Weekly Roundup 2.19-2.25

Week 9 of 16

“I’m on the right track baby, I was born to be brave.”

Week 9 started off with a quick run outside after work before hitting the gym for a new series of workouts from Greg.  Monday’s exercises were mostly familiar with the addition of body saw planks on the slide board—ouch!

The next three days were not good for my running.  I skipped Run Club on Tuesday and went shopping at Marshall’s instead.  L.A.Z.Y.  My friend Steve sent me a Snapchat and I totally wanted to count those *5 miles* towards my weekly mileage!

I didn’t run again on Wednesday.  The new Wednesday workout was hard.  Probably the hardest yet so I took my time learning the exercises thanks to the help of Greg and Craig.  I snatched with the barbell and tried back squats for the first time.  They were so fun!

The laziness continued on Thursday morning and I stayed in bed too long to get in a run before work.  As a result I hit the treadmill for 4 miles at 7:30pm after a long day and two night classes.  I was beat and was going to stop at 3 but Erin helped push me to 4 miles.

I decided to have a #TreatYoSelf morning on Friday and started the day off by getting my nails done.  I stopped home to pick up Georgie and we headed to Cotuit for our beach to beach run.  I love running that route with her!  She did great!

Later that night I went back to the gym to workout with the ladies (+Craig) and NormaTec.

My mom went with me to Hyannis on Saturday morning to pick up my number for the Hyannis Half Marathon.  I signed up to race earlier in the week even though the forecast was calling for RAIN!  It was so hard to believe because on Saturday morning it was 52 degrees with not a cloud in the sky.  I ran a short shakeout run in the sun as soon as I got home.

I ended the week running a half marathon PR!  Confidence is building with 7 weeks to go until the Boston Marathon!  You can read my full race report here: http://www.jenrunsfastblog.com/2018/02/race-report-hyannis-half-marathon.html

Upcoming events:

·      7 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 2.19.18

3 miles (22:27)

Greg’s Workout #10

Burdenko H2O

12,607 steps

Tuesday 2.20.18

Taught spin class

8,980 steps

Wednesday 2.21.18

Greg’s Workout #11

7,941 steps

Thursday 2.22.18

4 treadmill miles (30:34)

Taught spin class

Power Water

18,560 steps

Friday 2.23.18

2.5 miles with G (22:18)

Greg’s Workout #12

12,398 steps

Saturday 2.24.18

3.35 miles (24:37)

20’ walk with the fam

12,714 steps

Sunday 2.25.18

Hyannis Half Marathon 13.1 miles (1:32:31)

Race Report: Hyannis Half Marathon

24,772 steps

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16

Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16

Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16

Week 4 of 16             Week 8 of 16

This week’s mileage: 26 miles

This week’s G mileage: 2.5 miles

February Totals: 110 miles

2018 Totals: 222 miles

Weekly Roundup 2.12-2.18

Week 8 of 16

“I’m on the right track baby, I was born to be brave.”

I’m halfway to Boston!  8 weeks down, 8 weeks to go!

Monday started off cool and rainy.  When I was home for lunch I thought for sure I would be running on the treadmill after work so I didn’t even pack outdoor attire.  Little did I know that 4pm turned out to be the nicest hour of the day!  I beasted through my strength workout in good time—Erin and Craig both worked late—so I rushed home to add a few layers and literally ran out the door.  I’m so happy I did because I caught the most gorgeous sunset over the pond.  I totally needed that.  The last two Mondays haven’t really been my best days.

Tuesday was good.  We celebrated Valentine’s Day in spin class and rocked out to some love songs.  (The breakup playlist is coming next week…)  That night I ran 4 miles with Steve at Run Club then headed to the Lanes for a drink.  I ordered a flatbread to go thinking I would eat a few slices and save the rest for lunch the next day but I ate the whole thing.  OOPS.  I blame marathon training.

I only worked out on Wednesday so I squeezed in a short run Thursday morning before work.  I was tired.  It was humid.  Not my best run but I redeemed myself on Friday with a decent 6 miler.  I spent all Friday afternoon at my doctor’s office reviewing a recent bone density scan (not good) and talking about my jaw pain (might be TMJ?) then I went right to the gym.

