The Training Wall

Ever since the 9-miler in the rain on Sunday my 3 runs this week have been painful and dreadful, one after another. In fact, I didn't even make my full mileage on Wed and Thur, although I'm glad I even dragged myself outside.

...The 9-miler wasn't too intense, I don't think I pushed all that hard...
...I took care of myself after the rain so my immune system is all happy...
...I've been eating as I've been the week before, I've taken good care of hydrating myself for and after the runs, and gulping down the coconut water when I feel I may need it...
...My mileage didn't jump up drastically, in fact, I don't die at the end - I die at mile 2...

So what's the problem???

Ok, so excited to share this on the blog... but since we're on the topic.. it has been that wonderful time in a woman's life when she wants to rub her boyfriends face in his pee and eat a pickle. But that shouldn't have affected me on Thursday - I felt great in fact!
Maybe my body was weakened and too slow to recuperate from earlier runs this week.
Or maybe - the only other thing I can think of - I've been very sleep deprived. According to RunnersWorld this can have an enormous effect.

Running is as much physical as it is mental. Push yourself through too much pain - and you may kill the last bits of that excitement which got you into running to begin with. Rest too long - and you will lose the the training base that you've worked so hard to build up.

The key is knowing that you will be OK. Allow yourself to run slower, easier, shorter. Allow yourself to rest and taking care of your body rather than punishing it harder. And remember - what drives you is what will stop you. So allow yourself to enjoy running again, if you hit the training wall.

- Sleep more (!!!)
- Eat better
- Find a new route
- Bring a friend
- Do a race

04/28: 6mi - MB Wk14

PLAN: 6mi
RAN: 4mi-
LOC: LTF after work
EL: 6---

I was so bleeeeeeeh today that I was going to skip the run originally to save myself for tomorrow, but last minute I changed my mind and decided to do the best I can to get at least some miles in. And I feel I did pretty good, even though it completely sucked the whole way though. I alternated 9:30 and 9:00 pace for a mile each, but I also walked for a few minutes every 2 miles. My total distance was 4mi but my running distance was less.
I don't regret it though, I really felt like poop.

04/27: 5mi - MB Wk14

PLAN: 5mi
RAN: 5.6mi @ 8:23-9:22*-9:24-9:13-8:46-9:00=9:18m/mi
LOC: Greene Valley
EL: 7+

Brrrrr! The temperature plummeted in the evening and I was not ready... then I got lost, but then I decided to kick it's butt. Overall, looking at my pace, I am definitely running much faster than I perceive. Now a snail pace is 9:30, which is great. But the reason I die at the 2nd mile (for the 2nd or 3rd time in a row now) is possibly because of the 8:20 first mile, so I really should take it easier on the warm-ups.

Marathon Training Plan / Speed Work

(t-17- weeks)

I still have some time to think about this, but I am starting to research the training recommendations more in-depth because I feel that I should be adding some speed and weight training to my workouts if I really want to be serious about this.


Marathon Training Plan:

Beginner You've run 15 to 20 miles a week for at least six months, completed a 5-K or 10-K--perhaps even something longer. You can run five or six miles without collapsing afterward and want to gradually become a stronger runner able to finish your first marathon, in the words of Portland, Oregon, coach Bob Williams, "feeling good and excited to run another one in six months."

Your Plan Surprise, you're going to train just three to four days a week and gradually increase your weekly mileage from around 15 to 35-plus miles a week. The biggest key of all will be to gradually increase your mileage, especially that of your weekend long run. "The beginner needs to focus almost entirely on the long run," says Anaerobic Management coach Jon Sinclair (anaerobic.net), "but it's also good to throw in a little hillwork and some aerobic intervals on alternate weeks to bolster your stamina and to liven up your training." Lastly, we're going to have you running two low-key races to get the feel of competition before the big day.

Intermediate You regularly run 20 to 30 miles a week, and have done so for a year or more. You do a weekly long run of eight to 10 miles and have some experience with tempo runs or intervals. You've run 10-K races, probably finished a half-marathon, maybe even a full marathon. But now you have a specific marathon goal time in mind, and you want to do the training to make it a reality.

Your Plan "Long runs are the basis of marathon training, but at this level it's important to add some intensity to the program," says Sinclair. So, you'll gradually increase the length of the weekly long run to adapt your mind and body to the rigors of running nonstop for several hours. But running 18 to 20 miles at a time isn't all you need, so you'll supplement these runs with some higher-effort running twice weekly, including sustained tempo runs at your half-marathon race pace. These promote aerobic strength and efficiency and will help you find that groove you'd like to be in when you run a longer race, according to Sinclair. You'll also be doing a smattering of speedwork.

