Leigh Valley Marathon

Two-A-Days

July 19, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

Let’s talk two-a-days, doing doubles, or whatever you wanna call them!

I was supposed to run with a running group last night but the person I was going to meet couldn’t make it. I know from last week’s run that they only do about 4 miles and it’s at a slower pace. I was prepared this week to add an additional AM run to get more miles in. Both of these runs being easy, of course. I ended up doing 4 miles at night on my own (it was ungodly hot), bringing yesterday’s total to 11. I’m not a fan of two-a-days – I don’t think they are necessary.

Here’s what Advanced Marathoning has to say about two-a-days:

As you increase your mileage in preparation for a marathon, you should resist the urge to switch from single to double runs.
Marathon training focuses on endurance-based adaptions such as depleting your glycogen reserves to provide a stimulus for your body to store more glycogen and training your muscles to ulitize more fat at a given speed. You’ll provide a greater stimulus for these adaptions through a single 12-mile run, rather than a 7-miler and a 5-miler done at the same pace.

I wasn’t even going to paraphrase because it was so well said! I 100% agree with Pete Pfitzinger. Imagine splitting your 20-mile long run into 10 and 10?! Bottom line: It’s not the same and you will not reap the same benefits!

Another reason to forego two-a-days? Double the number of showers and gross, sweaty laundry!

While I would have preferred to run 11 miles (at once) yesterday morning, I made the best of the situation. This running group isn’t permanent and, as long as the two-a-day is 2 easy runs, I’m OK with it for the short term.

Have you ever done two-a-days when training for a race? Like ’em or hate ’em?

A Short Long Run

July 15, 2011 by Kristy 17 Comments

7/15/11
13 miles / 1:52 / 8:39 avg pace

After doing a few weeks of 18 and 20 mile runs, I’m not sure I can even count today as a long run. I have to admit, it was a nice break to only have to run 13 miles!

My neighbor, Maximus (his alias), joined me for the first 10 miles. He also ran the first 10 with me last week (the hot and nauseating run). I’m generally a solo runner but it’s nice to have a running buddy sometimes to make the miles fly by.

Today I stuck to my hilly loop. Generally I start and finish on the hilly loop but cross the scary bridge to get some middle flat miles in. Remember this scary bridge?

Me and the bridge made amends after my bloody 15-miler that resulted in a stitch. I’m still terrified of falling so I try to avoid crossing it if I can. I just didn’t see the point today so I got a double dose of hill work.

Onto the details. Splits…

And elevation. OK, it doesn’t look that hilly but trust me there are some tough ones in there, namely after miles 4 and 9.

Do you like hills? Would you prefer a hilly race or a flat race? If it’s a shorter distance race, I obviously prefer flat but for a marathon, some hills are preferable. NJM was pancake flat and I feel like I fatigued faster since I was constantly using the same muscles over and over.

A Fun and Productive Weekend

July 10, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

7/11/11
8 miles easy / 1:17 / 9:37 avg pace

Let’s recap the weekend! Friday night was my friend Wendy’s wedding. She looked beautiful and her dress was amazing (it was so Wendy!). The ceremony took place outside on this beautiful covered terrace. It was perfect.

Here is Wendy getting ready to walk down the aisle…

She was a little emotional!

Back view of her dress…

The food was awesome: mini cheeseburgers and a mashed potato bar?! I can’t think of a better way to refuel after 20 miles.

Group shot: Sheryl, Wendy, and me. Not sure why we are all squatting down (especially me).

Saturday was my first weekend home in awhile and I was prepared to tackle some of my to-do list. Matt has been asking me for some time to go through all my pictures (pre-digital age…about 3 1/2 boxes worth) and trash/consolidate. We live in a small house so the less boxes lying around, the better. This took all day. And I’m not even finished. I separated everything into piles based on time but I still need to organize more before placing them in storage boxes. I got rid of 3 garbage bags worth of pictures. Who needs that many pictures of your senior prom? I also got to relive how much fun I had in college 🙂

DSCN1308 — This is the treadmill's purpose during the summer months

On Sunday I had a 8 mile tempo run planned with 5 miles at 8:00 pace. I’ve been doing my tempo runs on a shaded trail so my Garmin is always a little off; it often tells me I am running faster than I am. It’s difficult for me to accurately track my pace so I just aim to run in the “comfortably hard” tempo zone.

I got back to my car and took a peek at my times. Holy crap! That was comfortably hard?! I finally found my groove and hit my pace on laps 5 and 6. I obviously need to reign myself in more and control my pace but I do love to see progress!