Let’s talk a little bit about Friday’s gym session.  The last four Fridays I have been using “Box 1” for my box jumps (#jencantjump) and ever week Greg has been telling me to try Box 2.  Box jumps terrify me.  There was no way.  Then a 65 year old member came over and shamed me by jumping up on Box 1.  If he could jump Box 1, he said I better be able to jump Box 2.  Greg told me the bench was not as high as Box 2 and I was already a few inches off the ground standing by the squat rack so I went for it.  Then I stepped off the platform and jumped the bench from the ground.  I was so proud.  A few minutes later Erin came in and I was so excited to tell her until she was like whatever, but “you know the bench is the same height as Box 2, right?”  GREG TRICKED ME.  He knew that the whole time!  Anyways, I went through the rest of my workout and spent some time with Norma.

I finished up my biggest week of Boston training to date with my second 16-miler.  This time I wanted to go at it on my own.  I drove to my mom and dad’s house in Falmouth and ran an out and back to the beach.  My parents hung out with Georgie and met me at about 8 miles and then again around 12 miles.  I was having a really good run.  Legs felt awesome.  The sun was shining.  It was a little breezy but I couldn’t complain.  I started to struggle during miles 14, 15 and 16 again but similar to my last 16 miler, the wind was in my face and I was on hilly Acapesket Road.  No excuses.  I have been running my long runs a lot faster than ever before and I think need to work on starting out a little slower when I get to my 18 and 20 mile attempts.

Other highlights:

·      While I was long running on Saturday, my parents brought Georgie to the market and had two warm, fresh cider donuts waiting for me at the finish.  AMAZING.

·      Saturday afternoon Katrina and I adventured to Orleans.  I was craving a burrito so we tried a new Mexican restaurant for lunch then stopped at Nauset Beach.  We have been playing tourists on the Cape visiting places we have never been—and Nauset Beach is a cool spot with lots of dunes, big waves and many shark sightings in the summertime.

Upcoming events:

·      8 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 2.12.18

4 miles (30:40)

Greg’s Workout #8

Burdenko H2O

14,269 steps

Tuesday 2.13.18

Marathon Sports Run Club! 4 miles with Steve (31:57)

Taught spin class

15,726 steps

Wednesday 2.14.18

Greg’s Workout #7

7,260 steps

Thursday 2.15.18

4 miles (32:02)

Taught spin class

Power Water

18,306 steps

Friday 2.16.18

6 miles (45:20)

Greg’s Workout #9

14,021 steps

Saturday 2.17.18

16 miles (1:59:07)

28,309 steps

Sunday 2.18.18

Taught spin class

11,094 steps

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16

Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16

Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16

Week 4 of 16

This week’s mileage: 34 miles

This week’s G mileage: 0 miles

February Totals: 84 miles

2018 Totals: 196 miles

Weekly Roundup 2.5-2.11

Week 7 of 16

“I’m on the right track baby, I was born to be brave.”

Week 7 was a little bit of a struggle for me.  I have been experiencing pain in my jaw and it has been keeping me up at night, which definitely effects me both physically and mentally.  It certainly wasn’t my best training week but I got the job done.

I had a little setback on Monday morning but a lunch break chat with my girl Katrina helped put my head back on straight.  I was dragging my feet that afternoon, not in the mood to run then was pushed out the door by Joe who basically told me to suck it up and go outside.  It was cool and windy but getting out was exactly what I needed.  #runningisfreetherapy

I made it to Run Club on Tuesday then got in a good lift session on Wednesday afternoon with my crew Erin and Craig.  They both showed up at the gym on Friday afternoon too—teamwork!

G ran with me on both Thursday and Friday morning and I followed that up with another 5.5 miles on my own.  It was nice that I was able to run outside all week!  No treadmill!  Yeah!

Saturday was long run day with *only* 12 miles on the schedule.  I had plans to meet Lizzie for lunch in Plymouth so I got out a little earlier than normal—and by that I mean 10am.  Ha.  My dad called last minute to see if I wanted company so that was nice.  He came to my house and we ran/biked Cotuit.  Those roads were all new to him so it was fun to show him all my favorite roads and rest stops.

My run itself was tough.  I was tired and my legs felt heavy.  Every step felt like work… but lunch later that day was great!

Other highlights:

·      I got my Boston Marathon Celebration Jacket!  I tried it on to make sure it fit then I tucked it away in my closet until April 16th… eeeeeeek!

