Category Archives: Training Plans

May17

Lessons from Marathons

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Hey Guys! The sun is finally shining here and there isn’t rain in the forecast for days! It’s been so rainy here lately that I’m really looking forward to enjoying the sunshine and some warmer weather.  I plan to get out and hit the pavement tonight, I’m thinking I might do another 5 miler.   Tuesday’s run left me feeling so motivated to run.  I think it was exactly what I needed to get me out of my more laid back approach to working out.   It’s funny how my motivation came back almost one month to the day from the Boston Marathon.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Boston Marathon, it’s hard to believe it was a month ago.   Having ran three marathons it’s funny to me how different each of them were and at the same time how similar they were too.  No matter how you spin it 26.2 miles is HARD and a LONG.  That never seems to change no matter how many marathons I have to my name!

New York City Marathon was my first.  I ran it in 2009 which feels like an eternity ago, crazy how much our lives can change!  I was rather ambitious when it came to a training plan.  I was hoping to get 4o or more miles in each week with my highest week being about 55 miles.  I still had the mentality of a college athlete and felt that I had to train hard to accomplish this goal.  I had just moved to Boston and didn’t have a ton of friends so I spent a lot of my time running.  In late September I started having horrible knee pain.  I went to the doctor a few days later and was diagnosed with ITBS.  I received shots of Synvisc to reduce the swelling and provide pain relief.  I started PT and ran with a knee brace as much as I could.  My longest training run was only 16 miles so I was rather nervous for race day.  I was up at 4am on race day to head to the start which involved taking a cab, a ferry, a bus and some walking.  I was all alone for the race and will never forget standing at the Verrazano Bridge waiting to start.  The first half marathon was easy.  I saw my family at mile 8 and took in the sights.  At Mile 15 my knee started to hurt and I had to stop and stretch.   Around mile 20 I gave myself a talk about how I needed to have more fun, go out for drinks more and give these crazy athletic achievements a break for a while.  I started to come in to Central Park at mile 23 and could barely run, my feet were cramping and everything hurt.  Somehow I managed to keep running.  I saw a woman at mile 25 who grabbed my hand and told me I could do it!  Crossing the finish line was amazing.  I finished in 4:03.51 and felt immense pride in myself.  Celebrating with my family was so fun and being sore for days after seemed like a small price to pay.  I won’t ever forget how challenging it was to finish that marathon but I think part of me expected that.   I knew it would be hard but I knew I’d finish as well.  I really learned about the limits of my body with this marathon.  I knew going forward to be a good runner I’d have to make smarter choices.   More so I learned that a missed training run is a missed training run.  You only wear yourself out when you try to play catch up.

Mile 8

2009 New York City Marathon

They say you have to forget your first marathon before you attempt your next one.  I’d say that’s true.  It took about 2 years before I was ready for another marathon.  Michael’s desire to want to run one also motivated me to tackle it again.  My approach to training for the Chicago Marathon was different, I had learned from my mistakes and was not about to repeat them.  I used the Smart Coach training plan so that if I was sick or injured it would adjust my schedule for missed days.  I knew that if I ran 3 days a week I’d be healthy and I knew that yoga had to fit into the plan.  Speed workouts were also something that I knew were crucial to my success so I was dedicated to doing them this time.  I was also excited to run and train with Michael.  We did our long runs on Sunday mornings and were up by 6am most of those days to get our long runs done before the summer heat became unbearable.  We watched movies on Saturday nights and reminded each other to hydrate.  For me the running went completely according to plan. I never missed a long run and was always on pace, I got in all my speedwork and rarely fought heavy legs.   As marathon day arrived I was confident going in and knew that the race was mine.  In fact Nike’s slogan was Own Chicago.  It seemed fitting for my attitude on race day.  Race day itself was perfect even though it didn’t go exactly according to plan.  Michael and I walked to the start, started together and ran the first 14 miles together.  Once I left Michael I cruised until I hit mile 20 and then counted down the miles.  The reality is, when you run a marathon miles 23-26 hurt.  But I toughed it out and just focused on getting to the finish.  I finished with a 3:51.27.  It was amazing to share the experience with Michael.  The full recap is here.  I think more than anything I learned that a good training plan is the key to success.  I learned that it is more about quality miles and less about the quantity.  Fully committing to the training plan was key and always being flexible to listen to my body and shift runs around a bit helped to make me successful.  Thinking back on it, Chicago seemed easy and fun.

