9 weeks to go - starting to feel like marathon training

With only 9 weeks to go to the Trials, Marshall and I are starting to get in more miles.

Week in Review:

62 miles

1 workout - fartlek

20 mile long run

1 day off - sick

Despite taking Monday off, we still managed to hit decent mileage this week. I was recovering from a cold that lasted over a week. . . ugggh. But I'm feeling much better now. We attempted a fartlek on Wednesday morning. It was a 6/5/4/3/2/1 minute push, but the recovery was 1/2/3/4/5 minutes. So it sounds like it'd be pretty easy as the recovery gets longer and the pushes get shorter. However, Marshall and I have yet to rock this workout. It's harder than it sounds. We had some lingering affects which I hope would not last for our long run. 

On Saturday, we went to the trusty Frisco Trail for our first really long run of the training cycle. We had 20 on the schedule and we were bound and determined to make it better than our 16 miler last week. We tried to avoid the Willard wind tunnel, so ran the first 5-6 mile stretch 4 times. Much to our surprise, we got into beast-mode and this run felt surprisingly comfortable. Much better than last week's 16 miler where I was sick and ended up feeling worse after the run (but really didn't want to skip out on a long run, hence had to take Monday off).

This morning's run (Sunday), however, was a tale of two halves. While we are loving the warmer weather (got to wear shorts 4 times this week!) this time of year, it brings with it horrendous wind.

Next week we are hoping to sneak in to the 70's. Here to hoping we stay healthy for the rest of the training cycle :)

Week 2 (11/9-11/15)

Week 2 is in the books for the training to the Trials. These first couple weeks back are a slow build to what I hope will be an awesome training cycle! Bass Pro was two weeks ago, so I decided to take a down week to gear up for a hard 14 week countdown to the Trials and allow myself to be mentally and physically refreshed.

Foggy morning - a little after mile 3; Photo credit David Wilcox

Bass Pro was a great race. It was a little thin up in the front, but Marshall ran the entire way with me. Actually, it was a fairly odd race. There were three guy ahead of us by about 5 minutes, then the two of us came through the finish, then the next pack was nearly 5 minutes behind us. Despite it feeling like regular run with my training partner (and hubby) I managed to run my fastest time on this course by about 45 seconds. I ran an impressive 1:17:36 for 1st place.

1:17:36, 1st female

Super humid day - still foggy at the end

Nothing special for week 2. We haven't started workouts yet, just been logging some miles. I managed to get in a run every day despite spending Saturday and Sunday morning at a continuing education class in Columbia, MO with one of my co-workers.There was quite a bit of excitement on Mizzou's campus this past week, but class went fine. I cut it close, but now have all my continuing education hours that I need before the end of the year :)

Week in Review:
7 mile
45 miles
9 mile long run
1 mile up tempo (sub 6)

Low miles this week - I'm starting to get anxious for the high miles.

Marshall's Christmas present from the Shank's came early and he's super excited to be racing the LA marathon the day after my race. Since we were making the trip out, my parents really wanted him to race as well, because we probably won't be out that way again (Los Angeles isn't our first choice for a vacation spot). We got our plane tickets and hotel booked. Mom and Dad will be out there to watch as well. Only 13 weeks to go!

Looking to the Fall Season

It's been two months since the big marathon in June, and Marshall and I have recovered and are back to logging some decent mileage. We took about two weeks to physically and mentally recover. We started back workouts and even threw in a race two weeks ago.

We ran in the Cherish Kids race (Results). It was a nice starting point, but not near where I want to be. I did run 17:44 and came away with overall female and second place overall. Marshall did the 10k and came away with a second place finish. It was an exciting race, as he caught up to the first place guy and overtook him with about quarter mile to go. But we hadn't done much speed work and he got edged out with a sprint to the finish.

Week in Review:
70 miles
2 workouts
17 mile long run

We were familiar faces at the trail this week as we were on the Frisco three days. Wednesday morning, we got up early and had a good tempo run. I did 6 miles with a goal of sub 6 minute pace, and Marshall had to finish up 2 miles on his own as he went 8 miles. This is probably the first time in our 5 years of marriage that we are doing different races, and therefore have different training/workouts.

