Kelly – Page 7 – Run Read Repeat

Marathon Training Week 10

This is the last week of building miles before the taper. It’s hard to believe that last year the thought of running 34 miles in a week seemed impossible and I’ve run more than 30 miles a week for the last nine weeks! What is seeming impossible right now- a 20 mile training run. This is the last major long run before the marathon. While the training plan calls for 16 miles, it suggests that if this your first rodeo that you run 20. While this would make more sense if I wasn’t running my actual marathon virtually, I’m sticking with it and doing the 20 mile run.

Monday, September 28

How does never miss a Monday go on a Fasting holiday?? It goes nice and easy for two miles. I walked one mile on the treadmill and then did two miles nice and easy. I “cheated” and drank my normal “green cocktail” of Arbonne greens, Fizz, Skin Elixir and Digestion Plus. I can’t imagine a day without this combination. My thinking was also that I planned to run my twenty mile run on Tuesday when the boys were at school.

Tuesday, September 29

I was set to run 20 miles today. I laid everything out the night before. I had my Huma Gel nutrition packed. Water bottles filled. Plan was to drop the boys off at school and then hit the pavement. On the way home from school the text came about a teacher needing to go home could I come back to sub. Eek, I really wanted to run but I also wanted to sub. I got home and ran out the door to get two miles in before I showered and heading back to school. On the plus side my running streak continues and with a flexible training plan I don’t have to “feel bad” that I didn’t miss a schedule run because there is give and take in plan. Truth be told running 20 miles after a fasting day is a poor idea. Additionally, it was HUMID Tuesday morning and more than 70 degrees. It just wasn’t meant to be. The weather towards the end of the week looks much cooler and less humid. Long run will happen, just another day.

Wednesday, September 30

Last day of the month. Another sub day on the books. Translation early morning run on the treadmill while watching Bosch Amazon! While the overall mileage goal for the week is 34 miles and a 20 mile run is still in the wings I don’t need to do a lot of additional miles. That said I need a good run to start the day. The endorphins make me a much better person to be around. Just ask my kids or my husband! 😉 So it was up at 5:00 and on treadmill. To mix things up I utilized one of the programs. This allowed me to get a mixture of incline and a varied speed. I got a little bit of lifting in too so it was a successful morning!

Thursday, October 1

Today is the day…twenty miles here I come. The weather was much better than when I originally planned to run on Tuesday, however I would have loved for it to be a little bit cooler. Goals for this run: 1) practice nutrition using 2) work on hydration, 3) pace of 9:00-9:15 minutes per mile. The morning was busy so I didn’t start my run until after 10:00. This wasn’t all bad though because it allowed me to eat and digest before hitting the road.

I wore my Spibelt with my usual water bottles, but then added another water bottle in the pocket of my Zyia Active Hustle Shorts. While the shorts can more than handle the water bottle, it changes my gait so I ultimately ditched the water bottle at a friend’s house. Anyway, back to the run. I managed to keep the pace steady and within my goal range. I modified my route mid run so I experienced a different section of roads. This was actually a nice change of pace! My heart rate remained within range and I felt really good for the first 10 miles. I felt good for the next 5 miles and then I realized I needed more water. As in, I was already dehydrated. I made a stop at home around mile 18 and drank a lot of water. I likely should have called it a day there but I was determined to run the twenty. So I got the final two miles done. Wow- I ran 20 miles!!

So what did I learn: 1) I really need to use nutrition every 45 minutes. Had I used another Humagel I would have felt a little bit stronger for the final 5. 2) I’ll be wearing my Camelbak for the Virtual Marathon. I had a whole elaborate plan for stashing water bottles in friend’s mailboxes but I think I’d rather just wear the water and know that I have it with me. I will however, stash a couple of water bottles with my Phytosport Electrolyte mix to keep my electrolytes in balance. 3) I should slow down another 15 seconds or so per mile to make those last six miles a little more enjoyable. And most of all…I CAN AND I WILL COMPLETE THE VIRTUAL NYC MARATHON!

Big question I’m sure- how did I feel after the run? I was definitely dehydrated and my electrolytes were off. I was able to rectify that pretty quickly with water, Post Workout from Arbonne, shhh don’t tell but a Coke Zero for the caffeine and sodium and a bag of pretzels. I’m not going to lie, I had to rally to get in the car to get the boys from school. I thought parking and walking up would make the most sense so I could loosen up my legs. Longest walk…EVER. Oh, and my left knee was definitely not quite right. Sigh.

Friday, October 2

I had grand plans to continuing my running streak indefinitely. I truly thought I would be able to run the day after I ran 20 miles. I know, I know I’m laughing at myself too. But here’s the deal, my hips felt great, my calves and glutes felt great. I could have run, but for some really pesky left knee pain. I actually even tried. Got to the end of the driveway and called it. I really needed to reevaluate my expectations of my body. So instead I did some heavy arm work and walked the dog. I kept my body moving by didn’t over do it. I iced my knee and took some Advil. I adjusted my mind to the fact that I do not need to run every single day and listening to my body is more important. Every step of this process is important and will come in handy when racing returns and I really get to run a marathon. But until then I run and I learn how to do it better!

Saturday, October 3

The weather was perfection. My knee- still not quite right. But working/running has become a crucial part of each and every day. So I began my day like every other and got dressed into my workout gear and headed into the basement. I got my sweat on with Tracy Steen. A combination of HIIT and strength training for the win. But I couldn’t just leave it there. I did a slow and steady two miles on the treadmill as a “test.” I was “testing” to see if something was truly wrong with my knee of if I just tweaked it a little bit. Conclusion- I believe it’s just tweaked and I promise to take Sunday off from running.

Sunday- October 4

I haven’t taken a true rest day in several months. We took advantage of the beautiful weather to get pumpkins and mums to decorate for fall. It was also time to say see you later to training wheels for my oldest. So I didn’t do any formal exercise to start the day. The weather however was too nice to pass up. So I decided I would go for a 30-40 minute walk and that’s just what I did. I was so tempted to run a little but I kept my promise to myself that I would not run today. No running, but a 2.6 mile walk made me feel good!

