Sunday, December 18, 2011

Weeks 4 and 5 in Training and keeping the holiday pounds at bay (sort of...)

Well, the first 5 weeks of my marathon training is done. I gotta admit it's been a little tricky trying to squeeze in training during the holidays. It seems like I have so much going on, especially because I've been working on some major projects for Christmas gifts and they've been super time consuming. I barely got in 3 runs during week 4 and on week 5 I had to cut my long run short to get to a Christmas breakfast at my church that I was cooking for and singing in. This time of year is just busy. Despite the condensed training I do feel like the runs I've done have all been solid and I think I'm still far enough out that a few missed miles will be okay.

So yeah, the tough thing about training during the holidays is the crunch for time. The awesome thing about training during the holidays is that I've semi managed to keep off the "winter storage" that I usually pack on between Halloween and Christmas.  I'm a major foodie, and even though for the most part I try to keep my food obsession in moderation, this time of year is my weakness. I always gain 8 to 10 lbs every holiday season, but I'm happy to say that this year I have only gained 2! Not because I've been eating better, still gotta have my sugar, but my winter belly is a little smaller this year because I actually have to put in some miles to keep up my training. ; ) Someday I might conquer my sugar addiction but at least for now I've got running to keep it in check.

Anyways, here's what my runs looked like for weeks 4 and 5. Still no snow on the ground so we've been able to do all our long runs outside. And when I say "we" I mean Taber and I, he's thinking about running DC too so we've been doing our long runs together. We've been able to get babysitters for the last 2 weeks and it is so worth the money to be able to 1) be done with our runs by 9am and not have to drag it out until the afternoon by taking turns and 2) run with the hottest guy ever : )

This Saturday my brother in law who is also training for DC will be in town so I'm excited for all of us to get in a nice Christmas eve 12 miler : ) Hope everyone has a great week and a very Merry Christmas!

Training Summary:


Week 4:
Monday: 3.63 miles doing intervals on treadmill. avg pace 8:16
Wednesday: 6 mile tempo run on treadmill: avg pace 8:07
Saturday: 11.8 miles outside: avg pace 8:55

Week 5:
Tuesday: 4 miles doing intervals on treadmill. avg pace 8:04
Wednesday: 6 mile tempo run on treadmill. avg pace: 7:58
Thursday: 1.5 quick run on treadmill: avg. pace 8:02
Friday: 3 mile tempo run on treadmill. avg pace 8:11
Saturday: 7 miles outside. avg pace 8:59

4 comments:

  1. Awww.... glad you guys can find someone to babysit for some alone running time together. I really love the runs with my hubby :)

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  2. Try to run the miles posted on your plan each week even if they are not on the scheduled days. Each week builds on the previous one and you don't want to all of a sudden jump too high in miles. It will help minimize injury. If you cannot get the entire run in all at once, break the miles up and run 3 in the morning and then the reest in the evening. You are such a strong runner. You are going to be awesome in your marathon. I think you are going to run it in under 3:55 for sure.

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  3. Man you are fast. Somehow I missed what marathon you were doing. DC?!?! I am so jealous!! DC is close to my heart since I went there a lot growing up (my half sister lived in Northern VA so my dad would take us to DC a lot). That is going to be awesome. I wish I could make a visit out there and cheer you guys on (Taber should totally do it, too). I can't wait to hear all about it.
    Great job on your training, your commitment during the holidays has been nothing short of inspiring!

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  4. Dude, I went to comment on your newest running post but the website says the page doesn't exist. Just wanted to say what an awesome job you did with the holidays and guests and all. I guess it didn't hurt that Kevin and Naomi were your guests. Great job and the kids look adorable with Santa. I love Cams hair. What a stud.

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