taper

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 11 Recap

August 17, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

8/17/11
7 miles speed
*3 x 1600m with 400m rest interval between repeats – all done at 10K pace.

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We are getting to the very end here, folks. Last week went very well, probably because it was a drop week and my legs felt rested.

MON: 6 easy
TUE: 7 speed (and my new found love for 10K pace!)
WED: 7 easy
THU: rest
FRI: 20 (#4 – pretty close to MP too!)
SAT: rest
SUN: 7 tempo

47 miles for the week!

Taper
I’m taking a different approach with my taper this cycle. I’m doing the traditional 3 week taper in terms of reducing my overall mileage but I’m doing a 2 week taper in terms of my last long run (22-miler). This week I hope to hit 55 miles (that will be my max for this cycle) but I’ll only be running 15 miles on Friday. Next week I’ll keep my mileage in the low to mid-40s but I’ll do a 22-miler. I think this is going to work out way better mentally for me. I hate the 3 week lag time between your 22-miler and the race. I always begin to doubt myself.

Question of the day: What’s your go-to mantra during a race? What are you most likely to repeat over and over again to finish strong? I’ve gotten much better but I used to battle negative thoughts all the time so I began to say “let go” (as in let go of the negativity). Sounds so silly but it really worked. I also like “if you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t”. So true!

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 4 Recap

June 29, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

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?

Taper Insanity

April 14, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

I’m only a few days into the taper and I’m already going a wee bit insane. It doesn’t help that this is my second rest day in-a-row. With a race on Sunday, my running schedule was thrown off a little this week. I want to run the marathon, like, now!

Aside from decreasing my overall mileage, this week looks like any other training week – speed, tempo, easy, and the race. I can’t even refocus my taper insanity onto Sunday’s race, since I’m using it as a marathon paced run! This extra time has allowed my mind to obsess. Obsess over the persistent post-nasal drip (gross, I know) I’ve been having. Am I getting a cold? Is it allergies? Since I’m allergic to everything and the pollen count is sky high, I believe it’s allergies. Another huge obsession is with my race day goal. I spend lots of time crunching the numbers and visualizing. More on that next week…that’s a post in and of itself!

Since you know what they say about an idle mind, I have been trying to obsess less and spend more time…

– Relaxing and catching up on TV (specifically Friday Night Lights)

– Taking Hawk on walks. Hawk loves the taper because of all the extra walks!

– Tackling my to-do list. I could do this…or watch another episode of Friday Night Lights.

– Read. Since I have to cut back on running, I may as well read about running! I do have about 5 running books to read.

What do you do to keep yourself (and your mind) from going insane during the taper?

Taper Time + Week 14 Recap

April 11, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

4/11/11

7 miles easy

1:06

9:26 avg pace

I’m officially tapering…the hard work is done; now it’s time to rest and prepare for the big race. I’m aiming to keep my overall mileage in the low 30s this week and the mid-20s next week, since my training cycle stressed low mileage. Unfortunately, I still have 2 speed workouts to do 🙁

This Sunday I’ll be running the Penn Relays Distance Classic 20K (about 12.4 miles). I won’t be racing it though. I’m using it as a goal marathon pace run, which is exactly what my training plan calls for anyway. I love when it all comes together!

Week 14 Recap of NJ Marathon training:
MON: rest
TUE: 8 tempo
WED: 7 easy
THU: rest
FRI: 6 easy
SAT: 22 looong
SUN: rest

43 miles for the week with no speed work. My legs were more sore than I thought they would be after the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. I’m glad I took another easy day so I could get in a good 22-miler! Missing too? Yoga. I was leery of taking a class this week since I tweaked something in last Friday’s class. Usually I leave yoga feeling better but not that time. I was worried it would affect my race last week, but I was OK.

I’m going to show all of you just how weird I am…every time I say “taper time” I think of MC Hammer’s song “U Can’t Touch This”. You know…”stop, hammer time” kinda sounds like “stop, taper time?” Riiiight? Well if you never thought of it before, I bet you will now!

