Week Roundup and Shwings Giveaway Winner!

Posted by hellyontherun in Giveaway, Running and tagged with Giveaway, Running, Shwings, South Mountain, Speed Work, Track, Trail Running, Training, Weekly Mileage April 7, 2014

Last week was getting-back-to-routines week. I was exhausted from our trip to Ohio–traveling with two under two is no joke.

We got back on Monday night and Tuesday was my usual 10k Tuesday run.

Wednesday I was back on the track and shocked myself with a few things.

wowzers!

It wasn’t a continuous run so I have to put that disclaimer. The drill consisted of a 1600, followed by 2×800, followed by a 1600. I threw in the extra .1 for good measure 🙂 Between each set was a 30 second rest. Regardless, I was verrrry pleased with how I did. I truly think incorporating speed work has helped me improve immensely as a runner. That was my fastest 5k and my fastest mile to date.

Wednesday was also a special day because my daughter turned 2!! I no longer can say I have two under 2 lol! Dad was out of town on a work trip so we just hung out and had lunch. We had her birthday party while we were with family in Ohio–Sesame Street themed since she’s currently obsessed with Elmo 🙂

Thursday, I was back at the gym on the bike for 10 miles.

Friday was a much needed rest day and Saturday I planned for a long run of 8 miles.

I started of the run aiming for negative splits. The first mile was in the mid 9s and each mile was falling under and under. When I reached mile 6, I decided to push it a little to finish strong. I was motivated by a cool guy in my running group who was slowly increasing his speed as well. I figured I’d try and stay as close with him as I could to the end.

We were going strong and I could feel myself work. I looked down at my watch and it read 6.66. Nice, almost at mile 7.

I’ve said this before that I run mostly the same routes all the time so I know where pretty much each mile is. We reached mile 7 but no beep from my watch. Yep, it froze again.

I was SO bummed. I had pushing it hard and really wanted to see what that mile split was. I tried moving screens and nothing. The time was ticking but the distance wasn’t moving. I finally stopped the watch and restarted and then it was back to “normal”.

By that time we were almost done and we sped up to really finish strong. My running buddy wasn’t wearing a watch so I didn’t know what my final time was but I know that it was good. I felt it.

I tried really really hard to not let it get to me. I know we shouldn’t get hung up on times but it really helps motivate me to see the numbers. Two friends finished behind me and I tried to gauge my time by theirs. I guesstimated the last two miles of the total 8 to be around the 8:15ish pace. Awesome for me at the end of a long run.

On Sunday I was back on the trails. My running group had a 14+ mile trail run on the agenda. It was a super tough run but it was an absolute gorgeous day and we had a large group. That always helps. 🙂 My watch froze again–I didn’t even let it phase me.; I wasn’t concerned with time on this run. I stayed with a group the entire way and our total at the end was 14.76 miles.

View of Phoenix, AZ

So, overall total mileage for the week (Mon-Sun): 32.07 miles

And now….for the Shwings winner 🙂

Congratulations–

Congrats!!

Yay Yesenia!! Check your e-mail inbox for important info.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

–How was your running week last week?

–Any big (or small) races coming up?

What am I training for?

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Death March, Grand Canyon, Hike, Rim to Rim to Rim, RnR Madrid, Running, Sleep Deprivation, Trail Running, Training March 24, 2014

Last week’s running deets looked like this:

Monday: Core work

Tuesday: 6 miles, 8:38 pace

Wednesday: Circuit Training

Thursday: 5 mile Adventure Run

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 7 miles, 9:09 pace

Sunday: 10.6 trail miles

Total Miles: 28.6 miles

I feel good with my mileage for last week. It was my first longish run/long hike back to back days Saturday and Sunday but I didn’t feel too exhausted afterward. That’s something that’ll be regular leading up to the Canyon.

I have a few things coming up so I’m in a weird not-sure-what-I’m-training-for place. I have RnR Madrid 1/2 Marathon next month (4/27) and the Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim mid-May.

I’m not working on PRing in Spain. I want to just enjoy the run and enjoy where I’m at. I do want to make sure I’m prepared for the mileage however. My longest run since my marathon March 1st was Sunday’s 10.6 mile run/hike. With me going out of town on Wednesday and not getting in a long run until about two weeks from now (plus I want to leave a few days for taper), I’m in a tight spot to make sure I can get it all in. But, I know that all the training I did for my marathon has left me with a good base and I’m not starting from scratch.

What I am concerned with is that I get back from Europe May 3 and have my running group’s mandatory Death March 17.8 mile run/hike the next morning. With jet lag and the exhaustion from being gone a week, I think I’ll a good representative of that hike’s title.

The hike includes the one I did on Sunday, looping around and going up the steep part an additional two more times (3x total).

Sound fun, right? I love challenges so I’m excited about doing it but I’m not excited about doing it sleep deprived. This will be interesting.

–How was your running week last week?

–Have you ever trained for two things at once?

Marathon Training Recap Weeks 10 & 11

Posted by hellyontherun in Half Marathon, Running and tagged with Marathon Training, Recap, Running, Training January 26, 2014

So it looks like with all of the craziness of RnRAZ, I missed Week 10 Recap. In a nutshell:

Week 10
Sunday, 1/12–Cross Training Day, 12 miles on the bike

Monday, 1/13–Rest Day

Tuesday, 1/14–Tempo 5 miler

Wednesday, 1/15–Typically, this is my speed day but my husband had to work late. I did 4 miles when he got home at a faster pace than usual for this distance. 8:30/mile pace. It was hard!

Thursday, 1/6–Cross Training Day, 10 miles on the bike

Friday, 1/17–Rest Day

Saturday, 1/18–Warm up 2 miler for #megsmiles

Week 11

Sunday, 1/19–RnR Arizona 1/2 Marathon!! Read all about it here 🙂

Monday, 1/20–Rest day. My husband went out of town this day for the rest of the week so I knew I wouldn’t be able to run. It worked out because I was forced to let myself recover from the half. I needed it. I knew that if he was here, I would have been back out running and not giving myself the rest I needed.

Tuesday-Thursday, 1/21-23–I did several Blogilates videos at home when the kids were in bed.

Friday, 1/24–Husband came home!! I immediately handed the kids over and went for a 2 mile run. When I got back, my daughter was saying, “Out!” So, I put her in the jogger and went for a 1 mile jog with her for a total of 3 miles. Boy, it felt good to be back out there.

Saturday, 1/25–18 MILES!!! I was worried about this long run all week. It was on my training plan, but I was concerned that since I hadn’t run all week (since the 1/2 on Sunday) I wouldn’t be able to make the full 18 miles or that I would really struggle. Luckily, a girl in my run club also had an 18 miler in her plan so we made a date to run together. It made the run sooo much easier and even though our times weren’t the best, we had a blast chatting it up and enjoying our beautiful Arizona weather.

I hope everyone had a great week!!

–How was your running week?

–Did you have a Saturday long run?

–Do you like running with a buddy or are you a solo runner? (I typically run by myself but this long run needed a partner 🙂 )