Marathon Training

Did a 5k time trial with the Trigators in 22:42.  I took the first two miles easy and kicked it in the last mile.  I felt good.  I'm hoping to set a new PR on Thanksgiving day at an annual 5k that I've been doing since middle school.

swam 1500yds 

I did a slow 9:15 pace for 3 mi then met up with a group and did a 7.5mi partial trail run.  The first 3mi were around an 8:00pace, then last 4.5 slowed to an 8:30-8:40 pace

easy 9:25pace

Ran around Gainesville at a 9:25 min/mi pace.

I did 2.25 mi at an 8:20 pace and then 1/2 mi of straights and turns on a track.  Then I did 3 continuous miles on a track with a triathlon club 7:02, 8:00, 6:54.  Then ran 3mi averaging 8:30 min/mi and then a 1/4mi cool down.  The weather was nice, in the 60's and I felt really good.

swam 1800yds

ran 3 mi at an 8:55 pace

met up with Trigators and ran 4 mi at a 7:50 pace and did the last mile in 8:25

ran an easy mi on the track for cool down 

Easy 4 miles at about an 8:55 pace

I took a spill on the sidewalk trying to go around a lady on a bike going up a hill.  My foot hit the corner of a raised part of the sidewalk and I went down.  I twisted my ankle slightly and limped for about a minute, then it started feeling better and I got back into my pace.  When I got home I iced my ankle and took a Tylenol.  Hopefully I feel good during tomorrows run.  I use to roll my ankle all the time playing soccer when I was younger and the pain didn't last long.

It's definitely a minor sprain.  I still have swelling today, but no bruising and it hurts to walk but not too bad.  I will probably take a week off from running, or until the swelling goes down.  I have a triathlon in two weeks (the Miami Man) so I want to be good by then since I've already spent $200 on the race between the entry fee and hotel room.  I can still bike though, so I will probably increase my bike miles this next week.  I rode today with my ankle wrapped and there was no pain.  As far as my marathon training goes, I am registered for two with 6 weeks in between.  I will probably make Disney just another long run and stay back with my friends who are also running the race and make 26.2 with Donna Marathon my all out marathon.  I'll see though, if I recover in a week and my ankle feels strong then I might just pick up my training where I left off.  If it takes two weeks or longer, then I will definitely make my 2nd marathon my A marathon. 

My ankle was swollen 1/4" on Thursday and now its down to 1/5" (using calipers) and the pain is subsiding.  I went for a 25mi bike ride today on a trail.  My ankle didn't hurt at all riding.  I've been wearing a neoprene ankle wrap, using cryoderm, and taking ibprofen.  I bought a bike trainer today so I can substitute my running for cycling next week when I can't make it to the trail.  I also bike commute to class everyday, so I will still get that riding in as well which is about 30 mi/wk.

Biked 45 mi in a recreational ride. Weather was perfect. The pain in my ankle is almost gone, although it is still swollen and I don't have full range of motion.

I'm back to running again.  The swelling in my ankle is down to 1/2 of what it was when I injured it and it doesn't hurt to walk.  It is a bit awkward running with a taped ankle, but I did manage to keep an 8:30 pace for 4mi and the last mile I slowed down a bit because the tape was digging into my heal and it started to hurt. 

I did manage to get in almost 9hr's on my bike last week while I was injured, but I'm happy to be back running.

I did an easy 3mi at an 8:40 pace.  The ankle wrap I used (elastic ace bandage) made the bottom of my foot burn.  I won't be using that wrap again.  Other than that the ankle felt much better its probably at about 90% now.

Easy late morning run, very humid but there was a nice breeze.

Ran with my boyfriend and his friend.  The first few miles we ran at a decent pace around 9:30/mi then we started running real slow.  I broke off and picked up the pace and circled around a few times and then went a different route at the end.  They were doing 13mi and I was doing 15.  I felt good & my ankle didn't bother me at all.  My knees were starting to hurt a bit at the end, but not too much.  Toward the end of the run the temperature was in the 80's and it was hot and humid, typical Florida.  It will be better in about a month.

