Ten weeks, just ten short weeks that I am sure will fly by in no time at all. Ten weeks is what I have left to put in my last training miles for the 2018 WDW Marathon.
Monday Miles
Monday Miles : Week 34
Happy Monday everyone! There are now 34 weeks until the WDW Marathon and I am sure that time is going to fly on by! As for my Monday Miles posts i’m not sure at this point how regular to be with posting as I have not started to officially train for the marathon. Right now I am working more on getting myself ready for it and doing some self care.
Monday Miles: Post Marathon Thoughts
In the famous words of Dora the Explorer, I did it. I am now a marathoner and these are a few of my post marathon thoughts.
Monday Miles: Taper Time
I took a small break from my Monday Miles posts but i’m back and just in time for taper.
My last few weeks of training have not been my easiest. I was gluten-ed at Thanksgiving and then a few days later I came down with a cold that went to my chest and I have been battling the entire month of December. I continued training the best that I could. I completed a 20 mile and a 19 mile long runs for December. Not exactly what I had planned but I’ve repeatedly have been told if I can reach that distance the final 10k should be no problem. My nerves say otherwise though.
My first 20 miler of the month was rough, It was when my cold made the turn for the worse. It was such a horrible run, I had asthma issues, feet issues and completely bonked. Then last Friday I set out to do 20+ but only made it to 19 due to getting a late start. I felt great during the run but my bad foot was causing problems. It kept swelling and I ended up having to take some breaks to loosen and ultimately take off my foot wrap. Otherwise I felt great, if the park wasn’t getting ready to close I would have done some more miles. These bad runs really have me wondering if i’m going to be able to do it. I think that is normal, just like the marathon bad dream I had.
This past week has been full of more rain that has kept me from running. I finally was able to go out over the weekend. I was looking forward to it. My husband got me a Garmin 220 for Christmas and it needed testing. I decided I was doing at least 10 miles, more if my foot didn’t bother me. My biggest fear right now is injury. So I went to the one trail by my house and was met with a surprise.
Flooding! I was a mile in when I came up on it. I was told about a well worn and marked path through the woods. The path was well marked but not well worn. I made it through only to come across more flooding. I didn’t even look for a bypass this time, I just turned around. I ended up finishing with 7 miles. They were good miles except navigating through the woods. No foot pan so I decided I would be going to the flight line the next day.
The flight line has been my nemesis. Six and a half mile laps. The laps really mess with my head. It’s boring out there most weekends too, there never seem to be any planes taking off. I only had 2 easy laps to do, so I did them. It was a much better experience than my last one at flight line. The weather even allowed for training in similar weather as what is currently forecasted for marathon day. Best part was no foot problems! Just my normal post run low blood sugar and sodium/potassium. It is now officially taper time.
Hopefully I won’t make myself crazy over the next two weeks.
Week 13 Miles
Maybe because it is week 13 but this weeks miles were riddles with issues. It started with a groin strain moved into being gluten on Thanksgiving and now I have an evil cold. Oh my goodness is all that I can say!
I really loved hot yoga but I stretched a little too much. I strained my groin. I have no desire to go through that again. Even walking was difficult and I won’t even mention going up and down stairs. Needless to say I there was no running for 3 days. I finally ran again on Thanksgiving, 4 easy miles before we had to get ready and leave for my mom’s house.
Thanksgiving though did me in again this year. My mom made a mostly gluten free meal. I was nervous. I had cross contamination fears but I ate my plate of food. Right before we left a headache started and as we were headed home it had turned into a migraine and soon later the stomach problems started. If there is one thing about gluten-ed I wish the side effect would be similar each time but no. This time I had a ton of pain in my upper stomach area and I was burping so much my throat burned. Not good. I had 22 miles planned for the weekend. I attempted it though but only made it almost 14 miles. It was all good though my mom was delivering my youngest two home and hadn’t called to give a we are on the way heads up so we got home pretty much just in time.
I did do almost 14 miles at the time my husband picked me up and that is better than nothing.
Now fast forwarding to this week. I have caught a cold! Every runner who is training for a half or full marathons nightmare! I am hoping I am over the worst of it but only time will tell. I am hoping to get my long run in this weekend but only time will tell. Until then i’m loading up on the orange juice and vitamin C!
So there ya go! My week 13 miles!
Monday Miles: Week 12
I am now under 50 days until the WDW Marathon! Here are my Monday Miles!
This week I really don’t have much to report. Hitting my 20 miles the previous week I felt great afterwards. No muscle soreness etc. but I guess with all good things there comes some bad and I was soon to find out. Going into my weekday miles I went out for an easy couple miles around my neighborhood and I was hit with knee pain in both knees. A different type of pain in each knee too. I was forced to walk and even then my walking pace was slower than usual. I was hit with the not all runs are good runs and that includes short runs.
