My marathon is 3 weeks away – hard to believe, considering I never thought May 1 would come (well, technically May 1 hasn’t happened yet but now I can actually feel it). Training and cardio-wise I’m feeling really good. Now, if the weather would just cooperate. I’m totally over the rain, hail, clouds, etc. I just want to run in shorts – is that too much to ask, considering it’s April 11?

Monday – 4 miles + 1.5 hours of Vinyasa Yoga
Post 23 mile run and blisters on my feet, I went on an easy run with BJ. We had nice weather, so it felt good to get out side for a “shake-out” run. It was also fun to run with BJ. Marathon training has me running longer and faster than my hubs, so I rarely run with him anymore (and I’ve missed him).

After our run we headed over to Sun and Moon Yoga for our weekly Monday night yoga session. It felt good to work out my very sore (and tight) muscles.

Tuesday – 4 miles
Okay, so I ran another 4 miles on Tuesday. But, I ran a lot faster than I did on Monday (8 min/mile). I felt good.

Wednesday – 8 miles
Morning run with AF. Felt really good – but still trying to take it easy on the blisters (in the most annoying part of my foot). Even though I don’t have the energy to run every morning (hey, I need at least 9 hours of sleep), I really enjoy my morning runs. It’s a great way to start the day and I feel good all day long!

Thursday – 7 miles – Mile repeats (track)
Hardest workout to date since marathon training. Wow, did this hurt! I also didn’t feel 100% (lack of sleep and stomach issues) so I know that played into the workout. But either way, I couldn’t wait to be done. I asked AF for our stats and here’s what she sent:

1.5 mile warm-up
4×1600 (1 mile) with 2 minute standing rest between repeats
6:28, 6:44, 6:35, 6:23
1.5 mile cool-down
+ Ab workout
Goal: 6:45/mile. Goal = crushed!! 🙂
*I love that we crushed our goal! Thanks AF – I couldn’t do it without you!

Friday – rest

Saturday – 18 miles
My blisters finally started to heal – which was a huge confidence booster for me! We ended up having pretty good weather for our run – we’ve really lucked out on our long runs. 8:18/pace, negative split the last 9 miles. Felt good (feel ready for May 1).

Sunday – 3 miles
Very. Slow. Run. Just tried to get outside and move my legs – wasn’t trying to be fancy or impress anyone on this “shake-out” run.

Week 11 mileage: 44 miles
3 weeks until Potomac River Run

My (random) thought of the day: It’s amazing how 23 miles at a slower pace (8:26) can feel just as hard as 18 miles at a faster pace (8:19). How does that work?

On Saturday I ran 23 miles. NBD.

This is my longest run to date and I feel good!  Saturday was my last looonnnggg run – with my marathon less than 1 month away, I’ll start to taper soon.

AF and I totally lucked out with the weather.  According to the forecast the night before, it was suppose to rain until 1pm on Saturday.  Since we were starting our run at 7am, things did not look good for us.  I had nightmares about blisters, sopping wet clothes, and catching a cold.  Thankfully, it was not raining when I woke up on Saturday morning and I did not catch a cold – success!  Our run was the perfect temperature.

I did, however, make one tactical mistake.  I own a pair of Green Silence.  I absolutely love these shoes – not only do I think they look super cool (and I feel like a bad-ass when I wear them), they are eco-friendly.  For some reason I thought I wanted to run my marathon in these shoes.  I’m not sure why – maybe they would make me run faster?  Anyway, I decided to run in them on Saturday. Worst. Mistake. Ever.  My feet started to hurt around mile 13 and it only got worse from there.  Toward the end of the run I could feel every.single.thing that I ran over.  I even had thoughts about tripping other runners and stealing their shoes – that’s how bad it hurt. Honestly, I wish I would have just run in my trusty Ravenna’s – but I guess it’s good to know what not to wear on May 1.

Feet problems aside, we still managed to run an average moving pace of 8:20/mile.  Cardio-wise, I felt great.  Last time I ran 22 miles, I stopped talking to AF around mile 15 because everything in my body hurt- this time I was able to talk to her the whole time.  And, my body still hurt (I mean, come on, I ran 23 miles) but it wasn’t the same hurt as last time.  Progress, I like it.  Each time I run, I feel more and more prepared for my marathon.  May 1 – I can’t wait for you to get here!