 I've shown in orange the criteria that I exceed and in green the ones I meet; based on these I definitely qualify as an Intermediate; however, the red shows that although my runs are long enough, I have not been doing them long enough, even for a beginner. Highlighted are the key points in training guidelines, and I will simply need to adjust the intensity of tempo runs and speedwork to my personal fitness level.

One of the key highlighted elements is:

Become Race Fit Short races (5- to 10-K) are terrific fitness boosters that let you run much faster than your marathon goal pace--an effort that you just cannot replicate in training, no matter how motivated you are. So all three schedules feature two races because, according to a recent study, race efforts can dramatically boost aerobic capacity and lactate threshold. This can only help your marathon performance.

04/25: 9mi - MB Wk13

PLAN: 9mi
RAN: 9mi @ 9:31-10:54*-9:26-9:42-9:50-9:50-9:35-9:30-9:30=9:40m/mi
LOC: Herrick Lake
EL: 6+

What a run! It drizzled the whole way back but I remembered that I actually really like running in the rain because I don't get overheated. But the occasional wind gusts made it slightly unpleasant. It was my first 9-mile, and I missed yesterday's run so I took it easy and didn't watch the pace at all during the run - worked out pretty good. I am glad that my body is getting used to the faster pace.
Warm-up was a little tough, I paused to stretch during the second mile, but compared to previous long runs - did not stop at all after that and was perfectly fine. No music today either - I'm learning to zone out my brain for longer durations of time.

I ran with CamelBak with diluted coconut juice - the taste really grew on me, and I feel like it really gives me those electrolytes I don't get with plain water.
Also, GPS in CamelBak seems to track *significantly* better than in the front waist pouch - it was pretty much right on course the whole time today, despite the thick clouds and rain.
I took the "long" routes on two out of three loops and had to run around the parking lot to get it up to 9mi. (I just didn't want to get stuck 3 miles out if it really started coming down!)

04/24: VACATION

PLAN: 4mi
RAN: 0mi

I made up my mind last minute to go camping on Friday. So instead of a 4-mile run I did some uphill hiking and climbing at Devil's Lake.

04/23: Rest - MB Wk13

PLAN: Rest

Rest is rest :) Driving to DL today.

04/22: 5mi - MB Wk13

PLAN: 5mi
RAN: 5mi @ 9.5-9-9-9-9.4
LOC: LTF after work
EL: 6+

This week has been tough mileage-wise, and I've been feeling sore and weak on the runs. So I decided to take it semi-easy - a constant but my ultimate target pace of 9m/mi to build up some muscle memory.
It got a little tough at the very end and I went down to 6.4 on the last mile, but overall felt really good.

Also I've found the ONE Coconut water at Jewel and decided to try it out today - the stuff tastes SO gross... I was afraid it was going to make me gag at the end of the run and stopped drinking it. But I think it kept me hydrated VERY well.

Finished up with some VE climbing - my legs didn't kill me nearly as much today as the last time I tried this combination!

04/21: 6mi - MB Wk13

PLAN: 6mi
RAN: 6mi @ 8:50-8:30-9:20-10:30-?-?=9:17m/mi
LOC: Herrick Lake
EL: 7-6-+

Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong on today's run. Firstly, it was freezing cold by the time I got out (mid-40s) with VERY strong wind gusts. My options were t-shirt or t-shirt and jacket. So 80% of the time I felt very overheated despite every zipper being open. With all that discomfort, and for whatever other reason - it just felt like the wind killed me - I was dying on the 3rd mile. At which point - conveniently - my headphones broke.
I finally struggled my way back to the lake only to find out that I ran 5-miles (yes, I accidentally mapped a 5-mile route and titled it as 6mi), so I had to run another circle around the lake. The wind wasn't bad so that last mile did not actually feel terrible.

What a nasty run. ehhh. I guess I was due to have a bad one eventually!!

04/20: 5mi - MB Wk13

PLAN: 5mi
RAN: 5mi @ 8:30-8:50-9:40-9:00-8:30=9m/mi
LOC: Greene Valley
EL: 6-7+

Did something new today - Greene Valley was great! I am kind of proud of my creativity in mapping this "Figure-Eight" course to make the most (5mi) out of the forest preserve loops. This trail is interesting as the sections are shorter, twistier, and much hillier than Herrick.

Seemed like there were lots of uphills in the beginning and either because of that, or just unprovoked muscle cramping, I took the third mile REALLY easy (9:40) - BUT - it's still 9:40! That's a damn good pace for an "easy" mile! The end seemed all downhill, or maybe it was unprovoked muscle de-cramping, but the running got really good - 8:30. I am so happy!

