And just like that, week 1 of marathon training is in the books! I had a good week and ran almost 23 miles total, which is the highest I’ve done in months. So far, no shin pain at all (knock on wood), which is great. I have been massaging them daily, and although they are sore after hard runs, I am not feeling pain while walking or going up and down stairs…yet…*crossing fingers*
Okay let’s jump into it:
Monday: 3 mile treadmill run + strength. I haven’t done strength in forever and I was already sore before I even left the gym. All from using a 15 lb. kettlebell. So crazy how your body loses strength so fast. I used to be able to squat close to 100 lbs. and now get sore after using 15 lbs.
Tuesday: 4 mile treadmill run + arms. I was with my sister and she wanted to lift so we did a little arms circuit and some abs.
Wednesday: NJ Summer XC Series 5K. You can read more about this race in my other recaps. This was the third time I ran it and it was pretty bad. I did a 1.5 mile warm up, ran the 5K, then a .25 mile cooldown because I just couldn’t move my legs anymore. They felt like lead throughout and I had to stop and walk a few times. To put it in perspective, race 1 was in 30:50, race 2 was in 30:13, this one was in 33:20.
Yikes. I also know that part of it was just that my body was tired. I ran a 4 mile race on Sunday, and then Monday and Tuesday (see above) were workouts and/or lifting sessions.
Thursday: OFF
Friday: easy 3 miles. Just a shakeout run before the 10K on Satuday
Saturday: Oakley Mini 10K. Half mile warmup, 10K, 1 mile cooldown. 7.7 total miles
TOTAL MILES: ~23 miles
Oakley Mini 10K Recap
The Oakley Mini 10K is a great, all-women’s race. This is my second year running it with my mom, and I just love the atmosphere and everyone who comes out to cheer. It was a hot and humid day, and all week I was honestly dreading this race.
A few days before I even relegated myself to thinking I’d just walk most of it. I know, such negative thinking. But humidity kills my runs. I have exercised induced asthma so it just makes it harder to breathe. Luckily, I got my inhaler prescription refilled (it’s been a few months since I’ve used one), and it helped A LOT!
I started off super easy, around 10:45-10:50 pace and just thought, once I get over the 2 huge hills in the first 5K, I’ll pick it up. Both of those hills in the beginning are 400 meters long! My hill training has paid off because once I crested the hill I was able to speed up on the flat portion/downhill.
After the hills, I started taking water breaks at each station (so from miles 3-5). I would speed up when I saw the sign for water up ahead, quickly drink it while walking, then pick it up back before settling into a pace again. At mile 6, my mom said we should do 1 minute pickups with 1 minute jog for recovery. Usually this helps us run a bit of a faster pace, so we did it.
Once I got to mile 5, I knew I was on pace for a PR and knew I had to keep it up. I was pretty excited as I got to mile 6 and knew I would PR. I felt surprisingly good despite the heat and humidity. Even my sister was like, “wow you actually didn’t look like you were going to die this time around.” I think this photo of my mom and me at the finish captures it
I’ve ran 1:03 in a long run before for 10K but I don’t count that. 1:07 is my new 10K race PR! I know it’s nothing crazy and ultimately I’d love to be closer to 1 hour if not less, but after the last 2 races in Central Park where I felt totally defeated, this was a great race.
I’m really excited to continue training for the Chicago Marathon with Coach Marc, and I’ve been feeling great the past few weeks. It’s a lot different when you come into marathon training with base miles behind you (duh). The past few times I’ve started marathon or half marathon training, I’ve come into with zero base miles.
Next up is the Achilles 5 Miler, once again in Central Park…need to do those 9 NYRR Races to qualify for the 2016 NYC Marathon!
Who else is running Chicago Marathon? Or a big fall race?
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