Weekly Running Report: February 28, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! 

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?  

How's the weather in your area? Affecting your training? Still getting it done or adding other activities to make up for it? 

Reminder, if you're just skimming my blog, lol..  reminder that I also have gear and race discount tabs/pages on my blog site to check out as well. :) #BibRavePro

This was Week 12 of 20 marathon training for Gettysburg North-South Marathon for me.

My Week in Training:

Monday: 6 miles. Sunday recovery, hydrated well, foam rolled, massage gun, light stretch. Did have a couple drinks out to dinner (@Fireside Bar and Grille), but was well behaved. In bed early to get some rest. Up once and again way before my alarm. Up! Coffee, 45 min strength training and out the door by 6. Still a little overall soreness from sat long run and lower back from shoveling, but not as bad as I expected. Cautiously checking for black ice (going to be plenty for a while, melt/refreeze daily), not that bad this morning. Wearing my speedy shoes(Saucony Endorphin Pro's), not that I was looking to go fast, but they certainly do make things a bit more comfortable. Off I go! Working on foot strike / breathing. First minute pace alert beyond my normal landmark. Comfortable. Two small hills shortly after. Breathing got a little harder for a few, but adjusted. Pacing 7:30's for a bit. Worst hills in mi 3-4. Fading to 7:40's. Things got a bit tougher, 7:50's and trying to stay sub 8. Also changed my plan for today's mileage. Sched for 45 min, I usually do 5, but since I was ahead of pace, didn't want to short the plan by 5 min. Going for 6! Hanging on to maintain, kept it around 7:50 overall. Post run, could feel my right shin throb a bit. Hoping this isn't an early sign of my shin splints returning. Will be sure to focus on recovery. 

Tuesday: 6 miles. Monday recovery, hydrated, foam rolled, ice my shins, stretch, and a decent night's rest. Up before my alarm again, but well rested. Coffee, 45 minute strength training and out the door by 6. So.. Monday morning.. forecast for an inch or so of snow with rain to wash it away. Wrong! Heavy snow most of the morning. There was some wintry mix mixed in, but never fully switched to rain to undo it. Stopped early/mid afternoon. Shoveled after work, and it was heavy! Township did a good job plowing/salting after. But there was a good amount of moisture left with freezing temps overnight. Was pretty sure I couldn't wear my speed shoes, didn't think there would be enough to require yaktrax. Went with trail shoes. Cautiously heads out. Streets had a light glaze, a few clear areas (rare), some frozen slush and thicker black ice  at intersections and bottoms of hills inclines. Pacing, glad I was able to get some speed in yesterday, scheduled for today, between heavy legs and mediocre grip, not happening. Pacing 8:15ish most of the way. The second street has a decline and poor lighting, that was interesting. Worst hills around mi 3-4... The first one not the steepest, decline first, got to an area couldn't get a grip the entire width of the street. Slid down for a bit. Didn't fall back, but was a close call. made it back up that hill. As approaching the two next hills, requires going down a very steep hill.. Got close to the decline and saw it would be a little more dangerous than the previous. Ended up skipping those two hills. Legs still heavy though. lol.. Saw the beginning of an awesome sunrise, but couldn't get a good spot for a pic. Overall pacing just under 8:30. Not a fan of the ice glaze today. Happy to be done.  Skipped two hills, but still got 400 ft. Would of preferred 5, but I'll take it. 

Wednesday: 7 miles. (supposed to be non-running day/short streak day?) . Tues recovery, well hydrated, foam rolled, light stretch, and a good night's rest. Up early! Relaxed/comfy, but eventually got up early. Coffee, 45 min strength training. Initially going to do 5ish, but figured since I had some time.. I might as well do what I want. Above freezing temps overnight, hoping for much less ice! Wearing my speedy shoes. Not that I felt that I could go fast, but with yesterday's run being slightly less fun, figured I may give it a whirl. Working on foot strike and breathing. First few minutes felt good. It's go time! Moving along. there did end up being some black ice at turnarounds, (where neighborhood streets meet busy rd) and at the bottom of inclines. Cautious at the turnarounds, etc. Felt the hills in mi 3-4. Could of easily let go, but tried to maintain focus. Nice ice patch between where two hills meet, but careful. Regrouped a bit after the hills to maintain sub 8. Rough, but fun! Will probably take it easy/comfy rest of the week, we'll see. lol.. 

Looking back, this was my fastest 7 miler yet! Would still like to try to beat it someday on a flatter surface. Someday... 

Thursday: 6 mi. Wed recovery, hydrated well, foam rolled, stretch, wore compression, and an excellent night's rest. Up before my alarm again. (all week so far) and ready to get going. Coffee, 45 min workout, foam roll my back and stretch my shins. Right shin feeling it a little at times. Going with a comfy pace, but it was a bit rough. Legs felt heavy before I got to the hills. Pace 8 ish till around 3 mi. Fading as expected, tried to focus for a bit to maintain, but didn't really help. lol.. Remainder of the way was maintaining sub 8:15. Probably could of faded a bit more, but hung in there. Crazy the difference a day makes. lol..  Oh, and above freezing temps overnight again. Only saw 2-3 intersections of ice. Very nice! 

