Hello and welcome to my weekly recap! 11 weeks until I (hopefully) run my 35th marathon, 24th state on my 50-state quest, and 1st marathon post-pandemic / post-vaccination!
Before I delve into training, be sure to check out Tuesday’s post about my favorite podcasts!
Here’s how this week went in training for the Idaho marathon!
Monday: I had a 7 am meeting, so no time for a pre-work run. But I did have a break around 9 am, so I quickly headed out for a run then. I picked up Ruth at the end for the final mile or so, but it was raining by then, and she was not happy about it! 8 miles total, 9:10 min/mile average.
Discover Strength after work
Minneapolis had a curfew a few days this week, starting Monday, though the protests were mostly up north in Brooklyn Center (a suburb.) I don’t really know what to say about the tragic death of Daunte Wright. It’s heartbreaking. I am so sad for his family.
Tuesday: 7 morning miles with Christie and Julie and Isabelle, 9:06 min/mile average
Wednesday: Workout Wednesday! My friend Julie joined me, which was great and really helped push me. 3 mile easy warm-up, then 4x(3min@marathon effort, 1min easy, 2min@ 10k effort, 1min easy, 1min@ 5k effort, 2min easy), 2 mile cool down. 10 miles total, 9 min/mile average.
Discover Strength after work
Thursday: 6.5 miles before work with a few friends
Friday: I had a few afternoon appointments, so I decided to take the full day off of work; I hadn’t taken a personal day since December 17th (how sad.) With the day off, I decided to do my long run Friday instead of Saturday.
My workout within the long run was 4 miles easy, 8x(1 mile at marathon effort, 2 minute recovery jog), cool-down to 15 miles.
I brought Ruth (the vizsla) with me with the original thought of just doing the 4 mile warm-up with her, but she seemed to be up for going farther, so I brought her for two lakes (Bde Maka Ska and Lake of the Isles) or 7 miles.
She also ended up making me run the warm-up a little faster than ideal- 9:15, 8:28, 8:15, 8:49 (we corrected it on the last one!)
The 8 miles at marathon effort were 8:16, 8:02, 8:27, 8:14, 8:20, 8:05, 8:14, 8:07. 15 miles total, 8:38 min/mile average.
I dropped Ruth off at home after the first 7 miles and changed outfits entirely. It got a lot warmer than I expected with the sun out, which felt great, but I definitely did not need the long sleeve anymore and I switched from a hat to a pair of Goodr sunnies.
I started listening to the 99% Invisible podcast, which was new to me. I really liked it! There is a really interesting episode about the Minneapolis Skyway system that I recommend checking out.
After the long run, I quickly showered and then did a virtual 1:1 strength training session with Discover Strength.
My legs were pretty tired post-15 miler, so the lower body strength work was tough. Yet I know that you should keep your “hard days hard,” meaning it’s a good idea to follow up a hard run with strength training so that your recovery days can be true recovery. I definitely did that with the first half of my Friday, ha!
Saturday: Total rest from running! It felt weird to sleep in as Dustin left for his long run but eventually I headed out for a 4 mile sunshiny walk with Ruth & Matilda (the dogs), followed by another 2 mile walk later in the afternoon.
We stopped by Gear Running Store, where I purchased a pair of the Saucony Endorphin Pro; there’s a great review of the shoe HERE. It’s a lightweight, carbon-plated race day shoe; i.e. a ‘cheater’ shoe for my cheater marathon, ha! (i.e. a downhill marathon.)
Sunday: 7.5 miles with Dustin & Ruth, 8:35 min/average. Beautiful sunny Sunday!
I wore the new Saucony Endorphin Pro’s and felt extra pep in my step!
In other shoe news, two of my favorite brands, Allbirds and Oiselle, launched a partnership of the Allbirds dasher shoe with a Oiselle designer.
