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ING Hartford Marathon Training: 10 Weeks Out

Can every week of training please be as perfect as last week? Not only did it put me in the best mood ever but it also did a great amount to boost my marathon spirits. It’s hard to believe what two strong weeks of training can do to inspire a runner’s heart!

Hartford Marathon Training 10 Weeks Out

Let’s do a recap of last week’s training, shall we?

Monday: I really enjoy kicking the week off with an easy run. This week’s 40 minutes easy followed by a few striders gives Emily and me a chance to catch up from the weekend and chat about the week. It is also a great way to wake the body up and kick off the week.

Tuesday: The cool weather helped this progression run evolve into one that included 9:20 for 15 minutes and an 8:35 minute mile which is super fast for me! The gorgeous morning sunrise over France paired perfectly with the energizing speed!

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Wednesday: The plan called for 40 minutes with hills which turned into 4.3 miles on a rolling hill path and 2 quarter mile  hill repeats at the end!

Thursday: In preparation for my long run on Friday I took Thursday as a rest day from any running. I did however do the new 5 minute strength workout that I’ve been doing daily for the past week. I will be sharing it on the blog tomorrow AM!

Friday: I enjoyed 14.1 gorgeous miles bright and early with Emily! After only 5 hours of sleep I wasn’t expecting much from the run but luckily it was my strongest run yet and I felt strong and happy even during my 6 solo miles.  You’ll notice that during this training cycle I will do most of my long runs on Friday so they don’t interfere with the time Bo and I spend together on the weekends. I absolutely LOVE doing my long runs on a Friday versus Saturday or Sunday. Ericka wrote a great post a few weeks ago about her conversion to weekday long runs. If you have questions about how or why I do them on weekdays let me know in the comments!

Saturday: So coach Gia had either cross training or yoga on the agenda. I guess you could call a 5 hour hike through the French Alps at more than a mile above sea level cross training. Emily and I laughed multiple times during the hike as just a day earlier we spent more than two miles during our run contemplating our strength training plans here in Geneva. Hiking definitely counted as strength training, especially for my legs and glutes!

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Sunday: I woke up Sunday morning feeling a pain I haven’t felt in years. My entire body was sore and screamed for more sleep. This rest day included 10 hours of sleep, a long walk to the farmer’s market and some quality compression sock time on the couch.

How was your training this week? If you’re like me and love half marathons don’t forget to check out the great discount code Theodora and other Fitfluential bloggers are featuring for the Runners World Half Marathon! I’m in a wedding that weekend or I’d be making a special trip back to the US for sure!  Let’s get real, being in a wedding is ALWAYS > than running a half!

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ING Hartford Marathon Training: 11 Weeks Out

Last week I talked about the negative mind games which often get in the way of training for any big event or race. As soon as I published that post, I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders. Not to mention that in the hours that followed, you all provided me with some great support and suggestions! I’m renaming these posts as I don’t know exactly what week of training this is since Gia and I restarted the schedule. Instead from now on I will use a countdown format. 

In the days that followed, I enjoyed my first strong week of training for the ING Hartford Marathon. A strong week of running and cross training couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s definitely a great motivator as my marathon is 10 weeks away, including any taper time period before the big day. The training didn’t just change over night miraculously. It took some work and effort on my part.

Ensure that I have everything I need for a successful long run ranging from fuel, water, playlist, good route, and a good night’s rest.

  • Get back to cross training in the form of weights and yoga.
  • Talk about training more with my coach Gia.
  • Workout with friends whenever possible!

Here’s how the week shaped up from a workout standpoint.

Monday: The Geneva thunderstorms and hail ensured that I had an extra rest day.

Tuesday: My new running buddy, Emily, and I enjoyed a 45 minute run along the lake together while getting to know each other. The run flew by since we were talking the whole time! I added another 15 minute run on in the evening since it’s faster to run from work to Bains des Paquis versus taking the bus.

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Wednesday: After 12 hours of travel across 3 countries, I expected this to become a rest day. But, when Bo texted me asking if I’d meet him at Reebok for a workout together there was no way I could refuse. It felt like our old routine meeting each other for a workout and I loved the 45 minutes we spent sweating together before dinner and relaxing with Friday Night Lights. My workout included 10 minute warm-up, 6 sprint intervals of 2 minute duration followed by a 1 minute recovery and then a 10 minute cool down. I also spent about 10 minutes doing a quick arm routine with free weights and doing some plank work.