Friday: 5 miles. Thu recovery, hydrated well, foam roll, light stretch and another decent night of rest. Up before my alarm all week, but was quality rest! Coffee, 45 min workout, foam roll my back, stretch the shin (not as bad today). And out the door by 6. Wearing my speedy shoes. Feeling decent, we shall see. First few min felt good, but pace slightly higher. Focused, breathing, moving along and it starts dropping. Felt good to push it and was comfortable for a bit. As always, felt the hills, especially in mi 3-4. Fading 7:50's, trying to hold sub 8. Was rough, but fun and done! Temps below freezing overnight, above freezing this morning. Only a few spots of ice, and I slid a bit across one of them. Close call, but fine. Post run, had a decent walk to cool down, bumped into a dog walker I've seen a million times but have never really spoken to, mostly just waves. Was nice to actually talk to. She mentioned she admired my dedication, that was also was nice. And I got to pet her doggie!

Saturday: 10 miles. Friday, hydrated well, foam roll, stretch, carb load, and a good night's rest. 

"Long" run day, trail day, yay! Finally back at the trails! First trail run of February, (tomorrow's the last day of Feb)! Still some snow here. But with a week mostly above freezing, curious as to how the melt is going on over at the trail. Probably would have stayed home another week if it wasn't for the facebook group 'Pennypack Trail Runners' providing condition updates. Stopped by my normal trail for a minute. (it's along the way). Pennypack Trail. Rail trail. Signs posted that there is no trail maintenance, and there isn't. One thing I was hoping for, the rangers and sometimes cops, drive the trail leaving tire tracks. If they drive back/forth a few times a day, was hoping it would be clear by now. There were some clear spots, but could see where the sun doesn't hit, which is plenty, there is still a layer of ice and snow. The Pennypack Trail Runners mentioned the Pennypack Park paved trail had been plowed/maintained. This trail is maybe 10 minutes further drive. Not bad. I have done a small portion of this trail before, but not as far. My main trail has a side trail from Lorimer to Pennypack Park. I have done a small portion when looking to add a few miles with less duplication of the other trail. 

Forecast, 35 degrees to start and rain. And it was. Wishing for rain to wash the snow away, will have to run through the rain that I wished for.  

When I left my house, wasn't sure what shoes I'd be wearing, pack three pairs! Yaktrax, trail, and long distance. When I was at the rail trail, briefly thought about running in the snow, I've had enough of that this yr. Will wait till I'm forced to again (hopefully not this season). Saw the paved rail, didn't feel the need for trail shoes. Comfy long distance shoe it is!
Paved trail, through the woods along the creek, closer to the creek than my regular trail. Multiple bridges to go under, a couple cool tall ones. A few more inclines than I was expecting. There was some long/wide/deep puddles, paths in the snow to go around.  Snow/ice to go around the puddle with mud slide back. A bit slippery. Raining. Eventually just splashed through the puddles, feet already a bit wet, now they are just more cold briefly. lol.. There wasn't too many people out, only saw 1 person in the first two miles. Maybe 10 overall. Multiple forks in the road. Most forks, were not paved, maybe one or two that were, but stayed along the water. Started my run from the parking lot, set Nike app to 10.2 to turn around slightly after 5. On the way back, a couple of the forks looked slightly different, but didn't get lost/add extra. Pace, tried not to obsess, going for 8:15, with the few obstacles, distractions, inclines, faded a bit on the way back. Occasionally trying to push to bring it back down. But happy day overall. 

One side note: didn't see any restrooms besides the parking lot! Non issue today, but besides nature, wonder what people do. One thing about the rail trail that I like, they have 4 restrooms over 5.5  miles! (peace of mind) 

Full / more trail pics on Facebook

Sunday: 3.11 miles. Saturday, hydrated well, foam rolled, stretch. Did eventually offset hydration with beverages at and after dinner. Stayed up slightly past my normal time and "slept" in till 7. Sore back and slow to get moving. Coffee, 30 min core workout, stretch my back out, and eventually out the door by 8:30. Supposed to rain all day, not bad yet. And off I go. Didn't think I would have much in the tank today. Started out faster than expected, and gradually faded most of the way. Pace started at 7:30 and tried to maintain to 7:45, rough and didn't really happen.  Will be sure to focus on recovery and behave today to start next week off right. 

Outside of Running: 

What did I do besides run, workout, work, and chores this week? One outing to dinner and a brewery. :) What shows/movies did I watch this week? Nomadland (not my choice or typical movie, but was interesting), The Simpsons (watched for many yrs, haven't lately, but saw they did a flashback ep to send off a long time voice actor that passed away ((Edna Krabappel(played by Marcia Wallace, RIP))), Supernova (not my choice/style, and a bit of a sad movie), Promising Young Woman, WandaVision (cant believe there's only 1 episode left!), and some basketball. 

Q: How about you? Anything exciting outside of running? Any adventures? Or binge watching anything?

