I feel like April just started. How is it over so soon? As of yesterday, I have 5 weeks left of school.
• Training went very well this month. I had a good month in April. Some days we had decent weather and it was nice enough to run in shorts. Though there was a day or two that we did have a little bit of snow.
• Ran 110.51 miles. Another month over 100 miles. Total to date is 410.01 and that put me at 34% done of my yearly goal.
• Total time running was 21:42. Not quite a whole day but pretty close.
• Ran another race. Instead of running a marathon, I did a half marathon. It wasn’t my day. You can read about it here.
• 21 days of running. I run 5 days a week and have been loving it. My rest days are Monday and Friday which is good because those are the two days in which I am the most tired. I will begin training for a half marathon (ZOOMA Great Lakes or Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver) but haven’t decided which one and how to train for it.
• More great quality session workouts. These workouts are my favorite. I love the variety and the challenge. I did GREAT in all of them.
• I sort of kept up with Rachel’s challenge. I didn’t mind too much the pushups or the tricep dips. The burpees/jump squats are the worst.
• I am a ZOOMA Great Lakes Ambassador. I am excited for this opportunity and looking forward to running another half marathon in WI.
• Looking forward to 2 races in May. I am excited to be running the Chicago Spring Half Marathon and 10K (register today w/code “BRCHISPRING18” & get $10 off the half/$5 for the 10K) and the Soldier Field 10 Mile (use “BRSoldierField” to score some bonus RAM Racing sunglasses).
Overall, I am proud of myself with how I did in April. I did all of my runs which made me very happy. The only thing that didn’t go as planned was my race on Saturday. Not a big deal anymore and life goes on.
So how did April go for you?
Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.
Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Illinois Marathon part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!
Whew! It was an interesting weekend. The weather was perfect after battling with Mother Nature with the never ending winter. However, my race didn’t go as I planned. I didn’t run the marathon but instead ran the half marathon.
Let’s go back to Friday before the race. I worked for 1/2 day and then drove to Champaign. It took me about 3 hours to get there. No big deal.
I arrived at the Activities and Recreation Center to pick up my bib at the expo. The expo was pretty small. I didn’t buy anything but did sign up to be a bone marrow donor for Be The Match.
Found a picture of the course and saw Abe Lincoln. 🙂
Later that evening I went out to dinner with some friends at Old Chicago Pizza and Tap Room. I had pizza and pretzel sticks. We didn’t stay out too late and I think we left around 9pm. Earlier in the day I got my stuff ready for the race and that night I double checked to make sure I had everything I needed.
The next day my alarm went off at 5am. I got ready and then went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a bagel. It was cold. I knew it would warm up and was glad to see lots of sunshine in the forecast.
I parked in the lot and stayed in my car to stay warm. Finally I got out to use the port-a-potty and to check in my gear. I saw a few friends and we talked for a bit and got more excited about my race. I took one huma gel at about 6:50am. The plan was to take one every 4 miles.
I ran into Amanda (another BibRave Pro) and it was great to finally meet her. Then it was time to run!
My plan was to start running “slow” and then pick up the pace after the 13 mile marker. I was enjoying the warm sun and soaking it all in. I was FINALLY running a marathon that I had trained for a very long time. Training that took me outside running in very cold weather this winter. Finally everything was coming together.
I took another gel at mile 4. Still feeling good. I made sure to drink water at the water stations. Then after mile 6 my stomach began to hurt. I felt like I had to use the bathroom. I decided to walk a little and hoped that I would feel better. I didn’t. I kept walking and knew I was in trouble. I could feel my heart beating fast but couldn’t understand why since I was WALKING. I then got very tired, had some trouble breathing, and struggled to run. There was some wind but nothing worse that what I had encountered during my training. I wasn’t cold since I had a jacket. By mile 9 I knew I wasn’t going to finish the marathon.
I was in tears and was so mad. I was angry because I trained so hard for this marathon. Angry because instead of allowing this anger to push me to keep going, I was allowing it to mess with my head.
Yep, I went left.
The finish line was inside Memorial Stadium. I got my medal and went up the stairs to the Great West Hall to get some food.
I didn’t stay there too long and then went back to the hotel to shower. Afterwards I met a few Oiselle gals for brunch at Big Grove Tavern.
I spent the weekend trying to figure out what went wrong. Did I panic? Did I get nervous/scared? Was I a wimp and decided to take the easy way out by running 13.1 miles instead of 26.2? Did I start off too fast? Too many questions and honestly I am not even sure I will figure it out. Below are my splits.
Thanks to Athlinks I added another race to my profile. I have now run 158 races (69 half marathon)!
By Monday I decided to just let it go and stop thinking about it. Regardless I still ran a half marathon and I should be proud of it.
I thought the race was well organized. The half marathon course was pretty flat. There weren’t too many spectators and the ones that were there did a good job cheering for us. The best part was seeing a guy on a unicorn bike blowing bubbles. 🙂
For now I don’t plan on running a marathon anytime soon. I am signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon but plan to transfer my bib, so if you are interested in a bib, let me know.
Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.
M Ran 3.61 T 4.35 W 2.86 THRest F Ran 1.60 S Rest S Ran 13.27
My last week of training! I did one quality session (which I was shocked that I had to do) and the rest of my runs were done at an easy pace
Monday morning I had a professional development at school so I didn’t have to get in early. I went running in the morning and enjoyed seeing the sun.
