Tag Archives: Marathon training

Big Sur Marathon Training: Week One

Posted on by

6

Running in the cold isn't too bad when you have a cute outfit!

Running in the cold isn’t too bad when you have a cute outfit!

Week one of training for the Big Sur International Marathon went really well despite this week being record-breaking, and bone-chillingly cold! I successfully completed all of the runs on my training schedule and only one of them was on the treadmill.

I’m not sure I mentioned what training plan I’m using yet but since I’m running Big Sur with the Runner’s World Challenge, I’ve opted to train according to the Runner’s World First-Timers plan. While this is a beginner’s marathon training plan it’s designed for runners who have already run at least one half-marathon (I’ve run two) and consistently run five times a week. This plan was perfect for me because when I was looking at other beginner plans, many of them have you running only three to four times a week and with little to know hill or speed work. I am going to need hill workouts for Big Sur to make sure I’m adequately ready for Hurricane Point and the other monstrous hills along the route, but I also need speed work (in my case Yasso 800s) to keep my endurance up.

Also, since my plan is a 16-week training plan, I had to “officially” start on week three of the plan because there was overlap with the Disney Half-Marathon. But, I had a pretty solid base so there shouldn’t be a problem on the go forward. Here were my workouts last week:

Monday: Rest- I usually cross-train on Mondays but I was driving home from Massachusetts for my birthday weekend so I didn’t have time.

Tuesday: Easy 3 miles at 9:20/mile (28:00)- ran this during lunch and it was absolutely freezing outside! I’m talking 18 degrees with a feels like temperature of about 9 degrees and 15 mph winds. COLD. But I did it anyways and felt great after.

Wednesday: Easy 5 miles at 9:43/mile (48:40)- I folded on this run and decided to do it on the treadmill. I hate treadmill running for two reasons- 1. It’s the treadmill; and, 2. I ran much slower on the treadmill because I’m afraid of tripping. I wanted to get the mileage in and my co-workers keep reminding me that my easy runs should always be run at an easy pace, painfully easy. So, I guess the treadmill is a good way to ensure I’m taking it easy.

Thursday: Easy 3 miles at 8:39/mile (26:00) and 45 minutes of Gentle Flow Yoga- Oops, so much for that easy pacing. I did a 3-miler again during lunch but it was so cold, I couldn’t help but speeding up to get inside faster! I felt really good though and enjoyed the run more than Tuesday’s run. I also did yoga with a Megan and Cait after work. None of us are fantastic yogis (although I’m really trying to do more of it!) but we all wanted to try out a class offered by our work. I thought it was a great class, although I wouldn’t have minded it to be a bit more intense but I guess that’s what Gentle Flow means.

Friday: Rest and foam roll

Saturday: Easy 3 miles at 9:16/mile (28:00)- I was supposed to do my long run on Saturday but after we had some snow in the Lehigh Valley on Friday night, which turned to ice overnight, I decided not to leave me fate at the hands of the Valley’s snowplows (or lack there of) and reschedule my long run for Sunday. I was going to take the day off completely but the sun came out in the afternoon and I was itching to head out. Luckily I was able to get my roomie to come out with me. It was one of the best runs I’ve had in awhile because we were able to just chat and enjoy the roads to ourselves.

Sunday: 14 mile long slow distance at 9:34/mile (2:14:00)- Dun, dun, dun! The Long Run! This was my first long run of Big Sur training and my longest run since last September when I attempted the 14 mile distance with my cousin and friend. However, this time I was running solo and it felt amazing! I wasn’t really nervous about this run going into it. It was going to be cold, but I bundled up, and it was going to be long but I was prepared. While my route was much hillier than anticipated, I tackled the majority of the hills with no problems at all. Honestly, I was impressed with myself. My route took me all around town and included about two miles of trails along the river which was really relaxing. I felt my pace was comfortable and was amazed that I ran the full 14 miles faster than my first half-marathon time!

Weekly Mileage Total: 28 miles

I hope everyone else’s training went well this week. Happy running!

See all training recaps here.

