Las Vegas Marathon Week 1 Training Rundown- 7/16-7/22

Happy Humpday! Marathon training is finally HERE! I cannot believe it. I'm also super pumped to finally get training and focus 100% on the Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon. It's honestly one of my FAVORITE races and I look forward to it every year. I did the marathon last year (and the half in 2016) and everything about it is amazing. I love how the race is at night so you never have to stress about the sun beating down on you at any point of the race and the 5k the day before is the perfect shakeout run. I can't WAIT! Since training "officially" began last week (but it was also a recovery week from my 50k), I took Monday & Tuesday completely off of running and limited myself to just an easy easy 6 recovery miles every day last week. SO, the mileage was pretty consistent and nothing too crazy, but was perfect to flush out my legs from all those trail miles and keep my heart rate low. 

Here's what training last week looked like:

• Monday, July 16th: OFF/20 minutes of easy strength training (focus just on abs/arms- no legs)/ 15 minutes of recovery yoga (still LOVING jasyoga videos!)
• Tuesday, July 17th: OFF/rest day
• Wednesday, July 18th: 6 miles easy before work @ 10:20 min/mi 141' UP/ 10 minutes of strength

• Thursday, July 19th: 6 miles easy before work @ 10:05 min/mi ; 621' UP

A beautiful sunrise = confirms that it wasn't so hard to get out of bed that morning!

• Friday, July 20th: 6 miles easy before work @ 9:54 min/mi ; 156' UP

• Saturday, July 21st: 6.05 miles easy later in the morning on a full blueberry pancake belly & under a hot hot sun @ 10:06 min/mi ; 631' UP

Holy hotness.

• Sunday, July 22nd: 6.05 miles easy in the late afternoon after driving back from Ft. Collins. This was done in the window between two crazy thunderstorms, so I just stayed on my road by our house (which meant an impromptu hill repeat workout (without the sprints)) @ 10:11 min/mi ; 1,191' UP

Total mileage: 30.1 miles

Total Elevation Gain: 2, 740'

What are you currently training for?

Anyone else ever run Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas or any other Rock 'n Roll Race?? --> I've done the Denver one before, but really want to do either Seattle or Virginia Beach!

Do you still run outside when it's thundering or lightning?? --> I normally don't, unless I can see on the radar that it's gone from our area then I head out! 

Friday Feature: A Peak Into My Next Training Plan

It's FRIYAY! I hope you have a weekend full of fun scheduled. I know one thing that we will definitely be doing come Sunday July 1st- eating pizza! We made a pact this month to not eat any pizza (it got to be to the point where we were having it at least once a week and that's just a lot of pizza/ kinda being a bit too lazy with meals I felt like (which is fine every once and a while, but I don't think every week is the best habit)) and it's finally almost over! YUM. 

I wanted to share with you the training plan I put together for the Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon (November)! I'm SO excited to be running this race again and can't wait to crush some goals along the way of my training! Like I said before, I melded two different training programs together to form my own plan (based off of my past experiences with training cycles/ what I thought I needed to really hit upcoming BQ goals in 2019). 

Here are some things that I knew I wanted in my training program:

• Several 20 mile long runs with marathon-based miles in the middle
• Peaking in the high 60s for several training weeks
• Doing 2 longer runs (over 11 miles) each week
• Giving me room in my schedule to still fit-in strength training 3x/ week
• Sundays off
• Half Marathon in the late Fall with a PR of 1:50 or better in mind
• Marathon PR hitting below 3:40

So, with these in mind here are what my calendars look like! I added in both my 50k & Lake Powell Half in October and also have rest included surrounding those races. I used my "goal" marathon time as a 3:35 to ensure that I would get under my 3:40 time goal that I set for 2018. I wanted to set myself up to obtain a 3:30 marathon BQ in late Spring 2019 (my big goal is to run Boston in 2020 before I turn 30)! Yes, I plan that far in advance ; )

July includes my first Ultra and I'll peak in the mid-to-upper 40s later in the month, along with plenty of rest days built in after my race (and a taper beforehand).

August stays mainly in the low 50s with the last week of the month peeking into the upper 50s. I will increase my long runs to 14/15 miles with some middle tempo (marathon paced) miles in the middle. 

