Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 6 - Weekly Running Update: January 27, 2019

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well.

How's winter training going? Any recent races or training for one, which one? How are the temps where you're located? Keeping training indoors, or venturing outside?

This was week 6 marathon training for me, was a bit chilly for a couple days.

My Week in Training:

Monday: 6 miles. Day off from work, trail day, yay! Slow moving to get ready this morning. It's going to be a bit chilly out there! Coffee, work out, foam roll. Eventually head over to my trail. For some reason, I was the only car in the parking lot. Wind chill -13! More layers than usual. Once I got going, the temp was very manageable. Less flexibility due to all the layers, but felt fine temp wise. Two pairs of gloves, it did take about 15 min to feel my fingertips, but they were fine after that. My trail Pennypack Creek. Today's trail run was from the mid parking lot (Welsh and Terwood Rd) steady incline to Rockledge Park, to a nearby neighborhood to add a hill and little more distance. Turn around, back to the trail to the mid parking lot. The trail section would have been about 5.25, added the neighborhood to round to 6. Pacing: may have felt tight, but pace wasn't too affected. Comfortable pace beginning to end. Was thinking more about breathing and what was I thinking for getting out there more than about pace today. lol Just a few icicles in the beard, but not bad. I'm just glad the rain from Sat/Sun wasn't snow, dried up enough that there wasn't any ice. As chilly as it was, at least the sun was out! :)
Today's trail pics are from mile marker 2.25-2.0. Includes bridge number 8 and 9. I love bridge 8 when it's covered in greenery!

Full pics

Tuesday: 3.11 miles before work. Another chilly day! Slow moving to get ready. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door by 6. Through the motions. Today, first time through the neighborhood since the weekend rain storms. My street is a bit of a hill, no drainage issues. Not the case for a few blocks over. Some flash flooding that did not drain well. A couple feet of ice lined a few streets. Able to avoid, but when there's traffic have to move a bit closer to it. Was dressed appropriately, no issues.

Wednesday: 4 miles before work. Temps in the 20's, it's a heat wave! lol..

Thursday: 1 mile before work. Mon/Tues, I had a slight sore throat. Hydrated well, started to feel congestion on Wed. Thurs morning, full of it. Up before my alarm, cleared it out. Coffee, work out, and out the door by 6:15. Run felt good, but didn't want to over do it. Thursday was also streak day 1,097, Three years! A separate post for my runstreak update, here.

Friday: 5 miles before work. A bit sick the past couple days. Thursday at work was the worst, sneezing/blowing my nose all day. Thankfully, no fever. Went to bed early and got a good night's rest. Up a few times overnight, and up just before my alarm. Slow to get going, coffee. Light work out. clearing some congestion out. Ready to go by 6. First mile felt great, after the hills around 8:25, was able to get it back down to 8:20. Running felt great. Head a bit cloudy, and clearing some congestion out along the way, but the run itself felt great.

Saturday: 11 miles. Long run day, trail day, yay! Feeling a bit better before bed. Went to bed early, got an excellent night's sleep. Didn't have any sneezing attacks through the night. Woke up (by 5) feeling much better. Just a tiny bit of congestion. Coffee, light workout, water, foam roll, and over to the trail by sunrise, 7:15. My trail Pennypack Creek. Park in the middle (Welsh and Terwood). To the more wooded side first (to Byberry Rd) all the way to the road. And back. Passed my car, failed to hydrate, 'doh! To the more open, gradual incline side to Rockledge Park. Did a loop around Rockledge Park. and back. My trail is about 10.5, added a bit at each end, back to the parking lot was at 10.8, turned around for .1 and back. Pacing was 8:25 through about 7, faded to 8:38 for a bit. Legs a bit tight, ankle hurt for just a bit, but felt good overall.
Trail pics are from mile markers 2.0-1.75.

Full pics

Sunday: 1 mile. Rest day. One for the streak. Streak day 1,100. Up by 5:30. A tiny bit of congestion, but can tell the cold is on it's way out. Took my time heading out. Coffee, foam roll, out the door around 7:30. 1 mile days can be fun. Depending on how it starts out, may do a speed day. To start, right calf felt a bit tight, but the first few notifications were faster than I anticipated. Tempted to pull back to round it out, but also tempted to keep with it. Continued on. My 3rd fastest 1 miler, fasted in a couple yrs. Now to relax remainder of the day.

