Twin Cities Marathon Training – Week 13

I’m not going to lie to you, I’m short on time, but I didn’t want to miss doing a weekly update. So, this is going to be short and sweet. I hope you don’t mind. 🙂

Monday – 5.01 miles (9:36/mile)

Tuesday – rest

I spent a lovely evening on a patio with some friends for happy hour.

Wednesday – 6.04 miles (9:28/mile)

This was supposed to be a 5 mile run, but I had some extra time so I extended it a little so I could do a slightly shorter run the next day.

Thursday – 4 miles (9:37/mile)

I had a happy hour with coworkers right after work, but still squeezed in a 4 mile run when I got home. The evening was gorgeous with a setting sun behind downtown.

Friday – rest

Saturday – 35 minute elliptical

The forecast was calling for rain on and off all day. I still got up early prepared to do my long run, but sure enough it was raining and didn’t look like it was going to stop for a while. By mid morning, I called it and decided I’d do my long run on Sunday. Not ideal with other stuff I had to do that afternoon, but I really didn’t want to do a 20 mile run in rain.

I opted for a short, easy elliptical workout to get something in. Then did some shopping with my sister in the afternoon.

Sunday – 20 miles (9:53/mile)

I got up extra early so I could get to the lakes and start my long run by 7 a.m. As I got going, my legs were feeling a bit tight. I hoped that they’d loosen up after a few miles. They did a little, but not as much as I was hoping. My pace was a little slower than I had hoped, but not terrible.

The miles ticked by and I kept plugging along making loops around each lake. Around mile 14, I was really feeling the tiredness in my legs. My pace slowed even more and I was afraid the last 6 miles were going to be rough. I was hanging out a little above a 10 minute mile pace.

As I made my way back to Lake Harriet, my watch beeped that I was at 18 miles. Seeing that number and seeing the lake gave me a boost of adrenaline that I was almost done with my run. I was able to pick up my pace to around 9:40-9:45 for those last 2 miles. It was actually kind of a good mental boost knowing that I actually did have something left in the tank after feeling tired and sluggish before.

After my run, I rushed home to shower and change. Then I was off to the MN State Fair to work a shift at one of the booths. I managed to grab a snack on my way to the booth.

Triple Truffle Trotters

After my shift, I grabbed some more food. One of the new foods I wanted to try at the fair was out when I got there, so I settled for a classic corn dog because I was starving. Hey, I ran 20 miles that morning! I also grabbed a beer because, again, I ran 20 miles that morning.

I made one more food stop and was able to eat them before needing to take cover in a building during a downpour.

Duck Bacon Wontons – so good!

After that, I was so ready to go home and get to bed!

It’s a step-back week next week, as well as a vacation week, but then I get to try another 20 mile run before tapering starts. It’s getting so close!

Twin Cities Marathon Training – Weeks 11 & 12

Welp, I failed to do a recap last week. Things have been busy as the summer continues to fly by! But, I’m keeping up with training amongst the craziness.

Week 11

Monday – 5 miles (9:48/mile)

Tuesday – rest

I had a work happy hour, so took the day to rest and have a beer and some yummy food on a patio.

Wednesday – 4.7 miles (10:18/mile)

A friend and I planned to do this outdoor workout, but the weather had other plans. We changed our plan to do dinner instead. Before that I managed to get in a treadmill run, then I devoured this plate of food.

Thursday – 8.03 miles (9:37/mile)

I came home and squeezed in my 8 mile run for the week before meeting up with my sister and a couple friends for a patio night to enjoy some of the last days of summer. Though, I’m not going to complain about the coming of fall.

Friday – rest

Saturday – 18 miles (9:47/mile)

I headed to my usual long-run spot: the lakes. It was a decently cool morning, but as I got going I could tell it was pretty humid. I was sucking down the water faster than the previous week. It took me a few miles to get warmed up, but once I did the run was pretty uneventful. The miles didn’t tick by as fast as when I did 17, but I made it through!

After the run, I headed home to get showered because my family was coming over to celebrate my mom’s birthday. We took a sightseeing riverboat cruise of St. Paul! Heard some cool history about the city.

Sunday – 45 minute elliptical, 16 minute walk

It was a cloudy, rainy day, so I stuck with the workout room for most of my cross training. The rain stopped by the time I was off the elliptical, so I did my walk outside.