Mike and I at the Finish!

Chicago had given me the marathon bug so I was ready for another one right away.  The Boston Marathon was a little different having ran for charity.  Fundraising and running was very time-consuming and challenging but it was fun at the same time.  My training plan was similar to Chicago since that had worked so well.  I ran my long runs on Saturdays with the team and loved having a running partner and making new friends.  About half way through the marathon bug had worn off and I was getting tired of getting up for long runs, losing half of a day on Saturdays and my legs constantly felt tired.  There was no pushing through it, I ended up taking a week off from running and focusing on cross training and when I came back to running I cut back on my miles.  It was tough for about 3 weeks but then it slowly got better, the miles seemed easier and I felt like I was in good shape.  Team in Training had lots of events along the way that made the high mileage weeks seem more fun.  Towards the end though I was just ready to race.  Michael was ready for it too, he wanted our weekends back and a girlfriend who wasn’t exhausted all the time.   By the time race day came I was excited and nervous about the 90 degree temperatures predicted.  The heat was challenging and I hit a wall at mile 6, again at mile 17 and once more somewhere along Heartbreak Hill.  Boston was unlike any other marathon.  It took more determination, will and grit to finish than I had ever expected.  I thought more than once, this is what hell must be like.  Boston perhaps taught me the most valuable lessons about marathons.  The most obvious was that you can’t predict the weather and you certainly can’t control it.  What you can do  is reset your expectations and adjust your race plans and enjoy the day.   I also learned that marathon training affects everyone around you whether you like it or not.  Luckily I have Michael who understands my passion and supports me no matter what but I know it was hard and that it affected our life as a couple.  Moving forward I realize that a marathon has to fit not only into my life but also into Michael’s and into our lives as a couple.  It’s a commitment, there is no way around that.  Perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that with dedication and grit you can accomplish your goals.  I learned that lesson even before race day, just getting through the training taught me that.  I learned it on race day again, when I was just determined to finish the race.  Knowing I did that is a valuable lesson I’ll take with me every where.

So Proud!

Marathons are never easy and they are never the same.  I’ve learned a lot from each of mine and each one of them was different and unique in their own way.  New York taught me about running and my body, Chicago taught me that a good training plan and confidence can go a long way and Boston taught me that with grit and determination you can accomplish your goals even if it is a marathon in 90 degree heat.

How has the training for each of your marathons or half-marathons differed?  What lessons have you learned?  How do they compare to each other?  What lessons has running taught you about your life?

Apr24

Inside My Mind Post Boston Marathon

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Hey! I have to tell you all that I absolutely loved all of your win from within moments you shared yesterday!  You are all amazing and inspiring…definitely some tough runners! If you haven’t entered yet but would like a chance to win a Rock n’ Roll Marathon Entry from Gatorade leave a comment on yesterday’s post telling me about a win from within moment you’ve had!  I’ll announce the winner on Thursday!

Well it’s been over a week since I ran the Boston Marathon.  It’s hard to believe that only a week ago I was recovering from having run 26.2 miles in 90 degree heat and blazing sunshine.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget that marathon, or those moments where I wondered how I’d finish.  I must admit that on that Tuesday morning I was debating about signing up for the Vermont City Marathon and running that on Memorial Day Weekend.  The thing was though that I had made a promise.  I promised Michael, I promised my Mom and more so I promised myself that I’d give myself a chance to rest.  A chance to have nothing on my to-do list.  A chance to be able to come home from work and do whatever I wanted for a while.  Too many times while training for Boston I had desperately wanted a break.  I had wanted to do nothing.

Hard to Believe This Was Just Over a Week Ago!

Then last Wednesday the reality of life post marathon began to set in.  I felt lost. Part of me wanted another marathon.  Another training schedule to follow and more long runs to look forward to.  Training for a marathon seemed easier than doing all the things I had neglected to do and needed to get done.  I was overwhelmed and  I kept thinking, “I thought when the marathon was over I’d get to do nothing?!”.