Runners – what type of shoes do you race in, especially for longer races? Have you run in racing flats before and then regretted it?

P.S. Green Silence?  I still love you, just not on my long runs.

On Sunday I ran 22 miles.  The longest I have ever run.  3 hours, 9 minutes, and 19 seconds worth of running.  An average of 8:36 per mile, for 22 miles.

I’ve never felt so cool or so sore in my entire life.  Things in my body hurt that I didn’t even know existed, yet I felt really good.  I think that’s that thing people call “runner’s high”.  And it was a high, running 22 miles is bad-ass!

The Run: We had awesome running weather – low 50’s with some sun and light wind.  I felt really good miles 1-13; started to feel a little like, “Oh, this is long” around mile 15; and pretty much hurt in every crevice of my body for the last 5 miles.  I have, however, been working on my mental toughness because I know that BQ-ing won’t be a walk in the park.  Mental toughness really came in to play the last 5-6 miles – everything hurt but I still managed to keep the pace under 8:45.  But seriously, as soon as my Garmin hit 22 miles I said “Can we please stop??” I couldn’t wait to walk!

Post Run: I walked limped in the door, grabbed a cold bottle of Pelegrino, mixed up a glass of low-fat chocolate milk and stared an EndraSoak bath.  Sweeter things have never been done.  I seriously swear by EndraSoak – my new found recovery potion; the perfect combination of bath-salt-meets-rosemary-and-peppermint deliciousness (I would marry Rosemary if I could).  After said bath, I slipped on my compression socks and headed straight for the couch.  I stayed there until I decide it was time for bed. 

Next Day: But, on Monday morning, I felt great.  Okay, great might be an exaggeration…but I felt a lot better than I expected!  I even went for a (slow) 3 mile run and yoga – 2 things I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do (I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get out of bed to take a shower).

I’m feeling pretty good about my training – especially after coming back from New Zealand.  I signed up (impromptu-style) for a 1/2 Marathon on March 26 and have one more looonnnggg run before I start cutting back on the mileage (Marathon is May 1).  Yikes – I’m getting close.

Runners: How do you feel after a long run?  A combination of soreness and excitement?  Does your body get used to the milage?  I’d love to know how others deal with their long runs – pre, during, and post.

I took a bit of hiatus from track workouts but with “the M-word” less than 10 weeks away, I need to get serious about increasing my speed.
Last night I hit the track with my running partner and trainer – let’s call her AF for simplicity (and privacy) reasons.  AF is an amazing athlete – both mentally and physically strong.  She told me last night that she trained to run 2:55:00 at Chicago, but unfortunately got injured and couldn’t.  Talk about speed demon.  I’d be ecstatic with 3:15:00.  But I digress….

According to my best 10 mile time and the McMillan Running Calculator, I can run a 3:13:00 marathon.  Since this is my first marathon ever, I’m shooting for more-of-a 3:25:00 (but would obviously take 3:13 if my body gave it to me).  So, with that being said, I’m using a combination of times/speeds from both the 3:13 and 3:30 plans.

Goal Splits: 4:55 – 5:15

Workout Details:
Warm up: 1.5 miles
4 x 1200m with 2 minutes standing
Cool down: 1.5 miles
Total miles: 6

Actual Splits: 4:52, 4:52, 4:49, 4:44

The 1st 1200m felt hard but as I started to get in the groove, each one started to feel better than the last.  It certainly helps that AF is a great pacer and motivator.  I’m happy with my 1st marathon-training-track-workout – I feel great today.  Unfortunaltely, this workout combined with my splits means that  AF will make me run faster next week (I’ll likely never be allowed to use the 3:30 plan again, ha!).

In totally unrelated but awesome news: we leave for New Zealand one week from today.  I’m seriously SO excited.  We are going to do lots of adventures/hiking – and I’m hoping to be able to squeeze in at least 2 long runs while I’m “down under”. I keep telling myself that I’m far enough out (from the marathon) that I’ll be able to take this trip without it doing too much “damage” to my distance base – keeping my fingers crossed that this is true!

Just as I start to train for my 1st marathon and hopefully, BQ, the Boston Athletic Association decides to change the rules.  (Thanks, but no thanks!)
Runners – how do you feel about the new Boston registration and qualifying standards – especially those who are trying to run a marathon and qualify in (later part of) 2011?

Interesting articles about the changes can be found here and here