20 Miles, Take 2

July 7, 2011 by Kristy 12 Comments

7/8/11
20 miles / 3:07 / 9:21 avg pace

One of my Dad’s favorite sayings is “no one ever drowned in sweat”. I think I came pretty close today. 90% humidity is no joke! I was planning on doing this run as a long, slow distance anyway but the weather gave me no choice. By mile 10 my shorts were drenched and sticking to me. Shortly after that, I started getting exhausted and my stomach started to cramp up. I dehydrate pretty easily so I always carry my handheld water bottle with me…and I refilled it 4 times! So after a 4:30AM wake-up call and 20 miles, I feel completely hungover – headache, nauseous, etc. Awesome. On days like today, it’s unavoidable. I drank a ton of water, ate Shot Bloks every 4 miles, and even took electrolyte tablets pre- and post-run.

But I need to recover quickly because tonight is summer wedding #2. My friend Wendy is getting married! I’m so happy for her!

Are you dealing with this ridiculous humidity too? Please feel free to vent!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Strange Encounters

June 30, 2011 by Kristy 13 Comments

7/1/11
18 miles / 2:35 / 8:37 avg pace

Today I had one of those “am I dreaming, please pinch me” runs. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (no humidity) and I felt amazing. I just ran based on feel and didn’t pay too much attention to my Garmin. The result? Basically a marathon-paced long run! Woo hoo…what a great way to start the holiday weekend!

When I wrote about my 20-miler last Friday, I neglected to tell you about my “strange man” encounter. It just didn’t fit well with the whole how-to-survive-a-bachelorette-party theme 😉 Before I get into the story, let me preface by saying I’m the most paranoid and neurotic runner I know, in terms of safety. Where I do my long runs is very safe but it’s better to be skeptical than sorry.

I was nearing the very end of my run (mile 19.5) when I got a rock in my shoe. I tried unsuccessfully to wiggle it out of the way but ended up having to stop. I was directly across from my car and my plan was to run out 0.25 miles and then back to my car to complete my 20. As I was getting the rock from my shoe, another runner past me – a male in his 50s – and asked if I was OK. I told him it was just a rock and I was fine. He then proceeds to tell me that I was keeping a good pace for him and did I want to run the remaining miles together? Now, this has happened to me before so I didn’t think the question was an odd one. I tell him that I’m literally running another 0.25 miles and then turning around, hoping that he would be like “OK, see ya later, have a nice run”. His response? “OK”!

As I was tying my shoe I was debating on whether he was a killer or a kidnapper. He didn’t seem to be (from my very brief encounter with him) and my car was right across the street. It was almost 9am so there were lots of cars around (and other runners). So I stood up and started running with him.

Me and strange man (SM): Blah, blah, it’s so hot today, blah, blah…
Me: My name is Kristy.
SM: My name is Bill.
SM: Are you married?
Me: [a little shocked at the question] Yes.
SM: Me too.
Me: Well, it’s time for me to turn around. Have a good run!

With that I started booking it back to my car. Whose follow-up question to “hi, my name is” is “are you married”? WTF? Next time I see Bill, I’m doing some unplanned speed work!

Have you ever had any “strange man” encounters? On the flip side, I have met some wonderful people while running. It’s not all bad!

Product Review: North Face Stow-n-Go Sports Bra

June 29, 2011 by Kristy 17 Comments

8 miles easy / 1:15 / 9:22 avg pace (done on Wednesday night)

I saw this North Face sports bra on Tina’s blog a few months ago and had to have it. This is exactly what I was looking for; the solution to my RaceReady shorts. I wrote about my love (not really love, but practicality) for RaceReady shorts a few months ago and I got some flack about it. Yes, they are ugly but they hold everything!

I tested out this bra last Friday (on a 20-miler) and buh bye RaceReady shorts! It held 4 Shot Bloks perfectly and easily could have held 2 more (the exact amount that I carry for a marathon). The pouch (not sure what else to call it) is huge and even has a separate compartment for your key.

The Shot Bloks didn’t move an inch; I hardly knew they were there.
You can’t beat the accessibility…I mean they are right there!
Did I look like I had a 3^rd boob with all those Shot Bloks stuffed down my bra? Yes. Did I care? No. I do wear RaceReady shorts in public so you know I don’t care!
Stuff gets pretty warm in that region so if you’re a fan of freezing your GUs, this may not be the best plan for you.
The bra runs small. It’s intended for A/B cups (according to the description). If I ordered online I would have gotten a small (I’m not so well-endowed). Luckily I was near a North Face store and tried on the medium and it fit perfectly; a small would have been too small.
I guess I should mention that it also does everything a sports bra should: supports, wicks, doesn’t chafe, etc.

I’m so, so happy with this bra! I can finally wear normal shorts for a marathon (Lululemon Willpower shorts, of course)!

Front view:

I cut my Shot Bloks in half so I can eat 3 of them at a time (every 4 miles). It makes them easier to carry too.

Deep pouch:

I bought this bra myself and was not asked by North Face to do a review. However, I am willing and able to accept any products in exchange for a review 🙂