On Tuesday I went out in the evening (later than I wanted to) for my last quality session workout (10 minutes warm up, 6×400@2:40 per rep, and 10 minutes cool down). Boom! Mission accomplished!
Friday was my last run (20 minutes) and I took my time and enjoyed it.
I went to work for 1/2 day and then drove to Champaign for the marathon. It was a long drive (2.5 hours). My race didn’t go as I expected. Spoiler alert: I did instead the half marathon. I will have a recap of the race on Tuesday.
Total mileage for the week: 25.70 Total mileage for this training cycle: 488.79 Total mileage for the year: 409.95
That concludes my training for the Illinois Marathon. I am signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in October but I think for now I will hang my marathon running shoes. I have a few races I want to PR (5K, 10K, 10 miles, and half marathon) and would like to focus on will like to focus instead on those race distances.
M Ran 10.76 T Rest W 6.52 TH2.49 F Ran 2.89 S Ran 5.90 S Ran 2.49
Before I tell you about my week, can we talk about Desi winning The Boston Marathon!!!! Wow, so amazing! I was watching it in my classroom when she was in 2nd place, then I stopped watching (can’t remember how long) and then the next thing I knew, she was in 1st place. Beautiful!!!
I missed my long run this past weekend. My coach asked me if I could do it on Monday. I told her yes but then found out we were expecting snow. Oh boy. When I got home I didn’t want to run. I wanted to read more about Desi and The Boston Marathon. Also, I was cold and tired. I asked my coach if it would be horrible if I didn’t run. See the message below. That and Desi’s win was enough to get me out there. I did. And it wasn’t bad at all.
My run was 40 minutes warm up, 3×10 minutes @10:43 with 400m recovery, 2×5 minutes @10:01 with 400m recovery, and 30 minutes cool down. Did better than expected!
I was excited but also nervous for Wednesday’s run (15 minute warm up, 1.50 miles @10:43, .50 mile @10:01, .50 mile @11:56, 1.5 miles @10:43, .50 mile @10:01, 10 minute cool down). It wasn’t too cold but a little windy. I did stop about 2-3 times for a little to catch my breath and then kept running. Felt great and was pleased with my splits.
The rest of the week were easy runs (Thursday was 30 minutes, Friday was 35 minutes, Saturday was 70 minutes, and Sunday was 30 minutes).
We finally have some nice and warm weather in Chicago. I began stalking the weather for next weekend in Champaign and am pleased that it will not be cold. 🙂
Today was a fun run at Fleet Feet Chicago sponsored by Brooks. We had a chance to try out the Levitate. I’ve heard so many great things about it and was excited to run in them. As soon as I put them on, I knew I was going to like them. They felt very soft and cushioned. What I don’t like is the price ($150) which I think is expensive. It is definitely more than I am willing to spend. I know they’ll be reduced sometime this year when the newest version is released and then I can buy a pair for me.
Another GREAT week of training and pleased with all of my runs. Less than one week to go!
Total mileage for the week: 31.05 Total mileage for this training cycle: 463.09 Total mileage for the year: 284.26
M Rest T 3.72 W 6.36 TH3.62 F Rest SRan 3.32 S Rest
Great day for running but legs felt very tired. I surprised myself and ran a “fast” mile of 11:53. Must remember to run S-L-O-W-E-R now that I am so close to my marathon.
I almost skipped my run on Wednesday because I was tired. I haven’t been sleeping well. I woke up very early on Monday and Tuesday and after work what I really wanted to do was nap. 🙂 It was 60 degrees outside and I know I’ve been complaining a lot about the weather so it was the perfect day to be out, right? I wore shorts and compression socks. Luckily I also wore a long sleeve top because once outside I was COLD. Very weird. It was 52 degrees when I was done.
My workout was interesting (15 minutes warm up, 4×800 @5:20/rep with 400m recovery, 4×400 @2:20/rep with 200m recovery, and 10 minute cooldown. Each interval was done faster than expected and that made me very happy!
Thursday had pretty decent weather and I couldn’t wait to run in shorts! However, it felt chilly on my run (like on Wednesday) and am glad I wore a long sleeve top.
The weekend was all about crappy weather. Wind and rain. I went back and forth with debating on doing my long run (40 minutes warm up, 3×10 minutes @10:43 with 400m recovery, 2×5 minutes @10:01 with 400m recovery, and 30 minutes cool down) on Saturday or Sunday. By the time I finally decided to do it on Saturday, I realized that it was going to take me over 2 hours to finish and I wouldn’t be back in time to shower and meet my family for lunch. I told myself that depending on how I felt after lunch and the weather conditions, I might still do my long run on Saturday.
Lunch was fun. We went to a Mexican restaurant. The food was OK but it was great hanging out with the family. After lunch I went home and took a nap. 🙂 I felt much better after my nap I went out for an easy run (40 minutes). It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and regretted not doing my long run instead. I even managed to finish each mile at the same pace – that has never happened!!
I wanted to cry Sunday morning. As much as I tried to motivate myself, I just couldn’t do it. I skipped my run. Did I feel guilty? Yes. I sent a message to my coach and she said I could do it on Monday. The problem is that we are expecting snow. So we’ll see if I run on Monday. Sigh, really over this weather. But I guess I shouldn’t really complain since the weather conditions for the Boston Marathon as expected to be worse.
Total mileage for the week: 17.02 Total mileage for this training cycle: 432.04 Total mileage for the year: 353.21