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Thursday: 1 hour Vinyasa yoga class at Reebok Sports Club in Canary Wharf, London. The class was from 7-8am and was the perfect way to wake my body up, welcome the day, stretch out some kinks, and focus on my breath. It wasn’t a very hard class from a pose sense but it felt good to get back into yoga.

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Friday: 14 mile long run from Canary Wharf to Westminster Abbey and back along the Thames River. This run could have been horrible due to the pouring rain which started at the 5 mile mark. Instead of letting it ruin my attitude I thought of it as a fun diversion and focused on the scenery and cool temperatures instead. I spent about 3 of the miles trying to find my way home as I took a wrong turn and ended up more than a mile away from the river, totally confused around Bank Street station. My Garmin went crazy in the rain and I didn’t want to keep pulling my iPhone out in the rain to get directions. By the time my Garmin beeped 14 miles I knew I’d gone at least that distance, if not more, and hailed a taxi. The great thing about this run was that I felt strong the entire time! IMG_0320

Saturday: Plan called for a 40 minute easy run but I was having so much fun on the treadmill that I ended up doing a bit of a speed workout. I did 10 minutes at 6.0 and then did the next 20 minutes at 6.8 before doing a cooldown for 10 minutes at 5.9. It felt great to be able to maintain that pace for 20 minutes and I loved watching the swimmers, including Bo, below me while I ran.  I also spent about 10 minutes doing a quick arm routine with free weights and doing some plank work.

Sunday: Glorious rest day which included more than 9 hours of sleep, homemade poached eggs on English muffins from Borough Market, lots of fresh brewed English Breakfast tea, and time on the sofa planning our trip to Dijon & Burgundy later this month!

Overall it was a great week of training and I can only hope that this week is equally as strong. I’ve already started researching some fun routes for Friday’s long run which will allow me to run half the time with Emily and half solo.

How was your training this week?

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Marathon Training & Negative Mind Games

I’ve drafted three different posts over the past week to talk about my running emotions. Each time I’ve made it about half way through the draft and then closed my computer out of frustration. I found that each post was filled with negative thoughts and energy, something I never want to pass on to my readers. It’s one things to share my emotions, whether they are positive or negative, but it’s another to pass on an unproductive, negative energy.

Instead of publishing or finishing these posts I spent my time talking with people instead. During our run on Saturday I voiced my marathon concerns to Bo. Via email I’ve talked with Theodora, Melissa Z and Gia about the negative mind games and frustrations I’m feeling and experiencing recently. Each person shared a different perspective with me which I feel has left me in a far different position and mindset today than I was just a few days ago.

Let me briefly summarize for you the thoughts I shared with each of these women.

  • Over the past 3 weeks any run beyond four miles has felt like work.
  • Running alone is not fun, regardless how gorgeous the scenery is.
  • My body, primarily back and shoulders, are very sore due to my temporary bed in Geneva. The mattress is the hardest and most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever laid on for an extended period of time.
  • I haven’t run further than 9 miles in more than a month.
  • My marathon is 10 weeks and 4 days from today.

Last week was the worst week of training I’ve experienced mentally in years. Every run felt like work. My back and shoulders were in so much pain that it hurt to run even five miles.

Instead of enjoying the gorgeous sunrise, cool temperatures and beautiful scenery my mind filled with doubt and anxiety during each run. I would spend almost the entire run calculating the number of weeks until my marathon and trying to figure out whether going from 8 miles to 26 was even possible.

I drafted an email to my best friend Amy, who is running the marathon with me as her first, explaining that I needed to drop down to the half marathon. I thought about the post I would write to share the news with readers.

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Then, during our run together on Saturday, Bo provided me with some much needed advice that changed things.

Give my body and mind two weeks of positive thoughts, nutrition, sleep, support, and workouts before making a marathon decision.

I immediately asked Gia to review my training and put together a plan for the week. Bo and I spent time dreaming of great long run routes for this week’s long run in London. I made a new playlist filled with a variety of music. I downloaded some Jillian Michael podcasts based on recommendations from Theodora and Melissa Z. I spent time thinking about what I loved most about running in New York City. Last but not least, I found another Geneva running buddy. As if someone was listening to all my fears, a fellow runner moved to Geneva on Friday and emailed me to see if I’d be interested in running together. She went to high school with Meghann’s husband and this morning we enjoyed a great run together, talking the entire time. Wouldn’t you know that these were the easiest 4.75 miles I’ve run in 3 weeks. Our pace was right on target and I even pushed myself all the way up the final hill towards my flat.

IMG_3654Sometimes, all that is needed is a change of attitude. I’ll check in after my long run this week to let you all know how things are going and whether the change in attitude and getting out of my own head helps.

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