Richmond Marathon Training: Weeks 4-6

Weekly Recap or rather ReCRAP:

I do not know why, but it has been quite a struggle updating this blogs...as well as some other online/social media things. For instance, I'm still haven't written a review about Eurovision 2024, which occurred during the 2nd or 3rd week of May. ;)

While Richmond Marathon training is going ok, motivation has been a bit of an issue. I'm fine with getting in my long runs, but the speed or weekday runs have been a bit of struggle. I think it has something to do with my sleep patterns and scheduling. Most days, I'm too tired to do my speed run 1st thing in the morning (or rather it's too dark outside). I'll tell myself that I'll do my workout after work, but I'm far too tired or have little to no interest in running after work. Actually part of the limited interest is due to intense hangry.

It's kind of funny that I will complain about doing a 5 am weekday run, but I do not have a problem waking up around 2 pm on a Saturday or Sunday to prepare to start a long run by 4-5 am. To be honest, I have to say that I've really been enjoying my really early weekend runs because: 1. there is hardly anyone outside (maybe that's more of a bad thing); and 2. it's a nice feeling to get a large chunk of a long run done before the sunrise.

Well, I will admit that I get little skittish because we have deer in the area.

I think there was something off with the deer in the picture. I crossed to street because I did not want to disturb it. However, it did not move for like 5 minutes.

From my understanding where ever there are deer, there usually will be bears. The news did mention increased activities of male bears in the area, but they should be heading to the western part of the state to do what ever they do in western Maryland. I guess western Maryland is like Las Vegas...what happens in western Maryland stays in Western Maryland.

Long run milestone:

This weekend, I did something a little crazy. Since I have not run a race since last march (I think), I signed up for a local 8K, but I decided to incorporate it into my 18 mile run.

For this excursion, I ran 10 miles as a long run, 5 miles for the race, then 3 ish miles back home. Actually, I walked 1.5 of the 3 miles going returning home. Overall, I thought the run and the race went well. However the race really made me think that, perhaps, I'm taking my easy/long runs TOO easy. My pace for the 8K was 10:45 min/mi. While that is not an amazing time for an 8K/5mi run, I thought it was a decent pace for me AFTER running 10 miles. To be honest, I actually had to force myself to slow down after running he 1st mile.

Perhaps, I should start trying to run the majority of my long run miles in the 11:50 min/mi pace range. Another options, try to push myself for 4-6 miles during the long run and finish the run with a slower place.

Retail Therapy:

I finally got my life together and bought a new pair of running shoes. You know, I think it's a bit of a disgrace that some running stores do not have a treadmill so you can try out the shoes and do the thing for which they were intended...like RUNNING. At least this store give your 45 days to try out the shoes.

Actually, I lie. I originally purchased a pair from Joe's New Balance Outlet - my go to store because they tend to carry wider shoes. But, when they arrived I realized that I ordered a regular, not a wide. Since I did not feel like waiting 2+ weeks (shipping the shoes back and waiting for a new a pair), I decided to go to a physical store to purchase a pair.

I decided the keep the regular size ones because I like the color. I can use these for non-running activities. Either way, I was long overdue for a new pair because…

Weight Frustration:

Ok, I know that I'm not the healthiest of eaters, but I have been gaining way too much weight. I guess that I'm getting to the point in my life where my metabolism is slowing down. In my opinion, I don't think that I'm eating any more than I have in the past. Hell, nowadays, I barely drink booze during the well. Ok, I might have one or two beers on a week night, but it's not like I'm doing an all you can drink beer for $10 excursion at the Hook and Ladder bar. Unfortunately, the numbers on my scale keep going up and up. I don't get it (well, yeah I do), I run 10+ miles during the weekend, go to the gym 3-5 times a week, and do some HIIT workouts 1-3 times a week. I get that exercise is only 20-30% of weight loss, but I shouldn't be putting on so much weight. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been doing better by meal prepping and portion control. We'll see if anything changes with my next weigh in on the 1st. Another annoying piece of the puzzle: my sleep schedule has been way off. Sometimes, I'll fall asleep on the sofa around 9 - 10 pm, wake up around 1-2 am, go to the gym around 4 am, remain groggy for the the rest of the day.

Ranting aside, I decided to make an appointment with a registered dietician. Perhaps, she can provide some tips or additional resources that I can work with. I'm the fattest that I have been in my life, and I don't like it one bit. Getting older sucks.

Goals for the week:

-No fast food during the week.

-Find a fitness-related book to read. Hmm, maybe I can find one in Spanish since I'm working on re-learning the language.

-Start apartment hunting even though our lease is up in June.

playlists:

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Richmond Marathon Training: Weeks 2 & 3

2024 KM in 2024:

Looks like I'm about 60% into my 2024 km in 2024 goal; however, it does not look like I'm going to make it this year...again. ;) Ugh, I even had 366 days, instead of 365 to get er done. Oh well.

While I more than likely will not cross the 2024 km mark by December 31, 2024, we'll see how close I can get.

2024 KM in 2024:

Week of Aug. 25

So, I pretty much scraped by this week for my Richmond Marathon training plans. To be honest, the only highlight was completing my 13 mile long run. I guess that I'm officially half half way through a marathon...in terms on long runs. You know, it's kind of weird that I look forward to my long runs rather than my speed runs. I guess that the long run as a distance that can complete without much effort since these runs are supposed to be long and slow. However, I would have to put in actual work for the speed workouts.

