Week 10: My Birthday Week

Week 10: My Birthday Week

 

My training for the week

 

Monday- ran 8.04 miles

Tuesday- rode 44.22 miles and ran 12.61 miles

Wednesday – ran 16.01 miles

Thursday – ran 26.20 miles

Friday – rode 33.56 miles

 

Hard Days

 

I work a regular 9-5 job.  This is perfect because I do not have to work weekends, making it easy to fit in my long runs.  When I can't run long on the weekend, this forces me to do them during the week.  Meaning very early mornings.  This was one of those weeks.  

 

 Too Early

 

Waking up that morning was not hard.  It seemed like I was waking up from a nap.  I sprung out of bed because I could not wait to wear my brand new running clothes that I got the night before.  I woke up, made myself coffee, ate some oatmeal, and I was on my way.  I had to drive about 30 minutes to meet my friend Ari, whom I convinced to come with me.  She is an 800-meter runner, so distance is not her thing.  While I do my long runs she will ride her bike.  Yes, my friend wakes up at 3 am to come ride her bike along side me for 4 hours while I run.  I am very blessed to have a friend like that.  When we got to our starting destination, we put on our extra layers, because it was 39 degrees out.  We put on our extra lights, then loaded up her backpack with food and water, and we were on our way.

 

The Run

 

During the run I felt great.  No knee, thigh, or foot problems.  Ari did mention though that I seemed loopy since I did not sleep much the night before.  We ran out 13 miles.  By mile 11 I really needed to go to the bathroom.  Since the last place I saw a bathroom was at a park about 2 miles back.  I ran a quick 2 miles back to the park.  Once I got to the parking I realized that the bathrooms were closed. I began to panic.  There were no bathrooms open for miles.  I found a spot and quickly left.  

Eating During the Run 

I didn't eat much during the run.  I had two packets of baby food and stopped at a McDonald's where I got water and soda. 

There is something indescribably gratifying about having to wake up at 3 am in order to get in my training runs so that I can still go to work and live a normal life.  Although I am exhausted by the end of a day like that  I know in my heart that days like this will pay off.  On race day I will know when my body is exhausted that this is what I trained for.  I trained my body and mind to work hard when all they want to do is rest.  In order to achieve something great one must make even greater sacrifices.  

 

I Am Blessed 

 

I am very thankful to have friends like Ari, who support me on my long runs.  To keep me safe, motivated, and energized.  This sport is very demanding.  It takes up a lot of

time and makes you very tired, physically and mentally.  It is relieving to know that I have friends and family who support me and understand the time and dedication it takes in order to excel in this sport.  I have to say that's is what I am most fortunate for.  They help me keep motivated and not feel so out of place when I need to wake up at 3 AM to go run 26 miles.  My friends and family help clarify the necessity of my tough training runs when I am second guessing myself. 

Thoughts

 I feel each  training run I've been doing is preparing my body to get used to the long mileage every week.  I feel better after each one.  I'm excited to run my 28 miles on Sunday and to let you guys know how that went

Week 9: My Thanksgiving Week

Week 9: My Thanksgiving Training Week

 

For Thanksgiving week I went to Lake Havasu with my fiancé and his family.  It was so much fun.  The weather was perfect.  I had a few long runs I needed to accomplish.  

 

Here is how my training schedule went for the week

 

Monday – ran 24.09 miles

Tuesday – rode 62.92 miles

Wednesday – rode 33.88 miles

Thursday – ran 16.23 miles

Friday – ran 26.27 miles

Saturday – rode 25.12 miles

 

On Thanksgiving I ran 16.23 miles.    I ran it at a pretty quick pace.  I ran 8 miles out and 8 miles back.  The first 8 miles was up hill.  I had to push the first 8 miles, and I was able to relax a bit on the way back.  That night, we had our Thanksgiving dinner.  I had turkey, dessert, and WINE.  Not a good idea.  The next morning when I woke up, I felt horrible.  I knew right then it was a bad idea that I drank, because I had to run my longest training run of 26 miles that day.  Running that day was very hard.  I was tired from my long training week, as well as, I still felt stuffed from the night before, and the several glasses of wine was not making my legs feel any better.  My thighs were burning the whole entire time.  I did my best to ignore them.  I feel that when you think about the pain, that will only make you weaker.  My calves felt great, and my foot was fine.  My foot was giving me issues a few weeks before.  The muscle on the bottom of my foot felt like it was pulling every step I took.  It felt great that day.  And my calves felt amazing!  Usually when I run, especially uphill, my calves get crazy tight.  My calves and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love them because they take me to so many amazing places, but I hate them because they are what usually gives me the most issues when going to those amazing places.  It is funny how some days you can feel amazing and how some days issues occur that are unexpected.  

I was very blessed that day, because my future mother-in-law, Karen and my fiancé, Ryan were so sweet.  They both came along with me while I ran.  It helped me take my mind off of what I was doing, and just enjoy being around them.  Karen rode a beach cruiser, while my Ryan was on a cross-bike.  Mike, my future father-in-law gave us support out in his car to give us food and water.  I felt like I was racing with my crew and pacers.  This made it fun!  

Mind you, the first 13 miles was all up hill, so the fact that Karen rode a beach cruiser  uphill for 13 miles was super impressive.  She had no gloves, no bike shorts, was not clipped in, like most riders use.  Yes, she is a stud.  That was when I realized why she does not think I am crazy.  I have done that ride many times on  my road bike, and trust me it is extremely difficult.   Knowing how difficult of a time she was having made it easier for me to deal with my task at hand.  

*I just have to stop for a moment and say that I am so blessed by the people around me who help and support me in the sport I love.  If it wasn't for them, I would not be where I am today, which is following my dreams.  Ryan, Karen, and Mike, took time out of their day to give me the support I needed in order to have a successful training run.  I am truly blessed* 

During the run, I did not eat too much.  I had two things of baby food, a muffin, some grapes, Gatorade and water.  Usually I am craving to eat and drink more.  I feel my body is getting used to the mileage.  This makes me so happy because I am starting to feel very confident that I will be ready for my race.  Probably the best feeling in the world!!  

Trust me by the time I ran the 26 miles I was wiped out.  The ride the next day was nice and SLOW!  It's alway good to cycle your legs out the next day after a long run.  I am looking forward to my mileage increase next week!  I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!!