Running Renaissance: 2024 Disney Marathon

Oh man that race sounds really crazy. I can't believe they tried changing/correcting it mid-race when others had already finished. Congrats on running it well though! And that's awesome that your diet is working for you. I really don't do well trying to restrict myself with my eating. I find I eat healthiest when I eat what I want when I want, because for the most part I've learned that I enjoy "clean eating" (as defined by no white carbs or simple sugars). Anyway, you are totally right that our diets are very personal things, but I am always interested in hearing how other people do it!
 
Oh man that race sounds really crazy. I can't believe they tried changing/correcting it mid-race when others had already finished. Congrats on running it well though! And that's awesome that your diet is working for you. I really don't do well trying to restrict myself with my eating. I find I eat healthiest when I eat what I want when I want, because for the most part I've learned that I enjoy "clean eating" (as defined by no white carbs or simple sugars). Anyway, you are totally right that our diets are very personal things, but I am always interested in hearing how other people do it!
Thanks for the kind words! I'll probably run the race again because it's so close to my house but I for sure won't be recommending it to anyone until they work out some of these kinks.
How do you go about fueling for long runs? That's the one area I'm stumped with so many of the running products so high in sugars. Honestly, I never really figured out fueling before I started watching my sugar and now it just seems so overwhelming.
 
Aug 14-20 Recap (138 Days until WDW Marathon)
My goal going into this week was to actually stick to the schedule. This went well at first, and then life sort of happened and things got pushed around. It was still a big improvement from the week before but I’m still a bit disappointed. On a positive note, it makes it easy to set the goal for this week…follow that darn schedule!

There’s only 12 days until my goal race for this training plan. At this point, it’s pretty much all about maintaining the fitness I’ve gained. Unfortunately, I’ve missed a lot more training runs than I should have in the last month, arguably the most crucial time. I’m not really sure what this means for my goal. Going into this, I wanted to break 1:20. Based on my half marathon performance earlier this year, my 10 mile equivalency was a 1:26:39, meaning that if I did break 1:20, that’d be about an 8% improvement in 3 months…which would be outstanding! However, I’m not holding my breath. In actuality, the fact that I could even maintain my running fitness over the summer is a huge victory for me! I’m going to keep my A goal of 1:20, but my other summer races are putting my equivalency at 1:22 so that will be my backup. Who knows what race day will hold though.
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All of this training was in the hopes of improving my POT and my corral. The funny thing is, this is all based on some information I found on the internet that changes year to year and is entirely based on the other registered runners. Looking back, I can’t find exact cut-offs for 2015, but I would likely have been in Corral E and Corral D in 2016 with a 3:49 cutoff for C. This past year the cutoff for C was 3:47. Nothing like aiming for a moving target! Maybe this year, they’ll just go the organized chaos route and remove corrals altogether! (I sincerely hope not, I almost regret even typing that out)

Monday - 2 mi @ WU + 5 x 1000 @ I w/ 0.25 mi RI @ WU + 2 mi @ CD
Monday was the start of a new week. I was going to stick to the schedule this time! After an all-day out of town meeting, I headed straight for some trails near my hotel. During my warm up it quickly became apparent that the 5k the weekend before had taken more out of me than I expected. My legs were sore. Really sore.

The first half of my first interval went awesome, and then I turned the corner and saw a giant unexpected hill in middle of Iowa. Whoever says the Midwest is flat, needs to spend some more time in Iowa. We don’t have mountains, but we know a few things about hills. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. I consistently missed my pacing by about a min per mile. After the 4th interval, I decided to call it and just ran easy the rest of the way back feeling very dissatisfied.

Tuesday - 5.5 @ EA
I had another all-day meeting on deck on Tuesday along with the drive back home. This meant waking up and running beforehand, only about 12 hours removed from my terrible run the day before. The good news was that it was an easy run. My legs were still insanely sore, but I managed and on the bright side I got practice running on tired legs. I could apparently use a little more practice because those tired legs also tripped over a bridge. Luckily, I didn’t sustain any injuries to anything but my pride.

