Chicago Marathon Training: Week Four

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Hannah McGoldrick

(Kinda) True in Training & Life

I forgot to post about week three of training – oh well, it was uneventful! This past week however was really solid. I managed two mid-week pre-work runs, a very early long run, and a couple of strength sessions. I also got to go to spin on Monday which was fun! The only part of marathon training that I don’t like (OK, there are more than a few parts I don’t like) is having to miss out on other activities I like, like spin. I’m usually too tired, or don’t want to risk hurting myself, to get to spin but this week was the perfect time to fit it in.

Monday, July 14 – 45:00 Spin Class + Abs

Since I skipped my long run on Sunday I was able to go to spin. It was a really tough class because we rode stage 10 of the Tour de France which is a crazy-hilly section with nearly no flats. It was fun! We rode the section while watching the Tour on TV too which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to riding the Tour, ha!

Plan: Spin
Actual: 40 min of spin, 11(ish) miles on the bike

Shoes: Adidas Energy Boost
Conditions: Indoors

Tuesday, July 15- 4 miles, easy

It was extremely humid out this morning. I nearly opted for the treadmill but was happy I got up and out early to get my run in.

Plan: 4 miles, easy (10:00/mile)
Actual: 4.01 miles in 35:47 at 8:55/mile
Splits: 9:39, 8:36, 8:47, 8:38

Shoes: Nike LunarGlide 6
Conditions: 78 degrees, 98% humidity

Wednesday, July 16- 5 miles, hill repeats

I was finally able to run at lunch again today because the weather was so nice so I took the opportunity to run up 10th Street by work – a 500 ft elevation gain over about a mile. I hadn’t done this in weeks so it was really tough, there were a few walk breaks, but I did it!

Plan: 5 miles, hills
Actual: 5 miles in 45:15 at 9:03/mile pace and 500 ft. elevation gain
Splits: 8:26 (warm up), 10:45 (hill), 9:05 (still hill kind of), 8:12 (downhill), 8:46 (cool down)

Shoes: Nike LunarGlide 6
Conditions: 75 degrees

Thursday, July 17– 4 miles, easy + Strength Training

I got to run at lunch again today because it was absolutely GORGEOUS outside! I felt pretty good but my GPS signal on my watch was wayy off. I went on a very typical 4-mile loop I do at work and my watch said it was only 3.59 miles. So, I’m still logging it as 4 here but my paces are all messed up.

Plan: 4 miles, easy
Actual: 4 miles in 34:xx at 8:40/mile-ish

Shoes: Nike LunarGlide 6
Conditions: 78 degrees, sunny

Oiselle “Dozen” Ab Workout + Ankle strengthening exercises

Friday, July 18- Strength

Oiselle “Dozen” Ab Workout + Ankle strengthening exercises + Arms

Saturday, July 19- 4.57 miles, easy

My watch was seriously struggling on this run and logged it as 3.84 miles. I knew it was longer than that and when I mapped it out it was 4.57 miles. Woof. No idea what the pace ended up being.

Plan: 4 miles easy

Shoes: Nike LunarGlide 6

Sunday, July 20- 14 miles, easy

Like I said in my post yesterday, this was a really solid long run. I managed to keep it very controlled the whole time. I woke up early and ran on a local rail trail and the weather was perfect. I ran sans-music and just enjoyed the run.

Plan: 14 miles, easy

Actual: 14 miles in 2:08 at 9:09/mile (my goal pace!)

Shoes: Nike LunarGlide 6

Weekly Mileage Total: 43 miles (32 running + 11 cycling)

{Monday Motivation} You Get Stronger

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Hannah McGoldrick

Yesterday I had an incredible long run. I am nervous to even write about it in fear I’ll jinx future long runs but I can’t not write about it. I had 14 miles on my schedule and I was a little nervous since I had to skip my long run last weekend. This would be my longest run since training for the Marine Corps Marathon last summer and fall.

Turns out, a little rest was just what I needed because this run was fantastic. I managed 14 miles averaging my goal marathon pace (9:09/mile to break 4:00) with a “fast finish” for the last two miles. I couldn’t help but smile and laugh a little when I finished the run. Why was I so nervous? There should be absolutely zero pressure on long run days. You should run at a comfortable, maintainable pace.