The “Gear” Necessities of Marathon Training

Posted on by

7

As I enter into week 1 of Big Sur Marathon training, I wanted to ask the Twitter-sphere what are the absolute essentials (gear-wise) for marathon training. Clearly, a water bottle and GPS watch are favorites, but there are others too! – H.M.
View as slideshow
  1. Nathan water bottle
    fennelgrl
    ·

    Sat, Jan 29 2011 16:00:00

    ·

  2. Garmin Forerunner 110 Gps Fitness Monitor – Mappdash
    MappDash
    ·

    Thu, Jan 17 2013 16:00:00

    ·

  3. FitHappyGirl

    Hannah McGoldrick@FitHappyGirl
    Working on a post: What are the “gear” necessities of marathon training? #marathontraining #runchat

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:06:11

    ·

  4. highermiles

    Abbi Crowe@highermiles
    @FitHappyGirl will and heart. :)

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:07:33

    ·

  5. nycrunninggirl

    Abby@nycrunninggirl
    @FitHappyGirl water bottle! Garmin, music (for me at least), great socks, COMPRESSION SOCKS/SLEEVES- an absolute must! foam roller!

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:07:33

    ·

  6. meghgrace

    Meghan G. Loftus@meghgrace
    @FitHappyGirl Handheld water bottle or water belt. GPS watch, all the way. And some way to carry phone in case of emergency.

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:08:12

    ·

  7. nycrunningmama

    Michele Gonzalez@nycrunningmama
    @FitHappyGirl GPS watch! I don’t carry water but I’m a weird one =) LOL I stick my gels in my sports bra =) I also don’t foam roll. HA

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:12:10

    ·

  8. 4drun

    Dave Cregan@4drun
    @FitHappyGirl shoes that are worn in but not worn out that you’ve been fitted for. A very light nutrition belt – I have the SIS one

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:13:49

    ·

  9. jamiegusrang

    Jamie Gusrang@jamiegusrang
    @FitHappyGirl I used the Nathan Fuel series and added bottles as needed. The gel holder works really well, too. nathansports.com/our-produc…

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:39:05

    ·

  10. MarcyGialdo

    Marcy Gialdo@MarcyGialdo
    @FitHappyGirl Nathan water belt and @TPtherapy ultimate six kit. Better than just foam roller IMO!

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:52:44

    ·

  11. dnardi710

    Danielle Nardi@dnardi710
    @FitHappyGirl foam roller!

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 12:12:25

    ·

  12. werundisney

    Pam and Christine@werundisney
    @FitHappyGirl @dnardi710 I have a date each night with mine! :) #foamroller

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 12:37:34

    ·

  13. Andrea_runs

    Andrea Rice@Andrea_runs
    @FitHappyGirl #shoes #shorts #keepitsimple

    Wed, Jan 23 2013 15:30:42

    ·

Disney Half-Marathon Recovery

Posted on by

4

This past week I aired on the side of rest to prep for Big Sur Marathon training to begin this week. I wanted to give my body a chance to rest a bit following last weekend’s half-marathon before ramping up my mileage again for marathon training. One of my co-workers, Jen, who runs our Runner’s World Challenge program, tweeted this from the @rwchallenge Twitter account last week:

Screen Shot 2013-01-20 at 4.46.30 PMI took it as a sign and ran only three times total last week- my lowest mileage week in a long time. But I’m not dwelling on it because my body needed that rest more than I thought. However, I was able to get in one long run which will be good to keep my fitness up.

Monday- 45 minute boot camp class at the Energy Center- this class was really good because I need to get back into strength training more. I used low weights and the instructor gave me some modifications because she knew I ran the half-marathon last Saturday.

Tuesday- 3 miles on the treadmill- I wanted to do an easy few miles to see how my legs were feeling post-half. They felt great when I was actually running but after I was finished they were sore.

Wednesday- Did yoga for recovery- I planned on running but decided not to because my quads were still really stiff from running.

Thursday- 3 miles easy during lunch- This run felt really great. I kept an easy pace, although I didn’t actually track the run with my watch, and just got out to shake out my legs.

Friday- REST- I decided to make an impromptu trip back to Massachusetts this weekend because I thought, once marathon training really gets going, who knows when I’ll be able to get home. So, I spent most of Friday driving.

Saturday- REST- When I’m home, I like to spend as much time with my family as possible and on Saturday, that meant spending the day in Boston with my mom and sister. We did a lot of walking though, so maybe I got some miles in!

Sunday- 10 mile long run- I was determined to get a long run in this weekend and I did today. I ran 10 miles easy and my pace ended up being even slower than easy pace for me because the 20-30mph winds with gusts of 50-60mph made it REALLY difficult to run any faster! I felt really good though, didn’t have to walk at all and the weather was beautiful! Also, it’s my birthday so I was really excited to get some miles in!

