Baltimore Marathon Training Week 6

Tuesday: 7 Miles (58:31)

Reflecting over the first 5 weeks of training, I am excited in some regards to taper this week and give my body some relief with school ramping up.  Typically my weekend runs are double digits, this weekend will be last single digit “long run”.  I am both excited and nervous as the mileage will begin to accelerate and with school just around the corner, I know that my scheduling will be essential to make it all work.  

With 6 miles on the schedule, of course I pushed it a bit further and achieved 7 miles. I met with Stephanie and Ryan to celebrate Ryan’s birthday with a morning run.  This is what makes runners unique, tell me who wakes up on their birthday and says, I am going to go for run, not many people, lucky to have this group that run with.  

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:44

Mile 2: 8:38

Mile 3: 8:19

Mile 4: 8:20

Mile 5: 8:21

Mile 6: 8:10

Overall Time: 58:31 & 8:21 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“What you do today is important because you're exchanging a day of life for it.”

Wednesday: 4 Miles  (32:52)

With last week’s run finishing up at Randy’s pool, we were fortunate to have another wednesday run with water involved in the end. Stephanie and I made quick work with the course, adding on some additional mileage to round it out to 4 since the course was a bit shorter.  How do you celebrate running 4 miles in the wonderful humidity, see the photo below. :)  

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:26

Mile 2: 8:21

Mile 3: 8:06

Mile 4: 7:54

Overall Time: 32:52 & 8:12 Pace  

Quote of the Day:

“When your legs can’t run anymore, run with your heart.”

Thursday: 3 Miles (23:00)

Today was supposed to be a 6 mile tempo run, but I decided for 3. Now, I feel lazy, especially with this week’s mileage, but I am glad I was at least able to get 3. With a pace of 7:40 I really wasn’t motivated, but I need to remember the importance of these days, especially when I am trying to increase my pace.    

Quote of the Day:

“Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part of your brain that wants to keep going.”

Saturday: ISD Wellness 5K (21:30)

With the exception of last weekend’s 5k with Jennifer, I have steadily been decreasing my times and setting a PR at each 5k event. Coming into this morning, I was a little skeptical as I wasn’t feeling 100% and some negative self talk had creeped in thinking about the route that we would be running.  Jennifer and i had run the course a week prior and to say the course lacked “energy” was an understatement.  I knew if I could get out of the gate quickly and establish a pace I would have a shot at a new PR but it would be a challenge with the last half of the race being uphill to counter the downhill start.  The race began on the track, which provided a nice start but not good in the sense that I got to far ahead of myself hitting a pace of 5:16 to start which I knew I had to back off quickly or I wouldn’t make it.  I did fail to run negative splits, but was pleased that I did break my PR by another 26 seconds to take my time down to 21:30 but what I was most pleased with was my pace, which according to Pace Calculator, dropped me to a 6:55 pace.  My goal was to break into the 6’s but I would like to see how low I can get this, but also being realistic that my distance running is not going to be anywhere this, yet. :)

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 6:52

Mile 2: 6:57

Mile 3: 7:17

Overall Time: 31:20 & 6:55 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“Set your goals high and do not stop until you reach them.” ~ Bo Jackson

Sunday: 8 Miles (1:09:31) 1:06:06

After a long day with the 5k and helping out in my teachers classrooms, I was not necessarily looking forward to the long run this morning.  The Running Well Store put on a great event and it brought out a lot runners.  Stephanie and i took a few minutes to get in stride, but the miles seemed to go rather quickly today.  Conquering the miles each week with friends definitely makes the journey all the more great.  I can tell a difference now running solo rather than running with the group and the miles do seem to take longer to accomplish with the silence of running solo.  Music is motivating, but a conversation to draw your mind away from your own obstacles has truly been my saving grace on several occasions, so I am thankful for the dialogue throughout the runs.  Also nice to consistently run with the same people. Last week, Stephanie, Sarah, and i ran 8 miles in 1:09 around similar areas in Lee’s Summit. This week, we knocked off 3 minutes, love seeing the progress week to week!

Sunday wouldn’t be completed without breakfast with the group afterwards.  Runners are unique, but in the best possible way.  You won’t find a more charismatic and energetic group than us, even after 8 miles, it is seldom to not hear laughter none stop at breakfast and constant chatter that gives it that family feel.  If you aren’t apart of a running group, I highly encourage it, if you are in the KC Metro area, come on out and join us, just be prepared to social and enjoy yourself!   

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:37

Mile 2: 8:17

Mile 3: 8:14

Mile 4: 8:21

Mile 5: 8:38

Mile 6: 8:03

Mile 7: 8:03

Mile 8: 7:46

Overall Time: 1:06:06 & 8:15 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.”

