Mary Runs a Marathon

The past couple of weeks of running has had its ups and downs for sure. Here we go.

Last week I ran my final long run in training for the Ann Arbor Marathon on June 17th- 20 miles. I decided to go 10 miles to Ypsi on the border to border and then turn around and run the 10 miles back. While I felt as though I took all the necessary precautions through hydrating and bringing water with me to have on the go, the heat still was very difficult to run through, and I felt it drain me on the 2nd half of the run. I set out to run at about 4 in the afternoon on a sunny, warm day, which undeniably affected my performance, as I felt like I sweat out 10 pounds from start to finish. While I would have preferred more moderate temperatures, I think it was really good practice with dealing with whatever the weather throws at me- I know that I tend to suffer in the heat, but I have to be ready for that since I signed up to run a marathon in June. Hopefully, the early starting time will help with the heat, and you never know, there could be a cooling period that week! This is Michigan after all. 

Anyways, I could argue that the best part of this run was the refueling afterwards- once I got a shower, some water, and my stomach was settled enough to feel like eating (sometimes after long runs I really don’t feel like eating, which I kind of annoying, because it’s really important to at that time. it figures any time I NEED to eat, I wouldn’t actually be hungry) i got pie at the grand traverse pie co- peach blackberry crumble! yay! 

I also went home last week, and completed some runs there. If you really want to talk about awful heat, NC will do. Not only is it really warm, humidity is in the 80% range, which is just awful. I definitely took a few rest days while I was there, in addition to some runs, just because it was so hot and I needed some rest after hard runs in the past few weeks. I also bought some new running shoes, shorts, and a top to wear for the marathon! 

This week has been less intense running, because I am technically at the taper period now. Funny thing is that it just cooled off a whole lot- it WOULD happen that as soon as I am done with my hard tempo runs and long runs, the weather would become awesome for running! Oh well! Part of this taper includes the Dexter to Ann Arbor half marathon. At first, I wasn’t going to run this race because of its proximity to the marathon, but then I realized that it is a great opportunity to put in a good run and really perfect my marathon pace in a race setting. Just because I run it doesn’t mean I have to PR it or anything- although I would like to break 1:50 in the half sometime. Plus, I heard it was a really nice course and a generally well-run race. I also don’t even have to go anywhere, which is always a plus. 

Anyways, I was thinking about my ideal target marathon pace today (since I am practicing it on Sunday and all in the half), because I know the paces my long runs have clocked in at and I know the time I would like to hit, but I wasn’t so sure how these balanced out. So, ideally, I would really like to run the marathon in under 4 hours, so basically any time with a 3 in the hour place. This would put me at 9:09 per mile if I hit right at 3:59:59. Also, I have been running my long runs at an 8:40-8:50 pace, which would put me at the late 3:40’s early 3:50’s. So I think I will aim for a 8:45 pace and see how that works out. Of course, this is all tentative, as I have no idea if it will be extremely hot, in which case I am prepared to slow it down and abandon those aspirations until October and the Detroit Free Press Marathon. I am hoping that I won’t have to do this, but I just want to think realistically and smart. 

Darn, I forgot to blog about running last week! Anyways, here goes. 

Last week turned out to be pretty solid in terms of milage and paces. I ended up running 51 miles, not as many as I ran the week before, but still a good amount for where I am at in my training. My normal workouts were just that, pretty normal. A couple of tempo runs and a couple of easy efforts after my long run in the week. 

My long run this week ended up going extremely well! I was very happy with how it went. I ended up running 16 miles at an 8:40 average pace. My route took an interesting turn, though. I followed the Border to Border trail, which is a trail that goes from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, MI. I got to the part that goes around a hospital, which was really nice and pleasant, and decided to keep going. Turns out, I ended up running all the way to Ypsi and Eastern Michigan University by accident! I figured that this route would probably end up being way longer than I wanted, as I was at 11 miles once I realized I wasn’t even in the town of my residence, but I actually ended up hitting 16 only about a half mile away from my house, just in time for a short cool down before I made it home! Perfect. I love finding new and exciting running routes, because I get bored of all my usual routes and can use a shake up every so often. 

