Saturday, August 22, 2015

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon - Weeks 6 & 7 (And, some wedding pics!)

Week 7 was another pull back week. This plan basically increases mileage for two weeks and then pulls back a little as a mini-rest week. I like those weeks because of the rest, but since I've been calorie counting, I miss my mega-calorie burn Saturdays. :)

Speaking of calories... one of my goals for this round is to NOT gain weight. In fact, I really want to lose 10 pounds through the process. I started this training cycle around 10 pounds under where I was at the last full marathon and with the additional 10 pounds, that will put me 20 pounds under that number. I think it's doable.

I enlisted a little help from Matt Fitzgerald, an author who writes about running and diet. I really like a lot of what he has to say in "Racing Weight." His Diet Quality Scale (DQS) makes perfect sense and allows you to get away from counting calories if you eat real foods and not junk. I have definitely upped my carbs as well in the form of Ezekiel bread and high fiber cereals. I will say "Racing Weight" is more geared toward an elite runner, but definitely good for the casual runner too.


My favorite nugget from his book is, "A 160 lb. runner expends 6.5% more energy than a 150 lb. runner at the same pace." That's good stuff and reason enough to shed 10 pounds. 

On another diet related note, my friend Claudia asked if I would participate in a no sugar added challenge that included artificial sweeteners too. That was tougher in some ways than I thought! I really missed my iced tea with sweetener and a few other treats as well. I got through it though and even did my 11 mile run with no gels! 


My birthday fell in this time frame and my mom sent some fantastic new workout clothes to me! So excited! (Side Note: I can't even tell you how much I sweat. All.The.Time. Dripping!)


Week 8 was a fun one! We traveled to San Diego for my brother's wedding! It was a beautiful long weekend and I got in two beach view runs with my mom. I also managed to 5:30AM workouts this week. I did spin with my friends on Tuesday and then ran on Wednesday morning since I knew I'd be on a plane most of the afternoon and evening. Got it done!



My speed work started up this week as well. Wednesdays are now my tempo runs. This plan calls for three different tempo runs. The first "A" workout is Walk 5 minutes, East Run 10, {Hard 5, Easy 2} x4, Easy Run 5, Walk 5. It felt good to speed up a bit! 

The beach view 12 mile run was one of my favorites so far. It was incredible scenery and running with my mom is always a treat! She cranked out 12 miles even though her previous recent long run was only 7. Go mom!



And, then this was our recovery Sunday view...



It was a beautiful wedding and so much fun to be with so many of our family and friends to celebrate! Congrats Matt & Sarah!





Week 6

Monday - 50 minutes 
Tuesday - Strength Training
Wednesday - Tempo A
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 40 minutes 
Saturday -  Rest
Sunday - 7 miles

Total for the Week - 21 miles
Total Training Mileage - 134.9 miles

Week 7

Monday - 60 minutes 
Tuesday - Spinning
Wednesday - Tempo A
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 40 minutes 
Saturday -  12 miles
Sunday - Rest

Total for the Week - 28 miles
Total Training Mileage - 162.9 miles


Indianapolis Monumental Marathon - Week 3, 4 & 5

5 weeks down and 14 to go! (For what it's worth, I totally wrote out this post forever ago and could have sworn I hit publish. Guess not... it was only saved as a draft with a few paragraphs. Oh well...)

Week 5 was a pull-back week for mileage but only by about 2 miles (10%). I managed to work out 6 out of 7 days of the week which is the first time I've done that in forever. Admittedly, the yoga video I did on Tuesday was not great, or challenging, or good for much of anything, but I showed up.

I mentioned earlier that I like this plan because of the four days of running. I'm really settling into a good routine with it by now and it all seems so doable. A run on Monday and a rest on Tuesday then speed work on Wednesday, strength training Thursday and a short run on Friday. Then, all that's left is the long run on Saturday.

Week 6 kicked it back up again with adding 5 minutes on Monday and a 10 mile run on Saturday. By Week 7, it is up to 11 miles on the weekend. Both of those weeks, I got in my 4 days of running and 1 day of strength training.

Things are still feeling good. Not too hungry or sore or tired. I suppose it will come. I bought a foam roller this week to start working out some of the more achy spots, especially that IT band.

July brought my highest mileage month yet - 98.8. August will surpass that as will September and October, but I do feel like I'm building a great foundation.

Steph has stuck with me on my long runs - both the 10 and 11 miles. We've been very lucky to have beautiful mornings to hit the trail!


That's the only running related pic I have for the 3 weeks! 

Stats:

Week 3

Monday - 45 minutes 
Tuesday - Yoga
Wednesday - 60 minutes with 5 Pickups (short bursts of faster pace) 
Thursday - Strength Training 
Friday - 40 minutes (I ran this one extremely slow for some reason!)
Saturday - 7 miles 
Sunday - Rest

Total for the Week - 20.4 miles
Total Training Mileage - 63 miles

Week 4 

Monday - 50 minutes 
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - 60 minutes with 5 Pickups (short bursts of faster pace) 
Thursday - Strength Training 
Friday - 40 minutes 
Saturday - 10 miles 
Sunday - Rest

Total for the Week - 24.7 miles
Total Training Mileage - 87.7 miles

Week 5 

Monday - 50 minutes 
Tuesday - Strength Training
Wednesday - Rest 
Thursday - 60 minutes with 5 Pickups (short bursts of faster pace) 
Friday - 40 minutes 
Saturday - 11 miles 
Sunday - Rest

Total for the Week - 26.2 miles
Total Training Mileage - 113.9 miles

{I think it's worth noting that week 5 was 26.2 miles which is the exact marathon distance. One week versus one day...}