Marine Corp Marathon Training Weeks 5 and 6

I feel much better about my week 5 and 6 training than I did in weeks 3 and 4.  Things seemed to really align for me to manage to get the majority of my mileage done.
Sunday of week 5, I eased into increasing my mileage by splitting my long run into 2 separate runs.  I did 6 miles that morning and then 6.63 that evening for a total of 12.63.
Tuesday was a tempo day.  I did a 1 mile warm up with 2 miles tempo and then a half mile cool down.  This run was done on the treadmill, unfortunately.
Thursday was an easy run of 3.2 miles.
Saturday I did 4 miles of negative splits in the pouring rain.  This was one of the best feeling runs I have had in a long time.  The rain kept me cool and refreshed.  Average pace for this run was 9:23.

Total mileage for week 5 = 23.33 miles
Week 6 started with a 13 mile long run on Sunday.  I started my run at 6 am and got almost 3 miles in before I met up with a couple of friends who were doing 10 miles.  As refreshing as my Saturday run was, this one was the opposite.  I am pretty positive I have never sweated like I did.  The humidity was 100% which is common here this time of year.  When I got done, I squeezed out my hair and there was a puddle left on the ground below me.  I could have easily pee'd my pants and nobody would have known ;-) .
Monday was a rest day and the last day of summer break for my boys.  We decided to pack up and go spend the day at the beach.  We went to Hunting Island which is a state park and the beach is totally undeveloped.  We had a great time and found over 20 sand dollars.  I wanted to climb up into the lighthouse (just so I could count the stair climbing as a workout) but, we ran out of time.  Here is a pic of the lighthouse from the beach (photo credits: huntingisland.com)
We had a great family day to wrap up the summer.  Here are the boy's enjoying the beach....

Tuesday marked the first day of K3 for Colton and K5 for Clayton.  They are going to the same school that I went to.  It looks exactly like it did when I was there.  I know their teachers very well, and know that I will never once have to worry about them while they are there.

After I dropped them off I went for an easy 4 mile run and finished it off with 6 x strides for a total of 4.6 miles.
Wednesday, was another rest day and I also went and worked at my part-time job for a few hours while the boys were in school.
Thursday, after I dropped them off, I headed over to the track for some speed work.  Did a 1 mile warm up and 3 x 1 mile at a 7:45 ish pace and finished with a 1 mile cool down.  This was as fast as I have run in a long time.  Could it be that my body is finally adapting to the heat and humidity that summer brings?!?!?!?
Friday, was a hot 5 miles of negative splits.

Weekly total = 26 miles

Marine Corp Marathon Training Week 3 and 4

I will be straight up honest about week 3 and 4 of Marine Corp Marathon training........they pretty much didn't happen. I had good intentions, but sometimes that little guy sitting on my shoulder wins out.

On Tuesday of week 3 I did a 4 mile slow run and finished up with some strides. Had a total of 4.4 miles. I ran across the lake in my town and saw this guy...

I am pretty sure this is the same guy that I have been watching grow over the past couple of years. 

Thursday of week 3 I did a 3.5 mile run and I don't remember much about it 😁. 

I had really good intentions of running 4 miles Saturday morning but never got around to it. It was my oldest child's birthday so, I found it to be way more important to hang out with him that morning and then I was busy getting things in line for his party.

I can't believe that I now have a 6 year old.  If I was a betting person, I would bet that he will be voted class clown for his Sr. superlatives (his mama was 😳😜).  

Again, I had intentions to sneak in a few miles after the party but, a chance came up for me and all of my sister-in-laws to go out for some girl time and there was no way I was turning that down. 

I love these girls and we had a blast...

Sunday was full of good intentions as well but, after staying out later than I am use to the night before I wanted to sleep a little longer Sunday morning before getting ready for church.  

Week 4 pretty much just didn't happen. My work schedule was crazy. I work 12 hour shifts and only had one day off between Monday and the next Saturday. That one day off was spent doing major cleaning. 

Week 5 has been going much smoother so be on the lookout for the recap coming soon. 