Of course, I had to order a pair, though I probably will wear them for every day use, not for running:
Summary: 54.25 miles of running, 3 strength training sessions with Discover Strength
I have my second vaccine shot this week and am a little nervous about how I’ll feel afterwards. This article from Trail Runner Magazine has some good discussions on how it might affect training. I’m hopeful that I will have a mild reaction. No matter what, it’s worth it, and I am excited to be fully vaccinated soon!
And that’s a wrap; I hope you had a great week in fitness, be sure to visit all the other bloggers who link up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner Check it out!
It’s so exciting that you have a marathon coming up! Great job on your long run- that sounds like a tough workout! Hope your second vaccine goes well!
Thanks Lisa! I am excited to run 26.2 miles again! It’s been too long.
Great week! 7 miles for Ruth wow!
I have my second vaccine this week too, and am also a bit nervous.
I find the whole hard days hard thing doesn’t work for me. A hard run is enough for me!
Yes! Her longest so far is 8 miles. She seems pretty comfortable with 7. After the run, we took both dogs to the dog park and she ran around a ton more like a wild horse! She had fun though. Vizslas….so much energy!
I was also eyeing those allbirds! So cute! I have a question about the racing shoe bc I jut got one from Brooks. How do you train with it before using it for a race?
I have a few allbirds for every day wear and LOVE them. Great question- some people do minimal mileage in their race shoes, but I had a pair of the Nike Next %’s; they were only supposed to be “good” for like 250 miles, so I didn’t train in them much, just did a 1 mile race and a 5k race. But they were supposed to be my marathon shoes; I did one 13 mile workout in them and my toes went numb! So they did not work for me, ha! Long story short, I think you need to train… Read more »
I love those shoes! So tempting…
I’m sure you’ll feel fine after your second vaccine. I ran a trail race the day after mine, lol. I just had a mild headache both times.
Good to know! I’m expecting the worst and hope to be surprised 🙂 We will see!
Ha ha… love the vaccine “houses.”
You’ll probably feel just fine after your shot, BUT if you have any mysterious aches and pains, it could be from temporary inflammation. My plantar fasciitis flared up a couple days after my first shot, then subsided about a week later.
You’re good, doing lower body strength after a long run! I used to do that but just can’t get myself to anymore. It makes perfect sense schedule-wise, though.
That’s really helpful advice to keep in mind! Random inflammations that aren’t necessarily listed in the “standard side effects” list!
Lower body strength was hard after 15 miles. Even my upper body was weaker than normal. I think I use a lot of energy in my upper body when running too!
Yay on new shoes. I love both.
Was thinking of you during the unrest. It’s such a frightening world. Hugs.
Hope you’re feeling good after your second
Thanks Cari! And thanks for thinking of me. It’s sad that there is unrest again. I worry about what will happen when the Chauvin trial ends. I’ve been watching it pretty closely- closing statements start tomorrow, and then the jury will be sequestered.
Those Allbirds are cute. And congrats on the cheater shoes! I call it “shoe doping”, and I suppose your marathon is “gravity doping”! So happy to see you found your marathon. I have to decide whether to apply for this fall’s Boston. I have 8 minutes of margin, which is pretty marginal with the reduced field. I’m a little nervous that if there is no expo and no crowds that the experience will be rather subdued. I wish they would share the time period for April 2022 BQs – I don’t want to waste my BQ since it’s from Dec… Read more »
Hi Eric! Yes, Dustin is planning to do Boston this fall, I’ll be tagging along to cheer (as much as we are allowed to spectate? That part is unclear.) He has 26 minutes of margin, so he’s confident he’ll be okay and the allure of the 125th running pulled him in, even though he sorta doesn’t love the Boston “vibe.” Ha! He’s too low-key for it, I think. My running friend Christie will surely qualify at her marathon this weekend (one of the McKirdy races in Michigan) so I think it would be fun to go with her next year,… Read more »
Go Christie!! And go Jessie!!
Thanks Eric!
I hope the second vax goes well for you! It’s such a weird, totally individual thing how the reaction (if any) goes. Those new shoes…oh the FOMO! What great mileage. I love the double outfit/double run 😉
Haha thanks Kim! Yes the reaction vary SO much…it’s nuts!
I agree about new shoes but for my race, I decided in favor of older ones. may have been a mistake. Who knows.
Those Oiselle shoes are way cute!!
Your training is right on target. Your race will be hear before you know it.
Thanks so much Darlene! I’m excited to conquer 26.2 again!
I like the end of the article where they say “we are treating each shot almost as its own workout”. Obviously side effects vary greatly, but I was pleasantly surprised that my 2nd shot was “equal to or less than” the side effects of the first. I think the guidelines of a complete rest day afterwards make sense. I ended up taking 2 days off b/c that’s what my coach said to do and it felt so good when I started running again.
Yes! Each shot is a workout. I think you were smart to take two full days
Those Allbirds are so cute…I may need to do some shopping 😉
I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on the Endorphin Pro’s as you use them more – will you save them just for your long runs?
I hope all goes well with your second shot!
I’m going to do some workouts in the Endorphin Pros, as well as a few long runs, to ensure they feel okay!
I runfess the sentiments about the J&J were mine exactly. Haha! I got the Nike Vapor Flys for my birthday a couple of years ago and yes that carbon plate is peppy! Enjoy!
Honestly the J&J is simpler- one and done! And now it’s kinda “limited edition”. You’re a VIP 🙂
Great job with your marathon training! I am slowly but surely building up my running strength again… it took forever to 1)get used to this altitude/elevation (going from 700+ to 6200+ ft elevation was quite a change!) 2)getting sick 3)getting sick again from the vaccine…. but I am definitely coming back and I am seeing some improvements! I am in that “J&J house” category (funny!!) because we thought we were going to get Pfizer but on that day, they didn’t have any and they were giving out J&J shots… so we said, why the heck not. A week and a… Read more »
I noticed on Strava that you moved from Hawaii to Colorado! Big change I’m sure!
I’m glad you got your vaccine and now all that is behind you.
Good luck in your build back Eri!
great week for you! I can imagine it felt odd to sleep in on what is your normal long run day! and I like that you got “cheater” shoes for your “cheater” marathon LOL. ! They are really nice and colorful! I like the Oiselle shoes too.
Thanks Renee! I know that my cheater marathon is still 26.2 miles and might be tougher than I am thinking, but downhill feels ‘cheater’ plus now I have these magical shoes, ha!
OMG! That vaccine graphic is hysterical. I might have to poach it!
Great miles, and I love your new Saucony shoes! I wish they had more high-tech options for the stability crew. Oh, well.
Ruth is so cute in your running pics. How lucky you are to have her.
Poach away, Jenn! I did not create that graphic.
Ruth is a great little running buddy!
Great week for you!! I am excited for your race. Yay for the 2nd vaccine too. Those Saucony shoes are so pretty. I saw the ones from Oiselle and Allbird but did not get them. I’ve never worn any Allbird shoes but am curious since they also look so cute.
I love Allbirds for every day! Not sure if you have to dress up at work, but they are sooo comfortable!
OK, let’s talk shoes!! Do you totally love the Endorphins or what?? I am totally so spoiled by plated shoes that I could just throw away all of my other shoes. For real. I think the Endorphin Speed do give enough kick for the money, so other than a pair just for racing, I think I would pick the Speed over the Pro for the money. How do you like them?
Ha, the Endorphin Pros are pretty amazing so far. I wore them on a 10 mile workout this morning and loved them. I might have to switch to the Speeds for regular training and Pros for races! I have always been a Brooks girl (though I did try the Nike 4%) so I didn’t know I’d like Saucony’s so much!
I’m horribly behind with my blogs! Look at those Sauconys, wheee! I am cheating on Saucony with Asics at the moment, I can’t risk paying a high price for the new Sauconys online (I will go to the running shop and try them when I can) so I got these basic Asics and they thankfully seem OK, for the kind of short stuff I’m doing a lot anyway.
No need to keep apologizing for the marathon you chose nor the lighter weight racing shoes you’ll be wearing. If you run the race, you earn the medal.