Week 1 in the Books!

I will say August officially began my training for a full marathon! What the what!! I’ve been running in preparation for quite some time with my lovely coach, Laura Norris from thisrunnersreceipes.com, but Saturday was my first distance-based run! My other runs have all been time-based, so I’m going to say August really kicked off marathon training.

I’m going to try to do a recap of each week, to keep you (and me) in the loop with how it’s all going.

Monday, August 1:

The first day of the month & a Monday to boot – AKA no excuses land! I was set to try a new run/walk interval of run 3 minutes/walk 45 seconds (shortening my walking time). I really liked it and didn’t feel like the walk was too short, except one time. I think with a run/walk plan, it’s nice because I just fall into a routine really early into the run; when the going gets tough I just think, “you can do anything for ___ minutes.”

I was really dreading this run, actually. I set an alarm for the morning and I chose not to wake up for it, so that meant I had to go in the evening. Even though I’ve run immediately after work a few times this summer, it’s just too dang hot! I started at 8:30pm, and it was a great run. While I was out there, I couldn’t hear my Garmin watch beeping at me because the cicadas were humming so loudly. I also broke off my normal course (because it was too dark) and ran on the streets for a bit, and I loved the flat and fastness.

Tuesday, August 2:

Dinner out for our friend's going away was delish!
Macaroni Cheeseburger!

The plan is to go to strength train on Tuesdays. Because I work at a university and my husband is in the military, I have umpteen gyms to access at nearly any hour I’d like. That doesn’t always mean classes fall in a good time frame, though. I’ve been doing “BodyPump Express” which is a 45-minute version of the class; it runs during my lunch hour a work. I trucked over to the gym, completed the class, and went back to work.

It was the first time I’ve ever been conscious of the fact that sweat dripped off my body. So you know it was a good work out. But I was so self-conscious of seeing it drop their on the floor in between my feet…

Wednesday, August 3:

I was supposed to run. I didn’t. I have excuses, of course. But the fact of the matter is, I felt really guilty not getting it done when I’d just had a week or two of not perfect runs the weeks before. The real issue is: don’t eat crap that gives you stomach aches – it ruins your running schedule!

Thursday, August 4:

I met the husband at our local running store for their weekly run (the Pack Pint Run – you get a free beer for going!). It starts at 6, and it is seriously brutal at 6:00pm. While I still have run/walk intervals to help, I decided to really make an effort to keep my perceived effort super low. Sometimes when I see all the other people sprinting off, I want to do the same, but it wouldn’t have ended well.

Knowing I went in thinking “easy” thoughts, I was surprised with some of my running interval splits. I know I’m run/walking the whole marathon, that’s great. But it makes me wonder what running a half in the Spring might look like after this training cycle. :) 

Friday, August 5:

#SportsBraSquad Ahhh!!!

It’s the time of the year in the Air Force where nearly everyone is moving (okay, not everyone, but sometimes it feels that way!). We had a going away dinner to get to at 7, but I really wanted to crank out my cross training. I’m supposed to aim for 40 minutes, but 29 had to do so I could get showered and get to dinner. I rode my bike because I slept in (again) and missed lap time at the pool. The sad part is, I realized it was the last day of morning lap swim for the summer, and I’m silly and slept through it. RIP my swimming career. Ha.

Saturday, August 6:

6 miles!! Considering my runs have all been about 2.5-4 miles during the week, I was really excited for a real distance instead of a time. I woke up early to get ready and meet my training group (Runhers). I let Brodie outside and realized there was lightening. NOOOO! I messaged the group leader to find out if we were still on, and the storm had already passed the area of the city we were running in. Whew! (Side note: while I waited for a response, I reset my alarm ready to sleep in and run later… what a trend!).

My 6 miles felt good. We were out by Lake Hefner, so it was a really flat run. Half way through, I took a quick stretching break. 4 miles in I hit out water cooler (it was at 2 miles, so I could get it at 2 and 4), I took a break because our OKC Director and another runner were there. It was so humid from the storm system that I’d seriously soaked through my shirt. Because I love Instagram (especially @kellykkroberts, @carleemcdot, and @sarahhbrenner) and this new #SportBraSquad movement, I took my shirt off for a little while. I was really self-conscious, but realized later after my selfie that I should be more self-conscious about the paleness of my stomach compared to my sweet racerback tan line.

