ashleyd /

Less Than 10 Days

Less than ten days from now I’ll enjoy running my first race in downtown Savannah. The course winds runners through many of the historic sights including Forsyth Park and 12 city squares. Though I am a Savannah native, I haven’t had the opportunity to run through downtown, enjoying the parks, squares, historic sites, and moss-covered trees. Keep in mind that I didn’t start running until the age of 22, just as I was graduating from The University of Georgia and moving to Philadelphia. In fact, I’ve only run one race in Savannah, a Turkey Trot four years ago. 

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It’s a bit of a crazy course with all the twists, turns and out and backs, but this will hopefully work to my benefit. The out and back course means that I’ll get to spend to see my dad, brother and Bo cheering at least two times AND I’ll spend the second half of the race trying to spot my aunt and mom. I am SO proud of their training and can’t wait to celebrate their achievement of walking the half marathon. In fact, I think I’ve convinced my mom to do a guest post reflecting on her training and experience. My mom’s walking and endurance has evolved so much in just ten weeks! She is now averaging 25 miles per week, more than triple what she was walking previously!

At this point, I couldn’t be more excited for next Saturday. Even though training has not been perfect, I’m looking forward to racing. It’s been a while since I went into a half marathon this excited. I have the opportunity to run as a race ambassador in my hometown. The azaleas will be in full bloom, greeting us as we turn through the parks.

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Our healthier lifestyle and my strong training these past two weeks have changed my mood, moving me from apprehensive to over the moon with excitement! Jess told me to spend these final few days focusing on my current week of training versus rehashing the past ten weeks of training. She couldn’t have been more right! Focusing my nerves and energy on my training has helped give me the extra boost to push the paces. Seeing faster than normal paces has helped boost my confidence going into next week’s half marathon.

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My goal between now and then is to maintain my workout momentum, continue eating clean, limit my alcohol intake in Edinburgh this weekend and get plenty of sleep.  The excitement of running in my hometown and having amazing spectators cheering along the race course is all the momentum I need to give this race every ounce – mentally and physically!

Your turn: How do you handle race courses with lots of twists and turns? How do you psyche yourself up for a successful race?

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Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon Training – Week 6

Never in my life have I been sick as often as I have since we moved to Geneva. Three episodes of food poisoning, two colds, iron deficiency and toxoplasmosis diagnosis later I’m ready to be healthy! After dealing with three days of sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny nose cold last week, I was thankful to land in Venice feeling much better. 

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By 4am Saturday morning it was clear that my body had other plans and I’ve spent the subsequent days fighting either a stomach bug or food poisoning.  Luckily almost 72 hours later, I’m finally feeling better! Just to be sure that my body is doing okay, I’m going back to the doctor this week to have my blood work taken so they can check my iron levels.

So, based on this verbose introduction, you can imagine that my training last week was less than stellar. Jess said more than once over the past week that training healthy is more important than anything else. This means knowing when to rest and knowing when to push.

Last week, was a week when my sick body called for lots of healthy eating, sleep, water and rest. The below training plan is proof that I’ve finally learned how to listen to my body!

Monday: I started the week feeling great. I pushed myself during the 60 minute yoga class, striving to get deeper into the poses than I have during previous classes. The hardest pose or move for me continues to be my splits. It’s humorous how inflexible I am when it comes to this move versus all other yoga moves I’ve attempted thus far. WHY?!

Tuesday: My schedule required me to hop on the treadmill for this week’s speed workout (1.5 mile warm-up, 4 x 800 meters speed, 400 recovery, 1 mile cool down). I entertained myself with an episode of Scandal and pushed through the four repeats at 8:20, 8:20, 8:13 and 8:20. Definitely not the fastest speed workout I’ve done but far better than I expected due to my cold.

Wednesday: I barely left my bed on Wednesday, working while curled up in a blanket and sipping tea.

Thursday: I woke up after ten hours sleep ready to conquer the world! I texted Mary, hoping she’d still join me for 4.5 easy miles. My body felt a bit “rusty” due to the cold but it still felt good to get out and move.

Friday: I texted back and forth with Jess Thursday night as I realized that I didn’t have the energy for Friday’s long run. I was feeling better but still not 100% and I feared that doing too much too soon would be pushing it. She agreed and suggested taking another rest day then using Venice as an opportunity to do my long run with Bo.