Marathons are lot, it’s a lot to train for months and months.  It’s hard to stay motivated and mentally tough and to deal with the inevitable challenges that come your way.  It’s hard to race a marathon, to stay in the game for 26.2 miles.  The hardest part though? Dealing with the physical and emotional exhaustion that comes afterward.  I was feeling both of those in a big way.

Last week there were more days than not where I just wanted to cry.  I’m not really sure why and I don’t think I could accurately describe it.  I just felt sad and like something is missing.  It seems kind of silly because I have so much to look forward to and a lot of good things happening but I just felt off.  I  wanted to get to yoga or head out for a run but my body was just telling me not to.  Actually Friday night I was walking with Michael to the train and we were in a very big rush so it was more of run than a walk and after about a minute I felt like I was back at mile 24 again.  It was not fun.

The reality is that I was struggling with the post-marathon blues.  I was struggling to deal with what comes next  and it just seemed easier to sign up for another marathon and focus on training schedules and long runs.  That seemed familiar.

In life we can get so caught up in our routines and our schedules and to break away from them even for something we desperately need or want can be so challenging.  But sometimes life is about letting go.  That’s exactly what I needed to do.

Over the last week I’ve let go of the training plans and the long runs.  I’ve tucked the list of marathons I plan to run to the back of my mind. I promised myself  a break.  I’m going to take it.  I know there will be marathon #4 and #5, #6, #7, #8 and at that point I’ll probably go #10 too.  I love marathons but now’s not the time.  I’ll dream more times than I can count about my goal to run a sub 3:30 marathon.  But  I know that when 2013 comes I’ll be ready, excited, motivated, focused and dedicated towards accomplishing my running goals.

So what comes next right now? 

Right now my focus is on the final days of studying before my NASM certified personal trainer exam.  The last task in what has been a winter of ambitious goals.  And then comes the opportunity to rest, recover, relax and recharge my mind and body.  It is a chance to read a good book for fun, get coffee or dinner with friends.  I want to find my way back to my yoga mat and build my strength.  I want to go for short runs and give up my knee strap that I can tell my body doesn’t need but my mind uses as a security blanket.  I want to have some fun at summer 5ks and running groups.  I want to enjoy the changes coming in my life.  I want to feel stress free for a bit and do whatever my heart desires.

In August, I want to start yoga teacher training feeling refreshed, and rested.  This is a goal I’ve saved for, dreamed of and wanted since I moved to Boston in 2009.  I want to enjoy every step of the way.

I’m not sure who I write this blog for at times. Sometimes it’s for you and sometimes it’s for me.  Today it’s for me.  I think this is the 5th version of this I’ve written.  My take away for you today is to approach your goals and life with an intention fueled by the desire to want to accomplish your goals.  Don’t just do things because it’s easy and familiar.  Do it because you want to and it is a goal you hope to accomplish.  If I signed up for marathon #4 now, it’d be because it feels familiar and easy to me.  Resting, listening to my mind and body and taking a break is hard but I need it.  It’s something I promised myself and it’s my intention to get it.  I want to accomplish my yoga goals, my running goals and so much more.  This will help me do that!

How do you approach the post marathon blues?  Do you struggle with change, even if it’s changing your focus to another passion? Do ever give yourself a break?  

Apr5

Preparing For Your First 5K!

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Happy Thursday! It’s almost Friday and the weekend is almost upon us!  I have a nice 3 mile tempo run with a warm up and cool down tonight and then some study time is in order.  I can’t believe how close the marathon is and that I’ll be taking my test in a few short weeks! Crazy how time flies!

Speaking of time flying by, spring has arrived and with that comes 5K races.   It seems like in the spring months there are multiple 5Ks every Saturday and Sunday and everyone is signing up for them!  I’ve heard lots of people talking about how they are tackling their very first 5K this spring.  New runners make me so happy and I love to hear people are tackling the 5K and starting to race.  A few of my friends are doing their first race and were wondering what my tips were for race day.  They are a pretty fit and active group just not “runners”.  A plan like the couch to 5K would not be challenging enough for them.  If we had to give them a category I’d say they are intermediate runners.  So here’s my tips to be successful!