Upcoming events:

·      9 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 2.5.18

4 miles (28:50)

Greg’s Workout #8

Burdenko H2O

13,746 steps

Tuesday 2.6.18

Marathon Sports Run Club! 3.6 miles with Steve (29:14)

Taught spin class

16,295 steps

Wednesday 2.7.18

Greg’s Workout #7

7,162 steps

Thursday 2.8.18

1.99 miles with G (17:29)

Taught spin class

Power Water

16,816 steps

Friday 2.9.18

0.85 miles with G (8:43)

5.5 miles (40:21)

Greg’s Workout #9

15,984 steps

Saturday 2.10.18

12 miles (1:36:16)

23,458 steps

Sunday 2.11.18

Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

12,587 steps

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16

Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16

Week 3 of 16

Week 4 of 16

This week’s mileage: 28 miles

This week’s G mileage: 3 miles

February Totals: 50 miles

2018 Totals: 162 miles

Weekly Roundup 1.29-2.4

Week 6 of 16

“I’m on the right track baby, I was born to be brave.”

It’s hard to believe how fast marathon training is flying by.  I completed my highest mileage week since Miami Marathon training, got in a great week of sleep with 5 nights of at least 8 hours, my hunger is raging and I crushed my first 16 miler.

The weather wasn’t great at the beginning of the week so I hopped on the treadmill on both Monday and Tuesday.  My legs were pretty tired after a ton of hamstring exercises so I only made it 3 miles but I added in some 4x800s for speedwork on Tuesday and killed it.

I skipped my run on Wednesday and took Thursday off then headed out Friday morning with Georgie.  Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods album was released that day so I was feeling extra inspired to run trails.  Plus it snowed overnight and I knew it would be a fun (and beautiful) adventure.  Georgie did awesome.  She was so excited, flying most of the way.  I dropped her off at home after 3 miles—even through she acted like she could go forever out there—and finished the run day off with 3 more on my own.

Strength training this week was also good.  On Monday and Wednesday both Erin and Craig showed up and got it done with me.  I went earlier than normal on Friday—they both went at my normal time—but I knew if I waited until after dinner, I would never make it back out.  #LAZY

Saturday was long run day.  I kept checking the hour-by-hour forecast all morning as if it was going to drastically change.  I finally sucked it up and headed to Falmouth around 11am when it was *feels like* 10 degrees. 

I started out on my own and got in about 5 miles before my dad showed up on his bike and accompanied me for the remaining 11 miles.  He road next to me during just about all of my long runs leading up to Houston and for the majority of my long runs for Miami but this was our first together during Boston training.  It was fun.  It was also cold.  So cold my gummies were frozen.  Physically I was doing ok until about mile 13 when normal long run fatigue started to hit.  We turned the corner onto the main road back to the house with 2 miles to go and we were blasted with a strong headwind.  It was also very hilly and by the time I got home I had nothing left in the tank.  I went home to the couch and was in bed at 8:30pm.

  

Other highlights:

·      The Eagles defeated the Patriots in the Super Bowl!  Finally!  I made a special playlist for my Sunday spin class with some Philly themed songs from the Rocky soundtrack, Will Smith along with Philadephia Freedom, Motownphilly and I Just Wanna Fly.

Upcoming events:

·      10 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 1.29.18

3 treadmill miles (23:07)

Greg’s Workout #7

Burdenko H2O

12,498 steps

Tuesday 1.30.18

5 treadmill miles (37:48) with 4x800s

Taught spin class

16,763 steps

Wednesday 1.31.18

Greg’s Workout #8

8,549 steps

Thursday 2.1.18

Taught spin class. The playlist: Party Like It’s 1999 Spin Playlist

Power Water

15,589 steps

Friday 2.2.18

3.15 miles with G (32:40)

3 miles (23:39)

Greg’s Workout #9

16,148 steps

Saturday 2.3.18

16 miles (2:00:45)

28,313 steps

Sunday 2.4.18

Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

12,774 steps

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16

Week 2 of 16

Week 3 of 16

Week 4 of 16

This week’s mileage: 30 miles

This week’s G mileage: 3 miles

January Totals: 112 miles

February Totals: 22 miles

2018 Totals: 134 miles