Marshall had a long run of 22 miles this week, so I was left on my own to do mile repeats on Saturday. The goals was to to 5, sub 5:40 with half mile recovery. It was tough, but do-able. Marshall even waited for me and ran the last half mile of the last repeat with me :) He's a good hubby and training partner.

I'm hoping to be in better shape here in 2 weeks. Marshall and I will be going to Kansas City to run in the Plaza 10k. This is a super fast course, and actually where my road 10k PR is.

Non running related. . .  Marshall celebrated his dirty 30 earlier this month.

Happy that the Royals are doing well. .  die hard fan. 

The gang, minus my bro-in-law, who had to work :(

We also spent the weekend before his birthday in Gulf Shores, AL. Went to visit my twin who I hadn't seen in a loooong time. Took my good friend, Kaleigh, with us! It was too short of a trip, but lots of fun.

New PR!

Well, it's been two weeks since Grandma's marathon and the excitement is starting to wear off. Marshall and I have taken some recovery time and are ready to push forward to the fall racing season!

For those that don't know yet, Marshall and I went to Duluth, MN to run Grandma's marathon. This was Marshall's third time to run this marathon and my second. I had high hopes for this race, and while I didn't quite make it to where I wanted, I am nothing but pleased with how the trip went. As with any race this distance, we learn from mistakes and there are a couple things I would do differently next time.

Goals:
A - Run "A" standard of sub 2:37
B - Run sub 2:40
C - At least PR (2:41:54 )

Actual:
2:38:34 (over 3 minute PR!!)
8th place female + time bonus

Finished! Waiting for Les to finish

Marshall and I had planned to drive to Minneapolis Wednesday and arrive to the dorms on Thursday at a decent time. Unfortunately, we had to drive all the way up Thursday and didn't arrive until sometime around 9:00 pm. So we had all day Friday to play around and enjoy the sights. The weather was perfect, but unfortunately calling for rain all Saturday morning.

Chocolate on the pillow. . . lol

Let me back track to the dorms. Duluth really doesn't have enough rooms to host an event this size, so they open up the dorms at the local universities. We were at the University of Superior for the second year in a row. It really makes me thankful for the dorms I had at MOSO. These dorms had a community bathroom and the beds weren't near as comfortable or big as they were at MOSO. But it was nice race morning, as they had buses going to and from the race.

Bus ride to the start. Still dry.

We managed to stay fairly dry. We found a spot to sit and wait that had a little bit of cover. Unfortunately, it started to pour about 20 minutes till race time. Here is where I made my first mistake. Marshall doesn't warm-up much before marathons, where I have done at least .75 to 1 mile warm-up in the past. We waited until 20 minutes before to make one last trip to the port-o-pot. That took longer than anticipated, and then we had to fight the crowd to get back to bag check and drop off our stuff. This is the point where I would have started my mile jog, but it was too late :( and instead warm-up consisted of probably .2 jog in the ditch to get up to the front of the start.  For this reason, I blame why my legs felt so crappy for the first 10 miles. I didn't feel my springy self.

Before the rain. The hike to the start line

Marshall and I were soaked, shoes already squishing, but we managed to stay on pace running around 5:55-5:59 most of the first half. We did falter a little around mile 8-12 and came through half point around 1:18:40 ish. At this point, we knew we weren't going to negative split, but discussed that we we still had quite the cushion for a sub 2:40. I don't know if we just fell asleep for the middle miles, or if we just didn't feel good but pace started to get slower and I was starting to worry if a PR was still possible, if I could get the pace back to at least 6:10 I knew I'd be okay.

But then the race took a turn. At about mile 19-20, Marshall's side stitch returned. He has been fighting this at least two weeks during even easy day runs. We went through an aid station, and next thing I know, Marshall had fallen back. I looked back to see if he was making his way back towards me, but couldn't see him. I checked one more time, and decided that he probably did get the side stitch, but knowing him, he'd probably catch back up to me over the course of the last 10k. At this point, I refocused myself and managed to get the pace back down to sub 6:00. The crowd was telling me I was in 12th place, but there were no other women in sight.