This was week 6 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled  29 mi / completed  31 mi
Strength training: scheduled  80 min/ completed 106 min
Foam roll:  7 days
Hydration goal met: 7 days 

Spring Schedule 

03.31.19 - The Love Run! Love the Love Run Philadelphia half marathon! Check out my review from last yr, here.   Use code LOVEBR10 for 10% off!

04.06.19 - Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia. Use code BRHCPhilly to receive a free smart phone arm band. Check out my preview, here. 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G

Runstreak Update: 3 Year Streakversary!

On Jan 23rd, 2016, I watched all of season 1 of Breaking Bad. Slow start, but got hooked instantly. Can't believe I waited till the show was over to give it a chance. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Alright, I'm not here to give TV/movie reviews. Although Breaking Bad is top 5, maybe even top 2 in my books. (other fav Sopranos, no, I haven't watched Game of Thrones or have any interest)

I will always remember that day though. That was my last day off from running! (3 year's straight, running at least a mile a day)

Friday, January 22nd. A blizzard started early evening. Saturday morning, it never stopped. Still coming down strong. Started watching Breading Bad. Took breaks ever 2 hours or so to do some shoveling, etc. Afternoon, still snowing, maybe getting lighter, but still no plows. State of emergency for the weekend, plows didn't start until it was over. At some point I gave up on waiting for the plows and enjoyed a few beverages. That was my last day off from running. (total snow fall in Philly that day 22.5 inches, 26+ in some areas.)

Before that day off, my previous streak was 22 days. When I reviewed 2015, I ran about 300 days and was satisfied, but thought about those 65 days off. My goal for 2016, was to fluctuate distance a bit more and less days off. The day after being off, I was so mad that I had to start a new streak. Not sure what my orig goal was, but it not ending on my own terms drove me nuts. Still plenty of snow to shovel, plows worked all day to get the roads ready for the work week. Stepped out that evening (Jan 24, 2016) to get 1 mile. That's when my current streak started.

Weather: anyone that follows my IG/twitter/blog will see that 99% of my runs are all outdoors. Wide range from heat index 110+, wind chill -10, snow, sleet, rain, humidity, all outdoors. I used to love the heat, work on my tan, etc, that was before I was into running. lol... Those are some draining days. Brisk days, precipitation days, sometimes getting out the door is the hardest part. Once you get going, it can really be invigorating! Snow, I mostly see as an inconvenience. I work early, so that means I shovel early. I'm trying not to look at last year's winter training, I know there was more than one long run day that every single step was into solid/crunchy snow. Those long runs felt like quick sand that took forever, hope I don't have to go through that as I train for a spring full. Treadmills: I don't look down on people that use them. To each is own. I just prefer to do it all outdoors. My tread mill runs are when I'm trapped in a hotel in an area that isn't conducive. I know a few tread mill runners that are impressively fast, short and long distances.

Injuries: I have been blessed so far, no major injuries. Knock on wood. Sure, I have had aches or pains, but haven't been sidelined yet. Maybe close after NYC, but not yet. Ankle: mid NYC marathon, my ankle felt like something banged on it, throbbing. That and a few other issues made NYC a bit of a challenge. Days after NYC, my ankle started to feel better. Self diagnosis either I actually banged it, or tendinitis. It was manageable enough to get through another marathon two weeks later, but still occasionally hurts a bit. Wrap as needed. Shin splints: I occasionally get shin splints during training, but paying more attention to stretching, using KT Tape, and compression socks have made a difference.  Lower back: my lower back occasionally (maybe often) hurts in the morning. I blame sleeping funny, or outside chores like yard work. Couldn't be from running, right? And it feels fine after foam rolling. Disclaimer: most runners/athletes are not doctors, may have experience advice, but listen to your body, seek medical advice as needed.

Sick: I won't say I have a great immune system, but I don't remember the last time I actually used a sick day due to being sick. Maybe a sinus cold a yr, and at least one stomach bug recently. On the worst of days, I tell myself, it's only a couple of songs, you can always turn back in a few to get that 1 mile. I don't remember the last time I didn't get my regularly scheduled run in.

Long days: there have been a few. One or two that stick our were when I worked 1st shift, scheduled for 3rd, tried, but no nap in between. After working 3rd shift, I got my marathon training day in before going to a fundraiser 5k walk. Travel day: had to be up before 4, to get to the airport, fly from Philly to Las Vegas, walked 10 miles before checking in, run, than rest. Hiking: depending on my training schedule, I don't make any cuts to my scheduled run. I once ran 10 miles in the morning, then hiked 10 later that day, but got lost twice to make it 15. I'm sure there have been several more long days, these are just a few that stick out.

