Gettysburg Marathon Training : Week 2

Week two of my marathon training is over, and I'm feeling great!  I was so inspired by a few friends that had races this week (Steffany finished her fifth full marathon despite tons of foot and toe issues, her husband took over 40:00 off his half marathon PR, Suzy won a 5k and then paced her husband in his first marathon, who crushed it despite catching pneumonia and having hamstring issues).  I love the running community for all the support that it offers, and love to use these incredible stories to fuel my training!  What excuse do I have to not go out there and run now?!

This was a really great week for me.  I felt so energetic the entire week, and even did some strength training.  That derailed my training a bit, but I still got all of my substance runs in.  Hopefully next week I'll be able to follow my plan perfectly and get back on track!

monday

Rest Day

I spent time doing some yoga and extra stretches this day.  I was pretty sore from week one of training, so this felt great!  Every day this week, I made sure to foam roll and stretch.  I think it helped a lot!

tuesday

3.5 miles / 32:03 / 9:09 pace

The first snowfall of the year!  It was absolutely gorgeous on the trail- a real winter wonderland.  Running in the snow is one of my favorite things to do.  I always feel like a little kid again, and the cold or wetness never bothers me.  I even saw some deer during my run (there were about 10 of them, but you can kind of see 3 in the picture above).  Great run!

wednesday

5 miles / 47:29 / 9:29 pace

My Run Club track workout was cancelled because of icy roads, so I took my speed workout to the gym!  On my schedule was a one mile warm up, three miles at marathon race pace (9:05) and one mile cool down.  I typically hate running on the treadmill, but this was a great run!  I guess I miss running in shorts and a tank top, because I hit the paces with no problem.  Towards the end of the three miles I bumped up the pace a bit, and had no troubles at all with this workout!

thursday

Group Power

I decided to head back to my Group Power class (which is similar to Body Pump or other high rep/low weight strength classes).  Apparently everyone had the same idea because it was packed in the class!  The class was great and the hour flew by.  My arms and legs were shaking most of the class because it has been way too long since I last lifted.  Spoiler alert- I'm going to feel this for a while.

friday

5 miles / 48:17 / 9:39 pace

This was such a painful run.  My legs were SO sore from Group Power, so I went out for some slow, easy miles.  I was shocked at my pace because I felt like I was running much slower.  This definitely wasn't a fun run at all, but the weather was beautiful and I was just happy to be out there!

saturday

550 yard swim

My legs were really sore from my class on Thursday and running the next day, so I decided to give myself a rest day from running and head to the pool.  This was the first time that I shared my lane, which I was really nervous about.  Luckily, my lane partner was a very nice guy who didn't mind at all that I'm very slow and take frequent breaks on the side of the pool.  

I ended up doing 550 yards and spending some quality time in the hot tub and sauna afterwards, which helped to loosen up my muscles!

sunday

10 miles / 1:34:10 / 9:25 pace

Such a great long run! My legs were still a bit sore from Thursday (which means I really have to work on my strength training!) but my body felt so energetic and just wanted to go! My plan was to run the first 3 miles easy (9:27, 10, 9:47) then aim for 3 miles at marathon pace (9:02, 8:51, 8:42) then finish with easy miles (9:28, 9:43, 9:36, 9:39).  Apparently I need to work on pacing at the beginning of my runs!

This was also my first run where I fueled with dates and coconut water during the run.  I brought along two dates, both cut in half.  My plan was to eat a half every 2.5 miles.  They were a bit too big and heavy for me, but they really helped to energize me.  It was also nice to eat something instead of just taking a gel.  I think next time I'll cut them in smaller pieces and take them every mile instead and see how that works.  I also drank some coconut water at the halfway point.  I like having this better than Gatorade or plain water, because it's really refreshing and has some potassium in it.  This one has no added sugar or flavor, so it's Whole30 compliant!

How was your week of training?
Did anyone else race this weekend?

linking up with Katie, Erin, Holly and Trisha