I was still determined to do my 21 miles this weekend though even though my knees were bothering me a bit. Then Saturday I started having some deep, down in the joint hip pain. I blamed it on the weather and my “old lady rheumatism”. Hey, I do have arthritis in my hips and a front was coming through. I was pretty worried and debated my run with my husband. his view is that especially after completing 20 miles as long as I maintain my base I should be good come marathon day. He understands my desire to complete the full distance before then though too and he feels I can still do that but he’s afraid if I keep pushing hard i’m going to end up injured.
Well, I couldn’t do nothing so I joined Team RWB Fort Bragg for some Hot Yoga. I figured the stretching could be helpful. I have to say the heat was not unbearable. Then again I lived in El Paso for 4 years. It was a great beginners yoga class, which was great for me since i’ve never done anything outside of P90X yoga. I was able to complete all the moves except for one optional version. I look forward to doing it again!
My hip though is still bothering me so i’m planning to take it easy this week. I am still planning to do 22 miles this weekend though. I will be doing the 26.2 before race day. My thoughts on that is as a planner I want to know I have my nutrition and basics down. I want to know how my body may react so I can adjust for it. I want to know if there is something else that I need to be tweaking. I am fully aware that things may happen that I did not plan for but I would be upset with myself if it was something I could have planned for.
So that’s where I am this week. Less than 7 weeks left until race day!
The Reasons Why I am Running the WDW Marathon
This week I purposely skipped my Monday Miles. I completed 20 miles for my weekend long run. My pace was on target and at times better than expected. I felt confident with my workout when it was done. What I didn’t expect during the run was how my mind was going to wander which leads me right here to this blog post. My mind kept coming around to the reasons why I am doing this marathon. So I figured what better thing to do would be to write about the reasons why I am running the WDW Marathon.
The first reason is because after looking at when I ran my first 5k and then half marathon I decided I should needed to run a Marathon when I turned 40. I ran my first 5k when I was 30 and my first half marathon when I was 35 so 40 seems perfect for my first marathon. I’m a couple years from 40 though but hey, that is ok. No one said I couldn’t make my goal early. Plus anyways registration for the race was on my wedding anniversary, it was a sign.
The second reason to prove that I can do it. Yes, it will be slow and easy and not my typical pace due to my foot injury but in 2011 I was told I would never run again. You have to be able to run for yourself before running for anything else which leads me into my last reason.
The final reason is for those who cannot. I am the Community Outreach Director for Team RWB at Fort Bragg. Team RWB is an non-profit veteran’s outreach organization. We reach out to veterans through both physical and social activities. Team RWB paid for my entry into the WDW Marathon, well more so reimbursed me for it. With that being said I find it incredibly important to do this race for our veterans and in memory of those who gave all.
When I say that I am running the WDW Marathon people are quick to ask, “are you dressing up?” After my long run my answer is a definite, No. I will be wearing my RWB shirt. I may add a sparkle skirt but I doubt it. The sparkle athletic ones are short imo and just don’t look as good on us girls with booties. I am still debating carrying a flag too. I carried the flag for the first time in a local race and honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It is something I need to look into to see if Disney even allows.
So there it is in a nutshell, why I am running the WDW Marathon. We all have our own reasons that no one can take away, we just have to get out there and do it. With proper training we can all do it. So get out there and run!
Now if you’ll excuse me I have some training to do.
Monday Miles : Week 10
Sixty- One days until I run the Walt Disney World Marathon! Here is what i’ve been up to with my training, my Monday Miles!
So first let’s talk about my training. It is going horribly. I am not happy about it at all. Why, the weather, is a major reason. I am so tired of the rain. As I believe i’ve mentioned before it isn’t really the rain that stops me from getting out there but people driving their cars. People have enough issues driving on a good day around here, when it rains it is even worse. Personal Safety is big for me especially as a mother of four kids. With the trail near me closed I just haven’t found a safe-ish place to run. I live in a rural area with cotton fields and no sidewalks. I’ve had one too many cars buzz by me.
The other reason I missed my long run this weekend was my husband. As a military family we have some unique challenges. My husband left for a week on an adventure to Spain. He had to go jump out of an airplane and do some Army stuff. That means driving 30+minutes away to run for 4-5 hours while leaving my kiddos at home may not be the best idea.
I had hoped to get the miles in today now that my husband is home but…rain. Twenty miles in the cold and cold, pouring rain, yeah no. The rain is suppose to stop tomorrow so hopefully things will start looking up on the training front.
One positive for the week is I finally broke down and ordered a pair of CW-X Stabilyx Capri’s and I LOVE them. The first pair of CW-X I bought must have been mis-sized because the ones I bought fit nicely and I may have even been able to wear my regular size instead of sizing up. They came on Thursday afternoon and I really wanted to run in them but my son’s bus was last and by the time it came I had to leave to pick up my oldest from practice and well it was dark out when we got home. Friday though I did 7 miles in them and I have to say they were wonderful! I can’t wait to try them on a long run.
So that’s my week. Low miles and an awesome new pair of capri’s.
Are you running the WDW full? How is your training ?
