training

pre-training

May 25, 2015 by Kristy 1 Comment

Happy Memorial Day!

It’s been 4 weeks since I stopped MAF training and today begins marathon training (officially)! I plan on doing weekly updates but feel the need to update on the “in between” (if you care) and where I’m headed with marathon training (again, if you care).

I’m feeling better about training overall since my last post. I’m going to take it one day at a time and make a decision closer to the race about goals. There’s no way I can pinpoint a goal right now.

My body is getting used to speed work again. Over the past 4 weeks I slowly worked it back in…beginning with strides and building up to mile repeats. In fact, I did those dreaded mile repeats last week and this week! They’re not as bad as I remembered.

I’m definitely not as fast in regard to track work. No surprise. MAF training wasn’t intended to help out there (not directly at least). That doesn’t concern me so much since the base is there and I just need to stress the right systems to get faster. I have 16 weeks for that!

Mileage. Hmph. I go back and forth on this one. I truly believe in running high mileage (“high” being relative to the runner…one runner’s high mileage is another runner’s low mileage and vice versa). I’d love to max out at 65-70 mpw but that’s unrealistic for me right now. Especially since I’m turning up the intensity this cycle – I don’t want to manipulate too many variables at once. And I want to focus on “extras” – extras that take up time but are vitally important. It’s worth sacrificing a few miles for them. So I would imagine this training cycle being a low mileage one (40s/50s) for me.

Speaking of extras – I’m talking about pre-hab (I plan to do a whole post about this one), strength training, and barre. Ideally, I want to drop down to 4 days a week of running (I always run 5) to accommodate the extras but that might not always happen, especially when my mileage picks up.

I guess that’s where I stand. Of course this could all change! I’m finding that pregnancy (blame it all on pregnancy!) has made me very indecisive and I’m constantly changing my mind about everything. That’s why training will be taken one day at a time 🙂

and so it goes…

March 24, 2015 by Kristy 7 Comments

I’m out for the LOVE Run this coming Sunday. While this pissed me off last week – mostly because I ran the inaugural race last year and wanted to do it each year – I’m OK with it now.

The past 10 weeks have been rough. I won’t bore you with details but I’ve been sick. A lot. An URI in January, food poisoning/stomach bug (can’t say for sure) a few weeks later, another stomach bug 3 weeks later, and now currently bronchitis. If I told you I was a person that rarely got sick, would you believe me?!

My running has been up and down. I would hit 35-40 miles on a good week when I was feeling better, then tank the next week with 20-25 miles when I was sick again. I’m still amazed at how well MAF training was going through all these up and downs. I was still making some progress (and very grateful for slow, easy runs when I wasn’t 100%).

But bronchitis was the final straw. Bronchitis sucks in general. But bronchitis + asthma really sucks. It has taken up residence in my lungs for the past 2+ weeks. Two rounds of antibiotics and 2 rounds of steroids and I’m finally feeling better. Although the steroids make me feel all Jessie-Spano-I’m-S0-Excited (I’m seriously jumping out of my own skin), today is my last day of them.

So I didn’t run for 2 weeks. Two weeks!!! Doesn’t mean that I didn’t try…twice. I made it a 1/2 mile and coughed my head off.

reunited this past weekend

I did begin running again this past weekend and it feels amazing. Nothing like 2 weeks off to revive the legs and mind! But it’s slow going. I’m still MAF training, but with the Jessie Spano ‘roids, it’s tough to keep my heart rate down. I know this is temporary though and each day will get a lot easier.

I did contemplate doing the LOVE Run as a MAF training run but I just can’t put myself through that. It would be such a stupid move. I need to get healthy and ease back into running – 2 weeks off, 2 weeks (at least) back on.

I hate whiny posts (and I hope this doesn’t come across as whiny…it was meant to be an update) so I’ll end on some positive notes ~

I’m not injured. I’m back running. I’ll get my fitness back and I’ll be fine for the Fall (at least 1 marathon on tap, if not 2!).
With the exception of a low-grade fever and minor cold, Fiona escaped all of these illnesses. Even the stomach bug. It was impressive.

my immune system rocks

Good luck to everyone running LOVE this weekend! It looks like awesome weather (better than last year!). Enjoy.

ODDyssey Half Marathon Recap

June 13, 2014 by Kristy 6 Comments

I ran the ODDyssey Half Marathon for the second time on Sunday. Last year I was 10 weeks pregnant. This year I’m 5 months postpartum. Same race but 2 very different experiences.

I love Fiona’s arm rolls

I’ll cut right to the chase – it sucked. I ran a 1:57:42 – a far cry from my 1:53:08 in March. And I try not to think too much about how far off it is from my PR.

I have only 1 excuse for my poor performance – utter exhaustion. In hindsight I should have never attempted to “race” this race. I should have kept the pace nice and slow – inline with my 50K training. Matt was away for 2 weeks and came home the day before the race. I had some babysitting help from my parents and niece but I was still exhausted. Fiona is a good sleeper but likes an early start to her day (between 4:00 and 5:00AM in the days leading up to the race). By the time Matt got home I was hurting.

My goal, as with the LOVE Run and Broad Street, was to hide the pace field on my Garmin and run HM effort. I was struggling right from the start. I thought it was the heat so I plugged forward. By mile 5 I wanted to DNF or take a nap under a tree (preferably both). I couldn’t get over how tired and worn out I felt. I knew I had to slow my pace in order to finish. I’d like to say I consciously slowed my pace down but, let’s not kid ourselves, my body shut down at mile 5 and my pace came to a halt.