However, next thing I know, I look up (mile 22 - 23) and notice I'm gaining on another woman. . . and fast! I used this to fuel me, and managed to pick off 3 more women and handful of men in the last 5k. With 5k to go, I knew I had just over 20 minutes to break 2:40. The last 5k is AWESOME! It's all in town and the crowd is deafening! I had expected Marshall to catch back up to me by this point, so I was scared that he'd dropped out. I was on my own for my quest of a sub 2:40.

The last 1k loops back by the lake, and has a long home stretch. I got close enough and could see the clock was still at 2:37:xx and I ran excited the last stretch! I was surprised to see that I was well under 2:39. . . finishing with a new PR of 2:38:34!!!! :)

Post race

I hung around a couple minutes, worried that Marshall was hurt or had dropped out. I didn't have to wait long, saw him coming down the home stretch. He was upset, he'd planned on running the entire way with me. We'd pictured ourselves coming down the home stretch together with an awesome time. There were several times he could have easily left me, but stayed back to run with me.


This was my fourth marathon, and I'm hoping to do even better my 5th marathon (hopefully in February 2016)

Heading North

Yesterday afternoon, Marshall and I headed to our beloved trail to finish off our last workout before Grandma's marathon this coming Saturday. We had a final speedy 2 mile tempo just to boost our confidence. It sure did - we are feeling strong and fit. Now *fingers crossed for good weather* we should be ready to roll come Saturday.

2 mi w/u
Goal - 2 miles as close to 11:00 minutes as possible
Actual - 2 miles @ sub 5:30 pace! Ya!
2 mi c/d

6 total



It's been a long, hard 10 weeks since Rock the Parkway. We've had 7 weeks of 70+ miles, several being over 80 and topping out with a 90 mile week. This is a personal high for me. Woo hoo! But I must admit it was VERY tiring, especially when you throw in a full time job. But, none the less, we were determined. We made it work. There were days where Marshall would drop me off at work, and I would run home (about 5 miles) for my second run.

We nailed just about every workout leading up to this marathon. The past two Saturdays we hit up the track and did Yasso 800's which were right on pace. We also did 20 x 400 (broken up into sets) which was no easy task. The best part was that we were able to keep recovery honest. It was super hot and humid, which we've been battling the past two weeks.

Our last long workout was about 3 weeks ago. We did a 10 mile tempo.

Goal - 4 mi marathon pace (MP)/1mi half marathon pace (HP)/4mi MP/1mi HP
Actual - above

Nailed it! Our MP was geared towards 5:58ish and HP was pushed down to sub 5:50. This run felt very controlled and it was surprisingly easy to click off each mile under 6:00. We only had one mile off pace and this was the turn around mile, so I wasn't too concerned. As soon as we got that one out of the way we settled right back in to a comfortable sub 6:00 pace again. This is good compared to last year. Last year I felt like I could run 6:05 all day, but ask me to go under 6:00 and it immediately felt hard. Hopefully this is a good sign :)

Penny is up to 10 miles this year. . . she still has quite a bit to go, but probably won't be running too many this summer. It's just too hot for her. She was hot and tired after her last run and it took a while for her to recover. She's quite the runner, but needs to learn some pacing ;)

Rockin' the Parkway!

The excitement of last weekend has worn off, but a new PR has left me feeling very motivated now that racing season is upon us! I had a strong suspicion that with the increase in the prize purse, it would be a bit more competitive than past years, and it was.

1st place, with a PR!

But I knew I was ready to put myself to the test and race fast. I was coming off a pretty fast 5k the prior weekend (17:25 at Havin' A Crappie Day) and an awesome 2 mile effort tune-up just days prior to the race (See Marshall's Blog). My mind kept going back and re-living all the workouts Marshall and I nailed in the current training cycle. Now, the ultimate goal is our marathon this June. So. . . was I expecting a PR? Not really! I was thinking at least 1:17:xx, but I did not go into this race with the intention of a new PR.

New PR of 1:16:26 :)

Jumping into Stockton Lake. Just kidding, it was way to cold for that!

It was apparent within the first mile, that there would only be 2 females up front working together. Just before the race I saw Danna, whom I know from racing against while we were both in college. And it was pretty much the two of us, with a handful of men (including Marshall). Now for those that know us, Marshall and I usually do our own thing when we race. In fact, the week prior at Crappie Day, was only the second time Marshall and I had ever run side by side for a race (although if you want to get technical, my chip time did beat his chip time! ;) haha). So you can imaging my surprise at Rock the Parkway when Marshall was still running side by side with me at the mile mark. Whether it was because he had been nursing his knee the past couple weeks or been sick with a cold all week I'm not sure. But it sure was appreciated.