Literally nothing. I was so lazy!

At the end of 6 miles, I felt pretty good! According to my splits, I slowed down some in the middle miles, but at the end when I was recognizing that I only had a little bit left, I picked back up. I’m definitely NOT good at even pacing.

Sunday, August 7:

Rest Day – Success! I did NOTHING and it was great.

Week 1 of “Real” Marathon training in the books. I still question what the heck I was thinking some of the time, but Monday’s and Saturday’s runs really got me in the right mood to conquer this challenge!

On Saturday, I also went to a self-defense class organized by Runhers, and it was great! We learned a lot about the predatory cycle and nature of people looking to do us harm. We also go to beat on some dummies and practice swearing at some friends. I’m an expert level swearer, so that was easy. I’m definitely not out to look for a fight, but I do feel a bit more confident that I could actually handle a challenge. And, at the same time, the creepy guy who literally hit women with his car while they were running got caught! He was the spark for putting the class together, so I feel safer knowing he’s currently behind bars! 

Our self defense class group!

August's Arrival

July was an incredible new record for me in running – I finally broke a 50 mile month! I’m so impressed with this feat. I seriously ran nearly half the days, and I also had cross training and strength training workouts sprinkled throughout. I finished June with 40 miles (13.1 thanks to the Scorcher Half marathon, prior to starting training). The closest I’d ever come before on my own was about 31 miles. So, 50 miles is a pretty big deal!

I was excited and also fearful for August’s arrival. You see, July didn’t really go out the way I was hoping... A few weeks ago, I ran with a trial shoe from Saucony at a Pack Pint Run (a run hosted by our local running store). Although I’ve been fitted for a stability shoe, Saucony had run out of their stability shoes for our testing, so I just took a neutral pair thinking, “it’s only three miles!” Boy, was I wrong. My legs really were aching and my calves were knotting up. For the next few days (which I guess has been weeks now!) I’ve been dealing with calf cramping and shin splint pain. The big concern is that years and years ago after, frankly, 4 years of issues with shin splits, I found out that I’d had a stress fracture in my leg. By the time I found out, it was already healing on its own, so I just let it be.

Fast forward now, the pain I am/was feeling in my leg was in similar areas to where my stress fracture had been. My coach gave me some great advice, and I am working on taking care of myself. No need to train the days away only to walk away in a cast or boot! I’ve been stretching and foam rolling more (I mean, to be honest, doing it at all is “more” – oops!), wearing KT Tape, watching my footing/the slope of the surfaces I’m on, and I just got new insoles for my shoes. So I promise, I am trying.

But another real concern of mine was how exhausted I am and how I (somewhat from my own fault and a bit of circumstance) missed or partially completed my final three workouts of the month. One was because I didn’t leave early enough but also had an upset stomach on my run; my cross training workout was one I didn’t want to wake up for, but thunder and lightning in the morning played a huge part in me totally skipping it – to then have plans with a friend all night for his last night in Oklahoma; and lastly, I started a run, realized it was too hot, and got myself on a treadmill to only run out of time there too due to plans! Ugh.

Most of these were totally avoidable if I had only taken the time to plan my life out a bit more. I hope to do that for the month of August as things will get a bit crazy with school going back into session!

So, yesterday, August 1^st and a Monday to boot! I knew I had to get a workout in because you “never miss a Monday!” I didn’t wake up early and run – EVEN THOUGH I HAD THE TIME! Starting myself off on the wrong foot. Then I got home from work and had to wait around for it to cool down enough to run. I left around 8:15 and had mentally prepared for this to be the worst. run. ever. Turns out – having low expectations was a really good thing! I changed the settings on my watch so I can’t see my pace, I think that was one thing. The other thing was a new course – I was on the trail a bit and when it got too dark, I jumped off and ran on the road, which I rarely do here. Finally, I just enjoyed the settings around me – like how I couldn’t hear my watch beeping because the earth was loud with cicadas and the wind would rustle through my hair… It ended up being a wonderful run. I’m hoping it sets the tone for all of August, because it would be delightful if that were the case.