Halfway!

Marathon training is officially [more than] halfway over! I almost can't believe it. Today marks the start of week 12. It's kind of been a whirlwind, to be honest.

This past week was the highest mileage week out of the 18 week plan. I ran 36 miles. Pretty impressive, huh?

The long run this week was 18 freezing cold but sunny miles along the towpath. Surprisingly, I wasn't sore at all after my 18 miler. Not sure how I accomplished that. I was incredibly tired that afternoon, but I think that's fairly normal.

I absolutely love running on the towpath! For one, it's flat and I kind of hate hills. Hills are work! I mostly love the towpath because of all of the wildlife you can see along your run. A couple miles into our run, we saw a coyote! A few miles past our turnaround we saw 2 bald eagles soaring in the sky. Not to mention the plethora of robins and red-winged blackbirds. Ahh.. spring is close!!

Along with everyone else, I can't wait for the weather to warm up. Word on the street is that it'll be 71(!!) on Thursday. I'll believe it when I see it. Jezebel is excited for the warm weather so she can hang out in the sunroom and watch the birds and squirrels.

Embracing Winter

I'm in the middle of week 7, and yikes this week is tough so far! For the past few weeks, weekday mileage has consisted of 2 3 milers and a 6 miler. This week was bumped up to 4,7,4. Only 3 extra miles? No problem...

Tuesday's run felt great. It was nice to have a different route, at least for part of the run. Wednesday's run downright sucked. I usually don't have terrible runs, but this one was pretty bad. The path I planned to run on wasn't plowed at all, so I had to resort to pseudo-plowed sidewalks along a busy street until I could get to a part of the path that was also pseudo-plowed. It was quite the workout running through fluffy, uneven, icy, chunky snow and hurdling over the piles at the end of driveways! Today's run was pretty good. I ran with a friend at the Shaker Lakes. It was bitter cold out, but we made it!

Eugenia and I post run!

Training in the winter is always challenging, but I still love it. Plus, I get to run with this crazy crew on long runs.

Say CHEEEESE!

And see pretty views like this.. 

ooooOOOOoooo

And most importantly, hang out by the space heater post run.. ahhh.. warmth!

Being a cat is tough

Hello Week 6!

I had every intention of starting up this blog again to coincide with my marathon training. Especially given the fact that was the original purpose of this blog (yes I know, 4 years ago..)

Well, sorry!

So here we are, at the beginning of week 6!!

Just to recap, at the end of December, a friend and I signed up for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon!!!! A FULL!!!! Marathon!!

Wow. I still can't really believe it.

I ran the Cleveland Half Marathon the previous 4 years. I love it. It's such an exciting race. I love running through downtown Cleveland, Ohio City, Lakewood, Tremont. I love the crowds, the bands, the support. It's great!

I sometimes love the weather.. 50s and drizzly?!? PERFECT!! 80s and sunny? Not so much! But in Cleveland, anything can happen!

Running a marathon was the first goal I had when I first started running. Seven years and 7 half marathons later, I'm glad I finally took the plunge and signed up!

Weeks 1 through 5 have been great so far. I'm following Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Training Plan. There are 4 days of running, 1 cross training day and 2 rest days. I've been enjoying the long runs on Saturdays, instead of the usual Sundays. It gives me more time to recover before the week starts again and I like having Sundays to chill out instead of worrying about getting a long run in.

Week day runs are on the shorter side (so far!). The longest one is on Wednesdays, and as of now it's 6 miles. Running 6 miles used to be a LONG RUN. Now I can just crank it out and get on with my day.

What's been a bit of a challenge so far is the weather. While I prefer running in cool weather rather than hot weather, it's been kind of extreme! The weather in Cleveland, and much of the midwest and northeast has been anything but mild. I'm about to head out on my 3 miler and it's a brisk 17 degrees. I miss the warm weather! I don't mind running in the cold, but it takes some convincing to get myself out the door. Once I'm out there, it's not that bad.

Time to lace up my kicks!

Finally!

Well, I actually did it. I signed up for a full marathon. After years (5? 6? 7?) of thinking about it and talking about it, I bit the bullet and signed up for the 2015 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon! I've run the Cleveland Half Marathon 4 times already. I love the race, so I thought it would be nice for it to be my first full. PLUS I can convince everyone to come cheer for me. Win!

I am thrilled! Excited! Scared! Nervous! Exhilarated!

I don't think it's fully sunk in yet. More emotions to come!

Training starts on Tuesday. Well, technically Monday, but Monday is REST DAY! My favorite day of the week.

I still haven't decided on a training plan. You know, I still have about 6 more days to decide. That's practically forever.

I'm going to be running with this girl.. and it's going to be pretty crazy.

And We Begin!

