Los Angeles Marathon Training Recap, Week 5

Phoenix Flyers!

If I'm going to DNF (did not finish) a race, is there no better place to do it than surrounded by 80+ friends and teammates? This past weekend I traveled to Phoenix, AZ for a Oiselle Volée weekend filled with sunshine, friends and a bit of running. I also experienced my first unplanned DNF at the 2nd Annual Phoenix Women's 1/2 Marathon. *whomp, whomp*

Races don't always go by plan and though I felt ready at the start, about 7 miles into the race my {semi-injured} right leg started to bother me. I decided to be smart and cut the race short at 15k (9.3 miles) instead of finishing the half-marathon.  The race course passed the start/finish line at 15k and it made perfect sense to stop at that point. Even though I was surrounded by people who told me that I made a smart decision, I still feel guilty about quitting and feel like I should have just powered through to the end. 

Coach Becki reminded me that there was no expectation for the race. I wasn't trying to PR or race fast and "having the setback [in my training earlier in the month] made the race a lot more of a mental (and physical) challenge than it otherwise would have been". Both Coach and my husband reminded me of my long term goal: become a stronger runner and PR at the Chicago Marathon.

Otherwise, the weekend was fun and it was great catching up with friends and meeting other friends that I've only met online. There were a lot of different opportunities for meet-ups and I attended them all. Even with a DNF, all the #runlove and heart made the weekend worth it.

Phoenix roommates:
Idaho Birdcamp Reunion!

• Monday: Cycle class + weight-lifting (upper body)
• Tuesday: 6 miles, easy. I also did a new Jasyoga video before the run - How to Activate Your Glutes and one after my run -How to Kickstart Recovery.
• Wednesday: Cycle class (am) + Physical Therapy appointment (pm). Oh, my glutes. We're working on building strength. 
• Thursday: Race week workout-2 mile warm-up, 8 x 1 min @ half-marathon effort /2 minutes recovery, 1 mile cool-down. I did this on the treadmill because it was cold outside (SoCal wimp). 
• Friday: Tabata using BOSU and weights. Drove to Phoenix, right leg was feeling stiff/sore.
• Saturday: Oiselle shake out run. 4 miles. Leg felt good. 
• Sunday: DNF race. The plan was to run the first 8 miles at a moderate pace (marathon effort) and after 8 if I was feeling great fly fast to the finish. My pacing for the race was spot-on. My first mile was a bit too fast (8:15/mile), but then I dialed in the pace to 8:3x's/mile for the remainder of race and finished my own personal 15k with an 8:31/mile average. My average heart rate was 153 beats per minute (i.e. maintained a moderate effort and didn't race too hard).

How do I feel now? My leg feels great/no pain. I think I've finally turned the corner and have recovered (both physically and mentally) from CIM. Today I had a good run and felt like my old runner self. I made a hard but smart decision on Sunday. I just need to keep reminding myself about my goal. Eye on the prize! The run police will not come after me if I don't finish a run (race, work out , whatever). Peace. 

10 feet before I DNF'd

See the training link up on Eat Pray Run DC HERE. (Very excited that I met Courtney in person this past weekend!)

{base training: week 8} My base is BUILT

In case you have not figured it out, this week is my last base building week. Next week I start FULL-ON marathon training. I feel strong and I'm ready to rock. 
And I just found out that Nate the Great, a local friend and Ragnar teammate just registered for CIM 26.2! I'm excited to have a local friend training for the same race.

Last week was full of travel running/runcation activities and I only ran once in my usual locale. The first part of the week I was in San Jose with Paul to follow Manchester United on their pre-season tour in the United States. We were lucky enough to stay in the team hotel. I grew up in San Jose and was able to meet up with friends. I also was lucky enough to meet up with Paulette, fellow Oiselle Volée teammate and blogger, TWICE. Once for beer and once for a group run at Rancho San Antonio. I'm definitely running there when I return for my high school reunion later this year. 

Paul and I flew home on Wednesday. The very next day I traveled to Scottsdale for a fabulous girls' resort weekend. Running in July in AZ was HOT (even at 6 am temps were mid-80's), so I would run 3 miles outside and then move inside and run 4 miles on the treadmill. 

Although travel running is loads of fun, I'm glad to be home to sleep in my own bed (& recover dry-out/detox).

Base-Training: Week 8

Goal Mileage: 40+

Monday: 1.4 mile warm-up jog + tabata
Tuesday: 4.5 miles on treadmill + cycle class
Wednesday: 6-7 miles 10.8 miles, Yasso 800s speed work on track
Thursday: 8 miles+ 5 x 20 second strides 4.4 miles treadmill + cycle class+ TRX
Friday: 1 mile warm-up + tabata + 4 miles easy + TRX 1 mile run with Nani
Saturday: 5 miles 6.4 mile run with Nani + TRX Rip Trainer cert course
Sunday: 11-14 miles long run 1.2 mile warm-up, 5.3 miles track work out with the Lab Rats, 0.6 mile run to meet weekly mileage goal

Total Mileage: 40 miles