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 43.3 weekly miles running completed 

Month End: Despite all that snow, my farthest February yet! 

Year to date: 400.6 miles running

Hill Goal (for the yr):   22726/100k elevation gain. Initial goal 100k to beat last yr's 98k. 

Strength Training: Goal 180 minutes, 295 minutes completed. What type of strength training do I do? Core: crunches, planks, leg raises. Weights: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest. 

Hydration Goal:  7 days 

Foam Roll: 7 days 

Training Plan:  Week 12 of 20 using the below training plan. Plan titled "Advanced", please note, I in no way consider myself advanced. I have used the intermediate plan for four seasons, and want to try the next level. We shall see if I survive! lol.. 

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Race Schedule: 

04.25.2021 Gettysburg North-South Marathon

Be sure to check out my Race and Gear discount pages from my blog site. #BibRavePro ;)

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races(virtual or IRL), please remember to review them on BibRave.com! 

Weekly Running Report: February 21, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! 

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?  

How's the weather in your area? Affecting your training? Still getting it done or adding other cross training to make up for it? We had another round of snow this week. Seems like this stuff may never go away. lol..  

Reminder, if you're just skimming my blog, lol..  reminder that I also have gear and race discount tabs/pages on my blog site to check out as well. :) #BibRavePro

This was Week 11 of 20 marathon training for Gettysburg North-South Marathon for me.

My Week in Training:

 
Monday: 6 miles. sun recovery, hydrated, foam rolled, massage gun, TENS gadget, toe spreaders, etc. With having the day off, did partake in a few SundayFunday beverages, and stayed up past my bed time. Tired! Coffee, 47 min strength training, 6 mi done. Pretty much a through the motion kind of day. Comfortable 8:15-8:20 ish till hill time, just happy to keep it under 8:30 to survive. Legs heavy and tired throughout. Will be sure to focus on recovery to get back at it tomorrow! Temps slightly above freezing today and really going up tomorrow, hoping this snow melts! 

Tuesday: 6 miles. Monday recovery, hydrated well, foam roll, stretch, and a better night's rest. Coffee, workout (30 min now, 15 min at lunch), and out the door shortly after 6. Rain overnight, temps may be near freezing overnight but going up today. Already at 36 degrees by go time. Cautiously goes out to check the conditions, no ice! Misty to rain throughout, with streams of melt on the sides of the street. Have been wishing for some rain to wash away the snow, guess I have to run through it now! lol.. "speed" day, always wonder if I have any in me before starting. The never being completely fresh always causes some anxiety. A little lower back pain before this morning had me wondering. Anyhow, I digress.. Starts working on breathing, and I'm off! breathing and foot strike on point to start. Pacing faster than expected (1st alert started with a 6. not realistic, but nice). A couple small hills early and back into rhythm. Pacing 7:30's. Goal to survive my later hills and maintain to 7:45. Worst hills in mi 3-4. Survived, but feeling heavy legs post hills. Maintained, rough, but fun! Splish-splashing in a few spots (just have to laugh that off (assuming you aren't falling from the pot holes), misty/rain was invigorating! 

Wednesday: 5 miles. Tue recovery, hydrated, foam rolled (definitely needed it, a bit stiff after sitting at my desk for so long), had a drink at dinner, but hydrated/well behaved. Decent rest. Coffee, workout(30 min now, 15 min at lunch), and out the door by 6. Doing 5 miles today. Supposed to be rest/non running day, but felt fine, and wanted to do more than 5k.. Hopefully that doesn't affect tomorrow's 7 and/or Sat long run. Tues, the temps went up! Almost 50 degrees! Snow melted some, but still not enough. And the temps went right back down! 20's. With all that melt and then freeze, wasn't sure what the roads would be like today. Roads were fine!  There was a few spots of black ice at a couple intersections and at the bottom of inclines. One intersection the ice was spread pretty wide, very cautious there. Pacing, will probably go "comfy" the next few days. Started out sub 8, but 8's as the inclines/hills added up. Close to 8:15 towards the end, started to try to keep it there but faded a little more just before ending. Felt pretty decent overall. And was nice to see the sunrise towards the end and during my cool down. The sun has been hiding for too long! 

Thursday: 7 miles. Wed recovery, hydrated well, foam rolled, decent rest. Went to bed with anticipation of a snow storm. Grabbing my coffee, looks out, yup, it's started! Scheduled to start at 4, and it did! Light covering at 5 am. With warnings of a few inches an hour. Thought I heard the plow go by while I was getting ready. Short core workout (break from weights since I'll be shoveling) and out the door by 6. Plow did not come by yet! 'Doh! No tracks at all on my street yet. Pacing, "comfy" pace. Would prefer 8:30-8:45, but couldn't control it today. Hung at 8:30 for a bit, not long. Every other street didn't have tire tracks yet. Probably should of worn pants. Could feel the snow kicking back at me. Midway, shin started to hurt a bit, not a good day for shin splints (as if there are any good days to have them). More streets started to have some tracks to work with. but some were more of a slush than compacted snow. I did see the plow, but they weren't plowing yet. Not sure if they were salting/brining, but definitely no plow yet. Opposite end of the neighborhood, my toughest hill, no tracks at all! ugh. lol.. Got through it. Survived. Snow is a little fun the first couple times of the season, think I've had enough. it can go now. lol.. Winter advisory in effect till tomorrow, hoping it's a little more clear tomorrow. We shall see! As I was finishing, saw my shoes, ice formed around my ankles, that's a first! Maybe that's why my shin didnt bother me anymore, too numb to notice?! lol.. beard-cicle was a little better than expected as well! Can usually tell, didn't notice till selfie time! Round 1 shoveling done before work, 2 at lunch, and 3 after work/dinner. 