Week in review:

I started the week lighter running to gear up for my twenty mile run. I ran twenty miles!! After running twenty miles it was necessary to show myself some grace and not to push myself to injury. While this week called for 34 miles- I finished the week with 30.3 miles. That said this was far from a typical week- 20 mile run, two sub days and a fasting holiday. So I’d call it a success.

Let the taper begin!! Less than two weeks to race day!

I run for those who can’t. #endalz

Subscribe so you never miss an update!

Marathon Training Week 9

Less than a month until the Virtual NYC. Feeling good, but I also still can’t believe I’m really going to run 26.2 miles all by myself!!

Monday- September 21

My goal each week is to focus on my key effort for the week on Monday. That way I know that the rest of the week I can be flexible and make up the miles any way that suits my schedule. Now that I’ve added substitute teaching into the mix it’s even more important to get those key efforts done on days I know that I’m not subbing.

Monday morning after drop off I didn’t have enough time to get my run done before having to bring Ruby to the vet to get her stitches removed. So that meant I wasn’t going to get to run until closer to 11:00. Key effort for the week SPEED WORK. While speed work remains one of my less favorite things to do, it’s definitely growing on me. This week is 1 mile warm up, 800×8 at 8:00 per mile pace, 400 at 10:00 per mile pace in between and then another 1 mile cool down. Total number of miles run 8. While it was work, it felt like a huge accomplishment to start the week.

Tuesday-September 22

Remember when I said getting the key run done early in the week was important because I never know when I’m going to sub. Well, that’s good because I subbed today. Which mean I got up before the sun- ran three miles on the treadmill and managed to get 20 minutes of arms and core work done too. Again, the flexibility of the plan is key to get the word done around the time available. I’ve never had a lot of time to get my workouts in- but to do it before getting the boys to school and subbing means extra early mornings.

Wednesday-September 23

No subbing today so I’m running after I drop the boys off at school. That means no time pressure to get my run done and I can go longer and enjoy being outside. My Garmin struggled to find the GPS tower and was then all messed up when I was done. Basically, it suggested I had run for 24 hours. It was a mess. The run however was amazing. A friend called around mile three and I learned that I can run and talk on the phone at the same time. I have no idea what it really sounded like on her end (i.e. was there a lot of deep breathing?) but I didn’t look at my watch once and had some of my fastest splits because I was totally distracted. A great outdoor run for 5.6 miles.

Thursday-September 24

You’ll notice I’m always in a headband- this one is one of my favorites. Have you tried Sweaty Bands? Take a look in my favorite things for more on Sweaty Bands.

Planning ahead with today’s run…translation I’m subbing tomorrow so I need to run longer today to switch out the runs. I had originally planed to run three miles but instead made it five. I was also knee deep in holiday prep so I didn’t go to run until after 11:00. While overall it was a good run, it didn’t feel nearly as good as the day before. But you know what? Not every run is going to feel perfect. Each run and every mile is important. There are so many factors coming at us each and every day that can change how a run feels. No need to focus on the runs that don’t feel perfect- just be happy to get the run done!

Friday- September 25

It’s a subbing day! Which means I was up at 5:00 AM to get on the treadmill before heading out the door to school. Back to watching Bosch Amazon. I’m almost out of episodes!! Eeek. I’ll have to find something else to distract me on the treadmill until the next season is released. I cranked out the Rock n Roll Philadelphia 5K to start my day. Boom. Run steak is up to 126 days and counting!

Saturday-September 26

Rock n Roll 10K on the agenda for today. It’s warmer and definitely humid- yuck! I much rather run with a chill in the air. Half way through my run my stomach was not happy. I’m not particularly sure why but I had to make a decision with two miles left- head home and to the bathroom or push through the run. I opted to head home. I literally ran into the house. Boys “you’re back.” Me: “But I’m not done- heading back out!” After a quick visit at home I was back out to finish up my mileage and feeling much better. This is why I create crazy routes that allow me to never be more than a mile and a half from home.

Sunday-September 27

Rest day- right? Nice and easy two miles to finish up a little over the target of 32 miles for the week. Total distance on the week 33.1. Total distance for the year 932.7 miles on the year. I’m ahead of pace for my new target goal of 1255 miles and feeling good!

Week 10 of Marathon training is up next. Stay tuned as I tackle my longest training run to date 20 miles!!

Subscribe to never miss a post!

I run for those who can’t! I run to #endalz.

Marathon training-week 8

It’s hard to believe that my virtual marathon is just a little over one month away!! So far, training has been going well. Other than some moderate hip pain I’m feeling good. I’m also still continuing my running streak that started way back at Memorial Day!!

Monday- September 14

Well, the boys are both back in school physically so I had a choice to make…do I continue getting up at 4:30/5:00 in the morning to run or do I run after I drop them off at school?? I’m not going to lie the extra early mornings for the last two weeks were definitely taking a toll. So I opted to run after I dropped them off. By running after drop off I can run outside vs. on the treadmill. Not that I mind the treadmill but with fall temperatures coming why not take advantage of running outside?? With my key run already done for the week over the weekend this week is filled with a number of 3-6 mile runs. Monday started out as a five mile run and I finished up closer to six. It felt good to be outside and to not have the time pressure of getting done and racing into the shower and out the door for school.

In a weird change of events my left hip is now feeling sore vs. my right hip. I’ll do a better job of stretching this week with my new found time. I also broke out a new pair of shoes. I realized I needed another pair in rotation or I was going to need a new pair right before the marathon. While I haven’t had to break in my New Balance Fresh Foam 1080v10 I still wouldn’t want to take them out of the box and run 26.2. That said they were perfection for today’s run, so I probably could take them out of the box and run a marathon!