Follow a Plan of Sorts. 

I’d say many intermediate runners are people who regularly workout but aren’t the type to run religiously 4 or 5 days a week.  My advice to them is to take a look at some intermediate running plans on sites like Runner’s World and Cool Running.  You don’t have to give up your normal workout routine you love but do add some miles into your week.

  • If your someone who regularly does the elliptical try replacing that time with some time on the treadmill or out on the road.  Aim to run 2 or 3 miles instead of your normal 30 to 40 minutes on the elliptical.
  • For those who like to weight lift, add a mile or two to your cool-down or warm-up.
  • Love Zumba and classes?  Get in two miles before class and then another mile after.  You’ll warm your body up for your class and get some miles in to be ready for your race!

Ideally you should be running about 4 days a week.  One of those days should be a long run.  You might start at 2 miles and build up to 9 miles over the course of a few weeks to help build your endurance.  Also add in a day of speed work to help give you that final kick over the finish line.  Need some ideas for speed work?

  • Try 4 x800m with 400m rest.  Include a mile warm up and a mile cool-down.  Aim to run your race pace for these workouts.
  • Don’t like the track?  Try doing 45 second to 1 minutes bursts throughout a 2 to 3 mile run.   Think 1 minute on, 1 minute off.  It will keep your heart rate elevated and improve your speed.
  • Try a tempo workout!  You would do a mile warm up and then run 2 or 3 miles at a hard but comfortable pace, then do a 1 mile cool down.

Runner's World Intermediate 5K Plan

Preparing for the Race. 

  • The day before your race be sure to eat well and balanced.  It’s not the day to skip lunch and eat fries at the bar after work with your co-workers.  Your best bet is to eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner and include a snack or two.  Make sure you get some carbohydrates and protein into your diet.  The goal is to fill your muscles with glycogen so you’ll have enough fuel to push through your race!
  • Hydrate.  Be sure to drink plenty of water the day before your race!  Since your likely racing on a Saturday or Sunday the night before is not the time to go out with your friends and have one too many to drink.  One beer won’t kill you but don’t push it much more than that.
  • Get a good night’s rest.  Make sure you wake up feeling rested and energetic.  Get to bed early and catch some extra z’s!
  • Layout your race clothes the night before.  Look at the weather and wear something you’ll be comfortable in.  If you lay it out the night before you’ll be sure to have everything you need!
  • Pack a bag with dry clothes and whatever else you may need the night before.  You don’t want to rush in the morning!

Race Day!

  • Give yourself plenty of time to get up, get dressed and be ready for your race!
  • Eat a light breakfast.  A bowl of plain oatmeal with some applesauce is perfect or a couple of pieces of toast with a banana.  You don’t want to over eat but rather just be satisfied.
  • Get there early.  You don’t want to rush to find parking, take an extra layers off or get your bib number.
  • Warm up a little bit.  Do a few laps or sprints in an open area near the start.  You want to get the blood flowing and warm your muscles up.
  • Find a place in the back of the pack.  I recommend this because you don’t want to go out too fast.  Staying in the back of the pack will force you to do this.
  • Start slowly and build your speed over the race.  Your last mile should be the fastest!

Start Slow and Build Speed!

Post Race. 

  • Catch your breath and change into warm dry clothes.
  • Cheer on your fellow runners and have a fun time at the after party! Be sure to celebrate your first race!

As always you can leave any questions or additional tips I may have missed in the comment section!  Good luck to all of the new runners out there who are tackling their very first 5K this spring!  Runners are an amazing group of people!

Enjoy Your Big Finish!

What are your tips to running your first 5k?  What do you do to train for the race?  What are your pre-race rituals?  What makes you successful in a 5k?  What’s your favorite way to celebrate?

Mar29

Tempo Runs Make You Fast!

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Hey Guys! How’s everyone’s Thursday going? Mine’s off to a good start for sure.  Something about Wednesday date nights really rejuvenates me for the rest of the week.  Last night we made Chicken fajitas and relaxed since it was cold and rainy out.  There was not a new Modern Family on which was a little disappointing…I love that show and look forward to it every week!  Another good night’s rest has me feeling very peppy this morning!

