Hanson Brothers Marathon Training :: Monday (ahem, Wednesday) Marathoning 4.3.13

WHOA. I apologize for the absence over the past few days! No excuses at all, but between Easter, Scott starting Spring Break, and fighting off a couple of colds my time seemed to totally slip away from me. Let's see if we can get back on track, shall we?

So, week 9 of using the Hanson Brothers Marathon Training plan just wrapped up, which means I am halfway through! Things are going well, despite this pesky sciatic nerve acting up in my left leg/rear region, that I'm working on just stretching out before and after runs. Other than that, I'm thankful for nothing else going wrong.

Monday: Sick day - switched Monday for Wednesday's rest day
Tuesday: 6.00 miles, 8:41 pace
Wednesday: Speed work on the treadmill! 3x1600's, + w/u and c/d
Thursday: 7.04 miles, 8:40 pace
Friday: 7.21 miles at marathon pace; 7:57
Saturday: 15.54 miles, 8:21 pace.


 Here's what to expect this week:

  

How was your Easter holiday? Did you have nice weather? It was a lucky 70 degrees here in the Pacific Northwest, which naturally meant we stayed outside until 9pm soaking up all we could.

Hanson Brothers Marathon Training :: Monday Marathoning 3.25.13

That's a wrap for week 8! It's been an off/on week due to this annoying sciatic nerve pain that had completely disappeared after emerging for my first marathon back in October. I think my 14-miler that I ran last weekend might have something to do with, as my new shoes are still feeling comfortable. I can't figure out what triggers it to act up since some runs have been fine and others it's shooting pain for a few minutes at a time.

I've tried out some new stretches, so hopefully those will start to show some improvement. I haven't let it get me down too much - the good thing about it is that I know I can run through it and it won't make things worse, unlike an injury or muscle pain.

Here's what went down:

Monday: 5.86 miles, 8:42 pace
Tuesday: Speed work on the treadmill! .5 mile w/u, 2x1600's, 2x800's, 6:30 pace, .5 mile c/d
Thursday: 6.10 miles at marathon pace; 7:57
Friday: 5 miles, 8:25 pace.
Saturday: 10 miles, 8:19 pace.
Sunday: 6 miles, pace unknown - didn't wear my watch

 Here's what to expect this week:

Hanson Brothers Marathon Training :: Monday marathoning :: 3.18.13

That's a wrap for week 7! I feel pretty good today, despite running my first 14-miler in a few months on Saturday. Contrary to the picture below when it hailed on me, we've had gorgeous weather the past few days, which is nice and spirit-lifting.

Here's what went down:

Monday: 6 miles, 8:38 pace.
Tuesday: Speed work on the treadmill! 1 mile w/u, six 800's with one lap jog between each, 1 mile c/d.
Thursday: 7 miles at marathon pace; I averaged 7:56/mile.
Friday: 5.25 miles, 8:34 pace.
Saturday: 14 miles, 8:14 pace.
Sunday: 6.16 miles, 8:39 pace.

 Here's what to expect this week:

I've realized that tiredness has been weighing me down this past week, which I think means I need to drink more water. This may or may not be due to the fact that I don't drink water. (Intelligent, thought-provoking conclusion, no?) It's flavorless, it makes me burp (anyone else with me on that?) and unless I'm really craving it or trying to balance out my wine consumption, I would really rather care about not drinking it.  

Too bad there's this nasty rumor going around that apparently I need to drink water to remain healthy.

Too bad that's not even a rumor and it's totally true.

Too bad my bad self is going suck it up and buckle down with the H20 this week. 

Wish me luck! How do you get your water in throughout the day?

Hanson Brothers Marathon Training :: Monday Marathoning 3.11.13

That's a wrap for week 6.While my legs are constantly tired, with the exception of the day after my rest day, I feel like I'm getting stronger and and my endurance is building. My mentality has also gained some strength, as it is not the least bit easy to go out for a run with legs that feel like lead. Good thing they warm up after the first mile or so - that combined with a little mix of self-talk and thoughts of a snack attack afterwards make runs go by pretty speedy.

Here's what went down:

Monday: 6 miles, 8:39 pace.
Tuesday: Speed work on the treadmill! 1 mile w/u, six 800's with one lap jog between each, 1 mile c/d.
Thursday: 7 miles at marathon pace; I averaged 7:49/mile.
 Friday: 5.83 miles, 8:22 pace.
Saturday: My watch decided it no longer wanted to work halfway through my 10-miler, so according to technology I averaged 16 minutes/mile. How humbling.
Sunday: 8 miles, 8:36 pace.