Saturday: After spending half the night in the bathroom, I hoped that whatever was in my system was out and that a banana before our run and few sips of Powerade would leave me feeling great. I’m crazy. Luckily my husband realizes this and after 3 miles we switched our “long run” into a long walk with multiple bathroom stops. In between two naps back at the hotel we logged around 5 miles of walking for the day in addition to a few bathroom sprints. While Bo tried to convince me to just rest at the hotel, I refused to miss out on seeing and experiencing Venice. I’m just thankful that I wasn’t completely bed ridden and could walk and sightsee, though far slower than normal.

Sunday: Since I only ate two bananas and some crackers on Saturday I woke up Sunday morning ravenous. I could tell that my stomach was still queasy so I started things off with some scrambled eggs, peppermint tea and half a croissant. We walked slowly during the day, taking in as many sights as possible, with frequent pauses to sit and rest.

This week, I can’t wait to dive into some fun workouts with friends including morning yoga, running, skiing and spin.

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Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon Training–Week 7

This week’s training recap is coming to you from the comfort of my bed. Unfortunately a few weeks of travel, too much fun, training and lots of sick colleagues have resulted in a cold. I’m on day 2 of the cold, aka the day when all I want to do is stab my sinuses.

So, while I sip hot herbal tea I’ll leave you with last week’s training. It was my strongest week to date and included lots of running versus the usual skiing.

Monday: Another week of glorious Monday night yoga. This 60 minute class flies by and before I know it we’re ending class in my favorite pose,  shavasana. Am I the only one who feels the need to buy this tank? Seriously though, each week this class has a different focus and last week’s hip opener focus was a very welcome treat for my body.

Tuesday:  I listened to a new Podcast, Stuff You Should Know, while enjoying an easy 40 minute run. The workout ended in 5 sets of strides and some lovely foam rolling. This was the perfect way to kick off the week’s runs as I felt strong and the easy run actually felt easy. I know that sounds weird but sometimes I find that I push myself too much during the “easy” runs so by the time the speed work or long run comes my body is tired.

Wednesday: Bo and I went to spin together after work and were surprised by the substitute teachers intensity. This 65 minute spin class left my legs shaking and me barely able to talk during most songs. The climbs were constant and the guys in the class thought it’d be fun to see how much they could push it, which of course led to me joining in the fun. I hit 172 RPM during the spring and the Rammstein music, while not my taste, definitely helped me zone out. If you’ve never heard of Rammstein just envision German death metal, oh and that song from 1997 Du Hast.

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Thursday: As much as I love running, not every run can be wonderful. Sometimes it’s a case of tired legs which feel more like lead weights than appendages. But this run was a mix of lead legs and a mind that just never got into the run. My mantra was to just run and finish the miles – nothing more, nothing less. Even though I enjoyed half the run with Mary I still finished the run feeling blah. I finished the 8 miles but never felt great and certainly didn’t hit the requested final 3 miles at a pace of 8:55-9:10. Instead the overall pace was closer to 9:50.

Friday: My legs and body were calling for a rest day so I listened and slept in as late as possible, snoozing my alarm more times than I’m willing to admit.

Saturday: It was hard to stay inside doing the prescribed strength workout when Bo wanted a running buddy. Therefore, per normal, I caved and pushed the strength aside in favor of a 5 mile run through Strasbourg. Sorry coach, sorry muscles – I wouldn’t have it any other way! We are both so enjoying the fact that he is back in running shape after his ACL injury left him unable to run since last April. We didn’t have a Garmin on us but based on the length of our run we kept around a 9:15 pace!

Sunday: At the hotel’s recommendation and a convenient running route card, we enjoyed a 5k run through the Petite France area of Strasbourg, winding us through covered bridges, canals, quiet streets, and old buildings. It was a perfect way to say goodbye to the city and enjoy a few Belle moments as I ran through the storybook town. Don’t worry, I didn’t burst out into song though I was tempted to multiple times. I mean come on, don’t you see the resemblance?  (Feel free to reference this Buzzfeed article for verification that it is set in the Alsace region!)

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YOUR TURN: Okay, now that everyone knows Belle is my favorite Disney character, it’s time to tell me who YOUR favorite Disney character is and WHY?

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