Last week/weekend was a busy one in my regular life, so I had to squeeze my runs in where I could! Last Tuesday, I ran 4.5 miles with the 10K class around the community college. I really hate that loop, but since it's well lit after dark, it's where the class always meets. I'll be glad when we can figure out somewhere else to have our evening runs in the winter! It was a slow 4.5 miles, with a couple of stops here and there.
Saturday, we were scheduled to run a 5 mile race through Downs Park in Pasdena (MD, not CA). It's quite a lovely park, right on the Bay. We had 9 miles on the schedule, so we ran 2 before the race to warm up (which was necessary...it was below freezing!), 5 during the race, and 2 afterwards. I ran the race faster than I wanted since this was supposed to be a training run. I actually averaged 11:00 minute miles for the 5 during the race. Oops. It didn't really bother me on Saturday...
...but Sunday's run was tough. We had 12 miles scheduled, which didn't seem very difficult considering we ran 17 the Sunday before. However, I think my legs were feeling the faster 5 from Saturday, because I started getting pretty tired around 8 miles. I also didn't fuel up properly for the run...Junior Mints and champagne at the opera the night before just won't cut it! We persevered, though. Our route took us to Thomas Point and back, and then through the Hillsmere Shores neighborhood in Annapolis. It was a pretty run with no rain (finally!), but I just wasn't into it.
I think my lessons learned from this training week are to eat properly the night before the run, and that I will need to hold myself back in the 1/2 marathon leg of the Goofy. When you're trained up to 20 something miles it seems easy to run some of them faster, but I will pay for it the next day. Which is what I'm desperately trying to avoid for Goofy since I'll be running a marathon the next day!
Today, I squeezed in 3.25 on the treadmill at lunch because it's a concert week, so no other time to run. Saturday, we've got 9 on the schedule. The 10K class is previewing the Cold Turkey 10K course, so we'll run the first 6 miles with them, and then finish up with 3 on our own. Sunday, our rain-postponed DC monument tour is back on tap. Except, this time it is 19 miles. The weather looks as if it will hold out for 60s and sunny. I'll take it! Look for a full report here sometime next week.
Showing posts with label Tough Runs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tough Runs. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Training in the Rain...It's What Happens When You've Committed to a Marathon!
Here in Maryland, we had 4 straight days of rain from Thursday through Sunday morning. Of course, all of my training runs for the week were planned during that time. The temps were also in the 40s, so it was a cold rain.
Thursday evening wasn't too bad. I ran about 4 miles around my house. It actually felt pretty good since I was rested and had managed to find my good rain jacket.
Saturday, I was in Baltimore with my boyfriend and had planned on running 7 miles on the NCR trail while he biked on the trail. We woke up Saturday morning to a very steady, cold rain. I wanted to back out, but he wouldn't let me. Good man. :) It was cold and rainy, but once I got going on the trail, I warmed up and it wasn't too bad. Even in the rain, the trail was lovely. It runs along a river, and most of the trees had begun to change colors. One of the high school cross country teams was on the trail, too. I felt sorry for them...I was at least there somewhat voluntarily! It actually was a pretty easy 7 miles out and back. We'll be back on that trail sometime near the end of December.
Sunday, it wasn't really raining anymore, which was nice. I had asked my training partner if we could wait until 2 PM to run so I could get back from Baltimore and recover from a 6 course meal with wine pairings the night before. Even though we waited 'til 2 I still felt ridiculously heavy from the meal. We also chose a hilly route for our 10 miles, so it was a hard run. We walked more than normal, but we finished. Her legs were tired from a hilly run the day before, so at least we were sort of in the same boat.
My last 2 weekends of long runs have taught me that I need to eat better the night before a long run, and get a fair amount of rest!
This week, I have 4 miles on Tuesday and Thursday, Saturday off (my parents are in town), and then 16 miles on Sunday. Sunday will be made up of a 5K Halloween race followed by 13 miles around Annapolis and the B&A trail.
Thursday evening wasn't too bad. I ran about 4 miles around my house. It actually felt pretty good since I was rested and had managed to find my good rain jacket.
Saturday, I was in Baltimore with my boyfriend and had planned on running 7 miles on the NCR trail while he biked on the trail. We woke up Saturday morning to a very steady, cold rain. I wanted to back out, but he wouldn't let me. Good man. :) It was cold and rainy, but once I got going on the trail, I warmed up and it wasn't too bad. Even in the rain, the trail was lovely. It runs along a river, and most of the trees had begun to change colors. One of the high school cross country teams was on the trail, too. I felt sorry for them...I was at least there somewhat voluntarily! It actually was a pretty easy 7 miles out and back. We'll be back on that trail sometime near the end of December.