Wednesday - 2 mi @ WU + 1 mile @ T + 2 min REST + 2 miles @ T + 1 min REST + 1 mile @ T + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 1 mi @ CD
When I finished work on Wednesday there were storms heading our direction. I wasn’t going to have the time to get my run finished before they hit and I wasn’t so jazzed about using the treadmill. Since my legs were still a bit sore, I decided they could use a little extra rest and I’d postpone the run to Thursday. Even though that meant I wouldn’t be achieving my goal of staying on schedule, I felt confident that this move wouldn’t totally throw off the rest of the week.

Thursday – REST 2 mi @ WU + 1 mile @ T + 2 min REST + 2 miles @ T + 1 min REST + 1 mile @ T + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 1 mi @ CD
Determined to stay on track, I headed for the treadmill on Thursday. Part of me was glad this was my option because it meant I would be able to hit the paces or assess if they were unreasonable. The first half mile of my warm up was rough and I was worried some of my time off had really started to affect my training. I finally started to get back in the groove and things felt easy until the first interval.

Again, the first interval was hard. Not too hard, but I wasn’t quite expecting the effort. The second interval mile was also tough, but by the time I got to the second half of that 2 mile segment, I was back. Yeah, I was running fast, but it felt sustainable. I think I just needed to be reminded what these efforts felt like. The rest of the run went by without incident.

Friday -5.5 @ EA
Friday after work I headed to a part of the river trail that I haven’t ran on since I began this training plan. There’s really two reasons for that. It’s only “sort of kind of on the way home” and definitely out of the way on the weekends. The other reason is that while it is on the river, the other side of the trail is a lot of factory backsides and not that appealing. The bonus part here is that I happen to work for the company that runs this factory and there was a lot of product being built which should mean more sales :)

Saturday – 9 miles @ Long Run
After my run on Friday, I overindulged a bit at some local establishments which left me feeling quite crappy on Saturday morning. I knew my run just wasn’t going to be possible in my current state. In hindsight, I probably should have gone out for at least a few easy miles, but you live and learn (I also shouldn’t have drank quite so much…). Saturday afternoon, we were heading to a wedding so I rescheduled the run for Sunday.

Sunday – REST
I’m not really sure what my excuse was on Sunday, but I just didn’t feel up for the long run. In fact, I really didn’t feel like getting off the couch at all. I just wanted to be a lazy blob. At some point I rationalized in my head that I could push it off again and wait until Monday and just completely eliminate my mid-week rest day. Later in the evening, I realized this probably wasn’t a good idea since I have a race coming up and I don’t want to be over-training myself right before the race. Figuring at this point, I really could use a long run since I’ve missed the last two now, I’ve decided to scratch the first speed workout this week and replace with the long run. Stay tuned for next week to see how this all turns out for me!

Total miles: 26.7
Total time: 4:23:46

This week’s schedule:
M - 2 mi @ WU + 5 x 1000 @ I w/ 0.25 mi RI @ WU + 2 mi @ CD 9 miles @ Long Run
Tu - 5.5 @ EA
W - 2 mi @ WU + 3 mi @ T + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 2 mi @ CD
Th - REST
Fr -5.5 @ EA
Sa – 9 miles @ Long Run
Su - REST
 
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Monday - 2 mi @ WU + 5 x 1000 @ I w/ 0.25 mi RI @ WU + 2 mi @ CD

Thursday – REST 2 mi @ WU + 1 mile @ T + 2 min REST + 2 miles @ T + 1 min REST + 1 mile @ T + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 1 mi @ CD

These are insanely difficult workouts, so kudos for getting out there and attempting them. Just keep reminding yourself that this training plan is very difficult and will come with some bumps and bruises along the way. But you've almost completed the training and get to celebrate with the victory lap!
 
