Sunday, July 29, 2012

Not Marathon Training Week 5

It's all but official. I am not running Marine Corps.

I ran this week for the first time in 3 weeks. It was a perfectly fine run for not having ran in 3 weeks. But it was painfully clear (literally) that I will not be ready for a marathon in 13 weeks.

Frustrating? Yes.

Smart? Yes.

Sunday - 2 yoga podcasts.

Monday - 3.5 mile run. Snuck in at just under a 9 minute overall pace, but it was clear that I can't run Marine Corps.

Tuesday - Rest.

Wednesday - 35 minutes on the bike in the AM, plus upper body lifting and squats at lunch. Quads did not like doing squats with weights for the first time since, oh, March?

Thursday - Rest, unless you count walking about a mile total to get lunch.

Friday - 35 minutes on the bike.

Saturday - 45 minutes on the bike, plus planks and pushups.

Total Miles - 3.5

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Marathon Training Week 4

My plan for the week was cross-train, run 4, 6, and 4 miles, rest, 6 mile pace run, and 12 mile long run, plus strength training where it fit.

Hahahahahaha. That's funny. I am so far off the plan. Now I am 14 weeks out with 3 weeks of no running. 14 weeks sounds like a lot of time. And yet it isn't.

The pesky ankle is not getting worse, but it's not really getting better either. I need to see a sports doc/orthopedist and will get on that this upcoming week. I need some answers and I need to figure out what I can and can't do. I need to figure how to not let this happen again.

Sunday - 3 yoga podcasts for about an hour total.

Monday - 35 minutes on the bike.

Tuesday - 50 minutes on the bike.

Wednesday - 35 minutes on the bike, plus upper body lifting.

Thursday - Rest.

Friday - Planks, pushups, and core work. No cardio because extra sleep won out over exercise.

Saturday - 80 minutes on the bike. Two bikes because I actually had to move. But I successfully entertained myself without music. Victory. Did some upper body lifting and squats with weights because I was already at the gym.

Total Miles- Scheduled: 32 Actual: 0

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Marathon Training Week 3

My plan for the week was cross-train, run 4, 5, and 4 miles, rest, 5 mile pace run, and 7 mile long run, plus strength training where it fit.

Uh huh again. Didn't happen. There was no running. I subbed in time on the bike and took a little extra rest this week.

I am very much on the fence about whether I should pull out of Marine Corps. With this much time to go, it wouldn't be consideration with any other marathon. I'd adjust my training and keep going. But Marine Corps is different. I can get all of my entry fee back if I transfer my bib. I would gain a lot of free time to do other things, especially on weekends. I will be traveling in August and September during the peak of training. We just got through a spell of oppressively hot weather. I could train for shorter races in the fall instead. I could do more strength training or try different activities. I live in DC now. MCM isn't going anywhere.

The good news is that while the pesky ankle is still being pesky, I can tell it is getting better. Slowly. The question becomes can I rest some more, ease back into running, and still have enough time to train properly? Can I do that in the remaining 15 weeks before MCM?

Not gonna lie, though. I am glad I didn't attempt to run through last weekend's oppressive heat. I like sleeping in on Saturday mornings.

I have until August 31 to defer or transfer my bib.

Sunday - 2 yoga podcasts, plus core work.

Monday - 35 minutes on the bike, plus pushups.

Tuesday - Rest. Because I felt like it.

Wednesday - Rest, mostly. Did planks, pushups, and core work in the evening.

Thursday - 30 minutes on the bike, plus upper body lifting.

Friday - 40 minutes on the bike at a harder than normal effort level.

Saturday - 60 minutes on the bike. Infomercials are so boring.

Total Miles- Scheduled: 25 Actual: 0

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Marathon Training Week 2

My plan for the week was cross-train, run 4, 5, and 4 miles, rest, 5 mile pace run, and 10 mile long run, plus strength training where it fit.

Right. Didn't happen. Add me to the disabled list. Truth be told, I've had sporadic pain in my ankle for over a year. I figured out how to prevent it or keep it at bay. And I know exactly what caused the original injury. Most of the time, it was barely noticeable or non-existent. Except this time it is acting up badly and it is not getting better (yet) with rest. I don't know what happened. Bah. This is not pain I can manage or run through. I ran once this week and quickly realized I needed to stop running. Now.

I am early enough in my training plan that I can afford to stop running. Even though I wasn't officially training, I had a couple weeks in June that could be considered marathon training. For now, Marine Corps is still on. But that could very well change. Worst case, I have several backup plans. Downgrade my goals and my training plan. Plan to run with friends. Back out of Marine Corps and transfer my bib to someone else or defer til next year (thank you MCM for having an official policies that allow both of these option). Best case, I could be 100% better. It's too early to tell.

I need to take the long-term view. My long-term goals are to keep running and run the Boston Marathon next year. I don't gain anything by trying to push through Marine Corps this year. Plus the heat in DC? It is majorly impacting getting outside. Nothing but high 90s and low 100s. Poor air quality, too, even for healthy people.

Sunday - rest. Was planning on doing some yoga but ran out of time.

Monday - 4.5 mile run, plus planks, pushups, and core work.

Tuesday - 45 minutes on the stationary bike.

Wednesday - 2 yoga podcasts, upper body strength training, and squats.

Thursday - 35 minutes on the bike.

Friday - 40 minutes on the bike. At least I get to catch up with my magazine reading.

Saturday - 1 hour 20 minutes on the bike.

Total Miles- Scheduled: 28 Actual: 4.5

Sunday, July 1, 2012

June Mileage Summary

Total Miles: 92.3 miles
Total Runs: 16
Average Distance per run: 5.77 miles
Average Speed/Pace: 6.9 mph/ 8:42 pace
Races: none
Highlights: took a short running break, survived a nasty cold, ran some base miles, and started training for Marine Corps
Up for next month: surviving the DC summer

First month under 100 miles in a loooong time. That's OK. It'll be a while before that happens again.

2012 halfway update: 828 miles. I am pretty sure that is a record.