For me, my goal marathon pace happen to be my comfortable pace this past Sunday. This doesn’t mean it’s going to be my long run pace for the rest of training but if anything, it shows I am getting stronger. Happy running this week!

(Source: Pinterest)

{Monday Motivation} She’s Running

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Hannah McGoldrick

I don’t know why but I loved this graphic when I saw it on Pinterest – for some reason it really resonated with me. I can be unapologetically lazy sometimes. I can also be very Type A. A weird combination, I know. I try to train by the book but sometimes, life gets in the way. I try to “X” off all of my training runs but some days the motivation is just not there. This happened to me yesterday when I skipped out on my long run because the weather was just unbearable. Maybe this wasn’t really lazy of me. Maybe it was the smart thing to do. But the Type A Hannah was reeling inside, worrying that missing a long run would mean my training would suffer. Truth is, we’re only three weeks into Chicago training and there’s plenty of time left until race day. My fitness won’t suffer this early on and skipping out on yesterday’s run might mean being about to nail all of my training runs this week. I’m still running, sometimes I just stumble a bit.

(Source: Pinterest)

Race Recap: Palmer Township Firecracker 4-Miler

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Hannah McGoldrick

This should really be called, “How I Did All of the Running No-No’s and Still Set a PR and Got an Age Group Award.”

Ooops!

Let me start from the beginning. I love running Fourth of July races. It’s been a tradition since I started running. So, imagine my disappointment when after weeks of searching for a July 4^th race in the Lehigh Valley, I was coming up with nothing. That is, until three days before the fourth, I finally found one not too far from where I live.

The night before the race Adam and I decided to register. Did I mention we ate super greasy burgers and wings that night too? Mmmm, good pre-race nutrition decisions.

Anyway, I went into the race thinking, “I’ll just run it easy and have fun.” Plus, it gave me a chance to wear my Fourth of July #RUNootd, so I was happy. Only problem was I only had one pair of running shoes with me and I had never worn them before. Ooops, again.

I did a half-mile warmup around the neighborhood before the start of the race and the shoes felt a little stiffer than I would normally wear for a race, but they weren’t terrible. I was planning on running it easy anyway, so it wouldn’t matter so much how my shoes felt.

Well, I went out in 7:48 for the first mile. I haven’t seen 7:xx in quite some time so I thought, “Oh no, this is going to be bad.” The course took a slight incline up to a rail trail where it did an out-and-back. I told myself to rein it in and try to just run comfortably. My second mile clocked in at 7:43. Woah, nelly.

At this point, I was surprisingly feeling pretty good but I had just reached the turn around and were on the way back to the finish. I thought I’d try to push it to the end to see what would happen. I was doing well until I had some trouble trying to pass people on the narrow rail trail. A young kid (probably 10-12 years old) was running near me and clearly didn’t know proper race etiquette, i.e. when I passed him, he stayed on my heals (like actually on my heals, there was almost contact) until he would pass me and tuck in right in front of me. Not cool kid, not cool. I had to get a bit more aggressive with my passing here to get beyond him but unfortunately the mess caused my pace to suffer a bit. Mile 3 came in around 8:26.

For the last mile, I was starting to get tired, mostly due to the humidity, but I tried to reach deep and fell on my old mantra “Last mile, strong mile, kick it in.” Also, being it was July 4^th I told myself to do it for Amurica! Well, whatever it was worked and I ran my last mile in 6:55. Holy speedballs!

I finished in 30:57 officially (30:55 according to my watch) which was a 5-minute PR. I was pretty happy with my time, especially since I was expecting to run a very leisurely 4 miles that morning. I met Adam at the finish, he came in second overall in 22:32 (proud girlfriend!), and then we waited around for the awards.

Post-race medal photo!

We knew he was getting an award but I was completely shocked when I heard my name for my age group. I won second place for females age 19-24! I’ve never won an age group award so I was really excited!!

Could I have done things differently and possibly run even faster? Probably. But I was more excited to discover that my speed is still there, I just need to work on it and not be afraid to push a little harder.

Chicago Marathon Training: Week Two + Heart Update

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Hannah McGoldrick

Post-race medal photo!

