Miscellaneous...

Well, apparently Blogger has been having issues, and now posts from yesterday have vanished...

Anyway, yesterday I did a 3 mile run, after doing Jillian's 30 minute Yoga Meltdown.  Today was theoretically a rest day, but when I woke up this morning I decided to shake off my morning "blahs" by going for a nice, long walk.  I walked at the park while enjoying watching the sun come up over the mountains for an hour and 6 minutes (which took me just under 4 miles).  Then I had to get ready for Cub Scout meetings and a day of running errands.  Tomorrow I have an 8 miler planned, then Sunday will be my true rest day.

6 miles.

This morning's run was a 6 miler.  As you can see from my Garmin info above, what a difference a little rest makes!  I haven't had a run this good for a while, and now I feel the powerful importance of the taper! :)  I'm feeling very optimistic that my goal of doing the marathon in under 5 hours is within reach.  After my run, I did 35 minutes of Pilates/Yoga Crunch, (that sounds like the name of a breakfast cereal).

Cross-training day.

It's no joke, we actually woke up to about 2 inches of accumulated snow, after the rain that has been coming down for two days straight turned colder.  Looking at the weather forecast, we do have warmer, sunnier days coming ahead later this week, and I sure hope that it happens because I'm about to go crazy!  I did my (indoor) workout this morning, starting out with 35 minutes of Pilates/Yoga Crunch, then I did 45 minutes on the elliptical.

The taper period of marathon training is a strange beast.  On the one hand, I do love how much "rest" I seem to be getting, but on the other hand my mind is racked with guilt, questions and second guesses...have I done all I could do, shouldn't I be running more...?  Oh, well.  I've been through this once before, so I know it will all work out. 

The taper continues...

After doing 30 minutes of Pilates this morning, I did my 4 mile run on the treadmill, since it's raining outside.  After my run, I did 10 minutes of Yoga stretches.  Nothing too exciting, I know, but I've been feeling kind of blah the past few days.  I'm actually happy about that, because if I know that if I go through my days of "yuck" now, I should be coming to a high point again when the day of the marathon comes around, at least that's how these cycles typically go for me.

12.5 miles.

I warmed up for my long run this morning with 15 minutes of Yoga/Pilates.  My run went okay, and I blame it's average-ness on the fact that it was raining, I didn't get a very good night's sleep and I was having GI issues with stomach cramping, etc.  But, I got my 12.5 miles in and like I said, it was okay.  When I got home I did10 minutes of Pilates leg work and stretching.  Just two weeks from today and I will be tackling my second marathon...:)

4 miles.

Before my run this morning I did Jillian's 30 minute Yoga Meltdown, then I did my 4 miles.  It is a beautiful, 100% sunny day, with 100% wind and 100% cold.  ;)  I was kind of glad it was only 4 miles.  When I got home I did 15 more minutes of Yoga to stretch, and then I did a few minutes with the foam roller.

Cross-training day.

This morning I started my workout with Crunch: Pilates/Yoga blend for 45 minutes, then I did 45 minutes on the elliptical.  I was sort of stiff and sore when I got out of bed this morning, which was a little surprising considering how good I've been feeling lately.  I think I need to spend some time using the foam roller today.

8.5 miles.

I think my internal alarm has been reset for 5:45am because that's what time I've been waking up every day lately.  Since I had the time, I did Jillian Michael's 30 minute Yoga Meltdown this morning before my 8.5 mile run.  My run went well, I felt pretty good for most of it, and even though it was cloudy, the temperature was a mild 50 degrees.  When I got home I did 10 minutes of Yoga stretches.

5 mile Monday.

This morning I woke up early again, so I did 45 minutes of Pilates before taking the kids to school then heading out for my run.  I did 5 miles, and felt great the whole time.  It did help that the sun was shining, cold as it was, it felt so great.  I did my 5 miles in 55 minutes, then came  home and did 10 minutes of Yoga stretches.  Although I am on my taper for the next 3 weeks, the thought came to me while running this morning that this is no time for me to take my foot off the gas.  I plan to also closely monitor my diet during this time.  I haven't been doing so great in that area lately, as it usually happens when the mileage increases and my appetite increases.  I have a tendency to eat too much crap, and the past few days I've been revamping and making changes, including cutting out processed sugars and empty carbs and sticking with as many fruits, veggies and whole wheat and grains as I can.  I'm already feeling better in that sense, even after only a few days of being more strict with myself.

Sunday ~ day of rest!

I feel so good today, especially considering I ran 20 miles just 2 days ago.  In the past I have always been much more sore after runs that long.  Yesterday I did 45 minutes of Pilates in the morning, and after keeping busy running the kids around to their activities, going grocery shopping and various other errands, my husband and I went for a walk/run at the park with the kids.  We did about 3 miles, and he actually ran a little more than I did because I was just too beat up to do too much running.  I also realized why I always run in the mornings: me and afternoon/evening running don't mix, unless I'm channeling super-human powers on any given day.  I felt yucky the whole time, with heavy legs, poor respiration, a bit of a headache and even a little heartburn.  It did feel good to get out and get some fresh air and movement the day after my long run, but I'm also enjoying my day of rest today.

After church this morning, I found I had a new email from my running friend/mentor asking me how my training is going and if I have a goal time for Ogden.  As I was writing him back, I curiously pondered where I'm at in comparison with where I was at at this point in my training for my first marathon.  Luckily, all I have to do to find that out is go back in the analogs of this here blog!  I was actually a little surprised to find that I'm not all that much improved from 6 or 7 months ago, at least not "speed" wise.  I had to remind myself that for the majority of my training this time around I had all that annoying hip/leg pain and that I also have had to do a lot of my training runs on the treadmill, which wasn't the case last time.  All in all, I do feel good about where things are at now.  I am optimistic about running Ogden, and no matter what my time, I can always feel good about knowing I put in my training.