Month: June 2018

Hi! How are you? Me, I’m great. Feeling good about how June went for the first month of 26.2 training. Wanted to share a little bit of what that was like.

I didn’t have an official date that I started training. Since I work with Coach Patrick I sort of just… run all the time, but the intensity dialed up right after Memorial Day weekend after I ran the Armed Forces half.

I’ve found that the mindset of doing as much as I can, even if the miles are slow, is what’s going to get me success on race day. I’ve been mindful of sleeping enough, eating better (with the exception of three donuts in June I had no other sweets! That’s huge for me). I haven’t nailed all my workouts perfectly, but I’m glad that when I open TrainingPeaks I don’t see a bunch of missed workouts, which is something I struggled with during my last marathon training because I did not run as much as I should have. I wanted to share my experience of how training has gone this month. In addition to running, I’ve worked at least 40 hours a week, volunteered every Friday in June on my lunch break to serve lunch to kids at the local park through the food bank and spend two Saturdays volunteering for other things. I’ve been busy!

Here’s a recap on month one:

Week 1:

• Wednesday: May 30: strength training
• Thursday, May 31: I was supposed to run an easy 5 but took a rest day
• Friday, June 1: strength training
• Saturday, June 2: this was my first official change to Saturday long runs, which was a hard shift in routine at first. I was supposed to run 13 miles but my legs were toast from strength training the day before. I ran 9 miles and decided to switch strength days to Monday/Wednesday instead so I could feel fresh on long run days.

Week 2

• Sunday, June 3: rest day (nailed it!)
• Monday, June 4: strength training
• Tuesday, June 5: speed drills. Warm up then 10 sets of 3 fast, 2 easy and a cool down. This was brutal to start but once I realized I had finished my 10th set it felt like time had flown by. This was the same day I impulse bought a pair of AfterShokz and this was their maiden voyage. I do not recommend testing new headphones on speed drill days. I love them now, but they were hard to figure out and I was totally distracted during my workout.
• Wednesday, June 6: strength training
• Thursday, June 7: scheduled for a 5 mile easy run. Got in 4.5 miles because I was meeting up with friends for dinner that evening.
• Friday, June 8: scheduled for a 3 mile easy day but took a rest day.
• Saturday, June 9: was the day I apparently decided I was invincible. I was scheduled to run 13 miles but ran 14. That day has been a big turning point for this round of 26.2 training because I totally exceeded my own expectations that day.

Week 3

• Sunday, June 10: was a rest day but since I took a rest day Friday I ran my 3 easy miles this day
• Monday, June 11: strength training
• Tuesday, June 12: speed drills, warm up, 5 fast minutes, 3 easy minutes, repeat 6x and cool down. It was very, very hot that day and I was already intimidated by the 5 push minutes and so I did the workout but I struggled. I talked to my coach about it and he said because it was hot, I did the right thing by doing my best.
• Wednesday, June 13: strength training
• Thursday, June 14: I was scheduled for 6 miles but I did 5. I stayed late at work and was exhausted, and remember being so tired during this run I was surprised I got 5 miles out of my legs.
• Friday, June 15: scheduled for 3 easy, but did a 2.2 mile loop around the lake
• Saturday, June 16: volunteered at the Double Dipsea. Tons of fun but I was so tired when I got home at 4pm I skipped dinner and went straight to bed

Week 4

• Sunday, June 17: scheduled for a 14 mile long run with rolling hills. I got in 11 miles, some of which on an extreme trail that was entirely too ambitious. I was still feeling that same exhaustion from Thursday on this day but got in those 11 before calling it quits
• Monday, June 18: strength training
• Tuesday, June 19: speed work. We had an all day meeting at work and I knew I wouldn’t be able to run after work and when I had asked Coach Patrick which workout to skip this week because of it, he told me to go running before work 😂😂😂. No excuses with him I guess! So I did my speed drills before work. This was my first time running before work.
• Wednesday, June 20: strength training
• Thursday, June 21: 6 mile easy run
• Friday, June 22: I chose to skip the 4 mile easy run Coach Patrick assigned and do it on Sunday instead because I wanted to go to bed early for my long run. The weather prediction for Saturday was mid-90’s so I skipped the run to go to bed at 8pm so I could get up at 4:15
• Saturday, June 23: 15 mile long run. It was very hot, but I hunkered down and stayed focused and was mindful of hydration and fueling. I then went home and took a 4 hour nap. Training for a marathon is seriously hard stuff and I have no shame in my early bed times and naps!
• Sunday, June 24: Easy 4 miles that I skipped Friday

Week 5

• Monday, June 25: strength training
• Tuesday, June 26: I was scheduled for speed drills but my husband and I ended up at the local fun run. It was nice to spend time with him since he works 6 days a week. I ran 2.1 miles at the fun run.
• Wednesday, June 27: strength training
• Thursday, June 28: 6 mile tempo run. Was supposed to do 2 easy/2 at half marathon pace/2 easy but I only managed one at HM pace. I did get in all six miles. It was so hot and again, I texted with my coach to make sure I made smart choices.
• Friday, June 29: scheduled for 4 easy miles, got in 3. It was going to be 90 degrees so I went before work. I like going before work! Maybe I’ll do it more.
• Saturday, June 30: 16 mile long run. It was again, a mid 90’s weather forecast so I went right when the sunrose. Glad I did because it was HOT!

Recap

• June miles: 112. I’m so proud I hit over 100 miles this month. I don’t know the last time I did that.
• Miles in SR marathon training cycle: 112, I suppose?

July Goals

• Meeting up with friends for some of my long runs. Doing next weekend’s 17 mile long run at Brazen Racing’s Dirty Dozen for some on course support and to see friends and planning a few runs with friends
• Running the first half of the SF marathon on July 29. I have no time goal, but my coach has built in a taper period so my legs won’t be totally trashed on race day
• Play with hydration. I lose a lot of salt when I sweat and since it has been so hot lately, I’ve sweat more than usual. Working on finding a good balance of fluids both during the run and outside of it for myself
• I’ve been utilizing checking in with my coach more often and plan to do that more. I think I might also see if he has time for an in person check in soon because I know once I get closer to my 20 miler I’ll get more nervous, and I would also just like to talk out how training is going

Happy June running! Ready to kick butt in July!