Austin Marathon Training – Weeks 4 & 5
It’s been a solid 2 weeks of marathon training. Week 4 I ran 41.22 miles, finishing with a new half marathon PR of 1:57:02 at the Monson Memorial Classic Half Marathon. I was just planning to have this as part of my 15-mile training run, but I couldn’t help myself and really pushed it. This was a mighty hilly course and I finished feeling like I couldn’t have gone any faster. This was also the first half marathon where I broke the 9:00 min/mile pace which feels like a huge milestone for me.
Week 5 I ran my first 46+ mile week and I turned 40! I loved my party last night and I even got to blow out candles.
I’m continuing to run with Ella 3 times a week as she gets ready for the Hot Chocolate Run. She’s doing great and ran the first time for 20 minutes straight. I joined Bill today for his 9-mile long run which was the end of my 17-miler. It was nice to have the company and easier to keep going when I was getting cold and wanted to be home eating birthday party leftovers. I passed a house today on the run that I’m now lusting after. This is the problem with covering all the roads in town. I’m seeing houses and streets that I’d love to live.
It’s getting colder now and I’m wondering how I’m going to get through this winter running again. Last night I ordered my first running jacket. I was waffling between a soft shell or a lightweight jacket. I decided on the Brooks Infiniti Jacket and got it for a great price at Running Warehouse. Love my Active.com discount.
I figure I can wear my thermal hoody under the jacket when it gets really cold. But the Infiniti Jacket is water/wind proof yet breathable and should be a great addition to my winter wardrobe.
Next week is a recovery week of only 37 miles. I’ll be doing a turkey trot on Thanksgiving with my friend and her family like we did last year. Should be a lot of fun.
Austin Marathon Training – Week 3
40 miles running this week and I’ve only logged this many miles in a week once before. Everything else is going to be new territory for me in this plan. I’m still feeling really good considering my miles ramping up. But I could be doing more stretching, and more strength training. It was another week of no strength training and no cross-training on the bike.
I did take 7+ hours of a bike maintenance class at Pioneer Valley Bike School. Sure I don’t need to know right now how to take care of my bike, but I fit it in my schedule. I was the only student so this was all one-on-one time which was awesome. I worked on my old Novara hybrid which needed some work. I got new tires, replaced some cable housing, and basically learned how to take apart the bike and put it back together. I learned so much and I’m not sure how much I will retain. I’m hoping to get some basic tools and a repair stand soon and work on Bill’s bike which is the same as my hybrid. This will be a good test to see how much I really did learn.
Even though I didn’t get on my bike this past week, I did clean up Betty, installed the cadence sensor, and put it up on the trainer. Plus I figured out how to install the iPad on my handlebars.
Ella is planning to run the Hot Chocolate Run this year and I’m running with her during her training which started this week. I’m running these as my recovery runs which is still way slower than my recovery pace, but I love spending this time with Ella. It’s a great opportunity to check in with her and talk. 
One thing I’m doing during this marathon training which I haven’t done before is keeping track of where I’ve been running on a map. I’d love it if I can cover all of the roads around town by the end of training. It’s been a great way to discover some new routes and fun places to run and to explore neighborhoods I’ve never been in before. This is what the map looks like after 3 weeks of training. I’ve been marking where I’ve been in pink.
Week 4 has only 42 miles planned, so it’s not much of a jump up from this past week. I might do a half marathon in Monson this weekend as part of my long run, but only if I’m up for it and time allows. I won’t be racing it though.
Running in the dark
It’s been tough getting out of bed lately in the mornings to run. It’s cold and so very dark. Fortunately I have a few things to help keep me visible when I run in the dark.
If I head out just before dawn I’ll grab my Blackburn Flea. I bought this for my road bike in case I get caught at dusk still out on the road. It’s super light and tiny and put my finger through the velcro loop when I’m running. Once the sun is up, I’ll put it in a pocket. Plus I love the USB charging. If the bulk of my run will be in the dark, I’ll wear a headlamp. I love my new Tikka Plus 2 headlamp. On a recent run, it was so comfortable I thought I had dropped it. But it was on my head.
As far as reflective gear goes, I love the Brooks Nightlife collection. I have the Essential Run Vest (over a long-sleeve shirt keeps me warm enough down to 30°), Reflective Vest (good if I need more reflectiveness when it’s above 45°), and the Nightlife Hat (with blinking red light in the back).
I usually find myself running in the dark when it’s colder. My favorite reflective tights are a pair from Golite which have been discontinued. The have cute reflective flowers on the front and back of the tight. But when it gets really cold or biking in the cold, I’ll wear my Sugoi SubZero Zap Tight. These tights are awesome with wind too.
One thing I may invest in this winter is a good running jacket. Jackets I’m considering are the Sugoi Zap, Brooks Nightlife, and the Saucony ViZiPRO Ethereal.
I’ve Finished the Hexagons
I’ve finished crocheting all of the hexagons. Now I’m just doing bonus ones so it’ll be bigger. I have plenty of yarn to make it twice the size it is. We’ll see what I can complete in two weeks before the class that covers crocheting the hexagons together.
Austin Marathon Training – Week 2
This past week was a stressful one at home and work. I could only manage the minimum in my training, 4 runs and one yoga session after my long run. Tuesday’s run was not good at all. It was strangely hot that day and everything felt off. Fortunately the rest of the week of running went much better. Though a few hours after my long run yesterday, my right Achilles tendon started to hurt, which is a new pain for me. I’ll need to keep an eye on it. The highlight run of the week which was also the run I was least looking forward to was the recovery run Friday night after work. I ran with Bill through Look Park in the dark getting to see all of their spooky lights. It was super fun.
It’s been a month since I’ve been on my bike. I’ve got to get it up on the trainer so I can take advantage of it for recovery days. I think that will help me recovery faster. My plan this week moves up to running 5 days a week. I’m not sure which days to do strength training on. I read conflicting things about which you should do. So I’ll just have to experiment to see what works for me. Only new workout in the plan this week is a Lactate Threshold on Tuesday, 8 miles w/ 4 mi @ 15K to half marathon pace.
Soccer is done for the season, so life will be a little bit simpler. Here’s hoping for a much better week!