 Here's what to expect this week:

How do you mentally prepare for long runs and/or motivate yourself on tough runs?

Hanson Brothers Marathon Training :: Monday Marathoning 2.25.13

Week Four, done and done! This past week was super windy and chilly, so I ended up doing two runs on the treadmill at mis parentals house. As slow as those runs feel, is so nice to have that option.

I'm also realizing that it's probably due time for me to buck up the bucks for new shoes. My left toes are starting to slam into the front and I've noticed my muscles being increasingly sore, which I would like to blame on my current shoes. They've been around since I started training for my last marathon, so about 10 months ago. Any suggestions on what I should get? I've been looking at the new Mizuno Wave Rider's or the Brooks Pure Flows. With the price difference it should be an easy decision, but I want to go test them out before I commit.

Monday: 11 miles at 7:47 pace for a total time of 1:27. I beat my previous 10K and 5K times, which felt nice.
Tuesday: Track time! 1.5 miles w/u, six 800's with one lap jog between each, 1.5 mile c/d. \
Thursday: 6 miles at marathon pace; I averaged 8:08/mile.
 Friday: Treadmill time! 6 miles in 50 minutes
Saturday: 8 miles outside, 8:44/mile pace.
Sunday: More treadmill time! 6 miles in 50 minutes

 Here's what to expect this week:

What tips and tricks do you have to make treadmill time fly by?

Hanson Brothers Marathon Training :: Monday Marathoning 2.18.13

I wrapped up my third week of training using the Hanson Brothers plan, and feel surprisingly great. I say surprisingly because I have been running more than I ever have, which means my legs took awhile to adjust to the increased mileage. There were definitely some sore, heavy leg days days, when I ran the lower end of the mileage or took a rest day and switched my training days around.

The flexibility aspect is what I've learned to love about this plan. 4 days out of the week, you have a range of miles to run. While I've ran the peak number of miles most days, as mentioned above there were a couple days where I just knew I shouldn't push it and ran the least amount of miles.

That being said, I also enjoy pushing myself because I know it will make me a stronger runner. Thankfully, I've grown to recognize where the "push" line lies, and when to skip a run altogether due to a variety of physical factors. Getting injured/sick is something nobody's got time for.

Monday: You can see there that I wasn't feeling it. I had started battling a cold/allergy thing, the temperature was cold, it was just a bad bag of cold juju. So I stopped, and honestly didn't regret it.
Tuesday: Track time! 1.5 miles w/u, six 800's with one lap jog between each, 1.5 mile c/d. It felt great. Thursday: General aerobic run; 8:21 average pace.
Friday: General aerobic run at marathon pace; 8:08/mile. From the looks of my watch I was settling in at around 7:30/mile, so I'm unsure how my average pace came out that much higher than I had thought. Whatevs.
Saturday: Unplanned rest day due to living it up in Friendtown. I'll push my planned runs back a day and will most likely skip Wednesday rest day this week.
Sunday: 6.5 unexpectedly speedy miles at 7:44 pace. I had expected it to be a doozy, since my allergies decided to flare up, but I felt strong (albeit sniffly) the entire time.

Here's what to expect this week:

I already have that 11-miler out of the way today, and it was great. I held a 7:47 pace the entire time, and felt like I could have gone longer. I'm hoping this is a sign that my body has adjusted to the higher mileage.

Are you good at listening to your body? There are still days when I want to get out there and just DO IT, despite my aching shins. Resting and not veering off a plan can be tough stuff, especially when you want to stay 100% dedicated.

Monday Marathoning :: 2.11.13

Today, I am beat. It was supposed to be a 0-6 mile dayer, and I ran two. Those two miles makes me realize how much my legs would rather be laying on the couch, as they were quickly turning into jell-o. So that was humbling.

At least I got to come home and make Valentine's, because seeing hearts will definitely help you put on your rose-colored world glasses and make believe all is well.

Here was my last week of training:




I took Friday off to have a much (un)needed Target shopping experience with la hermana, so I doubled up by two 6-milers and ran 12 on Saturday. It was a great run, which is weird because I listened to podcasts the entire time. I'm normally a strictly music girl, but Joy and Tracy kept my entertained all across Bremerton.

Here's what's in store for this week:

What is your magic formula for reviving sore legs/muscles?

Enjoy your Monday evening!