04/19: Rest - MB Wk13

PLAN: Rest

Dentist appt today ( yey!) and did a full 90 minutes of P90X yoga while my jaw was unfreezing. Kicked my butt as always!

04/18: 8mi - MB Wk12

PLAN: 8mi
RAN: 8mi @ 11-9:15-9:25-9:40-?-?-9:00-9:10
LOC: Herrick Lake
EL: 7+

Good run. EL is up and I am not tempted to call this run "fun" like before, but that just means I was working my ass off. As I thought what my "EL" values mean, I understood that it is not only how hard I work but how long I can *sustain* that level of exertion. Therefore, training will 1) allow me to run faster at a lower intensity level 2) allow me to sustain a higher intensity level for a longer duration of time.
On longer runs my EL will be lower, but that doesn't necessarily make the run easier, while pushing the pace on shorter runs will help me train anaerobically.

I tracked the run via GPS (in my nifty travel wallet) but it was really off on miles 5-6, where I also made a water stop, so I don't have times for those miles, but I am very happy with my pace.

04/17: 4mi - MB Wk12

PLAN: 4mi
RAN: 4mi @ 9:10-9:20-9:20-8:45m/mi
LOC: Blackwell Forest Preserve
EL: 7-

The run felt good in general (very surprisingly) even though I had enough troubles along the way to hate it.  It felt like I was running uphill into the wind the whole time, I started getting really fatigued after about 2 miles, and to top everything off I had 'other' issues for the last two miles making the experience thoroughly unpleasant.

(Note: I "reset trip" after the first mile, which is why it is not shown in screen shot)

I think what made the run "good" after all that is that - despite - all of it, I ran a  really good pace, although I did not feel like I pushed the pace all that much. My goal was to run between 9:00 and 9:30.

I tried something new today - those body wallets for traveling - it fit the GPS perfectly, and the rubber band prevented it from bouncing - WIN.

04/16: Rest - MB Wk12

PLAN: Rest

04/15: 4mi - MB Wk12

PLAN: 4mi
RAN: 4mi @ 9.5-8.75-9.0-8.75
LOC: Hidden Lake
EL: 8+

So I decided that I need to push the pace and I sure felt it. It was no longer the fun "I can do this forever" but back to the heavy breathing and making some serious effort.
I let myself warm up on the first mile - at ~9.5 (it's hard to time the back look b/c it's over a mile), pushed it on mile 2 at 8.75m/mi timed, slowed down just a little on mile 3 at ~9.0m/mi, and ran an exact 8.75 on the last mile again. I told myself to run a pace that I felt is a 9m/mi and not sprint at the end just to get the time, and I think I accomplished my goal. Feels good :)
But hurts a little. In a good way.

Electrolyte Replacement

Electrolyte Replacement

A great (but somewhat lengthy) article by Steve Born on this topic can be summarized as follows:

1. Electrolyte replacement during exercise is a necessary procedure that is also highly individual. We don't believe that adopting the "one size fits all" or "everything and the kitchen sink" approaches can adequately fulfill proper electrolyte replacement. Our philosophy is that because every person's electrolyte needs are different, it's important to provide a product that allows the athlete to tailor the dose according to their needs, needs that can only be found through experimentation in training.
2. The human body needs very minute amounts of sodium to function normally: 80-300mg, while the average athlete stores at least 8,000 mg of dietary sodium in tissues. Therefore, what is required is a low-sodium approach to electrolyte replacement that emphasizes a balance of essential minerals that cooperatively enhance the body's natural hormone and enzyme mechanics. In essence, we want to work with our body, not against it.
3. Steve promotes Endurolytes by Hammer Nutrition for their balance of: Calcium & Magnesium, Sodium & Potassium & Chloride; Manganese, B-6, and L-Tyrosine

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Scott Dunlap is a Blogger neighbor who has a great post about Coconut water, which naturally contains a ton of potassium, magnesium and a small dose of sodium; among having other great health benefits. He recommends brands ONE (sold at Jewel and Whole Foods) and Zico (at Fruitful Yield stores in the Chicagoland area).


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04/14: Rest - MB Wk12

PLAN: Rest

I got lucky being sick on the off week :) I felt much better today than yesterday, but an extra day of rest is good. Back in the game tomorrow!

04/13: SICK

PLAN: 3mi
RAN: 0

   ehhhhh I am sick :(

04/12: Rest - MB Wk12

PLAN: Rest


Yesterday was Roxy's birthday which we - as completely horrible parents - forgot about, even though we've been planning it for at least a month! So we celebrated today with a long walk and a rawhide :)

This is actually the first time I am mentioning Roxy in my blog. She is my baby, my love, my now-2-year-old beautiful Vizsla. She has been with me, patiently and obediently on every outdoor run, and has been the most amazing training partner I could wish for!