These are insanely difficult workouts, so kudos for getting out there and attempting them. Just keep reminding yourself that this training plan is very difficult and will come with some bumps and bruises along the way. But you've almost completed the training and get to celebrate with the victory lap!
Thanks for the encouragement! I really appreciate you putting together the plan and your advice along the way. I actually feel a bit guilty I haven't followed it better. Regardless, I know I've made some improvements and can feel the extra strength in my legs. My husband recently asked me when my legs got so sexy, so even if I don't get my POT goal, at least there's that.:rolleyes:
 
I turned the corner and saw a giant unexpected hill in middle of Iowa

That made me laugh. I have been having similar problems trying to keep my pace consistent on more undulating routes though I haven't had any really tough sessions like yours just yet.
Best of luck with your A race.
 


That made me laugh. I have been having similar problems trying to keep my pace consistent on more undulating routes though I haven't had any really tough sessions like yours just yet.
Just keep at it and you'll get the hang of it! I started the season focusing on keeping my effort the same throughout but then I noticed I was consistently being passed on the uphills in races. Since that revelation, I've started focusing on maintaining pace. I haven't had any races since so I don't know if it's working but it is building up my confidence.
 
Aug 21-27 Recap (131 Days until WDW Marathon)
We’ve been having beautiful weather here lately. Sunny, highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s. My preferred fall weather seems to have come about a month early. Unfortunately, this change has also kicked off allergy season and I’ve been dealing with all that entails (scratchy throat, itchy eyes, sneezing, sinus pressure, etc. etc.). I’ve had seasonal allergies as long as I can remember and nothing seems to help them go away except Benadryl, which really just makes me sleep and not notice them I think. The positive note on all of this is that I thought I was getting sick right before my big race for the 3rd time this year and so far it’s been a false alarm. :)

As official marathon training nears, I’ve been scouring the internet for tips. A lot of them are things I’ve heard before, but it never hurts to have a little reminder. One tip that I had never seen before was buffering your training plan with an extra week or two. For example, if you’re going to follow an 18 week plan, start 20 weeks out. The thought behind this is that it’s likely life will get in the way, and this way you already have that built in. I have a history of missing about a week of training due to illness so I was debating building in some buffer time. In the end, I knew there was a risk that I would treat that cushion similar to how I treat my rest days and would just take advantage of them early. To keep myself motivated to stay on track, I’m going to be following the plan exactly as described, no extra buffer weeks.

Speaking of training plans, I’m going to be following Hanson’s Marathon Method. I bought the book earlier this year and have slowly been making my way through it. I finally finished it about a week ago, but now it’s been so long I might need to refresh on some of the earlier information. For those that aren’t familiar, Hanson’s training plan is infamous for maxing out at 16 miles. It sometimes gets the false reputation of being an easy plan because of this. Those miles are more than made up for throughout the rest of the week. I was just comparing it to the Higdon novice plan which maxes out at a 40 mile week on week 15. Hanson also tops out at week 15 but with 57 miles. The Hanson Marathon Method is built on the idea of cumulative fatigue so those 16 miles are designed to mimic the last 16 miles of the marathon instead of the first. I’m not in any way trying to discredit other plans. Higdon got me through my very first half marathon. I just know that for me, it’s easier to get in a lot of running days versus banking it all on the long run.

Monday - 9 miles @ Long Run
After being a lazy slug all weekend, Monday was my chance at a little redemption. I knew I had to get those 9 miles in and there would be no waffling this week. Because I’m an afternoon runner and the temps were still a little warm, I elected to run in my basement on the treadmill. I had recorded Race on my DVR and thought Jesse Owens would be the perfect motivation to complete my run. Turns out my DVR had a different idea, the TV Guide had been wrong and it recorded Mistress America. It was an interesting enough movie to keep me entertained for 90 minutes, but not exactly what I had in mind.

