Uncategorized

Weekend Routine

February 27, 2012 by Kristy 21 Comments

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. My weekends are pretty much the same from one week to the next and, naturally, they revolve around running. Eat, sleep, run…repeat.

Friday night
Going out on a Friday night is definitely not happening since an early morning long run beckons. Ever do a long run with little sleep or a hangover? It’s not fun. So my Friday nights go a little something like this: pizza for dinner if I’m running around 18-22 miles the next day, getting everything ready for my long run (clothes, fuel, etc.), watching House Hunters International with Matt, and a 9:00-9:30 bedtime. Whoa, that’s living life in the fast lane, folks.

Saturday morning
I generally get up around 7:00 (sadly, this is sleeping in). I get dressed and get on my way. I don’t eat before any of my runs, so I don’t have to worry about factoring time in for digestion and what not. Then I drive to my hilly long run route and hope for the best! I’m going to have to alter my routine in the next few weeks to prepare for Boston’s late start (closer to 11AM for me – eek!).

I always have chocolate milk waiting for me in the car so I can drink it while I stretch. I drive home, stretch some more, do my PT exercises, foam roll, take the longest, hottest shower, and the finally eat breakfast. By this time it’s usually 11AM. Phew!

If I am planning to go out, Saturday night is usually the night to get wild and crazy since my Sunday run is easy. If I can stay awake until 11PM, it must have been a really fun night.

Sunday morning
I “sleep in” (i.e., don’t set an alarm) and bang out an easy run just to give the old legs a good shake after Saturday’s long run. I also figure out my training schedule for the week ahead so I can do this all over again!

It’s funny how drastically different my weekends are now as compared to my 20s!

My long run this weekend was interesting. We had a wind advisory so, instead of killing myself by adhering to a certain pace, I made it a LSD run. No lie, the wind was intense.

It was nice out though – about 40 degrees and sunny. Around mile 15 the sky got dark and the temps started dropping. By mile 16 I was running in a full-on snowstorm. I couldn’t believe it. As soon as I finished running, the sun came back out and the snow stopped. Those last 2 miles were not fun.

I finished 18 miles in 2:44 – 9:07 average pace. Not bad considering the crazy wind.

Do you fall into a routine when training? Kudos to you if you can manage to have a social life too. Training and going out were much easier…when I was younger!

Did you run in the crazy wind on Saturday?

Friday Updates

February 23, 2012 by Kristy 12 Comments

don’t think it, just run it
Thank you for all of your advice and support on my last post. Some of my favorite mantras…

Amanda: My mantra is something like, “I may feel this exact way during my marathon and so I’ll need to know how to fight through this feeling then. I should practice it now just in case.”

Kate: “Do or do not. There is no ‘try’.” -Yoda … this manta has gotten me through many a race / training workout. You either do it, or you don’t. It’s kind of “tough love” but that’s what works for me.

Cindi: Mantra for you to try: I can f*$#ing do this! I knew I could count on Cindi for a f-bomb mantra Winking smile

I think my sister summed it up best though – don’t think it, just run it. My thinking and analyzing takes over my running way too much. So, with this new attitude, I was excited for Thursday’s run. I wasn’t following my plan so I had 9 miles to do whatever I wanted (it had to be speedy stuff though). The result…adding in a 1 mile warm-up and cool-down…

8:12, 8:08, 8:12, 8:03, 8:07, 8:03, 8:13

Success! I barely looked at my Garmin, either. Just kinda went by feel.

hawk’s birthday
Our little bundle of fur turned 2 yesterday! Naturally, like people that need to have kids, we sang happy birthday and took pictures.

The day we got Hawk…

He makes us laugh every day, even when he chews his dog bed.

If you have a dog, do you “celebrate” its birthday? I doubt I’m the only one!

Have a great weekend!

Vortex of Doubt

February 22, 2012 by Kristy 25 Comments

After a particularly crappy speed session yesterday, I was doubting my ability to even run another 3:43 marathon in Boston, much less a sub-3:40. Don’t let 1 little run shake your confidence, right? I totally agree but it’s much beyond 1 run.

Since I started training for Boston, I haven’t made the huge gains in speed that I did in my last training cycle. And paces that were once easy feel a little bit more labored. My legs always feel good but my breathing is a little off.

Enter the vortex of doubt. It started creeping in around Week 2 and now has set up residence in my head (I can’t help but think of the Mucinex commercial where the mucus takes up residence in your lungs). I feel like doubt is snowballing out of control and taking me with it. Yep, that’s me.

With 5 1/2 weeks left of training before the taper, I’m making changes.

Where did my mental game go? I really worked on it last cycle but it seems to have fallen by the wayside. Ironically enough, my friend sent me this article written by Chrissie Wellington yesterday. She knows a thing or two about mental game
This is my 3rd training cycle in a row following the FIRST plan. Although I still believe it’s a great plan, my body may have adjusted and plateaued. I never really followed it to a T but in the next few weeks I’m going to diverge more from it and do my own thing (more tempo, hill repeats, and progression runs and less track work).
Rethink hitting the almighty 60 miles. I’m not sure why I’m so obsessed with hitting a certain number when I know (for marathon training) 55 miles per week is my sweet spot.
Remember to have fun. I am training for Boston!