September includes 2 x 20 mile long runs and I'll start dipping into the low/ mid 60 mile weeks (every other). My long run goals will be to do a progression run (to work on negative-splitting) and also hit some marathon/ faster than marathon-paced miles. That is where I would most struggle in the marathon-> when I would get "tired" my legs would revert back to my "easier paced" long run times versus stay with my "marathon paced" times. I wanted to be sure my body could still hang on to those paces even when I was exhausted. 

October I begin to taper a bit and also include my Lake Powell Half Marathon, where I'll try to sustain my tempo miles for 10.5 miles. I think this plan will get me under 1:50 for the half, but no matter what- it will be great practice for race day!

Race month! I really only have a week and a half of running before my race, so it is mainly just filled with easy runs and one last track workout on Thursday. 

What would your ideal training plan or schedule look like?

My hope is to do my longer runs on Tuesdays after work to simulate the later start of the Vegas Marathon (as well as just give me more time to get it done). I also hope to do strength training on my harder workout days to really fatigue my legs and keep my easy days truly "easy". It will be hard (somedays it will be really hard), but I'm ready for the challenge. I also hope to do Yoga on Sundays to recover. Tues/ Thurs/ Sat. will be my strength training days.

What are you up to this weekend?!? --> Hoping to explore a new trail and possibly go camping! We will see...

MS Run The US-Week 20 Training Rundown

Happy Humpday! 2 days away from the weekend- I honestly cannot believe how quickly May is FLYING BY! It does not even seem real that the relay segment that I've been working so hard towards will be here in 12 DAYS! I gained almost 3,500' last week and ran 61 miles (including 43 miles over 36 hours!). I'm feeling strong, but also tired and looking forward to next week where I have a huge cut-back before my relay segment! I've also had a few aches and pains, but I think that's to be expected and I'm just focusing on getting enough nutrition (and correct type of nutrients) and foam rolling 2x a day with icing in there as well. KT tape has been a serious favorite lately- just providing an additional amount of support in the places where I really need it! 

Monday: Rest Day- 20 minutes of strength work at home!

Tuesday: 5 miles easy over lunch! 87' elevation gain

Wednesday: 6 miles over lunch on the treadmill with 1 mile warm-up; 4 miles alternating incline/ decline; 1 mile cool-down. 20 minutes of strength work

Thursday: Complete Rest Day!

Friday: 7 miles easy early in the morning gained 1, 029' & 60 minute Pilates JumpBoard Reformer class over lunch

Saturday: 23 miles easy 2, 202' elevation gain. 20 miles solo; last 3 miles with Alex and Stella; followed it up with 5 minute ice bath (that's all I lasted for)!

Sunday: 20 miles easy on the treadmill; first 10 miles @ 1-2% incline (varied); last 10 miles @ -1 --> -3% decline and fast-finish @ 8:00 pace. Watched 2 movies to keep me entertained --> Moana & Pocahontas! 

Positive Splits:

• fit in 3 strength training sessions
• got in all of my mileage
• foam rolling was on-par

Negative Splits:

• Would like to stretch more after each run (and before too!)
• nutrition could still be improved!

How's your training going?! Did anyone race last weekend? --> How'd it go?!?

MS Run The US- Week 19 Training Rundown

We made it to Humpday! Congratulations! I know these next few weeks leading up to my relay would fly by, but they are going SO fast! Anyone else feel like this happens when you're anxiously waiting for something? I'm getting nervously excited for my relay and slightly questioning whether I can actually conquer this crazy distance. I know things will work out and I'll make it, but it's amazing how daunting it can feel! Last week I did a bunch of easy runs and mixed them in with walking breaks to keep my heart rate low and focus on recovery from my marathon. I also fit in 1 strength training session and one pilates class and a few short sessions of yoga (at home). Foam rolling is my best friend right now and I try to do it twice a day (along with icing my "achy areas" - knee/ achilles). I've got two more weeks of harder workouts, then one week of tapering left to go!

Monday: Rest Day! My birthday! 20 minutes of yoga at home and some foam rolling

Tuesday: 5 miles on the trail. Alternating every 1/2 mile with walking/ slow running with Stella. 20 minutes of yoga at home & foam rolling to follow

Wednesday: Rest Day! Pilates class at lunch and foam rolling before bed

Thursday: 10.26 miles. 2 hours total (time was the goal). alternated every 1 mile of running with 5 minutes of walking. Foam rolled & epsom salt bath afterwards

Friday: 6 trail miles. Alternated first half with 1/2 mile walking with 1/2 mile running, then hit some snow and had a bit of a time crunch, so finished with slow running for last 3 miles. 