That wasn’t the only issue I had during my run. I have a piece of notebook paper in the basement with my paces all marked out. Long run is 9:32 pace which I had equated to 6.7 on the treadmill. About halfway through, I felt like maybe I was going a bit too fast but chalked it up to my inconsistent training. It wasn’t until I finished and realized my average pace was around 9 min/mi that I realized there had been an error. Turns out I should have been around 6.3….whoops. I guess I got a bit of my tempo training that I’d missed.
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Tuesday - 5.5 @ EA
I was feeling a little worn out after work on Tuesday. I decided to allow myself to relax for a little bit as long as I was up by 5 and ready to run. Next thing I know, my clocks says 4:56 and it’s time to get up. Bucky was excited I was actually heading outside because it meant I’d probably take her along. I’ve been taking her on a 2 mile loop to kick off my neighborhood runs. She only lasts about 2.5 miles before I start dragging her and since I don’t feel like carrying an extra 60 lbs, she gets dropped off 2 miles in.

Rest of the run was uneventful. Once again, I ran down nearly every street in my neighborhood, some streets more than once. I have a feeling the nesting season is coming to an end for the evil birds so I might start venturing out of the neighborhood again which would be a huge mental boost as I could run some new routes.

Wednesday - 2 mi @ WU + 3 mi @ T + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 2 mi @ CD
For the first time in forever, or like 5 weeks, I actually stuck to the schedule through Wednesday. I decided to take my run down to the trail I used to run during my lunch breaks. I haven’t ran down there since I changed offices so it was a nice way to switch things up a bit. They’ve repaved the trail since the last time I was there and there are a lot less geese. Two big improvements!

My warmup went as planned and I nailed the first mile of T. Goal pace was 8:12 and I was at 8:08. Unfortunately, things went south from there. There were a few outside factors like another unexpected hill and a strong headwind that came out of nowhere, but I think the biggest factor is just inside my head. I find the mental aspect of pacing incredibly difficult. I know I’m physically capable of hitting the paces but when I’m running my brain tends to wander and want to solve other important problems like what on earth am I going to dress like for Halloween? I tried to stay on track, but it was a struggle. I need other runners around to compete with to keep my pace up and unfortunately there were very few. A lot of cyclists, but I’m not quite that fast.

After the 3 miles it was time for some 200 repeats. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the track for those and I wasn’t sure how it’d go. I knew my GPS was likely to be off but it was the best I had being on an unmarked trail. I tried to stay focused and hit the pace. It felt good to run fast for short bursts. My phone data tells me I was on the slow side, which was probably true but I’m still happy I got out there and got my workout in. 3 for 3 on the early part of the week!

Thursday – REST
It was so nice having my scheduled rest day. I had a few errands to run and it was good to know I had the extra time since I wasn’t trying to make up workouts I had missed earlier in the week. Now if only I can remember that going forward….

Friday -5.5 @ EA
On Friday, it was back to running the neighborhood with Bucky. I decided I could use a break from technology so I didn’t run with my phone at all. I also switched up the route a bit and my best guess is that it was just over 5 miles instead of 5.5 but I never went back and mapped it out. Back when I first started running, I would just run with a watch and assume every 10 minutes was a mile….man have things changed since then. It was nice to have the break from technology which allowed me to focus more on the enjoyment of running and how I felt.

Saturday – 9 miles @ Long Run
Saturday morning, I woke up screaming in pain from a charlie horse in my left calf. I’ve been suffering from a lot of dehydration problems this year. I don’t remember ever having any problems before but I’ve woken up with cramps more times than I can count this year. Fortunately, I’ve never had any cramps during my runs or races. I’ve been trying to focus on making sure I get enough fluids but it seems like if I forget for even one night, I’ll pay the price. I decided to take some time in the morning to rehydrate and set myself a deadline of 10am for my run to begin.

Am I the only one who always thinks of Lamb Chop when talking about a Charlie Horse?
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Around 9:30, I knew it was time for me to gather my things and head to the trail. I took the first mile a little slow as I got warmed up. The next 7 miles were right where they needed to be pacing wise. I finished with a 9:49 last mile but accounting for it being the end of the run and two fairly annoying uphills, I’m counting it as a victory. It felt so good to be able to lock in to my long run pace.

