Weekend Running Round-Up

Whew! I logged a lot of miles this weekend! Actually, all of my miles for the week were logged this weekend. I was supposed to run 3 or 4 on Thursday, but after a stomach virus felled me on Tuesday and Wednesday, I decided to take Thursday easy and save my energy for the weekend. No relapses for me!

Saturday, I had planned on running with the 10K class I occasionally help out with. However, a strange noise in my brakes made me re-think that and decide to take my car in to get it checked out instead. If I weren't training for something, I would have just called my Saturday run off, but with this Goofy Training I knew I had to get it in! So, I dropped my car off, informed them that I was off to run 8 miles and to call me with the diagnosis. I thought I made it clear that I was technically "waiting", but I'm not sure they got that. I ran from West St in Annapolis to downtown, city dock, over to the Academy, through West Annapolis, by the Naval Academy Stadium and back to West St...all in the rain! I cut the run short to 6 miles because I hadn't heard from the car place. It was actually a pretty easy and enjoyable run, even with the rain. Luckily, nothing major was wrong with my car! The men in the shop kept laughing at me though...and were amazed that I was training for a marathon!

Sunday, my Goofy partner and I had planned on running 17 miles in DC. However, waking up to rain changed our minds, and we headed up to the B&A trail. The extra hour of sleep helped tremendously! I felt pretty good through 11 miles, got a little tired around 15...and was ridiculously happy to finish 17. The last 2 I was forcing myself to keep going. I think I could have gone farther, but was mentally only prepared for 17! Thankfully, it started to clear up about an hour or so into the run. We averaged almost 12 minute miles, which is my target pace for the race. I took 2 Gus during the run, and had a pumpkin tart at our 11 mile water stop. Afterwards, we refueled at a local grill/bar while watching NFL.

My total mileage for the week was around 23 miles. Next week I'll be jumping to 27...which is technically 1 mile more than the recommended 10% increase. I think I'll be ok, though. Not much I could do about being sick...!

This week's planned runs include 3 miles on Tuesday/Thursday, a 5 mile race plus 4 on Saturday (for a total of 9), and 12 miles on Sunday. 12 seems easy at this point...

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.

Taper Week Training

Since I'm running the Disney Princess Half marathon on Sunday, this week has been a light running week. I was supposed to get out over the weekend for a 5-7 mile run, but for various reasons, that didn't happen. Then, we had an 8 inch snow on Sunday/Monday with temps not getting above 25 on Tuesday...so my Tuesday route would have been turned to ice. I hopped on the treadmill for 2 miles yesterday to at least move a bit and break in my new shoes a little.

I accidentally packed my running skirt instead of my shorts...so I ran on the treadmill at the office in a skirt. Most of the men that wandered into the gym gave me funny looks. If anyone asked why I was wearing a skirt, I planned to tell them that I was practicing for running in a dress this weekend. :) I couldn't let anything else deter me from getting a run in!

Lauren and I are planning on getting out for something short and sweet when we wake up at Disney tomorrow morning. Another 2 miles or so...just so our legs won't forget what it's like to run! I'm looking forward to the race...and the fact that we will be at Disney!

Look for a race report sometime next week...