Marshmallow Training - 6 Weeks To Go

Sunday Planned: 12 Miles Long Run
Sunday actual: 11.5 Miles around Lake Harriet
From today, I learned: The snow is melting!

Monday Planned: Tempo run,  Monday abs, Monday Weights
Monday actual: Run 1 miles.  Be grumpy.
From today, I learned: At least I remembered to move the 'tempo run' around on Final Surge so my poor coach can actually find it.

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: Tempo run; Monday weights.  I did not do abs because, wow, there are way too many people at the gym at this time of day and I was grumpy.
From today, I learned: I made this run harder in my mind than it was in my body.

Wednesday Planned: 4 Miles easy (I wish I'd had this last week) Wednesday weights
Wednesday actual: 4.15 miles in the morning.  I loved this run.  Weights done.
From today, I learned: I loved running and at the end I was thinking "was that all?"

Thursday Planned: Run 1 Miles
Thursday actual: 1.2 miles in the morning before a wild day
From today, I learned: Get up and get it done

Friday Planned: Run 1 Miles or 6 Miles and Friday weights
Friday actual: 6.04 miles at Coon Rapids Dam/Rush Creek Trail
From today, I learned: I loved this run too!

Saturday Planned: Run 1 Miles or 6 Miles
Saturday actual: Turns out, I did my long run today, 17.01 miles in the books.  I'm so over running.
From today, I learned: Note to my future self: This is the point where you hate marathon training apparently.

Quality Miles Monday Tuesday

Plan: 20 mins easy, 20 mins moderate, 10 mins easy

Actual Mileage: 5.42 miles

Route: From the downtown gym, along the Kenilworth trail, out and back

Weather: 50*, definitely some wind

Execution: I had a bit of a fail here.  I didn't re-read the instructions for this run before I did it so...
35 mins warm up plus easy running (this part is okay)
20 mins (roughly) more than moderate running.  I had a 10:08 and and 10:16 mile, which weren't even paces I  thought I could throw down outside of a race.  So, I made this workout probably harder than it needed to be, but it got done.
15 mins easy running and cool down (this part is also okay)

From today, I learned: I mean, read the workout before I do it next time. I could've slowed down a bit here.

Bonus: Strava says I've set a couple PRs on this run, and 3rd place for my "2 mile effort" (ya think?!?)  I'm guessing efforts 1 and 2 are in some 5K races from a year or two ago.

Long Run Sunday - Lake Harriet

Plan: Run 12 miles around the river.
Run to and around Lake Harriet!
Actual Mileage: 11.5 miles, and I'm okay with it.

Route: Down to the creek, along the creek, around Lake Harriet, back along the creek, up through Tangletown and down that super fun hill, then back home.

Weather: Started in the high 30s and ended in the mid 40s.  Cloudy and humid.  Very little wind. 

Wardrobe:
Shoes: Trail Crushers.  I finally just bought another pair of these, so I can run the marathon in a pair that does not have 500 miles on them.
Pants: Asics running pants.
Top: Short sleeve shirt, and a quarter zip that I had on for about a mile.
Other: Nathan racing vest; turns out there's enough storage to hold a quarter zip in there. And a buff on my head.

Execution: I'd headed out my door planning to run over to the river.  But I got about four steps and was all "I bet it's clear to Harriet and back, that'd be fun" I didn't look at my watch too much, just plodded along and had a nice time.
Nutrition: This run was fasted.  I am starting to think about actually doing the low carb or whole30 thing again, up until race day.  That will help the weight situation and also help dial in nutrition.
From today, I learned: Hills are getting more fun, and that is not a thing I thought I'd ever say.
Bonus: Did I tell you I ran in short sleeves!

Marshmallow Training - 7 Weeks To Go

Sunday Planned: Run 1 miles (long run was done yesterday)
Sunday actual: Run 1.16 miles on the track; Walk 3.3333 miles on the track with Dungeon Master.  Monday weights were done today, abs are not done yet.
From today, I learned: I had a nice talk with Dungeon Master on the track. 