Tuesday- September 15

Back outside for another great run. I wasn’t sure how far I was going to go when I went out the door anywhere from 3-5 miles. Finished up with a nice five mile run. I love the fact that the air is a little bit cooler. It adds pep to my running step!! Finished off the morning with a solid 35 minutes of lifting. Strength training is so important, especially as the miles continue to increase. Still have that moderate hip pain. I’m keeping an eye on it and making sure to add some stretching.

Wednesday, September 16

Oh my my hamstrings and hips are super tight. Rather than run first, I started with 30 minutes of Yoga for Runners to loosen everything up before heading out the door. By modifying my schedule to run after I drop the boys off for school I’ve truly been able to take advantage of the beautiful weather. To keep things fresh I mixed up the route again today. I’m continually amazed at how many different distance combinations I can get by altering the route just a bit from my house. Another solid five mile run.

Thursday, September 17

Thursdays mean I should run and strength train. But truth be told I tweaked something in my back on Wednesday so I kept it to just a run. A nice and easy 3.1 outside. A whole week of beautiful weather has lead to lots of extra outside time!

Friday, September 18

Early, early run this morning. After learning late Thursday night that I was subbing at school on Friday I knew I wanted to get my run done before school. Schedule called for 5 miles but based upon timing I completed 4. No big deal- that’s the beauty of a flexible schedule. At this point in the week I have 23 miles done and 7 miles to go to meet my 30 miles for the week. So I’ll just add a mile to Saturday or Sunday and I’m set. Back on the treadmills for a 5:00 AM run. But that also meant I was back with Bosch Amazon!! Watching Bosch on my iPad has been a game changer for my time on the treadmill. It seems to fly by.

Saturday, September 19

Truth be told on Friday after school I was a whole new level of tired. I wasn’t even sure going to bed early was going to do the trick to allow me to get my five miles in on Saturday morning. But ah the beauty of a good night’s sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go! It was COLD. As in temperatures in the 40s in the morning. This is my sweet spot for temperature when I run. While it’s a little cold to get started once you warm up it’s perfection. I was feeling extra motivated because I got to wear my new Alzheimer’s Association Team shirt for my run. With four weeks to go before my virtual marathon- channeling my inner why is KEY!

Sunday, September 20

Sunday runs are nearly always my short runs. It’s my “rest” day after all. So a quick two miler to keep my running streak going. 121 days and counting!!

Week in review

Early in the week my hips were tight and bothering me. This is likely because of a 36 mile week last week, including a 14 mile run. I was careful to continued strength training but also stretching to help loosen up my hamstrings and hips. By the end of the week I was fortunately feeling relief. It’s hard to believe that the marathon is now less than a month away. Must stay healthy and avoid injury!! Looking ahead the week of September 21 brings more speed work as the key effort and the week of the 28th a 20 mile run!!

Subscribe to follow along!

A reminder: I run for those who can’t! I run to #endalz.

Marathon Training Week 7

The weeks are definitely flying by as the training progresses. Running last week’s 12 miler as a race was a major effort-it’s back to tempo runs, training runs, speed work but no more racing until virtual race day.

Monday- September 7

Well, it was a BUSY week and weekend full of back to school and birthday celebrations. In addition to being all around tired on Monday morning I was dealing with a migraine. Fortunately, it was Labor Day so I had a little bit of flexibility with timing my run. So while I’m normally an up and done with my run kind of gal that wasn’t the case for the speed work scheduled for today. Instead I ran midday which is highly unusual. My right hip and calf were tight so I wasn’t quite sure my body was going to be up to speed work. However, after my one mile warm up I was ready to rock and roll. 800×6 at 8 minutes a mile with an easy quarter mile in between each to recover, followed by a one mile cool down was apparently just what I needed. With nearly 7 miles under my belt I felt better and was ready to continue to tackle the week.

Tuesday- September 8

Back to rising before the sun to get my workouts done before school. Continuing with my routine of strength training on Tuesday and Thursday mornings after a 2 mile warm up. I followed my easy two with 30 minutes of arms with Tracey Steen, Move Daily Fitness. I used my Terra-Core in conjunction with weights to also work my core. My box also got used. I love that as soon as it became clear that we were going to be home indefinitely in March that I slowly but surely stocked up on the things I would need to continue strength training at home!!

Wednesday-September 9

Most of the runs this week are easy miles as I’m doing a virtual half, which is really going to be 14 miles on Sunday. So today was an easy three. I was feeling some tightness in my pesky right hip when I finished so I added twenty minutes of yoga for runners when I was done running.

Thursday- September 10

Another early morning treadmill run. As I’m consciously trying to have at least two days of easy two mile runs with strength training I began my 5:30 with my run. Followed it up by twenty minutes of arms and core. Arms and core are my go to for strength training since I’m using my legs for so many miles!

Friday-September 11

Moment of truth…both boys are back physically in school today. So the question is do I still get up at 5:00 AM and run or wait until after I drop them off?? I have a whole bunch of errands that I want to run so I still get up early. If I didn’t have a fourteen mile run planned for September 12 I would have run 9.11 miles in honor of September 11th. Instead, I ran 9.11km which equates to 5.66 miles. My schedule had originally planned for three miles but it was important to me to somehow physically honor those who had lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Saturday- September 12

Fourteen mile run today!! This was also a virtual Half Marathon with my Alzheimer’s Association teammates who were all slated to run the NYC marathon this year. While we are all over the country it was fun to come together to channel our why and run “together.”

The goal of the run…1) practice nutrition, 2) practice hydration, 3) work on putting together a longer route to build up to 26.2 miles and most important trying to set a pace at 9:00 – 9:10 minutes per mile. While the first year or so of my return to running saw me working diligently on bringing down my per mile pace it seems so counterintuitive to me to work on slowing down. Nevertheless, I know that I cannot maintain my normal pace for a full 26.2 miles and need to slow it down so I can go the distance.