Speed vs Endurance: I won't admit that streaking has hurt my speed(not that I ever had any). My overall pace may have been better in 2016, but that's before I started trying to be a long distance runner. I blame longer runs (and age) more than I do running every day. lol.. Work in progress, but getting there.

#RWRunStreak: I started my streak in January. Runner's World promote's two 40 day streaks a year. Think I found them during the Thanksgiving to New Year's one. Check out the #RWRunStreak group on facebook. They are an inspiring community, so supportive. They are like family, love them. You don't have to be doing a streak to join. Just be supportive of one another. Check them out on facebook: #RWRunStreak

BibRave: as my social media shifted towards the running community, I started participating in BibRave's weekly chats on twitter, #BibChat. Each Tuesday from 9-10 pm EST. A few month's later, I was given the opportunity to be a BibRavePro, BibRave Ambassador! I get to test and review amazing products and races! Simply have to maintain my blog (which has race and product discount pages) and social media presence. I admit, my blog is a work in progress, but as are most things worth working for. My streak may not be directly how I got to be a BibravePro, but daily running interaction with the running community may have. It's been an honor to represent BibRave, a very supportive community as well. Be sure to check out BibRave's sites and socials! #BibChat

Couldn't have done this without your support. My wife, family, friends, online community, I thank you all!

What's next? To be honest, I don't know. When I started streaking, never thought this far down the road. One day, milestone at a time. 50 days, 100 days, 365, 1000, 3 yrs, now what?  I follow someone that just hit 10 yrs, and have read articles of people that have streaked over 40 years. I can't imagine that. I just know, I don't have any plans of taking tomorrow off (or the day after that). God willing.

Question: What was your longest day running? (not your longest run per se, but the combo of long/busy day + run)

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G

Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 5 - Weekly Running Update: January 20, 2019

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well. How's everyone's training going? Do any races recently, or training through winter for a spring goal? Which race(s)?

Question: are you a solo runner, "lone wolf", or group runner?

If you follow my posts, you'll see I'm primarily a solo runner. But I have learned the benefits of the occasional group run. Especially as the training runs get longer, a great way to catch up and be there for each other as you question yourself/sanity. lol..

My Week in Training:

Mon: 6 miles before work. Sunday, had a few beverages during football and stayed up past my bed time. Up before my alarm. Surprisingly, not tired. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door. Chilly out! (wind chill 12). Monday's will be getting longer for me according to the plan. I don't do 6+ around the neighborhood often, may take a few weeks to figure out the ideal route. But, at least I get more hills!? 500+ft ascent today. Yay hills!?

Tues: 3.11 miles before work. Hydrated well yesterday and went to bed on time. Unfortunately, not a good night's sleep though. I regretted that last afternoon coffee as I tossed and turned to fall asleep. A rarity, I slept until my alarm. Coffee, slowly worked out, foam rolled and head out. Brisk air helped. Wasn't too thrilled with a few neighbors that neglected to shovel Sunday. My 5k route involves a few sidewalks along busy roads, the snow did melt, but refroze for those that didn't do anything. 8:06 pace after 1, before the hills, maintained under 8:20.

Wed: 4 miles before work. Tues, made more of an attempt to get a good night's sleep. A little better, but still slept until my alarm again. A little less tired/groggy than yesterday. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door. Mile 1 8:03, 8:15 after the hills, to maintain at 8:20.
Today, afterward, I realized the side of my shoe ripped! Last time this happened, I was a bit upset as I didn't get my money's worth (less than 200 mi). This pair was still feeling good. But after 350+ miles not as upset as before. I have had plenty of shoes go 4-600, but these have not. No worries, I have two other pairs in rotation, and two new pairs to be broken in in a couple months. (xmas presents)

Thu: 1 mile before work. Excellent night's sleep. Felt refreshing. Up a few min before my alarm. Coffee, work out, foam roll and out the door by 6:15. 1 mile days are usually fun when well rested. Brisk air, stretch, feeling loose, work on breathing, just before take off. First alert was 7:45 as I was going up the short steep hill, continued through it as the hill leveled out and maintained around 7:30 remainder of the way. Felt great!

