Saturday, February 20, 2016

Scraped Knees and Bruised Egos. Week 2 - Marathon Training Complete

Week Two- Grandma's Marathon
Training Complete 

This week started off with a bang, and then somewhere in the middle I lost a bit of mojo.  I managed to throw in a half-marathon and a fall on the ice..... and then I capped it off with a 6 mile easy run. 

Day ONE:  
Yup, hill sprints!  Susan is a great trainer; fantastic really.  But, there is part of me that knows she enjoys to torture us just a bit too much!  2 miles of hill sprints, or as she says a good pace up.  Day one total was 6 miles.  

Day TWO: 

32 degrees at the 5AM start was absolutely amazing.  I could dress lighter and we ran easy.  5.5 miles - nothing too exciting.  Just another day, another grind. 

Day THREE: 

Push pace day.  Run as fast as reasonably comfortable for the entire duration of the run.  It was 11 bitterly cold degrees and this run was horrible.  Everything about it was horrible.  I lost my mojo for the day, couldn't keep up with the group, had frozen fingers and couldn't WAIT to be done.  I talk about it in detail on my last blog post.  I won't bore you with all the details, but look here if you want more. :)   But basically, I felt like this after.

Amazingly, I finished 6.6 miles at 8:22/mile.  Super fast for me for this distance.  After some great social media contact and positive comments,  I reflected with this.  


Day FOUR:

I took a rest day on Thursday and did some light weight training.  My arms actually still hurt from the workout three days later. Apparently, it was a good one!

Day FIVE: 

Long run day.  We decided to do this on Friday morning.  Because I need to be home for my husband to go to work at 6:30 am, my alarm rang at 4:20 am.  I got in 2 miles before meeting the girls at 4:45 am to complete 13 miles; all before breakfast. 
The temperature was amazing at 34 degrees.  Surprisingly, for a day when I was up so early, the run really did feel effortless.  We quickly realized that we were going to be a bit slower because the roads were very icy from the re-freeze over night.  So icy in fact, both Susan and I took a nasty fall at mile 12.  I skinned my knee and elbow right through my clothes.  Stunned I laid there for about 60 seconds and my last 1.2 miles was a bit slower.  

I was surprised to see the break in skin even through my tights!

Even with the fall however, the run felt fantastic.  Pace was great at 9:01 per mile and I felt pretty damn excited to run a half marathon before breakfast.  I tried fuel for the first time during this run and it went just fine.  No stomach upsets....so it's a WIN! 



Day SIX:

Today was a day I probably could have skipped. I was pretty darn sore coming off of 13.2 miles the day before and I am still nursing my knee.  My husband encouraged me to go out and do a recovery run.  Had I not, I woudn't have seen this beautiful sunrise.  It's such a welcome sight.  I rarely run in light until late spring when the sun rises about 5:15.   I'll take any sunrise I can get!


6 miles to complete week two! Although they weren't easy because I was so sore, I sure am thankful for the beauty around me!

STATS:

37.3 miles
6 workouts
5.6 hours
4098 calories burned

Today, like last week, I'm linking up with Hoho Runs and Tricia at MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap! Make sure to check out some other great blogs when you visit! 





19 comments:

  1. Great week of training! That's too bad about the fall. I hate falling. That's why I didn't do my speedwork on the snowy path. It wasn't so much the snow that scared me, it was the hidden ice underneath that I was worried about. Damn winter!

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    1. It was for sure the black ice most definitely. Damn winter is RIGHT! 😜

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  2. Ouch! That fall looks painful. Thank goodness that it didn't happen earlier..right? Still sucks to fall but I always tell myself it could be worse.

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    1. You are right! I could run/walk the last mile so it was at a good time. Darn ice!

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  3. Great to see you back here Gina! I'm glad your fall wasn't any worse. It would have probably terrified me so kudos to you for continuing on. I love seeing the sun rise right now on my morning runs. I was sore on my long run today from physical therapy. I think they are trying to kill me! Thanks for linking with us.

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    1. don't they all try to kill you? ha! My friend who is training us... LOVES to push!

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  4. Great training. Sorry to hear about the fall. It looks like it really hurt.

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    1. It did at the time, but now it's feeling fine! Thanks :)

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  5. Wow, you had a great week. That sucks about the fall. I have had that happen before. Sometimes that melt and refreeze ends up so slick and you can't always see it. Glad you walked away with as minimal injuries as you did. Hope you have another great week ahead of you!

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    1. Thanks Kelli! I couldn't believe the refreeze the black ice was everywhere! I love spring like weather, but we do have to watch out!

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  6. Wow! I'm impressed that you did 13 before work. Amazing! Hope your knee and elbow are feeling better. I fell while out running for the first time last summer (I just tripped over uneven sidewalk) and it was very unsettling. Have a good week! -C

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    1. Knee is feeling good, except I found a hole in my tights doing laundry yesterday. :( BOO! Thanks!!

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  7. Ouch Glad you didn't seriously hurt yourself and I absolutely can't imagine running a half -- for training -- before sunrise.

    You're dedicated!

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    1. Thanks Judy! It felt so good to say, "Hey I ran a half before breakfast!"

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  8. I am so freaking impressed by these phrases in your post: "amazing 34 degrees, "Up at 4:20" and effortless half marathon before breakfast" Woman you are beast! I hate you had a fall but dang with a pace like that it did not slow you down much! Your an inspiration to me to kick it up! Thanks Gina for linking up!

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  9. Wow, Tricia! Thanks! 34 degrees is AMAZING in MN - thank GOD it's not below zero. :) he he. Love the link up!

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  10. Nope!, :( I found a road rash tear in my tights yesterday. I'm sad :( #runnerproblems

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  11. Great job this week despite the fall!!! And your pace is amazing! Have a wonderful week!

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