Big Sur training officially begins this week and I’m really excited to keep y’all up-to-date! Happy running!

 

How to correct your running form to prevent injury

Posted on by

26

A few weeks ago I started feeling a sharp pain on the outside of my right knee. It usually showed up about a mile into my runs and felt like someone had stuck a knife into the side of my knee. My knee would either lock up at this point, or, if I was able to push on and keep running, the pain would travel all the way up the outside of my thigh to my hip. I knew immediately this was an IT Band problem.

With a little more than a month left in my training for a half marathon on Sept. 30, and three weeks into marathon training for a race on Nov. 19, this was not going to fly. I needed a solution. Fast. After taking quite a few rest days, I felt ready to hit the road again for an easy, quick 2-mile run. Not so fast, my IT Band said and around 1.6 miles my knee locked up and I literally could not run anymore. I was devastated and took to Twitter, as I usually do, to ask my runner friends what was wrong.

After hearing from a bunch of people I was informed it was more important to find out what caused the problem before trying to fix it. One of my Twitter followers, Ryan Knapp, a triathlete and endurance running coach from Kansas City, suggested the problem may be my form. Ryan asked me to take a 30 second video of me running away from my camera and back to my camera. I then sent it to him through his website and he evaluated it.

He told me he could immediately tell I used to be a dancer because of my posture and he said he’s be able to help me. Here’s the video I sent to him:

(Don’t mind my Dad talking in the background…)

After reviewing my video, Ryan filmed his own video to explain to me what he saw in my running form and what I could do to fix it. He said overall, my form wasn’t terrible- I have good body position (meaning I’m not leaning to one side or the other) and I have very still shoulders. However, he told me I had three things I needed to work on- lifting from my core, swinging my arms correctly and lean more.

  • Lifting from my core- According to Ryan, the reason I was having the IT Band problems is because I was swinging my legs like a pendulum when I ran, causing my foot to land in front of me and subsequently causing me to heel-strike, a huge no, no in the running world. To fix this, Ryan said I need to focus on lifting from my core so my feet will land below me and be able to power up immediately after hitting the ground.
  • Arms- From what Ryan saw, I run with my arms kind of high up in respect to my ribcage and they go across my midline (the invisible line that runs down the center of your body). Ryan said this wastes a lot of energy and space. To fix this, he told me to “gunsling”- make sure my elbows go behind me and in front of me, somewhere down by my waist.
  • I run very erect- My running posture is very straight and according to Ryan, there should be a little bit of lean in a runner’s form. To do this, I want to lean from my ankles.

Here’s the video Ryan did for me:

Ryan said there were two simple exercises I can do to work on my form and get used to mid-foot and fore-foot striking.

  • Skip drills- This is where you literally skip down the street. According to Ryan, skipping helps the body (and feet) recognize what it’s like to push off from the fore-foot because it’s impossible to skip from the heel.
  • Jump Rope Drills- Simply pretend (or if you have a jump rope) like you’re jumping rope. This has the same effect as the skip drill but you’ll notice if you do this and then immediately stop, that’s the same effect as a heel strike, which is very bad. Jump rope drills will also help your body learn to mid-foot strike and fore-foot strike.

Yesterday morning I did these drills and put the tips into practice and I noticed a significant difference in my running. (Knock on wood*) I had hardly any IT pain and I ran an easy 5 miles in 45 minutes, pretty good time for me. I had to concentrate a lot more on my form throughout the run because the second I stopped paying attention I found myself going back to my old form. I talked to Ryan about this and he said, like with anything, it’ll take some getting used to. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!

If you’re interested in getting your form analyzed, feel free to contact Ryan either through Twitter or on his website.

Week 12: Half-marathon/marathon training update

Posted on by

8

Sadly there’s not much to report from this past week. My training plan called for an easy 2-mile run to start off the week last week and because of my work schedule I didn’t get to do it until Wednesday. Two miles is nothing to me at this point but about 1.6 miles into the run my right knee locked up and it felt like someone stuck a knife into the side of my knee. The pain was so sharp I had to slow to a walk immediately. Weird thing was, it instantly felt fine. So I decided to start back up again when the pain came back with a vengeance and I decided to slow to a walk completely.

I was so disappointed and angry. I thought to myself, “I have not come this far to get injured a month before my half-marathon.” So I decided to do the right thing and rest all week. No running at all. I worked out though pretty much every day and did a ton of yoga.