Monday Planned: Either tempo, weights/abs, or run 1 miles depending on how I feel
Monday actual: 1.24 miles
From today, I learned: I forgot to turn off my watch when I came inside, so I'm going to learn from that mistake.

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: 1.72 miles plus 0.5 miles walking
From today, I learned: Y'all, I almost bought a house and then I didn't.  It was a wild day.

Wednesday Planned: Run 7 miles, Wednesday weights
Wednesday actual: 1.22 miles of grumpiness. This run essentially got skipped this week.  I've felt lousy and opted for sleep.  It is what it is.
From today, I learned: It's warm enough for capris

Thursday Planned: Run 1 miles
Thursday actual: Turns out, tempo run was today.
From today, I learned: Rush Creek Trail is quite literally under water.

Friday Planned: Either tempo run, or run 1 miles (depending on Monday), Friday weights
Friday actual: Run 1 miles in the afternoon.  I felt like garbage
From today, I learned: Weather is warm enough to run in shorts, but ice is still an issue.

Saturday Planned: Run 6 miles
Saturday actual: 7 Miles around Lake Nokomis.
From today, I learned: The sidewalks are clear enough for me to run from my house, to/around Lake Nokomis and back.  Strava says I have not done this route since September of 2017.  Wowsers.

Quality Miles Thursday

Plan:
Warm up: 1 mile
Repeat 3x Tempo: 1 mile at 11:00-10:30/mile, Easy 1/2 mile
Cool down: 1 mile

Actual Mileage: 6.75 miles

Route: Well, see...I'd planned to do Rush Creek Trail.  But apparently it's underwater.  Like, even more impressive than the water on the Greenway, Under Water!  And I was not getting around that mess. So, I finally got to try the path north of the dam along the river because it was NOT under water.  I took that path north about a mile, and then ran my first tempo mile and half mile easy, then turned around, etc.

Weather: OMG Finally!  It was a gorgeous 48* and fairly windy. Wind was in my face on the northbound legs of this route.

Wardrobe: Shorts, long sleeve shirt, compression socks, Merrel shoes.  (I need to get another pair of these; they are over their mileage.)

Execution:
Warm up: 1.46 miles.  The warm up is long because of the flooding issues I discovered. Thank goodness it was like 0.2 miles into the run.
Tempo: 10:33; 10:33; 10:19
Cool down: 1.3 miles of taking pictures on the dam.

From today, I learned: I told my coach this workout was harder in my mind that it was in my body.  Dreading the workout took a lot more energy than running it. I did feel lousy on Monday and not doing it then was the right decision.

Bonus: I mean, did I tell you about the sunshine.  I'm starting to get a tan on my face and neck from being outside.  In Minnesota.  In March!

Sunday Long Run: The River has thawed

Plan: I mean, 16 miles in some direction or other.  There was really not much of a plan today.
Actual Mileage: 16.0 miles, the last few hundredths of a mile were circling the parking lot to get to a round number.  There was another runner there and she knew exactly what I was doing.

Route: This is why there was really no plan.  The route would kind of be dictated by ice conditions along the trail.
Start: Lock and Dam 1 Parking lot; which has been a good starting point for a lot of these runs.
Miles 1-5 h Mile 6 - wow, that's a big ice patch by the Guthrie; maybe don't come back this way?
Mile 7 and 8- across the Stone Arch Bridge into northeast.  Wow!  More ice patches, maybe go back on the other side of the street?
Mile 9 - I thought I'd go over the Dinkytown Greenway onto the U of M Campus, but the ice past the pedestrian tunnel was the most impressive I'd seen all day, so I turned around and stayed on my side of the river.  I'd judged the mileage would get me back to my car between 14.5 and 15 miles which meant some amount of back and forth for the cool down/total mileage.
Miles 10-15 Back south along the river, same way I'd came.  This side of the river is less hilly than the U of M/St Paul side, though Franklin Ave hill was still rough.
Mile 16 - I did an out and back over the Ford Bridge as my 'cool down'.  And by that I mean "I walked the last mile". 

