Week in Review

71 Miles
11.5M MLR
20 Miles LR in 6:52 pace in Seattle
7 Runs, 1 Day Off
3 Days in Seattle
3 Days in DC

So this wasn't exactly the week that I was hoping for from a marathon training standpoint, but I chose not to let it get to me. I've been on a whirlwind of a travel tour every weekend in August, so I'm happy that I'm still prioritizing my long runs.  I ditched my workout target (8 miles at MP) and opted instead to do a long run with Josh, a guy that I had strava-stalked through some mutual friends.  Running with Josh was a perfect way to get a full tour of Seattle while also taking advantage of the much cooler weather on the West Coast before heading to DC for Katie's wedding.

As an aside - have I mentioned lately how FREAKING awesome Strava is? I swear that Strava is the technology version of myself -- always connecting runners.  Caleb used to always say he was so impressed by my ability to recruit at least one other person to join runs.  He always expected a surprise person to pop up on our runs because of my tendency to be inclusive.  Strava has allowed me -- through segments and CRs -- to find folks that run near my current location AND folks who can run the same pace as me.  It's seriously the best.  It really pulled through for me in Seattle, as I did 20 with Josh on Wednesday and then 10 with Roger on Thursday.

After my work trip to Seattle, I flew back to SFO, where I met Peter and together we flew to DC for Katie and Torin's wedding.  It was such a raw, real and uninhibited ceremony.  I was so content to witness Katie and Torin reveal why and when they fell in love and then to celebrate with them at the reception.  It was so great seeing familiar Fuqua faces including Kishor, Claire and Randi.  It was a really great week, filled with lots of good friends!

Week in Review

70 Miles
11.3M MLR
13.1M with 6 x mile repeats at 542, 541, 537, 538, 539, 535 with 60s jog rest
10M with 4 sets of (3 x 60s on /off) with 2-2:30-3 jog between sets
14.2M long with last 2 mile at 620, 558
4 Days in Denver for Wilmore Reunion

After a couple of weeks at lower mileage, it was refreshing to hit 70 miles, especially since I was in Denver for 4 days. For the second week in a row, I modified a workout for the week, indicating that my body is ready for a nice taper leading into the SF half.  The paces were still solid and I still got in all the work, including minuters while at 6500FT in Denver.  Surprisingly, the altitude didn't affect me unless I was running uphill or faster.  I was VERY glad to have extra rest in between sets on the minuter workout and that it was FLAT.  Matt was such a great host and ran with me every day except for one, and I can forgive him for that because he was probably pretty hungover.  I could definitely live in Denver because it's a fun city full of lots of vegetarian restaurants, plus it has two of my best guys friends who call it home. :)

Week in Review

70 Miles
12M MLR
12M with 5 x mile repeats in 536, 535, 528, 531, 527 with 60s jog rest
16M at 633 pace average, ending in 548
1 Climbing Session
1 new friend!

Another solid, solid week in the books! I'm so excited that I texted coach to tell him about my long run on Saturday. That is a very rare thing for me to do.  I am fit.  I need to race.  There's nothing else to be said.

Week in Review

67 Miles
12.6M MLR
10M Fartlek
12.3M with 8x1000m repeats

This was my last reading period I'll ever have to do again for my MBA! WOOHOO!!! I can't believe that Term 1 has started.  It's been such a great ride, but I'm relieved that the end is in sight.  Can't wait to get my diploma in December.

I had a lot of stuff going on this week, with Katie and Claire staying with my before the start of residency and then also trying to work at the Bank, while also finishing up some final pre-work for my classes.

