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in Philadelphia Marathon, Running, Training · November 9, 2014

Philadelphia Marathon Training Week 12

Another training week down and only two more to go! This was my first week of taper, but didn’t necessarily feel like. I think since I was just coming off my 22 miles and still did two workouts this week, it wash’t drastically different from previous week. However, a “long run” of 12 miles doesn’t sounds very long compared to what I’ve been doing!

Sunday: Rest

Monday: 7.01 miles easy (9:13 pace), core work

monday

Tuesday: 7.1 miles steady state. Plan was 7:55-8:15 but ended up being faster. (7:43 pace) PM: 60 minutes hot yoga

tuesday

Wednesday: 5.1 miles easy (9:08 pace), strength workout

wednesday

Thursday: 8.18 miles with 5 at MPG and 1 mile of hills (8:05 pace overall) in the gross, pouring rain and wind. Core work.

thursday

Friday: Rest. I was planning to rest anyway but woke up with a super stiff neck like I slept on it weird, so I was glad it was a rest day.

Saturday: 12 miles with last 4 at MGP (8:23 pace overall) My legs felt really fresh at the start of the run, but it was 38 degrees so took a couple miles to warm up. I didn’t bring any water or fuel and started to notice by the end. Still hit my goal paces, although my garmin had some crazy satellite connection around mile 5 making that split significantly slower than the rest. 

saturday

Total: 39.39 miles <–isn’t that kinda cool?!

I think that this upcoming week will feel a lot lighter as the real taper begins!

How were your workouts this week?

Anyone else go running in the rain/wind this week? 

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Comments

  1. Kristina says

    November 9, 2014 at 9:38 am

    Yes! I also noticed that the first week of the marathon taper didn’t really feel like a taper except for the 12-mile long run.

    I hope your neck is feeling better today!

    I thought it was pretty windy here this week, but I have a feeling it wasn’t quite like your wind + rain combo!

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 1:29 pm

      Thanks!The neck has been improving but I think Im gonna switch pillows tonight. I used some icy hot and that helped! I think there is a big difference between warm wind and cold wind! Although any wind is annoying, in my opinion!

  2. Michele @ paleorunningmomma says

    November 9, 2014 at 10:29 am

    Seriously strangest thing but I had the same neck issue Friday morning! And that never happens to me! I attributed it to being exhausted since I had been up with sick kids for a few nights and sleeping on it strangely as well. But coincidence much? That was also my rest day 🙂

    Your running looks awesome this week! You are all set for the race!

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 1:31 pm

      That is so weird!! And I think Thursday night was just a rough night because my husband woke up with 6 bug bites (he is thinking spider but I am hoping mosquito). So this weekend I washed our sheets and switched around the pillows a bit, in case that had to do with the neck issue. I also used some icy hot when it was really bothering me and that helped a lot. It felt fine when running except when I went to cross a street and tried to look left- I basically had to turn my whole body!
      Hope that your neck is feeling better!

  3. Beth @ RUNNING around my kitchen says

    November 9, 2014 at 11:38 am

    New follower! The Philly marathon was my first and I loved it 🙂 The first week of a 3 week taper is hardly a taper….but you’ll feel it by the end! Nice job getting a 22 in, I have yet to do that during a training cycle.

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 1:32 pm

      Hi! I actually ran Philly 3 years ago as my first marathon, also! Such a great race! What year did you run it? This was my first ever 22 miler, and I had actually set out for 20 but felt good enough to keep going. I’m hoping that the taper starts to feel more like a taper this week:) Thanks for following!

  4. Chrissy @Pink Polish and Running Shoes says

    November 9, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    I haven’t run outside at all this week. I’ve been using the treadmill, but I’m headed out today. It’s pretty cold but at least it’s not raining!

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 1:33 pm

      Enjoy your run today! Hopefully with a little sun it won’t feel too cold!

  5. meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles says

    November 9, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    I actually missed the rain on Thursday because I decided to take a rest day. I always run better in the rain! I think I am weird.

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 11:44 pm

      A little rain doesn’t necessarily make me run worse, but when its pouring rain I end up pretty miserable!

  6. Sam @ The Running Graduate says

    November 9, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    Awesome week! It is so cool that your marathon is just a couple of weeks away 🙂
    The wind this week was crazy! Especially this morning. I’ve been told to expect it to be like this all weekend thanks to being right near the lake.

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 11:45 pm

      Ugh the wind is so annoying!

  7. She Rocks Fitness says

    November 9, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    High-Fives to you for running in the rain! I have a hard time motivating to run outside when it is cold and wet. I did run the Nashville 1/2 marathon in pouring rain and it was insane, but thank goodness it was a fun race otherwise I would have been seriously cranky.