Splits: 8:18 / 8:12 / 8:09 / 8:13 / 8:52 / 9:23 / 9:00 / 9:05 / 9:18 / 9:18 / 9:16 / 9:01 / 9:23 (hill climb to the finish)

Lesson learned? I’ll never make it through 50K training (or the 50K) if I don’t make sleep a priority. I felt like 5 months of not-so-sound sleep finally caught up to me. Totally caught me off guard too. If Fiona gets up at 5AM (her wake-up time this week), I need to be in bed (asleep) no later than 9PM. (And if you’re wondering, that’s her wake-up time regardless of when she goes to bed…6PM or 8PM.)

On the plus side: my pacing was pretty consistent, I kicked off 50K training, and was able to run a fun race which included a tasty beer at the finish (missed out on that one last year!).

pregnancy confessions

September 8, 2013 by Kristy 18 Comments

I’m just shy of the 6 month mark and time is moving fast but not fast enough, if that makes sense. Once I hit 20 weeks, time seemed to sloooow down. I’m hoping for a very fast Fall.

I’m grateful to still be feeling fine – other than feeling large (I’ll get to that later). But I do have some confessions…

I’m not sad to see the summer go
So long to BBQs, shore trips, and (not) drinking on the deck. Do I sound a bit bitter? I am. I really missed drinking this summer. Before you peg me as a binge drinker, let me explain. There is nothing quite like an ice cold beer over the summer. On the deck and down the shore. After a long run. Especially after a long run. I had no idea how much I would miss it. I think a lot of it has to do with being pregnant over the summer. I probably would not have minded as much over the winter (uh, maybe). And thankfully I’m not into anything pumpkin so my bitterness will not extend into the Fall with the arrival of pumpkin-flavored beers.

I did not miss training for a marathon over the summer
This shocked me. I love long, sweaty 20-milers during the summer (see why the ice cold beer comes in handy?). Again, I thought it would be bitter city seeing everyone train for their Fall marathon. Not at all. Guess it shows how much of a mental break I needed from training. I’m so happy with where my running is right now; I’m perfectly happy with 10-13 mile long runs. And I know that, come 2014, I’ll be fresh and raring to go again.

The weight gain is tough
Obviously this is something you know is inevitable but it’s still mind blowing. When I walk by a store window, I don’t recognize myself. I’m up 14 lbs, which I assume is normal (reading about “normal” weight gain would drive me more insane…so I don’t). This is the most I have ever weighed and some days it’s hard. To grow so rapidly out of your pre-pregnancy clothes (seriously, one week they fit and the next they don’t) and to have T-shirts be snug?! T-shirts?!?! Thank god for maternity clothes (also thought I would never say that). I can’t believe I resisted them for so long.

23 weeks, 5 days…and feeling large.

I’ll be waddling my way through the Philly Rock n’ Roll Half next Sunday. I’m feeling pretty good about it. Excited too. This is always a balls-to-the-wall race for me so it’ll be nice to enjoy myself. I’m guaranteeing a PW (that would be anything over a 2:16 – my first HM finish time!). I plan on walking through the aid stations and running very slow. This may be my last distance race until after the baby is born. We’ll see 😉

Any of your own pregnancy confessions to share?
Running the Philly RnR Half?

happenings and training

March 3, 2013 by Kristy 14 Comments

This is the longest stretch I ever went without blogging. Every time I sat down to write a post over the past 2 weeks, I ended up just deleting it. Quasi-training doesn’t lead to the most fascinating posts. Some people can make the mundane sound interesting. I’m not one of them.

Quasi-training is going really well though. For right now, it’s just what I need. I have no interest in racing a marathon this Spring. Running a 50K or a trail marathon? Maybe. But I enjoy being noncommittal at the moment.

I’ve fallen into a pattern with training. 3 weeks of 40-50 miles and then a big drop back week. That’s good enough to maintain my base until I decide to be committal again.

Wk of 2/4: 40 miles with 13 miles long
Wk of 2/11: 43 miles with 17 miles long
Wk of 2/18: 46 miles with 20 miles long (first 20 of 2013!)
Wk of 2/25: 30 miles with 10 miles long

Besides running, we celebrated a very important birthday.

clearly…

And I laughed till I cried, drank too much, and chatted until 3AM with these ladies.

5 of 8 Mains

All is good.

running and such

January 7, 2013 by Kristy 10 Comments

running
The Rehoboth Beach Marathon was 4 weeks ago. Recovery time is over and it’s back to quasi-training. Quasi since I’m not training for anything specific, just maintaining my base (in the event that I do decide to train for something specific).

I really dislike training in the winter and the past 3 years I trained for a Spring marathon. Some years (2012) were mild while others (2011) were awful. I hate planning my training around Mother Nature, resorting to the treadmill, bundling up, and freezing fingers despite 2 layers of gloves.

But…I worked hard in 2012 and I want to maintain all that base building. So I’m putting in the mileage but not worrying about my long run if Mother Nature decides to dump a foot of snow on a Saturday. That’s the perk of quasi-training!

I realize I kinda stopped recapping my weekly mileage after Boston so here’s what I’ve been up to post-RBM:

Week 1 post – no miles (mandatory recovery week)

Week 2 post – 23 miles + barre

Week 3 post – 34 miles (including a run with Abby!) + barre

Week 4 post – 45 miles + barre

My goal is to maintain my base mileage in the 40s with appropriate drop back weeks built in. And keep up with barre class once per week.

and such
This weekend in pictures…

I love Philly.

Are you quasi-training or training for real this winter?