Marathon Training: Week 1

I signed up for CIM in March and ever since I have been excited to start my training. A couple of weeks ago I started to get nervous when I realized that I was quickly approaching the 12 week mark. I really don't know why I was nervous, I am in great shape and I am more than prepared for this. I am thankful that my super trainer, Amy Black, created a training plan for me that far exceeded my expectations.

My first week of training went by great. I was excited for my first workout on Wednesday- kind of the way you feel about the first day of school. I went to bed early on Tuesday and double, triple checked that my alarm was set for 4:30 am. I may have hit the snooze button at least once, but that is pretty typical. :-)

I also decided to invest in a foam roller for myself to have at home. I use one at the club, but I can't always drive down there to use one for 10 minutes. So far I have used it several times over the course of the week. It will be a great to now have one at home I can use after long runs.

My new foam roller

I decided to keep a hand written training journal so that I can chronicle my upcoming journey to have something to look back on. My workout partner and runner extraordinaire, Angie (aka "CM")  bought me this as a gift a couple of months ago and I figured that filling it up with CIM training stories would be perfect. I am also using the Garmin training log online and the Daily Mile. I know, I have training OCD!

Yes, I love cupcakes...

Here is a glimpse into my week....

Tasha's work out codes
Work out: WO
Warm up: WU
Cool down: CD

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: SJ class at 6:00 am. Ran an easy 1 mile at 7:00 pm followed by foam rolling, stretching & abs

Wednesday: Workout at 5 am (18 minute WU, 3 *1600 repeats at 6:12 pace w/1 minute recovery, 10 min CD). Repeats were as follows-- 6:11, 6:07, 6:05. Followed this with foam rolling, stretching & abs

Thursday: SJ class at 6:00 am. Went to FI at 6:00 pm and ran an easy 3 miles. Cam wanted to go and have a beer (such a supportive hubby) so we rode our bikes to FI and back home. The bike ride was about 6.5 miles.

Friday: Workout at 5 am- I was tired! (2 mile WU, 3 miles at 6:45, 1 mile CD). I was right on target, BOO-YAH! Followed workout with foam rolling, stretching & abs. It might take me a couple of days to get back into the routine of getting up early more than just 2 days a week. I was seriously dragging at the gym!

Saturday: Off, slept in, was a lazy bum. :-)

Sunday: Sandpoint 1/2 Marathon. This was a great race, course was beautiful, the event was incredibly well organized, and the volunteers were awesome. I would run this again and I would recommend this to anybody.  My only complaint was that the other was awful (and I know that isn't anyone's fault)- rainy and very cold prior to the start. Once the race started there was just a nasty head wind, but that's what you get living where we do. So, how did the race go? To sum it up, I was pleased with how I ran. I had a slight/potential bought of food poisoning and woke up not feeling good at all with some stomach/GI issues. I decided to make the trek to Sandpoint in case I started feeling bad once I was up and moving. Got up to Sandpoint and still didn't feel good. I had to use the restroom A LOT, which IS NOT GOOD! Was trying to decide if I might actually throw up about an hour before the race started. I decided (because I am CRAZY) to go ahead and warm up. Once I started warming up I started to feel a tad bit better. By 8:15 I decided to go ahead and run with the worst case scenario having to drop out. I felt great the first half and was averaging a 7:12-7:15 pace. By about mile 8 my stomach/GI issues returned and I had no choice but to stop at the port a potties by mile 10. I lost several minutes at my pit stop, but I was far enough ahead of the next pack the nobody passed me. Once I started running again I took a while to get back up to my pace. I eventually caught 1 more fella heading into mile 12 that I had been staring down the whole race. I ended up finishing in 1:36, just barely missing my PR. I think I missed it by 10 seconds. If I wouldn't have stopped at the port a potties I would easily have ran a 1:32-1:33. I was bummed that I didn't hit my goal, but I really had no choice about stopping. Looking back at my week I ran a total of 32 miles which is more than I have been running, I hit or beat all of my training pace goals and I had no rest/recovery leading up to Sandpoint so even just missing my PR by 10 seconds is not a big deal to me at all. I was the 10th place OA female and got 2nd in my AG. The gal who got first in my AG ran with me at EWU and she is incredibly talented and fast. I don't think I ever would have passed her. :-)

Each finisher got a free 5 X 7 picture

Training is hard- there is nothing easy about it. It isn't supposed to be easy. If it was, everyone would be running marathons. Not every workout will be great, some will be awful, but some will be awesome. I live for those awesome days and dread the days that don't go as planned. Such is the life of training. I am going to make it a point to say THREE positive things about each week of my training for CIM. Positive thinking= Positive attitude! My positive thoughts/comments for this week are:

1. A lady whom I don't know at SAC came up to me after a workout and said that I was a hard worker. I took that as a huge compliment. I have come so far since January and I am driven to go even further.

2. My foam roller! I purchased my very own foam roller this week and it has already been put to good use.

3. I ran well at Sandpoint despite the issues I was having and I got to meet a new running friend that I met through the Daily Mile website. It was great to meet Kris and person and I give her huge kudos for her awesome finish in the 10K with her step mom.

I will post more on Sandpoint later.....

Week 1 Mileage: 31.49

--Tasha