Fri: 5 miles after work. After a few days of sleeping to my alarm and finally getting a great nigh't sleep, had a work issue. 3rd shift called at 2 am. Back to bed at 2:30. Tossed and turned for a while before I gave up. Up. Coffee, work out, and out the door. Snow overnight, some roads were well salted but others needed more treatment, and some of my route has sidewalks. Yaktrax day.. First mile felt good, but was through the motions for a bit. Legs starting to get a bit heavy, strayed from pace for and after the hills was a bit slower than I preferred, pushed a bit harder than I should have to get it back down before the end.Tired, time to shovel before work. Coffee and hydrate remainder of the day.

Sat: 11 miles. "Long" run, trail day, yay! 11 miles? But scheduled for 10? Well, today I hosted a few people for a group run at my trail. One of the other runners was scheduled for 11. I wasn't going to do a tour of my trail and back out of a mile. What kind of a host would I be? lol...
My trail Pennypack Creek. Mid parking lot (Welsh and Terwood). Which I gave a google map out, but a couple passed it and another totally missed it and got directed to one of the other parking lots. lol.. Mid parking lot to Byberry (the more wooded side, more bridges over the creek), usually 2.5 and back for 5.25,  but today was partially closed for a controlled hunt. Got about 3.25 on this side. Back to the mid parking lot to  the other side to Rockledge Park (gradual incline side).  As we got to the end, Rockledge Park, I decided to introduce them to a steep hill I do sometimes before turning around. The trail has a slight incline, but not hills, this nearby neighborhood hill is a bit steep! Up the hill, to the town's main street, turn around and back to the trail, back to the parking lot, hit 10 mi, turned around for .5 and back for 11. Pacing: today was more about comradery, touring the trail, getting our goal distance in than it was pacing, as we were mindful of all pace levels. Some of the group was going to do 8 miles, I calc'd they'd get about 8.25-8.5, but adding that neighborhood got them a bit more (closer to 9.5). Oops. ;)
Group run: was great meeting up with a few members of our online group! Great people, great support system, I consider them family, love them. The facebook group is #RWRunStreak, participating in the Runner's World 40 day challenge, but many of them streak year round. You don't have to be doing a runstreak to join, encouraged, but the main thing is that we support each other. Members across the country and a few worldwide. There's a bunch of us in the tri state area. I've met a few at some of the Philly races, and a ton of them at the Runner's World half festival. We are definitely going to try to meet up more often!

IG pics

Sun: 1 mile. Rest day, one for the streak. Run Streak day 1,093. Last night, dinner plans and a show down in Philly. Home a bit late, not extremely late, just late for me. (normal bed time before 9-10, was up a few min past midnight. Sleep in? Nope. Still up before 6. Coffee.. taking my time, stretch, and out the door around 8:30. Last night we had a heavy rain storm, was predicted to be 3-4 inches of snow, happy the temps didn't go that low, we would have had much more. Hope the ground dries up today, they are predicted a 40 degree drop by tomorrow!
1 milers, sometimes work on speed work. Started out working on pacing/breathing, could feel it, didn't want to over do it to get it to 7:30. Maintained for 7:45. As I was nearing the end (.8), saw three swans across from their hidden pond. Turned around after to get a pic. Hope they make it back safely, it's a busy road! Will load a few more pics of them to my IG shortly!

This was week 5 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled  28 mi / completed  30 mi
Strength training: scheduled  80 min/ completed  97 min
Foam roll:  7 days
Hydration goal met: 7 days 

Spring Schedule 

03.31.19 - The Love Run! Love the Love Run Philadelphia half marathon! Check out my review from last yr, here.   Use code LOVEBR10 for 10% off!

04.06.19 - Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia. Use code BRHCPhilly to receive a free smart phone arm band. Check out my preview, here. 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G

Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 4 - Weekly Running Update: January 13, 2019

Hi Everyone! 

Hope everyone is doing well. 

How's everyone's winter training going? Do any races or training for one, which one's?

This was week 4 of marathon training for me. A few brisk days, a trail day, and a touch of snow!

My Week in Training: 

Monday: 5 miles before work. Sunday was rest day. Did plenty of that. But did indulge in a few beverages during football. In bed by 10, up a few min before my alarm, but definitely tired. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door by 6. 8:15 pace before the hills, maintained around 8:30 after. The brisk air helped, tranquil, but through the motions. Coffee and hydration rest of the day.