Friday: 4 miles. Thu recovery, hydrated, foam rolled, stretched, and a decent night's rest. Did participate in Thirsty Thursday, via a virtual work happy hour. We haven't had one of those since early pandemic! Was nice catching up with co-workers not talking too much shop. but I digress. . Behaved and hydrated. Did wake up in some pain from shoveling. Shoulder and back. Mostly left shoulder. Slept until my alarm. Coffee, short workout (core only, taking a break from weights to recover from shoveling). Out the door around 6. Plenty of snow yesterday, called for 8 inches, may have gotten 10. Done early enough, plows did a good job. My street was pretty clear, but wore my yaktrax anyway. Good thing I did, rest of my hood still had plenty of slush! A few streets up, past the plow salting a couple times. Pacing, staying comfortable, hopefully 8:30 ish. Started out slightly slower and got it down there. Legs were tired though. Between the hills and the yaktrax and slush, heavy legs. Today's sched calls for 30 min, and I usually round to the next mi. Thought about ending at 30, but stuck to my orig plan. Beginning of my route, skipped a couple flatish streets to make sure I got all of my hills in at least once. Timed just about right. Shooting for 400 ft in hills, think I'd have to skip one more street and repeat a hill to make that happen. Maybe next time. Hoping the roads will be more clear tomorrow, a little anxiety going into the weekend to do an 18 miler in my hood (repetitive, boring, hills). Ready for the snow to melt to get back to trails! 

Saturday 18 miles. Fri recovery, hydrated, foam rolled, carb load, relax, and in bed on time. Decent rest and up before my alarm. Coffee and taking my time. Wasn't looking fwd to today, but through the motions of my routine. Ate a small breakfast. Out the door after daylight, 6:45 ish. Plan basically do my 8 my route x2 and add more somewhere... Boring route to me. 8 mi route includes most of my 10 or so streets being done twice. So I'll be doing most streets 4x today. Yesterday there was plenty of slush. Some sun, some salt, but a little more snow. Just a little more than a covering. Not planning on wearing yaktrax, hoping I don't have to wear trail shoes, planning on using my long distance shoe. Pacing, planning on comfy pace 8:30-8:45. Trying not to fade past 9-9:09. I usually start out slightly fast, not today. Started out right at 8:30. Wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. Like yesterday, my street was somewhat clear, next wasn't that bad. But.. most streets had a little solid ice in spots, at intersections, and a good amount at the turnarounds. (each street leads to a busy rd I turn around at). Extra cautious at the turnarounds.. especially when I went to take a pic, I slid when I came to a stop! Non issue, but unexpected. Next street or two may of had better views of the sunrise, I wasn't taking anymore pics. Worst hills at the opposite end of my route, bottoms of two the hills meet, widespread area of ice. Wasn't going to skip that last hill. Cautiously walked through that each time. Maintained 8:28-8:32ish through my first 8 mi route of my hood. Forgot to hydrate as I passed my house at 8 mi. 'doh! Round 2. Started to feel like through the motions. Forgot to fuel and could feel it, fueled at 10 mi. Started to feel a little better. On the way back from the opposite end (2nd time), knew I would have to add 2 miles to my 16 mi route somewhere. (or just triple part of my route). There is a nearby apartment complex that has a 1/3 mi loop and a decent sized parking lot. Last time I was in there, they were slacking on road maintenance. Not today! Very well plowed and salted. Did three out and backs across their parking lot and a couple loops. Back to my hood with under 3 to go. Pace slipping a bit, but not caring, not too bad, and feeling it. and done! That extra mileage in the complex was almost perfect. Only had to go .1 past my house. lol.. Overall pace within goal. Happy to be done. Did the first and last streets of my route twice, most streets between four times. All out and backs. Lots of duplication there. Figured it would be 12-1400 ft elevation gain, 13. 2 hills 4x, 2 hills 2x, 1 hill 1x. Anxiety going in, but having doing my 16 here two weeks ago gave some confidence. Still hope the snow is clear enough at my trail in two weeks for my 20 miler. lol..    

Didn't think I'd have energy to do some extra shoveling.. but a couple hours later was on a roll with chores and felt ok enough. "extra" as in a nice to have done. Don't need my generator at the moment (knock on wood), but like to have a clear path in case. 

