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Workouts + Weekly Reads: Taper Time

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I’m going to skip the intro and get right to it…I survived my 20 mile run. In fact, I felt pretty darn great. It feels good to have that confidence boost heading into taper time! I thoroughly enjoyed my post run feast(s) and nap(s). That’s what Saturday’s are for right?

Monday: 5 miles. Nothing eventful except that I felt very sluggish for the first 20 minutes. After that I woke up.

Tuesday: Hot Vinyasa Flow. I need to write a post about my yoga studio soon because it is one of my favorite thing about Miami. We did a lot of backbends, which are my favorite!

Wednesday: 6.25 miles + Spin. Did 400, 800 repeats (3 rounds…I think) with half distance recovery. I pretty much make up these “workouts” as I’m going and I really try to remember what I did afterward. I had an awesome spin class at night and structured the ride like this: 2 songs warm-up; 2 songs hill; 2 songs flats/jumps/speed; repeat sequence starting with hills.

Thursday: 4 miles. Was supposed to do 5 but couldn’t get into it. I had a knot in my right quad and it was kind of bugging me (and of course had me convinced I was severely injured…#overreacted).

Friday: Hot Vinyasa Flow. I requested extra hip openers in preparation for Saturday’s run. My favorite instructor teaches this class and it is always amazing.

Saturday: 20 miles. Averaged a 9:12 pace but I didn’t stop my GPS during 2 of my water stops or at short stop lights. It got super hot during my last 3 miles and my pace slowed down as a result. This was honestly such a beautiful run. I ran through one of my favorite parts of town and loved seeing everyone out there biking/running/walking/playing at the park. Now, it is time to taper.

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IMG_7070Sunday: REST. Unless you count getting a massage as exercise ;) My favorite post-run guilty pleasure!

Favorite Posts

The Importance Of Something Losing Your Sh*t and Breaking Down Emotionally- Thought Catalog

Fitness Rules- Making ‘Em and Breaking ‘Em- Sweets and Beets

Happy Sunday! xo

‘Twas the Night Before 20 Miles

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I’m writing this at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night…sitting in my bed…wearing pajamas. Obviously I live such a cool life ;) But such is life during marathon training. I try to relax on Friday so I can prepare for Saturday’s long run. As of right now, I’m preparing for my 20 mile run, the peak of my training. This is the farthest distance I will run before race day. Cue the high expectations….

I place so much unnecessary pressure on the number (specifically this week’s number, 20). If I can’t do 20, how am I going to run the full marathon? What if my leg hurts (my quad has a knot in it now)? What if I miss my alarm? What if my pace is so slow that it takes me X amount of time?

I think of all the things that could go wrong, physically and mentally, and that in itself is draining.  I’ve run 20 miles before, heck I’ve run 26.2. Last week I pulled off 17.5 miles and thinking back, I’m not sure how I did (that tends to be the reoccurring theme with my long runs). But that just proves that we are capable of more than we think. That doesn’t mean we should push through injuries or anything, but it means we can overcome mental roadblocks.

I NEVER want running to become something I dread and although I’m nowhere near that place now, I just keep reminding myself “I’m going for a run.” Not necessarily a 20 mile run, but just a run. I’m doing something I love for a little longer than normal. I don’t expect running 20 miles to ever not be a big deal for me. It’s not easy, and shouldn’t be (?!) but it’s something I know I can conquer.

Deep breaths, positive thoughts and a good night’s sleep is what I need.

See you on the flip side!

Workouts + Weekly Reads: Sweating Buckets

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If I didn’t know better I would say it’s August. This entire week has been at least 90 degrees with high humidity and therefore, all of my workouts, (except for my long run) were inside. As I walked outside yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. for my run I just laughed because of the heat. Florida just hasn’t gotten the “fall” memo quite yet. But I will say, a lot of my sweat came from hot yoga so I can’t blame the weather for everything!

Monday: 5 miles + Hot Vinyasa Flow. I didn’t work in the afternoon and I took advantage of my free time. Honestly, not working and going to yoga made me so happy. Unfortunately work is kind of necessary so it’ll be back to normal next week.