Saturday: 20 trail miles. 1, 312' elevation gain. Took it easy and did most of this running, but kinda died towards the last 6 miles (it was HOT! for me anyways... 75* out and sunny). Trying to focus less on pace, more on lower heart rate and covering mileage to get to my relay healthy & strong! 

Sunday: 15 miles on the treadmill. Kept it easy on the treadmill since I had already gained a significant amount of elevation this past week and didn't want to set myself up for injuries (i.e. may have if I ran more elevation/hills)

Positive Splits:

• Fit in 2 strength training sessions
• Fit in my mileage
• Focused on easy recovery paces!
• Slept in almost every morning & made breakfast at home...that NEVER happens!

Negative Splits:

• Nothing! Trying to keep things light and easy and not be too harsh on myself in regards to paces. 

MS Run The US- Week 18 Training Rundown

Happy April 25th! The perfect date. Also happy humpday! I hope you had a great Tuesday! It's been almost a year since I began blogging and will be doing some updates to the website over the next few days so make sure to check back and see all the great stuff I'm planning on adding! Also PS- It's Wayfair's Wayday, so you know I'll be (hopefully) scoring some great deals on there today.  We're in desperate need of a new couch (#adulting) and also looking for a great new headboard/ footboard for our bed! I honestly cannot believe my relay begins in 26 DAYS! I'm excited for this for sooo many reasons (days off of work/ getting fresh air EVERYDAY/ seeing so many beautiful sights by foot/ seeing my mom (hi mom!) / finishing my relay in the rockies stadium)! I just looked at my training schedule for the next 3.5 weeks and only have 2 weeks of "longer runs" left and then I'm tapering! It is so insane to me! Some of my long runs include 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening (I think I only have this on my schedule twice), so knowing that there's the light at the end of tunnel is SUPER helpful. How do you push past mentally tough training weeks?

Last week I took 2 rest days off IN A ROW (I know, I'm a total slacker...kidding!) and focused on getting a bunch of sleep/ hydrating/ good nutrition (that will continue to play a BIG role in my training the next three weeks)! I also PR'd my marathon time and *almost* had a negative split race! I held back considerably (look back on Friday for a full RECAP!) during the first half and never really pushed myself beyond a comfortably hard pace. My legs felt a bit tired on Sunday, but nothing like the soreness I usually feel after a marathon! I did 10 miles (5 mile walk with Stella to loosen everything up, then 5 mile slow recovery jog on the treadmill later that day at ~10:50 pace) the day after the race! I did two strength training sessions and focused on foam rolling twice a day and icing any areas that bothered me!

Monday: 6 miles easy @ 10:00 ; 20 mins strength & foam rolling --> totally inspired by the Boston Marathon!

Tuesday: 5 miles easy @ 10:26 677' elevation gain

Wednesday: 6 miles easy @ 10:00 pace after work (varied incline between -2% to +2%); 25 minutes of strength training. Also got up to holding my planks to 3:31! Hoping to get up to 5 minutes soon!!

Thursday: REST DAY... legs up the wall!

Friday: Had 3 miles on the schedule, but wanted to sleep in and then didn't end up getting to SLC until 7pm so decided that not running was better than getting the mileage in!

Saturday: RACE DAY! 26.5 MILES (going off my garmin like I do for other training runs...plus I did a few pit stops along my race... i.e. to the bathroom and to see Alex!)

Finishing it out strong at mile 25!

Sunday: 10 miles --> 5 mile walk with Stella & 5 mile recovery jog @ 10:50 pace on the treadmill 0% incline. Epsom Salt soak & lots of foam rolling/ stretching!

Stella loves jumping in/out of the lake on our walk!

Recovery part 1. Epsom Salt Soak

Recovery necessity #2: Ice Cream Sandwich! 

53.5 miles total! 

Positive Splits:

• PR'd my marathon!
• Focused on recovery/ icing/ nutrition throughout the week
• Easy paced miles focused on running form
• Got in 2 strength training sessions!

Negative Splits:

• Didn't quite get that negative split that I was hoping for, but still so close (~2 minutes!!). Most of my previous marathons have a positive split of well-over 10 minutes!

How are you spending your perfect weather day today?!? --> Jumpboard Pilates during lunch and rest day from running!