She has built up her mileage with me; although - being a sporting dog - her endurance is far beyond mine, she still works hard, especially on hot sunny days.

I fit in just a few minutes of P90X Yoga between the festivities :)

04/11: 8mi* - MB Wk11

PLAN: 8mi
RAN: 8mi @ 10m/mi
LOC: Herrick Lake
EL: 5+

What a run! I do have a cold, so I popped a Benadryl and an Advil just in case (I am totally against pills but I really needed to make these miles today).

I ran the course below backwards to make it more fun, starting at the DuPage FP Office building, and making a full circle around Herrick Lake; with one short water-stretch stop at 5mi:

It was cool for the run, windy at times but not bad. The run felt great! I was disappointed to find out my slow pace, and considering I would give the first 2/3rds of the course an EL of 4 I really need to start pushing the pace more on and stop saving myself for the last mile. Here is the detail as recorded via my ad-hoc GPS method and interpreted by TrailRunner:

Tracking my pace reveals the following:
10.0-10.5-10.5-11.0-10.0-break-10.5-9.5-9.5
I clearly remember what 9.5 pace felt like at the end of an 8-mile run and it did not feel like 9.5 :) But I have to remember to push myself - that's the only way to get faster. Eventually :)

********************************************
I tested out what it's like to run with a CamelBak today - something I'll definitely need for 8mi+ runs.
WIN. It worked really well! No chafing; the chest strap successfully prevented it from bouncing - (much better than a hip fanny pack!) I had it 1/2 full causing the water to slush but that did not cause any discomfort. In the future the only thing I would change is fill it up all the way; I used up all the water through my run while the extra weight will just be extra training. The little pocket is perfect for GPS storage, which means I will be tracking all my long runs!

04/10: 4mi - MB Wk11

PLAN: 4mi
RAN: 4mi @ 9.5m/mi (timed)
LOC: Blackwell Forest Preserve
EL: 4-5+

Stayed up late last night so my schedule is really messed up and I felt pretty crappy, in addition to the fact that I am getting sick, but the run was still very very great! I think this training thins is really working :)

The new Blackwell route was a *perfect* new 4-miler for me!

04/09: Rest - MB Wk11

PLAN: Rest

7.5 miles on rollerblades @ Busse Woods with Roxy & Vova. УРА!

PS - This would be a great 8-miler course

04/08: 4mi - MB Wk11

PLAN: 4mi
RAN: 4mi @ 9.5-9.4-9.2-9.1-10-9.2-9.1*-9.0-10-9.5-9.4-6.2m/mi*** :)
LOC: LTF @ night
EL: 4+

I contemplated but finally decided against running outside in 40F and 15mph winds. (My throat has been acting up.)
So I bummed around until last minute, and had dinner just before going to LTF (not smart).
The run was GREAT. Yet again I had that "I could do this *almost* all day" feeling even though I had to consciously  keep my dinner down on a couple of occasions. Therefore I decided to make it more fun and work a little on speed.
I believe I am recollecting my sequence correctly:
6.3-6.4-6.5-6.6-6.0-6.5-6.6*-6.7-6.0-6.3-6.4-6.5mph




I changed the speed after every song which is roughly every 1/4-1/2 mile, which worked out great. The * next to 6.6 is due to the fact that I felt like I was feeling my heart going in hyper mode (if only I knew what that was actually called?), so I walked for a few seconds to make sure I don't pass out. Because I had to smash the "stop" button it killed my workout mileage which I didn't look at for a while, so I am estimating that I ran 0.5-0.75mi more.

The greatest feeling was to drop to 10m/mi and feel completely relaxed at that pace to the point of being able to recover very quickly.
I think I'm getting better, slowly but surely  :)))


Climbing after the run was disastrous. I could barely do a 5.8.

04/07: 5mi - MB Wk11

PLAN: 6mi
RAN: 5mi @ 9.5-9.5-10-9.5 m/mi
LOC: LTF @ lunch
EL: 5+

Despite it being on a treadmill it was a GREAT run! I chose to do only 5 miles because...

1. Due to running 4 miles on Mon my week total would be 28mi which is a 12% increase from last week, which I didn't even complete. I simply did not want to overwork my body.
2. Yesterday's run was bad, I didn't want this week to get worse.
3. I took a 2-hour lunch as is..