Temperatures were ten or so degrees warmer than last week for the 12 mile run and with more than 90% humidity. While it was only in the mid sixties the air felt heavy! But I was good to go- my Spibelt was loaded with water an my Huma Gels and water. I’m not going to lie, working on trying to keep my pace slower was hard. Not only that but I dropped one of my gels along the way so I only had one for the entire run. Granted, I ate a good breakfast before I left but I certainly could have used that extra gel around mile 9. This was my longest consecutive run to date. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll say it again- so much of running is mental. Mentally, when I run long distances I count down how many miles I have left vs. how many miles I’ve completed. I always find the miles above ten to be harder for some reason. So I worked my way from 14 to 10. Awesome, because normally when I get to four miles I feel like I can run for forever. My pacing was till faster than I would have liked but it was manageable. Mile 5 I decided to take some nutrition. That’s when I also discovered that I was missing one. Live and learn to plan better for storage! Mentally the next big marker for the run was mile 7 because it was the half way point. Then getting to mile 9 with only five miles to go and finally getting to 12.5 because that’s the home stretch.

In the end I had a good run, but it wasn’t nearly as great as the week before. That said I learned a good deal about needing more nutrition, putting electrolytes in one of my water bottles and slowing the heck down a bit! PS this fourteen mile run was actually the key run for the week beginning with September 14. However, with following the concept of least effective dose to training I opted not to run 13.1 over the weekend and then do a 14 mile run during the week. So technically, this was a double dip run.

Sunday- September 13

It’s my “off” day. Translation- I ran two miles at an easy pace to continue my run streak that is now up to 114 days. I’m not sure when it will stop. Actually I’m pretty sure it will be on October 18, the day AFTER I become a marathoner!

So that is week seven in a nutshell! Moving onto week eight with my key run already done! That means I’ll make up the thirty miles for the week with a variety of distances.

Save the date- October 17 is the day I’m planning to run my 26.2!!

Stay in the loop- never miss an update by subscribing today!

Amazing time to join Zyia Active!

While I normally only share about running over here on this blog- Zyia Active is all that I wear to workout and for the last six months what I wear all of the time. I became a rep over a year ago and this special is too good not to share! While any time is a great time to join the Zyia family this month you are going to get even more bang for your buck. Let’s take a look at what you get for the $295 cost:

First of all is your kit. There’s a men’s and women’s sign up kit. We will first take a look at the women’s kit as of September 9, 2020. But do not fret if your kit looks slightly different. Kits are continually updated to include the latest staple items that are not only popular but a great representation of the variety of products offered by Zyia Active.

The Starter Kit Includes:

$50 Business Tools: Catalogs, Brochures, Order Forms, & Stickers

Two $100 Gift Cards

ZYIA-X Mesh Hat ($18 value)

White Bomber Bra ($31 value)

Lemon Nimbus Split Back Tank ($32 value)

Black Bomber Jacket ($69 value)

Black Pocket Light n Tight Hi-Rise 7/8 24″ ($65 value)

That’s $215 in products plus another $200 in gift certificate for you to select the items of your choosing, and $50 worth of business tools for a total of $465. The cost to join is $295. So, let’s say you see purchasing an enrollment kit as an amazing opportunity to build your own business- amazing this is an awesome deal making now an incredible time to join. But, let’s just say you LOVE Zyia Active and you want to get more Zyia Active at the representative discount. Amazing, now is a great time to enroll because for $295 you are going to get $215 in amazing staple products and supplies along with another $200 of the PRODUCTS YOU WANT that you choose!! So you’re coming out ahead. Maybe you build it into a business with the support of our AMAZING team or maybe you use this as a chance to shop at a discount and do some holiday shopping for friends and family.

Let’s take a look to see what the Men’s Enrollment Kit includes:

The Starter Kit Includes:

$50 Business Tools: Catalogs, Brochures, Order Forms, & Stickers

Two $100 Gift Cards

Men’s Navy Reef Block Shorts ($45 value)

Men’s Navy Performance Hoodie ($55 value)

Men’s Red Versatility Short ($49 value)

Men’s Black ZZZ Hat ($23 value)

Men’s Navy Clubhouse Belt ($16 value)

Men’s Navy Traveler Pant 31″ ($98 value)

For the $295 cost of the enrollment kit you are getting- $200 in gift certificates to select the items of your choosing; $286 in pre-selected, versatile products that give you a true sense of the depth of options from Zyia Active and $50 in business supplies. So that comes out to $536 in product and materials for $295. Again this is such an amazing value before even taking a look at the support you get if you are interested in building a business. I always say that even if you think you just want to sign up for the discount- at the very least host a party for yourself. Share products you love with your friends and family. You’ll have the chance to earn back part of your initial investment all while also earning hostess rewards.

The next thing you get is support, guidance, and training from me and our amazing team!

If building a business if your desire, there are trainings, support and a fantastic community. Come check us out over on Instagram. You literally can make it what you will- you can shop at a discount or you can build a business- you decide! Whichever route you chose you are not alone!!

Questions?? Email me today! Ready to enroll? Join now!

Marathon training week six and a virtual race!

Week six of marathon training began in August and finished up in the first week of September. Generally, my preference is to run my key run, or the most important training effort of the week at the beginning of the week. However, this week was different for a number of reasons: 1) Back to school, 2) my son’s birthday and 3) a virtual 12 mile race on Saturday. While I didn’t run my key effort until Saturday, I managed to set a good routine and maintain it during the week despite all the other things going on.

Monday- August 31

The start of the week brought a touch of Fall like temperatures. While sunrise isn’t until 6:30 ish I was up and ready to hit the pavement as soon as it was bright enough to be safe. While it was the beginning of the week, but the end of the month I had a particular month goal that I wanted to hit with my morning run. The cooler temps were amazing for my nearly 6.5 mile run. After doing so many runs on the treadmill getting some outside time felt good!