Final Thoughts:

After 6 weeks, my total distance in training is 199.3 miles.  As the weeks continue to pile up, two thoughts currently are running through my mind.  With many mental barriers broken down over the first few weeks, one still looms and run in excess of 20 miles. “The Wall” as it is called has plagued me in both marathons I have trained for.  In both training's, I have only attempted to run 20 miles twice.  During this training, I will run in excess of 20 miles three times.  The first, occurring in 3 weeks is already a scary monster in my head.  I know that once I have broke through the first 20, the others will be much more manageable in my mind, but the anticipation is killing me.  

The second thought is the “PR” that I continue to set in my smaller races.  Every race that I have attempted this year in a 5k, I have set a new PR when I have showed up to run my own race.  Mentally I have developed that mindset, PR or bust, and with overall goals to achieve a successful marathon, I am contemplating giving up 5k’s for the rest of the year to focus strictly on marathon training.  Stubbornly however, I want to see how much further I can drive down my 5k time as I would love to break into the 20’s and even into the teens, but that all remains to be seen.  

75 days till Baltimore.  I get chills thinking about it, both nervous and anxious.  I know that if my training continues to be consistent like it is now when school begins, I will achieve the goals that I have for my marathon.  School will definitely test my dedication, but I welcome the challenge with open arms.

Baltimore Marathon Training Week 5

Tuesday: 6 Miles (49:27)

Gotta catch the rabbit!!! Starting off week 5 I began with a 6 miler at Little Blue Trail with Stephanie, Stephen, and Derek.  The rabbit, is Derek. He was late this morning, but caught up with us just before mile 1, which as you can tell changed the pace substantially.  I always enjoy running behind Derek as he rides because I act as if he is a runner that I trying to catch.  Running with Stephanie and Stephen, we didn't even notice our pace increasing because we were busy chatting it up as the sun came up.  The run was definitely what I needed after last week and my issues on Wednesday.  I also know that at the end of this week I will be running a substantial amount of miles, so to get in this run early in the week, it was a confidence booster for what lay ahead.

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:44

Mile 2: 8:02

Mile 3: 8:21

Mile 4: 8:08

Mile 5: 7:59

Mile 6: 8:08

Overall Time: 47:00 & 8:32 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”

Wednesday: 5 Miles  (42:01)

Humid, hot, and refreshing.  All words that could describe this run at some point.  We had the opportunity to run from Randy’s house for our Wednesday night group run.  Though the temperature and humidity were not favorable at all, the finish line for the run tonight was Randy’s pool, which makes any run worth it if you can cool off afterwards.  The route was similar in some regards which made motivation difficult knowing where some of the major landmarks are located, but Stephanie and I did well, let’s be honest, she did well, at holding us accountable and keeping our pace relatively even, even with the ridiculous weather.  Afterwards, having the opportunity to cool off in Randy’s pool was amazing. The majority of runners stayed afterwards and we discussed all of the different runs that we had done in the past including talks about future runs.  The conversations along with beverages and pool made for a relaxing end to hump day!     

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:23

Mile 2: 8:25

Mile 3: 8:28

Mile 4: 8:33

Mile 5: 8:08

Overall Time: 42:01 & 8:23 Pace  

Quote of the Day:

“Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived.”

Thursday: 6 Miles (46:20)

Rather than running in the morning, I decided to hold off until the evening, TERRIBLE IDEA! Stephanie and I did a tempo run, which was really just a normal run for her speediness.  Usually I begin at a 7:40ish pace and consistently increase the pace throughout, tonight however was much different.  I struggled at times to catch my breath and struggled with staying focused on the right things.  Needless to say I regret running in the evening and do not plan on doing this again anytime soon!!

Quote of the Day:

“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”

Friday: 3.0 Miles (29:33 w/ Jennifer)

With a ISD Wellness 5k a week away, Jennifer and I decided to run the course and get a feel for what to expect next Sunday. The course is, well, interesting.  While I did learn new things about Independence, the turnaround of the course is located in the Sister’s of St. Francis roundabout which I didn't even know existed, the course is relatively uneventful.  Next Sunday, I will be running to break my PR, I feel like the course will provide an opportunity for me to get into the low 21’s, but only time will tell.  

Lastly, as you can tell by the pacing, Jennifer is getting quicker, though she still manages to find ways to mentally block herself, the seconds are coming off and she continues to impress me.    