Tonight’s workout calls for a tempo run.  I regularly do tempo runs as part of my marathon training and am surprised when I hear how many runners don’t do them!  I’ll be honest, I kind of love of  ’em and hate ‘em.  I dread them all day because they are challenging and take a little more work than my typical runs and you don’t get to look forward to resting like you do during a track workout.  Your settled in and pushing your pace for quite a while.  I love them because I feel awesome after and they make me feel strong and confident about holding a goal pace during 26.2 miles.  And I love feeling fast!

Tempo Runs Make You Fast!

Tempo runs are also called lactate threshold or threshold runs.  They are one of the most important workouts you can do to build speed at long distances.  Essentially you train your body to maintain at faster pace over a long period of time, something the track can’t help you with.  Runner’s World explains how it can help you train your body to use oxygen for metabolism more efficiently,

How? By increasing your lactate threshold (LT), or the point at which the body fatigues at a certain pace. During tempo runs, lactate and hydrogen ions–by-products of metabolism–are released into the muscles, says 2:46 marathoner Carwyn Sharp, Ph.D., an exercise scientist who works with NASA. The ions make the muscles acidic, eventually leading to fatigue. The better trained you become, the higher you push your “threshold,” meaning your muscles become better at using these byproducts. The result is less-acidic muscles (that is, muscles that haven’t reached their new “threshold”), so they keep on contracting, letting you run farther and faster.

A typical tempo distance is usually 2 to 3 miles for a 5k.  Runner’s World recommends 4 to 6 miles for the 10k, 6 to 8 miles for the half-marathon or 8 to 10 for the marathon plus warm up and cool down.  While I am training for a marathon my tempo runs have never been 8 to 10 miles.  My typical tempo run is a 1 mile warm-up followed by 5 to 6 miles at a ~7:45 min/mile pace with a 1 mile cool-down.  I run a sub-4 hour marathon and an average pace for my long runs is about an 8:45 to an 8:50.  I do this workout every other week.  I alternate with track workouts.

Recent Tempo Run

Not feeling like you could tackle the tempo?  Get creative with the workout.  You could start with a 1 mile warm up then do 2 miles at tempo, a 1 mile rest, then 2 miles at tempo, and another 1 mile rest and cool down.  Or build up gradually by doing a warm up and then 5x 3 minutes at tempo with 60 second rest.  The following week you might try 4x 4 minutes at tempo with 60 second rest.  Once your comfortable with that try 2 to 3 miles at tempo or 15 to 20 minutes.

I like to describe my tempo speed as running as fast as I can without “blowing up”.  I’m running fast, it hurts, I’m out of breath and I can’t say much more than yes or no and sure as heck can’t have a conversation.  After the first half mile my body will settle in and I can sustain this hard but comfortable pace.  If you are in pain, you are going to fast.  If it doesn’t hurt a little bit or you can have a conversation you are not running at tempo.  Runner’s World also suggestions the following for determining pace,

Recent Race: Add 30 to 40 seconds to your current 5-K pace or 15 to 20 seconds to your 10-K pace

Heart Rate: 85 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate

Perceived Exertion: An 8 on a 1-to-10 scale (a comfortable effort would be a 5; racing would be close to a 10)

For more reading on tempo runs check out Runner’s World.  I’ve noticed a big improvement in my running since I started doing tempo runs.  I feel stronger and faster for longer distances.  If your spring goal is to PR at a half-marathon, 10k or 5k be sure to add tempo runs to your training plan.  You’ll feel as fast as an elite runner before you know it!

Fast As These Girls?! Tempos make it possible!

Tempo runs, love ‘em or hate ‘em?  Are they part of your training plan?  Do you do them weekly, bi-weekly, once a month?  Have you noticed an increase in your speed as a result? Are you not doing tempo’s and need to add them to your plan?

Mar26

The First 20 of the Boston Marathon and a Workout Recap!