We saw this sign in Australia (if you look closely it says hammer time). I thought it was hysterical...and how appropriate?!

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The Last 22

April 9, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

4/9/11

22 miles

3:10:44

8:40 avg pace <– that’s 5 sec/mile BELOW my goal marathon pace!

Heeeellllloooo, taper! I welcome you with open arms! If you’re thinking why the hell would I run below GMP, see here. I hadn’t planned on it actually, just wanted to run close to GMP and end on a good note.

Instead of boring you with 22 split times, I’ll include some random thoughts about today’s run. Please note I’m on a crazy endorphin high right now so I hope this makes sense.

I definitely think a 3:50 is within my reach.
I treated this run like race day. I started out running 9:00 pace and gradually decreased the pace from there.
I felt really good at Mile 13 so I picked up the pace and wondered how long I could hold it for. I made it to Mile 22 🙂
I was tired at the end but still had gas in the tank.
I definitely improved my mental game this training cycle….mind over matter means more to me than you can even imagine!
I thought about Boston a lot during this run. For Boston 2012, I will be 35 years old…meaning (for 2012 ONLY) I could qualify with a 3:45. Could it be a possibility? What if…? I didn’t train to BQ in May but it’s very tempting to have it so close within my reach. At least temporarily. Once 2013 comes, it’s back to 3:40.
I loved every second of this run. I hope after 3 weeks of taper I can repeat this come May 1.

I came home and immediately devoured chocolate milk and foam rolled.

DSCN0217 — Woo hoo! Sorry for the gross close-up of my arm.

DSCN0221 — Hawk helps me foam roll. I'm only 5'5", not the giant this picture makes me out to be.

I want to give a huge shout out to my sister-in-law, Desiree, who ran her first 5K today!!! She totally rocked it, like I knew she would, and I think she’s been bitten by the running bug!

Friday Favorites

April 8, 2011 by Kristy 9 Comments

4/8/11

6 miles easy

56:53

9:28 avg pace

A nice, easy run to shake out the legs for tomorrow’s dress rehearsal (that’s how I like to think of the last 20-miler before the taper). It looks like the weather is going to cooperate too – high of 59, low of 48…that’s shorts-wearing weather!

Time for a random edition of Friday Favorites!

Saint Joseph’s University
Oh, I know this is so obvious. But what would Friday Favorites be without one of my all-time favorite things?! Brief background for newer readers: SJU is where Matt and I went to college (and met). Our dog is named Hawk (after the SJU mascot). My brother is also a SJU alum. We are slightly fanatical about what I consider the best school on earth. The proof is in the pictures…

031 — Where Matt proposed...right on SJU's campus

041 — Post-proposal pic taken by the SJU president who just happened to be walking around campus after we got engaged.

385 — Naturally our wedding pictures were taken at SJU. Some of our bridal party were SJU alumni.

498 — We even had the SJU Hawk come to our cocktail hour!

Nuts, right? My sister-in-law says it’s a cult.

Wawa
Wawa is a convenience store (think upscale 7-11, minus the funny smell that most 7-11s have) found in PA, NJ, MD, VA, and DE. Wawa is awesome. Good coffee, no surcharge ATMs, and actual healthy food options (although I often find myself in there getting ice cream). Sorry to the folks outside of these 5 states…you are missing out.

(source)

Flats
I think I’m officially giving up on wearing heels. OK, I rarely where heels to begin with but I’ve been wearing flats to work for the past couple of weeks. Yesterday I wore my boots, with a small heel, and I could not wait to get them off. Not to mention my ankles were wobbly all day. They are just no good for you….they are torturous! Jen did a post a few months ago about high heels, bringing up some great points why we should not be wearing them. At least I don’t have many heels to swear off…luckily my standard uniform of Uggs, flip flops, and running shoes are all flat!

Is anyone obsessed with their college like me?

Any thoughts on heels? Yay or nay?