Speedwork is Hard!

So, I am now four days into my marathon training.  Technically, it is "half marathon training" right now until I run a "proper half."  However, since this professional help all started to assist me in getting across the 26.2 mark, I am still referring to all of it as my marathon training.

Day 1 - Monday:  2 miles at a 10:17 pace followed by 2 x 20 sec. strides.  As I discussed in my last post, my pace is going to be slower for a little while to build up my endurance and train my body to burn fat as fuel for long distance running.

Day 2 - Tuesday:  3 miles at a 10:17 followed by a foam roller treatment.  The weather in Alabama has been full of rain and storms for weeks now.  I thought I was going to have a crummy run in bad weather.  But, as luck would have it, there was a pretty good break in the rain when I went out.  In fact, the cool breeze that comes right before a summer storm in the South made for excellent running weather.  It was so hard to keep the slower pace because I was enjoying this run so much.  It was also my first experience with a foam roller (I had to go buy one).  But I'm a fan now!  I think this is going to really help with recovery.

Day 3 -Wednesday:  Cross-training and MRYTL Routine.  I don't really have any cross-training to do right now, but I awkwardly attempted the MYRTL routine.  The exercise routine's funny name comes for the "pelvic girdle" that the workout targets.  This is supposed to help strengthen all of the glutes and other muscles that support your hips and pelvis while running.  It seemed simple enough if not very awkward.  But boy did I feel it the next day!

Day 4 - Thursday:  Speedwork!  This was my first experience with speedwork.  It's hard!  We don't receive our assignments until the day before.  My first one was probably pretty simple, but I don't think I could have handled much else.  My task was a .25 mile easy warm-up;  three 200-meter repeats at a 7:07 pace followed by a .75 mile tempo run at an 8:29 pace; ending with a .25 mile easy cool down.  Whew!  The repeats were tough, and I may not have gone directly into my tempo run (oops).  I was so exhausted and worried that I wasn't going to make my pace on the tempo run that I accidentally ran too hard and ended up at an average pace of 8:09.  I thought my heart was going to explode!  The people on their casual walks and runs downtown almost certainly thought I was crazy.  Again I say, speedwork is hard!

Day 5 - Friday:  Cross-training and MYRTL Routine.  I am leaving for the beach today, so I did my workout this morning.  I could certainly feel the burn during the MYRTL after all that work last night.

Tomorrow is my birthday.  I will turn 29 and start the final year of my twenties.  Remember that this whole crazy marathon idea came about as a goal to run 26.2 before I turn 30.  So I suppose it's only fitting that I will kick off my birthday with a long run - 6 miles.  Of course, the good news is that Sunday is a rest/recovery day, so after I do the work in the morning, I can enjoy boat drinks on the beach!

Marathon Training Begins!

I realize that it has been quite sometime since my last post.  I’ve been dealing with a lot in my personal life – most notably, the passing of my grandmother.  She was a wonderful, strong woman who taught me a lot about life.  We were very close, and I will miss her dearly.  Through everything, running has done a lot to help keep me grounded.  Sometimes it feels like running is the only thing that is going right in my life.  A good run goes a long way to help me deal with a bad day.

My birthday is on Saturday, and I will be spending it with my husband and my parents in Orange Beach.  I am looking forward to the vacation, even though there are currently sharks swarming that very beach!  Saturday will mark the first day of the last year of my twenties.  It’s a weird feeling to enter a new decade.  My wonderful friends threw a party for me yesterday, and it was a blast!  They set up a day at the pool followed by a crawfish boil/cookout.  And they got my favorite DQ ice cream cake.  I am one lucky girl to have such amazing people in my life who care about me!!

As I have previously discussed, I am planning to wrap up my twenties by running a full marathon before I turn 30.  I met with a coach last week, and my program starts today!  My first “goal race” will be the Talladega Half Marathon on September 14, 2014.  This will hopefully serve as a measuring stick to continue my training for the full in January.  (Presently, that goal race will be the Rock-N-Roll Marathon in New Orleans on January 25, 2015.)  I am going to try to be more diligent about posting here as I work through my training program.  Hopefully, my experiences will be both entertaining and informative for you.

I am going to run this evening.  My plan for today is an easy two-mile run followed by 2 x 20 second strides.  Coach Alex, who started Resolute Running, explained that my primary focus will be on conditioning my body for endurance – teaching it to burn fat for consistent energy over long periods of time.  Once I have developed the endurance, speed will come easy he says.  To do this, my pace for the first month’s runs will be much slower than I typically run.  This week, every run will be at a 10:17 pace.  Coach Kelly will be my personal coach, and I am excited to see what all she has in store for me.  If I put my trust in them and work through the program as designed, they have assured me that I will reach my goals.  So here we go…