Marathon Training: Week 9

This week has been bittersweet for me. It meant that the hard part of training for CIM is coming to a close and that I can begin to taper. I am horrible at tapering. It just freaks me out. I feel like I am losing all of my fitness, even though I know that isn't true. It messes with my mind. For someone who likes to be in control of everything, it doesn't sit well.

My workouts have gone better than I could ever have expected. The last 9 weeks have flown by. I appreciate all of your positive thoughts and encouragement. When I am having a bad day, I think about all of you and your kind words. I think about how much my trainer has invested me and how I don't want to let her down. I look back at how much I have achieved in just 10 short months and can't help but to be impressed with myself. This time last year I was probably sitting on my couch eating bon bons and feeling sorry for myself, but this year I am healthier, the fittest I have ever been, and training for a marathon. A lot can change in 10 months!

As of today....I officially have 21 days left until CIM. 

Monday: Off

Tuesday: SJ Class. This class was the greatest way to start out my birthday. FLAB changed up the format and instead of partnering up we did as many of the different sets that we could in a certain time frame. It was GREAT. My arms were still "twitching" a couple of hours later. I loved the new format, but I knew that waking up on Wednesday would be BRUTAL.

Since it was my birthday, my hubby took me to Happy Hour at PF Changs. We definitely gorged ourselves with yummy food. After we let our food settle he took me to my favorite frozen yogurt shop. I made a nice concoction of pumpkin yogurt, whip cream, and crushed graham crackers. Yummy.

My dear friend Angie and runner extraordinaire got me this wine for my birthday! 

I think that the birthday balloons are dead....

Yummm....my pumpkin yogurt from Blu Berry!

Wednesday: Waking up was brutal. My whole body ached and it only progressed with the day. I ran an easy 1.05 miles on the treadmill before work. Yes, I was lazy and didn't want to get out of bed- that was all that I had time for. My real workout would take place after work. It would be my first workout on my new treadmill AND my first time uploading my workout to my Garmin.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:04:58.3	7.52	8:38.3
1	25:00.0	2.78	9:00.2
2	1:30.3	0.25	6:01.5
3	2:40.0	0.25	10:40.6
4	1:29.9	0.25	6:00.2
5	2:22.0	0.25	9:28.4
6	1:36.0	0.25	6:24.2
7	2:33.0	0.25	10:12.6
8	1:24.9	0.25	5:40.2
9	3:46.0	0.25	15:04.6
10	1:25.9	0.25	5:44.2
11	2:25.0	0.25	9:40.5
12	1:25.0	0.25	5:40.3
13	2:42.0	0.25	10:48.6
14	1:27.0	0.25	5:48.2
15	2:43.0	0.25	10:52.6
16	1:26.0	0.25	5:44.3
17	3:16.0	0.25	13:04.6
18	1:28.0	0.25	5:52.3
19	2:51.0	0.25	11:24.5
20	1:27.0	0.25	5:48.

I finished my workout with a 10 minute CD for another 1.2 miles

Uploading my entire workout to my watch= AWESOME! It was so nice to not have to be constantly checking where I was at. I did lose track of where I was at and could have sworn that the Garmin threw in a couple extra 400s....but then again it probably didn't. :-)

Treadmill= AWESOME also! It was great to be able to go straight home and head out the door for my WU. No wasting time and driving to the gym after work. I love my gym, but after work I am tired/cranky and just want to go home sometimes.

Friday: Tempo day! We had super nasty weather in Spokane when I got off from work. It was really windy and rainy and just yucky outside. I did what I could, but I don't feel entirely satisfied with my tempo because I wished that I could have gotten in a couple more miles.

WU- 17:33, 2:03 miles
Tempo- 33:29, 5.01 miles (this is a 5 mile tempo PR for me by 1:11!!!!)
CD- 8:31, 1 mile

Saturday: Off. I was a complete lazy bum. Spent most of the day laying in bed and watching TV. Sometimes you just have to have those days. My hubby took me to my favorite Italian restaurant for dinner (I think he was just trying to get me out of the house). I had gnocchi with peas and bacon- it is amazing (This is actually the only thing I have ever ordered from this restaurant because the dish is that good)! The restaurant also has yummy gelato..go figure, I got pumpkin gelato.

I have heard amazing things about this book and it has been on my "must read" list for a while. 

These 2 books have also been on my "must read" list

Please don't judge me for liking Chelsea Handler :-)

Sunday: Today was my last long run before CIM. To be honest, I was really dreading it. I was worried what the weather would be like since it had snowed most of Saturday. I was thinking I might have to run 20 miles on my treadmill and that thought made me just want to stay in bed all day...again. Luckily, 80% of the snow was gone when I woke up. It was pretty brisk outside and windy so I opted to inside a bit longer and have a big bowl of oatmeal and some gingerbread hot chocolate before I had to head outside. The run went way better than I had expected it to go. The wind was pretty harsh in certain areas, but I tried not to let it slow me down too much. There was also some snow/ice patches, but nothing bad. I finished my 20 miles in 2:34:36. That was a 5:30 PR from my last 20 mile run on 10/2. I felt pretty good about that. It is a great way to end the hard portion of my training. Now that all of my homework is done, it is time to really start focusing on CIM. :-)

My three positive thoughts for this week:

1. I finished my last long run for CIM training

2. I had a wonderful birthday

3. My hubby took me out on Saturday even though I was what he now calls the "grumpy cheetah" (only when I am grumpy, lol)

Total Weekly Mileage: 37.82

--Tasha