DPHM Week 8

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 5.4 with 6x400
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 5.48
Friday: rest
Saturday: 10.92
Sunday: rest (unscheduled)

Total Miles: 25.2

On Tuesday the closest running route to my apartment was a wet, slippery mess. This really interfered with my plan to run 5 miles with 2-3 miles at tempo pace. Running fast requires traction. There was, however, a really nice clear section that was about a quarter of a mile long. When I got to the dry section after about 2 miles of playing "Ice or Puddle?", I wanted to stay there. To make it interesting I ran hard for the length of the dry section (about 400m), then turned around and jogged back to the start.

My pace for these intervals was a bit too slow to really be an effective workout, but I hadn't run intervals in quite some time and didn't want to over do it. Average pace for each interval was 7:45. Because this wasn't an ideal speed session I added a fast finish to both Thursday's and Saturday's run.

Celebratory wine!

On Friday Mr. Shoe and I closed on our first home so this weekend was primarily dedicated to moving. I moved my long run from Sunday to first thing Saturday morning to get it out of the way before our family came over to help us move. I was also planning on running just 10 miles but miscalculated my route. This was also my first double digit run since my calf strain! I had no issues during the run. My average pace was 8:55 with a pretty solid negative split (second half was 2:45 faster than the first).

Icy river I ran beside on my long run.

 Almost 11 miles followed by a long day of moving boxes from a second story apartment to a three story condo left my legs absolutely shot. I had time for a short run on Sunday (after a second day of moving) but honestly my legs were so tired I thought it was better to take an extra rest day. I was worried that I'd come in under 25 miles total for the week and really pleased to see I that I just made it.

Loving the contrast between the dull greys of winter and my bright new shoes.

Goals for week 9: 30 miles of running, one tempo run, 12 mile long run

Disney Princess Half - One Month!

In just one month Mr. Shoe and I will be running the Princess Half Marathon. Although I am not quite where I want to be in terms of training, I am getting really excited for our trip to Florida! My parents and my sister's family all live in Florida and this will be our first chance to see them since our wedding (over a year ago). Andplusalso: sunshine!

I haven't come back quite as quickly after my calf strain as I was hoping. I had hoped to be running 30+ mile weeks by this point, but with those silly hamstring issues, it just hasn't happened. Usually this is the sort of thing that would stress me out, but right now I am really focused on just building my base for my spring races. I probably will not be trying to PR, but it would be nice to see exactly where I am now compared to where I was in September.


How I am training for the next month:

1. Increase weekly mileage from the upper 20s to the mid 30s.
2. One speed work out per week. I was planning on 1 tempo run per week but ended up doing intervals this week instead (more on this later).
3. Baby anything that twinges. More stretching. More foam rolling. Cut back if needed. 
4. Add in a bit more strengthening. I missed my day of strength training last week and this week is on track for a repeat performance. In an attempt to compensate I have done a bit of core stuff after each run so far this week.
5. Eat healthier. I gained a couple pounds while I was injured AND I gained a few more over the holidays. I've been working on this for the past couple weeks and have made good progress. If I can keep it up I should be back at my normal weight before vacation.

DPHM Week 7

Finally a week where everything goes according to plan!


Monday: rest
Tuesday: 5.16
Wednesday: 4.0
Thursday: 5.16
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4.36
Sunday: 9.03

Total Miles: 27.71

It was a bit warmer this week than it was last week. But for some reason I took that to mean it was actually warm. I ended up under dressed for Tuesday's run and I was freezing when I got done. I was close to home so I could have easily stopped back home for an extra layer but I also was worried if I went inside I might just call it quits. Lesson learned for next time.

Wednesday and Thursday were both a bit of a drag. I think after freezing my butt off on Tuesday I just wanted to stay parked on the couch with little kitty. I felt stiff and sore during the runs, but I am glad I was able to work through it. It actually did warm up quite a bit on Saturday (in the 40s!!!). I was even a bit too warm during my run, which was a welcome change.

Poor thing had to nap alone since I was too busy running.

Sunday was my longest run in about a month. I was a bit nervous about my hamstring giving me trouble, but fortunately, the run went really well. The weather was a bit of a disaster. It started out above freezing with a bit of rain. The rain turned to sleet which felt like someone was pelting me in the face with sand. Finally the sleet turned to snow and the icy patches started showing up on the sidewalk.

I probably would have stopped early due to the sleet, but I was out with a group from my local running club which helped pass the miles. Much better to focus on conversations than on the ice smacking you in the face. When we finished our nine miles I realized my clothes where completely soaked through. Having a dry jacket and a snack waiting in my car was nothing short of glorious.

Honey Stinger Waffle, you did not disappoint!

With my minor hamstring issues, I have been keeping all of my miles at my easy pace (8:30-9:30) or slower. Since things seem to be under control once again, I think I am going to try for a couple miles at tempo pace this week. Only 5 weeks of training to go!

Frozen Fun [DPHM Week 6]

Oh my! What a week!