Sunday: 4 miles. Saturday recovery, Epsom bath, hydrated very well, foam roll, relax. Did have a few beverages, but well behaved (for a Saturday). lol.. In bed at a decent time. Up overnight, back sore and tight! It was rough. Didn't sleep in today. Coffee, core workout, foam roll my back, did take aleve. Eventually felt decent enough to head out. I know I keep saying I'm going to cut back on streak/rest days, but figured any mile would be rough, might as well do what I wanted. Was going to do 3, but saw 4 would cap my week at 50. Haven't done a 50 mi week in a while. First couple min were slow, and questioned my plans through the first hill, but kept through. Pace better than expected. Was just hoping for 8:30, but kept sub 8 remainder of the way. Hills were rough, thought about avoiding them but didn't. And even had to do one twice because a car was blocking the road at top, down and back up I went. Will be sure to focus on recovery today and behave myself. 

Outside of Running: 

What did I do besides run, workout, work, and chores this week?  Not much. What shows/movies did I watch this week? The Office, House Hunters (not by choice, lol.. ), Barb  and Star (was not what we expected, a little bizarre, but still a little funny), WandaVision (loving it!), Harry Potter 5&6 (also not my choice, but figured I get my spouse to watch sports and plenty of MCU and other shows, I could stick it out, lol.. )

Q: How about you? Anything exciting outside of running? Any adventures? Or binge watching anything?

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 50 miles running completed 

Year to date: 357.2 miles running

Hill Goal (for the yr):   19947/100k elevation gain. Initial goal 100k to beat last yr's 98k. 

Strength Training: Goal 180 minutes, 226 minutes completed. What type of strength training do I do? Core: crunches, planks, leg raises. Weights: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest. 

Hydration Goal:  7 days 

Foam Roll: 7 days 

Training Plan:  Week 11 of 20 using the below training plan. Plan titled "Advanced", please note, I in no way consider myself advanced. I have used the intermediate plan for four seasons, and want to try the next level. We shall see if I survive! lol.. 

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Race Schedule: 

04.25.2021 Gettysburg North-South Marathon

Be sure to check out my Race and Gear discount pages from my blog site. #BibRavePro ;)

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races(virtual or IRL), please remember to review them on BibRave.com! 

Weekly Running Report: February 14, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! 

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?  

How's the weather in your area? Affecting your training? Still getting it done or adding other cross training to make up for it?  We had one small snow storm this week, cool temps most of the week, snow from 1-2 weeks ago not going anywhere! Another possible storm on the way.. :(

Reminder, if you're just skimming my blog, lol..  reminder that I also have gear and race discount tabs/pages on my blog site to check out as well. :) #BibRavePro

This was Week 10 of 20 marathon training for Gettysburg North-South Marathon for me.

My Week in Training:

Monday: 8 miles. Sunday recovery, Epsom bath, was sure to foam roll, massage gun, and hydrate very well before any Super Bowl Shenanigans.  Had a few beverages, stayed up past my bed time. Day off from work Monday, plans to sleep in. Up right at my normal time. Tried for a while to go back to sleep, not happening. Coffee, workout (core, arms/shoulders/chest), and eventually out the door by 8:30. Scheduled for 6 today, 8 tomorrow, flipping it since I have more time today. Legs still feeling Sat long run and tired, going with a comfortable pace, felt decent at first, but tired, and then the hills added up. Pretty much a tired, through the motions kinda day. Definitely not a fan of my hills today. Would of gone to my flatish trail since I'm off today, but too much snow on the ground. 

Tuesday: 6 miles. Monday recovery, hydrated very well, foam roll, massage gun. In bed on time, up several times, but still a much better night's rest than the day before. lol.. Up before my alarm, decent workout in and out the door by 6. Legs were pretty tired yesterday, but slightly better today. Pace much more comfortable. Sub 8 for about 4, fading through my hills. Maintaining rest of the way. Watch sync issues after my run, grrr. At least I figured out how to take a screen shot of my watch, Still mad that my hills wont be counted towards the strava monthly hill challenge. lol.. 

Wednesday: 3.11 miles. Tuesday recovery, hydrated well, foam roll, and stretch. Decent night's rest, but up a few times with funky dreams. Up before my alarm, but comfy, resisted until the alarm went off. Coffee, workout, and out the door around 6:15. usually do 5k on what should be "non-running" day on Wed/Sun. I have been invited to do a virtual 5k this week. Please be sure to check out the cause and donate if possible. Run4Beigel. 

Legs not fresh, but when are they on these days. lol.. Hoping for a respectable outing. Temps around 20. A little ice melt yesterday for possible black ice in the morning. (for the foreseeable future.) Mostly around intersections, etc, but middle of the street is mostly ok. Assuming there's no traffic. lol.. My 5k route is also closed due to snow/ice. (sidewalk only/busy road) Keeping today's route to the first four (short) streets in my hood. First couple streets are flat! Off to a good start. breathing took a few minutes to adjust with the cold air and increased speed. Hill connecting the streets, felt it! Next couple streets have inclines on their returns. Pace fading.  My last street, got stuck behind the trash truck! Wasn't going to pause or slowly go around. Instead, kept going up to it and back, several times. .1-.2 and slowly going further. Only had .5 to go. Done! Pace was close to my goal. Don't think I could do much better without rest and/or flattening out my route even more.

Thursday: 7 miles. Wed recovery, hydrated well, foam roll, and in bed on time. Decent rest. Up at least once, and then slept till the alarm, a rarity! On my way to grab coffee, looks out window, yup, more snow! Forecast was 2-4 inches. Coffee, short workout. Had my gear ready, but got ready early just in case had to gather a few more things. Out the door a few min early, also in case my run goes over my est time. Few inches of snow on my stoop/driveway/sidewalk. but... road looking good! Heard the plow go by at least once in the past hour, they must have gone by more than that! Pretty clear with some slush! Temp below freezing, they must of used a decent amount of salt/brine. I'll take it! Still going with my yak trax. First couple streets weren't that bad. But then I started to hit the secondary streets, not as clear. Every other street was either clear/wet/ some slush or wet/slush. Pace started out better than expected, but as the inclines and effort from snow added up, started to fade. Pace was right on target for 7mph. I'll take it! Expected much worse when I head out the door! Round of shoveling done, only 5 min late to work. Not too shabby! 

Friday: 5 miles. TGIF, am I right? lol.. Thu recovery, hydrated well, foam roll, and decent rest. Did have a couple beverages, but well behaved. Slept until the alarm again. Maybe a little tired. Coffee, got going with my workout, and out the door a few min after 6. Brisk! 20 degrees. Not seeing much black ice when I was starting out, this could be good sign. Took a few min o warm up, but able to bring my pace down. Pacing 7:40. Have been seeing plenty black ice in spots and at my end of street turnarounds, few streets in, still not seeing much today! A hill early, a couple inclines, but my worst set of hills is around mi 3-4. Still enjoying my pace before I got there. Trying to keep focus, maintain breathing, etc. Faded slightly but still sub 8 (7:50) post hills. A little rough through the hills and after to maintain, but was fun!  

Saturday: 12 miles. Fri recovery, hydrated well, foam roll (didn't feel like it, but could tell I may need it), decent rest. Up slightly late for a Fri night (10pm), and slept until my alarm. Still too much snow to do a trail run. Temps just aren't going up for it to melt anytime soon. And when it does, it refreezes overnight for an ice morning. And there may be more snow on the way early next week, blah! Really hope not, scheduled for 18 miler next week! But I digress... Coffee, 30 min core workout, and out the door by 7. Basically doing my 8 mi route x2. Plan similar to last week. Patient and comfortable through round 1 to survive a second dose of hills in round 2. Started out slightly fast and pulled back. Feeling pretty comfortable at 8:15-8:20 (although planned on doing closer to 8:30ish). Maintained through round 1 and faded slightly in round 2. Round 2 skipping a few streets (doing 4 mi of 8 mi route), went straight for the hills that are on the opposite end to make sure I got them in for the second round. Got 2 hills in 4x, 2 hills in 2x, plus 1 big one in mi 8 turnaround. Started the year trying to do a few extra hills, the snow forcing me to do them! lol.. My trail run is mostly flat unless I choose to add hills off the main route. Don't have that option here. My neighborhood route already has a portion closed due to snow. (sidewalk only on busy rd). Took a quick peak at that sidewalk, way too much ice! Keeping it street only is much safer! Overall happy with today's run. Better than expected. Just bored with neighborhood, miss my trail. 

Sunday:  5 miles. Saturday recovery, Epsom bath (very relaxing and defrosting!), hydrated, foam roll. Plenty of chores, but made time to relax after. Did have a couple beverages with dinner/after, but hydrated along. up past my bed time, the one night a week I don't force myself to adhere to it. Slept in 'till 7! Coffee, 30 min core workout, taking my time getting ready, out the door after 9. "Rest" day, usually do 1-3.11 mi, I guess since i felt decent and having off work tomorrow I cant take my time getting tomorrow done, added a little more. Temped to do more, but knowing towards the end of next week will be rough, tried not to over dot it. Hopefully it doesn't make Mon/Tues any more rough than it will be.  Out the door after 9. Freezing rain last night, coating of ice on the stoop, driveway, and sidewalk. Slowly ice skated down. Rethinking my intentions.. But roads were very well treated! Started out a bit slow, but got into my groove. 8:10-15ish. Maintained through the hills and added a rough one at the end. Roads were fine throughout except at maybe 1-2 turnarounds and at the bottom of a hill. Cautious and paying attention, no issues. Will be sure to focus on recovery to be somewhat ready to take on the week! Also.. possible snow storm Mon/Tues, praying for higher temps to wash it away! 

Outside of Running: 

What did I do besides run, workout, work, and chores this week?  What shows/movies did I watch this week? The Office, South Park, Family Guy, Vanishing at the Cecil, WandsVision, maybe some other Marvel movies, and a little bit of basketball. One outing to The Metropolitan.  

Q: How about you? Anything exciting outside of running? Any adventures? Or binge watching anything?