Tuesday- September 1

Today, I was back on the treadmill and super early. It’s my son’s birthday so I wanted to get my run and strength training done before he got up. He of course had a different plan and woke up half a mile into my run. Today was supposed to just be a two mile run- continue the steak day. But I ran the half a mile. Greeted the birthday boy. He got to see all the fun Harry Potter decorations and then he joined me downstairs for the rest of my run and lifting. Rather than do two miles I finished up with 2.5 and then did twenty minutes of core and arm work to finish up the morning.

Wednesday- September 2

First day of school!! This is important because it means I need to run, shower, do all the first day of school picture excitement etc. and leave the house by 7:30. Challenge accepted. I coined today’s run five at 5:00 as I was up at 5:00 to run five miles. Solid, easy paced treadmill run before the back to school fun.

Thursday- September 3

My goal this week has been to get my workout in and get showered before the boys get up. Thursday’s schedule called for a two mile run to continue my run streak and then strength training. I’m working diligently not to let the strength training go by the wayside as the mileage increases and the back to school schedule gets crazy. Mission accomplished. Up at 5:00 again. Two miles check. Twenty minutes of arms with Tracey Steen of Move Daily Fitness and in the shower by 6:15 AM.

Friday- September 4

Run streak day 105!! As I have a twelve mile virtual race tomorrow, the plan was for a nice and easy three miles on the treadmill. I enjoyed some more Bosch on Amazon Prime and got my run done. Slowing down my pace on the treadmill runs has been key. I’ve been more focused on stretching and listening to my body to hopefully remain injury free. Ready to start the day.

Saturday- September 5

Virtual race day!! The Charles Street 12 was my first BIG race in 2019. I hadn’t run more than a 5K in…hmmm… 20 plus years. When the race turned virtual this year, I knew I still had to do it because it kick started my desire to run longer distances. Conveniently the key run this week for my training plan was a 12 mile run so this was a two for one run! When I woke up on Saturday morning the weather was perfection. With temperatures in the mid to high 50s and moderate humidity it was a beautiful day to run! I’ve gotten much better about eating before my longer runs and taking in some water. So I got up with plenty of time to eat and digest before hitting the road. Out the door by 7:30 AM.

Funny story about the Charles Street 12 from last year. I had estimated my finish time to be 1:57. Instead I came in closer to 1:52. So that meant my cheering section wasn’t ready for me and I called out to them as I was approaching the finish line. This year, my goal was 1:42 or approximately 8:35 per mile. That’s been my average mile pace for half marathons so I figured that made sense for a 12 mile run. However, over the last 18 months I’ve learned that I’m a cooler weather runner. Cooler temperatures (honestly the cooler the better) agree with me and make it much easier for me to run. The temperatures in the 50s clearly agreed with me after so much heat and humidity this summer and instead of 8:35 a mile I averaged 8:14 a mile and finished in 1:38:45. While not the same course as last year, I’ll happily take a 14 minute improvement in time.

Overall, I felt great during the run. I did begin to experience some hip pain about half way through. But it wasn’t anything that wasn’t manageable. My right hip has given me problems off and on. I’m acutely aware of it and continue to try to loosen my hamstrings and strengthen my core and glutes to take the pressure off my hip.

My cheering section created a finish line for me to run through and were waiting to cheer me on and give me my medal upon completion. Family support is amazing and means so much to me as I continue to train for the marathon!

Sunday–September 6

Truth be told, I ran the twelve miler like a race and not like a training run. I was feeling it a bit on Sunday morning. My right calf was sore and the week was really catching up with me. Sunday runs are normally my shorter and easier days just to keep the streak going so I laced up and went out for a one mile out and back (two mile total) run. Once I warmed up a bit I felt great and I was glad to get the run in before the birthday party celebration!

Review/Looking ahead

While overall I’m feeling good, I’m not struggling with the mileage I need to begin focusing on marathon pace for runs. Running a half marathon and running a marathon are two completely different things. The additional time of effort and overall mileage does strange things to our bodies. In an effort to make the marathon day go as smoothly as possible I’m going to begin slowing the pace down for tempo runs to more like 9 minutes a mile. For the week of September 7 the key effort is a speed workout. But for the week after, week of September 14 it’s a 14 mile run. However, the Alzheimer’s Team for the NYC Marathon is doing a virtual Half Marathon on Sunday, September 13. Since I would normally do my key run on that Monday the 14th I’m moving it up one day to the 13th. This will be the first run where I intentionally focus on tempo rather than running it like a race. A marathon is more than the 26.2 but rather all the miles leading up!!

Follow the journey and never miss a post!

No excuses!! I run for those who can’t! #endalz

Marathon Training Week 5- getting in a groove!

I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face- having a training plan that is flexible is key for my mom life schedule!! This is the last week of “summer vacation” also known as the never ending spring break. So this is the last week for quite some time that I’m going to have any real flexibility in my day. That means getting up earlier to get my run in. It also means having to juggle my distances from one day to the next to get all my miles in. Having one key effort each week and knowing I can make the rest of the miles up any way I please keeps training fun and less stressful!!

The key effort for the week of August 24-August 30 was speed work and the total mileage goal was 28 miles. On the heels of the trail race last Sunday, I purposely planned to keep Monday light. While I would usually get my key effort in on Monday I pushed it to Tuesday this week.

Monday– August 24

All things considered for the day after feeling like I was getting chased through the woods for nearly 7 miles I feel good. I had originally penciled in 2 miles to kick off the week to keep my run streak going and to give my body a little bit of a break. Since I cut my half marathon to a 10K I didn’t feel like I needed quite as much of a break. Still kept it light and the pace easy because I was a little bit sore. I have this reoccurring pain in my right hip that I’m constantly keeping an eye on. I ran 3 nice and easy miles on the treadmill to kick off the week.

