LONG RUN (1400 ft of UP) + Date Night + Training (3 weeks until race day)!

The things we do for running…. I actually got up earlier than I thought I was going to (and what I posted on yesterday’s post) because we decided last second to meet at 5.  I was asleep by 9:20 on Friday night and slept straight until my alarm at 4:10 so I actually felt pretty rested when I woke up.

We drove up north because of the fires.  In our area you can’t see the mountains anymore or anything more than .3 miles away (at least in the mornings, by the afternoons it is more clear)… it is pure smoke.  The kid’s soccer games were canceled and we were all advised to stay inside as much as possible.  We drove up to the lighter green dots to get away from the smoke to run and that was really helpful.  For most of the run it felt totally fine but the last few miles I could start to feel it a bit.

IMG 3294

The girls!  We had a few stops along the way mainly for water and for bathroom breaks and we did stop our watches for those breaks.  This next week I’m going to try to go the full long run (I think I have about 17.5 miles) without stopping and have Andrew hand me my water etc.

IMG 3316

We climbed so many hills which was great training for race day!  It was really fun to run in a new area and cross your fingers every time you went around a bend that you wouldn’t have another huge hill to climb;)

IMG 3297

We found all of the water fountains.

IMG 3301

And stopped in a gas station at one point too.

IMG 3295

The goal for my workout was to drop down that last 5k but I didn’t hit those paces—>  6:33, 7:24 and 6:42 (and 6:29 pace for another .2).   SO around a 6:52 for the last 3.2 but I’ll take it.  I was struggling big time (and that was even on the downhill).   I pushed through the pain and didn’t quit so I’ll take it as a success and remember these monster hills on race day when the hills on the course are much smaller.

Screen Shot 2018 09 15 at 10 05 10 AM

Overall stats.  We gained 1,435 feet!

Screen Shot 2018 09 15 at 10 21 37 AM

One friend and I met at 5 and did 4 miles of flat and then met up with our other two friends so really it was like 1400ish feet of up in 18 miles!  We were either going up or down the entire time.

IMG 3317 2

When I hit 22.2 miles I decided to walk the last mile to the car (we miscalculated the turn around point and I wanted to stick to what my coach planned for me).  I saw this menchies and was so angry that it wasn’t open because it sounded so good at 8 a.m.

IMG 3305

We got back to the cars and stretched out for a long time and I soaked in some more sub 3 marathon tips from my friend (two of the girls there have run sub 3 and the other ran a 1:23 half last weekend)!

IMG 3310

I am 100% using the Ricochet (coming out next month) for my marathon.  I love them.  As long as I wear tall enough socks (I got blisters the first time I wore them because my socks were short), they are heaven.  Lighter than the Levitates but they still give me that bounce I love from the Levitates.  My feet were happy for that entire long run.

IMG 3313

Post run ice party.

IMG 3315

I am so glad I was able to run with these girls.  My other option was the treadmill for 22 miles so they saved me and we were able to talk and catch up on life for the first 19 (at 19 I put my headphones in) miles!!

IMG 3302

I ate a protein bar and banana on the way home (doing a full nutrition post soon for race day but yesterday I had oatmeal, nanohydr8 and UCAN before the run and then gels every 5 miles along with water during) and my hamstrings were so ridiculously tired after all of those hills.  I need to be really careful the next few days to really rest after this run.  I was hoping to have a faster average pace for the 22 miler but I have to remember that it was at the end of peak week… my legs were tired so when I remember that I’m really confident for race day that with rested legs I’ll hit my dream paces.

As one of my friends on the run reminded me (I was really hurting those last miles), I didn’t want yesterday to be my day… I want October 6th to be my day and the training that my coach has given me is adding up for that to be my day:)

IMG 3318

Fast forward through many hours of laying on the ground with Skye while building Legos with Knox and then Andrew and I went on a date!

Nothing on the planet sounded better to me than this below burger.  I actually heard angels singing in my head as I was eating it.

IMG 3334

And the fries.

IMG 3327

We walked around for a bit.

IMG 3336

And then spent the rest of the day being lazy and eating ice cream.

IMG 3348

Brookester comes home today!

IMG 9567

PS STEPHANIE won the RetailMeNot giveaway (she already emailed me back but I just wanted to put it here too)!!!