Even at my 'faster' pace my breathing was amazing the whole way; no cramps and nothing hurt; but I really started pushing it the last mile - it's the whole body fatigue that gets me most of the time, and that's resolved only by mental and physical training.

Schedule Modification
Wk11 is supposed to be recovery week (4-6-4-4-4=22); Wk10 was (4-5-4-4-8=25) while I only ran 13. Following the guidelines the best way to resolve this is to flip: assume Wk10 as recovery week; do Wk10 mileage during Wk11; and continuing on to Wk12 as normal. Which is exactly what I've done so far: 4-5... the only difference is the 8-miler which I should be ready for by the end of this week. Wk12 will be great as another break week with another 8-miler. Will modify on my Google Schedule.

04/06: 4mi - MB Wk11

PLAN: 4mi
RAN: 4mi with a short walk
LOC: Hidden Lake
EL: (-)

Bleh. Today sucked. I felt weak, mentally drained; maybe the fact that I had a bug in my eye for half the run had something to do with it; maybe it's just the abundance of bugs in general - those little tiny white ones that will unavoidably enter once orifice or another; maybe the weather. Yuck. It was pre-rain, very warm, humid, with very little wind. I had to walk for ~2min at the start of mile 4 because I felt like I was getting extremely overheated.
Or maybe it is the pizza and other junk food I had for lunch. Time to start a Nutrition page.
I just hope this is not the result of Monday's extra credit and won't ruin the rest of my week.

Also, HL is getting to be a real drag. I need to find an alternative for my 4-5milers.

I've added "EL" = exertion level to my heading, theoretically a 0-10 scale with 10 being most difficult.
It's a very tough judgment call because it seems that most of the time it's the mental not the physical that gets me down; I think for now this will be more about how I feel about the run rather than how difficult it really was; or at least a (+) for "great" or (-) for "sucky".

04/05: 4mi* - MB Wk11

PLAN: Rest
RAN: 30min elliptical; 4mi @ 9.7m/mi - timed
LOC: LTF @ Lunch; Hidden Lake

I missed 3 days / 16 miles of training (due to long miles of hiking in southern IL - Shawnee National Forest) and after some research on the best way to make up missed runs I decided to warm up my legs and lungs at lunch; and then run an easy 4 miles after work.
I am glad I did 4mi only - no pain today and I feel that I will be OK for the rest of the week, but it was enough to get my body back into running.
I had some inner-ankle pain, not sure why, prob all the hiking.

Today I used my DIY GPS method to track my pace. More later.

Missed Training and Vacations

From runnersworld.com:

If you were to plot the mileage of most marathon-training schedules on a graph, it would show a straight, slowly rising line followed by a short, steep plunge during the taper. But reality is never that smooth. "Expect peaks and valleys - periods of improvement and stagnation," says Connelly. And if you miss a day or two of training, just go back to the schedule. "If you miss a whole week, backtrack the same amount of time that you skipped," say the Finkes. "If you miss more than two weeks, adjust your goals or switch to a later marathon."

From marathonrookie.com:

If you miss a week of runs during a training period, do not try to make up for lost time when you start back. Just move on as if you ran that week and pick up with the current schedule. However, start back at a slower pace to allow your body to adjust, especially if your time off was due to illness.

A nice set of guidelines from runningplanet.com (I pasted selectively what applies to me):

Injured 12 Weeks or More Before Marathon

Recovery Time	Adjustments
Up to 1 Week	Pick up with current training week @ 75% of recommended volume for one week. The resume normal training.
1 - 2 Weeks	Pick up with current training week @ 50% of recommended volume for one week and 75% of recommended volume for a second week. Then resume normal training.
2 - 3 Weeks	Pick up with current training week @ 50% of recommended volume for one week and 75% of recommended volume for a second week. Then resume normal training. Consider adjusting your finishing time goal to a slightly lower level.

Injured 5 to 8 Weeks Before Marathon

Recovery Time	Adjustments
Up to 1 Week	Pick up with current training week @75% of recommended volume for one week. Then resume normal training.
1 - 2 Weeks	Pick up with current training week @ 50% of recommended volume for one week and 75% of recommended volume for a second week. Then resume normal training.

What I take from all this is:

1. If you are able to run on vacation - run as closely to the plan as possible
2. If you know you won't be able to run - adjust the schedule as best as you can
3. If the missed training is unexpected - the guidelines above are great

Once I get into a routine and become slightly more intelligent about all this, I will certainly have to get back to this topic and manipulate my schedule.

Marathon Training Schedule

Here is my "official" schedule that I created at the inception of this idea. This is a slightly modified Excel copy of the marathontraining.com training plan. This is a great starting point until the magic 17-week marker when the 'real' training comes in.