So if any of you follow me on twitter or facebook, you would know that last week I had surgery on my vocal cords to remove lesions. Originally, it was scheduled for last Wednesday, but it got pushed back to Friday, which messed up a lot of my plans including running schedule. First of all, Monday was really gross weather-wise, so I didn’t run that day. Then, I decided that I shouldn’t run on Tuesday because I should save my energy and calories for the next day when I would have surgery, because I didn’t know how tired it would make me or if I would be able to eat at all. Then, I went for surgery, got the sedative, and it was postponed. So I couldn’t run that day, because I was kind of out of it. Thursday I was also tired and didn’t feel like running, and Friday was when my surgery finally was. So, all of this leads me to the fact that I took SIX days off of running in the middle of a marathon training cycle…not anything I really wanted to do nor anticipated doing. I was not a fan of it at all…every once in a while, I will take a rest day, and I try to force myself to rest once a week, but I just don’t like not running- it always puts a damper on my productivity and I just don’t feel as good. I know that I need to put that aside sometimes and slow down sometimes, because more isn’t always more.

Anyways, that said, it was probably a good thing for me to rest, you know, since I was getting surgery and under anesthesia and stuff after all. And since I am always going 100 miles an hour in life normally. I ended up making a really quick recovery- I was able to eat normal food the day after the surgery and I didn’t need Tylenol to help with the pain for much longer, either. I am still not allowed to talk until Friday, but that is really the only thing that is different right now. 

I ran again on Sunday, and boy those 6 days affected me! I didn’t feel so awesome at first, but I got the hang of it after a couple of miles. My pace has been a little slower this week, which is annoying to me, but something I have to be patient with. I am sure next week it will be back to normal and my training will be fine, as long as I run smart this week. Today I went on my long run- in hindsight, probably not the best idea in the world, as my quads were still killing me from the runs on Monday and Tuesday, but tomorrow I am going back to my aunt’s and I really wanted to get a long run out of the way before I went back. The schedule called for another 20 mile run, but I decided that I would shoot for 16 and see how that left me feeling. First of all, it rained on and off, which was kind of uncomfortable, but it kept the weather pretty cool, which I definitely appreciated. It is tough when it is so hot and all the water in your body seems to just evaporate right out of you, which is how I have felt on some of my long runs in the past month or so. My pace was generally in the low 9’s, not awesome considering I have been nailing 8:40-8:45, but I am going to cut myself some slack this week. Even though my quads were definitely tight, I still felt good on this run, and at 11 miles I decided to see if I could squeeze 7 more miles out of my legs and go for 18 miles, rather than 16. The last couple of miles were kind of tough and I definitely felt them in my quads and that pesky calf muscle that likes to tense up after 14 or so miles. I felt my carb reserves (whatever I mean by that!) go low and food sounded real good. Nonetheless, I finished the run about a quarter mile away from my house and then walked the rest of the way home, tired but happy to have finished another long run for my summer marathon training. 

THEN i took a shower and made a pizza, which was so delicious. 

Guys, (yep, all 3 of you who actually still recognize the existence of this blog) I have been so surprised with my running lately! First, going sub 50 for the 10K on Sunday, and then on Wednesday, I ran 18 at 8:45/mile! Originally, I wasn’t even planning on sticking the run out- I toyed with the idea of running the long run on Wednesday (making Wednesday the new Thursday- ever noticed I always do long runs on Thursday afternooons??), but then I got into it, and at a certain point I realized that if I ran however far, I may as well run the whole 18 miles. Plus, it was just a good way to procrastinate all the papers I had to write and forget about my bountiful problems, per usual. The weather wasn’t even the chilly kind that I prefer for optimal running- it was sunny and pretty warm. This definitely makes me feel good about warmer races this summer. As long as it isn’t 90 degree heat- like the Boston marathon last Monday (those poor runners! I really felt for them…then I thanked Jesus that I wasn’t running that day! one day, one day though.), I should be good. 