—————————————————————————-

Monday:  6 miles @ 8:49 (this felt harder than my workout the next day.. some days our body just revolts;)

Tuesday:

1 mile w/u

4 miles @ 7:06

3.54 miles—> 1 minute @ 6:17-6:26 and 1 minute @ 7:10-7:25 repeat for 3.54 miles  (this was supposed to be 4 miles but I put the workout into my garmin wrong and didn’t realize until I finished so I did .46 miles at the end to get to the 13 miles that I was supposed to do).

3 miles @ 6:43, 6:43, 6:29

1 mile c/d

.46 miles @ 6:40

13 miles total @ 6:59 average!

Wednesday:  6 miles @ 8:49.

Thursday:   9 miles @ 8:34.

Friday:  6.2 miles @ 8:28.

Saturday:  22.2 miles @ 7:47 average.

Sunday:  O.F.F.

62.4 miles total.  The taper begins.  Next week all of my runs are easy accept for Saturday is

—————————————————————————-

What was your best run last week?

-Tuesday.  That was a total confidence builder for me so I’m just going to hold onto that one to think about on race day!

What are you up to today?

How do you get your water in during the long run?

If you like hamburgers, what are your favorite burger toppings?

You May Also Like

29 comments

Reply

Tuesday’s 13 miler was my best run…..confidence for my half in just under 2 weeks!!
Today is work, a 5 or 6 miler, and my brother in law comes to visit.
For water I carry my handheld bottle, and maybe grab some during races at the water stops.
Burgers…..hmmm…depends on the mood……pineapple and avocado if they have it, and usually lettuce, tomato, onion, and bbq sauce. Now I want a burger, even though it’s the morning!

Way to go on your long run!!

Reply

You are going to absolutely smash your half marathon in two weeks… I am so excited for you! Enjoy your time with your brother in law! Thanks Loribeth!

Reply

What an amazing week! I’ve been a reader for a long time and just wanted to give you a shoutout for this marathon training build. You are going to crush it in a few weeks! That 22 miler sounds insane – SO MUCH elevation! That should factor into how you think about your average pace. Your pace on a flat course would’ve been much faster so don’t sweat it!

Reply

Taylor, your comment means a lot to me… thank you so much for reading over the years and for cheering me on. Your comment pumped me up big time. Thank you. I hope you are having an amazing day!

Reply

Janae, how great that you had the support of your friends during your long run!

I absolutely resonate with good speed work being the most confidence-building element heading into the marathon. I did a 14-mile progression run a few days ago (my marathon is on October 7) and it went really well, whereas my long runs haven’t felt quite as stellar.

Your marathon buildup seems like it’s been so strong; I bet you’ll EASILY dip under 3 hours!!

Reply

TAM, WAY TO GO on your 14 mile progression run. That is very interesting.. because I feel the same way. These longer speed workouts have built me up big time and the long runs don’t always haha! Thank you for what you said… it means a lot. PLEASE let me know how your marathon goes, it’s going to be an amazing weekend. I’m cheering for you!

Reply

I love a bacon ranch burger! I always forget to leave out the onion though. It tastes good but then I feel like I have onion breath for a day after no matter how well I brush my teeth haha!

I stop at all the fountains when I have a long run. Even if it means doing a few loops so I pass one fountain several times.

Reply

I need a bacon ranch burger now! Thank goodness for the fountains… the bummer is that they are going to all close in a month or two! I hope your Sunday is a great one Jenny!

Reply

Awesome job on the long run! You are so strong! I love my levitates but I would like to give the ricochet a try! How would you compare the fit? Is it similar? Yoga tune up for me today after 5 days of CrossFit this week. Recovery feels good ;-)

Reply

Hey Mel!! Thank you so much:) I would say that the ricochet fit the tiniest bit more stiff vs the Levitates which I like for the speed I want out of them. I really love them! Enjoy all of the recovery, you’ve rocked it this week. Thanks Mel!

Reply

This wasn’t even my training week, and I’m glad it’s over with, lol! I mean, you got through two *REALLY* tough workouts, and you’re healthy. I’m really, really excited for you!

Also? I have no idea how you logistically ate that burger.

TODAY: The boring stuff (Saturdays are my *self-care* days, so everything dumb happens on Sundays)– schoolwork, lesson planning, clean up the house, etc.

REST!:)

Reply

Bahaha it was soooo huge. I took one onion ring out to eat first and then squished the rest all together. It was tough work but somebody had to do it;) I love that you take Saturday as a self-care day. Good luck with the boring stuff today! Thanks Tiffany!