Probably within the first 5k

We actually raced pretty well together. I found myself easily ticking off the first three miles just under 6 minutes. Then, I'm not sure if it was because we finally made it to the top of a gradual climb, but all of a sudden, I look down and the Garmin is reading 5:40 pace and I find myself starting to pull away from the small group of us. I was just going to roll with it though. I know it was early in the race, but I was feeling really good! We got to Swope park (7 miles) and Marshall and I started to distance ourselves from the pack. In fact, that was the fastest I've made it up that hill. . . in past years I've been know to slow to nearly a 6:20 mile, but Marshall and I managed to keep it sub 6:00. It wasn't until mile 10 when I glanced at our overall time and realized we only had to run a 19:30ish 5k to be in the 1:17's. This is when Marshall tells me he thinks we can run under 1:17, but a PR was still a reach. We ended up having an amazing last mile which was enough for a 6 second PR for me. YA!

Finishing

Workout Wednesday

Marshall and I have been trying to transition most of our runs to the mornings now that it is warming up. This morning we pulled ourselves out of bed for the always dreaded hill repeats. They were about as exciting as hill repeats can be, but overall we were pleased with the effort. The hill we like is over near Battlefield and West-by Pass and exactly a quarter mile long. We ran up that sucker 8 times and I was pooped by the end. It was a looong 2.5 miles back home. But what I'm even more excited about was my 10 mile tempo and mile repeats last weekend.

3/21/15 - Ten Miler!
2 w/u
Goal: 10 miles sub 60 (sub 6:00 minute pace)
Actual: 10 miles @ 59:24 (Avg - 5:56)
3 c/d

Ya! I could not have been more excited about this tempo run :) Marshall and I set up some water bottles along the Frisco trail to practice water intake. We NAILED this workout. All of our miles were under 6:00, with the exception of number 9, which was still a 6:02. We did take a nutrilite cube and water, which did slow us down just a bit. The awesome thing was that I felt great the entire time. I hope in a race atmosphere I can run even faster for my half marathon next weekend.

Week(s) in review:
3/16-3/22
70 miles
2 workouts
1 double
15 mile long run

3/23-3/29:
65 miles
1 workout (rain)
1 double 17 mile long run


This weekend we signed up for a 5k in Stockton, not too far from Springfield. It was just perfect because it is the weekend before Rock the Parkway, and we were wanting some sort of race for this weekend. It's what I like to call a rust-buster race. Marshall and I haven't run a race since November (Bass Pro), so it's always nice to have low-pressure race to get back into the racing mode. I'd hate for my first race in over 5 months to be a half marathon. But things are moving in the right direction and I'm confident for the upcoming season.

Kimi vs. the Snow

It's been a long 3 weeks of snow. As soon as it's gone, more comes! It came fast and furious, but I think we are about done with it now. The snow kicked my butt the first week, but I bounced back determined not to let it ruin me two weeks in a row. If we were keeping score (and I was):

Snow: 1
Kimi: 1
and 1 tie

Let's recap the past three weeks

Week of 2/16-2/22:
1 treadmill run
25ish miles at Wilson's Creek
1 workout

This is the week the snow beat me. I'm too embarrassed to actually admit how many miles (or lack of) that were run this week. I did spend  A LOT of time out at Wilson's Creek. It was pretty much the only non-snow covered road around. As a result, the legs burned from running up hills and the joints ached from pounding down hills. The sliver lining of this week was a stellar 6 mile tempo Marshall and I had at the Battlefield.

Goal: 6 miles sub 36:00
Actual: 6 miles @ 35:22 (5:54 average)

After a pathetic start to the week, both Marshall and I were a bit worried about how this workout would go. We were even more nervous about big hills being involved. Really we had nothing to worry about, when the up hill slowed us down, the down hills made up for. We started at Republic High school and only had to climb a small portion of Bloody Hill.

