Saturday Morning: 8 mile run, easy pace. The first couple miles I was closer to 9 minute miles, and my legs felt tired. Still not trusting my left leg fully. After a few miles, I warmed up enough and my end average pace was about 8:15. I also saw Mrs Fueling Strong and got my usually super friendly hello!
I went to Lickity Split in the afternoon and got a frozen vanilla custard, mixed with a cookie dough cupcake, and a shot of espresso. YUM. ALL THE ENERGY! I really want another one today...Foursquare says I have been there... 62 times so far. I missed a couple check ins, and it doesn't count the times my wife has gone to pick stuff up. I'm pretty sure I've gotten them through some tough times.
Saturday evening my wife went out to a girls night out with the other mothers in her play group, and the dads all congregated at a house and let the kids run a muck while we stood around hoping we wouldn't have to call the wives. The host had some monster bratwurst from a local butcher which were amaaaaazing. I am so going there for my Wurst Running Club Ever fuel. I also managed to only mention running/marathon training ONCE! like 5 minutes before I left. That is some sort of record isn't it? I like seeing the dynamics of married couples (at least with kids), where one of the two will be much more.. dynamic and loud than the other. In this case, all the dads were pretty chill, but I think I'm the rowdy one in the Stop Running Dad house.
(Kid waking up, HURRY!)
Today I woke up late (5:30am) and started my routine. Bread with peanut butter, 2.5 cups of coffee, and 2 hours of up time before going out for my 16 mile run. As I mentioned last weekend, the Hanson Marathon Plan calls for me to go at 7:43 minute miles. I was determined to do that speed.
Looking at the temperatures for today and the lack of clouds, I felt the Sun/heat would make it easier for me to slow down and do that pace.
I get out ~ 7:45am, and my left calf was tight. My stretches after 10 minutes helped a bit, but I never really felt a groove for some time. I was glad I didn't have to go Speedy Gonzalez on my run and the slower pace was a gift today.
My run took me to the Navy Pier area and back to my street. Roughly around mile 7 my left leg finally cooperated and I didn't feel like I was compensating for it anymore. I had some issues "feeling" what a 7:40 minute mile felt like naturally. I had my GPS give me a reading every half mile to make sure I had time to correct my pace. My end average pace - 7:42. How about dem apples?
I took my clif shot gel - Citrus with caffeine - every 30 minutes, and it all went splendidly. The area between Fullerton and Navy Pier always lacks shade at the first half of the day, and the Sun did a fine job of stealing lots of energy.
I had mapped out my route on gmap pedometer before leaving so I would hit 16 miles exactly, and not worry if the GPS lost me or gave me an odd distance. My splits were pretty random, due to a mix of GPS signal and trying to even out my paces after going in a heat lul.
Post run, I feel pretty good. Maybe a shade darker (skin runner). My left leg feels as normal as it does any day. I did all my recommended stretching.
And I saw two of my coworkers also training for marathons, a few morning runners out later as well that I recognized, but I didn't see any running bloggers :( what gives.
Sorry for the lack of photos, but I'll offer you this as the Runger takes over me:
Have a good day all!
I've run the Lakeshore path down to Navy Pier, it's a great spot...glad the run was pretty uneventful and way to hit that pace.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to talk about marathon training since it consumes your life. Even why I try not talk about it people ask me anyway.
ReplyDeleteHaha, its always nice to read about other people having problems talking about running too much. I think people at work believe me to be simple, as I can only really talk about my babies or my running.
ReplyDeleteVanilla custard and a cookie dough cupcake... YUM...
ReplyDeleteGlad your leg seems to be holding up during these tough weeks of marathon training!!! The PT routine seems to have made a huge difference for you!
I think I figured out that my problem at parties is that people start to wonder how I can eat so much food without being 300lbs and then the running thing comes out. Ice cream with espresso!? That is so genius - it's on my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I know the moment the topic starts, there is no stopping it!
ReplyDeleteBeing simple would be an upgrade at work for me!
ReplyDeletethe PT is as much a mental boost as it it physical!
ReplyDeletea Daily to do list! We can do that since we run right?
ReplyDelete