Jogged 1/4mi to meet up with the Trigators.  Did a 2.25mi warm up at around an 8:00/mi.  1/2 mi of straights and turns on the track.   Then did 3-600's with a 200m recovery at around  1:40/400m.  Another 1/2 mi of straights and turns.  Jogged 1/4mi back to my vehicle.

Biked for 40min on my trainer.

Did a 3mi easy jog, then ran 2x800m on the track 3:42, 3:32, then did a 1/2mi cool down.

Went to the pool and swam 1000yds to test out the new goggles for the race this weekend and to see how the ankle would do in the pool kicking.  I'm hesitant to kick hard, so my swim will be slow, but I'm fine with that my swim is slow anyway.

Easy 5 mi at around a 8:45/mi.

Easy 9:15/mi.  Last run before the Miami Man triathlon.  Very excited and the ankle is 100% again (hopefully, it feels that way now).  Leaving for Miami tomorrow bright and early for the race on Sunday.

The distances were 0.6 mi swim/22mi bike/6.6mi run.  I was in the Collegiate category and was in the first wave of the Olympic distance tri.  I'm usually somewhere in the middle, so this was good and bad.  I didn't have to worry about the swim and bike being crowded.  The course officials were strict on the bike course and it was a very windy day.  We were required to keep 3 bike lengths and complete a pass in 15sec.  I was so far ahead on the bike that I didn't have to worry about that.  The down side of being in the first wave is that I had no one to push me, the next girl behind me was about 10-15min behind.  If I did age group, I would have had pleany of people to challenge me.  I ended up finishing first in the female collegiate division and in the 93rd percentile overall for females.  Swimming is by far my weakest, I was around average for women and near the end in my division.  I have improved my biking drastically since last year and came in around the 90th percentile for women and averaged 19.25mph, and running was my best averaging 8:02/mi and I was in the 93rd percentile.  It was a good race for me though, there were 10 people from my team to do the race and out of the guys and girls, only one guy beat me.  

I did get a nasty blister on the bottom of my foot because the insole slipped when I was putting my shoes on.  I didn't feel it until the last mile though, so it didn't effect my race.  It just hurts now.  I will probably order some Zoot tri shoes before my next race though instead of wearing some really old Mizuno Precisions (I've probably owned about 10 pair so I have many even after throwing away about 1/2). 

Track workout w/Trigators

Ran 2.25 mi warm-up at around an 8:15/mi

1/4 mi straights and turns

5x400 on 100s-102s/400m

1/2 mi cooldown easy

I was still pretty sore in the quads from my race, so I just took it easy.  The blister on my foot healed quickly.  I just lanced it and put a bandaid on & some neosporin and wore two pairs of socks.  It didn't bother me at all and within 36hrs it was completely gone (no bandaid needed).

Ran 6.8 miles by my self at around 9:20/mi.  My stomach was really upsetting me.  I need to cut back on the candy (from Halloween-no trick-or-treaters) and junk food. 

Then I met up with the Trigators and ran 5.2mi at around an 8:11/mi.  Besides the upset stomach and the rain the last mile, I felt pretty good.  

Nice jog in the dark with a head lamp and my boyfriend at about a 9:08/mi for 3.1mi

The temperature dropped to the 50's so it was a little chilly but not too bad.  It will have to be in the 30's before I break out the tights (which in Florida doesn't happen very often).

ran 5.15 mi at about an 8:34 pace

Did a two loop trail run with hills at the end of each loop.  My legs were pretty sore at the end.  I kept around a 10:00/mi pace the whole way since I picked up my mileage quite a bit this week to get back on track.  I plan on picking up the pace in my long runs a little bit as I get use to the weekly mileage.  The weather was nice today, started out in the lower 60's and got up to around 70 by the end of the run.

Did a track workout with the Trigators.  7:56/mi for the first 2.25 mi

1/2 mi straights and turns

6 x 800m ( 400 hard, 100 easy, 100 sprint, 200 easy) 1 min rest in between

400's ( 90 sec, 90, 90, 90, 89, 86) didn't keep track of the rest but the 100's were all out

3 mi on my own at close to marathon race pace 8:23/mi

I felt good today and the weather was nice around 70.  It did get very dark though in some places I couldn't see anything running around campus.  It doesn't help that I just finished reading the James Patterson book Kiss the Girls about two serial killers capturing women about my age on college campuses. 

