Hello everyone! Well, full marathon training is in full force over here!! I am thoroughly enjoying it actually. Only running 4 days a week and strength training or resting the other days, really makes me smile. I didn’t blog last week because I was waiting for my race photos from the Madison Mini-Marathon which I ran last Saturday August 22. So much fun, but first let me tell you about my training that week.
So Sunday 8-16 was cross training day. I did P90X Plyo and Chest and Back. It was fun to pull out the Plyo disc. I haven’t done this workout in such a long time. It was really fun to do! I totally felt the burn during it and after. Chest and Back was good also. It was nice to give the legs a rest today.
Monday is always leg day so 8-17 was no different. I love this workout. It is absolutely my favorite P90X workout! I have extra time in the morning on these strength training days so I like to add in some extra moves. I love deadlifts, so I added deadlifts and single leg deadlifts in a drop set fashion with 40, 30, 25, 20, and 15 pound dumbbells. I performed 15 reps for each move. My legs were so sore after this. It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that I started to feeling it and I was sore from it until Friday!!!
Tuesday I only ran 6 miles because I had a meeting to go to for school. It was a nice run and I saw a salamander! I watched him cross my path! It was something that I had never witnessed before. The only salamander I have seen before was in a zoo. This run was slow because my legs were so sore but it was really nice to be out and getting it done early in the morning!
Wednesday was another run day. I didn’t have anything to do today or anywhere to go, so I ran 8.1 miles today! Again it was pretty slow as my legs were still sore from Monday and it was really humid this morning. Glad that run was done at the end!
Thursday I did the exact same route as Wednesday and ran it a few minutes faster as my legs were feeling better today.
Friday is arm day! I am loving building my guns! One day they will be as big and muscular as my legs!! Well maybe not as big, but they will be muscular! So I slept in a little bit and then did P90X Back and Biceps. I lifted pretty heavy and with good form. Today was packet pick up for the Madison Mini so the kids and I headed up to Madison around 11:00 to get my packet and have ice cream for lunch. We then went to the Henry Vilas Zoo to have a bit of fun before school starts for mom next week. It was a really fun day.
IT’S RACE DAY!!! Saturday August 22 I ran in the Madison Mini-Marathon! I have ran this race before but the course was changed a little this year. It was so much fun and a really good race. Last year my time was less than desirable at 2:36:29, but I totally redeemed myself this year with a time of 2:22:46!! The course was beautiful, as it always is and I had a really great race after the first 4 miles. These first 4 I thought I was crazy for doing this. I didn’t think I was going to make it the whole 13.1 and that someone was going to have to come and get me. But I made it to mile 6 and I used a GU and started to feel better. I regained some energy and made sure to walk through all the water and Gatorade stations while grabbing both beverages. This really helped to keep my hydrated as the temps were rising throughout the race and it was a little humid. 
I actually really love these photos from the race. I can see how muscular I am becoming. I really like my results so far. I am just so proud of my finish for this race. I was using it as a training run so I didn’t want to push too hard, but I’m glad I gave it my all and came away with a really awesome time!! I can’t wait to do it again next year!
So after racing on Saturday, I took Sunday completely off. My body desperately needed a rest day. I was so sore after the race! And I was still sore on Sunday. Sometimes it is best to listen to your body and give it what it needs. Today it needed sleep and a day filled with nothing!!
Week 8 of Marathon Training started off with a rest, so I was so ready to bring it Monday for Leg Day!! Again you all know that I love, love, love leg day! Same routine as last Monday but I added in extra reps of deadlifts and single leg deadlifts for the lowest weights. Legs were totally jello and were sore again until Friday!! Today was also one of the last days before going back to work so I did a double workout with Back and Biceps later in the afternoon. It felt good and relieved some stress I was having about going back to work.
Tuesday I ran 8 miles in perfect temperatures. It was amazing! My legs were sore but it felt good to get out there, especially with the great running weather! I wanted to do something extra today too after spending most of the morning at Sears getting things taken care of with my truck. I wasn’t feeling a long workout, so I brought up my 20 pound weights and my gloves and sat in front of the TV doing sitting bicep curls. I ended up doing sets of 10 on each side until I got to 100! I was definitely feeling it! Especially after I did it a second time later that night! LOL I just can’t stop myself sometimes!
Wednesday I had to go back to work but my training plan actually called for 7 miles. I actually did a little more and got in 7.5 miles. Again the weather was perfect and I loved this run, except for almost getting skunked!! I was out running my normal route and I see this thing come hopping out of the field. It’s a skunk! Luckily I was able to cross the street and see the skunk going back into the field with it’s tail raised! That was a close one! Then it was off to school for our welcome back breakfast!! It was so yummy!! Eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes!! Amazing!! I also did another 100 bicep curls that night to get those guns growing!
Thursday I ran 6.5 miles to even out the mileage from the day before. My legs were still sore and so were my arms but it was a good run. I had to leave for work earlier today and drop the kids off at my parents’ so less mileage was in order. It was more than what my plan called for so I was happy with that.
Friday was another awesome arm day! I did P90X Shoulders and Arms with lifting heavy weights as much as I could. I had time so I added more sitting bicep curls using 25 pound weights. I did 3 sets of 10 on each side before my arms felt like they were going to fall off! It was nice though! I loved it! I took the rest of the night off to relax so I could run long in the morning! I actually fell asleep on the couch at probably 9:30! I needed it!
So today (8-29) was long run day on the training plan. 15 miles were in order. I wanted to get started at 6:00 am to beat the heat and be home earlier, but it was raining early this morning so I wanted to wait for most of it to pass before heading out. I ended up getting out the door by about 7:15. It was still misting out but it felt really good and it stayed cloudy the whole time. That helped to keep the temp down. It was a little chilly to begin with and I had shorts and a tank on, but I was definitely sweating after only running a little ways. I had mapped out my route on mapmyrun so I knew exactly where I was going. That was nice! I hate guessing where to go and having to check my watch to see how far I’ve gone and how far I need to go! I used a GU at mile 5.5 and mile 10 plus some energy chews at mile 13 and 14 to make it home. I had to fill up my water bottle at a local park as well, but at least I knew where it was and didn’t have to suffer the rest of my run. I may need to rethink my hydration system for runs longer than this. I have a hydration belt but it’s not my favorite. Oh well, just something else to think about. I am super sore after this run. I actually ran 15.7 miles to even out my numbers for the month. I ran 161 miles this month!! My right ankle and knee are sore so I have my braces on along with my calf sleeves. I also used KT tape for my plantar fasciitis in my left heel. It’s helping a little! I also have a new sleep sock to keep my foot flexed while I sleep to help stretch my calf and heel. I’m hoping this helps. I will let you know for sure! Anyway, I feel so incredibly accomplished for running this distance! This is my longest run to date and I am super proud of myself. I am worried that I might not make it 26 as I am so sore after only 15, but I think as long as I take it slow and take breaks to walk, I’ll be ok!
This is how I ended up spending most of my day! I’m probably over-exaggerating the pain, but I just want to be extra cautious and not get seriously hurt before my marathon!
I’ll check in with the training again next week! I’m excited that the mileage is a little less but 12 is still a lot. So until next week, Run on, my friends!!
And always remember:
Laura
Comments
Post a Comment