[S]he Conquers Who Endures

Trail run! It was 83F when I started, 87F when I finished. Luckily the trail has quite a bit of trees. I let go of my pace on my trail runs and just try to recover from the week's workout. I surprised myself on this one, an easy trail run was at a 8:59 pace!! All the tough trails, hill work and faster paces in MI over the past 2 weeks must've really paid off!!

Holy toasty cow!!! I finally got a great, long, enjoyable nights rest, but that meant I allowed some heat to roll in before starting my run. I was targeting an easy 8:45 pace according to my training schedule. I went out with 4 full bottles of gatorade and finished up my run in the beating down sun at a 8:40 pace. For finishing up in the 90sF, that ain't too shabby!!! :) 

PM crossfit

warmup: 500 m row

preWOD: 3x3x3x3x3 back squats, max 93 lbs

WOD: 21, 15, 9

box jumps

hand stand pushups

Time: 4:56

PostWOD: 5 skin the cats 

AM Crossfit:

warmup: 500 m row

PreWOD: find max snatch (55 lbs)

WOD: 4 rounds

5 snatch (35 lbs)

200 m run

Time: 4: 38

PM Speedwork.

1 mile warmup at 7:39 pace, drills, then 12x200m repeats. These were supposed to be 5k race pace. We went out with the "6 to 7 min" pace group but they were more like sub 6s. Dropping back to the slower group didn't fix the problem. With temps in the high 90s, how did I get these splits? 5:52/5:54/5:43/5:45/6:02/6:24/6:29/6:22/6:23/6:05/6:04/5:33. Ended with 6 miles easy. 9:18/8:30/8:19/8:04/8:18/8:15 

Complete rest day!!! I'm in need of it too. Yay!!

Blah threshold run. I should be targeting a 7:20 pace to BQ according to my training schedule. Chicago has been hotter than ever. I tried running at 6 am to avoid the heat, but it was still muggy and in the high 80s at the start. I started with a 8:50 warmup mile which felt like a 8:20 pace followed by 6 tempo miles 8:00/8:13/7:47/7:38/7:39/7:45. I punched my average pace into a temperature calculator, and it says that corresponds to a 7:30 pace at 60F. Close! I still got over 12 weeks of training so nothing to "sweat" about yet... 

PM Crossfit

warmup 500 m row 

"Bradshaw"! 

10 rounds

3 handstand pushups

6 deadlifts (53 lbs)

12 pullups

24 jump tucks

Time: 16:06

PostWOD:

4x10 ring dips 

PHEW! 

Hot, hot, hot! Chicago is so hot right now! I'm heading out of town so my options were to run in St. Louis Saturday morning, which is also hot!, or run Friday morning on a familiar, shaded path. I started running at 5 am at a feel like temp of 87 F and saturated conditions. It was tough, the humidity made it hard to breath but since I started so early I didn't feel the excess heat. It was 89 with a feel like of 93 F when I finished. I wasn't sure if I could keep 8:30 pace, and was willing to accept just the mileage under these conditions. Somehow I maintained a 8:19 pace! Really??? That feels so good. My previous training PR for a 16 miler was 9:40. :)

I was targeting 8:30s for this run. Before the run, I thought that would be pushing it because of my tiring weekend in Kansas City. After a morning hiccup of having to recharge and upload firmware onto my watch, I started out my run in 82 F and sporting my water belt with 4 bottles full of gatorade (yay for extra weight). After my first mile (8:56), my legs loosened up and felt really great. An 8:15 pace felt pretty easy, so I just maintained that pace. Ah, this run felt great physically and mentally! 11 miles at a 8:12 AP. :)

PM Crossfit

PreWOD: 3x3x3x3x3 front squats, max 75 lbs

WOD: 5 rounds for time

1 power clean (45 lbs)

2 hang cleans (45 lbs)

3 front squats (45 lbs)

30 tuck jumps

Time: 3:37 

AM Crossfit

PreWOD: Russian getups 18 lb kettlebells

WOD: 3 rounds for time

10 handstand pushups

30 box jumps (20")

50 lunges

70 situps

Time 20:47

PM speed work with a training group and coach. I was bummed because last week we did 200 m repeats because of the heat. I've been missing some longer repeats in my speed work over the past month and I think it's affecting my improvement in speed. Because of the great running weather, we did a mix of 800 m and 1 mile repeats! I was stoked. We did a 1.2 mile warmup at a 8:12 pace. Then 800 m, 1 mile, 800 m, 800 m, 1 mile. My paces were: 6:55, 6:57, 6:38, 6:39, 6:48. I've never run a mile sub 7 before!! That's 2 PRs in one workout with negative splits!!! I added extra mileage at the end around a 8:36 pace which felt like a 10:00 pace to me!! :) Ahhh, just what I needed! :)

Nice morning run. I was targeting a 8:45 recovery pace. My legs took 2 miles to loosen up from all the hard work yesterday. Then a 8:20 ish pace felt "easy"!!! AP: 8:31 min/mi

PM bikram!

