marathon pace

Crying Uncle and Boston Week 10 Recap

March 14, 2012 by Kristy 14 Comments

On Monday I posted this on Pinterest (please follow me and then teach me all about Pinterest because I have no clue):

I follow this about 99.9% of the time but it’s ironic that on Tuesday morning I crapped out on my last tempo mile. The plan was to run 10 miles with 4 miles around MP and 4 miles around 7:45 pace. The 4 MP miles were easy, and we (my neighbor was running with me) averaged around 8:05 pace…so faster than MP (maybe that was my downfall?). The next miles (7:45 pace) were harder but doable. We came up on a section of trail that was flooded so we moved over to run on the muddy grass and it slowed us down. Once I transitioned back onto the paved trail I could not pick up the pace again. My legs didn’t want to move any faster. I cried uncle and did a 2-mile cool down instead. At least I was able to get in 3 miles at 7:45ish pace.

I’m not a robot and have to throw in the towel sometimes. It did bother me that I didn’t get that last mile in but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.

So I can’t NOT talk about The Bachelor season finale. I can’t believe I gave up an hour of sleep to watch it (on the plus side, I need to visit Switzerland immediately!). I kinda had a feeling he would choose Courtney. Courtney did seem really excited about the ring – errr, proposal. “It feels so heavy on my hand, Ben.” That’s a completely normal statement seconds after getting engaged, right?

Boston Week 10 Recap
MON: 8 easy
TUE: 11 tempo with 10 miles at MP – this was an awesome, confidence-boosting run!
WED: 8 easy
THU: 8 easy with 5 long hill repeats
FRI: rest
SAT: 15 with 13 miles at MP – another good run!
SUN: rest

50 miles total and the taper is within my reach! 2 1/2 weeks of hard work left and then I get to rest my legs. I really can’t believe Boston will be here so soon. I’m starting to freak out a bit and get excited!

Do you give up easily on training runs or races? I don’t on training runs but if I’m having a bad race day and I know I won’t PR, I will sometimes throw in the towel. It’s a terrible habit thinking that a PR is the most important thing. You can learn so much from bad races.

If you watched The Bachelor, gimme your thoughts!

A Good Run and Good Fun

March 12, 2012 by Kristy 16 Comments

Happy Monday, folks! I’m struggling a bit this morning. I could blame it on Daylight Savings but it’s more likely due to Saturday night fun (yes, I went out)! Before I get to that, let’s talk running!

I “only” had to do 15 miles for my long run this weekend so I made them speedy. I had a great MP run on Tuesday so I wanted to push the number of miles at MP up a bit with my long run. The result? 15 miles in 2:06 (8:24 average pace). Success! I started with a 1-mile warm up, then 13 miles at MP (8:20), and a 1-mile cool down.

8:18, 8:29 (hill), 8:13, 8:14, 8:21, 8:22, 8:28 (hill), 8:21, 8:20, 8:16, 8:15, 8:14, 8:16

I want to say these miles felt as effortless as they did on Tuesday but they didn’t. I was running into a brutal headwind most of the time and my allergies were awful. I’m happy that I was able to maintain MP despite all that though.

Saturday night was a much anticipated night out. We made these plans months ago. Most of my friends have babies so getting everyone together (both the guys and girls) is tough. It was also the Erin Express, Philly’s Irish bar crawl. I was an enthusiastic Erin Express participant multiple times in my 20s…you are pretty much drunk by 4pm and just plain obnoxious. We wanted to avoid any bar with Erin Expressers at all costs. By the time we met up, the sea of green youngins were dwindling and we snagged a table at Oh! Shea’s. We were there for awhile before moving onto another bar.

Matt and I got home at 2am (technically it was 3am – damn Daylight Savings). Sunday was an intentional rest hangover day for me and I needed it. I have no idea how I used to do this every weekend. Youth, I guess.

Ever do a St. Patty’s Day bar crawl? My last Erin Express was when I was 28. I think we were too old then. I do love celebrating SPD though.

Do you plan your rest days around your social life? I used to all the time. My lack of social life right now affords me lots of flexibility with rest days Years ago, rest days were strictly scheduled around my Saturday night shenanigans.

Adele on Repeat and Boston Week 9 Recap

March 8, 2012 by Kristy 22 Comments

One of the many reasons I love barre is the music. I don’t listen to music when I run, so it’s a treat to hear a good playlist when working out. I especially love it when yoga teachers mix it up a bit…using popular music instead of that chant-y yoga stuff.

Since last week’s barre class, Adele has been on repeat in my head. It’s starting to get annoying. You know when you just cannot get a certain song out of your head? Last week it was “Rolling in the Deep”, which is played during class. Then it was “Someone Like You” and now it’s “Rumour Has It”. Rumour has it. (rumour). Rumour has it. (rumour). Over and over. Thankfully, I like Adele.