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 11:46 pm

      I ran the Houston marathon in the cold rain a couple of years ago, and I would prefer to not have to race in those conditions again! There were lots of blisters and chafing!

  8. Angela @ Happy Fit Mama says

    November 9, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    The first week of taper never truly feels like a taper – just a cut back week. Next week, it’ll set in. You are doing great!

    • [email protected] says

      November 9, 2014 at 11:46 pm

      Thanks! I agree- just looking at my schedule this week I can tell it will feel like a lot less.

  9. Sarah says

    November 12, 2014 at 4:30 am

    That rain looks pretty miserable – congrats for getting it done! I’m excited to see how your race goes. It’s kinda crazy – but your times are almost exactly what I was running during my marathon training. Do you have a goal (that you want to share) for your marathon ? I finished in 3.44 BTW.

    • [email protected] says

      November 12, 2014 at 9:34 pm

      I don’t have a goal that’s too specific because I feel like the marathon has SO many factors and I don’t want to feel disappointed. My training plan was based on a 3:30 but that is probably faster than I plan to run. I would be THRILLED with a 3:44 because my PR is a 4:01! That is great to know that your training was similar to mine and you ran that time! Honestly my biggest goal is to break 4 hours, but I know I can run faster than that, so we will see what happens!

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Would it even be race week if I wasn’t a ball of n Would it even be race week if I wasn’t a ball of nerves and not able to sleep? This is my first big marathon in 10 years, my first time traveling to a race in 10 years, and my first time spending the night away from my kids. And of course I’m tapering so I can’t run off the nerves 🙃 #marathontraining #taper #richmondmarathon
Looked like fall, felt like summer 🍁 I was definit Looked like fall, felt like summer 🍁 I was definitely overdressed for this run but it was nice to not wear gloves or a headband! This was the run I needed a week before my marathon. After last week’s disaster of a long run it felt great to just run an easy 10 miles. (And these days 10 miles feels like nothing). I think I figured out the fueling and shoes 🤞so nothing left to do but take it easy, carb load, and get in the right mindset! Is it unseasonably warm where you are?

#running #marathontraining #longrun
Yesterday’s long run was not what I wanted it to b Yesterday’s long run was not what I wanted it to be. The plan was to take the day off from work, head to the trail where I could run 10 uninterrupted miles at MP (16 total) and practice my race day fueling while wearing my race day shoes.

What actually happened? All week I was stressed about this run and the condition of the trail. We had lots of rain on Thursday, and Friday was forecasted to be very windy. I tried to get in the best mindset possible, reminding myself that I won’t be able to control the conditions on race day. Meanwhile, I haven’t been sleeping well thanks to my 2 year old waking up every night, and my watch has been basically telling me that I’m losing all my fitness and need a week of recovery.

While I started the run feeling pretty good, after 11 miles (7 at MP) my stomach turned and I almost got sick on the side of the trail. I just couldn’t recover from that. The best I could do was run the rest of the miles easy, and needed some walk breaks. On top of that, my shoe kept rubbing my foot on top and I stopped twice to retie it. This has never happened before and now I’m questioning what shoes I should wear for the race. The trail was also in rough condition with several trees blocking it, lots of wet leaves, and rocks/sticks that I had to look out for.

I just can’t believe how bad I felt for the last 5 miles of this run and I can’t pinpoint the cause. Am I overdoing it with the fueling and can’t handle it on harder effort runs? Was it something I ate recently? The hard part is there’s no time to really try something different before the race, as all I have left is a 10 mile easy run next weekend.

I’m trying to remember that one bad run does not take away from all the good runs this training cycle. I’m using today to reset and move on so I can make the most of my last 2 weeks of training. It’s not the way I wanted my last big long run to go, but I suppose it was good practice for pushing through even when I felt pretty awful.

Who else has had a terrible long run close to your race?

#running #marathontraining #longrun
Spent almost every step of this 21 mile run questi Spent almost every step of this 21 mile run questioning my life choices. Like waking up at 3am to run 12 miles on the treadmill and 9 outside. This was a crazy week with a kid that wasn’t sleeping great and fighting a cold and super busy days at work. My legs were just tired the whole time today. It was really hard to run outside after so many treadmill miles and my pace was much slower than inside.

I reminded myself that this is peak week. It’s supposed to feel hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. I ran 53 miles this week and am not injured. The weather is perfect. I’ve gotten in every planned run of this training cycle so far.  I get to do this. 

And I managed to finish strong with my last 3 miles the fastest of the (outside) run. I owe that to a solid fueling plan and taking all my gels even when I really didn’t want to.

3 weeks to go until race day!

#running #marathontraining #longrun
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