Weather: SUNNY.  I mean, let me tell you how bright and sunny Minnesota can be. It was glorious. It was cool, around 30* to start, and maybe 34* at the end, and winds out of the northwest around 5mph.  This is my first run of the year where the river is legit thawed out.  I was so captivated by the reflections of the buildings and bridges in the water.  It was gorgeous. 

Wardrobe:
Shoes: I did NOT wear my Altras.  I wore an older pair of Merrells, which have some traction but not the monster lugs of heavy duty trail shoes.
Bottom: Brooks Running pants
Top: Christmas shirt, sweet shirt
Other: Sunglasses were required today.  I had a fleece headband on for most of the run but that did get too hot/uncomfortable by the end. I did not wear a hat or gloves.  Nathan vest with two water bottles and other goodness. 
Execution:  I felt like garbage when I woke up.  My head was pounding, my stomach was bleh, garbage. I'm getting my period though, so this is not likely to improve if I wait 'till tomorrow.  I ran this knowing I felt like crap and just trying to keep moving, not caring about pace.  I had the rule in my head I could switch to a run/walk whenever I wanted, which I did not do.  I did basically walk the last mile as my cool down though. My head stopped hurting around mile 15. 
Update: I think I should be fair to myself and say here this is the first day I've really felt bad in my body during marathon training.  Some of this is related to my cycle, and not so much about running, but wow, this was rough and I got through it. (I came back after this post was written to say that as a note to my future self.)
Nutrition: Before the run I had a couple slices of cheese, and unrelated to the cheese I had a scoop of nutella. During the run I had gummies and water.  

From today, I learned: If I'm going to run this long, I need to start thinking about electrolytes.  Because that was not helping the "I feel like garbage" issues.   But really the thing I learned was mental grit.  This run sucked from top to bottom but I was SO HAPPY to have it done, and so proud of myself for a) getting out of bed and b) getting this done. 

Bonus: During my cooldown I realized how close I was to Smashburger, so when I got back to my car instead of driving home, I headed over there for post-run nutrition.
Second bonus: I listed to Michelle Obama's book during this run.  At the start of the run, she'd just met Barack Obama and 16 miles later she's got two kids and a job she loves.

Marshmallow Training - 8 Weeks to Go

Sunday Planned: 15 miles long run 6 miles easy?  Or 1 mile if I don't want to go anywhere?
Sunday actual: 1.5 miles in the slush and misery
From today, I learned: If my feet are going to get wet, make sure it's close to home?

Monday Planned: Tempo Run, Monday Abs, Monday Weights
Monday actual: Tempo run done; no abs or weights
From today, I learned: I just need to give up on the idea of doing abs/weights after tempo runs

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: Monday abs; 1.16 miles on the track
From today, I learned: Totally worth my time to run inside today because outside is beyond lousy with puddles, potholes, and all kinds of issues.  Also, how are there only 8 weeks left?!?

Wednesday Planned: 7 miles easy, weights
Wednesday actual:  7 miles on the track at the gym.  Wednesday weights.
From today, I learned: I kept telling myself I have tomorrow off work and mostly off running so I should suck it up and do weights no matter how tired I am.  It was the right choice.
Also, I saw one of the trainers 'running to work' as I was parking my car, so I had to ask her about outside conditions.  She said the puddles are an issue but the ice is a much bigger issue and made her run no fun.  So I'll be inside for a while still.

Thursday Planned: Run 1 miles
Thursday actual: 1.21 miles in Yak Trax in the rain. 
From today, I learned: If you'd told me before that in March I'd be running in Yak Trax and 40* and rain and be happy about it, I would've been really sad for the rest of winter.  And yet, here we are.

Friday Planned: Run 1 miles, weights
Friday actual: 6 miles, easy, on the track.  Friday weights
From today, I learned: I went to Pineda Tacos after this workout.  I learned they can do 2,4, or 8 tacos but 6 is not possible. I have no idea why. But, Pineda Tacos is next to the gym, so I can walk over after my workout and that's super convenient.