I wasn’t even sore the next day, which was great! I felt it when I ran an 7 miles Thursday afternoon, so I took it easy. Today I ran 5 at a 9 minute/mile pace, which felt better. I really just want to break 4 hours for the marathon this year, and I think I am well on my way to doing just that- if not in June, then in October at the Detroit Free Press Marathon! I am so excited! I think strengths in my training this season are that I have been consistently keeping mileage up and really tracking my pace meticulously- I never took as much care when doing either of those things previously (not that I should have been in the first place- I think for first timers, it is really important just to listen to your body and run at a comfortable or even a pace that feels too slow to concentrate on finishing, and THEN working towards a goal). Some things I would like to improve is the amount of time waiting at stoplights- gosh, sometimes I feel like a half hour accumulates throughout a long run just from waiting and I would like to be running continuously. Also, as usual, I need to work on stretching and I really should try out yoga, but I am still lazy and don’t like to try new things like that. MAYBE soon. 

I am really looking forward to my races in June- I just registered for the AA-DX (Ann Arbor, Dexter) half marathon on June 3rd. I realize, 2 weeks before a marathon is not the time to chase a half marathon PR, so I am utilizing it as a training run to perfect my marathon pace. It will be perfect because it is timed, has water stations, plus finisher medals are not too shabby either. 

Also, while I am at it, how about I share some of my favorite music I have been running to lately? 

Lana del Rey- Born to Die. A lot of people said she sounded horrible on SNL, but my sister recommended this album to me and I really love it. My favorite songs are Without You, Radio, Dark Paradise, and Summertime Sadness.

Maroon 5- Payphone. Well this song just resonates with me right now, but it has a really  good beat (whatever that really means…) and I love Adam Levine. 

Eyes Open- Taylor Swift. Well, I am not really a professed Taylor Swift fan anymore…once I kind of broke out of only listening to the radio, I realized how there is a lot of really good music out there, and T. Swift kind of pales in comparison to Sufjan or Florence or Phoenix. Either way, I really like this song because it is kind of hardcore-ish for Taylor and it is uplifting and all that good stuff. 

Speaking of Florence, I still can not get over Ceremonials, although it came out, what 6 months ago? I still listen to Never Let Me Go, Shake It Out, No Light, No Light, Remain Nameless, and Breaking Down like they are my jamz. She is crazy talented and I don’t think I have enjoyed an album this year as much as I have enjoyed that one.  

Watch the Throne- Kanye and Jay-Z. It’s true, I like to listen to Kanye and Jay-Z when I run. Nothing like strings of expletives and lyrics degrading women to quicken your pace. My favorite songs on this album are Lift Off, Primetime and Welcome to the Jungle. #runsohard

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I kind of lost interest in Carly Rae and calling anyone maybe, so that song occurs a lot less frequently on my running playlists. I also was into listening to what makes you beautiful for a while, but that got a little old, too. Guess I am just getting old for teeny bopper pop music! Either way, making this list still reminds me of how I tend to listen to pretty bad music when I run -what? pop music is just so darn catchy and easy to run to!- but I think my normal taste in music makes up for it, right? ah oh well. 

Today was one of those days where you look out the window and think “there is no way in hell that I am running a race today.” First of all, before the alarm even went off, I heard loud, explosive crackles of thunder and rain. I would assume that thunderstorms would be reason to cancel a race, so I caught more sleep under my heated blanket before the alarm went off at 7. I got up and seriously contemplated skipping, and then went online to see if the race was cancelled. Nope. Nothing. I got dressed, ate a granola bar, and then looked outside again and noticed it was still pouring. Thought more about skipping the race while gazing out the window, and then finally decided that I never quit anything, so I would run this damn race if it killed me. I put a baseball hat on to cover up my hair that would inevitably be disgusting at the end of the race. 