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 46.3 miles running completed 

Year to date: 306.9 miles running

Strength Training: Goal 180 minutes, 298 minutes completed. What type of strength training do I do? Core: crunches, planks, leg raises. Weights: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest. 

Hydration Goal:  7 days 

Foam Roll: 7 days 

Training Plan:  Week 10 of 20 using the below training plan. Plan titled "Advanced", please note, I in no way consider myself advanced. I have used the intermediate plan for four seasons, and want to try the next level. We shall see if I survive! lol.. 

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Race Schedule: 

04.25.2021 Gettysburg North-South Marathon

Be sure to check out my Race and Gear discount pages from my blog site. #BibRavePro ;)

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races(virtual or IRL), please remember to review them on BibRave.com! 

Weekly Running Report: February 7, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! 

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?  

How's the weather in your area? Affecting your training? Still getting it done or adding other cross training to make up for it?  We've had some now, black ice, and more snow on the way (outside of Philly). 

Reminder, if you're just skimming my blog, lol..  reminder that I also have gear and race discount tabs/pages on my blog site to check out as well. :) #BibRavePro

This was Week 9 of 20 marathon training for Gettysburg North-South Marathon for me.

My Week in Training: 

Monday: 6 miles... Sunday, focused on recovery, hydrate, foam roll, massage gun, relax. A couple SundayFunday beverages, but well behaved.. So, Sunday.  Current forecast of 10-15 inches of snow Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning. Started earlier than forecasted, snow for a couple hours, wintry mix, and back to snow. Plows out at least once by Monday morning. Well rested. Coffee, short workout (30 min (core only, avoiding weights until I'm done shoveling). Out the door by 6. Going to try not to worry about pace for a few days and just get 'r done. Soft snow, with tire tracks from the plow. Manageable, but with the yaktrax and snow, definitely feeling inclines and hills. Won't be doing my fav (or least fav hill) for a while. Loop around the hood is sidewalk only (busy rd), that won't be shoveled, and even when it is, there are a few slackers (residential and/or bus). But I did add one hill that is not part of my normal route. 450 ft elev gain overall which is about normal for my normal 6 mi. Round 2 of shoveling done before work. Briefly looked like it was going to clear up, nope, snow all day. Round 3 shoveling done after work/dinner. 

Tuesday: 7 mi. Monday, hydrated, foam roll, and tired. Decent rest, up just before my alarm. Coffee, 30 min core workout, and out the door by 6. Another round of snow overnight! Plows done last night, but another good coating. They were just getting started as I was. A little more rough today. Every other street hasn't been plowed done yet. Working through powder. Tired. Briefly thought about cutting back and adding to another day, didn't want to stray from the plan. Pretty similar route as yesterday, although I did add a mile around a apartment complex that has a nice loop. Thought it would have been a little more clear in that complex. Nope! Round 4 of shoveling done before work. (actually late to work) usually done running by 7. A few min late. Work at 7:30, wasn't don't and clean until 7:45. No worries. Snow is supposed to clear up, hope it finally does! Update: light shoveling later in the day, not that bad.

Wednesday: 3.11 miles. Tues, hydrated well, foam rolled, could of gotten a better night's rest! In bed on time, but wasn't ready. And then up every other hour throughout the night. Coffee all day (for sure!). Shoulder still hurt from shoveling, but getting back into weights today. 45 min strength training, and out the door a few min after 6. Supposed to be "non-running" day, and even thought about doing just one for the streak today, but ended up doing 5k. Cautious 5k, don't think I could of done much speed anyway, legs recovering, but still tired from snow running. etc. Slush and black ice in spots. Cautious throughout, but almost fell after my run! Took my eyes off the road during my cool down. Strolling down the street, looking at my devices, almost slid across black ice at the corner intersection, 'doh! Wil be sure not to do that again!

Thursday: 6 miles. Wed, hydrated well, foam rolled and was sure to get a better night's rest! Up once, but much better! Coffee, workout (30 min now, 15 at lunch), roll my back out and out the door by 6. Heading out the door., can already tell there will be no speedwork yet.. black ice on my stoop and driveway.  lol.. Once past the first intersection (right at the beginning of my run) Things got a little better. Center of the road was good. Still plenty of snow banks to the side (narrowing the street), but some clear street to work with. Each street isn't that far out and back, black ice at the turnarounds and intersections. Every other side street, can tell which ones are primary to the ER snow route vs secondary. Definitely a little more ice on the road every other street. My route is already shortened by not doing the loop around, have to do these streets, just cautiously. Got some decent strides in some of the clear areas, but not for long. And of course felt it as the hills added up. Pace better than how it felt, but still can't wait till normal conditions. Not sure how my long run is going to go, oh and there's another snow storm possibility on Sunday. booo. lol..