Biked for 45 min on my trainer.  Nice easy pace.  Triathlon season is over until March but I'm planning on doing two in March and a 1/2 Iron distance the first week in June and a full Iron distance in October so I still need to keep up the easy biking.  Swimming on the other hand is over with until next semester starts since I won't have access to a pool over winter break.

Did an easy 1 mi warm up on the track.

Joined the Trigators and did a 5 mi campus loop at 7:55/mi pace.  This is about 15-20s per mile faster than at the beginning of the semester and I felt much better too.  It actually felt kind of easy.  The nice weather helps too its at least 15 degrees cooler. 

I'm feeling pretty good about the Thanksgiving day 5k.  My brother is getting faster and has challenged me in the race although he has never beat me in a race of any kind.  He tried in this same race 2 years ago and failed.  I psyched him out by running behind him for the first mile and he went out too fast.  He is 18 months older than me and we are competitive at everything.  My boyfriend is also challenging me in the race although I expect him to beat me.  He ran a 19 something in a 5k a year ago, but he's put on 20 lbs since then too...so maybe not. 

Easy 3.  My legs were a bit stiff and I was tired from working on papers all day and sitting in front of my computer.  It was good to get out side even for a little while.

Ran 8 mi at a little under my marathon race pace 8:17/mi.  It started getting hot toward the end when there was no shade.  I was doing a loop and was not exactly sure of the distance, so I did a couple of laps around a track in the middle of my run.  The distance was pretty close, I would have only been about a 1/4mi off with out the detour.  It was nice to have that extra distance for a cool down though.

The weather was perfect.  I started running about a 1/2 hr before sunrise, so it wasn't pitch black and people were getting set up for tailgating on campus.  We have a noon game today.  I did an out and back from my condo to a trail and the course is fairly flat with a few little hills.  I needed to use the bathroom about mile 4 and there wasn't one until mile 6.5, so those miles were kind of fast, I picked up the pace a little.  After I made it to the bathroom the run went well, I felt really good on the way back.  The campus was starting to fill up with tailgaters and I'm about to join them.

My pace was a 9:21/mi which is right where I wanted to be, about a minute slower per mile than my marathon goal pace.

This was a great start to my day.

Did a 2.25mi warm up with the Trigators. 

0.5mi straights and turns on the track

8 x 200 with 200 easy jog (short break after 1 mile)

.25mi cool down

Easy 3mi.  It had been raining all night and morning so I wore my muddy trail shoes.

I didn't know that I could run that fast.  I ran the race back in my home town and a couple of the track club guys helped me pace.  The first mile was a 6:23 and I was just trying to keep it around a 7:00 mile pace.  My GPS watch frose and I couldn't use it in the race (I forgot which combination of buttons to push for how long to unfreeze it).  It turned out to be for the best.  I was 2nd female overall and first in my age group.  The girl who beat me was a high school runner.  So far this has been a great day.  I am very excited.  Now I have to set a new life goal for a 5k.  I beat my previous PR by more than a minute.

I have special 5k shoes that I wore and I have no clue how may miles I have on them.  They are Adizero's, super light.

Easy run down the island and over the bridge from my parents house.  The run is very flat.  My calves were still very sore from the race on Thursday so I took it easy running about a 9:05/mi pace.

Ran in Destin down Old Highway 98.  Nice scenic run with a beach view.  The day was perfect for running, in the upper 50 to lower 60's and slightly overcast.  The calves are still sore when I flex them or touch them.  They don't bother me much while running, only when I am going down hill.  The pace was around 8:57.  I wanted to run a little slower since my mileage steps up next week, but the weather was so nice and the course was so flat.

2.25mi at 8:10/mi

0.5 straights and turns

3 x (1200 @ 5:00, 200 easy, 200 hard, 200 easy) w/ 2:00 rest in between

I started cramping on the last set and slowed to about 5:15.  I've been eating a lot of junk food since Thanksgiving.

2.5 mi easy

Spent 45 min on the bike trainer.  Off day from running.

A severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch was issued between 4 and 6pm which is usually when I run on Wednesdays.  So I went to the gym at night and played raquetball for the first time this year.  My arms are so out of shape.  I overextended my elbow a few times, so I had to only hit the balls that I could get close to which resulted in me losing the second game.  I rarely lose at raquetball too, so I wasnt too happy about that.

Nice and easy 8mi run around campus.  I think it was around 9:15/mi.

This was a good run.  I just did an out and back and had to play Frogger crossing a few busy streets.  I was able to hold a little under my marathon goal pace.  I ended up doing around 8:14/mi and the course wasn't that flat.  There weren't any huge hills but it was a constant up or down incline.  My legs felt pretty good afterward and the pace didn't feel difficult to hold at all.

Another good run.  It was cold and rainy, but I have a running jacket that worked perfectly.  I held a minute slower than my race pace for the first 16mi 9:24/mi, then I picked up the pace the last 4mi and ended at 9:18/mi overall.  My legs felt good and I had plenty of energy.  I took 1 gel at mile 8 and had a bag of gu chomps with 8 gummies in the bag.  At mile 12 I started taking 2 gummies with 4 oz of water every two miles.  Since I was doing an out and back and there was a water fountain at miles 6.5 and 7.5, I only had to carry two 8oz bottles and one stayed empty until the return trip.  I am very excited about my marathon now.

Today was 5k time trial day for the Trigator's track practice.  I just used the 5k as a tempo run.

2.25 mi at 7:55/mi

0.5mi straights and turns on the track

3.1mi at 22:20.  I had to kick in the last 1/2 mile to pass people even though I knew I should have held pace at 7:20

2.9 mi at 8:22/mi.  Still had enough energy to hold my marathon goal pace for almost 3 mi but I'm probably going to be sore tomorrow.  I also did not plan the distance to be 2.9, its a loop around a lake, it just worked out that way.

0.25mi cool down on the track

 3.5 mi at a 9:06/mi pace before I met up with the Trigator group

6 mi, the first 3 was quicker and averaged 7:55/mi and the last 3 were slower.  The overall pace for the 6 was 8:09, which makes the second 1/2 a 8:23/mi pace.

Jogged back to my car at the track and ran a lap which was close to 1/2 a mile, probably on the longer side. 

Easy 3.  Classes are over for the semester and I have only one final next week. Yeaa!

Ran the first half around my marathon goal pace and picked up the pace the last two miles.  My average pace was 8:16/mi.  It was pretty cold which I'm not use to in Florida.  Its not as bad as what people are currently experiencing in the western and northern states, but still not fun.  I haven't had to pull out the tights yet.  I'll use those if I have to run in the 30's.

It rained the whole time I was running.  It was a constant drizzle and I was running on a trail, so when I finished I was covered in mud and my shoes were filled with water and were also covered in mud.  It wasn't as cold as yesterday and I was wearing a running raincoat, so I wasn't miserable.  I also had a friend join me who runs at about the same pace as me.  I've been doing the long runs by myself for the past several weeks and it was nice to finally have someone to run with.  The pace average was 9:09/mi which was good for a muddy hilly trail.  A few months ago I was running about that pace on the same trail for 8-10mi and it felt difficult.  This trail is nice because it is two loops that join in the center and there is also cuttoffs so there are many different combinations of distances.

I wore my old shoes that I wear when it is raining.  Also mizuno precisions that are a neon green color.  I have no clue how many miles are on those.

2.25 mi with the Trigators around 8:00/mi

0.5 straights and turns

4 x 800m (3:17, 3:15, 3:13, 3:12)

0.5 mi cool down

Ran the first 3mi at about an 8:12/mi pace.  I eased off because I wanted to pick it up the last three miles, but I got a side cramp that wouldn't go away.  I had to slow my pace so I could change my breathing and massage it out which worked but I couldn't run as fast as I wanted too.  I ended at about 8:30/mi for my overall pace.

The northwest florida track club has one of its annual Christmas parties at one of the members house every year.  We did a run through the neighborhood before the party and I just ran with a friend that I haven't seen since the summer.  I'm not sure of the pace but if felt around a 9.  I started my GPS watch inside and it didn't track the pace. I just had an overall time. 

