Gretch Runs

Here we go... less than 10 weeks until race day!  Starting to feel real :) Monday 5 miles / 9:30 pace Yay for bank holidays!  Since I had the day off, I decided to run on Monday, even though I usually take that as my rest day.  I went early in the morning since it was supposed to be raining later in the day, and got a few drizzles.  Took it nice and easy and enjoyed slightly warmer weather. 1500 yards swimming I'm trying to make a schedule for swimming, so I tested out how crowded the pool is on Mondays.  It ended up being really empty, so I'm going to start going weekly!  Now I just need to find two more days to go :) Tuesday 5 mile bike It was a BEAUTIFUL day out, and luckily I got to work from home (plumbing issues, yay!).  I went out at lunch time and dusted off my bike.  Can I officially say I'm in triathlon training now? Barre/Yoga I tried out a new studio with Class Pass (for Frugal February I changed my mem...

Yay for cut back weeks!  Some runners love em, some hate em.  I'm personally in the "love" camp.  It feels great to lessen up the miles a bit (and have more free time!)  Here's a look at how week lucky number 6 went: Monday Rest Day! Tuesday 3.6 miles / 9:49 pace Just a nice, easy run.  Went around my neighborhood after work, and it was a beautiful day.  Kept my pace easy and enjoyed the weather! Wednesday Rest Day! Thursday 4.5 miles / 8:20 pace   I got to go on this run during my lunch break at work.  It was 60 degrees out so I was really excited to run in shorts and a t shirt!  Since I didn't want to be gone for a long time, I shortened my speed work for the week.  I was originally supposed to do 5 miles at marathon pace with a mile warmup and cool down, but instead I did 3 miles at tempo pace with a half mile warmup and mile cool down.  I started out too fast (shorts weather ...

Thirty miles always seems like such a milestone for me in training.  Any week that I don't hit it, I feel like I didn't run enough.  If I go over I feel so proud of myself and count that week as a win.  The past few weeks were less than ideal, and I missed that number (by a pretty large margin), so the fact that I got it this week makes me so happy and proud of myself.  I'm back! Here's a look at how my week went: Monday Rest Day! Tuesday 4 miles / 9:25 pace Treadmill run!  I got to run before work, but didn't really want to run while it was single digits out with icy sidewalks.  Kept it nice and easy on the treadmill with a progression run to keep from going crazy. Wednesday  Rest Day! We got a ton of snow and ice overnight, and it continued to snow/rain/sleet throughout the day.  I actually stayed at home and did not leave my house at all the entire day! Thursday 5 miles / 8:24 pace Another speed worko...

Another week done, and thankfully this was a cutback week!  I definitely needed it because I still wasn't feeling 100% after recovering from whatever sickness I had last week.  I'm finally feeling more like myself, and hope that next week I'll be back to my normal mileage.  This week I also finished my 30 days of yoga challenge, and fit in two swims.  Here's how the week went: Monday Rest Day! Tuesday 3 miles / 9:25 pace I was finally feeling better, so I went out for an easy run after work.  Of course it was freezing out so it wasn't a ton of fun, but I was just happy to be outside and running again! Wednesday 1200 yards swimming I headed to the pool after work to get in a swim.  This week's workout was 400 yards, 200 yards, 4x100 yards, 4x50 yards.  It was my first time doing circle swimming at the gym since there were lessons going on, so I was happy to be able to keep up with everyone else and didn't get passed at...

I'm not going to sugar coat it- this was a bad week for me.  It started off really well, then I got hit with a crazy virus that has been going all around the office and kept me in bed for a few days.  On the bright side, I didn't miss any work (since it started on Friday), but I missed two runs this week.  I'd rather have a week like this early on instead of during peak week, so hopefully the worst is behind me. Here's a look at how my training went this week: Monday Rest Day Tuesday 3 miles / 9:58 pace I was feeling kind of stiff and sore from my long run on Sunday, so I took this run nice and easy. Wednesday 5 miles / 9:04 pace Tempo run!  I did an easy mile warmup, then two miles at tempo and two miles to cool down.  It was snowing pretty heavily during this run, but temperature wise it felt great.  For some reason when it's snowing, I don't feel cold.  No clue why that is, but I would always prefer running in snow...

What a great week!  It seemed like everything clicked into place for week two of training (I'm sure having a Monday holiday helped a lot) and it's making me so excited to continue on.  I managed to swim twice this week, try out a new class, and do my daily TRUE yoga challenge, while getting in my regular mileage.  I'm getting into a routine that feels good! Here's a look at how my week went, complete with lots of snowy pics: Monday 7 miles / 9:55 pace I typically take a rest day on Monday, but I had to get this run in!  It was the last day of the Strava/Lululemon challenge, and I was only 11km away from my goal.  Since my long run on Sunday didn't register, I had to go out (plus, I had off work which helped!).  I just went around my neighborhood and going up and down every street for 7 miles.  I even got to run in a blizzard (the roads were all bare when I went out and had about an inch by the time I was done-) 900 yard swim ...

Happy Monday everyone!  This was a very weird week, because the temperature was yo-yo-ing all over the place.  It seems like Pittsburgh isn't the only city that experienced this, at least according to the #MotherNatureIsDrunk I've seen all over social media.  It was nice to have a few nice, warm days! This was technically week one of my marathon training since I switched over to my new race!  I have 15 more weeks to go until race day, and I'm feeling so strong.  I didn't miss any runs this week, and I have been continuing the TRUE 30 Day Yoga Challenge with Yoga with Adriene!  It's been great to stretch out every day and get in some core exercises as well! Here's a look at how my week of training went: Monday Rest Day! Tuesday 7 miles / 9:20 pace This run happened in two parts.  I was planning on running before work, but unfortunately everything was iced over and I ended up doing more ice skating than running!  So, I fin...

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a good weekend and managed to stay warm.  Last week, we got hit with a huge cold spell, and every day had negative wind chill.  Not a good way to start the year off, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get your training in! I also have a bit of an update!  As you all know, I have been training for the Newport News One City Marathon.  As it turns out, plans changed and I can no longer do that one.  It works out well because I hadn't signed up for it yet (because I knew the day might not work out), and now I have more time to train!  I have been feeling a little under-prepared with all the traveling I did during the holidays, so this makes me feel a lot better.   So- I decided to do the  Hall of Fame Marathon  in Canton.  I was actually already signed up for the half (during their $26.20 promo), and just switched my registration over to the full.  I feel really good abou...