Let's run a marathon (Recap Week 6 of 16)

6 weeks down, 10 weeks to go. I officially hit double digits, people! Yeah buddy.
How I’m feeling this week:
I’m feeling pretty good. Kind of tired, but when it actually comes time to run, I feel good and ready to go. I keep the RICE-ing up, and that’s helping. Just a bit of pain all up my left leg in today’s long run. IT band? I will keep on stretching it out. But the shin splints are not bad at all. (Knock on wood.) Another thing happening is with my new shoes. The tongue of the shoe is sort of hurting the top of my foot bone. I adjusted it today during the run, which helped, but only lasted a few miles before it acted up again. I’m attributing this to still breaking them in. I hope.
Also, here’s some TMI: I have to PEE, like every 10 minutes. I typically don’t talk about my bathroom habits on the internet, because that’s gross, but when it comes to running, you have to. This is directly related to all the fluids I’ve been ingesting. This should be fun the remaining 10 weeks. (P.S. For a fantastic post on keeping it real in the #2 area, click here.) It’s important to track your bathroom habits while training because that can make or break your race.
Anyways….
What I ran this week:

• Tuesday 2/21: 5.01 miles, 1:00:09 (11:59 average pace), treadmill (including TUT 10 minutes plus a couple minutes of walking)
  
• Thursday 2/23: 7.01 miles, 1:13:50 (10:30 average pace), treadmill, mostly flat
• Sunday 2/25: 10.05 miles, 1:42:49 (10:13 average pace), road, hilly for about 25% of the time

TOTAL: 22.07 miles, 3:56:48 (on par with my training schedule)

Since I am in double digits now, I am going to start posting my long run splits each week to compare and see how I am trending. I LOVE Garmin Connect. Splits this week for my 10-miler:

Very happy with this run. Can you tell from above that I am better outside than in? The treadmill I cannot run fast on in the beginning for some reason. It’s my nemesis. Outside > inside.

So yesterday I was signed up and ready to partake in the Spring Thaw, a yearly Pittsburgh tradition. It usually is in February, when normal winter weather is happening. Yesterday wasn’t any different. But I punked out. The cold doesn’t usually prohibit me from running. Just take last year’s Cupid’s Chase. However, yesterday it was WINDY, and I had to run 10 miles. 10 miles with snow and wind whipping in your face plus freezing temps doesn’t really bode well for your lungs and eyes. So when I saw it would be 45 and sunny Sunday (today), I decided to forgo the race (although I am pissed I wasted money) and went back to bed. Then I got up and made pancakes. Worth it. And I don’t care if this makes me a wuss and not hardcore. You know why else it was worth it? This (and the pic above) was what I got to run in today:

How I cross-trained this week:
40 minutes Pilates (at home from On Demand)
Instead of being lazy yesterday, I did pilates to make up for my lack of cross training. This is an example of rearranging your training but still making it all happen. Which I expect will happen a few more times in the next 10 weeks.

What I ate this week:
Business as usual in the eats department. After the gym on Thursday night I decided to hit up the Vitamin Shoppe afterward since I had never been in one. Boy have I been missing quite the gem! They not only have tons of vitamins, but all kinds of bars plus gels, Nuun AND Amazing Grass. I thought they only sold that stuff at Whole Foods. It was awesome. Here’s my haul:

Roadblocks this week:
The new job started this week, so I had to adjust my schedule accordingly. Which worked out just fine. I was just a little tired since I am now getting up around 6:30, which is earlier for me (I’m more of a 7 a.m. kind of girl). Will be in the groove shortly. Also — I forgot my socks Thursday night at the gym. Luckily they sold some (and there’s an Old Navy a few doors down), but it reminded me to pack some extras in my gym bag. Or in the trunk of my car.
Goals for the week ahead:
Continue the momentum. Week 2 of the new job starts tomorrow, which means really getting into it. So hours will build up. It’s important to fit it all in (especially my run Thursday, which will be 7 miles and those runs will just continue to increase each week). I am shooting for all runs on Thursdays to be after work, and Tuesdays take it week by week. Some mornings, but mostly evenings since I am not a fan of morning runs (on weekdays). Also, I need to get my buns to yoga. Stretching in the heat is what my poor bottom half needs with all this stress on my legs and hips!
This week’s running topic: Running with a watch or phone app
Back in the day, I used to just run. No fancy gadgets or technology (except for my iPod for music, and before that — my DISCMAN, baby!). No gels or weird running belts. I usually didn’t no how far I went, but I probably averaged about 3 miles per run. Then I got into races and learned about all the fun running stuff. When I trained for my first half marathon, I had no app or watch to track my miles. I literally drove my route before running so I was on par with my training schedule. I remember when I did my first 10-miler in downtown Pittsburgh my parents came with me and we drove it prior. And then I ran with a bottle of Fiji Water in my hand the entire time. Weird. Anyway, I started reading running blogs and kept hearing about Garmins and Nike+. Since I didn’t have an iPhone (and my iPod is from 2003), I decided to get a Garmin. Actually, my mom bought me one for my birthday. WOW. That thing totally changed running for me.
There are lots of models of Garmins in lots of price ranges. I have the FR60. This is the official page from the Garmin website. The model I got retails for $99. Unfortunately, it just measures time and heart rate, so I had to buy the additional foot pod to track pace, distance, and calories. I bought mine straight from Garmin.com for $70, which included shipping. I also had to get the stick additionally to track all this stuff online and sync with your computer in these handy snapshots. Luckily, I just called Garmin and they sent it to me for free, but you may not be so lucky. I like to smooth talk. So if I had to do it over again, I’d return my original model and get the FR60 Women’s Black Bundle (includes foot pod, USB ANT stick, and Heart Rate Monitor) for $199.
I came across this post while searching for FR 60 reviews, from the DC Rainmaker blog. It is a really great review of the product. As far as accuracy goes when I am running, I’d say it’s about 90% spot-on. It is usually ahead of official time in races, but not by much.
There are so many handy trackers out there (Run Keeper, Daily Mile, Nike+, etc.) so do your research before investing in what you’re going to do. I would love to get a Garmin with GPS, which is way more expensive, but perhaps once my current watch dies and if I keep up this type of running it’ll be worth it. I recently got an iPhone, so I may play around with Nike as well to see how I like it. I do recommend having something with you when you run, though, since it makes training easy. No researching before, no running the same route over and over again because you know how long it is. You can just get up and go. For something like marathon training, to see the miles as they happen, then come home and have my data automatically sync with my computer (and Garmin iPad & iPhone app), it’s just so nice to see how I’m trending. Warning: you may be obsessed with looking at your wrist, though!
Here’s a presentation on how social media affects health and wellness from Podcamp Pittsburgh 2010. Warning: I talk about Jersey Shore like 6 times.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBQRNuzXE-U]
Past recaps:
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1
Pre-training post with my training schedule