Tuesday: 3.11 miles before work. Excellent night's rest, feeling refreshed. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door by 6. Feeling much better than yesterday. 8:05 before the hills, 8:15 after. Was going to try to maintain there, but picked it up a bit. Felt great.

Wednesday: 4 miles before work. A bit tired after work last night, took a nap on the couch after dinner. Well, trying to go to bed, tossed and turned for a bit. Woke up before my alarm, but a bit groggy. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door by 6:10. Temps weren't that bad, but 25 mph wind gusts. lol..  Against the wind, dodging flying saucers (trash can lids). But felt pretty decent.

Thursday: 1 mile before work. Wednesday night, had family plans after work. Home a few minutes before bed, went right to bed. Excellent night's rest. Adjusted my alarm clock to sleep in a few min, did'nt happen. Up at my normal time, refreshed. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door by 6:15 for my 1 miler. Started out at 7:30 pace, could feel it in my quads, maintained for 7:45. Brisk air and flurries was invigorating!

Friday: 5 miles before work. Thu night was a small work get together after work. A couple beverages, but did not over indulge. Home around bed time, but not tired yet. Up about an hr later than normal. Still woke up before my alarm. ;) coffee, work out, foam roll, and out the door by 6. Brisk out! Before I started, weather app showed 26, almost time to wear pants. Lol.. it was chilly, but nice. Happy with my pace 8:05 before hills, 8:15 after, and maintained 8:20. Felt great, but did take a bit to defrost after!

Saturday: 7 miles. "Long" run day. Got a great night's rest, in bed around 9. Have lunch plans later, set my alarm just in case. lol.. up by 4:30! Took my time getting ready. Coffee, foam roll. Check the weather, around 20 degrees, ok, time to wear pants. lol... Maybe someday I'll do a post on what I wear at what temps. someday. Started with a light long sleeve and my winter pullover. As I got to my trail, around 7:15. Decided to go with a base layer long sleeve and winter pullover. My trail Pennypack Creek. From the mid parking log, did the more wooded side first (to Byberry Rd and back). Wasn't concerned with pace today, just getting comfortable and keep an eye on breathing if the cool air was an issue. By 1 mile, comfortable temp wise (breathing non issue), was actually warm! Pullover and base layer was more than enough. Gloves were on/off throughout. Maintained 8:25 pace most of the way, faded a bit towards the end. After passing the mid parking lot, (5.25 mi) head on over to the other side for a bit. Stopped for pics on the way back. Pics from mile markers 2.50-2.25. My rail trail actually has a train that passes through! Pics also include bridge #7.

Full Pics

Sunday: 1 mile. Rest day, one for the streak. Run Streak day 1,086. Saturday, chance of snow overnight. Well, it did. Just thankful that it wasn't during the week or a long run day. Took my time getting ready because I knew I would stay out there to shovel, and since it's Sunday would try not to make too much noise before 8am. (if i was during the week, I'd be shoveling no matter how early). Could tell the plows went by on the side street, but not my street yet. Time for yaktrax just in case. I usually take the pace easy on snow days, today was comfortable start to finish. Shoveled afterwards, plan on taking easy the remainder of rest day.

This was week 4 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled   24 mi / completed  26 mi
Strength training: scheduled  80 min/ completed 97 min
Foam roll:  7 days
Hydration goal met:  7 days 

Spring Schedule 

03.31.19 - The Love Run! Love the Love Run Philadelphia half marathon! Check out my review from last yr, here.   Use code LOVEBR10 for 10% off!

04.06.19 - Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia. Use code BRHCPhilly to receive a free smart phone arm band. Check out my preview, here. 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G

Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 3 - Weekly Running Update: January 6, 2019

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well.

This week wrapped up 2018, kicking off 2019. I'm not going to do a full post on resolutions, but did everyone achieve/set theirs for 2018/2019?

2018: PR in half/full marathons. Take recovery more seriously, and start foam rolling. Achieved. Three pr's. 10 mi @Broad Street Run, half marathon @ Love Run Philly and full @ Philadelphia Marathon. Foam rolled plenty, but room for improvement.

2019: PR in full marathon. Two shots at it. I am registered for a spring marathon, Flying Pig, and a fall marathon, Philly. I have other races, but not a PR goal since they're mid marathon training and I won't be tapering. Another goal is to track foam rolling and hydration to be more accountable.

What are some of your goals?