Sunday, it wasn't really raining anymore, which was nice. I had asked my training partner if we could wait until 2 PM to run so I could get back from Baltimore and recover from a 6 course meal with wine pairings the night before. Even though we waited 'til 2 I still felt ridiculously heavy from the meal. We also chose a hilly route for our 10 miles, so it was a hard run. We walked more than normal, but we finished. Her legs were tired from a hilly run the day before, so at least we were sort of in the same boat.
My last 2 weekends of long runs have taught me that I need to eat better the night before a long run, and get a fair amount of rest!
This week, I have 4 miles on Tuesday and Thursday, Saturday off (my parents are in town), and then 16 miles on Sunday. Sunday will be made up of a 5K Halloween race followed by 13 miles around Annapolis and the B&A trail.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Weekly Training Update
Well, I managed to get most of the miles in I needed last week. Barely. At least most of the miles were on my feet, if not running.
Thursday, my Energizer Bunny Goofy Training partner pulled me along for a fast 2.75 miles. We averaged right at a 10:00 minute pace. Which is pretty fast for me these days. But, it was a cool night and I was feeling good, so I loped along with her.
Saturday, I got up and joined the 10K class for 4 miles, with a plan of adding a mile on at the end to make 5. It was a warm, humid morning, and I had a tough time breathing. I ended up walking most of the last mile of the 4 with the class. Then, I walked another mile to at least get the mileage in on my feet, even if I wasn't running.
Sunday morning was a bit of a disaster. We had 14 miles on the schedule. This was definitely one of those mornings that I should have just thrown in the towel before I got out the door. I was out until 1:30 AM the evening before at a cast party for a show my boyfriend performed in. I was also wearing new boots that gave me blisters. I only had one glass of wine so that I wouldn't be dehydrated. We had to schedule our run at 8AM despite the late night because we had another concert to sing in the early afternoon. I woke up at 7 AM, and discovered the coffeemaker was broken. Then, I couldn't manage to get any food down. I had 1/4 of a peanut butter sandwich. Not good. My training partner arrived at 8, and I decided to ignore the bad things and get out for the run, anyway.
It took a couple of miles to warm up, and then I was feeling good. But, after we stopped for a potty break at 7 miles, things started to crash for me. I was a bit dizzy, tired, and had to walk, a lot. We cut our route short so that we'd be closer to the start in case I needed to turn back. At 9 miles, I threw in the towel and walked 2 miles back to my house. Not really the way I wanted to have a long training run turn out, but at least I logged 11 miles on my feet.
This weekend is a "light" week, with 7 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. Thankfully, neither of these runs have to happen in the early hours of the morning!
Thursday, my Energizer Bunny Goofy Training partner pulled me along for a fast 2.75 miles. We averaged right at a 10:00 minute pace. Which is pretty fast for me these days. But, it was a cool night and I was feeling good, so I loped along with her.
Saturday, I got up and joined the 10K class for 4 miles, with a plan of adding a mile on at the end to make 5. It was a warm, humid morning, and I had a tough time breathing. I ended up walking most of the last mile of the 4 with the class. Then, I walked another mile to at least get the mileage in on my feet, even if I wasn't running.
Sunday morning was a bit of a disaster. We had 14 miles on the schedule. This was definitely one of those mornings that I should have just thrown in the towel before I got out the door. I was out until 1:30 AM the evening before at a cast party for a show my boyfriend performed in. I was also wearing new boots that gave me blisters. I only had one glass of wine so that I wouldn't be dehydrated. We had to schedule our run at 8AM despite the late night because we had another concert to sing in the early afternoon. I woke up at 7 AM, and discovered the coffeemaker was broken. Then, I couldn't manage to get any food down. I had 1/4 of a peanut butter sandwich. Not good. My training partner arrived at 8, and I decided to ignore the bad things and get out for the run, anyway.
It took a couple of miles to warm up, and then I was feeling good. But, after we stopped for a potty break at 7 miles, things started to crash for me. I was a bit dizzy, tired, and had to walk, a lot. We cut our route short so that we'd be closer to the start in case I needed to turn back. At 9 miles, I threw in the towel and walked 2 miles back to my house. Not really the way I wanted to have a long training run turn out, but at least I logged 11 miles on my feet.
This weekend is a "light" week, with 7 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. Thankfully, neither of these runs have to happen in the early hours of the morning!
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