Life has felt like a total whirlwind this past month. On top of moving and starting a new job, we just traveled to Knoxville and have a trip to Virginia planned in two weeks. It's all very exciting, but it's made getting into a routine a little tricky. This past week let me catch me breath a little, and I think I'm starting to come up with a game plan for fitting in my workouts.
And I'm sure once I establish some structure, we'll find our dream house, and I'll have to start from scratch again! (Though getting up for early workouts will probably be much easier when there aren't elephants dancing above my head all night.)
Sunday, March 29
Knoxville Marathon, 5:07:49
You can read my full recap at the link above, but suffice it to say the race was awesome, but the hills were killer. Sitting in a car for seven hours immediately after didn't help things in the soreness department either.
Monday, March 30
rest
It was Michael's birthday, so we did gifts and relaxed a bit, but we opted to save the celebrations for this weekend. We were both exhausted, especially since Michael did all the night driving, because he's that awesome.
Tuesday, March 31
2 mi easy, 11:18 min/mile
My legs felt very fatigued (which was to be expected), but all my aches and pain from the race were gone. I just took it slow and felt pretty good.
Wednesday, April 1
3 mi easy, 11:17 min/mile
My calves were especially sore on Wednesday, but I'm guessing recovering from a hilly race on hills will do that to you. It was warm out with the sun shining, and it was amazing to get out there and enjoy the weather.
Thursday, April 2
4 mi easy, 11:17 min/mile
It was incredibly windy (sometimes the gusts were so strong I couldn't hear my iPod) and very, very humid. I don't want to complain too much since I got to run in shorts and a t-shirt! My legs were a little sore at the end, since I think I was twisting at a weird angle to try to protect myself from the full brunt of the wind.
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| Is spring actually here?! |
rest
I got a two hour early dismissal from work for Good Friday, so I took advantage of the extra time and went for a walk. I got my pedometer, and my goal is to get 10,000 steps every day. This is super easy on days I run, but it does require extra effort on rest days. I downloaded an audiobook on my phone to listen to, and it was actually really nice doing a low-impact, easy activity outside!
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| Throw in a rain jacket and hat, and walking in the rain was actually very fun! |
6 mi easy, 11:02 min/mile
Some combination of the walk and time healed my legs enough that my easy pace was a bit faster than earlier in the week. The time seemed to fly by, and I just enjoyed some more sunshine. I'm glad my legs are recovering from Knoxville surprisingly well.
Run Miles: 41.2 mi
Total Time: 7:55
I'm starting to get a little nervous for the Blue Ridge Marathon in two weeks. It's billed as America's Toughest Road Marathon (and added extra elevation gain this year to beat the other marathon vying for the title). The cut-off is pretty generous - 6 hours to get to mile 22, and 7 hours to complete the race. They say to add about 30-60 minutes to your marathon time to predict your Blue Ridge finishing time, so I'm hoping to finish in around six hours.
The plan for this coming week is to get some miles in, try out the new-to-me pool here, and hit the weights a few times. Oh yeah, and starting downloading podcasts like crazy to be ready for all the time I'll be spending out on the course.
I don't have to be at work until 9 at my new job (we just work through lunch and still leave at 5), so morning workouts aren't quite so painful. (The gym is also two minutes from my apartment!) My plan is to try it a few times this week and evaluate it for the future. I'll have eight weeks of training between Blue Ridge and Hatfield McCoy, and I'd like to have my routine set for that block. If I absolutely hate it, I'll figure something else out.
We're off now to Easter lunch with some of Michael's family (who are runners and want to see our medals - yay!). I hope everyone has a enjoyable holiday too!
How are you celebrating this weekend?
Any tips for running a very hilly course?
Glad to hear you are recovering well and good luck on your next marathon. You are a beast! :)
ReplyDeleteThe trick is to run slowly. ;) I think adding in some walks has really helped get the blood flowing and let my legs recover faster.
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