I’m not sure why I always worry so much about the long runs. They seems so daunting on paper but once I get out there, I never have any problems completing them. I wouldn’t necessarily call them easy, but all of my other training has me well prepared for them. Plus, I feel so accomplished once they’re done!

Sunday - REST
Another rest day well deserved! I actually met my goal this week of completing all my runs as scheduled!

Total miles: 36.1 First time I broke 30+ miles in about a month! :D
Total time: 5:56:35

This week’s schedule:
M - 5.5 @ EA
Tu - 1 mi @ WU + 3 x 1mi @ T w/ 2 min REST + 1 mi @ CD
W - REST
Th - 4.5 miles @ EA
Fr -3 @ EA
Sa – RACE DAY
Su - REST
 
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Aug 28-Sep 3 Recap (124 Days until WDW Marathon)
Goal this week was once again to follow the plan plus not do anything foolish to jeopardize my race on Saturday. Since this week was taper week it meant all the runs were relatively easy.

This week also marked the end of another month. Despite my inconsistency as of late, I still broke 100 miles. As you can see in the graph below, I ran more miles these last three months than the previous five. I've never put this kind of mileage in, especially in the summer, but so far so good. I'm expecting September to be a down month while easing into marathon training.

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In non running news, I finally heard when I'll be traveling to England for work. Plan is to work from Oxford Oct 16-18. Now to just work out the schedule and decide if/when I want to tack on a few days for exploring on my own.


M - 5.5 @ EA
Monday's run started off the same as most of my easy runs, by taking this athletic pup for a two mile loop.
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After Bucky's romp, I decided to test the waters and leave the neighborhood for the first time in a few months. I'm happy to report there were no evil birds in sight. Now I get to switch up my running routes from home again :D!

Tu - 1 mi @ WU + 3 x 1mi @ T w/ 2 min REST + 1 mi @ CD
On Tuesday, I headed to the riverfront trail for my last speed work for a while. I was a bit nervous going into it. As you know, I've been struggling with pacing all summer and I really wanted to wrap up this training plan on a high note. My goal T is 8:12 and I finished with 7:59, 8:17, and 8:09. Really pleased with that last one but honestly happy all around. I still have some more work to do as you can see from the screenshot below. The only thing consistent about my pacing is that I consistently get slower as I lose focus and start daydreaming.
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W - REST
I have a love/hate relationship with rest days. On the one hand, I love getting a break and having some extra free time. However, that one day off is usually enough to knock me out of my running groove which makes motivating myself the next day all the more difficult.

Th - 4.5 miles @ EA
Thursday on my way home I noticed a haze spanning the entire width of the Mississippi River. It was also surrounding my neighborhood and I had no idea what was going on. My husband thought it was smoke and asked me what was on fire. Since it had such a large coverage area, I didn't think there was anyway it was smoke. Turns out, it was smoke coming all the way to Iowa from the Canadian wildfires! With all the terrible weather happening recently, I'm so thankful we haven't had any. Heck, we've actually had pretty outstanding weather with highs in the 70s.

Anyway, the whole point of mentioning the smoke is that I tried to run outside but barely made it to the neighbors before realizing it wasn't going to happen. Itching eyes and coughing meant I was heading straight for the treadmill. Sorry Bucky.
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Fr - 3 @ EA
Overall just an average easy run but I had to keep reminding myself to slow down. Due to the taper, I could feel the extra energy in my legs and I wanted to preserve it for Saturday.

Sa – RACE DAY!!!
Stay tuned for the race recap and my quest for a better proof of time.

Su - REST
We headed to Chicago-area Saturday after my race. I intentionally didn't pack any running clothes to force some recovery time. Bucky and I did take a two mile walk in the morning and another shorter walk in the evening so I wasn't totally a lazy slug.

Total miles: 27.7
Total time: 4:15:27

This week’s schedule:
Rest and recovery. My Hanson training plan is scheduled to officially begin on Thursday with an easy 3 miles. Since @DopeyBadger helped me get such an excellent base in, I'm just going to play this week by ear and see how I'm feeling.
 