Tuesday– August 25

Key effort run!! Speed work is still not necessarily my most favorite thing to do. It pushes me well outside of my comfort zone, but is SO CRUCIAL for form, drive and ultimately helps with overall pace. The key effort this week is 800X5. To this I added 1 mile warm up and at least one mile cool down. Additionally, I ran a 400 or a quarter of a mile in between each 800 (half a mile) to catch my breath. My goal for my 800s is 4 minutes. I’ve found that doing speed work on the treadmill gives me the most control to hit my target paces. All in all I finished up with 6 miles and felt great. The 800s are work but I’m feeling good with the effort!

Wednesday– August 26

I got outside today!! Again, I had penciled in three miles for the day but wound up doing four instead. I was feeling good. While the pace wasn’t super fast it was still decent. For the last several weeks I’ve consciously been working on slowing down my pace and lowering my heart rate. Not every run is a race and “slower” runs are critical pieces to the training puzzle. Four miles with an average pace of 8:28 per mile works for me.

Thursday– August 27

Back on the treadmill. After a busy morning of crossing things off my to do list I didn’t get to exercise until mid morning. My right hip and hamstring are feeling sore/tight. So before I ran I did about a half hour of yoga. This concentrated, focused stretching has proven to be most helpful when I find myself getting tight. Schedule called for four miles. I somehow turned that into 5.29. No idea why other than I was feeling good after warming up with yoga and trying to stretch out this last week of the month to meet a larger overall mileage goal.

Friday- August 28

We had a lengthy laundry list of items to do today. I knew we needed to leave the house by 8:30 AM (PS this is an hour later than we will have to leave for school), so I had to get my run in early to allow enough time to shower and get everyone ready. While the pacing and my watch were totally off for timing purposes, I got another five miles in and another episode of Bosch on Amazon Prime.

Saturday-August 29

It was a rainy and humid morning. While running in the rain doesn’t scare me the humidity is not my friend. That said, and I’m not complaining about the treadmill because I love it (and anything is better than trail!- but I was getting a little bored with get on and run. Despite some glute and hip soreness I opted to push the envelop with a hill program. I’ve officially used the programs on the treadmill more in the last five months than in last 18 years combined. While the hills KICKED MY BUTT- it mixed up the run and kept me on my toes. I chose a 60 minute program. That equated to twenty 3 minute segments. Some were certainly easier than others. And the doubles at full incline and top speed left me sucking wind, but it also made me appreciate the recovery segments that much more.

Sunday- August 30

Sunday, rest day. I joke. Today was my 100th consecutive day running (at least two miles each day, almost always more)!! When I started my streak back in May I would have never imagined that it reach trip digits. Now to see where it can go. Another big milestone was hitting 800 miles for the year!! I originally set a goal of running 1000 miles this year. COVID hit and my miles increased and it became clear that barring injury 1000 would be “easy” so I upped the goal to 1255 or 2020 KM. It will be a stretch but I’m feeling confident that I’ll get there!

Subscribe to follow along on my journey to a marathon in 2020.

As a reminder- I run for those who can’t. I was scheduled to run the NYC Marathon on November 1. Despite it being COVID Canceled I committed to do the training and to running a virtual 26.2. I run for my dad, who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s several years ago. I run to raise awareness and important dollars to find a cure. Please visit my donation page for more information.

Marathon Training Week 2

It’s officially week two of marathon training. Or in my case weeks three and four. Going forward- I’m going to just call it what it is- so let’s call this week four. In the week one post I shared how I modified my training cycle on day one because I moved up the weekend I want to run my solo 26.2. The interesting twist this week is that I’m actually scheduled to run an in person half marathon on Sunday. Translation- I don’t really want to over do it this week, while maintaining the training schedule.

Monday

I really like to get my key effort for the week done at the beginning of the week. There’s a sense of accomplishment knowing that the key effort is complete and I can make up the rest of the miles during the week. Key effort this week 800×4. What that actually became was:

1 mile warm up

800 x 4 (at 8 minute a mile pace)/followed by a 400 at an easy jog

1.25 mile cool down

Speed work used to be my nemesis. Which often meant I skipped it. I learned quickly however, that the schedule calls for speed work for a reason…it helps- it makes you stronger and faster for longer distances. Therefore, I’m not religious about getting in my speed work. Lately I’ve been doing my speed work on the treadmill. If the kids ever go back to school my plan is to actually use the track!

The run felt great. I was working hard on my 800s but I dare say I could have pushed the pace a little bit more. We shall see next week what is the right push pace for that effort.

Tuesday

In a “normal” world I would not run on Tuesday. It would purely be a strength training day. But we aren’t living in a normal time. In pandemic times I started a running streak that I just don’t want to give up!! To keep my running streak going I’ve been running two to three miles on my “off” days. However, I made a conscious choice when I kicked off formal marathon training that I would limit the “off” days to two miles and then do some strength training.

I got outside for today’s run for the first time in a LONG time. I have a great two mile loop- out and back. I love that Stava tracks the similar loops and tells me how my run compares to previous times that I’ve done the same effort. Now, there are two thoughts to these runs. I should just go out nice and easy, do two miles and call it a day. But I also ran the 3000 in High School track. Basically, just short of two miles. So subconsciously I’m working hard on this time to see how fast I can get it.

The run felt great- average pace of 7:54 a mile. So clearly, I didn’t take it easy but instead gave it a solid effort. Came back home and did a full thirty minute of Body Weight only exercise with Move Daily Fitness.

So it was a solid “off” day!

Wednesday

Technically not an off day- but with a race looming I am not looking to add a lot of extra mileage. I’m also enjoying watching Bosch on Amazon Prime. The only time I watch is when I run on the treadmill. So the tradeoff is that I’ll run three easier miles and watch some Bosch on my iPad. So Wednesday brought three miles at an average pace of 8:11 a mile.

Thursday

Another “off” day. Back to my favorite two mile loop!! The goal other than getting in my two miles was to test some new items I got before race day. YOU NEVER USE, EAT, WEAR DO ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!! So I was testing one of my new hats to see how it felt and whether it rubbed, along with my RoadID bracelet. Again, it felt good to get outside and off the treadmill.