Friday: 4 miles. Thu, hydrated well, failed to foam roll, 'doh! Did participate in Thirsty Thursday a bit, but behaved. Up a few min past bed time, 9:30. Decent rest and up just before my alarm. Coffee, short workout, and out the door a few min after 6. Temps above freezing most of yesterday, but dropped back down. Snow melting, but a little refreeze. Was hoping the black ice would be gone, but still have a little. Rain in the forecast in a bit, but.. Snow to wintry mix for my run!  Since I'm still not doing much speedwork, head straight towards my hills. Hills usually start around mi 2, did a straight line towards them, started around .75. Did each of my three hills avail twice. Probably had distance/time for another set, but worked my way back. Felt them. lol.. The wintry mix started laying a bit more on my way back, had to be pretty cautious the last mi or so. Ended up 300+ ft over 4 mi. Probably could of exceeded 400 in 4 mi if I did that one more round. Nah.. I was good with two rounds. lol..  Temps mid 40's later, hope more melts! But still too much snow to do a trail run tomorrow. :(

Saturday: Long run day, trail day, yay! 16 miles. Fri, hydrated really well, foam rolled, carb load, and relaxed. Decent night's rest. Was not looking fwd to today's run.  Still too much snow, not going to the trail today. keeping it 'hood. Two reasons why I wasn't looking fwd to it, first, my 7 mi route has some duplication, that means some streets will be quadrupled. Boring! Second reason.. hills! My 7 mi route has 500+ elevation gain. Knew this would be 11-1200+. Going to be rough. Two goals. No daydreaming. Streets are clear, but black ice at intersections and at the ends of the streets. Doing my 11 or so streets up to 4x, that's up to 40+ turnarounds with some black ice. Fun times. Second goal. Patience. Don't treat my first round like a normal 7 mi 'hood run. Keep comfortable pace to survive the second round. Up before my alarm and taking my time, hydrate, roll my back out, and out the door after 6:30. To start, head down my street, that I almost never run on, usually take off to the street that leads to rest of the 'hood. Added just a little. To my normal route, there is another street I have never run on right away! It's a nice hill! Remainder of the way is my normal route with full out and backs. The first mi was faster than planned, but continuously pulled back. Cruising in the 8:20's. Sunrise starting, each street heading towards the sun, trees/power lines/roof tops, couldn't really get a good pic. :(  Three hills at the end of my hood. (around 4 mi) Made it through the first round of hills. After 5mi, done every street at least once, working my way back, time to start duplicating. Sun warming up, interesting to see one street had a stream of melt, where the rest still had black ice. Back near the start, did the new hill, and passed 8 mi. Back at the starting point, added one more hill! My street has a very steep hill (that I never do, it's levels before my starting point. Went down and up. 8.something. done. Pace around 8:30. Time to start round 2 of my hood route! Skipped hydrating when I passed my house, 'doh!  hanging in there. Fueled later than normal, and could tell I needed it. A little lightheaded. Tired in my second round of the three hills at the end of my hood, but made it through, and added that new one at the end of my run. Fun times. Pace: was hoping to survive at 8:45-9, but went much better than planned! Think trying to focuson keeping it comfortable early instead of pushing it through helped. Ended with 1200+ elevation gain. I usually avoid my hood for double digit days, but today I proved to myself that I can do it if need be.  Shortly after my run, did an extra round of shoveling before the next storm tomorrow.  Extra, as in a path to our backyard, basement door, and clear a path to the generator in case we need it. Sheet of ice with a few inches of snow. hard, and heavy! (that's what she said! (yes, immature and quote The Office a bit too much))

Sunday: 3.11 miles. Saturday, foam roll, hydrated very well, stretch, and a good night's rest. Did have a beverage or two with/after dinner, but well hydrated. Up around 6:30. Coffee, check the weather, 35 and rain! Roads are clear! 30 min core workout and routine. Well.. Temp dropped and heavy snow started as predicted! Coating quick! Forecast mentioned up to 2 inches per hour, and they got it right! Definitely need my yak trax already. Cautious 5k done. Felt yesterday's run and the extra effort needed for snow and yak trax. Towards the end, added a hill for fun. lol.. Snow forecast 6 inches, ending before Super bowl time. Will be doing another round of shoveling later. Blah! 

Outside of Running: 

What did I do besides run, workout, work, and chores this week? Not much besides shoevling. lol// 

What shows/movies did I watch this week? Groundhog day, The Office, South Park, Family Guy, WandaVision, Soul, and How it really happened. (murder documentary), basketball. Two outings to dinner. Farm and Fisherman (farm to table restaurant) and Mad Mex 

Q: How about you? Anything exciting outside of running? Any adventures? Or binge watching anything?

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 45.5 miles running completed 

Year to date: 260.6 miles running

Strength Training: Goal 180 minutes, 240 minutes completed. What type of strength training do I do? Core: crunches, planks, leg raises. Weights: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest. 

Hydration Goal:  7 days 

Foam Roll: 6 days 

Training Plan:  Week 9 of 20 using the below training plan. Plan titled "Advanced", please note, I in no way consider myself advanced. I have used the intermediate plan for four seasons, and want to try the next level. We shall see if I survive! lol.. 

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Race Schedule: 

04.25.2021 Gettysburg North-South Marathon

Be sure to check out my Race and Gear discount pages from my blog site. #BibRavePro ;)

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races(virtual or IRL), please remember to review them on BibRave.com!