Week of 2/23-3/1:
65 miles
40 miles on treadmill

Unfortunately, no workouts this week. But I chalk it up as a point for Kim :) First of all, I ran every day (and many of those miles were on the treadmill!) I'm awful at treadmill running, it's sooo boring. But I was bound and determined to make a come back from the prior week. I was supposed to to a track workout, which I opted to just cancel and put in some mileage. The 15 miler on the treadmill about did me in. My quads were shredded the next day. The PT in me knows that the quads are dominant on the treadmill (glutes not so much), but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

I'm starting to feel really strong. I'm itching to get out and race now that we finally got some warm weather this weekend. There is 5 weeks until Rock the Parkway, and I'm thinking of adding a 5k or something before, as a rust-buster. It's probably not the best for Rock the Parkway (half marathon) to be my first rack back since Bass Pro (November).

Week in Review (2/2-2/8)

Week in Review:
57 miles
7 runs
14 mile long run
1 workout
1 acceleration run

Penny's yearly miles - 7


With a bit of cold spell on Monday, we didn't quite hit our target of 60 miles this week, but we aren't too concerned as it was still an increase from last week's mileage. With only about 2 months until Rock the Parkway, it's time to start adding workouts into the mix, and what a great weekend for it. Saturday morning we jogged down the hill to the South Creek Trail for a fast (but short) tempo run. It was a little breezy, but warm enough to break out the shorts for both the workout and long run on Sunday! Not bad for February.


Saturday workout:
2+ w/u
Goal: 3 miles @ sub 18:00 (but hopefully sub 17:45)
Actual: 3 miles @ 17:28 (5:49 average)
2+ c/d
8 miles total

After last week's measly 2 mile tempo, I was really hoping to bounce back with a stellar 3 miles tempo. Last week was our first time in about 3 months (since Bass Pro) to even attempt anything sub marathon pace (hopefully closer to half marathon pace). Boy was it a shock to the body! Never had 2 miles felt so long ;)

For the three mile tempo, we opened up with a 5:49 and I was hoping we didn't start out too ambitious. Thankfully, no, and we even closed with a 5:45. Which is right at half marathon pace and just a hair faster!

2014 in Review

2014 in Review: 
2508 miles
7 5k's
3 10k's (35:16 new PR)
3 Half marathon's
1 Marathon (2:41:54 - Olympic B standard)
1 ankle injury (fully recovered!)

What a year! Despite the relatively low mileage, it was quite the year for races!

The Good:
Obviously the highlight was my PR run at Grandma's marathon in Duluth this summer. Hopefully, we can go back and re-create the magic there this year :)

Most of my 5k's were nothing special, but speed wasn't necessarily my main concern this year. I'm fairly happy that they were consistently around 17:40 ish or below.

New (or maybe a tie?) of my road 10k PR.

The Not So Good:
I didn't have a rock-solid half marathon. I was really hoping to run closer to my PR this year. My PR is 1:16:32 and I ran 1:18 this year.

I also fell down during one of my half marathons, which caused me to have a minor sprain of my ankle. I now have pain free range of motion (thanks to my Chiropractor husband, he does Active Release Technique (ART)) and no more residual swelling. However, the physical therapist in me knows that I need to be doing some stability and balance exercises, because I'm still really cautious with sharp turns and running through grass. But I'm my own worst patient.

Missing a few - Oddly, the one that means the most is that tiny green one in the middle!

Goals for 2015:
Improve marathon time with sub 2:40 or possible Olympic A standard (2:37)
Run close to PR for half marathon
3000+ total miles for the year
Hit lifetime weekly mileage of 90

Penny's goals:
Learn how to walk with a leash
Run 100 miles for the year

She's so cute :)

Over a week into 2015 and Marshall and I are off to a good start! Despite the frigid conditions, we've been getting the miles in. I've only had to do one run on the treadmill so far. Mostly, I've just been doing a LOT of loops (I don't like to get too far from home base in case I get too cold). Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.


Week in Review (12/29 through 1/4):
54 miles
7 runs in 6 days
11 mile long run

Week in Review (11/5 through 11/11):
40 miles
6 runs in 6 days
1 run on treadmill
no long run (a little slippery this weekend)
countless loops around Mercy or at home

This was the first, REALLY cold week we've had so far this winter. No snow, but a couple days where the high wasn't even 20 degrees, We are hoping for some warmer weather next week as we throw in some progression runs.