Run The Long Road Coaching

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2 Years

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7/25/11
7 miles speed work

Today is our 2-year wedding anniversary!  We are celebrating tonight with pizza and beer.  I’m a cheap date.  We did class-it-up by going out to dinner on Saturday night.

My wedding was by far the best day of my life.  Matt and I dated for 10 years before we got married so this was a long time coming.  It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.  Here are some highlights with lots of pictures…

Obviously, marrying Matt was THE highlight.  These are 2 of my favorite pictures from our wedding.

My wonderful bridesmaids.

Walking down the aisle with my Dad (photo from a friend).

Getting our pictures taken at St. Joe’s (where Matt and I met).

Of course the cake was a highlight!  Our wedding cake was from Bredenbeck’s and it was absolutely delicious.  Still delicious after 1 year in the freezer too!

Having the St. Joe’s Hawk (mascot) at our cocktail hour.

Busting out a Thriller dance at the wedding.  Oh yes we did.  We = me/bridesmaids/friends.  Matt opted out 😉

Dancing (and drinking) with friends and family.  Funny side note:  Matt and I warned our reception place about the massive amounts of Miller Lite that would be consumed.  We asked them to not run out of ML.  They politely laughed and said it wouldn’t happen.  At the end of the night, Matt caught them running in 6-packs of ML and throwing them in ice.  So technically we didn’t run out but they did have to scramble at the last minute and buy more!!

*All pictures courtesy of Sean Marshall Lin (the best wedding photographer around).  

Operation Hydration

by 22 Comments

7/22/11
17 miles / 2:46 / 9:46 avg pace

Stats
5:15AM start time temp – feels like 88 degrees
8:00AM finish time temp – feels like 98 degrees
Humidity 0, Kristy 1

I’m calling Operation Hydration a success!  I feel great!  Dang it was hot though.  Definitely the most oppressive conditions I ever ran in. Some thoughts…

  • Eating salt (yes, straight salt) was a lifesaver today.  I noticed an immediate improvement vs. 2 weeks ago.  I really believe it’s why I feel so good right now – no headache, no nausea, no quad soreness.  Note:  white, powdery-looking substance in a baggie that you eat with your pinky and then stash in your sports bra looks super shady.
  • I also drank Gatorade and I think that helped too, but to a lesser extent than the salt.
  • My shorts were completely soaked by mile 7!
  • I noticed a sloshing sound in my shoes around mile 10 and realized it was sweat.  So. Gross.
  • Thank god for a canopy of shade once the sun came up.  This was also a lifesaver.  The sun would have done me in for sure.
  • Although my pace was slow, I’m amazed that my body was able to run 17 miles!  I was supposed to run 18 but reached my car at 17 and decided to screw the last mile.
A hot mess picture.  There wasn’t 1 inch of me that was dry.
Have a good weekend!  Stay cool!

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 7 Recap

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7/19/11
7 miles easy / 1:04 / 9:09 avg pace

Am I really on Week 8 already?! Time is flying by and race day will be here before I know it. I just got the butterflies/nervous feeling typing that! No matter how many marathons you run, the nerves are always there. Especially when you want need to BQ. No pressure though 😉

Week 7 was so-so. I wanted to keep my mileage at 50 but couldn’t due to my left quad soreness (resulting from dehydration on a long run). My quad felt fine by Tuesday but I didn’t want to push it. So no speed work for the week but I did have a good (short) long run and a good tempo run, so I can’t complain.

MON:  8 easy
TUE:  4 easy with a running club (details to come…)
WED:  8 tempo
THU:  rest
FRI:  13 long
SAT:  10 easy
SUN:  rest

A total of 43 miles for the week. I’m planning on 54 miles this week. It’s supposed to 100 degrees on Friday with crazy humidity. This will be a good test for Operation Hydration. I’m going to carry salt packets with me on my long run to see if they help and drink more water than I usually do all week. I’m not afraid of hydrating too much (fun fact: I check the color of my pee all the time). I know my body and if you saw how much I sweat, I think you would agree! On that gross note, I’m outta here!

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 6 Recap

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I hit the big 5-0 last week and, overall, had a great week with the exception of Friday’s steamy 20-miler.

MON:  8 easy
TUE:  7 speed (fastest 800s to-date!)
WED:  7 easy
THU:  rest
FRI:  20 long
SAT:  rest
SUN:  8 tempo

Now I’m noticing a pattern with my dehydration. My left quad was sore Friday to Monday just like it was during the NJ Marathon. During the marathon I got pretty dehydrated, just like Friday’s 20-miler. Since I’ve never had any issues with my quads I definitely think there’s a link. For me, the NJM and Friday’s 20-miler are what I dubbed “stage 2” dehydration – headache and nausea. As opposed to my usual post-long run “stage 1” dehydration – just an annoying headache. Seem like stage 2 creeps in and so does the quad soreness.  Thankfully the soreness goes away after a few days but it’s a pain in the ass.

Since this is starting to get on my nerves, I’m going to increase my water intake the night before and the morning of a long run. I must admit I’m pretty bad with this. During my long runs though I’m a model hydrator…drinking water like crazy, Shot Blok-ing, and electrolyte popping!

What are your must-haves to prevent dehydration during the summer? I tried nuun a few times. It didn’t see any real difference and I thought it was gross!

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 5 Recap

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7/6/11
7 miles easy / 1:07 / 9:34 avg pace

Week 5 went surprisingly well, especially after a weekend of bachelorette festivities.  The lack of sleep did me in and I practically dragged myself out of bed for each run.  But, as always, once I got moving I was fine.

MON:  6 miles speed
TUE:  6 miles tempo
WED:  8 miles easy
THU:  rest
FRI:  18 miles (so happy about this run!)
SAT:  4 easy miles at the shore
SUN:  rest

42 miles for the week (it’s a drop-back week).  I’m hoping to hit the big 5-0 this week.

So here’s a really random, so-not-related-to-this-post question:  when you wear running tights (or yoga pants), do you wear underwear?  I’ve gotten asked this question a few times (I don’t) and I have pretty strong feelings on this one.  First off, why would you?  I can’t think of anything more uncomfortable.  And unsightly.  I’ve been behind women in races and all I can see is panty lines.  If you do don the underwear, I would love to hear why!

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 4 Recap

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Last week I hit 47 miles!  I’m dropping back my mileage a bit this week but next week I’m hoping to hit 50.  I love how this drop-back week still includes an 18-miler.  That just isn’t right!

MON: 8 miles easy (was supposed to be either a hill repeat or speed day but my legs were not feelin’ it)
TUE:  8 miles tempo
WED:  rest
THU:  8 miles easy
FRI:  20 miles hot and steamy
SAT:  3 miles easy
SUN:  rest

Notice the lack of yoga or strength training recently?  When things get busy, it’s always the first to go.  My motivation for yoga or ST is nowhere near my motivation to run.  It’s a constant work in progress.

Originally I had planned on alternating hill repeats and speed work this cycle.  I really need that steady dose of speed work so I’m ditching the hill repeats.  My long runs are fairly hilly and I think they’ll provide me with the preparation I need for LVM.

I’m also doing a 2-week taper for LVM.  I was a complete nut case during the taper period for the NJ Marathon.  Three weeks is too much time for me, mentally and physically (even though my mileage only really dropped 2 weeks before, I hate doing my 22-miler 3 weeks out).  I did a 2 1/2 week taper for Steamtown and it worked out just fine.

Have you ever tried a 2-week taper?  Do you prefer it to the traditional 3-week taper?