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OK! I love the Bucky shots!! His little sweat bands are adorable. Great job on your training and those are some impressive monthly mileage numbers. Way to go!
 
Charger 10 Miler Race Review
Weather:

The weather had me really nervous heading into the race. Not because it was going to be really warm or a chance of storms or any of the normal concerns. It was actually going to be perfect running weather, right around 50 the entire race. The problem is I have weather amnesia and could not remember what that temperature actually felt like or the appropriate way to dress. My husband was going to come for the finish but not at the start so I also didn’t have anyone to hold my extra layers. Whatever I wanted to wear to keep warm before the race, I also had to wear during the race. I finally decided on short sleeves and capris. I wasn’t too cold before/after the race or too warm during so I think it was a good balance.

Course:
I couldn’t find any course information before the race. I knew roughly where it would start and that there was a paved bike path nearby but had no idea on the details. Were there going to be hills? Lots of turns? Any other big surprises? Thanks to my previous race with lots of on-course confusion, this made me a little nervous. Luckily, I was able to finish without getting lost or accidentally cutting the course.

The course itself was scenic and pleasant. For the most part it ran along the paved bike path next to the river. It was a modified out and back. First we headed out for 3.5 miles, turned around, went near the finish area and headed out for 1.5 miles in the opposite direction before turning around again. There were a few small hills when climbing up and down the levee but the overall elevation climb was only 81 feet. Some of the bike path could have been in better shape as it was a bit gravely at the beginning. The race also finished in a gravel parking lot with a very sharp turn right before the finish. I didn’t see anyone wipe out, but I’m a little surprised if it didn’t happen.

Results:
I had some minor concerns about the course and weather but what I was most concerned about was the racing itself. My other summer races suggested a 1:22 finish but I really wanted to break 1:20. The main point of this training cycle was to improve my POT for the WDW Marathon and I needed sub 1:22 to do that. Despite this, I did not want to go out too fast only to crash and burn. After much internal debate, I decided to aim for an 8:10 pace the first 3 miles. Assuming I felt fine after that, I’d aim for 8:00 the next 4 and then speed up for the final 3. This was the very first race I’ve ever really developed a race strategy. I usually have some goal in my head and try to hit the pace that will get me to that goal without worrying too much about the preciseness of pacing.

The problem with deciding to start slow is that I’m just a tad impatient. My preference is to run my own race and I don’t like being stuck in a pack. Unfortunately, this typically means that I’m going out faster than I should to get away from the packs and this is exactly what happened on Saturday. There was one specific pack of about 5 runners that I kept trying to get around only to inevitably be caught up by them again. When I realized my pace for the first mile was 7:28, I knew I needed to slow down. At that point I decided to let the pack get ahead of me and aim for an 8:00 second mile.

Amazingly, I nailed my next mile at 7:58. Those of you that have kept up with my journal know that pacing is something I’ve struggled with all season and I was more than thrilled to be able to dial in right when I needed to. Since I was feeling good and had already sabotaged my plans for a slow start, I decided to just stick with 8:00 miles. Next mile ticked by at 7:59.

Around this time, I could see some of the pack from before breaking up and I was gaining ground on one lady in particular. I made it a goal to reel her in. Confession: I kinda sorta like running but I LOVE racing. That feeling of picking someone out ahead and closing the gap is a huge motivator during my races. I managed to pass that particular lady just before mile 5 and picked out my new target, a guy in a ridiculously bright neon green long sleeve. Besides passing people, it’s also great to see the positive impacts my training has had on my racing.

The next few miles were pretty uneventful. I spent the time keeping my eyes on the neon green shirt in front of me and calculating whether or not I’d see my husband around mile 7 when I passed the finish area. He had agreed to make it to the course by 8:30 am so I knew it would be close depending on if he was on time or had any trouble parking. Due to his impeccable timing, he was there and was a great boost in motivation. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put into words how wonderful it is to see a friendly face along a race course.