My Week in Training:

Monday: 5 miles before work. A few beverages were had Sunday during football, but hydrated and got a good night's rest. Asleep by 9. :) Up before my alarm clock. Coffee, work out, foam roll, hydrate, and out the door by 6. For a Monday, was surprising not that tired. Sunday rest day must of helped. Mile 1 was @ 7:45, faded a bit through the hills, but maintained at 8:15. Felt great for a Monday!

Tuesday: 3.11 miles. "Day off from work". New Year's day!, Happy New Year! Another good night's sleep, even slept in a few minutes. Neighbor's fireworks barely woke me up, slept like a log. Coffee, work out, foam roll, and head over to my trail. I don't usually go to my trail for 5k day often, but trying to get there as often as I can since daylight usually limits me to once a week right now. Was feeling pretty good beforehand, decided to do some speed work.. (At least for a bit.) Mile 1 started off around 7:15, tried to hold it there for a bit, but could feel it fading. Mile 1 @ 7:30, continued to fade a bit, but was fun to get out there and push it a bit harder than usual.

Pics are from mile markers 3.0-2.75.  From the mid parking lot (Welsh and Terwood Rd), about .12 to this entrance, which also includes bridge 6.  The parking lot to Byberry Rd (mile marker 5.25+) and back to the parking lot is about 5.2 miles. This is the more wooded side of the trail, I look forward to sharing 2.75-0.0. The scenery definitely changes a bit!

Full pics

Wednesday: 4 miles before work. A decent night's sleep, but a bit tired. Coffee, work out, hydrate, foam roll, out the door by 6. Felt great at first, even through the worst of the hills. Maybe a bit distracted and faded. Didn't push it when I realized it to get it back down, just went with it.

Thursday: 1 mile before work. Tried to seep in a few minutes since it's one mile day. Almost slept to my alarm, almost! lol... Coffee, work out, foam roll, hydrate, and out the door! Feeling pretty good this morning, decided to do work on pacing/breathing and a bit of speed. Through the first min, alert started with a 6. Alright, bound to fade a bit, but a good start! Maintained around 7:30.

Friday: 5 miles before work. Went to bed at a decent time Thu night. in la la land.. Work called overnight, was up for a bit. Back to bed, and actually slept to my alarm! Don't remember the last time I slept until my alarm (4:50) Coffee, slow to get started, work out, foam roll, and out the door around 6:05. 8:15 pace before the hills, 8:25 after.. was a bit groggy, took my hat and gloves off to wake myself up a bit more. A bit chilly, but helped. Got my pace back down to under 8:20

Saturday: 9 miles. "Long" run day, yay! Didn't get the best night's sleep Thursday, went to bed at a decent time Fri and didn't bother setting my alarm, up at 5:15. Took my time getting ready. Coffee, foam roll, and at my trail around 7:15. Rain with a wind chill of 38. Was a bit cold as I stepped out of my house, rethought my top layer. Went with my winter pullover. My trail  Pennypack Creek. Park in the middle (Welsh and Terwood). Did the more wooded side first (to Byberry Rd) and back. Pace 8:25. Was comfortable for the first mile, but warmed up. Eventually took off my hat and gloves. Passing my car at 5.25 mi, didn't hydrate, will have to get better at this as long runs get longer. Thought about changing tops as I passed my car (probably didn't need the winter pullover), but went with it.To the other side, gradual incline. Pace was 8:32 before turnaround, picked it up on the way back to maintain at 8:30.  Shoes soaked. Quads a bit heavy, but happy overall.
Trail pics are from mile markers 2.75-2.5. The mid parking lot and entrance to the other side.

Full pics

Sunday: Rest day, one for the streak. Run streak day 1,079. On shorter days I may be trying to go a bit faster than my training runs. I felt pretty good beforehand, foam rolled, etc. Once I started, I could definitely feel yesterday's run. Heard the first notification and was pleased, and kept with it. Maybe foolishly. lol..  Will be resting plenty remainder of the day. Hydration, foam roll again, and wear compression socks as I take it easy.

This was week 3 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled   25 mi / completed 28 mi
Strength training: scheduled  80 min/ completed 95 min
Foam roll:   7 days
Hydration goal met:  6 days (I slacked on NYE)

Spring Schedule 

03.31.19 - The Love Run! Love the Love Run Philadelphia half marathon! Check out my review from last yr, here.   Use code LOVEBR10 for 10% off!

04.06.19 - Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia. Use code BRHCPhilly to receive a free smart phone arm band. Check out my preview, here. 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G