Upcoming races– Firehouse 5K
SLO Marathon 13.1
Focus this week– Keep Calm and Run Long
This week has been in the back of my mind for a month now. Looming and lurking all at the same time. The first real test of my crazy decision to run a marathon. The first big effort for this Slacker. Throw in some stress in my personal life and some work stress and the week had the potential to go south real fast.
Monday- Rest Attack of the crazy wind! Well, spring had been here. The temps dropped and the wind came in. How those palm trees bent so far without snapping, I have no idea.
Tuesday- Rest I had every intention of running after work, I really did. My mom started texting and wanted to move pizza night up. I said I wanted to run. Her response was that it was still crazy windy everywhere. There was truth to that as we had lost part of a tree at work but I still wanted to run. Then she dropped the kryptonite- my dad would come with us if went on Tuesday instead. All right, she won.
Wednesday- 3.81 miles Baby speed work!!! I headed to the lake path for some intervals. After a 15 minute warmup I did intervals of 1:30 at 5K pace and then 1:30 recovery. Baby intervals but you have to start somewhere right? I did 6 intervals- 8:29, 8:44, 8:34, 8:19, 8:31, 8:35 pace. Which is about 30 seconds under my 5K pace but hey they were fairly consistent right? I felt pretty good and wanted to do more but knew I had big plans for the weekend and was trying to be smart. 
Thursday- 5.69 miles I met up with NikeC after work for a few miles. Ouchie McOucherson. This run hurt. I am not sure if it was because I had run the day before or because I was once again wearing shorts. It also could have been the Launch’s; I was wearing different socks than usual. Whatever it was, my shins hurt the entire run. Not enough to quit but enough to be concerned. Other than that, it was a great run. The company and conversation were great and NikeC ran us up a street I had forgotten about. It was the course for a 10k we had run years ago. The race was so miserable for me, I tried to forget everything about it, it took me 2+ years to run another 10K. However, now that I remember the route, I have more ways to add mileage with out doing incessant loops.
Friday- Rest Can I say how much of a win it was that I only ate 1 cookie on Cookie Friday? Anyways, once off work I was home by 7:30 and prepping for Saturday. I was ready to go to bed by 10:30, which is early for me but I knew I had an early wake up call the next day.
So much for good intentions, I could not sleep. I was tossing and turning and felt like my heart was racing. Either the stress of the week caught up with me or the next days’ plan was really freaking me out. Either way, I got less than 4 hours of sleep.
Saturday- 16 MILES!! Holy crap, people, I followed through! I knew the likelihood of me completing this run on my own was small so weeks ago I called in reinforcements. I met up with Ashley and Heather bright and early Saturday morning. The sun was barely up!! Not that we could see it as it was a very gray morning. Heather was running 24 so she ran to where Ashley and I were and then we ran from SLO to the Avila pier and back. That sounds like a lot when I type it.
We kept a steady pace up for the first 9ish miles and I was feeling pretty good. I had to take a few walk breaks which I knew I would but I felt bad for slowing them down. The route ran through the Bob Jones Trail which I had always heard about but never really run. A mile of it was in the City to the Sea half but I was riding the misery train and hadn’t paid that much attention to it. It’s nice, paved and scenic and full of people enjoying it. We hit the bay around 8ish miles and I had to take a break. My right knee was twinging in an odd way. I told them to go ahead so I could stretch it out. Speeding up usually helps me work out the kinks so catching up to them worked perfectly. Once at the pier we turned around and headed back towards SLO. 
My lungs started protesting around mile 11. Which wasn’t surprising given how heavy the marine layer was. I started to slow down. We played leapfrog for the last few miles. We would run together until I tired, then I would walk, they would pull ahead. Then I would either catch up or they would wait for me. I didn’t hurt until mile 14. Then my knees started aching and my right toes ached. Just keep running, just keep running. At this point we lost Heather, she had a much longer run back and the sun finally came out and the temp was rising. On a side note- she’s a rock star and ran 25 miles that morning! 
Then my watch buzzed- 16 miles!!! I did it! And I didn’t hate myself! In fact, it kind of rocked. I have Ashley and Heather to thank for that, they were both awesome.
Funny thing- because we ran all the way to the pier, the mileage was a little off. When my watch hit 16, we were still 3 miles from the cars. I contemplated walking it, but instead we took an Uber. I’d never done that before! It was a morning of firsts.
Sunday- Rest After a much better nights’ sleep, I headed down to SLO for a little bit of shopping. I also cleared 10K steps for the day so let’s call it active rest. Stairs were the only times I noticed a little soreness from the run.
Weekly miles 25.5
Last week was a good week. I feel a little better going into future training. I know it’s going to be hard and going to kick my ass but this was the week I needed. I needed a litle reassurance to continue. I got it. Now I just need to keep running and training and taking it one week at a time. I need to work on fueling. I ran those 16 miles on an empty stomach and only ate 1/2 a package of fruit snacks along the way. I felt fine but I know that won’t always be true. My hydration was good- I had Gatorade and Skratch.
Low-carb- speaking of food, last week was kind of an odd week. I did pretty well on most days but really bad on others. It was kind of an emotional eating week but I didn’t give in anywhere near as much as I could have. I passed on In n Out for crying out loud! I am concerned that this week will be more of the same but we will see.
How was your week?
What about weather? What is it like in your neck of the woods?
Do you fuel for long runs?
Slacker Runner 
The other morning I was struggling a bit to keep going, and I’m not going to lie, I totally Harry Potter’d myself – remember the scene with his first patronous at the lake? He finally realized that he could create one because he had already done it. Even though he hadn’t known it was him doing it, he thought it was his dad, but once he realized it was him, that he could do it, then he stepped up and did it!