Reply

Way to go on your long run!!! Very inspiring as I head out the door for my 11 :)
And, your friend is right… You want Oct. 6th (the 7th for me) to be YOUR day, not yesterday! Great reminder!
Oh my gosh…I just saw that a Kenyan has set a new record in the marathon at the Berlin Marathon this morning! 2:01:38!!! Holy cow!!! That is so fast and so impressive.
Three things today: long run, watching football while lying on the run, and some weekly menu planning :)
Again, awesome job on the long run!! Enjoy your rest day and hanging out with the family :)

Reply

How was your 11 miler Wendy? I bet you rocked it!
October 7th will be your day!

RIGHT?! I can’t even imagine… so fast! Thank you so much Wendy and come meal plan for us too:)

Reply

The 11 miles were ok :) And I will happily take the “ok”! Thank you for asking.
I love meal planning for the week, and it just helps me feel more organized during the week when we’re all so busy! I would love to come meal plan for you ;)
Keep enjoying your Sunday!

Reply

Janae! That place is fabulous given that elevation. Think about all those hills and how much harder it is to run up a hill than a flat. I know your marathon is going to be hilly but it won’t be anything like that as you said. So take some time off for that pace and basically you hit your goal! :-) Plus less than ideal air even though you were a bit away from the fires . That training run is going to serve you so well. You should feel super confident and not down at all. –

signed your superfan and cheerleader?

As I mentioned I live on a lake so I am writing this comment Lake-side after a long dog walk, elliptigo work out ( i have mine on a bike trainer indoors), and lake plunge . Off to have some breakfast! Happy restful Sunday to you.

Reply

Amanda, you are seriously the best. I really can’t thank you enough for all of the support you have given me:) Someday we will meet PLEASE!! I’ll come to your lake and join you lake-side. That sounds awesome. Enjoy the rest of your beautiful day!

Reply

Ahhhhh why don’t ice cream places understand that they need to open at 7 am because some of us do really early workouts and need morning ice cream??? Congrats on your killer long run with all those hills.

Reply

RIGHT… I actually thought of you and all of the times you come across restaurants on your rides that SHOULD be open for you! Thanks Victoria! I hope you are having a great Sunday!

Reply

Haha, when I saw that burger on your instagram yesterday I instantly thought “cue angels singing.” Great job on your 22!

Reply

BAHAHA we think a lot alike:) Thanks Michelle, I hope your day is going really well!

Reply

Nice work, Janae! Thanks for posting the details of the workouts.

Reply

Oh thank you!! I hope you are doing well and that your Sunday is a great one!

Reply

Ahhhhhh I love that you chose your Ricochets as your marathon shoe! Now to make sure that your sock game is exactly what you want it to be!

Your times for your long run look amazing. And I love your friend’s perspective–October 6 is YOUR DAY, not today! Today is just the dress rehearsal and a chance to have one last “burns big” effort before the taper and before you relax into it all. When I am doing something that requires big effort–whether it’s a run at 5:30 AM (when I woke up at 4 AM and I just want to sleep), or yet another day on the spin bike, or finding energy to continue with the day after I feel like I have worked so much and for so long, I have a song that helps me remember to relax my way into the speed. Maybe it would make a good running song? “Motion” by Chicane. Maybe it’s not your thing, but to me it’s beautiful. :)

I *love* a good burger. And I am all about cheese, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions…and sometimes bacon (but some places have bad bacon–all thinness and salt and preservatives and no actual flavor). I love my onion rings on the side. ;) But one thick onion ring on top of an amazing burger like the one you had–YES MA’AM! I’ll take it!!! :)

I’m so happy Brooke got to spend time with her dad…and that she comes home today! I bet you missed her!

Reply

Do your ever have to pee during long runs? I don’t have a problem stopping during training runs but it makes me nervous what if I have to pee on race day. My time is closer to 4 hours so that’s a long time out there.

Reply

Janae you are killing it. I CANNOT wait for October 6th!!!

Reply

In addition to Kipchoge killing it in Berlin, your buddy Des Linden won the RNR Philadelphia half marathon. She’s getting ready for NYC (and I guess Shalane is going to defend there after all).

I’m thinking about going to the NYC race – as a spectator. I wanted to run it but didn’t get in this year.

Reply

How do you get water in on your long run?
On one of your recent posts, you recommended your Flipbelt water bottle and your Nathan waist belt. I was confused when I purchased them both off Amazon as the water bottle would not fit in a Nathan belt…? Nonetheless, I like your water bottle recommendation. It was nice to run with and good to have water on my longer runs.

Reply

What brand is your shirt/shorts from your long run? I love the colors! Always looking for great workout gear : )

Leave a Reply to Loribeth Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *