Week 8: #itsgoingdownatphx

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training, Running and tagged with Break the Stigma, Heroes in Recovery, Marathon Training, Running, Week Recap December 19, 2017

The 10 week countdown begins!!!

Monday, December 11th–Stretch, Roll

I took the day after Scottsdale Half Marathon off to recover. I rolled like the good runner I am 😀

Tuesday, December 12th–5 miles

Thankfully, the plan called for easy miles and I milked it. Met up with my early morning crew for a fiver at 9:15 pace.

Wednesday, December 13th–Strength train, stretch, and roll

Did some MYRTLES and some core vids. Exciting stuff. Although, I do have to say that I feel my hips/glutes getting stronger. I try and devote an hour to this stuff on the days that it calls for.

Thursday, December 14th–7 miles

This was a tough workout that I was excited/nervous about–2×1 mile at 10k pace (7:10) and 4×400 at (6:55).

7:07
6:55

6:42
6:36
6:36
6:20

It was hard but it was actually….fun?

Friday, December 15th–Nada

I chaperoned my daughter’s Kindergarten field trip so that was my morning. In the evening, I went to a holiday party with some friends and had a pre-birthday celebration 🙂

Saturday, December 16th–12.16 miles

I met up with two Moms Run This Town friends and got in two miles before I ventured out on my own for the last 10. This was an AMAZING run and was the best way to start year 33 😀

I don’t know who I’ve become.

Later, I had two holiday parties and I realized that I didn’t even take an official birthday picture, lol!! True sign of aging, jaja!!!

Sunday, December 17th–5 miles (Heroes in Recovery 6k)

Did a warm up mile before this special race. I ran it last year in celebration of my brother and father’s sobriety and now, more than a year later, they are both still going strong ❤ Because of them, I am a believer of prayer, of God’s strength–and I thank Him everyday for His power to ignite change in my two heroes.

I wanted to negative split this 3.7 mile race and I was well under way, until I saw the course was going to be long and then my spirits sank, i.e I ran out of gas, LOL

Nevertheless, I managed to finish 9th FOA and 2nd in my AG–all of which of course was for my my dad and brother ❤ I often think of them when things get hard in a race. How hard must it be to give up an addiction, to continue every day without something you thought you couldn’t live without? That’s hard. So I go to them in tough times and find strength in their strength.

Weekly Total: 29.25 miles

–Do you run a race that means something special to you?

Week 7: #itsgoingdownatphx

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training and tagged with It's Going Down at Phoenix, Marathon Training, Running, Week Recap December 13, 2017

Last week was pretty cray cray–with what was a full week of training and a half marathon PR tacked on at the end!

Monday, December 4–3 miles easy

Just an easy run around the hood. This was supposed to be a tempo run but my heart wasn’t in it for some reason, and I decided to move it to the following day. Which ended up being a great idea.

Tuesday, December 5–6 miles

I met up with my local run club at 4:40 a.m and nailed this workout. Two miles WU, two miles @7:30, 7:25, two miles CD. The two miles were continuous w/o a RI so I was really happy I was able to keep the pace and even negative split (it was a little fast actually, target pace was 7:40).

Wednesday, December 6–Strength train, stretch, roll

The ~~not so~~ fun stuff, lol!

Thursday, December 7th–7.50 miles

This was a doozy. I was NOT looking forward to this run because it just seemed…hard, lol!! But I met up with some buddies (again at 4:40 a.m.) and my pacer friend Tomio agreed once more to take on this workout on with me.

2 mile WU
2x5min @7:10-15 w/RI (7:05, 7:11)
3x3min @7:00 w/RI (7:04, 7:18, 7:34)
5x1min @6:30-50 w/RI (6:33, 6:43, 6:30, 6:26, 6:25)
1 mile CD

I struggled a bit with the 3 minuters, but I was pretty euphoric after this run. It was hard but I did it!

Friday, December 8th–Stretch, roll

I stuck to stretching and rolling and gave myself a rest day from strength, lol!

Saturday, December 9th–4 miles

Easy 4 miles with my MRTT crew.

Sunday, December 10th–13.1 miles (Scottsdale Half Marathon)

Elle made a good point (she’s so smart) on my race recap, in that I didn’t have an actual taper leading up to the half marathon and despite that, I was able to PR. I hadn’t thought about that but she was right. I had a full week’s worth of workouts leading up to the race!

I love this pic.

So far, I’m feeling pretty good post race. I’m excited for the progress I’ve made and I’m excited to continue my training. It is such a difference from the last cycle where I was really struggling–on many levels–but one of which was my job, which I no longer have. I’ve decided to retire from teaching and stay home with my kids a little longer. I’m not sure yet what my future career-wise will look like, but I know from past experience that whenever I’m home, I make running my full-time job, lol! I’m thankful for another go at stay-at-home-status and the opportunity to devote some extra time to training. ❤

–Have you benefitted from marathon training and PRd on a race during?

–Have you walked away from something you once loved? (I taught for 9 years!)

2017 Scottsdale Half Marathon–PR!!

Posted by hellyontherun in Half Marathon, Marathon Training, Uncategorized and tagged with Half Marathon, Marathon Training, PR, Race Recap, Scottsdale Half Marathon December 11, 2017

I love this course. I really do. It’s been sooo good to me and Ben and we’ve always done well here. It’s a pretty much a *flat*, fast, loop in Scottsdale, AZ–nothing majorly scenic, but it’s pretty in Scottsdale and even though you’re passing through businesses and residential areas, the landscaping is well maintained and pretty to look at, lol!

My goal was to sub 1:40. I hadn’t really been vocal about that goal (except here), but my marathon training has me doing tempo miles at that pace and I figured it was a good time to give it a go.

And I got close….

So close.

I wore my Shalane F*CK YES! Momentum bracelet because I was on a mission for a sub 1:40 Eff Yes moment . When I crossed the finish line, it was more just like, F******CK. Lol!!!

Turning the corner and looking at the clock tell me I didn’t make it.

And because I’m honest, my immediate reaction crossing the finish line was disappointment– and I wanted to cry. But because my team’s tent was at the finish line, I was immediately met with hugs and congrats and I couldn’t cry. I mean, I PR’d, how could I be upset? I didn’t want to cry and be a baby with everyone so happy for me. So, I put a smile on my face and rejoiced, even though deep down I was sad.

We ❤ Scottsdale Half Marathon

My brother ran it, too!

My MRTT/AZTNT crew

I know PRs are going to get harder now. So after I pity-partied a bit, I truly began to celebrate my accomplishment. I’m pretty damn happy. Sincerely.

I ran fast, and I ran fast from the very start. I went in with a goal and I wasn’t afraid to fight for it from the get-go. From beginning to end, I raced.

That is so freaking awesome to me. I’ve come such a long way in the mental aspect of running. I remember telling my husband after I first ran a sub 1:50, that I didn’t think I could top that. That I would be perfectly okay without bettering that 1:48. Well, here I am, a 1:42 and a 1:40 later!

I’m wanting to get faster. I’m not afraid of running fast anymore. I mean, I still sometimes get freaked out when I see myself running sub 8s, but I’m getting used to seeing them more often and getting used to making it my “new normal”.

It’s insane. I never thought I would run the way I’m running now.