Marathon Training Week 2

Week 2 of Marine Corp Marathon training is in the books.  For now I am going with one of the run keeper plans but adjusting the days to what fits my life.
Monday:  I had about 30 minutes to spend on strength training, so I focused on arms.
Tuesday:  Speed (or at least speed for me) 1 mi warm up then 2 x 1 mile at 8:47 with 2 minute recoveries and then a half mile cool down.
Wednesday: Was just a slow steady 4 miles with my friend Nikki. It was a nice evening and we had a beautiful view of the sunset.

When we run together we have a route that takes us by Healing Springs usually at least once. Here is a picture of the springs.

The water from here is said to have healing powers. I sure has healed me from near heat exhaustion on several occasions this summer.
Thursday:  Strength training.  I did a few video's from the Pop Sugar app.  I have been hearing about the bar workouts and gave one of those a try.  It was a 10 minute workout that had me sweating and my legs shaking at the end.  Next, I did a 10 minute strength video and added in some of my own strength training exercises, and finished with a 5 minute ab workout.  I probably spent a total of 45 minutes strength training
Friday:  Rest
Saturday:  I only had time to get in 2 miles of running on the treadmill before I had to get ready for work.  I took a break at work later in the afternoon and got another 2 miles in.  I was also able to squeeze in the Pop Sugar video's again.  So, I had a total of 4 miles running and 25 minutes strength training.
Sunday:  Long run at slow steady pace for a total of 10 miles.
I saw this gal on last weeks long run and I thought she deserved to be posted.

Weekly Update

This update will be short and sweet because I have done pretty much no workouts!!!  I am pretty sure I have the never ending cough.  I have been through bottles of cough med's and have done nebulizer treatments.  It sucks.  I feel good otherwise but, just not good enough to be able to breath and run much at the same time.  I haven't really pushed it too much because I don't want to over do it and risk not being at 100% for that much longer.  

I did do another 5 K last Saturday and gave it my all.  I felt like I had half of a lung and was about to cough it up.  I ended up finishing in 26:52.  A minute slower than the previous week but, considering the circumstances I am pleased.  I was second in my age division and I think maybe 20th overall.  

Sunday, I packed up to go to the beach for a few days with my little ones.  We had a nice day on the beach Monday and got to spend some quality time with some friends.  We ended up cutting the trip short because there were supposed to be some heavy storms coming through and I decided I would rather be inland.  It was nice while it lasted though.

Wednesday, I did get a short hill workout in for a total of 4 miles with my buddy Nikki.  We did a mile warm up, then 10 hill repeats, followed by 2 miles slow pace.  I coughed most of the time but, was just happy to get some running in.  I did about an hour of strength training Friday and a slooooooow 3 miles Saturday.  Hopefully I am on the mend and can start picking the pace back up in the next few days. 

Blogging My Way to the Marine Corp Marathon 2014

I have really enjoyed writing the post I have done this far on my blog but, I have been pondering on ways to become more consistent with posting. After a little thought, I have decided to blog my training schedule and how my workouts go leading up to the 2014 Marine Corp Marathon.  I am hoping that this will lead me to establish new friendships and hopefully meet up with others that are doing the MCM. 

I have decided that I am going to take the next few months to work on my speed. I have let that area suffer in the past year because I have focused more on distance. 

I used a local 5k this past Saturday as my starting VDOT test. I actually was pleased with my time and pleased with the fact that I finished first female. My official time was 25:38. Not a PR for me but, it was satisfactory.  Seeing my boys waiting on me at the finish line made me suddenly forget that I felt like I was going to vomit and pass out at the same time. 

Here are a few other pics from the race:

My friend Winter was on my heels and finished first in her age group. There is nothing wrong with a little friendly competition right 😁😉

Not only did I get a trophy but, there was a cash prize involved that I was unaware of too 💰💵🏆. 

Sunday, was a long run and my friend Nikki joined me. We did a slow 10 miles on rolling terrain. 

Monday, Nikki joined me again for a 30 minute recovery run with some strides at the end. Let me just say, my legs were spent after this.  

Tuesday, I did about 30 minute of strength training, mainly focusing in the upper body and core. 

I have also met with a Registered Dietician regarding diet.  I have a broad knowledge of health and healthy choices but, am lacking the understanding I eating like an athlete. This subject could be a post of its own so, I will save the details for later. 

Well, again I am really looking forward to getting acquainted with other runners like me and other runners who are doing the 2014 Marine Corp Marathon.