I found out that there is still a group that does long runs on Sunday and they put water out every two miles for 10 miles on an out and back course, which is perfect because I'm supose to do 20 this weekend.  I do have to push back my running schedule though and do 10 on saturday and 20 on sunday instead of friday and saturday like I usually do.  I'm glad it worked out that way because it was cold and rainy all day on friday and its supose to be clear skies saturday and sunday, but still cold.

went for a run later in the morning when it wasn't so cold.  I held around 8:20/mi most of the run and picked up the last mile to drop the pace to a 8:17 overall.

It was so cold I had to wear my tights, gloves, a jacket, and a headband for my ears and I didn't take any of it off the whole time except for my gloves the last two miles.  I ran with a couple of people the first 6 miles at an 8:45 pace then I slowed down a little because of some hills and I was also running a little faster than I wanted to go.  I ended up feeling pretty good, there was water out every two miles, so I wasn't dehydrated at all.  I held around 9:00/mi most of the way back and picked up the pace the last two miles.  I felt a blister starting to form on the back of my heel from the tights but it didn't bother me enough to stop and roll the tights up.  I ended at an 8:58/mi pace overall. 

My legs felt fine the rest of the day, no calf stiffness or quad soreness.

Ran with a group from my hometown.  We were running 7:55/mi for the first 4 miles and then started to pick it up the last mile and dropped to a 7:45 pace overall.  There is a nice hill at the end that is fun to sprint up.  Tonight wasn't as bad as sunday morning.  It was probably 15 degrees warmer so I was able to wear shorts.

This was a rough run because of the wind.  My parents live on the water and it was very windy today.  I don't quite remember the pace details because I haven't gotten around to filling out my running calendar lately, but its in my GPS watch so I will update this entry eventually.  I believe that the pace was around 8:45 overall though.

Easy run with wind.  One way I was averaging 8:30/mi without even trying and on the way back I was doing about a 9:45/mi to keep it at minimal effort.

I was averaging a 7:50/mi pace for the first 3 miles and then I slowed down a little and the overall pace was 7:54/mi.  The wind wasn't as bad today.  I was wearing my old green accented mizuno shoes with red shorts for Christmas spirit.  These shoes are really old and don't have much cushining.  I usually just use them for things besides running, golf,  frisbee golf, when I am doing a lot of walking....

I ran the first 9.5 with my brother who is training for his first marathon.  He is becoming a much faster runner than when he started running regularly about 2 years ago.  We kept around  9:00/mi and he was doing 18 because his marathon is still about a month away and mine is only 2 weeks from tomorrow, so I split off after 9.5 to do the last 3.5 by myself.  I picked up the pace to about 8:30/mi, and the last 1.5 mi I wanted to do a fast finish so I dropped to a 7:30/mi when I was running on the sidewalk.  There was loose sand for about 0.15mi where the sidewalk was being repaired and I had to slow down to cross the street and run up a hill so I ended up doing the last 1.5 in a  7:50/mi pace. 

This was my last long run before the first marathon of the two.  Now I start my taper and cutting out alcohol (except on New Years Eve and New Years I will be in Biloxi and then New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl to watch Tebow play his last game with the Gators) I will try to only have a couple though.

Ran with a Monday night group back in my hometown.  The first 4 miles I averaged a 7:39/mi pace.  The 3rd mile was a little slower and the fourth a little faster.  At one point I was doing a 7:18/mi pace.  Then I dropped close to my marathon goal pace for the last two miles and ended up averaging 8:15/mi.  The pace was difficult to determine because it was so cold.  I kept jumping between 8 and 9 min/mi.

Ran the first 2.25mi at a 8:42/mi pace

Did 6 x 400m with 400m easy run in between.  I wasn't able to run on a track, so the distances are close I used my GPS watch and tried to start and stop the lap as close to a .25mi interval as I could.

splits -1:41, 1:43, 1:34, 1:42, 1:44, 1:44

last 1.75 mi at a 8:36/mi pace

Easy jog at about a 9:10/mi pace.