After much research and consult with other runners on Twitter, I realized I have developed an IT band irritation and the cause is most likely my form. According to Ryan Knapp, an endurance running coach and triathlete, the IT band flare up was probably the result of poor form. I first noticed the pain while running a 5k a few weeks ago but it went away shortly after. I was able to run 12-miles no problem a few weeks ago and 9 miles two weeks ago but 2 miles killed me.

Ryan is helping me fix my form and according to him I should be back running stronger and better well before my half-marathon on Sept. 30.

If anything, not being able to run during the past week has made me realize what a gift running is and how much I have fallen in love with the sport. At this point I’m just trying to stay positive and put one foot in front of the other. I’ll be sure to do a post too about my form and keep everyone updated on my training!

Monday- power yoga and 3:04 min. plank a day and an ab workout

Tuesday- 2-mile run. Injured.

Wednesday- runner recovery yoga and variation of planks

Thursday- 3-miles on the elliptical and strengthening for legs, arms and abs. 4:00 min plank.

Friday- Power flow yoga and planks/ab workout

Saturday- Rest day, swimming in the ocean

Sunday- Rest day (I was at a graduation all day)

Monday Motivation: I’ve got to run

Posted on by

3

After having some serious IT band flare ups on a run last Tuesday I decided to make the smart decision to rest my knee to avoid hurting myself even more. Besides getting off of my marathon training plan, the whole not running thing was killing me! Especially when the weekend came and I had to spend it with someone I hadn’t seen in a long time and we didn’t exactly end on great terms. For me, running is my outlet, my stress reliever, my therapy, and after this weekend all I could think about was getting out on the road, clearing my head and finding peace again. Then this morning happened and I had a fantastic, easy 3-mile run, my knee felt pretty great and my mind was cleared of all negative thoughts. I’m still taking it easy on my knee but it felt so amazing to get back out there. I hope everyone’s training is going well and I wish you the best of luck this week!

Week 11: Half-marathon/marathon training update

Posted on by

3

Setting my training plan up the old-school way.

First off, the Healthy Living Summit this weekend hosted by Healthy Living Blogs was absolutely amazing. Literally words cannot even explain the impact this past weekend had on me, but that’s for a whole other post (probably to come tomorrow). But first, I want to give my weekly update about my training runs this week.

I’ve decided to still call it half-marathon training because I’m doing the half first but this also marked the first official week of my marathon training. Overall, the week went really well and my knee is definitely getting better.

My training plan (for the first week of marathon training) called for three runs this week starting with an easy 3-mile run on Monday. My average pace during the run was 9:21/mile with faster paces of 7:22/mile. This run was great and easy. I probably could have pushed a little harder but it was early and I wanted to be cautious with my knee.

On Tuesday I did some power yoga for strengthening in the morning and cross-training at the gym after work. For cross-training I went on the elliptical and did strengthening exercises, particularly with my legs.  I also did some arm exercises, ab work and did my longest plank every for 3:49.5! I was really excited about this, I may or may not have done a little celebration dance at the gym…

Wednesday was a speedwork day so I took to the treadmill (because I still don’t have a GPS watch) and did 4 miles with 2×1600 at a pace of 9:20/mile. I did the run in 37:00 and felt pretty good. I knew I was holding back and could have gone a lot faster but I wanted to be careful again because of my knee.

I took Thursday as a full rest day but did some yoga for recovery which was great for my hamstrings because they were feeling pretty tight.

Due to the Healthy Living Summit, I had to fit my long run in before the weekend so I did it on Friday night. My training plan called for 9-miles and I did it no problem! I had to do it on the treadmill because it was getting late, still really hot and I don’t have good reflective gear. I don’t know why but treadmill runs always seem harder, I think it’s mostly because I get bored but I don’t know. My average pace was 9:20/mile which was decent but I know I can go faster. I’ll work on it.

Saturday was the first day of the Healthy Living Summit for me and we had a CrossFit workout in the morning. This was my very first venture into the world of CrossFit but it wasn’t as intimidating as I expected it to be and I really liked it! I think I might try to add it into my workout schedule for cross-training.

Sunday morning we had a 5k fun run at the summit and that was really fun and relaxing, especially since we ran along the Charles River in Boston and into Back Bay. In all, it was a great week in training and an amazing week overall! I will write a post tomorrow to tell you all more about what I learned this weekend and to introduce you to some of the bloggers I met!

