Running for Gold week of Feb. 14th - Feb. 20th

[hammertime]

I am just day's away from my first marathon Feb. 21st) I have not been posting my runs, but I have been out there. Definitely in a "taper". Plan this week is some very short and easy runs, get lots of rest and not strenght training! Last week the lunges kicked my butt!
I am not sure I am ready. I know I can get 26.2 done. But I suspect it will not be easy nor very pretty. My goal time has changed, I started with a 4:30 goal, then drifted towards 4:40 - 4:50. And I am still in HOPES of completing it in under 5 hours.
I am ready to get it over with. So wish me luck and I hope to have an fun and exciting race report to post on Monday or Tuesday.

K

that's awesome kat, good luck!!

[hammertime]

6 miles for me tonight. had a bad car failure on Friday... out of a car, and out lots of money... it's been a depressing few days

but i got to the gym and ran 6... my car will be fixed in a few weeks, but i'll be a few thousand poor... hard to swallow.

my new motto is... if life hasn't thrown you a curve ball in a while, watch out, one is about to come.

[limewave]

Kat--GOOD LUCK! You can do it! You may just surprise yourself on your time

6 mile maintenance run for me this AM. Each mile faster than the previous.

[Susan Otcenas]

Coach gave me a heartrate-zone targeted speed workout today.

10:00 warmup
4 x (4:00 min Zone 2, then 3:00 min Zone 3)
1:30 Rest interval (HR to 120)
10:00 cooldown.

Did my Zone 2s at 6mph & my Zone 3s at 6.3mph. Felt pretty good. My HR drifted into the very bottom of Zone4 at the end of my last interval, but I went with it.

It's good to be back on track. I've been sick for a week and am finally feeling well enough to do something other than easy, recovery paced workouts. Yay!

[indigoiis]

I tried to run this morning but could not - the pain is still there despite icing & rest and little stretches. I really really hope this goes away in the next few days as I have Hyannis half next Saturday! The good news is, I can walk better now, but if I walk a certain way, I have pain. It sucks!

[OakLeaf]

Owie Indi. Hope your ankle feels better soon.

[colby]

Run the first 10 miles with your head. Run the second 10 miles with your legs. Run the last 10K with your heart.

This is awesome!!

Good luck, kat!! I'm rooting for you. I will now say some things that may be obvious, but I always repeat to myself:

Try really hard to stay positive. Don't let yourself get negative even if you're not meeting your time goals, the minute you let your brain turn negative you start to lose yourself. If you have to, start setting smaller goals: run to the aid station. Run to the corner. Run 200 steps. Run the backside of the hill. Run the flats. Whatever makes you hang in there.

Don't forget to drink water and eat in your first few miles - you will regret it later if you don't. It's really easy to get caught up in the race, being on pace, getting the feel for running, etc, but remember to eat and drink. It's easier to do later in the race once you establish a pattern earlier in the race.

Set all your stuff out the night before so you don't have anything to think about that morning other than getting up, eating, getting dressed, and going. Have your food picked out, have your number on your race belt (or shirt), have your clothes set aside.

ALWAYS PEE BEFORE YOU START, even if you don't think you have to. Trust me, you have to. Or, you'll have to at mile 1. Peeing at mile zero isn't on the clock and you don't feel as pressured to, uh, perform.

If you start hurting, ask yourself if it's pain or discomfort. Pain is permanent. Discomfort is temporary. Pain may mean stopping or changing your game plan entirely. Discomfort may mean pushing through or accounting for it in a way you didn't expect.

Be prepared to adapt. You can handle a lot of things if you are prepared to adapt. Some people get upset if the weather's not just right, they got a hole in their lucky socks, they got stopped up at the start longer than they expected, there was a line at the port a potty. You're racing for you, adjust to the circumstances and things outside of your control.

Eat soon after you're done. Eat chocolate milk, eat bananas, eat bagels, eat SOMETHING before you regret it and feel empty. Eat again an hour or so later. Then eat again a couple of hours later. Drink water like it's going out of style. The next day, you will be fungry, make sure to eat breakfast and listen to your body from there.

Try to have fun. There are probably going to be some un-fun minutes somewhere in there, I won't lie. You'll probably second guess something at about mile 16-18. Was my long run long enough, was it fast enough, did I eat enough, should I pee now or can I make it farther, maybe next time I'll carry water of my own, I should have put bodyglide there...

Good luck!

PS: For me, yesterday I ran 7x2min hill repeats. Jog down to the speed limit sign. Take a deep breath. Step off with meaning. Pass the grass they accidentally plowed when plowing the path. Breathe. Check out the golf course. Breathe. See the top of the hill. Breathe. End of the golf course fence. Breathe. Next speed limit sign. Breathe. Over the hill, push the pace. Breathe. Jog down the hill. Repeat.

Tomorrow is probably varying-distance/time intervals. Depending on how I feel, I'll run in my VFFs. Yesterday I wore my regular shoes to give my calves some time to relax after VFF Sunday. Running in regular shoes even felt different, once I adapted my VFF running posture and foot strike as best I could.

[Aggie_Ama]

Good luck Kat!!!

I did 30 minutes last night, just didn't feel great my legs were like lead. Today is my birthday and I gave myself a day off. Tomorrow I am squeezing in my 10 mile run before packing to head to Vegas this weekend.

[Bike Chick]

Good advice Colby! Kat, you are going to do great!

Did 2 miles on my lunch hour yesterday. I'm finding my appetite is increasing with my mileage. I ate everything I packed in my lunch box so I need to be careful not to eat bad.

[OakLeaf]

Happy belated birthday Amanda!

Great advice, Colby, I've saved your post for myself as well.

[OakLeaf]

Tempo run for me today (well, I'll call it tempo... people differ on what counts ) - 8.1 miles @ 9:40 - which is just a little quicker than the marathon pace I'm aiming for. Woot! It's a beautiful day for running and I felt super good.

[indigoiis]

Good luck, Kat!

[Aggie_Ama]

Did a 10 mile, it was okay but my allergies are just making it hard to breath. My times are slower than I hoped but it is still a little over a month until my half marathon. I also took my first ice bath, not a full fledged dump ice in but a 10 minute very cold bath. It was okay, hopefully it will help my recovery since we are going to be doing a lot of walking in Vegas.

[colby]

Today was "step" intervals like last Thursday (100 steps fast, 50 slow, 200/100, 300/150, 400/200, repeat for 20min). Wore my VFFs. Felt pretty good, I was pretty tired as is customary for Thursdays, but I pushed through. About 5 miles.

Calves still get sore from the VFFs, but my shins are really loving them. I usually have tender shins, but even just doing the VFFs twice a week this week has made a huge difference.

Did my 2 strength workouts this week, and had a massage (HOORAY!!). Next week back on a swimming schedule, too, I haven't had time to be dedicated to 2-3x/week.

[limewave]

Hilly 5 miles for me today. I did the same route I did 2 weeks ago. My time was almost 4 minutes faster today! I even jogged up the "big" hill 2 times without having to walk.