Saturday Planned: Run 6 miles
Saturday actual: 16 miles long run, because as lousy as I feel today it will probably be worse tomorrow.
From today, I learned: How to run when I feel like garbage?  Also, electrolytes will probably be important on race day.

Quality Miles Monday

Plan: 1 mile w/u
4x 0.5 miles at 10:30/mile, 0.5 miles at 12:00/mile
1 mile d/c

Actual Mileage: 6 miles

Route: Indoor track, 6 laps is a mile

Execution: This was a hard workout.  I would've hit the paces better on the treadmill, but I was happier on the track
1 mile w/u
0.5 miles at 10:20/mile; 0.5 miles at 12:02/mile - ok; first set was right on
0.5 miles at 10:46/mile, 0.5 miles at 12:06/mile - second one was a little slow really pretty good.  It's hard to pace on the track
0.5 miles at 10:32/mile, 0.5 miles at 12:30/mile - fast part good, slow part was too slow
0.5 miles at 10:46/mile, 0.5 miles at 12:36/mile - fast part was hanging on, slow part was trying not to die
1 mile c/d

From today, I learned: This was a lot more 'hard' or 'harder' running than any of the past tempo workouts.  Most of those were a few minutes on and then an easy portion.  This was 4 miles of pretty hard, and then hard running.
Later, talking with my coach, she says "my athletes usually hate me for this one".  It wouldn't have helped me to know that before today. 

Bonus: One of the trainers at the gym came over to me today and was all "I didn't know you were a streaker"  She's at about 2 years and thinking 'how will I keep this going after the marathon?"  I did one run the day after a marathon and it was one of my more painful runs ever. 

Flat Long Run, Fast Finish

Plan: Run 15 miles.  Spend lots of time on the Rush Creek Trail becuase that's been in the best condition of anything all year.  Try to head north from the dam along River Rd because that would be new.  And head south from the dam along River Rd because you'll need the distance.  And maybe stay off the Anoka Co side because that was bad last time.
Actual Mileage: 15.29

Route: Part of what happened in my "Plan" is that I didn't know how far out I could get on Rush Creek Trail. I know it goes into Elm Creek and those paths are for sure not plowed, but I didn't know the exact mileage, that's why I had all of these other "go north a ways, go south a ways" spurs planned in my head.
"Out" 5.5 miles along Rush Creek Trail. I never got lost but at mile 5.5 I had to cross one of two major roads, and I was just out of my reckoning at that intersection, so that's where I turned around and headed 'back' to the dam.  Once I got back to the starting point,
"Out" 2 miles south along River Rd.  Then 'back' 2 miles to the starting point for a total of roughly 15 miles.
Weather: Here's why I was running today: It was 34* and sunny.  Like, I had to wear sunglasses it was so bright.  There were some winds but nothing ridiculous.  Between tomorrow and Sunday we're supposed to get 8-12" of snow.

Wardrobe:
Bottom: Pink pants.  I love these pants but something weird (bad) is happening with one of the seams.  I need my Pooky Bear to look at it and make sure they're not going to fall apart.
Top: Long sleeve shirt; grey sweat shirt (the purple one was dirty)
Feet: Wool compression socks; Altra Superior Trail Shoes
Other: Sunglasses! Hat to start with, then downgraded to an ear band; I had gloves and a gaiter in case but I didn't use them.  I had my Nathan hydration vest as well.

Execution:
Warm up: Roughly 0.3 miles Walking
Miles 0.3-13 - easy running, just loping along.  My knee kept getting stiff (it is so not happy this winter) so I'd pick up my cadence whenever that happened.
Mile 14 - I ran this mile kind of hard.  Because I felt bad there weren't really any hills on this route, so I needed to make it harder in some way.
Mile 15 and up - I did a run walk followed by a walk to finish.  I felt okay but was glad to be done!

Nutrition: This was not a fasted run.  I had actually a big meal a few hours before I ran because this was later in the day.  During the run I had water basically whenever I wanted it. I had 1 chew at mile 3, and then 2 chews at miles 6, 9, and 12.
From today, I learned: I am strongly considering racing in this vest because "water whenever I wanted it" is a nice perk, and it's really nice around mile 23 as I recall.
Bonus: I had supper with Olive.  I am currently doing laundry so this is also a bit of a productivity bonus.