I felt really good about the workouts this week and am so ready for the weather to finally cool down.  It's still been ridiculously hot and humid for the time of year, which is just annoying!  My knee is still slightly bothering me, but not a lot and all the doctors said I can still run on it.  :)

Week in Review

70 miles
8 Runs / 1 Double
12 x 300m Repeats at 52-58 for 10.5 Miles total
4 mile tempo at 552 - 604 for 12 miles total
13M MLR
3 Days in Illinois

I was in the sweltering heat and humidity of Southern Illinois for the first three days of this week, visiting my family.  It was hotter there than in NC, and I paid for it on all of my morning runs.  It was a struggle to get out of the door, but I got in the work and felt crappy doing it.  We drove on Tuesday 6 hours to Cincinnati to see my nephew Eli. It was definitely the highlight of the trip.  He's such a sweetie.  At 16 months, he's such a snuggler.  When I would try to put him back down after holding him, his legs would just grip my waist like he didn't want to ever let go. My heart melted 100x over, again and again and again.

I spent the rest of the week in NC doing a tempo run with Billy before beginning a very light taper for a 5 miler race that I'm doing on Labor Day.  My knee is still bothering me when I walk, or sit a certain way, but so far it hasn't affected my runs this week.

Also, to be clear, I've always known that I'm bigger than most distance runners.  In college, I used to let this get to me.  However, as a post-collegiate athlete I realized that it's dumb for me to compare myself to other body types. I've had the same body type and weight since I was 21 years old.  I decided to focus instead on what I have to work with - and that is a lean, muscular build that I can use to my strength.

Unfortunately, this past week I digressed in my own body image.

I came home to Durham to realize that I weigh about 5 pounds over my race weight.  I have been lifting more, but just twice a week so I don't think that it's muscle.  At the same time, I impulsively tried on all my tightest skinny jeans and they all fit the exact same way as before...I'm not sure what it's about but I definitely need to take a close look at my diet and determine how to optimize my performance through an improved diet. Last time I met with a dietitian, she told me that I'm not eating enough calories so basically I'm slowing down my metabolism.  Ironically, in April, upon my return from India, I weighed 125, which is SUPER light for me.  I had just come off a diet of lentils, stir fried vegetables, brown rice and whole wheat naan. Perhaps I need to eat more lentils and naan. :)

I need to make sure that I feel confident that my own body type will propel me to greatness at the Olympic Trials, so this is a focus item for me over the next couple of weeks.

Week in Review

70 miles

3 x 2.5M in 5:43 pace for 14.3M total

11.2M MLR 

13.8M with 4 miles tempo with Billy

3rd wedding 

I just keep on feeling better and better with each step I take.  I feel so fortunate that I did not get sick upon returning from India, as I did when I returned from China.  It's just made the transition back to my normal work and training schedule so much easier!  This week Coach had outlined a pretty tough workout which would help prepare me mentally for the Brooklyn half in just ten days.  I was a bit nervous and my legs were definitely tired, but both Billy and I surprised ourselves and ran faster than we were expecting. It was a great way to start the week and gave me the confidence I need to run a decent time at the Brooklyn half.  Billy and I continued our workout partnership later in the week when we did a 14 miler with a little 4 mile progression thrown in the middle.  It wasn't easy, but it was humid and sticky out and we got it done without quitting.  Overall, I'm right where I want to be with my fitness, especially given my schedule.  I've also been able to hang out with my only non-running friend a bit, as you can see in the selfie below.  This is definitely my strategy to find Kishor a girlfriend.

Enjoying some free snacks from Duke with Kishor

Week in Review

70 Miles

8x800m repeats in 2:48-2:36 with 200m/400m rest

12.3M MLR

15.6M long run with Meagan in the Asheville mountains

It was my first week back with a real workout and I was happy to "crush" it.  Of course, coach had given me pretty loose goals since he didn't know how I would feel after the travel back from India.  I felt confident when I came off the Duke Track and felt like I hadn't lost that much fitness while in India.  That's always a good feeling.  Over the weekend, Garrett and I drove to Asheville for Mark Russell's wedding and we enjoyed the mountain weather and catching up with old Wake Forest teammates.  We especially enjoyed the delicious food and great running trails!