By mile 8, my last three miles were right around 7:47. I still hadn’t caught my carrot in the neon green and I was slowly losing ground to another lady just behind me, but my 1:20 goal was still in reach. I started counting the women that passed on their way back after the final turn around. It seemed that we were running 6 and 7 overall for females. I had nearly conceded defeat and 7th place when right around mile 9 another runner told us we were 5 and 6. I had never finished top 5 before and I was not about to let this opportunity go to waste. Around this time I also caught neon green and we raced the rest of the way to the finish.

Green shirt managed to eke out the win but I did finish 5th overall woman and was very happy with that. What I was more excited about though was my time…1:18:21! I beat my goal by over 90 seconds! I really had no idea coming into the race if 1:20 was even a reachable goal. I have a history of math errors, but based on my calculation, my estimated marathon finish time went from 4:02:58 to 3:39:56 (over 20 minutes!!) since I started training in May, almost a 10% improvement. I’m feeling very confident this new POT will be enough to move me up a corral, but even if it doesn’t, that improvement % is massive and has me evaluating bigger goals in the future.

Time: 1:18:21
Age Group Rank: 1/16
Overall Rank: 33/161

Random Ramblings:
Organization – The race could have been a bit more organized. As I mentioned, there was no course posted ahead of time. The registration also stated an early packet pickup but didn’t specify a time. I tried reaching out to the event organizers but never heard anything back. The race day packet pickup was also a bit confusing and took me a minute to figure out where to go for my bib and where to go for my chip.

Training – Huge public thank you to @DopeyBadger! He put together this training plan very quickly and I couldn’t be happier with the results. My curiosity about the Hanson Marathon Method is driving my compulsion to follow that plan by the book for my next training cycle. I’ll chronicle how that goes here, but I could be back for a new DB plan come spring :)

Overall Impression:
I really liked this race. It’s fun to run a non-standard distance one in a while. I won’t go out of my way to run it again, but it was perfect for what I was looking for this year. If it happens to work out in the future, I wouldn’t hesitate running again.
 
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OK! I love the Bucky shots!! His little sweat bands are adorable. Great job on your training and those are some impressive monthly mileage numbers. Way to go!
Thanks! I was browsing through my journal the other day and decided it definitely needed more cute puppies so I'm glad you enjoy them.
 
Fantastic job on your race! You crushed that goal and such an impressive time not to mention 5th place for female racers. Just incredible. Congratulations!
 
The anticipation for finding out the results was killing me. First off, congrats on finishing the Daniels 10k training as that was no small feat on its own. In addition, congrats on crushing that race. All that hard work in the summer paid off! If you end up having any questions about the Hansons plan or making adjustments let me know. Altering the Hansons plan to meet custom needs is what I do best.
 
Fantastic job on your race! You crushed that goal and such an impressive time not to mention 5th place for female racers. Just incredible. Congratulations!

The anticipation for finding out the results was killing me. First off, congrats on finishing the Daniels 10k training as that was no small feat on its own. In addition, congrats on crushing that race. All that hard work in the summer paid off! If you end up having any questions about the Hansons plan or making adjustments let me know. Altering the Hansons plan to meet custom needs is what I do best.
Thank you both! I'm still a little shocked I was able to pull it off.
It also brings me a lot closer to a BQ than I ever really thought possible. I'd have to hit a 3:35 (but really <3:33). Now I'm even more anxious to see how marathon training goes and if it's something I actually want to pursue.
 