Friday

Friday kicks off the virtual Rock n Roll running series. This week there were two races a 6K (3.7 miles) and a 10K. My plan was to do the 6K on Friday and then forgo the 10K this week with the upcoming race on Sunday. Again, I got outside to run. The weather was a bit cooler and I felt great! I determined that I can only really control keeping my runs easy when I run on the treadmill. I had no grand plans for this run, but apparently the run had plans for me! For the first time since I started running again I ran four miles all under 8 minutes, with an average pace of 7:48. What?? Who is this person? Bonus, I felt great!!

Saturday

The day before race day. Two easy shake out miles to keep my running streak going! Plus I got to watch part of Bosch. A win, win!

Sunday

Race day! An hour and fifteen minute drive was well worth it for an IN PERSON RACE. Ironically, I raced six months ago to the day in Orlando. The catch-this was a trail race! Read all about the good, the bad, and the ugly here.

Overall, it was a successful training week. The week called for 26 miles total, which I would have surpassed if I ran the full race on Sunday. But I ended the week with 25.2. I’m not concerned about the additional .8 miles. I’m ready to start week five!! Despite the crazy trail experience I’m feeling pretty good to start the week and I’m ready to “never miss a Monday!”

Stay tuned for next weeks review. As always, I run for those who can’t and to #endalz! Subscribe to never miss an update!

Note to self- trail running isn’t the same as road running

Twenty-twenty the year of COVID. The year of racing being canceled. The year of trying new things. Since March running races has been purely in the virtual realm. While you still get to compete (seemingly after the fact when everyone’s times are posted), it’s not really the same experience as running a true race. So when the opportunity presented itself to run a REAL in person race I was on it. Originally, I believed the course to be some trail and some road. I can do that- I thought. What’s a little bit of trail??

Friends the switch from road running to trail running IS A BIG DEAL!! It was a wave start. Twenty five people to a wave, wearing masks waiting to start the race. The temperature almost 80 with 91% humidity. Amazing. I did the ice trick under my hat…as in I filled my hat with ice and put it on my head. It worked for a bit, but was no where close to doing the trick to cool me down. And we are off. To start is a flat gravel like path before we hit the woods. As a group we went out faster than I would normally pace myself, but there was the adrenaline of a real race pushing me along. Then we hit the trail. Hold the phone- I’m supposed to run on this??

This was the entire trail, but only narrower. Oh wait if it wasn’t full of tree roots it looked like this:

What in the world had I been thinking??? So I haven’t run trails in 25 years and I sign up for a trail Half Marathon. Clearly COVID made me crazy!! I had so many thoughts while I was running and looking down at every step I took so I didn’t roll an ankle or fall. 1) What in the world is a good mile pace vs. a road pace? 2) There’s a 10K option, one loop instead of two you should really think about that. 3) If I get hurt running this race, I won’t be able to train and run my marathon this fall.

For the first two miles I was literally just trying to get my bearings, regulate my breathing and heart rate. Around mile three and a half my left foot landed funny and I nearly took a dive. My wonderful husband was sending me supportive texts from him and the boys. I couldn’t even look at them because that would mean not looking at my feet. So this was definitely way harder than I thought. Here I’m wearing my Never Give Up bracelet and seriously considering giving up. But is it giving up when it’s really the safe call so as to not get hurt??

Well, the two sides of my brain contemplated this as I continued through the woods. Finally, I stopped to walk to catch my breath. The kind woman behind me stopped to make sure I was OK. Runners support other runners in an amazing way and I was reminded of the sense of community! While I wasn’t really OK, I knew I was going to be. I took out my phone, texted my husband and said “I’m calling it at the half way point. I’m fine. But I’d like to stay that way.” As if to seal the deal it started pouring shortly thereafter. I finished or did I? Does this count as a DNF? I imagine if there was no 10K one loop option I would have plugged along and actually finished, but notified the race organizers that I had made the shift from Half Marathon to 10K and made my way to the car.

I was HOT but relieved that I wouldn’t have to make that second loop. Could I have done it? Yes. It wasn’t the distance that was the issue. It was the terrain. I was not truly prepared for the un-level ground. And it was the fact that staying healthy for the marathon is more important to me. On the post race drive home I had some more time to think. Whenever I’ve trained for a race that race was super important to me. Today’s race was something I did because it was there but deep down didn’t really mean anything to my overall running goals. Before COVID hit, I had the whole year mapped out and I can tell you with great certainty that the Bear Trail Half Marathon was not on that list of must do race.

While I was at peace with my decision, I wasn’t expecting so many questions from the boys when I got home. What do you mean you didn’t finish? Aren’t you sad? Aren’t you disappointed? I thought you said, we never give up? Man, my fan club was being pretty rough on me. But this was an important teaching moment. We talked about it. We talked about safety being number one. We talked about how we have to have priorities and that sometimes that means making hard choices to focus on those priorities. Hello, I didn’t go to law school to be a stay at home mom- but they are my priority and it’s ok for focuses to shift!

Ready for the kicker?? Remember how I said I had no idea what was a “good time?” Apparently my time, while I was sucking wind wasn’t so bad. I finished as the 9th overall female out of 81 and 2nd in my age category of 19 runners. PS the age category was 30-39 and I’m the old lady in the age category. So apparently for my first trail race I did better than I thought.

Needless to say, you won’t find me running trail again any time soon. If you need me I’ll be running loops around the neighborhood or on the treadmill!

Happy running!

Subscribe to stay up to date: https://runreadrepeat.com/subscribe/

Marathon training when your race is canceled- Week One

The Spring of 2020 saw COVID hit the United States. With it came the closing of schools, work places, and basically the end of travel. Of seemingly far less importance there came widespread cancellation of organized racing. Major marathons such as Boston, NYC, and Chicago were canceled. Some found themselves mid-training cycle and unsure of what to do. Do you finish the training cycle? Stop and just go into maintenance mode? Take some time off?