54 days to go!

I need some new mantras. What’s your go-to mantra?

Busy Busy and Boston Week 7 Recap

February 21, 2012 by Kristy 11 Comments

This week is busy busy. Lots of miles, lots of coaching, a few other appointments, Hawk’s birthday (yes, we celebrate), and that little 9 to 5 thing I do. My planner is filled with ridiculous notes like “bring medical records” (to my doctor’s appointment) and “prep for cleaners” (we have house cleaners that come monthly and I try to make cleaning as easy as possible by decluttering as much as I can). If I don’t have it written down, it’s pretty much wiped from my memory.

Last week I entered the 50s (well, right at 50) in terms of mileage. I now see the appeal in running 6 days per week. 50+ miles is tough to tackle just running 5 days, even with a “long” long run. I’m not ready to jump to 6 days yet, since that would mean no rest days (6 runs + 1 barre class). That’s completely absurd. I love my 1 day of complete rest. And I love barre too. Even though I only take it once per week, I’m definitely feeling stronger. I guess weekly runs of 9-10 miles are going to stick around for awhile.

Boston Week 7 Recap
MON: rest (much needed after the barre class from hell)
TUE: 10 miles speed work – 6×800 at 10K pace, finishing with 2 miles at 8:13 pace.
WED: 8 miles easy
THU: 10 miles tempo – 6 miles at 8:05 pace (8:13, 8:17, 8:09, 8:11, 8:09, 8:12). My legs were not-so-happy during this run.
FRI: rest
SAT: 14 miles at 8:29 average pace
SUN: 8 miles easy

50 miles total for the week! Finally!

Do you use a paper planner or your phone? I cannot give up my paper planner, even though I have an iPhone. I’m kinda old school in that I like to write it down and check it off.

How many days per week do you run? I always stick with 5 days because it has always worked best. But now I have to get creative with my increased mileage.

Friday Favorites

February 17, 2012 by Kristy 17 Comments

Starbucks Rewards
Even if you only go to Starbucks once in awhile, you need to sign up for their rewards program. I limit myself to 3 visits per week and I get a free drink card in the mail all the time. Within the past 2 weeks I got 2 free drinks! And they have this nifty little app for your phone so you don’t have to carry around a rewards card. It’s the little things…

More lululemon love…
Walking into lululemon for me is similar to a 20-mile endorphin rush. I may be the best dressed runner but I dress for work like a hobo. Shopping for running clothes always trumps shopping for any other clothes. My newest lulu addiction is the Stride Jacket. I haven’t used it for running yet (it may be a bit heavy); more of an all-round hoodie. So warm and toasty.

A blogger’s dream
Matt got me a little something for Valentine’s Day and it may borderline on life-changing (for a blogger at least). A wireless memory card! No more using an annoying cord to transfer your pictures! Your pictures transfer from your camera right to your computer (organized into date-based folders…eek!).

Peanut Butter Cheerios
These are good. But is anything that contains PB bad?!

Do you prefer to shop for running clothes over regular clothes?

Do you use a wireless memory card? Do you agree that it would make blogging so much easier?

Random Thoughts and Boston Week 6 Recap

February 14, 2012 by Kristy 10 Comments

Barre class from hell
I had to take a rest day on Monday after the barre class from hell. My right upper hamstring and glute were so sore that sleeping in and eating ice cream (instead of running) were completely necessary. I even had to foam roll! No barre class for me this week.

I don’t scream for ice cream
Speaking of ice cream, it’s wreaking havoc on my GI system. I know, TMI…but this is a running blog and runners have GI issues. So Monday night ice cream did not bode well for my early Tuesday morning run. I’m going to give up ice cream for awhile (the horror!) and see if my GI issues go away (I’m betting they will). I’ll just have to up my consumption of cookies to compensate.

Broad Street Run – I’m in!
The Broad Street Run is a super popular 10-mile race in Philly held every May. I generally run it every year, despite it being a pain in the ass every year. They do cap the number of runners but it’s still too crowded. The tradeoff is a great course and a fun race. Yesterday they had a special early registration for Blue Cross Blue Shield members. Score! This race is 3 weeks post-Boston so I *hope* I’m recovered by then and can take advantage of my marathon fitness to PR.

Boston Week 6 Recap
MON: rest – starting the week off right Smile Honestly, I couldn’t get out of bed. That usually doesn’t happen so, when it does, I listen.
TUE: 9 miles tempo with 5 miles @ 7:50 pace (7:55, 7:53, 8:03, 7:56, 7:51).
WED: 8 miles easy (9:15 pace)
THU: 3 miles easy (birthday run!)
FRI: 8 miles with 6 miles at MP (8:13, 8:13, 8:08, 8:08, 8:05, 8:08). Technically faster than MP!
SAT: 20 miles long, slow distance (8:57 average pace)
SUN: barre class from hell

48 miles total and a solid week, in my book! This week I drop back on my long run (13 miles) which means my short runs need to be extra long to make up the mileage. I kinda enjoy these mid-week medium long runs.

Does ice cream the night before a run cause anyone else GI woes?

Do you have a race that you do each year but it’s beginning to get super crowded and annoying? That would be Broad Street for me.

Are you a fan of mid-week medium long runs?