I haven't done bikram in a solid 4 weeks. I usually go once per week but couldn't because of traveling. I love going to stretch out my tight muscles and speed along recovery but to also benchmark my fitness. This is a great benchmark class because it's always the same sequence of exercises. I normally try to do something each class that I haven't been able to do before to push myself and improve every time. Well, this class I noticed how much fitness I gained in the past 4 weeks! Wow, I feel so much stronger all around I can't believe it!! I was definitely pretty stiff, but felt like I could push every exercise a lot more than I ever could. :) 

Nothing starts the day better than a heaping dose of lactic acid!! I was so nervous about this run. My tempo's have been less than stellar lately, partly because of being out of town, then the terrible Chicago heat wave and partly probably because of raising my mileage. I put some pressure on myself because it's do or die time (even though I have 13 weeks to marathon). Ugh, my one mile warmup was a 8:48 pace and I felt like I was pushing it! No worries, that's why it's a WARMUP! Met up with my running partner then we did 5 miles at a 7:25 AP!!! Wow! And that's with my water belt (carrying one bottle). Our paces were: 7:44. 7:33, 7:29, 7:15, 7:09. Note that the last TWO miles were sub 5k race pace for me, AND negative splits to boot!! I rounded out my run with 0.5 mile easy, then 3 0.1 mile strides with 0.1 mile recovery (5:37, 5:19, 5:19 min/mi paces). I think today was a lesson on my need for improvement of self-confidence. Yes, I'm running a ton faster than ever before, but why set a mental limit on myself? Now I know where I'm at, and I'm actually confident I could break these paces on next week's tempo run. Pushing my lactic threshold = faster pace below threshold on marathon day (aka BQ day)! :) Oh, and I just realized I crushed my 8k PR from March in this workout!!!

Rest day! And I need it too. It'll be a day of hydrating well and getting in a higher ratio of carbs to prep for my 18 miler tomorrow! Time to get pumped!!

Yay! I was so excited for this run! I'm really loving these long runs. There's something about getting all my gear ready the night before, getting up early before everyone on a Saturday and meeting up with my group. I had a LONG run today, 18 miles. It was soooo humid out. 18 miles later, I was one happy camper. AP 8:18. I finished feeling pretty good! I have 12 weeks left of training still!! I broke 60 miles this week, for the first time ever! Upping my mileage a ton has really, really helped my running tremendously. I'm so glad I found this blog!!

FL trail run dodging low hanging mangrove branches, tripping over fallen palm fronds, stomping through the marsh, and watching for gators. Fortunately, I still haven't seen any gators on this run...yet. Gotta sample some All Sport during my run. That's the official race drink of Steamtown so I'm trying to get used to it now. Wow, hello artificial additives! It's like old school kool-aide! AP: 9:12 min/mi.

FL run. Hot and humid! Easy 5 miler during cut back week. I feel like such a bum with this low mileage! Oh well. Just gotta approach this week as a practice taper. I gotta half marathon Sunday to race anyway. :) AP: 8:30 min/mi

Ah, back to the stifling, windy city! I woke up before 5 am so I could head to the burbs for a nice, faster 8 miler. My garmin has been reverse charging on me and after cleaning the contacts, upgrading the firmware, and waiting to get a 40% charge, I was headed up to the path. Ugh, got stuck in traffic because of my delay now I will be starting in the heat!! So much for waking up early! I made the most of it. I busted out a 8:02 min/mi AP! It was 96 F when I finished (through a forest preserve). I tried out some salt pills on this run. I felt pretty good besides my legs feeling heavy so I think they are good. :)

PM Crossfit

PreWOD: sumo deadlift 3x3x3x3x3, max: 115 lbs

WOD for time:

30-20-10

wall balls (14 lbs)

situps

then 1 mile run

time: 12:03

My mile run was 7:32!! Pretty impressive after all that leg work and the 103 F temp (according to the McDonalds sign)!!

It was not nearly as hot as it was yesterday! Ran a speed workout with a coach and group. We did 1.15 mile warmup, drills, then 12x400 m repeats. I guess I was a little sleepy because I was pushing the stop button on my watch instead of the lap button! Whoopsies! The first two repeats were averaged, then lost the third repeat. Woke up by the 4th repeat. :) My splits were: 6:39 (avg), ??, 6:25, 6:47, 6:26, 6:33, 6:24, 6:45, 6:29, 6:28, 6:08 min/mi. Total average was 6:31. The same as about a month ago when I did 9 repeats. No one was running my pace. I think I run faster on Tuesdays with the crew that pushes me. Lessons learned!! At least 6:08 was a training PR for me. :)

PM Crossfit 

warmup: 400 m run

PreWOD: 5x3x3 overhead squats max (53 lbs)

WOD: 12 min AMRAP

12 push press (45 lbs)

12 chest to bar pull ups (green band)

12 burpees

No. rounds: 5+12 

AM: weights. 3 sets of 12 of the following:

1. barbell squats 

2. dumbell incline press (30 lbs)

3. one-leg dumbbell russian deadlift (15 lbs)

4. pull downs (60 lbs)

5. dumbell stepup (30 lbs)

6. tri-pushdown (25 lbs)

7. back extension (40 lbs)

8. crunches 

PM: pseudo-tempo run.