My second week of training for Chicago was jam-packed with some really exciting things that I’m happy to share (with anyone who cares)!

My Bitty Heart

First, after doing a stress echocardiogram on Monday, my cardiologist cleared me for running. For the past two months I’ve been going through some tests at the hospital to figure out the cause of my chest pain during my April half marathon. After an abnormal EKG, my primary care physician referred me to a cardiologist for further testing. I had a normal echocardiogram done which showed I have an AV conduction delay. At first my cardiologist wasn’t sure why this was showing up, as it’s usually more common in elderly people, not athletic 24-year-old women, but with further testing and the stress echo, he concluded the conduction delay was actually a result of me having a healthy runner’s heart. After reviewing blood work, he told me, “I think you should just keep running.” Yay! I haven’t had any issues with chest pain since the half in April so I think it’s safe to say I can now fully dedicate myself to training hard for Chicago.

Firecracker 4-Miler

Another bit of good news from last week is that I won my first ever age group award at a local Firecracker 4-miler on the Fourth of July! It was quite a surprise, and I will probably write another post about it since I did everything wrong leading up to the race and somehow managed setting a 5-minute 4-mile PR and came in second in my age group. Adam came in second overall and I couldn’t have been more proud of him!

Hardest Run Ever

One other thing to share is not really good but I just wanted to put it out there- I ran the hardest 8-miler of my life on Saturday. We decided to go on an adventure run through the Trexler Nature Preserve. Adam ran this a few weeks ago and he said it was tough (his average pace slowed by two minutes which is saying a lot because he’s wicked fast) but man, it felt impossible to me! It was a humbling experience but worth it for the beautiful views of Pennsylvania hills and we got to run through a river!

That’s all the news I have for now! Here’s a recap of my workouts last week:

Monday, June 30 – Rest

I had my stress echo at the hospital at 2:00 p.m. so I had to miss the yoga class at work. However, the echo included about 20-minutes of walking/running on a steep inclined treadmill.

Tuesday, July 1- 4 miles, easy + Strength Training

It was a warm and humid run out there this morning, even at 5:30 a.m.! I was happy to run in the morning before work though because any other time would have been impossible. My pace was a little slower than I would’ve liked, especially the first mile, but I think that was due to the humidity and my legs still feeling a little sore/sluggish.

Plan: 4 miles, easy (10:00/mile)
Actual: 4 miles in 35:25 at 8:51/mile

Shoes: Saucony Mirage 4
Conditions: 70 degrees, 78% humidity

Wednesday, July 2- 5 miles, hill repeats

I had to do hills today so I decided to do 5x100m hill sprints. It was a humid morning though- at 5 a.m. it was already 75 degrees with a real feel of 81. I was soaked by the time my run was done!

Plan: 5 miles, hills
Actual: 4.91 miles with 5x100m hill sprints in 43:58 at 8:57/mile

Shoes: Saucony Mirage 4
Conditions: 75 degrees, 87% humidity

Thursday, July 3- Strength Training

Oiselle “Dozen” Ab Workout + Ankle strengthening exercises

Friday, July 4- Firecracker 4-miler (+ 0.5-mile warm-up for 4.5 miles total)

Well this was a huge surprise! Adam and I registered for this race the day of and I wasn’t planning on “racing” it at all- I just wanted an excuse to wear my 4th of July themed #RUNootd. I ended up setting a 5-minute 4-miler PR, won second in my age group, and ran my fastest mile yet.

Plan: 5 miles, easy (according to my training plan)
Actual: 4 miles in 30:55 at 7:43/mile average (plus 0.5-mile warm up)
Splits: 7:48, 7:43, 8:26, 6:55

Shoes: Nike LunarGlide 6

Saturday, July 5- 7.9 miles, trails

This was arguably the hardest run of my life. I ran through Trexler Nature Preserve on trails and it was difficult. The climbs on this run were crazy and I had to walk most of the hills. It was also incredibly hot!

Plan: 5 miles, easy (according to training plan)
Actual: 8 miles, trails

Shoes: Nike Zoom Kiger trail shoes

Sunday, July 6- 11 miles, easy

My legs were absolutely dead from the race Friday and the trail run Saturday so this was a long, slow slog. Once I actually started running I felt good but I was pretty unmotivated and tired so I didn’t get out the door until much later than I would have liked.

Plan: 12 miles, easy
Actual: 11 miles in 1:45:29 at 9:35/mile average

Shoes: Saucony Mirage 4

Weekly Mileage Total: 32 miles

Chicago Marathon Training: Week One

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Hannah McGoldrick

Photo from running in York Harbor, Maine with Adam. (Photo credit: Adam K.)

The first week of training went pretty well! Despite it being incredibly hot and humid I was able to get all of my runs done. I was a little disappointed to only be able to get one strength training session in but my schedule unfortunately didn’t allow for any wiggle room. I had a really great first “long” run and I was relieved because for some reason I was a little nervous. This upcoming week I’m hoping to get in more early morning runs and strength sessions than last week. Happy running!

Monday, June 23 – Yoga

XT – 45 minutes of Vinyasa Flow Yoga

A nice and easy Vinyasa Flow yoga class to kick off week one of training for the Chicago Marathon!

Tuesday, June 24 – 4.28 miles

I ran with the local running store tonight and Saucony was there wear-testing shoes. It was perfect because I’ve been thinking about adding a more cushioned shoe into my rotation for training and they were testing the Ride 7. It was much more stable than I’m used to (I typically run in the Mirage 4) but it felt good and I think it will be good for long runs and easy runs. Other than that the run was good. I went a little too fast to start, first mile ticked off at 7:59, but it was a hot one so I dialed in the pace for the rest of the run.

Plan: 4 miles, easy
Actual: 4.28 miles in 37:35 at 8:46/mile pace

Shoes: Saucony Ride 7
Conditions: 85 degrees, sunny, humid

Wednesday, June 25- 4 miles

I ran up 10th Street for this workout (500 ft. elevation gain over a mile). It was the first time I ran it in months so it was pretty hard. I walked a lot but I got to the top and the downhill was so great.

Plan- 4 miles, hills
Actual- 4 miles in 36:42 (0.6-mile warmup, 1-mile up, 1-mile down, cool down)

Shoes: Saucony Mirage 4
Conditions: 84 degrees (real feel 93) with 90 percent humidity

Thursday, June 26- 4 miles

I was testing out some treadmills for work today so I ran two miles on one treadmill and another two miles on the other. I was actually relieved to run indoors because the humidity has been absolutely killing me lately and unfortunately my schedule this week hasn’t allowed for early morning runs.

Plan- 4 miles, easy
Actual- 4 miles in 35:xx minutes (8:45/mile)

Shoes: Saucony Mirage 4
Conditions: Air conditioned, indoors

Friday, June 27- Strength

Strength Training –

“The Dozen” Ab Workout
Ankle strengthening exercises – single leg lunges, single leg squats, hamstring curls with a stability ball
Arm exercises

Saturday, June 28- 4 miles

Just ran an easy shakeout run before my Sunday long run. Did an out and back near my house. It was really humid and I waited way too late to head out.

Plan: 4 miles, easy
Actual: 4 miles in 35:40 at 8:55/mile

Shoes: Nike Volmero 2
Conditions: HOT

Sunday, June 29- 10 miles

This was one of the best long runs I’ve had in quite some time. My pace was extremely even, I even had enough energy to pick it up for the final two miles. I ran on the Saucon Rail Trail path because it’s incredibly flat and just about the only flat terrain around where I live. I wanted to run long on flat terrain because Chicago is going to be much flatter than anything I’m used to running. While I’m still incorporating hills into my weekly workouts, I want to also incorporate some long, flat runs as well to practice running on similar terrain as Chicago.

Plan: 10 miles at 10:00/mile pace
Actual: 10 miles in 1:33:xx at 9:18/mile
Nutrition:

Prerun: 1 everything bagel with butter an hour before the run, 1 cup of coffee, water.
During: 1 vanilla bean Gu 6 miles into the run, water
Postrun: 1 32oz Gatorade and Brunch with friends!

Shoes: Asics Gel Flux (still waiting for my new Saucony Ride 7s to come in)
Conditions: 63 degrees to start, humid, sunny

Mileage total: 26.28

Also, with my new Nike+ Sportswatch I’m now on Nike+.com. Add me as a friend if you’re on there too!