Truth be told, I’m some people. I found myself mid-training cycle for a ten mile race and a half marathon. I completed the training cycle and ran both races virtually. It provided “closure” for the race and the training cylce.

The harder question wasn’t those mid-cycle races for me. It was what came next. I set my sights on running the NYC Marathon in 2020. I successfully became part of the team for the Alzheimer’s Association and registered for the marathon in the beginning of March 2020. In my mind at that point, there was no way the marathon didn’t happen in November. Come on, it was months away.

I clearly underestimated the impact of COVID on life in general. What I anticipated would be a seemingly brief disruption to life was actually beyond my wildest dreams (nightmares!) We were/are in this for the long haul. Granted keeping our family safe, engaged and happy is priority number one but there were lots of disappoints for canceled life cycle events, birthday parties, and for me races.

The news of the NYC Marathon being canceled did not come as a huge surprise when it was announced in the summer. Quite honestly, I knew it was coming and I know it was 100% the right call. While I was disappointed I began to shift my focus to my WHY and my training. When I put into perspective that my WHY- was to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of my dad. So, really, when I got down to it I could certainly continue to fundraise and share my story as to why the Alzheimer’s Association is important to me and my family.

One such fundraiser was with Momentum Jewelry. I love their motivational wrap bracelets. Not only are they great for wearing when you exercise but all the time. Using the Alzheimer’s Awareness color of purple and meaningful motivational sayings was a huge success. (There’s still time to get one if you are interested. $20 each shipped directly to you. Secure yours today by sending $20 via Venmo to @kelly-blavatt).

Additionally, this was a valuable teaching moment for my children. Why? I was disappointed. There may have been tears. It showed them that they weren’t the only ones who were upset about things being canceled. But why else? When you say you are going to do something you do it- no matter what. So COVID wasn’t going to stop me from fundraising, nor was it going to stop me from sporting my purple and lacing up my running shoes.

In June I organized a virtual 5K for the Longest Day (summer solstice). I also ran a mile ever hour for every hour of day light. 16 hours equals 16 miles run. We sold t-shirts. The boys and my husband ran. We talked about why Mommy was trying to raise money. It was the first real conversation we had with the boys about the fact that my Dad has Alzheimer’s. There were many questions. Many of the same questions I still ask. And there were tears. But there was also a new understanding of WHY doing something is so important.

I had to ability to defer my NYC Marathon registration to a future year. In 2021 I’ll find out if I’m running in 2021, 2022 or 2023. Honestly, I also struggled with this news. It seems silly now, but when you are focused on accomplishing a big goal- a goal that requires a high level of physical fitness three years actually feels like a lifetime. But, with time and perspective, I realize I’ll be fortunate whenever I have the chance to run five bridges and through five boroughs.

In the meantime however, I was left to decide what to do this year. Did my Longest Day 16 miles provide me with the closure I needed? Did I want to run the Virtual NYC Marathon near home? Was I still going to accomplish my goal of running a marathon in 2020? I had some time to decide. As the months went on I saw my weekly and month mileage continue to increase. I was consistently hitting anywhere from 28-32 miles a week, well over 100 miles a month. When I looked at the training schedule from Run Lift Mom I saw that weekly I was already hitting the heaviest weeks of training. Granted my long runs would be getting longer but it wasn’t a lot more miles per week. Additionally, wouldn’t I want to learn now how my body was going to react to a full training cycle, rather than when a “real” race was looming on the horizon? Clearly the answer is yes!! But, as I’ve discussed before running is just as much mental as it is physically- do I really have it in me to run 26.2 miles BY MYSELF?? The answer to that question is- time will tell.

I registered for the NYC Virtual Marathon. Heck, if I’m going to run 26.2 I’m certainly going to get a medal! While I had originally planned to run my at home marathon on the scheduled race day of November 1, I literally called an audible (my favorite football term) and on day one training moved up race day to the weekend of October 17-18. Per the rules for the virtual race it can be done any time from October 17-November 1. I definitely do not want the pressure of leaving it to the last minute!

So what did this change in schedule mean for my training? As I mentioned above I was already running approximately 30 miles a week. I was mixing things up in regards to having longer run, speed work, and easier runs. I had to find a way to eliminate two weeks of training to allow for a proper taper before “race day.” The beautiful thing about a flexible training plan like the one that Run Lift Mom offers is one key run a week! What did I do, combine weeks one/two and three/four. Say what?? Well the key effort for week one is a 10KTT and for week two is 8 miles with a total of 24 miles total for the week. Monday I ran a 10K and Friday I ran 8 miles. In the end I’ll have closer to 28 miles on the week, so I don’t feel as though any value was lost. Again, if I had not already been running 30 or so miles a week I would not have felt comfortable making this scheduling change, but I feel confident with the earlier weeks. In addition to running I made a much more concerted effort regarding my strength training this week. I’ve come to learn that the strength training is just as important as the running. The goal is to get the runs done, strength training done and avoid getting injured. I’m having some hip pain, which I know means I need to also make sure yoga and more structured stretching is in my future.

There is joy in the journey! Each run, each training session is another step in the journey!

What does that mean for the coming week? Technically week two of official training but really weeks three and four. Week three’s key effort calls for speed work (800×4), while week four’s key effort is a ten mile run. Total miles for the week 26 miles. How’s this going to break down? Monday I’ll kick off the week with the speed work. Check that right off the list. Then I’m going to run light the rest (2-3 miles a day with some strength training) of the week because I’m registered for a COVID compliant half marathon on Sunday. Yes, I know that 13.1 is more than 10 miles but I’ll take a little longer rather than shorter. A week from now, I’ll be “caught up” on the training plan and on target to be ready to run 26.2 mid-October.

The next two months will not only be for physical training, but also for fine tuning race day nutrition and the mental strength for running without the adrenaline/fan support of a “real” race. That said knowing that my husband and boys will be waiting for me at the end will certainly keep me going!

Stay tuned for week two! Subscribe to get updates!