Yesterday marked 22 weeks before the Towpath Marathon. What does that mean? I officially start training! Yay! The training schedule called for some cross training on Monday, so I went to yoga. I finally bought my own mat! It's a Gaiam 5mm Premium yoga mat and to be honest, I wasn't that happy with it. The yoga class I went to was in the Hot studio, which is about 90 degrees. Needless to say, I was sweating a lot which made the mat very slippery. I had to continually adjust my poses as my hands and feet slid out of position. Maybe I can return it and no one will notice that it was used, haha. Despite the slipperiness, the mat was pretty comfy. It's really thick, but not thick enough to cause you to lose balance. I think it's a good mat if you're not working in a 90 degree room!

Today I ran 3 miles and the schedule for the rest of the week calls for 4 miles on Wednesday, 3 miles on Thursday with a break on Friday, cross training on Saturday, and 5 miles on Sunday. Phew! I'm tired already! My shins have been bothering me again. But not that bad. I'm still convinced that if I get my butt to the store and buy a new pair of shoes, I'll be ok. I think my shoes have around 300 miles on them.

I came up with a few new running routes as my old ones were getting pretty boring. I've had the same 3 mile route since last fall so I don't get too excited to run it these days. I did try to run it in reverse on Saturday which made it more interesting. I ran a longer route in reverse in the winter time, and I actually got lost! Whoops! I like to use gmap-pedometer.com to come up with my running routes. It's pretty cool, check it out!

I think switching routes makes the runs much more exciting, not only because of the view, but because of the terrain. If you keep running the same route, your body is going to eventually get used to it and you might not benefit as much. Maaaaaaaaybe. Don't take my word for that. When I run a new route, I feel like I got more of a workout. Placebo effect?

I'm still nervous to train for a marathon. I'm not convinced that I can stick with it, but I'm going to prove myself wrong! Let's see.. things in my life that I have tried and ultimately quit: basketball in 5th grade (quit before our first game), softball in 7th or 8th grade (quit after a couple practices because the coach, my best friend's dad "criticized" my swing. I guess I'll use whatever excuse I can come up with!), track in 11th grade (I actually completed a season but didn't sign up the following year), ice skating, swimming, etc. Ugh, I'm pathetic! Haha.

In other news, my mom said that my butt and legs look more toned from running and yoga. I guess that's another benefit from all of this exercise. Yeahhhhh, that's right. I'm bringing the sexy back! Wait, did I just say that? I apologize for that. No, I don't.

Hi There

So I had every intention of writing an entry yesterday.. and the day before.. the day before that.. etc. Buuuuuut I was busy, OK?? Haha.

At any rate, I looked up marathons and decided to train for the Towpath Marathon in October! I'm excited but also kind of nervous. I didn't sign up yet because I haven't even started to train officially. I've barely been running 10 miles per week!

On the website for the Towpath Marathon there was a training schedule that I will most likely follow. It said to allow 22 weeks for training, which would mean I need to start next Monday! The mileage for the first week is 15 miles, so I plan on running 12 this week. I hope that's not pushing too hard. It also devoted 2 days to cross training, which is perfect since I just started taking Yoga classes!

Yoga. Is. Amazing. I've only been to 2 classes so far, but I already love it. The class I went to was called Power Yoga Basics. I don't really know that much about yoga, but from what I DO know, I think power yoga is supposed to be more intense? Maybe I'm wrong. It was intense, though! Especially for a beginner. I struggled with some of the poses, and a few came easily to me. During the first class, I had to take a short break because my feet cramped up. A lot of the poses focused on the legs and lower half of your body, which was why it was a little difficult. When I run, I still feel a tightness in my calves. The second class was much easier though, so I think it may have actually be helping with my flexibility already! Yay! It's great because I've been going with David.

The weather has been GORGEOUS lately and perfect for running! It's so motivating when it's beautiful outside. I can't use the weather as an excuse not to run! (I hate running in the rain, ugh) The sunshine and breeze gets me excited and I just want to lace up my shoes and run!

Speaking of shoes.. I need new ones. Did I mention that already? Probably. I think mine are at the end of their lifespan. It's sad, really. Poor shoes. They've been through a lot! I'm excited to look for a new pair, though. Any suggestions on running shoes?? I've had my eye on the Nike Lunarglides+, but they have mixed reviews. I went to the store and took a look at them (ooooo, so pretty.. haha). They were REALLY light weight! Much lighter than my current Asics. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, though. I'm still a running newbie when it comes to running gear!

I recently started purchasing technical gear for my runs, specifically shirts. I have 2 UA fitted heat gear shirts that I am absolutely in love with. If you haven't run in technical gear, you must buy some! It's amazing! No more sweaty, sticky cotton shirts that you have to adjust throughout your run (or is that just an issue I have..??) I'm skepical to buy the compression shirts, though. I tried one on in the store and I felt like a sausage, haha.

According to my makeshift training schedule, I need to run 2 miles today. It looks like it's another beautiful day so I'm excited to get out there and go running!

Have a great day everyone!

Julie

PS: I love almond butter. The end.