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 9:19

Mile 2: 10:22

Mile 3: 9:48

Overall Time: 29:33 & 9:50 Pace

 

Quote of the Day:

“The human spirit is indomitable. No one can ever say you must not run faster than this or jump higher than that. There will never be a time when the human spirit will not be able to better existing records.” Sir Roger Bannister

 

Saturday: 15 Miles (2:09:08) Crossroads 5k (32:19)

As I had said last week, my goal was to try to make sure I was fueling my body to allow myself the chance to make it 16 miles this week.  As stubborn as I am, that failed me.  I again noticed while reflecting over my paces, I hit a wall, not mental, but physical wall around mile 13 and it reflected in my pacing.  Though the temperatures were steadily increasing, I could tell my body was running on empty and had been for a mile or two prior to that.  I will be eating next weekend prior to see if this helps.

With the temperatures and humidity adding to the degree of difficulty I found it fitting to find something funny about this run and to share it out.  During my run, I found myself laughing at myself as I could hear my feet squishing in my shoes due to the sweat and sprinklers that I ran through on the route.  At one point, as I was squishing away, I looked down to see that all of this had resulted in foam forming on the top of my shoe, my own personal foam machine, as I squished away mile after mile.          

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 9:36

Mile 2: 8:45

Mile 3: 8:27

Mile 4: 8:44

Mile 5: 8:19

Mile 6: 8:28

Mile 7: 8:27

Mile 8: 8:25

Mile 9: 8:15

Mile 10: 8:03

Mile 11: 8:15

Mile 12: 8:23

Mile 13: 8:30

Mile 14: 9:18

Mile 15: 9:04

Overall Time: 2:09:08 & 8:36 Pace

If 15 miles wasn’t enough, Jennifer, Trish, Stephanie, and I also decided to run in the Rock the Crossroads 5k sponsored by KC Running Company and Torn Label Brewing.  The race was hot, the course was less than glamorous but we still managed to have a lot of fun.  Stephanie, Trish, and I motivated Jennifer for the first mile and half before Stephanie and I got the itch.  We decided to push ourselves and see how quickly we could get to the finish line after running at a leisurely pace prior.  Though I forgot my watch, Stephanie was able to track on her watch that we crossed the finished line in the mid 5’s, yes, you read it correctly, in the 5’s for the last half mile of the race.  After running 15 miles this morning and enduring the heat for the beginning of the race, I was quite pleased with our finish, though the final result, resulted in losing to Stephanie by a step, yes we are that competitive even in a fun race. SMH :)

Quote of the Day:

“Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance-you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin beneath your feet.” ~ Doris Brown Heritage

Sunday: 8 Miles (1:09:31)

I was skeptical about this run due to the number of miles that we logged throughout the week and Saturday. We had initially said we would run 6, but as Stephanie would have it, we went 8.  We had also said we take it easy, but Stephanie’s easy and my easy are two completely different things.  Sarah and Stephanie looked unphased for the entire route, myself on the other hand not so much.  I was just happy to see Egg & I afterwards. :)    

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:55

Mile 2: 8:43

Mile 3: 8:33

Mile 4: 8:29

Mile 5: 8:37

Mile 6: 8:43

Mile 7: 8:54

Mile 8: 8:32

Overall Time: 1:09:31 & 8:40 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“If you train your mind for running, everything else will be easy.” Amby Burfoot

Final Thoughts:

After 5 weeks I have increased my total mileage to 174.2.  So after accumulating 28 miles last week, this week, I was able to log 45 miles this week.  I am trying my best to stay consistent with the plan that I am using for training, but with the most miles recorded in any week, I am tempted to push my mileage to see if I can continue to build my base to ensure my long weekends runs are more successful. With no major pains to speak of as of now, knock on wood, I feel like my body is responding well to the training and I can push myself a little harder in regards to distance.

I am also fortunate to be surrounded by amazing runners in their own regard.  I am continually impressed by the knowledge they possess and like a sponge, I am trying to soak it all in and apply it immediately.  With 11 weeks left until Baltimore, I am tempted more and more to run Omaha as a tune-up for Baltimore.  In the next two weeks I will make that decision, which would mean 2 marathons in just under a month.   

Baltimore Marathon Training Week 4

Tuesday: 5.10 Miles (42:26)

At the beginning of my training, the thought of running on the treadmill conjured up many negative thoughts.  Reflecting over these last few weeks has made me appreciate these sessions more and more as I believe the treadmill has sharpened my focus and made me become more intentional and helped me persevere when others runs have come about.  Though I will always prefer running outside with friends, the treadmill has consistently helped me build my base while also increasing my pace.  I constantly am struggling to back off increasing the speed but ultimately find myself wanting to push myself to see what I can do.  With paces in the 7’s for 5k’s and 10k’s I desire to hit that pace for half marathons as well and ultimately in due time get there for marathons, I know I have a ways to go.  But to think that I have gone from 8 min paces at the start of the year, to low 7’s and at times high 6’s in shorter races, the potential is there.    

