Vermont City Marathon Training Week 4: What Was Planned vs. What Happened
Monday 02/01/16: 30 Min Easy Run | 30 Minutes Easy
I’m so pleased that the sun is setting later and later. I was actually able to run outside after work with some daylight left! And because it’s been weirdly warm here lately, the bike path was clear of snow so I could run my normal route.
Tuesday 02/02/16: 45 Min Easy Run | 45 Minutes Easy
It was colder today, but I was still able to complete my entire run with some daylight, which is such a treat.
Wednesday 02/03/16: Spin Class | Spin Class + 50 Minutes At-Home Yoga
I was tired and sore after 3 days in a row of workouts, so I decided to treat myself to a nice deep stretch. I discovered Yoga With Adriene on YouTube and did her Yoga for Hamstrings and Yoga for Weightloss: Hips and Hammies. I’m excited to incorporate more of these videos into my training.
Thursday 02/04/16: Hills | Hills
I did a one mile warm up, then 4 x 600ish hills (600m is about .37 miles, which is tricky on a t-mill), then ran a slow cool down until I hit 3 miles for the workout. I used incline level 3 for the first 3, then level 4 for the last one. It was tough but not awful, so I think next time I do hills I’ll try to crank up the incline more.
Friday 02/05/16: Rest | 3 Hour Dance Rehearsal
All week, I somehow thought I didn’t have rehearsal, and then not only did I HAVE rehearsal, but it was three straight hours of dancing, and I somehow tweaked my neck, which resulted in reduced range of motion, pain, and a headache for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday 02/06/16: 10 Miles Easy | 10 Miles Easy
I had a lot of anxiety going into this run, and while it wasn’t rainbows and magic, it was definitely the best 10 miler I’ve ever done. I’m hoping that now that I’m over the double digit hump, I won’t worry about it so much. While my neck thankfully didn’t bother my during the run, I was REALLY uncomfortable for the rest of the day.
Sunday 02/07/16: Yoga | Easy Dance and Stretching at Rehearsal
My neck was still really bothering me so I didn’t want to aggravate it, but I was able to do some nice, gentle stretching during down time at rehearsal, and the “dance” we were doing is very light and easy.
Total Weekly Mileage: 20.8
Total 2016 Mileage: 65
Another week of marathon training down! This is the highest mileage week I’ve ever had, which is pretty cool. I confess, I’m feeling a bit tired. In the past, I’ve usually only had 3 run days per week rather than 4, and usually max out at 4 total workouts per week. I’m also dealing with some feelings regarding food, fueling, and weight gain, but I’m trying to work through it. I’ve started tracking my food again just to try to get a grip on things. I may do a post on it, I may not. I’m still trying to sort through what’s going on in my brain.
Other than that, though, training is going well. I’m doing my best to just trust the plan and trust my coach, and that really helps take a lot of drama out of the whole thing. From here on out, my long runs each week will be Personal Distance Records (PDRs), at least from a training standpoint; the longest training run I’ve ever completed is 10 miles, and the longest distance I’ve ever run period is a half marathon. I’m excited to start hitting new milestones!
How many runs do you usually complete each week?
Typically around 4-6 for me. I usually do three runs with purpose and another two or three shake out easy peasy miles.
Good work, Rae!
Thanks, lady! It’s pretty cool to be seeing these numbers. I’m in a contest with one of my friends and I’m totally kicking his ass 🙂
That’s awesome Rae! If you want added incentive for the miles, try to save 50 cents to a dollar for every mile you run – all of a sudden, it feels a tiny bit better to finish that last mile. 🙂
Awesome week! At my most active/most motivated, I usually hit 3 runs a week. I can definitely see where increasing that would be tiring! I hope your neck is feeling better… I messed mine up two years ago by sleeping funny and couldn’t turn my head for a few weeks, that was fun! Neck tweaks are no joke 😦
It’s mostly better today, although I still have a headache and a bit of twinge-yness. I’m using my coworkers rice bag thingy and that’s helping a lot.
Let me know if we need to consult about food and stuff, mkay? Good luck with the neck!
Thanks Suz, we may need to. I’m in a bit of a mood over it. Trying to sort through some stuff so it’s less of an emotional mess to dump on people.
You killed it!! Awesome job!! I hope that your neck doesn’t give you any problems…sticking with the gentle stretching should help. 🙂
I love that you’re hitting all these new mileage milestones. VERY cool!
Thanks lady! It’s very exciting 😀
I have some neck problems myself so can relate! Great job lady!!! xoxo
It was so out of the blue for me, but thankfully, I seem to be about 95% better today, so yay!
YAY!! That’s great news!
Great job on the 10 miler – for getting it done and conquering that mental hurdle!
Thank you! I’m hopeful that this week’s 11 miler will now be less of a big deal.
Way to go! Sounds like a great training week! Hope your neck is better!
Thank you! I’m definitely proud of this week, and hope to see more like it!
Nice job on the ten miler! Before you know it, you’ll be saying “It’s a step back week, so I ONLY have ten miles on the schedule” 🙂
Haha, I can’t even imagine saying that!
It’s a weird feeling, you’ll catch yourself thinking, “man, I’m exhausted, thank god I only have a ten miles”..and then its like, ” who am I? Who says things like that?!”
Awesome week! But it sounds like a lot too. I think I am best trained when I run 4x a week but I haven’t gotten past 3 the last year. I hear you on the food issues. I’ve had a post partly formed for a while but can’t seem to decide if I want to post it or not. Hope your neck is feeling better!
Yeah, I wrote a big, ranty post on Monday, but haven’t had the balls to hit “publish” yet. I’m still deciding how I feel.