Category Archives: Training

Training: Half Marathoning and Vacationing

January 21, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , 1 Comment
Training: Half Marathoning and Vacationing

Training last week went well. While I’ve been running, each week it seems as though I have a hiccup.  This week was the first in several weeks that I haven’t had any hiccups! Whether it’s an extra rest day, missed workout, or whatever, it’s the reason fitness hasn’t come back as quickly as I hoped.

As most people know, I’ve been vacationing out in California. We didn’t come out “to race” but instead get out of New Jersey during my least favorite month, and check out north of San Diego (When we came in 2016, we stayed almost exclusively in San Diego).

So far it’s been fun and the sunshine has been welcomed.

Monday: Easy 60 minutes
Tuesday: Easy 60 minutes with Alexis
Wednesday: 3X1 mile
Thursday: Easy 60 minutes with Jen M.
Friday: Rest and Travel
Saturday: Easy 60 minutes Laguna Beach/3 mile hike
Sunday: Carlsbad Half Marathon: 1:29.47

Thoughts:

It was nice to run with Jen and Alexis last week. Both days were bitter cold, but each run felt more accomplished to get out there.

Wednesday: 3X1 mile (6:07, 6:09, 6:08)

Boy was I running late that day. I slept through my alarm and ended up having an extra 5 minutes to spare before making it to work on time. The workout itself went well, and it’s amazing how fast you can go, when time is not on your side.

I took 1-minute full rest in between to try and push my legs as much as possible.

Carlsbad Half Marathon 1:29.47

I knew going into this race; it wouldn’t be a PR.  My trip to California wasn’t really for a race, in fact, the half was actually out of the way to where we were going (San Fransico).

That being said, I like the race because it’s beautiful and because I’ve PRed. So we decided to tac into our trip.

Due to lack of hydration, I hit a wall during the second half.  After running in 20-30 degrees, 60+ felt like a beautiful sauna, and I wasn’t hydrated appropriately. There also wasn’t a lot of electrolytes on the course which didn’t help. That being said, I’m proud of my ability to muster up some sort of leg speed to break 1:30.  I’m not estatic, nor sad about the time. It’s right in the middle of half times I’ve run in the last few months.

Next week, I’m just enjoying both running and hiking on our trip.

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Trying to catch a sunset and eating hair. Typical.

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Posts from the Week:

Saucony Triumph ISO 5 Shoe Review

A History of Injuries

One Year with Collagen

Questions for you:

What is your favorite spot for vacation?

Any recommendations for San Francisco?

Base Building: Rolling with the Punches

January 14, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , 8 Comments
Base Building: Rolling with the Punches

I spent last week just cranking along. I did have a couple of small snafus in the week, but I adjusted as needed.

I read a tweet about how much fitness can be built in about 12 weeks.  While it was directed towards the Boston Marathon, it resonated with me in general. Many bigger races are in April, so I plan to build towards April.  I don’t have a goal in mind now, just to get back into shape.

Seeing that kept me more positive that hopefully, I will build back fitness towards 18:30 5ks.  I’ve been negative on myself and my training because fitness has come back slower.  I’m not surprised because it seems like there is 1-2 days per week, that I need to take a day off due to needing sleep more.

Monday: Easy 30 minutes/hike the Headley Overlook
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 12X400 averaging 6:01 pace, 400 jog in between
Thursday: Easy 60 minutes with Jen Miller
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: Frosted Face 5k (19:49) Total mileage: 10
Sunday: OFF

Thoughts:

All of my easy runs were just that, easy. On Tuesday, my body was exhausted from all of the running and hiking. I knew running was not going to be productive so I opted to rest. It was the best thing I could have done for myself.  On Thursday I ran with Jen which was nice. I’ve struggled some days to get out the door, so meeting someone is motivation.

Wednesday: 12x400s with 400 jog (averaging 6:01 pace):

I realized after looking at my training log, I’ve actually done this workout a few times recently.  This was my fastest, as well as the best weather.

Saturday: Frosted 5k: 19:49

I thought it was fairly obvious that this wasn’t a sanctioned 5k, but the internet can be hard to read. As I did last month, I decided to run a hard 5k in my neighborhood. I would run more races but there aren’t too many local races now. (if any?) RIP Icicle 10 miler.