So I left the house in the pouring rain and ran/walked the mile or so to the Big House. Within minutes my shorts were already soaked through from the rain. Luckily I wore bike shorts underneath so it wasn’t so bad, but still, I was not too happy. I got there and waited under the pavilion until it was time to run. 

At the start of the race, I did not have very high expectations for it, considering I was already soaked and sure to get even more wet. I also remembered some killer hills from the last time I ran it, and I haven’t been training for sprint events where I would ideally pace myself under 8 min/mile. I started off and saw 7:30s/mile on my watch, which made me hopeful I could hang out and get a PR. My last 10K was 50:39 I believe, and I wanted to better that and crack into the 40’s. Pretty soon, though, I hit a hill and the 7s were slipping away. I held onto very low 8:00/mile, though, and felt it slip a little in mile 4, but recovered and finished really strong. As soon as I approached the Big House, I realized it would be close, but I could probably make it before 50 min and get that PR. I sprinted my butt off, and made it in 48:50 according to my Garmin- a new PR. My feet and the rest of me did get completely soaked, and there was thunder while we were running- not so sure if this was exactly the safest race I have run in terms of weather conditions, but oh well, I guess I am alive now! also, their mile markers are always way off. 

All in all, I was glad that I got up for the race in the end, but gee, I was *this* close to rolling back into bed and calling it quits. It’s always fun to run down the field of the Big House and finish on the 50 yard line! 

EDIT: Official time: 48:42

Once again, I have been neglecting this blog! I thought I would blog tonight because I am really tired but I have to wait for my laundry to be dry to go to sleep. 

Anyways, I officially started training for the AA (Ann Arbor, not Alcoholics Anonymous) marathon probably a couple of weeks ago now. I don’t really know, the only thing that really changes when I start training for real is that I plan out my long runs, as opposed to running for however long I’d like for the long run. All my other runs are generally from 4-8 miles, more on the 8 side, though, I rarely run less than 6 miles. 

I am feeling really good about my pace right about now- I have been holding an 8:40 pace on all my long runs. Ideally, I would love a 9:00 pace for this race, but lower is even better! I am not sure if it will get a whole lot more difficult when it warms up, so I am just trying to train really well right now in case the change in the weather really effects me. I know especially when it heats up, I really need to remember to drink a lot of water and eat good foods, because I always feel like if I don’t do those things, I am really effected and don’t run as well. Like today, I didn’t pay attention as much to what I was eating and I think I drank too much milk or something, which did not sit so well with my tummy during the day- always have to think about those things because that can ruin a run. Luckily it was breakfast so I felt better by dinnertime when I ran. 

I was especially surprised about holding a 8:40 pace last week because I had just finished with Dance Marathon the weekend before. DM is an organization that benefits Mott Children’s Hospital at U of M, and basically, we fundraise all year long and then stand for 30 hours. You can imagine it takes a toll on your joints. Even though I was having a lot of fun, I realized that my knees got pretty swollen and uncomfortable- that really grosses me out for some reason to think about hahah. Anyways, that Monday I took a rest day after the marathon, and got back to training on Tuesday once I finished some homework and needed to take a break. I could still tell my knees felt weird (they didn’t hurt, they just felt odd) last week, and then today on my long run I felt it again. Hmmm. I think part of it may have to do with the fact I fell up the stairs at the Ross Library the other day and bruised my knees real bad (in addition to almost breaking my finger, thank you klutziness). 

As I was saying, today I ran a 16 miler. I was kind of nervous because recently, for long runs at least, I will get to 10-12 miles and want to call it quits. I think sometimes that can have to do with the route- if you have to do ridiculous loops to make the distance, it is not as easy to run the full run than if you run really far out and back. I was definitely tired in my whole body towards the end, which I think had to do with the fact I got not too much sleep the night before, but I still felt strong and able to finish the run well!