, on the other hand, started feeling zippy, and kicked it up a notch in the last mile, which became our fastest. I hung back about 25 m, but pretty soon was clocking 8:30s -9s, too. Not bad for a shake out!
Wednesday
Distance - Easy 4
Did - ZZzzzzZZZZZzzzz
I know the point of marathon training is to really beat yourself up, so that when you finally taper, you can feel like Wonder Woman, but lordy. I just NEEDED a rest day. Especially since I decided to try a new work out tomorrow. Taking the day off, and not looking like a fool in front of these Orange Theory folks sounded like the best plan, so I did no things. :)
35 total miles looking more likely this week. We'll see.
Thursday
XT / REST
Did: ~3.1 + strength training (Orange Theory free evaluation class).
One picture from the road race really PISSED. ME. OFF.
How DARE my body still look like this??? I'll give my self major kudos for finishing side by side with 'Captain America' in all his "C"ness glory. (that's a two wave head start for those of you keeping track. high five, me!) But dude, why is it fair that I can work out like this and still be so .. so .. DUMPLING! Even the woman on my other side with a similar build puts me to shame. Her arms and thighs are at least defined, and her waist still curves! Flattering. Granted, I have a flowy shirt on that seems to be doing its own thing, and of course, one picture IN MOTION / EXHAUSTION does not define me. But still. COME ON! I am WORKING HERE. Gut, get with the program!!
Solution: Try. All. The. Exercise! Forget about 2017. Do SOMETHING A.S.A.P. The answers has to be somewhere in the nutrition and strength training, since those are the things I ignore. So I signed up for a complementary Orange Theory class, wanting to see if the built in strength work might push me to the next level.
Here's a quick review:
The trial consisted of learning about the gym first. Put on a Heart Rate Monitor, learn how the stats boards work, and run down the basics of treadmill operation, the different work out zones, the row machines, and the strength training. Then the class starts: different instructions on pace / inclines / zone for 8-12 minute intervals, then to the strength training (push ups, arm curls, crunches, etc) and rowing, then switch between those and treadmill intervals back and forth 3 or so times. 55 minutes total.
The instructor and participants are very welcoming to new folks. I felt very special. :) The combo of cardio and strength training was ROUGH. I could easily pound out the workout calls for the short intervals, but because its specific to YOUR base / push / all out pace, it for sure wipes you out. By the time I got to rowing and strength, I was certainly feeling all over the place and discombobulated.
By all accounts, I did great per trainer: a nice pyramid shape to the zones. Target calorie burn crushed (586 vs. 500 goal). He wanted me to have between 12-20 "orange points." I earned 24. The form on the other-than-treadmill stuff was the big weakness (obviously). I couldn't do anything fast, with much weights, and without LOTS of recovery panting. Lol.
Pros: I love social work outs. I love targets, data, and a little built-in competition. The board for stats is awesome. Having a trainer in the room, awesome. Love that strength is a part of it. Would-be marathon runner, or not, this work out kicked my butt.
Cons: Like with cycle bar, its not exactly what I, in particular, need. I've already figured out how to beat up my legs, and cardio myself into a tizzy. There is some core / strength training build in, but there is A LOT of treadmill running, too. Not sure that's the best use of what's supposed to be my rest / XT day. Con #2, one shower? Really?? Con #3 .. more of a nitpick. They make you use their specific HRM. ($69). It'd be convenient if I could use a Garmin chest belt, and not pay for two different gadgets that do the same thing. (I get why developers would think I was off my rocker for thinking that would be possible, but hey, this my review. It'd be nice!)
So verdict: I can gain a lot from a few months with OT, BUT I am going to try a few other things first, and see if I can't find something a bit more core-specific.
Friday
Distance: Rest
Wow. Its tough to deal with training AND life. I have been fortunate enough that aside from a bit of minor stress here or there on the professional front, and a snag on the kid front now and again, life: marriage, finances, schedules, etc., all play really nicely for the most part with running. After deciding that you want it enough, making it priority, and letting the habit form, things start to move on autopilot. Unfortunately, there are times where sh!t hits the fan. The 'dark clouds' converged over life beginning just as I left Orange Theory Thursday morning. First, I did not allow nearly enough time for the session. Then, when I get back to my car .. already running late .. my phone is overflowing: Emily is stranded at the Avalon, and no longer has a ride home. Bill's battery died at work. Work packed a PUNCH. All of the car to-dos, home repair to-dos, and Bill's health to-dos are pinching a little financially, too. (1st world problem when *I* say pinching financially. For context , still includes a Starbucks run as needed, but maybe an unexpected bill that stresses me out enough not to want to stay on schedule). *sigh*
Result: no 2nd car with which to head down to Riverside for an AM 4 miler, and no motivation to even want to work hard to try and work it out, or work it in. Rest day.
Saturday
Distance: 13 (kinda sorta)
Then we stretched, drank, fueled. All in all we didn't have to wait too long for folks to run with; in fact, the pause turned out to be much welcome. Unfortunately, the day was heating up! But weighing sun against hills, we chose sun, so back out to Peachtree. (wrong choice, since we ended up with SOOOOOO much of both!) 3 more out were perfect. Another batch of friendly, chatty (some new) faces. I was feeling a little gassed, but the 10:15 - 10:30 pace was still quite doable, so I kept at it. Toward the end of that stretch on Peachtree, though, I for sure started to bring up the rear. Close by, but the rear none the less. And THEN .. we took a right on wieuca road. That brought us to 11 miles, but also brought us to an unexpected HILLFEST #2. That's when most of us just tagged out. Walk the hills became a thing. (I haven't walked a hill in like a year. :( .. ). At the top of the 2nd BIG hill, we were out of hydration, and out of steam. Harley and I decided 3-1 intervals would at least get us motivated to start running again, and that helped. The run back to the store on Peachtree was a tiny bit more solid (especially after some coke zero at McDs!) Needless to say, back at Big Peach, with 13 kinda done, we were toast. The goal had been to re-do 16, but the vote was unanimous. End this run from hell. End it now!
I gained new appreciation for the team that went out to do their 1st marathon in Cincinnati. It had been rolling around in my mind ... 16 miles went off with out a hitch, so how is it possible that even after a training run of 20+, you can't really predict your marathon day finish time to something better than plus/minus 20 minutes?? Hills. Heat. Fuel. Hydration. Stress. That's how.
I paused my watch a ton, too. Everything until mile 11 was pacing so well (solidly under 10:30), that I'd just rather see that on my watch, regardless of what actually happened after. I still am in the camp that being kind to yourself trumps being realistic. lol. And up until now, it hasn't been anything that I would consider "fudging" by any means. A quick bottle refill at a water fountain, or pausing for a traffic light, etc. Seems fair, because on race day, you can get by without it. On this run, I paused just because not pausing would make me bummed. And when I had to re-start to get interval buzzs, mentally, it was over. In fact, as we were walking up one LONG, seemingly impossible beast of a hill, the fear of not being able to get myself back actually began to tickle at the back of my mind. How did I run such a solid, evenly paced, kick to the finish 16 once, and then end up with this as attempt number 2 for the same distance. *sigh*
But ya know what, I am going to embrace it. It doesn't mean that other run didn't happen. It just means I'll appreciate the good ones more when they come!
Total - 31
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