Garrett's swollen lips after eating really hot sauce in Asheville

mountain run in asheville with Meagan

Wake Forest Track at Mark Russell's wedding

Showing off our beautiful bods

May or may not have fed Jared about 5 rose petals during the sendoff

What do you do when the gas station bathroom is closed? Walk on over to the porto-johns across the street of course!

Week in Review

73 Miles
13 miles with 3-4 sets of (mile-800)
16 miles with 4x(3-2-1) with 90s rest between each
2 nights in NYC

For a finals week, this is an impressive mileage.  I knocked out one final on Monday this week by spending 12 hours locked in my work office.  I knocked out my strategy final on Friday morning before I headed to NYC for a quick rendezvous with my MBA classmates.  I felt really good about my mid-week workout and knocked my solo long run out of the (Central) park.  I'm always surprised when I run fast solo because it's about 100x harder than running with a training buddy.  Fortunately for me, there were about 10,000 people running in Central Park because it was probably the first time these New Yorkers had seen the sunshine and a clear roadway in months.  For that reason, it felt like I was running a race and passing people left and right.  It was very motivating!

I had a great time hanging out with my classmates, celebrating their birthdays (Happy Birthday Kishor).  I am glad that they still respect me as a person considering that I left them around midnight because I turn into a pumpkin at any time after that.  I'm in the middle of a training cycle, so I needed my beauty sleep. Plus, I wanted to be able to run with Sarah the next morning in the park.

February Snow and Ice Review

I was going to do a week in review for every week in February, but then I realized that all I remember about February was that there was a bunch of snow or ice on the roads for about 2 weeks straight. So, the main thing to remember is that the last two weeks of February were annoying and I ran most runs on either the 2 mile stretch on Campus Drive, or on snow-packed pathways, or in Charlotte, where they didn't get nearly as much snow.  I definitely got to know the 14 mile loop around the Research Triangle Park as well.

Week of Feb 23:
8 inches of snow
70 Miles
3 x 2 miles fail
16M Long Run with last 9 miles at 633, 612, 615, 607, 552, 651, 605, 625, 643

Week of Feb 16
1 inch of ice
72 miles
12M MLR
10 miles with 4M tempo in 611, 615,557,559
12 miles with 4 x (4 x 300m) with 100m rest and 500m rest between sets. All in 60-58-56-55 ish
15.5M easy long run 

Week of Feb 9
74 Miles
11.7 MLR
12.3M with 6 x mile via 549 (42 rest), 545 (50s), 544 (51), 540 (55s), 540 (75s), 552 (200m on/off)
16M in the freezing cold at 653 average and with 15mph winds

Week in Review

70 Miles
12M with 7 x 1000m repeats @ 3:35 with 1:00 jog rest on Dilworth Speed Loop
12M MLR
12.5M with 6k of 400m @ 80 /400m @ 1:35, 6:00 jog rest, 6k at 556, 557, 555, 5:49 pace

As you can tell, I finally was able to get a normal mileage this week! I felt like myself, I felt like I had control of my legs again and I felt ready for Richomnd.  The biggest struggle last week was trusting that I had enough fitness to still run a respectable race in Richmond.  I have been focusing a lot this week on mental strategies that will help me believe that I'm still in shape and have put in the right amount of work to race well.  The workouts that I posted this week helped tremendously in my mental outlook and confidence in myself. I was able to run 1000m repeats basically solo at my target half pace with a very short jog rest.  I followed that up with a great track / tempo workout on Saturday with Billy as my pacemaker.  I'm feeling really good about the next six weeks of training and am really excited to toe the line at Richmond!

Week in Review

70 Miles
tempo Workout
200m on / off workout
15.5 mile long run easy

I'm super behind on my blog because finals week took over my life from the week of September 23 - 29.  I honestly don't remember what happened this week except that all of my workouts were really great.  Things are definitely moving in the right direction!