Week 12

Monday – rest

Tuesday – 5.12 miles (9:47/mile)

Flag football practice got done and I did not feel like running, but since I had taken a rest day on Monday I knew I needed to get it done.

Wednesday – 8.02 miles (9:35/mile)

I hit the path after work expecting to just do another 5 mile run because it was pretty humid, but I was feeling pretty good, so I just kept going to get the longer run done. Felt good to get it out of the way. Good thing too because a friend texted that night that they had Twins tickets for Thursday night that they couldn’t use. I jumped on them!

Thursday – 3.5 miles (9:40/mile)

A Twins game after work meant I had to get up early to get in my run. I did not do the full 5 miles I was supposed to, but I think it’s ok. My body was ok with the slightly shorter run.

Friday – rest

A friend and I grabbed dinner along the river and I headed to bed at a decent hour so I could get up early for my long run.

Saturday – 14 miles (9:50/mile)

It was an early alarm, but I dragged my butt out of bed on a foggy morning to get started because I had a packed day ahead.

It was a step-back week and I actually only had 13 miles on the plan, but I wanted to stretch it out just a tad, so did 14. My legs were feeling a bit tired on this run. My pace wasn’t as fast as it has been on other long runs, but I just told myself to keep going at whatever pace was comfortable.

As soon as I was done, I got cleaned up to meet a friend for “The Biggest Pop-Up Brunch in the World!” It was a fundraiser for Second Harvest Heartland. We sampled some drinks and snacks on what turned out to be a beautiful day.

After brunch, I headed to another fundraiser BBQ for my flag football team. Then hit the grocery and finally had time to go home and relax. Ok…a nap. I needed to rally because I had a bachelorette party to go to that night.

A fun-filled day, but I was exhausted when it was done!

Sunday – 2.5 mile walk

After getting to bed late, the early alarm wasn’t my friend, but at least it was because I got to catch up with a couple friends while we walked around Lake Nokomis. I used the walk as my cross training for the day.

In the afternoon, I had one more fundraising event to complete. My flag football team bagged groceries for donations. Being on my feet for 4 hours bagging groceries felt like a whole other workout. My legs were beyond tired when I got done, but it was worth it because we raised a lot of money!

I almost needed another day to recover from my weekend, but I can’t complain about getting to see a lot of friends I haven’t seen in awhile.

Looking forward to another good week of training. The really high mileage long runs are ahead of me. I kind of can’t believe the marathon is 6 weeks away!

Twin Cities Marathon Training – Week 10

Eight more weeks to go! As I type that it seems really far away and really close all at the same time.

The peak mileage weeks are in view, and I’m trying to make sure I stay healthy and injury free. I’ve been good with that so far, but I did notice the beginning of a black toenail after my long run this past week. It happened on the same toe the last time I trained for a marathon, so apparently I’m prone to it when my mileage gets up around 17 miles.

Monday – rest

Tuesday – 3.81 miles (9:11/mile)

I had flag football practice in the evening. We didn’t have a ton of people, but we were still able to run some plays. Practice ran a little longer than I had planned, but I still squeezed in a quick (literally) run. It was supposed to be 4 miles, but I figured I could cut it a tad short given the running I did at practice. 😉

Wednesday – 8.04 miles (9:34/mile)

My legs were feeling that football practice for this 8 miler. My legs were tired and heavy the whole way. My ankles were also really sore. At first I wasn’t sure why, but then I realized that all of the quick side to side running and uneven ground probably took a toll on my ankles.

Thursday – 4.05 miles (9:40/mile)

The ankles were still sore for this run, but got in a few easy miles. It was an unseasonably cool day. Basically a preview of fall running.

Afterwards, I met up with a friend to catch up over dinner and a cocktail.

Friday – rest

Saturday – 17.1 miles (9:43/mile)

I was up bright and early to get my long run started. I obviously wasn’t awake yet because I drove all the way to the lakes and realized I forgot my Garmin. Oh well. I had RunKeeper on my phone. I think the Garmin is just a little more accurate.

It was a gorgeous, cool morning for a run.

I feel like my long runs after a step-back week are sometimes less than stellar, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My legs felt ok, but my pace wasn’t as fast as I’ve been doing. My early miles were hanging out around a 9:45/mile pace. Nothing to complain about, so I tried to just settle in.