Here’s a quick glimpse of my week in training:

  • Monday- 3-mile easy run, 9:21 average pace
  • Tuesday- Power yoga in the A.M. and cross-training/strengthening after work
  • Wednesday- Speedwork, 4 miles with 2×1600 at 9:20/mile
  • Thursday- Rest and recovery yoga
  • Friday- 9-mile long run, 9:20 average pace
  • Saturday– CrossFit
  • Sunday- Healthy Living Summit 5k Fun Run

Total mileage- 20 miles

Week 10: Half-marathon training update

Posted on by

5

Always end your run with a smile!

Training went really well this week! My knee is feeling much stronger after taking a little running break due to an IT band strain. I ran three times this week and had two cross training days and yoga almost every day.

I started off my week with an interval workout at the local high school track. I did 2 miles with 4x400m sprint intervals. My average pace was 9:20/mile and fastest pace was 6:57/mile. This wasn’t my fastest interval workout but considering I had taken almost a week off, especially from interval workouts, because of my knee, I think I did a pretty good job. It was also a blistering 90 degrees with an insane amount of humidity so breathability wasn’t great.

On Tuesday, I went to the gym after work and did some cross training and strengthening. I did a mile on the elliptical and then worked my leg muscles and abs. Then on Wednesday morning, I did detox flow yoga which was really good for my knee.

On Thursday, I decided to test my knee with an 8-mile long run. I met up with my cousin after work but we had to wait until the sun began to set to begin our run because it was 95 degrees outside with 70 percent humidity. We started our run around 6:30 p.m. and I felt really great in the beginning. We started out WAY too strong though which proved to be a little too hard for my knee. Around mile 3 I had to stop and walk a bit because it was hurting. My cousin asked if I wanted to turn around but I knew it would kill me if I did so I decided to keep going.

The run was HOT and I was so thirsty the entire time but I was able to finish strong and strangely enough (yet again!) my knee felt great during the last three miles. In total, the run took 1:10:31, which included two short walking breaks (for my knee) and some crosswalks. My average pace was 9:33/mile and my fastest pace was 6:06/mile. Overall, it was a great run and I was so happy I was able to get out there and run the distance.

Friday morning was more yoga, I did the Lululemon Yoga for Recovery on YouTube.  On Saturday, I decided on doing an easy 3-mile run at an easy pace of 9:56/mile. I felt really great on this run and my knee felt better than ever! Sunday was another cross training and strengthening day which also went really well.

Overall, this week was great for training! I felt strong and ready to be back on the road. This week I have my runs planned out including an easy run, speedwork and a 9-mile long run. This week is also the beginning of my training for the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon so finger-crossed, I’m excited! I hope your training runs went well this week. Happy running!

Training for the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon!

Posted on by

11

It’s true folks, I’m beginning to train for the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon!! I think it’s also true that I’ve officially become obsessed with running. But on Monday, my cousin, who has been training for the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon with me, e-mailed me about training for the Philly Marathon. At first, I thought she was crazy because we’ve yet to run our first half-marathon and now we’re going to start training for a FULL marathon! What?! But then I was intrigued and I started to look into it. We have 15-weeks until race day and after looking at a bunch of training plans, many of them range from 14-18 weeks. Also, since we’ve already been training for the half marathon, our long run mileage is up to 12-miles. Not too shabby. I also found out that the Philly Marathon is a perfect starter marathon because of the flat terrain. So, after very little coaxing from my cousin, we made the decision to start training.

I realize this is overly ambitious but I’m up for the challenge. I think training for the half marathon has already taught me so much about my body and how to train for long distances. I know I need to stick to the training plan because I tend to get overly excited and run more days than I’m supposed to. Oops. This time around I will only run on run days and actually rest on rest days to avoid injury.

I also really, really want to focus on my nutrition because after last night’s long run I realized I’m not eating enough for the amount of calories I’m burning. I eat super healthy but need to add more protein and carbs to my diet. I also am starting to explore the mysterious world of protein shakes, something I always thought was for gym juiceheads. But apparently, tons of runners have post-run protein shakes to build up muscle, so I will too!

I am still mulling through some training plans but have found a pretty good one from the Runner’s World Smart Coach. Since I’ve already done my long run this week I’m going to focus on strengthening and maybe a short run this weekend. I’m pretty excited about this not only because it’s a huge deal but I’ve come so far since I started running in March! The support I’ve received from family, friends and especially my wonderful readers and fellow fitness bloggers, has really made me realize I can do this. Thank you for your support and here goes nothing! 26.2 miles of nothing!