Training, Week 3

I can't tell you how exciting it is that Jantastic (over on marathontalk.com) finally kicked off this week, for my third week of training for Eugene. Overall, a good week. Lets are a little tired, but I should be making some good gains now (since the book says that it takes about 10 days for your body to adapt to the training). I'm so glad that there's a build-up phase built in that lets me spend a month working on the whole "running five times a week" thing before ramping up to six runs, since the most I've ever done regularly is four times a week - when I was in marathon training last year.

I've had an ongoing set of issues with trainers. I originally signed up for a year's worth of training sessions at the gym in November 2011. Since then, I've had three different trainers (just starting with #4), which has been a massive ordeal. Two of the three never told me they quit - I just showed up at the gym expecting to see them and they weren't there. I had to ask the gym's management what was going on and it's sucked. I feel really bad for the new woman, who seems nice, but I'm so not invested in buying more sessions (and I only have a few of the original ones left). I also don't particularly want to spend a ton of time at the gym during marathon training. I completely acknowledge the need for cross and strength training, don't get me wrong, but spending hours there isn't something I'm willing to do on top of higher milage than I've ever done in my life (and, let's remember, that at my paces, that milage takes quite a bit of time to achieve). I AM willing to pop into the gym for 20 minutes or so before or after a run (and that's what the Hanson's book suggests anyway), so I'd really just like a basic set of things to do in that time frame and check in with the trainer every once in awhile to see how it's going. I think I'm self-motivated enough to not need constant supervision, although the new trainer's argument is that she likes to check people's form and what's been hurting and adjust as necessary to address imbalances that come up in the course of more intense training. I can see her point. For now, we're going to see how things go during the base phase of marathon training (so, through the end of the month, more or less, and go from there).

I've also been concentrating on nutrition. I think I'd like to write about this separately (maybe I need a Training, Week X Food entry on the blog, as well), but I've been following four main strategies:

1. Cook for myself. I'm loving this. It's cheaper, the food is perfectly suited to my individual taste, I never have to stare at the fridge after a run to decide what to make, and I definitely feel more satisfied after I eat non-processed things. Whole grains, organic lean protein, and veggies are the cornerstones here.
2. Incorporate more fresh fruits & veggies. Luckily, I love both. I just have to make sure I prep things or have them on hand. I'm still not sure that I'm getting to 5/day, but I'm probably close. Definitely closer than before.
3. Not panic over my sweet tooth. If I want something sweet, I eat it. I'm trying not to panic about it or set weird rules for myself, which I inevitably don't follow and then feel guilty about. However, I'm finding that all of these food strategies are combining to actually diminish my cravings for sweets.
4. Small, frequent meals. I can't even tell you how awesome it's been to "give in" to the "eat small meals every 2-3 hours" school of thought. I always wanted to eat that often anyway and I think my biggest "junk food" cravings came when I really, really needed to eat, but was trying to hold out until society's appointed lunch or dinner time. I think my blood sugar was crashing. My inner hobbit LOVES second breakfast and afternoon snack (keeping walnuts and pecans at my desk has helped with the making of good choices, too, to eat with a piece of fruit). I'm more productive, I eat less junk food, it's a win all around!

To the training, batman....

Day 1 - 4 miles easy (11:08 pace)
Lap of Green Lake - met my running club peeps and did a lap while they were doing track night. Some of them were doing the same track workouts that I get to do in a few weeks. Dear god, do they sound long & hard - there were some uphappy faces out there!

Day 2 - Rest
Done!

Day 3 - 4 easy (10:59 pace)
Up and down the neighborhood - man did my legs feel fresh after a day off, even though I TRIED to slow down!

Day 4 - 4 easy (11:07 pace)
My usual Thursday night social run with running club. Had to go out a little early to make sure I got my super-slow lap (and a bit extra) done. Kinda sucks that my "social" run is going to be a "lonely" run for a good few months now, but that's how it goes.

Day 5 - 4 easy (11:09 pace)
Ran right after a quick circuit at the gym. Oh, man. It was really, really hard to force my legs to turn over at first and get up to pace!

Day 6 - 5 easy (10:57 pace)
So much for easy. I really did try! I ran on the Interurban North trail right after my skating lesson - thinking of it as a warm-up. Conveniently, the trail runs across the street from the rink, so I think I'll be getting at least a few more runs in on it before marathon training is over.

Day 7 - Rest
I'm sure I'll succeed on this one. :-)