Marshmallow Training - 9 Weeks to Go

Sunday Planned: 14 Miles Long Run
Sunday actual: Long run done, inside. 13 miles on the track and 1 miles on the treadmill.
From today, I learned: This was not super fun, but I made it much worse in my head than it was in life.

Monday Planned: Tempo Run (I'm already pretty sure this is getting moved to a different day); Monday Weights; Monday Abs
Monday actual: Run 1.2 miles outside
From today, I learned: The path around the little park is plowed

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 Miles
Tuesday actual: Quality/Tempo/Torture run; Monday Abs; Wednesday Weights
From today, I learned: I can survive the treadmill and Eminem can help!

Wednesday Planned: 6 miles easy; Wednesday weights
Wednesday actual: 6.4 miles outside.
Conditions Sun: "come on outside; I'm super bright".  Wind: "heh heh heh"
This was baaaad footing.  I kind of regretted my decision to be outside today. Also my knee had the issues from being outside, I I did a finisher instead of Monday weights the way I'd planned
From today, I learned: Well, I sure didn't learn how the wind was in my face both ways!

Thursday Planned: Run 1 miles
Thursday actual: 1.21 miles in the morning
From today, I learned: Sometimes easy days are okay

Friday Planned: Run 1 miles; Friday Weights
Friday actual: Run 15 miles.  No weights.
From today, I learned: Run long in the good weather!

Saturday Planned: 6 miles easy
Saturday actual: Attempted 6 miles, wound up being slightly less than 2 miles
From today, I learned: Only run outside when it's fun.  This was lousy.

Quality Miles Monday Tuesday

Plan: As written 15mins easy;
5mins at 11:00/mile; 5mins easy;
5mins at 10:45/mile; 5mins easy;
5mins at 10:30/mile; 5mins easy
5mins at 'whatever you can do'
10mins easy/cool down
Actual Mileage: 4.83 miles
Route: I did this on the treadmill for the pace control
Execution:Actual
15mins at 4.1mph
5mins at  5.4mph (11:06/mile); 5mins easy at 4.1mph
5mins at 5.6mph (10:42/mile); 5mins easy at 4.1mph
5mins at 5.7mph (10:31/mile); 5mins easy at 4.1mph
5mins at 5.7mph (10:31/mile)
10mins easy at 4.1mph
5 mins cool down walking 3mph
From today, I learned: I wish the cool down had been longer because I lifted weights after and that was a bit too much.
Also, I dreaded this workout and kept trying to push it off 'till I could do it outside, but I'm happy for myself that I got it done
Bonus: I did Monday Abs workout but Wednesday Weights.  It had to do with what shoes I was wearing.

Sunday Long Run - Inside Sadness and Madness

Plan: Plan A was to do all 14 miles on the track
Plans B+, B and B-  were to do incrementally less distance on the track and add in treadmill distance.
Plans D- and forward involved both treadmill and some amount of elliptical miles, which is a thing I'd use in some of my older marathon training days.
BTW, I've done a 10 mile run all on the track, and an 11 mile run mostly on the track and ending on the treadmill.  And every time I'm all "never again", but this winter has been rough.

Actual Mileage: 14 miles total.

Route: Indoor track, 6 laps is a mile basically.  And then, a little bit of treadmill because I was done with turning and corners.

Weather: Weather is the reason I'm inside.  We're having record cold weather for March.  It's the middle of the day and still not above 0* air temperatures.  And then there's wind. I've run outside during the polar vortex when it was this cold, but that was a very short run (3 miles).  I couldn't be outside in this for a long run without a related lesson in treating frostbite.

Wardrobe: To make myself feel better, I wore my favorite summer shorts and summer singlet.  I wore my Xero Prios, and this marks their longest run as well. So far, I'm thinking they will be my race day shoes, but wishing I could get a long run on concrete done in them before the big day.  Thus far, I'm not sure the snow will be melted here before the race.