Sept 4-10 Recap (117 Days until WDW Marathon)
Here we go! We've finally made it to the point in this training journal that is all about marathon training. Last week was Week 1 of the training program. It's designed to ease in to the higher mileage which worked out perfect for allowing a few recovery days and easy running after my race the weekend before.
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Going into this training I have a few goals:

  1. Break 4 hours. This is a reasonable goal based on my current fitness but it's still going to require a lot of work. I learned the difficult lesson on the importance of training during my last marathon attempt in 2012.
  2. Figure out a race nutrition strategy. This is totally new to me. I've never taken in more than water for my other races but I know a successful marathon will require it.
  3. Strength training. Starting this week, I plan to do some sort of strength training on MWF. I’m still figuring out what that will be but I’ve come to realize that unless I put it in my schedule, it’s not going to happen. I still have a few more easy weeks ahead, which makes it a good time to build a strength training base.
  4. Stay consistent with my running. I struggled with this a bit toward the end of my last cycle but I know it is crucial if I want to accomplish Goal 1.
Below are the paces I'll be using for this training, graciously calculated by @DopeyBadger. I'm far from elite, but I have no idea when I got so fast. I still remember when a 9:30 pace was my goal for a 5k and now it's more than two minutes faster! Just seeing 8s in the front of my marathon pace is a little intimidating. And how on earth did a 7 make it to the front of my half marathon pace?!?!
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Wednesday - Easy 3 (3.1)
The official training schedule actually called to start training on Thursday. Since I was going to be traveling for work, it was going to be difficult to find the time so I moved the run up a day.

Honestly, I was also going a bit stir crazy. After doing so well in my race the weekend before, I just wanted to get out and run again. It was a real struggle to convince myself I needed the recovery. I wasn't sore at all but I didn't want to jeopardize my marathon training which will definitely test my limits.

It was awesome to get out and stretch my legs again. Bucky also enjoyed running in the "fall" weather.

Friday - Easy 3 (2.5)
I had a chaotic weekend planned that wasn't going to be good for running so I decided my best course of action was to move my Saturday run to Friday morning. Unfortunately, I had some stomach issues that delayed my start and I didn't have time to run the full 3 miles, but at least I got something.

Sunday - Easy 4 (0.0)
Sunday was scheduled for 4 easy miles. When I was adjusting the schedule, I knew I'd be back home Sunday morning and shouldn't have a problem fitting in 4 miles. Unfortunately, I didn't factor in the tripping hippies that would hang outside my tent until sunrise and prevent me from getting any sleep.
IMG_0925.GIF
I was a little sleep deprived and elected for a nice long nap instead of a run. Missing a run only 3 runs in isn't exactly the stellar start I planned but I really wasn't sure how much recovery I needed from the 10 miler so I'm not stressing about it too much.

Total miles: 5.6
Total time: 54:15

This week’s schedule:
M - Strength
Tu - Easy 2
W - Strength
Th - Easy 3
F - Easy 3 + Strength
Sa - Easy 3
Su - Easy 4
 
Thank you both! I'm still a little shocked I was able to pull it off.
It also brings me a lot closer to a BQ than I ever really thought possible. I'd have to hit a 3:35 (but really <3:33). Now I'm even more anxious to see how marathon training goes and if it's something I actually want to pursue.

Given where you are right now, I'd say that it is entirely possible you could hit a 3:33 in your next marathon. But it will require a high level of attention to pacing and dedication to hitting about 95% of scheduled runs.
 
Given where you are right now, I'd say that it is entirely possible you could hit a 3:33 in your next marathon. But it will require a high level of attention to pacing and dedication to hitting about 95% of scheduled runs.
That's definitely crossed my mind. Problem is, part of me just wants to enjoy the race and stop to say hi to Mickey without worrying about lost time. But then again, Boston . I'm sure I'll waffle back and forth a few times. Hopefully, I can make a decision before the race!
 
That's definitely crossed my mind. Problem is, part of me just wants to enjoy the race and stop to say hi to Mickey without worrying about lost time. But then again, Boston . I'm sure I'll waffle back and forth a few times. Hopefully, I can make a decision before the race!

Honestly, it might come down to something completely out of your hands - the weather. Marathon Weekend is notoriously unpredictable. So, I'd say going into it to be comfortable with both possibilities and not make any decisions until race morning. There's also always another marathon in the spring/summer/fall 2018. No rush as it's right there for you.
 

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