Anyway, I ran 6:30, 6:20, 6:20, which I’m pleased with. It’s close to the time I ran at the Resolution Run on January 1st.

Next Week:

Next week I’m taking a vacation and going out to California. Last time we went, we stayed in the San Diego area and made one trip to LA.  This time we are flying into LA, running the Carlsbad half marathon, then driving up to San Francisco and Sacramento area. This time, the Carlsbad half is not a goal race for me. I’m hoping to run faster than the Race 13.1 but that is about it.

As far as the vacation itself, we don’t have a lot of plans yet, but are looking forward to just hiking and seeing what we see.  So if you have some recommendations, let me know!

Posts from the Week:

Nike Streak LT Shoe Review

Why Train for Shorter Distances?

Hiking to the Headley Overlook at Mahlon Dickerson

Questions for you:

How was your week of training?

Are there races this time of year around you?

December Training

January 8, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments
December Training

Already a week into a New Year and I have yet to sit back and look at December’s training. Usually, I even toy with writing a December log. We are already into the New Year, I’ve reflected upon 2018 in both running and blogging…who cares about December.

But I do. I use my logs to look back and see where I was so it’s important I suppose.

Miles Run: Around 200

Range of Paces: 6:26-11:30-untimed

Longest Run: 14

Shortest Run: 2

Rest Days: 7

Races:

Race 13.1 1:30.58

Christmas Classic 5 miler (32:46)

Lonely 5ks (20:00.3, 19:57.3.)*Not actual races

Thoughts:

December was busy, and I quickly realized I was burning my candle at both ends. I chose to rest and sleep a lot more, and I don’t regret it.  While I took a few more rest days than anticipated in December, it was a busy month and I needed rest more than easy miles.

Races:

My favorite race was the Christmas Classic 5 Miler and my husband, and I had a great time in Bethlehem. The Race 13.1 in Baltimore was my 50th half marathon, but it wasn’t the best put together race and dangerous.

Workouts:

I ran seven workouts in December including two 5ks.

The third weekend of December, the 5k I wanted was canceled due to weather. It was raining and 40 degrees, but I think the course flooded out. I wasn’t that bummed, and I decided to make the best of it and run my 5k in my neighborhood. I surprised myself and ran a 20:00.3. The next weekend I did the same thing and ran a 19:57. I’ll probably run more in January just to give me something to stay motivated. I’ve run a lot of actual 5ks alone, so it wasn’t the “hardest thing ever” to motivate myself to run a hard 20 minutes.

Getting Back into Shape:

Getting back into shape after time off has been tough. I’m not coming back from anything and realistically I never was. I didn’t take that much time off after the marathon (2 weeks).

As I’ve told many people, I never felt as though I got into peak shape for New York. I ran a 1:27 half when my PR is 1:22. I want to get back to the 1:22 shape, as well as 18: XX shape for a 5k, but it’s coming much slower this time around. I’ve had more training bumps.  Not due to injury but due to life.  While I’m proud of 1:27, it’s still 5 minutes slower than I ran early last year.

My goal for January is to log quality miles and go from there. I want to come back strong for Spring and races like Shamrock, Atlantic City Half, and Broad Street, but I have quite a bit of work to do for that.

Anyway, it was a good December as far as life goes. I trained when I could but didn’t choose training over seeing family, friends, or even resting.

Posts from the Month:

2018 in Running

Treadmills are Ok.

50 Half Marathons Later

Fitbit Ionic Review

Why Internet Shoe Reviews are Worthless

Walking Merrill Creek Reservoir

Questions for you:

How was your training in December?

Do you have any goals for 2019? 

Base Building Week 7: January Grind and Racing

January 7, 2019 By in Running, Running Reads, Training Tags: , , , , ,
Base Building Week 7: January Grind and Racing

Last week was a good week of training.  I’m starting to get back on some sort of routine after the New Year.  Does anyone else feel like the shortest weeks feel like the longest?

Anyway, with the New Year and a race, my workouts shifted around a little bit. Instead of doing a personal 5k, I raced one with friends and did more speed work on the weekend.

After getting back to NJ and diving straight back into a work schedule, my body was exhausted. From December until now, I feel like I’ve been go go go, and I haven’t had a lot of time just to relax.  This isn’t with just traveling for the holidays, but with work and life too. On Saturday, I got about 9 hours of deep sleep so felt better.