Week in Review

70 Miles
0 Doubles
Workout 1: 10 miles @ 644 average
Workout 2: 12 miles with 10 x 1000m @ 334 average with 1:00 rest on Duke track
Long Run:  15 miles with 6.5 miles in 613 average via 624, 627, 619, 614, 608, 601, 2:55 last 800m

Overall, after just three weeks of having real half marathon workouts since my two down weeks during my MBA, I'm finally beginning to feel like I'm in shape!  I feel pretty strong in my workouts and I have a lot of confidence that I can maintain my fitness throughout my MBA.  It seems fairly manageable to run about 70 miles a week without sacrificing the quality of my school work.

Week in Review

72 Miles
7 Runs
0 Days Off
1 Great Workout
1 Bad Workout
16 Mile Long Run

Just two weeks left until the Grandma's Half Marathon and I feel ready to go...or ready for the taper.  A lot of happening over the next couple of weeks...I'm moving my entire house over two hours away, I'm finishing my pre-MBA homework, and I'm saying goodbye to lots of great friends.  I will focus the next two weeks on the mental prep for this race so that I am as prepared as I can be and so that I can keep the noise out.  I'm so excited.  It will be a great way to spend my last free weekend with some great people - Laurie, Alice, Michelle and Eric.

Week in Review

70 miles
1 workout
15 mile long run
4 days in Arizona
3 Cities in Arizona - Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson
1 Red Eye Flight

With three runs completed in Charlotte, I hopped on a plane Wednesday night to see my brother in Phoenix and to reunite with Merry in Tucson.  While the air was thin, the temperatures were scorching, with highs in the 100s.  I wanted a little bit of a down week, so while I got in 70 miles, it still felt like my legs were getting some sort of rest since I had a long run on the shorter side and ran only five miles on Sunday.  Reuniting with Merry felt oh so good!  We ran together at 7000+ feet in Flagstaff, did a long run touring the streets of her new city Tucson, and ate lots of delicious Mexican food that one must do when so close to the border.  My brother was kind enough to get us a night for free at the Hilton Conquistador Resort so we spent ample time at the pool before heading up to Mount Lemmon for a hike in the cooler temperatures.  The ultimate reward for finishing our hike was stopping by the Cookie Cabin, which sells only gigantic cookies, cobbler, and pizza.  Talk about an athlete's dream!  We split the brownie cookie that was the size of a small personal pizza.  It was more than enough for all of us.  Five weeks until Grandma's Half!

Week in Review

70 Miles
12M MLR
200m on off wave workout
5k Burrito race in 18:20 with 2:05 burrito split
16 mile easy long run

I only have three more months in Charlotte, so I am making the most of it by hanging out with my friends as much as possible.  After a fun road trip to Columbia with Adrienne and Nick, I enjoyed an easy pace 16 miles with ten people before having breakfast at John Fillette’s house for our weekly runners' brunch. Always the highlight of my week, we get to sit around in our stinky, sweaty running clothes and stuff our faces with lots of yummy breakfast foods.  It’s the best ever!

Garrett and I are getting very close to making our final decision on housing in Durham, and after that is checked off the list, I think that my stress level will decrease dramatically. I can’t help but get anxious about not knowing where I’ll be living in this new city, so I’m excited to get all of the planning for the move completed so I can focus on just having fun and enjoying my friends before we have to leave this wonderful city!

Cooper River is in just two weeks and I am already excited about competing in this race with Meagan at my side, but also for the debauchery that is to happen afterwards with Michelle, Dalena, Danielle, Sommer, Adrienne, Nick and Matt.  Most of my friends already know this, but I very rarely drink (and by rarely I mean less than three times a year).  This may be one of those fun weekends where I do participate in one of America’s favorite pastimes and I am so looking forward to it!

