This is a key phrase for the dogs, when the husband declares it, they make a beeline for their crates. Why is it their favorite day you ask? Well they get special treats on Sundays- usually a Greenie-like bone that is designed to clean their teeth. We rotate a couple different brands from our local natural pet food store.
Anxiously waiting for their treats.
Sundays are my favorite days too, watching the sun rise several miles into a long run always puts a huge smile on my face. It doesn’t matter how hot or humid or generally crappy the weather is. When I see the sun peaking over the horizon and the brilliant colors that fill the sky it makes me so thankful that I’ve been blessed with the ability and desire to run. I may not be the fastest or have the best knees, but I sure am able.
Well enough of the mushy stuff, obviously the taper madness has set in already. ๐ On to the week 15 recap!
Monday: Planned- CrossFit, Actual- CrossFit. This was a leg heavy workout with a partner. I only had to sub for one thing, 1-legged burpees. I can’t even describe how it’s done but you have to use the olympic rings. It looked insane. So sorry I missed out on that… I did back squat 115 pounds though. That is a PR (personal record) for me.
Tuesday: Planned- 5 miles easy, Actual- Rest. I don’t remember what my excuse was but I didn’t run. I just shifted everything back one day.
Wednesday: Planned- 8 miles pace, Actual- 5 miles easy. I was feeling good and strong on this run. Every run after the surgery has been getting better and better, which is making me feel a whole lot better about the fact that I was out of training for 2 weeks! The splits:
Thursday: Planned- 5 miles easy + CrossFit, Actual- 8 miles pace + CrossFit. I went to CrossFit in the morning and we had an intense cardio battle! We did 3 rounds for time of:
- 1,000 meter row
- 2 lengths farmer walk (90lbs)
- 100 speed rope
- 100 air dyne
- 100 jump rope
- 60 air squats
- 2 lengths tire sled in grass
- 60 sit-ups
It was brutal!!! I was the winner of the 5am class but not the winner of the entire day. After work I came home and ran 8 miles pace. Nasty storms came rolling through but the worst had passed when I set out. This run was pure magic, my pace was strong, my heart rate was low, the light drizzle felt glorious. I even saw three tiny deer bounding through a field. Seriously.
The splits
Lightning and my digestive system was acting up at the end though so I cut it a 1/4 mile short. I quickly fueled after 4 miles. Heart rate:
Hard to see but my heart rate stayed under 170bpm the entire time.
Friday: Planned- CrossFit, Actual- CrossFit + 2.8 miles of torture. CrossFit was bicep and tricep dominant, which is pretty normal for Fridays. My gas tank was empty though, I just couldn’t pull myself together. Then my knee ached all day at work and I shouldn’t have gone running at all. But I did. And I made the decision to stop kidding myself and go home 2 miles in. (Like my awesome grammer? Two conjunction words as sentence starters!)
So sad.
Saturday: Planned- Rest, Actual- Rest. I made a quick trip to Fit2Run to exchange my one week old knee brace for a new one:
They were super nice about it and gave me a new one for free. I give their customer service an A++!
Other than a trip to the grocery and some chores, I didn’t do a whole lot else. I iced three times and foam rolled once to make sure I’d be ok for Sunday. I’m not gonna lie, I was nervous about it!
Sunday: Planned- 20 miles, Actual- 20 miles! I decided to go with the advice Ali On The Run’s coach gave her and ran my first 16 miles about 45 seconds slower than race pace and the last 4 miles at race pace. The last 4 miles were challenging, especially my last mile. My mental game was thrown off by a couple pulling up next to me asking for directions and then a loose dog. Oh well, I managed.
I started the day with a 4am wakeup call, which wasn’t too difficult since I get up at 420am for CrossFit 3 days a week. I made my pre-race breakfast: plain oatmeal with natural peanut butter and a sliced banana, coffee and water.
I promise it’s the only oatmeal pic I’ll ever post Carolyn! ๐
I made my way out the door at 530am and produced these lovely splits:
I fueled after 4, 8, 12 and 16 miles with Sport Beans, Accelerade (yuck!) and high quality H2O.
When I ran the OBX Marathon last year, I had convinced my coworker to do it with me (not like it takes much, he’s a total race whore). I sent him this picture last year:
20.64 miles in 4:24:xx. The 0.64 miles was my warm-up.
This year I took a picture when I got home and sent it to him. I knew he would appreciate the nearly 40 minutes I shaved off my time. (I’m subtracting a few minutes to compensate for the warm-up.)
20 miles in 3:40:07.
The difference this year? It could be that I’m more experienced and I’ve been running longer. Or it could be the fact that I do CrossFit 3x/week now. I didn’t do any cross-training before. I’m guessing that it’s a combination of both things but that the CrossFit was what made the difference so dramatic. If you’ve been on the fence about whether you should try it or not, go do it! Sign up right now!
I suppose I should fulfill Carolyn’s request of viewing the final Marathon outfit! (ok fine, she only asked to see the lululemon tank on but indulge me a little here people) ๐
If you’re observant you’ll notice that I’m wearing new shoes. An early birthday present from the husband and the official Marathon shoes!
Well that’s the end of the peak ya’ll! Now it’s time to taper! Let the madness begin!