Monday Miles : Week 9
I’m at about the halfway point in my training Week 9 is done, 10 weeks until WDW Marathon. If you want to get picky, my halfway day will be Thursday but i’m still chugging along, or well trying to. Here is my training update for the week!
I don’t really have much of anything new to report this week. I had a horrible training week. The type of horrible that equals the lack of weekday miles. I took my typical Monday off and the rest of the week slipped by. Weather, kids, and homeschooling were the top culprits. Life just got in the way and I wasn’t thrilled. This week i’m hoping for better and the forecasted rain to go away. My son’s homeschool schedule is changing so that should alleviate issues too. I am optimistic that this change will mean that I can get in more miles.
My long run this weekend was not quite as far as I had planned. I went out hoping the odds were in my favor with the rainy weather. The first 7 miles weren’t so bad, just a drizzly, spitting rain. Then it started to pour. I decided to keep going remembering the forecast thinking it may let up. It didn’t though. I made the decision to stop at 13.1 miles. I was running around the Air Force Base again and there was a ton of activity for a Sunday morning. I saw a few planes land and later trucks full of rucksacks so i’m thinking some soldiers were coming home. People were not stopping at crosswalks and as the rain continues the puddles grew to the type that would splash over my head if I a car drove by. I didn’t want to but stopping would probably be the best option. I was just 6-7 miles short of what I wanted to do.
If anything I can say all these rainy day miles have me prepared if it does rain on race day.So that is a definite plus. This week was also a reminder that not all weeks are going to be good weeks. You can’t control everything and nothing in life is perfect.
Gear wise I finally ordered CW-X Stabilyx 3/4 tights. I really hope they fit! I did try on some Old Navy compression and they really weren’t all that great, in my opinion. I know a ton of people love them but I found that they were lose around my knees and bunched up there. I also checked out a few other stores but I couldn’t find anything in my size. Tons of XS, S and XL but no Medium or Large even. I did catch a great clearance sale at Dicks and picked up 2 nice and bright (ok, florescent) Cold Gear Under Armor tops for 15-16 bucks each! I really love the cold gear UA tops.
That’s about it for this week. It was pretty uneventful. So until next week when we start the single digit countdown!
Monday Miles: Week 8
Hey y’all, It’s another week, Week 8 of training to be exact! Only 11 more to go until marathon day. Here is my late, Monday miles.
This week it was much of the same thing just a different day except I was having some knee pain. I couldn’t figure out what I had done because obviously going 17 miles wouldn’t have done it. Upon googling my symptoms and reflecting on my long run (and hip issues I was having) I am pretty sure I have been introduced to IT band problems. WHY?!?!?! Really this just means I need to work on strengthening my hip. Plus I need to find some new compression gear. The capri’s I wore last week were too big and the CW-X tights I had bought were returned because they were too small, go figure. Seriously I think my daughter could wear the CW-X! I am thinking of giving a different style CW-X a go but i’m unsure after being so disappointed. I really love my Moving Comfort shorts but Moving Comfort no longer makes them and well my shorts are on the well worn side. Runner Problems I guess. Finding gear you love, that works well for you and then the company stops making it.
On my long run I ended up in an old pair of Nike tights. I bought them at an outlet in New Jersey years ago but only really started wearing them in the last couple years. I have no clue what type they are but they are great. As great as they are though they couldn’t stop my hip from yelling at me during my long run as my miles added on. This weeks magic number was 18 and I reached it. Yay!
I set off for that paved trail I had forgotten my Garmin at a few weeks back. This time I had my Garmin but at that i’m not sure of how accurate it was. When I go out and run I always run the Road ID App, always. This App lets my husband know where I am and he checks on me quite a bit. Using this App came in handy when I got lost in the woods a few weeks back. He knew exactly where I was and could help me navigate. An added bonus to this app is that in addition to giving you a map of the route you took, it tells you how far you went, everything but your pace. It is awesome, one of my running must haves. Well anyways it said I went 18.5 miles and i’m kind of leaning with that. The trail is well marked and while my GPS started in line with the mile markers it kept getting further and further off.
I did it though. My only issue was around mile 15-16 I did stop and loosened my one shoe and stretched my hip. Once I stretched I was good to go to finish up. Again my pace was turtle pace but that is fine with me, for now. The pace will work for the WDW Marathon too.
I played with nutrition on my long run once again and I think I found something that will work. In addition to Gu’s, Nuun and water I tried a protein bar at the 10 mile mark. It tasted horrible but it did exactly what I needed. When I finished my run I felt good, no blood sugar issues and no calf issues. In fact I had to leave immediately to go pick up some Team RWB gear for a Zombie run that night and I was able to do so with no problems. I still ate my pickles just in case though but other than the usual post run tired legs and a bit of brain fog I was feeling good.
Things are coming along. I just need to add 8.2 more miles onto my distance. If I am able to continue with my plan, hopefully by December I will be there! Until next week everyone!