The point – I was struggling the other day and I told myself “you’ve already done this – you know you can do it because you’ve done it before!” And as I’ve worked on endurance (eliminating habitual walk breaks and making my run distance longer) I have told myself that I’ve already done it – it may have been in two pieces before, but if I could do those two pieces, then I could easily make them one and continue on.
It works. Probably cause I’m a nerd, but I knew I could do it because I had already done it! 🙂 So, as you move forward, you know you can run 16, and you know you can run 3, so when it’s time to run 19, you know you can do it, you’ve already done it!!
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This is awesome!!! I need to remember that when I get tired on my long runs, just think like Harry! Oh, you just gave me the best idea. I have to get creative now.
I like the way you look at things, I am trying keep looking on the shiny side. I am just hoping I sleep better next time.
You are running awesome!! I look forward to your posts. I need to think like that on my next run, you’ve done it before, you can do it again. 🙂
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It is amazing how it works to realize “hey, I’ve done this already, I already know it can be done – this is easy!” (The ‘this is easy’ part isn’t always as easy to believe!! LOL)
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I’m so jealous you get to train and shop in SLO!! And that you can go to In-N-Out!! I really need to work on convincing my husband to move to California with me!! Awesome week though, that 16 miles sounds intense, but it is a lot better to do it with people!
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I have to pass In-n-Out 2x a day on my commute, I want to stop all the time!!! Somehow, I rarely do! Come on back! I don’t know what I would do with myself if I couldn’t shop in SLO. 🙂 Yes, 16 was definitely doable with friends, all long runs should be like that!!
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this week’s long run was really tough from about 11 miles onwards. The week before had been fine. I’m sure my “cycle” affects me more than anything else…. Today I’m tired but not sore. I guess that’s the main thing. (and I do fuel up on jelly babies… I’ll think about running without sugar after I’ve got this marathin out the way. For now, I’m just surviving… however I can….)
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I admit I intentionally put the 16 miler before my cycle, I knew there was no way it was happening this week. At least not for the first time. I used to run all my half marathons with candy corn. It was easy to chew. I noticed that I rarely ever ate them so I just stopped carrying them. I know I need to figure something out for longer runs and the actual marathon though.
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Awesome job with those 16 miles!! You crushed it out there!
Before I do a long run, I usually have a gluten free waffle with banana/honey/cinnamon on top. For anything longer than 15 miles in the summer, I will fuel with salt tabs, margarita shot blocks (extra sodium in those!), Gatorade, and sometimes GU (the caramel macchiato one is my favorite). The salt tabs have been a life saver for me – they really reduce leg cramping and I take one every 8 miles. The margarita shot blocks don’t taste the best, but the extra electrolytes and carbs in those really helped in training for Steamtown last year. I took one every 3-4 miles. Everyone is different though so I would also mention that Honey Stinger gels and chews tend to be a favorite for many – they taste good. I haven’t tried them in awhile because they didn’t seem to give me the energy I needed, but I know they work for a lot of people and they’re easier on the tummy too.
As someone who has struggled with fueling in the past, I will say it will probably make for some miserable long runs (and a miserable marathon) if you don’t have much in you. You start to get faint by the end and that’s never a good thing – plus it makes the recovery AFTER your long run terribly difficult. I know your stomach makes it hard so I have no idea what would really work for you
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Thank you! I know I need to fuel, I just haven’t found something that works. I did have fuel with me. I had fruit snacks and nuts. I’ve tried Gu Chomps, Sport Beans, Gatorade Shot Blocks, Honey Stinger and Cliff Shots. Nothing has ever seemed to give me energy. I used to have Swedish Fish and Candy corns back in the day too. Didn’t help either. The only thing I do near right is hydration- I had Gatorade and Skratch Labs. I am going to look into salt tabs, the weather is already crazy out here- it’s supposed to be 90 tomorrow. I’m glad I have a few months to figure it out though. Thanks for the tips!
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great job! speedwork and a 16-miler = fabulous week for you. it’s SO cold and windy here today, i can’t take it — i had to resort to the tread mill this morning, although it forced me to work on upping my pace and doing some speed intervals as well, so that’s the plus side. i’m just so ready for spring to hit NYC and STAY!
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Thank you! I hate the wind! Wind is rare here so I admit I turn into a big baby when it randomly shows up. Speed work on the treadmill is about the only I can tolerate on the treadmill. I always hurt and ache after a treadmill run. The weather is drunk out here- the high for tomorrow is predicted to be 90!
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Yaay, congrats on hitting that 16 miler! I’m sure having company helped a lot. I’m hoping that for some of my peak mileage I’ll be able to join a local running club so I don’t die.
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Thank you! The company was huge. I would like to think I would have followed through on my own but I am doubtful. Good luck finding a running club!
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Nice job Fallon! Getting over the mental intimidation of those long runs is a huge step! Personally, I use Gu sachets every 45 mins or so but I have a pretty strong stomach. For you I would just go to the running store and buy one of everything and see what works. Good luck!
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Thank you! I really need to just head down to the store and do that, I just can’t bring myself to. That stuff is not cheap! I have to get over that though. 🙂
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Can I just say how I love that you took an Uber back to the car?! That’s hilarious and so true to feelings after a long run. Congrats on completing the 16 miles though!
I signed up for my FIRST marathon in the fall (Philly), so I def can’t wait to read more about your training and gathering tips!
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Right? Probably should have paid more attention to the mileage but then there wouldn’t be a good story to tell! On the upside, I now have a route for an 18 miler! Thank you!
I’ve read awesome things about Philly! Yay! I admit I am still kind of in denial about the full. I know I am running it but I am trying to forget it! This should be an interesting few months!
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