(bra, shorts, trail shoes, speed shoes)
I had a request for a friend-to-friend post on parenting, so you can find that HERE if you are interested)!
Marathon training long runs can feel daunting, and my favorite trip for those loooooong runs is to break them up into part on the trails and part on the roads. I love doing this for a few reasons. First, mentally it helps me to break them into segments. Second, I think it helps so much for recovery and injury prevention (overuse injuries) to be on the softer dirt for some of those long runs too. The trails will help build those stabilizer muscles too. Third, it’s a great way to fatigue your legs a bit before hitting the roads so you get a bit of a taste for how they might feel on race day and learn how to cope with tired legs at the end of your race.
We started with Big Springs, a 4-mile loop with about 860 ft of gain.
It was my first time on this loop, and it was stunning.
We then switched to road shoes (we had a car parked at the trailhead) and went for a 5-mile tempo down the canyon that turned into an 8 mile tempo. I had a friend pacing me, and we are traveling this next month, so I kind of just went with feeling good and stretched it out longer to check off a bigger workout. Most of the tempo miles had a drop, and about 2-3 were flat; I averaged a 6:12 for the 8 miles and then finished with a cool-down.
Notes on shoes-> I’m trying to save the vaporfly for race day but knew I needed an extra boost to keep up with my friend on the tempo ha. Overall, I will try to do most of my speed work in other shoes to feel an extra boost from the Vaporfly on race day. This was my first time wearing the Perigrine 13 on the trails, and I LOVED them. I have found that I need to go up a half size in Saucony. IE I wear a 10 in every shoe brand but a 10.5 in Saucony.
The canyon was packed with runners and bikers, making the miles fly by! I was very happy to run into Emilee for the cool-down. Recovery included my hot tub, my recovery boots, and plenty of food after doing my PT exercises too. I am sticking to these exercises to avoid hamstring pain during this training cycle.
Now for the rest of the weekend in pics…
One more reminder for the friend-to-friend post here:)
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Give me a highlight or two from your weekend!
How do you like to break up the long run into segments?
Do you wear different sizes in different brands of running shoes?
Thoughts on soup in the summer?
-Soup is a 12 months a year item for me.
14 comments
KRISTINE
Highlight was a weekend trip to the Enchantments. My girl friend organized a trip for us to trail run and hike near leavenworth. It was stunning. Alpine lakes steep climbs crazy peaks and descents around 33km and close to 5-6 000 feet of climbing. This was a bucket list for me and since camping permits are harder to win then the lottery we did it in a day. She rented a house just outside of town and our last morning I sat on the porch swing with coffee.Tired legs but heart is full. I put some stories up but will send a photo. The views were unreal
Have a fantastic day Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
YOUR PICTURES WERE NEXT LEVEL. I couldn’t handle how gorgeous it was. I am SO happy you guys had that time together. And the porch swing… perfection. And I’m coming next time!
Mariah
Highlight was going to a water ballet all about public water infrastructure – Baltimore is a very unique place with unique events haha.
I broke up a long run recently into segments and that helped a lot mentally! Even if it’s 2-3 miles before I meet friends and a mile or so after.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Water ballet! Umm that sounds like so much fun. Seriously, breaking up the long run makes the biggest difference. Happy Monday, Mariah.
Katie A
Our highlight was actually getting out of the house to DO something other than church or errands – with our newborn it’s been happening less often, but we made it to the nearby nature center. We barely made it because right before we left – which was already sort of late – my husband spilled his water all over our infant carseat (fortunately not with the baby in it!). I was bound & determined to go, so we dried it as best we could & put an extra towel in the bottom. Never a dull moment! Looks like you had a good weekend too. :)
I love the Saucony Peregrines! I will be on my 2nd pair when I get back to the trails. I like your idea to break up the long run with trails – I used to switch back & forth between the pavement and the grassy side of the same paved trail to prevent shin splints as a newer runner, but I’ll have to try hitting trails first, then pavement… or the other thing I have never tried is the treadmill + outside combo.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Katie! Way to get out to the nature center. It really is so hard to get out when they are just so tiny but you did it. I bet you were all exhausted when you got home ha. So smart to switch onto the grass too! YES, I used to do the treadmill and outside combo when I was starting super early and too afraid to start in the dark. I hope your day is a great one!
Molly S
You always have the most beautiful shoes!
I was going to do part trail/road run this weekend but then just stuck to the roads. I feel blazing fast once I transition to roads from trails in the middle of a run.
And your motherhood advice was so touching. I think that can be applied to many relationships.
Have a great Monday!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you! Hahah right, quite the boost in your running self esteem going from trail to roads. Yep, I think about this all of the time with being a wife too. The roles are silly, the relationships are what matters. Hope your Monday is a gorgeous one!
Baili
* I suspect I probably do on shoes, though I have done not the best job figuring it out (though overall, I wear 1.5 sizes bigger in running shoes in dress shoes).
* Too hot for soup in the summer… unless it is tortilla soup, which I can weirdly eat all year.
*We went to a “Red Carpet Casino Event” for one of our favorite charities (https://mercyproject.net) – they were started by folks in my town, but rescue children in Ghana from slavery on fishing boats and help teach sustainable fishing techniques to the villagers to avoid future enslavement. It is just the coolest organization to celebrate each year.
Happy Monday, Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Wow, that event sounds amazing. What an important charity. Thank you for sharing with us! I hope you get some tortilla soup soon. Have a great night, Baili!
Veronica
Hi Janae,
This is a shoe question. I have a pair (have not worn yet) of the Vaporfly 3s how do you like them compared to the 2’s? I really miss the 4% and the next% versions. I also tried the Alphafly and did not like them, made my lower back sore. Appreciate your blog and thoughts. Thank you.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hey Veronica! I wish I would have tried the 4%!!! I can honestly say I don’t really feel much of a difference. I love the 2’s and I love the 3’s and if I was wearing a blindfold, I wouldn’t be able to tell which is which. I hope you are having a beautiful evening.
Warren Footz
it’s funny saving race shoes for race days…we used to do that with racing flats…after a while I found the racing flats being lighter didn’t make me fast enough to bother..do you find that with the Vaporflys?
I find more I have to switch sizes for wider toe boxes sometimes, and sometimes just because one year the Asics feel great, doesn’t mean they’re going to feel the same the next year
drift hunters
The trails will help build those stabilizer muscles too.