The miles actually ticked by fairly fast. Before I knew it, I was heading back to Lake Harriet for one more loop around that lake to finish up my 17 miles. Somehow, my legs found a little extra energy and my average pace increased to about 9:30/mile for the last 3 miles.

I was exhausted after my run from getting up early and not getting a good night of sleep, so I definitely took a nap in the afternoon!

Sunday – 3.12 miles (16:34/mile)

My sister, a friend, and I did Fifteen’s 5K on Sunday morning. We took it easy and walked most of it. Was a fun way to get in my cross training for the week. You finish the race near home plate on Target Field, which was also pretty cool!

I cleaned up when I got home and headed to a birthday party for a friend’s kiddo. Then I headed back to Target Field for the Twins game. You get a ticket to the game with your race registration. The Texas Rangers went up by 5 runs in the first inning, so things didn’t start well. Around the third inning the rain came. It was a short rain delay and then the clouds parted and it turned out to be a lovely afternoon for baseball. Apparently the break was good for the Twins as well because they came back to win 6-5!

Bring on another week!

Twin Cities Marathon Training – Week 9

It was a step-back week, which worked out well with having a busy week with some traveling to celebrate a friend’s wedding thrown in!

Monday – rest

Tuesday – 7 miles (9:32/mile)

It was cloudy when I started running after work, but I wasn’t expecting it to rain while I was out. Around mile 3, it started sprinkling on me. It actually felt pretty good considering it was so hot and humid. The sprinkles turned into a steady rain and I could tell by the clouds that it wasn’t going to let up. Luckily, I was close to home, so I popped inside after about 4.15 miles to finish up the last 2.85 miles on the treadmill.

After my run, I got cleaned up and headed out to meet up with a friend and her run group for some dinner. They got caught in the rain during their run as well, but we feasted on some yummy seafood at Sea Salt.

Wednesday – 4 miles (9:28/mile)

I had a happy hour with coworkers immediately after work, and then I headed home to get in my 4 mile run to cap off the day.

Thursday – rest

This was a travel day back home to Wisconsin. My sister and I were headed to a wedding that weekend, so we spent the night at home to break up the drive and spend a little time with our mom and grandma.

Friday – 13.1 miles (9:35/mile)

I knew I wouldn’t be able to get it in my long run on Saturday with all of the wedding festivities, and being in a new city, so I got up early to do my run in my hometown before we hit the road. For the step-back week, my long run was actually supposed to be a half marathon, but I wasn’t going to do a race, so I just planned to run 13.1.

I parked at Carson Park where my family often walks and I’ve done a lot of runs before. I knew the area pretty well, but didn’t exactly know where water fountains were, so I kept some extra water in my car and planned to loop back there when I needed to refill.

To start, I actually made my way out of the park and over to the trail that runs along the river. I’ve run this trail a little before during the Turkey Trot 5 mile. I took the opportunity to explore the trail a bit more.

I started around mile marker 3, and I found the markers were ticking down every half mile, so I figured I’d try to find the start of the trail.  I found it just over this bridge!

I turned around and headed back to the park. I did find 1 water fountain on this part of my run, but I wanted to refill my water. At this point, I was just over 6 miles into the run. I took a loop around the park, which is about a mile, and then headed out of the park again to hit a different trail. I followed that out about 2.5 miles and then headed back to my car. To get back into the park, I had to run up a big hill for the second time. My legs were pretty dead after that, but I only had about a mile and a half mile left. I took one more loop around the park and was done.

It felt great to get the run done and explore some new paths. With that out of the way, all I had to do was focus on celebrating my friend and enjoying the wedding!

Saturday – rest

It may have been a rest day on the training schedule, but was a full day of wedding fun. We started at the salon for hair and makeup before heading back to the bride’s parent’s house to get dressed. After that it was pictures and then the ceremony and reception. I stayed busy trying to help keep things on schedule and take care of little tasks for the bride as her personal attendant.

The ceremony was beautiful and after that we danced the night away!

Sunday – 4.02 miles (9:21/mile) 

My sister and I slept in a little and then grabbed some breakfast on our way out of town. I got home mid afternoon and ran to the grocery and then squeezed in a 4 mile run before relaxing for the rest of the night.

It was a packed weekend, but a lot of fun! Next week’s training runs kick it up a notch again, so we’ll see how this next phase of training goes.