marathon training

Marathon Training: Week Three Recap

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Week three of training for the Cleveland marathon came and went. It was pretty uneventful and less mileage than the prior week, as the Hal Higdon plan goes up ever week for two weeks and then down again.  This week called for Tuesday: 3. Wednesday: 4. Thursday: 3. Saturday: 5. Piece of cake?

Monday: Rest day. And I actually rested!

Tuesday: 3.2 mi, PM outdoors. Ran with B and his sister, so we kept at a slightly faster pace (and by  faster I mean 9:30ish). AND the best part? It was 40 degrees, in Cleveland, in January! I had capris on! In January! (Not sure if you’re understanding my excitement).

Wednesday: 4.35 mi, PM outdoors. Ran with B around the stadiums and then some after work. Another seasonably warm evening with little wind – made for a pleasant, easy run!

Thursday: 3.93 mi, AM before work. Was due to drive to Columbus for work that morning and drive back later that evening, so I wanted to get in a run before the road trip. Woke up an hour earlyier and didn’t track mileage unti I got home and was pleased to see the nearly 4 mi run (instead of the 3 I was due for).

Friday: Nothing! Slept in before work and then enjoyed a lazy evening of pizza, wine and Netflix.

Saturday: 5.1 mi, AM. Ran with B and his sister and had a hard time keeping up. Was it the salty pizza (with anchovies) the night before? Or perhaps the red wine? Who knows, but the 5 mi felt way harder than they should’ve!

Sunday: Crosstrain day, 50 min elliptical. Did the elliptical while wathcing a League of Their Own and old Mad Men episodes before a birthday brunch with B’s (and I guess mine too) niece and nephew, followed by Super Bowl food and fun later that afternoon.

See what I mean? Pretty boring week – hope you’re still awake!

This week I’m looking forward to:

  • No road trips! First time during training I’m due to be in Cleveland every day!
  • Decent weather! The 10 day forecast is looking pretty clear (just chances of snow on Wed and Fri) and I’m keeping my fingers crossed the 19 degree high on Saturday goes up in a few days.
  • An almost double-digit run! B, his sister and I are due for 9 mi on Saturday morning. Woohoo – I’m actually excited (at this point, we’ll see how I feel early Saturday) about putting in the miles.

Marathon Training: Week Two Recap

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Well, week two of training for the Cleveland marathon is over and so far so good! As you may know, I didn’t really have an official Week One training week (iron v. toe incident), so was a little rusty this week. This week called for Tuesday: 3. Wednesday: 3. Thursday: 3. Saturday: 7. So how did it go?

Monday: Rest/xc day/my birthday! – Did 55 minutes on the elliptical in my building. Toe felt fine and I was excited to get back running.

Tuesday: 4.3 mi, AM outdoors. Slightly chilly, but dry outdoor run. I wasn’t keeping track of how far I was going, just ran for a little outside and hoped it was more than 3 miles. And it was! I felt great to be outside and running again! Maybe it had something to do with the awesome pasta dinner I had enjoyed for my birthday the night before?

Wednesday: 3.5 mi, AM on treadmill. I was in Toledo for business and knew I wouldn’t get home until 7-8 p.m., so I decided to wake up early and check out the hotel gym. Blech. Barely could keep a 6.0 pace while watching the news. Tired/sluggish after a late night Tuesday and late Chinese dinner on the road.

Thursday: 3 mi, PM on treadmill (followed by .5 mi cool down). Back in Cleveland, but pretty windy and rain/snow pellets were coming down. B and I headed to our gym and put in a few miles together next to each other (cue: awwwww) on the treadmills while watching some Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Finished strong and stayed at a 6.0-6.5 mph pace the whole time. Ended the workout with some abs and lifted some arms.

Friday: Nothing! Slept in before work and then went to the Cavs game – and sat in a sweet suite – after enjoying Noodlecat afterwork. While the group enjoyed the free beers, I didn’t want to go overboard, knowing I had to get up early Saturday and run. Is this what it’s going to be like all year?

Saturday: 7 mi, AM outdoors. BRR! Windy, snowy and relatively chilly (still not below 20 though!) but felt pretty good the whole way. Kept a steady pace with B and his sister, so much that we could talk the entire time. The main issues I had were some hip tightness and stinging eyes from the snow pelts.

When we got back from our run, we checked our mail and had a surprise from the Cleveland marathon – our “freebie” for signing up early, a Cleveland Marathon Drawstring Bag. THEN I checked my blogroll and while reading another Cleveland runner’s blog, Poise in Parma, I found out I won her awesome elllesport workout shirt giveaway! Can’t wait for my prize to come and test it out this winter and spring!

The 2012 Toe v. Iron Incident (hint: the iron won)

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I ran 4 miles this morning! I ran 4 miles this morning! I’m so excited, I ran FOUR MILES.

Now if you know me, you probably know that I really shouldn’t be excited about that. After all, I typically average anywhere from 15-30 miles a week and run 3-5 mi most mornings during the weeks and even longer on the weekend. So why am I so excited?

Let me start from the beginning.Last week was the first official week of marathon training. What’s that? I forgot to tell you I was training for a marathon? Woops! So yeah – I signed up for my first full marathon (I did a half in Columbus a few years ago), Cleveland, May 2012. Anyway, long story short, B signed up too and jotted down Hal Higdon’s training schedule for beginners and determined that Day One of training would start January 17.

So January 17 starts out like any other day. I wake up, groggily, and head to the laundry area to get my running clothes, which I had put in the dryer the night before. As opened the dryer (which is on top of my washer) the iron that I had put on top of the dryer the night before also happened to fall – from about 6-7 feet- right onto my big toe. Before you close your eyes or shudder, let me answer a few of the frequently asked questions:

  • When was the incident? The incident occurred approximately 6:55 a.m. on Tuesday, 1/17/12. Coincidentally Day One of marathon training.
  • What exactly happened? The iron fell from the top of my dryer and landed on my foot. I don’t know how it landed – it hit my foot and bounced off and then I screamed in pain.
  • Was anyone else around? Yes, B was sleeping but the sound of the iron hitting the ground, combined with my screaming obscenities, woke him up.
  • Did it hurt? Yes. A lot. Thus the obscenity-screaming.
  • Was the iron on? No. It was not plugged in and was not hot.
  • What did your toe look like? It was swollen and bloody. The toe nail was purple. Because I had painted my nails the night before.
  • Can I see a picture? No. I did, of course, take photos, but I will not post them on the blog. Gross. The last thing I want is my blog coming up in weird toe fetish searches!
  • Was it broken? No, it wasn’t broken. I went and had XRays taken on Wednesday, 1/18/12. The dr also burnt a hole in the toenail to relieve some of the pressure from the blood that was pooling under the skin and nail. This was after they took the nail polish off my toe nail that I had just painted purple, the night before.
  • Did you run that morning? NO! I had my toe iced and bandaged and elevated until about 3:30 p.m. when it finally stopped bleeding.
  • Did you run at all that week? No. Sadly, marathon training was put off a week, while B continued to run. Oh, the irony (typically he is the non-runner).

So marathon training was put on hold for one more week, as was wearing heels, wearing my new Hunter boots (they were too hard on my aching toe), and walking to work (B drove me). But that didn’t stop me from having an awesome birthday week and hopping on the elliptical when I could finally, comfortably fit my foot back in my sneakers on the 22nd. And running 4 miles this morning!