Quote of the Day:

“Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.” PattiSue Plumer

Wednesday: 5 Miles  (40:41)

The Saucony “Pop Up” run of death.  What was supposed to be a great event sponsored by the Wellness Store in Lee’s Summit quickly became the I hope I can make it back to the store before dying event.  The paces below reflect times that I typically can maintain without a problem.  But today was unlike any other.  I began running with Hanna and after the 2 mile, Stephanie joined us and we increased our pace slightly.  The heat was tumultuous but it was manageable, but somewhere between the end of mile 3 and the beginning of 4, I got a knot in my chest that almost took me to my knees.  I spent the last mile “acting” as if nothing was wrong but I truly struggled to keep moving forward, especially with mile 4 being predominantly uphill.  I am not for sure what happened with this run, but i spent that evening struggling to catch my breath and stomach anything, including water.  This led to a missed run Thursday, but I knew if I pushed too hard, I would be in trouble for my weekend run.  The silver lining of this run was my ability to push through the pain and use this as an opportunity to try to ignore the discomfort I was feeling know that in the near future I will surely be faced with something similiar and I will need the mental fortitude to push through, even when my body is telling me otherwise.  

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:14

Mile 2: 8:15

Mile 3: 7:55

Mile 4: 8:09

Mile 5: 8:04

Overall Time: 40:41 & 8:07 Pace  

Quote of the Day:

"“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”  

Friday: 4.10 Miles (29:56)

Tempo Run at Gym

 

Quote of the Day:

"“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”

Saturday: 15.16 Miles (2:13:31)

Before kicking off the 7 am run, Several of us met at 5:15 to get in extra miles, 10 to be exact.  I always love the early morning runs as we tend to begin to log miles as the sun breaks the horizon off in the distance.  I have always been a morning person, but there is something surreal about being able to run and watch the sun rise that makes every problem, ache, and pain seem minut and irrelevant.  Fortunately, this was the feeling as the sun first shown itself as we climbed a hill along our route, something I needed at the moment to keep things in perspective as the day was already blistering warm.  

Reflecting back over this run, I noticed a pattern. While I was maintaining a relatively decent pace for the first 10 miles, after we broke off with our 7 am group, I struggled to keep my times in the low 9’s.  I don’t eat prior to running, maybe a banana or protein shake, but it's minimal.  This is clearly affecting my body as my base continues to build, the multi digit distance runs are presenting the problem that my body can’t sustain the speed when it has nothing to burn.  I am going to attempt to see what I can eat, that my body won’t reject prior, and see if this affects my time in the future.        

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 9:03

Mile 2: 8:38

Mile 3: 8:23

Mile 4: 8:15

Mile 5: 8:23

Mile 6: 8:26

Mile 7: 8:28

Mile 8: 8:19

Mile 9: 8:35

Mile 10: 8:34

Mile 11: 9:07

Mile 12: 9:15

Mile 13: 9:22

Mile 14: 9:29

Mile 15: 9:40

Overall Time: 2:13:31 & 8:48 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way. Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running.” Julie Isphording

Sunday: 3.14 Miles (32:57)

#NationalIceCreamDay with Jennifer.  What better way to start a Sunday then with a race and ice cream afterwards!!!  I have enjoyed watching Jennifer progress in her running.  She is stubborn as a mule, and yes she would agree, but she is making progress.  The mental barriers that she faces are precisely the same that I had when I began, but day by day and mile by mile she is slowly shedding those barriers.  Though we did have to walk at the race today, she made it much further and with some stubborn talk along the way, she was able to speed across the finish line.  The quote today speaks to Jennifer and really us all as runners.  We can go only as far as our minds will allow us, this not only applies to running by life.  As each day of training passes I am finding more and more parallels between running and life and I couldn’t be any happier.   

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 10:17

Mile 2: 10:41

Mile 3: 10:42

Overall Time: 32:57 & 10:29 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“Part of a runner’s training consists of pushing back the limits of his mind.” Kenny Moore

Final Thoughts:

After 4 weeks, my training total is With 3 weeks down, I have increased my training total to 128.2.  This was my shortest week to date only logging 28.4 miles.  I use the word “only” but I know that this mentally also needs to change.    I am averaging roughly 32 miles a week at this point and know that the mileage is going to increase. I am consistently impressed with the others runners I have privilege to run with as the speak of 50, 60. And 70 mile weekly mileages and know that one day, much sooner than later, I will begin to be able to push my body to those limits and not feel as though my body is going to give out.