Monday: Easy 60 minutes
Tuesday: Resolution Run 5k (19:44) total mileage 10
Wednesday: Easy 60 minutes
Thursday: Walked 30 minutes
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: 6X800s with 400 jog recovery (total miles 10)
Sunday: 12 miles with 7 at 7 at 7:03 pace

Thoughts:

Resolution Run: 19:44

I’ve already written a full recap, but it was fun to finally jump into a 5k.  It was hot, humid, and windy (70 degrees on New Years…ok) but I was happy for the challenge. I’m about 90 seconds away from where I want, but I’m happy with the effort. I know I have a lot of work to do there, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Saturday: 6X800s with 400 job (average 6:15 pace)

The workout went a lot better than anticipated. It was 42 and raining but I’m happy with the effort.

Sunday Long Run: 12 miles with 7 at 7:03 pace

This run felt hard. My legs felt training. Not in an injured way, but in an, I’ve run a lot way. I was happy to get it over with. I’m pleased with my effort, but I was hoping the pace would feel easier.

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Long Run done early. 12 miles with 7 at 7:03 pace.

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Posts from the Week:

Resolution Run 19:44

Don’t Just Survive Running in Winter Months…Enjoy Them

2018 in Blogging

Next week, I plan to just lather, rinse, repeat, with a speed workout, 5k (chances are it will be by myself), and long run.  The boring, consistent January grind.

Questions for you:

How was your New Year?

How do you get back into a routine?

Resolution Run 5k (19:44)

January 4, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , 4 Comments
Resolution Run 5k (19:44)

I decided to make a quick trip down to my hometown area in Virginia for the New Year.  I’ve done the New Years Resolution Run before, and even when the Hair of the Dog was at Oceanfront.  A few years ago, I ran my second fastest 5k ever (18:22) while wearing a dress. I haven’t run the race since and I knew I’m not in the same shape.

My dad, husband, and I arrived at the race around 9 am and warmed up. It was unseasonably hot and humid (70 degrees!), as well as very windy. It wasn’t a fast day for racing, but I was happy it wasn’t pouring rain or 5 degrees like last year.

I warmed up around the lake loop of Mount Trashmore.  I didn’t feel good and just felt stiff.  Around the lake, you could easily feel the wind.  There was a tough headwind as well as a tailwind, depending on the direction.

At 9:50, I arrived at the start line and talked with several local friends.  By the time I knew it, we were off. The path is narrow, and I tried not to bump anyone or run through the puddles. By about half a mile, it spread out. I found myself as third place women.  I hit the first mile in 6:15 and my body hurt. I questioned how on earth I would survive two more miles, and we hadn’t even hit the headwind.

Between mile 1 and 2, I made my way into first women.  The others were close behind.  I hit the halfway, and we did a 180. I nearly slipped in a puddle but luckily caught myself.  As we turned around, the headwind came, and it was tough.  The second mile is usually the hardest mile anyway, but with a headwind, it’s 10X worse.  I was passed by a woman and found myself back in second.  I hit mile 2 in 6:30 which was slower than my personal 5k miles.

Around mile 2, we changed directions again, and got a tailwind. Thank goodness.  I just focused on getting to the end. My mind was blank, weaving around people not running the race as well as going the opposite direction. I passed the first place women and told myself I needed to go.  My legs didn’t have any speed, but I kept powering.  At the third mile marker, we hit the headwind again.  Running the last .1 into the wind was one of the hardest race finishes I’ve had in a while. It felt like I was standing still and the finish wasn’t getting any closer.

I crossed in 19:44, and as the first place women.  I was happy with my effort in the weather and not feeling the greatest.  It’s always nice to see friends from back home as well.

resolution run mount trashmore

Thanks Gene for the photo

I’m looking forward to getting back into 5k and shorter fitness shape, something that alluded me during the fall.  For those who asked, Mount Trashmore doesn’t smell, it’s a giant park. You would never guess the mountain is actually made of trash.  If you’re ever in the area, it’s a great park to run. 

Questions for you:

Did you race on New Years?

Would you rather race in torrential rain or 30 mph headwind? 

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