Monday: strength training
Tuesday: unplanned rest
Wednesday: 4.8
Thursday: 4.86
Friday: 1.32
Saturday: 6.0 + strength training
Sunday: 5.84

Total Miles: 22.82


Look! Two days of strength training; I am killing it! See also: my husband was gone for most of the week and I was so bored I resorted to going to the gym. Wednesday was my birthday run. 5 degrees F, 5 miles, 15 runner friends. No cake but I did have a celebratory glass of champagne. Champagne is definitely the way to go.


Thursday was epically cold. Frozen eyelashes and frost forming on my hat cold. I am so glad that I was able to meet up with three other runners from run club! I'm not sure how long I would have lasted on my own. The picture is only of three of us because our fourth runner decided to keep running!

-24 windchill. #badass

Friday wasn't really a planned run, but Mr. Shoe has been working on some awesome ideas for taking pictures during the Disney Princess Half Marathon and we needed to test our photography skills. Still a bit of a work in progress, but we got a couple of okay shots.

All miles were completed at an easy pace. No real hamstring issues this week; I kept my pace very easy on all of my runs. Sunday I was actually planning to try for 7 miles, but my stomach had other plans. It was probably for the best all things considered (after all, I did say I was going to keep all runs under 5 miles...oops).

2015 Race Calendar (ish)

I'm still in the process of setting up my race plans for 2015. Currently I am registered for two races:

• Disney Princess Half Marathon, February 22, 2015
• Grand Rapids Marathon, October 18, 2015

I know that I will do a couple of 5ks (Shanty 2 Shorts and Run 2 Save Our Youth), but these are very small races and registration information isn't available yet. I also want to do a half marathon that I will actually be racing and I am thinking about trying a 10 mile race.

So this is sort of what I am thinking. I'm also including how much time will be between races. Bold races will be goal races. All races will be ran all out, but goal races will have distance specific training leading up to race day.

• Disney Princess Half Marathon, February 22, 2015
• 11 weeks (10 after I get home from Florida)
• Shanty 2 Shorts 5k, May 9, 2015 (guessing the date)
• 5 weeks
• Run 2 Save Our Youth 5k, June 13, 2015 (another guess)
• 2 weeks
• Charlevoix Half Marathon, June 27, 2015
• 2 weeks
• Dart for Art 1 mile, July 13, 2015
• 6 weeks
• Crim 10 mile,  August 22, 2015
• 8 weeks
• Grand Rapids Marathon, October 18, 2015

All things considered, I think this is a pretty full schedule. Okay, I realize that everyone else is planning like 10+ races, but I prefer to focus on specific training plans and goal races. Racing that frequently just does not do it for me!

So following Disney Princess, I will take 8-10 weeks to train for a 5k. My long term 5k goal is to sub 20:00, but I know that is not a realistic goal for this year. I haven't done a 5k specific training plan since I did Couch to 5k a few years ago. I'm pretty excited to see how this race turns out!

After Shanty 2 Shorts, I will take 7 weeks to sharpen my half marathon paces/endurance. Ideally I'd like 8-10 weeks for a training plan, but I will just have to make do.

After the Charlevoix Half, I will start a 16 week marathon training program. Half way through, I will use the Crim to test my current fitness levels/adjust training paces. Crim is a goal race in that I will taper a bit leading up to it and plan to run it all out, but not necessarily a true goal race since I will not be doing any 10 mile specific training.

I'm working on some pseudo-goals for 2015 as well, but I'm going to save that for another post. 

Ice Ice Baby [DPHM Week 5]

My cut back week ended up being an even bigger cut back than anticipated. When I woke up on Saturday morning a solid layer of ice covered every surface. Hello, extra rest day!

With some stretching and foam rolling, I was able to run Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday without any further hamstring issues. So then I completely ignored my hamstring for two days and set out to run a nice 10 miler today. There was some minor discomfort in my hamstring after about 3-4 miles. At just shy of 6.5 miles the minor discomfort became a major pain and I was forced to walk the last half mile back to my apartment.

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 2.3
Wednesday: 6
Thursday: 3.12
Friday: rest
Saturday: unplanned rest
Sunday: 6.4

Total Miles: 17.82

For Tuesday's run I hit the trails with my best friend for a very easy run. It was an excellent opportunity for me to test out my hamstring and spend some time catching up with my friend. It was cold, but at least it was free of snow and ice.

Wednesday I ran off road again, but this time it wasn't really on a trail even (out of town + fresh snow/ice = limited options). Just running through a field of fresh snow that was hiding some very uneven terrain. The 6 miles is an estimate since I was running for time (60 minutes) not distance. It was even colder than it was on Tuesday.

Frozen shoes.

Since the end of this week didn't really go as planned, I am going to continue to adjust my training schedule. I do not want to reach the point of pain with my hamstring again, so I am going to limit all of my runs to about 5 miles for the next week. I will also be foam rolling and stretching every day. I'll reassess in another week.

Based on all of the training adjustments I have been making I am so, so grateful that my next race is not a goal race!