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Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend!! I ran a successful 20 miles and am officially on taper and couldn’t be more excited!!  The remainder of my weekend was very relaxing.  A nap, and takeout filled the remainder of Saturday which is exactly what I needed after 20 miles.  Yesterday we slept in, did a little shopping and I spent the afternoon blogging and studying.  Perfect.  We end the weekend with the two-hour premier of Mad Men! I’m so glad that show is back on, I absolutely love it!

Let’s start with the 20 miler on Saturday.  Team in Training bused us all out to the start much like we will be on race day.  It was good to experience this because the ride took much longer than I anticipated and I was getting very antsy to run.  I really had to calm myself down and remind myself to stay relaxed until the time of the run actually came.  It was also good practice to stand in line for the porta-potties as I’m sure that will be the case on race day. I was glad to see the start area and the starting line before race day.  

TNT Friends!

I started just over the start line.  I refused to cross over the start line Saturday…that must wait until marathon day!  There is a pretty big downhill right in the beginning so you definitely need to hold yourself back, worth noting for sure.  The first 10 miles went by pretty quickly as this was all uncharted territory for me.  It was pretty rolling and there was not a ton of scenery.  We had water stops every 2 miles so I just focused on staying relaxed and keeping pace during the run.  We were able to see our friends and family along the way which made it really exciting!  After mile 10 the road became more familiar and we had a much better idea of where on the course we were and where the hills were.  Around mile 11 we saw Michael at the fuel stop and I was able to say a quick hello and grab a kiss which certainly gave me a little more pep in my step!  Miles 13 to 15 are very flat and are a great place to recover.  At mile 15 we passed our weekly meeting place for TNT and tons of volunteers and family members were there to cheer us on!  After that we knew it was 2.5 miles to the fire station and the turn to Commonwealth Avenue.  Mile 15 to 16 is downhill and quite honestly if felt like an awesome massage for my legs!  After that we started to hit the hills.  I was pretty surprised at how good I felt and I never once thought the hills were going to beat me! In fact we went negative splits on every mile from 15 on!  Our last mile was a solid 8:17 min/mile! It was a great way to end the 20 mile run!  We averaged an 8:45 min/mile pace and it felt effortless and easy…I like it! There was tons of snacks, Gatorade and friends to cheer us all on when we got there! After the run we headed back to the meeting place where they had 5 massage therapists there waiting for us and lots of good food! The massage felt amazing and was exactly what my tight hips and low back needed!!  Michael and I headed to Marathon Sports and got my marathon jacket and some other marathon gear in celebration of the run and starting my taper! We headed to Panera for a delicious post run lunch before heading home, showering, napping and spending the rest of the night relaxing.

Now on to last week’s workouts which were good but not great.  I’ve had a lot of trouble with my legs being really sore and tired the last two weeks.  I spend most of the week fighting tired heavy legs and finally manage to feel better for my long runs.  Both Tuesday and Wednesday I worked on slowing my pace to allow my body to really recover.  I switched up Thursday’s workout from a tempo run to a speed workout on the track and think my legs were happy for the change in pace.  They definitely felt better and fresher after.  Here’s a look at last week’s workouts!

Workouts Week of 3/20/12

As for the sore and tired legs I’ve been foam rolling twice a day and using The Stick which is helping.  I am not sure if yoga is helping or hurting me.  I’ve ended up cutting back on about one yoga class per week.  That certainly seems to be helping as I’m getting a little more rest that way.  I scheduled a massage for April 3rd and I’m very much looking forward to it! (Tip:  I buy my massages on Groupon and save a ton of money that way!)

All the talk of tired and sore legs leads us to the next topic of today…tapering! With 3 weeks to go until race day it’s time to start running less and allow my legs to fully recover for marathon day.  The focus also needs to be on getting enough rest and sleep and consistently eating well-rounded meals.  I’ll start carb-loading 7 days before and will gradually build up the amount of carbohydrates consumed over the course of the week. I plan to follow the same approach for that as I did Chicago.  Here is the remainder of my training plan…

Boston Marathon Taper

I really can’t believe taper time is here! It feels unreal that the marathon is 3 weeks away!  Time flies when you’re having fun…

Did you run the Boston Marathon course on Saturday?  Did you do a long run? How did it go? Any tips or advice for fighting heavy and tired legs?  How does your taper plan differ from mine?  How was your weekend?