Execution:
Warm up: The track is about 40 feet short of "6 laps is a mile", so I walk an extra 40' for every mile planned as part of the warm up.  And then I did about 0.5 miles of walking to get started.
Running: I have been listening to The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin since this run, and I'd hoped I'd be done with the book by the end of this run. I did really sink into the book.  We're into the Taft Presidency now.
Cool down: Somewhere after lap 72 but before lap 78 I felt a real twinge in my knee (inside leg on the turns) that meant "WTF, I am so done with all these turns", so I abandoned the track and lap 78 (13 miles), and did my cool down on the treadmill.

Nutrition: Best part of running inside is not having to carry everything with me at all times.
I had a water bottle and gummy chews.
I took water and 2 small chews every 3 miles.
This run was fasted because I was still full from last night when I woke up.

From today, I learned: I learned a lot about my mental health, and how to approach hard things.  Here's the back story.  I'd thought to do a long run Thursday, but I felt lousy, and didn't have enough daylight (afternoon run).  Then I'd thought to do the long run on Saturday which had the better weather of the two days, but I generally felt sluggish and lousy on Saturday so that didn't happen either.  So, I'd spent several days trying to plan a pleasant long run, then not getting it done, and feeling BAD about not getting it done.  Plus I'd had some time to dread the massive amount of time I was about to spend on the track.  And feeling BAD about not getting this done outside.
When I got to the gym today, I approached it more like my job.  No emotions; I just need to make this long run happen; it's my marathon training job for today.
And, I'm glad it's over, but it was okay while it was happening.  But also, I never want to do this again.

Bonus: There was a basketball tournament downstairs from the track, and there's these vendors that sell donuts and today sausage apparently.  I really hate the smell of food wafting up to me on the track.  Vindictive me is all "I should call the Minneapolis health department, because legit, there's no water, these food service people have no way of washing their hands or any utensils when they serve this food...." all so I don't have to smell your donuts while I'm running. 

Marshmallow Training - 10 Weeks To Go

Sunday Planned: long run Run 1 miles
Sunday actual: Run 1 mile in the snow.  The was super slow going.
From today, I learned: I pulled out the face mask again for this run.  We're having a blizzard.   Also, this is the current weather situation in Minnesota.  We've had super impressive amounts of snow, with more on the way next weekend, and the roads in southern Minnesota are currently closed (literally).  I finally talked to Mom about my weather anxiety and that helped a bit. 

Monday Planned: Quality workout: 5 sets of 5:00 tempo with 2:00 rest.  Monday abs.  Monday weights.
Monday actual: Quality workout completed.  Instead of Monday abs/weights, I did Friday weights.  It just seemed like the thing.  I had the weight room to myself.
From today, I learned: Tempo work was fun.  It felt good to sweat!

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: 1.15 miles in the snow.
From today, I learned: There have been a significant number of Yak Trax runs this month.  This run was much better than Sunday because it was post plowing.  Footing wasn't perfect but it was pretty good.  Also, the plow ridges are impressive.  PS - We got more snow tonight!

Wednesday Planned: Run 6 miles.  Wednesday weights.
Wednesday actual: 6 miles on the track, nice and easy heart rate.
Wednesday weights also accomplished.
From today, I learned: I felt much better after working out than I did before I started working out. 

Thursday Planned: Run 1 miles
Thursday actual: Run 6 miles at Rush Creek trail because of good weather today and lousy weather ahead.  Finisher.
From today, I learned: I started off feeling lousy (and also forgot my sports bra, had to use my emergency back up), but I'm glad I stuck with it because I felt better by the end of the run.

Friday Planned: Run 1 miles; weights
Friday actual: Run 1 mile; Monday weights; Monday Abs, so that's all done
From today, I learned:

Saturday Planned: Run 6 miles
Saturday actual: Run 1 miles, traded with Thursday
From today, I learned: So, I'd originally planned to do my long run today, but I just never felt up to it.  So, not only did I not feel up to going for a run, but now I have that guilt.  Also, since I'm doing it tomorrow, it's going to happen inside, so there's that.