Tuesday: Rest. I planned on going to 6 a.m. yoga but I had a meeting the night before that lasted until 11:45. Needless to say I did not set a 5:30 alarm! Sleep > most everything else

Wednesday: 7 miles in the morning + Spin at night. I ran my 7 miles at around an 8:40 min/mile pace. I posted my spin playlist from this past week, but overall it was a great class. As usual, I used it as more of a recovery ride.

Thursday: 5 miles. 1.5 mile warm-up, 3 rounds of 800 repeats/800 recovery, .5 mile cool down. I had to be on campus by 8 a.m. and the gym doesn’t open until 6, so doing a random speed workout fit well with my schedule.

Friday: Hot Vinyasa Flow

Saturday: 17.5 miles. I had 18 on my schedule but had to go to the bathroom at 17.5 so I called it quits then ;) I cannot explain how sweaty and smelly I was after this run. I felt like I had jumped in a pool! I went into the grocery store after and got a lot of weird stares haha. Averaged about 9:10 pace but I’m not too concerned about speed. My hamstrings did feel really tight and I wish I had time for a massage. Foam rolling will have to do.

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Tired eyes, tired legs, happy girl

Sunday: Rest. My Sunday is too busy for my liking but I hope to get some stretching in while watching football (planned my obligations around the Eagles game…true fan).

Favorite Posts

Not Alone- Long Drive Journey

How I Let Go- Snack Therapy

Why I’m Jealous of Non-Runners- Almost Getting It Together

10 Ways To Avoid Hitting The Wall In Your Next Marathon- Reach Your Peak

Happy Sunday! xo

NYC Marathon Training Update

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5 weeks to go and the nerves are settling in. I find myself super excited at times and very nervous at others. Totally normally, I know. I’m nervous mainly about the logistics and magnitude of the race. From flying to the city, fueling away from home, a later race start time, and running with thousands of other people. Like usual I’m probably overthinking everything and need to just focus on what I can control…like my training.

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The Good

-Mental strength. I’ve been really building up my mental strength during the long runs by listening to podcasts and not music. I’ve also done some of the middle miles in the long run without any sound. I know some people prefer running without music and while I do enjoy that too, I need some sound for long runs. By “saving” my music for later I feel like I’ll get an extra boost of energy on race day.

-Nutrition. I’ve done a really good job at making sure I’m well nourished before and after all runs. It’s hard living with people who avoid carbs, but I know that does not work for me. I drink coconut water immediately after my run and I eat a lot of fruit with peanut butter within 15 minutes of finishing. I follow that up with a big breakfast (protein/carbs/fats) and continue eating enough throughout the day.

-Morning motivation. I don’t dread waking up at 5:30 am to workout. Sure, some days I want to sleep in -and I definitely do- but I know well enough that if I don’t workout in the morning it’s not happening later at night. Sometimes that is motivation enough.

-Adjusting my schedule as needed. For example, this past week I changed up the weekday runs and also ended up cutting my long run short. My body wasn’t feeling it and I knew it wasn’t a situation that I needed to “push through.” I treated it as a “change-up” and not a setback.

The Bad (aka I need to work on)

-Foam rolling. Why oh why do I only foam roll when I feel tight/sore? I know I need to do this regularly and NOT just when I need it to work.

-Overthinking. As seen in the introduction above, I need to take a chill pill when it comes to thinking about certain things. For example, after my run last Sunday I woke up Monday morning convinced I had a tibial stress fracture (pain came out of nowhere!). I even wrote an entire post about how I thought I was severely injured. Well an extra day of rest and special attention (ice, ointment, Aleeve) did the trick. But I seriously spent all day Monday googling and self-diagnosing my injury. It was the first real pain I felt during training and I blew it out of proportion. However, when dealing with a suspected injury it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

On the horizon I have two more 18+ mile runs and then I start tapering. But I have so much on my plate from now until race day that it’s hard to envision it actually being here. I’m looking forward to hopefully running with my school’s running group next weekend- yay for company!

How was your weekend?