Week in Review

70 Miles
13 mile MLR
4x2 Mile workout Success
14 miles with 6 miles in 650, 640, 610, 605, 609, 552
7 Runs
0 Off Days
2 Light Lift Days

I was battling a cold for most of this week, so my motivation was lacking but I got all the workouts in and actually hit the times.  Despite the sickness, I really enjoyed the workouts this week because I walked away feeling confident and like I had experienced a sort of breakthrough in my own performance.  I’m hoping these feelings of greatness and fitness carry into next week’s half!

Week in Review

70 Miles
2 Workouts
16 mile Long Run
7 Runs
1 lift Day

This was the first time I'd done two workouts plus a long run in a very, very long time.  I'm happy to say that I walked away feeling strong and healthy from this high quality week. It's just my second week back on a regular training schedule, but I can already tell that my fitness is building very quickly.  Looking forward to the next couple of weeks leading up to the Reedy River 10k on March 1.

Week in Review

70 Miles
12m MLR
6 x 2min workout
8k in 27:55 @ CRC Winter Classic 8k

This was my first step towards building upon my fitness that was lost during my recovery time after Cal International Marathon.  Taking advantage of the MLK holiday off from work, I started the week with 12 miles at McAlpine with some friends and then completed my first workout back on Wednesday.  Although the workout was really mini (only 6x2 minutes on and off), it was a great way to get the legs moving again.  Then, on Sunday, I completely surprised both myself and my coach by running a 27:55 at the CRC Winter Classic 8k at McAlpine.  In fact, the direct quote from Terry was "Okay so wow. Do not take this the wrong way but I did not see that coming."  Me neither!  My feat here was actually my third fastest 8k ever, which isn't saying much, but it does indicate that I had not lost nearly as much fitness as I had expected over the past six weeks.  Terry agreed:  "You were so good at recovering fully after CIM that I assumed there were would be a decent loss of fitness (but a healthy loss, for sure)."

My splits were promising as well:  532, 537, 527, 541, 535.  While there were muddy sections on miles 2 and 5, it didn't slow me down.  In fact, it really felt more like a road race because all other parts of the course were very fast, with nicely compacted dirt.  Also, this was the most competitive race I've ever competed in Charlotte.  I was 29th and had several guys to chase after throughout the entire race.  There were about 15 guys from Asheville and, to battle them, a slew of Charlotte guys also came out.  In the end, I'm very pleased with where my fitness level is at this point and am excited to get back to my first real week back to training under Terry's guidance!

Week in Review

70 Miles
8 Runs
10x400m workout @ 78-80
16 mile long run at 7:00 pace
2 Lift Sessions

This was nearly a perfect week of training, marking my highest mileage in over 10 weeks and a solid 16 miler at a respectable pace.  That's right, I haven't hit 70+ miles since the week of May 20th.  I'm amazed at how easy it was for me to hit 70 miles without taking a day off and only running one double.  It made me excited to run in the 80s again, once the weather begins to cool down.  The cooler summer temperatures helped tremendously to make this week a positive one in the books. 

Unlike most of my friends (Meagan and Laurie), I'm not fully on board for a marathon this fall, but I am 100% for a half marathon. In a couple of weeks, I'll start training under a coach, which is very promising for the future.  For now, I'm focusing on getting my base mileage back up and consistently executing my lift plan.  I figure if I can get these two things right, that this fall will be a successful one.

Lifting - Third week in a row!

Week in Review

70 Miles
8 Runs
1 Day Off
5k Race in 16:36 (PR)
17 mile long run

Coming off of huge PR in the 5k Friday night, I spent the rest of the weekend with my brother and sister-in-law.  It was a great way to start the week with a PR and then to finish it off with a long run at Latta Plantation, with blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs waiting for me at home.  My brother cooked not only me breakfast, but also my long run buddies, Matt and Nick.  I took a much needed day off earlier this week and then had to put in one more double than I would have preferred because I really tapered for the race.  It all worked out in the end.  This 5k PR is a great way to lead into the half champs, going in with confidence that I can PR in just two weeks time.