1 mile warmup at 8:18 min/mi pace. Oh what a nice tail wind on the way out, gonna be tough on the way back. I was running with my tempo partner who was cleated in the ankle earlier in the week. We were going to run 6 miles tempo, but because of the pain in his ankle it was more like 1.5 mile repeats. Still a great workout. I felt so strong out AND BACK against the strong head wind. I think my body really liked this cutback week. Hopefully this run is just a glimpse of what I will do in my half marathon on Sunday! My paces were: 7:17/7:12/7:18/7:08/7:15/7:09 min/mi. AP: 7:13 min/mi. Faster than my 5k PR pace!! Last week's tempo was a 7:26 min/mi for 5 miles. I felt like I could have pulled these paces without the breaks. Plus I was wearing my water belt, so I'm pretty much a hot shot. I can't believe how far I've come in a few months. When I started doing tempos in March I went from high 8s to low 8s to finally going sub 8s, now I'm at low 7s and about to go sub 7s. This is crazy fun!!! :)

Bikram! Resting up for the half on Sunday...

Shake out run to keep loose. Mile warmup (8:21) then 3x0.1 mile strides (5:19/5:01/5:07 min/mi AP). 

Wow, what terrible sleep! I was so nervous for this race making it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. My racing strategy for this one was terrible! I went out way too fast trying to run with my cousin. I should have run my race not hers. She trained to peak for this half, I'm training to peak for Steamtown in October. I would have been happy with a 7:40 pace. Our first mile was 7:45, not too bad, but then we did a 7:16, 7:06 terrible stupid!!! I tanked around mile 7 but stuck with the race. Dropped a gel, went back to get it, fumbled for a salt tab. Eh. I PR'ed and should be happy about my time, but I'm just ticked at myself for racing stupid. Oh well, it will reinforce what happens if I go out to fast in the full! You live and learn and I PR'ed by over 10 mins. :) 

Gotta workout those legs! They feel pretty tight and sore from the half. Wanted to run 8 miles today and thought it would be smarter to split them up. Ran 5.11 miles in the morning before my flight. Flew to FL then ran 3.14 miles. Who would have thought that I would fly to FL at the end of July to escape the Chicago heat!! Wow!

Mid-long run midweek. Oh, and my sister is having a baby today!! Had to get up early to get in a 10 miler then head to the hospital to see my newborn nephew! AP: 8:43 min/mi still shaking out that half marathon soreness! :)

AM: weights

3 sets of 12:

1. one-leg squat (20 lbs)

2. dumb bell bench press (30 lbs)

3. Russian deadliest (40 lbs)

4. pull downs (55 lbs)

5. dumb bell lunges (30 lbs)

6. dumb bell bicep curls (20 lbs)

7. superman

8. medicine ball twists (12 lbs)

My weight is dropping like crazy the last couple weeks. I hope this is from increasing my mileage and not from overtraining! My BMI is 18.8 right now.  

PM: Hill/bridge repeats! 65 ft climb over a 1 mile bridge. Ran 3.5 repeats out and back in pretty hot, humid conditions. I can't believe how easy this felt! My first repeat was slower because I wasn't sure what this would feel like. I normally run most of my runs now with my water belt. I ran these repeats without the water belt and I'm beginning to think the belt does wonders on training your legs to run strong! :) My AP was 8:03 min/mi! BQ pace over hills!!! Hopefully the end of Steamtown will feel like that. :) 

So I slept in an extra hour to try to get good sleep. Unfortunately, that allowed the beating FL sun to get a head start on me. I ran 7.33 miles outside and decided to switch to the treadmill because it was too hot with no shade. I didn't see the point of slowing my pace tremendously to get a poor quality run in when I could switch to the treadmill, knock the grade to 1% and get some faster miles in. Ran 12 miles total with AP 8:31. I haven't run on a treadmill in over a year!!! Haha! Gotta hydrate and carbo load for my 20 miler Saturday! Hmmm, lesson learned from today's run: start running by 5 am Saturday!!

Rest day! :)

Early Saturday morning long run. Another 20+ miler in FL! This time in the peak of the heat!! Ran solo with my water belt. Feel like temp was 93 F at finish. My last mile included an overpass and was at a 7:39 pace!!! :) Wowza! I felt really strong on this one! :) AP 8:19 min/mi!

Sunday morning beach run in FL! Ahh, tackled all the beach elements this morning...sugar sand, hard packed sand, water, seaweed, seagulls, and wind. My legs were tight and sore from yesterdays long run, but not too bad. They loosened up nicely a couple miles into my run. I guess I used more muscle fighting the sand. When I walked on the cement after my run my legs were floating up in the air! Haha! Loved it. :)