My taste in music goes from one end of the spectrum to the other. I was in lululemon over the weekend and heard “Get Busy” by Sean Paul and pretty much had to restrain myself from breaking it down in the store. Oh yeah, you know you love it too.

Some more barre favorites are Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” and some old school Britney. Would you believe me if I told you this blog was partially named after Pearl Jam’s song “Long Road”? Yep, one end to the other.

If you run with music, what’s your go-to song? This is a little embarrassing but I love the Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (along with most 3^rd graders). It was playing when I crossed the finish line at the Lehigh Valley Marathon (my BQ). Now I have even more reason to love it.

I have to mention my run on Tuesday, since it was definitely a confidence booster. I’ve been doubting my ability to run 8:20 pace for 26.2 (eeek!). On Tuesday I ran 11 miles with 10 at MP (8:20). I felt springy, my breathing was controlled, and my stride effortless. I felt amazing. I have 15 miles as my long run this weekend and my goal is to run 12-13 at MP (with hills!). Maybe, just maybe, I can do this!

Boston Week 9 Recap
MON: 5 easy
TUE: 8 with 5 at (faster than) MP + 3 hill repeats at the end
WED: barre
THU: 7 with 4 at tempo (2 at 7:45 pace and 2 at 8:00 pace)
FRI: rest
SAT: 20 at 8:36 pace
SUN: rest

40 miles total. A drop back week. 38 days until Boston!

Boston Prep and Week 8 Recap

February 29, 2012 by Kristy 19 Comments

The Boston Marathon is a mere 46 days away and my Type A self is going into “prep” mode. Race logistics, course info, expo, hotel, race outfit (so important…lululemon, it’s only a matter of days before we are reunited!), etc. I don’t want to be overly stressed during the taper period so it’s best to get this stuff all figured out now.

Thankfully, course-wise, there is so much information. I’m a big believer in studying your marathon course as much as you can before race day. I have this handy little guide that I’m reading(per Robin’s recommendation)…

I’ve been running hills during my long runs and occasionally doing a few repeats during easy runs. Yesterday I threw in 3 long hill repeats at the end of a 7-mile tempo run. Whoa, that was tough. My tempo miles ended up being faster than MP (8:08, 8:10, 8:07, 8:09, 8:08) so maybe that’s why? I’m having a hard time nailing down my MP (8:20) based on feel. I always seem to run faster. Guess that’s not the worst thing in the world!

Boston Week 8 Recap
MON: 8 easy with 3 long hill repeats at the end
TUE: 8 speed (6×400). Ugh, awful run. I ended up doing a few miles at HMP and MP to hit 8 for the day.
WED: barre REST! It was like there was a magnet on the back of my head when my alarm went off at 4:50AM (yep, no wonder, right?). I could not lift my head or get out of bed so I slept.
THU: 9 with 7 miles at tempo (8:12, 8:08, 8:12, 8:03, 8:07, 8:03, 8:13). Again, I was trying for MP and ended up faster.
FRI: REST (again)!
SAT: 18 at LSD pace (9:07). It was windy and I ran through a snowstorm.
SUN: 9 easy

52 miles for the week. This week is a drop-back week before I head into the monster month before taper!!!!!

Help, please! I’m looking for a pair of arm warmers for Boston that are comfy. Any suggestions? I’ve tried Saucony but ended up sending them back. Anyone have the lululemon Swiftly Arm Warmers?

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!

Weekend Recap: Running

February 11, 2012 by Kristy 6 Comments

I know it’s odd to write a weekend recap on a Saturday but I’m done with running for the week (I’m taking a barre class tomorrow, which I’m sure will sufficiently kick my butt).

Funny how running works…on Tuesday I was nervous and not feeling confident at all. Then I had great runs yesterday and today and now my confidence is starting to come back.

FRIDAY
Since I had already planned for my 20-miler to be a long, slow distance run, I knew I could get in some marathon-paced miles on Friday without adversely impacting Saturday’s run. My plan was to run 6 miles at MP. I felt great and the miles seemed easy. Turns out they were faster than MP – 8:13, 8:13, 8:08, 8:08, 8:05, 8:08. Sweet! Gotta love when that happens.

SATURDAY
We got “snow” overnight. This is my kind of snow though – sticks to the grass and trees but leaves the sidewalks and roads just wet. It pretty much “snowed” the entire time I ran so I put my hood up and hunkered down for 20 miles. It was really beautiful out. No wind, wasn’t too cold, and everything looked so pretty. I love LSD runs – no pressure, just fun. I finished in 2:59 (8:57 average pace).

Fun fact: A year ago, I was in San Fran for my birthday and I ran 15 miles. I remember being so happy that my average pace for a long run was 9:00; that was huge for me. And now a year later, it’s my LSD pace. Hooray for progress!

I am so ready to celebrate my birthday. I’m not-so-patiently waiting for Matt to come home from the airport. He was away for 2 weeks (again). Boo.

I hope your weekend is off to a good start!