Since I've made it to the halfway mark for a marathon, I treated myself to a delicious Slurpee.

Week of Sept. 1

Ok, things went a bit more smoothly because I nailed (well completed) my three weekday runs (e.g., easy and speed runs) and managed to hit the gym for most of my strength training. I'll say that I really enjoyed my long run this weekend, which was 15 mile tour around my city.

While I'm proud of myself for completing 15 miles, I'm even more proud of myself for starting my run around 4:30 am on Saturday morning. For me, it's somewhat liberating to complete a good chunk of my run completed before sunrise. The only problem with this plan: In order to start the run by 4:30 am, I "had to" wake up around 2:30 am. Normally, I have to take 2-3 poops before heading out for my long runs. Technically, I guess that I don't have to take so many poops before leaving, but want to make sure my system is clear.

However, for this run, that plan didn't really work because I had to drop by a 24/7 Planet Fitness to take a dump. Funny thing, I once I arrived to the gym, I didn't have to do my business, but better safe than sorry.

Once again, I treated myself to a Slurpee. ;)

General health:

As some may know, I'm on a yet another trek to quite smoking. A playlists for one of my long runs was this audiobook.

You know, I think this is the first time that I've listed to an audiobook while running, and I have to say that enjoyed it. Maybe I enjoyed it because I was really trying to get something out of this book, which forced me to listen while running. That said, I think the book is working (more or less). I have been without a cigarette for four weeks and without nicotine (via nicoderm patches) for two weeks. Ok, this time period may not be a great feat, but I had a very intense routine that I followed while smoking. For instance, I "needed" to have a smoke after waking up (and another one after my morning poop), and this routine was kind of life of death for me. I will be honest and say that I do miss that 1st smoke of the day (oh and 1st smoke immediately after leaving the office), but the craving (or monster) is getting weaker and weaker. To be honest, I do not know what it is about the book that is working for me. I guess the author just explains things in simple terms with a side a depreciation. LOL at a couple of lines from the book: "Face it. You are nothing more than a slave to nicotine. Nothing more than a miserable, pathetic drug addict."

Training Plan:

So I can save myself from disappointment, I think that I'm gonna change my target time from a 4.5-hour marathon to a 5-hour marathon.

Goals for the week:

-Find and make an appoint with a dietician.

-Try to do intermittent fasting 3 days this week.

-With the exception of a work lunch, no fast food during the week.

-Add some races to my fall calendar. During my long run, I was annoyed that I saw this ad for a half marathon, which was to take place the day after my long run. Had I known about this half, I could have incorporated the half into my long run.

playlists:

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Richmond Marathon Training: Week 1

Regrouping:

Ok, I know that I'm supposed to be in week 4-8 of marathon training. ;) After returning from Spain (during the 1st week in August), it has been extremely difficult return to Richmond Marathon training. A few reasons:

The Olympic Games: I think the Olympics really did a number because I was staying up way too late watching them, which messed up my sleep schedule. It's really hard to wake up at 5 or 6 am when you go to bed at 3 am. Lol. I do not know what I'm going to do in a couple of weeks because I really want to check out the Paralympic Games. ;)

Post-vacation work: Vacationing from an American point of view is a double-edged sword. Pro: it is a great to get away for a couple of weeks. Con: catching up on all the work you missed, while staying on top of the new/current work, is a pain.

Quitting smoking...again: At the beginning of the summer, I told myself that I wanted to quit smoking by Labor Day. Since I finished my last carton of cigs ~2 weeks ago, I figured why not start now.

I went to my local Target and picked up a box of these lovely nicotine patches, which "worked" the last time I quit seven or eight years ago.

BTW, when the hell did Target start selling vibrators?

Unfortunately for me, the first couple of weeks on the patches is HELL. Although my body technically is still receiving nicotine through the patches, my body still has intense withdrawal pains. Most of my "pain" come in the form of INTENSE nightmares and literally sweating my ass off. Let's just say that a couple of nights, I sweated so much while sleeping that I did not know if I pissed the bed.

I addition to the patches, I have been reading (well listening to) Alan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking without Willpower. Several folks have personally told me that this book worked for them. Something must really happens in the last chapter of the book, because I have been told that once you finish the book, you will not want to pick up a cigarette again. Right now, I'm about 64% through the book, but I do not feel any different about smoking...except extreme guilt for being a "nicotine-addicted slave to cigarettes." Eh, I guess we'll see. Also, sometimes, I wonder if it is better to actually read the book rather than (passively) listening to the audiobook while doing other things.

Ok, I'm getting way off topic because this was supposed to be marathon training update. Perhaps, I'll give a smoking cessation update once I hit 30 days.

Training Plan:

Since I'm staring my marathon training again, I'm not sure that I will reach my target time of 4.5 hours because I have downgraded myself from five to three months of training.

But, I guess I'll just power on. Since I can run 10 miles with little (well, with some) effort, I should be able to hit at least a 20-mi long run during these three months...IF I do not skip any long runs OR succumb to an injury.

I started (well, restarted) my training program with an "easy" 11 mile run. I was very dedicated because i was out on the road by 5:30 am. Let's hope this dedication will stick with me.

I did a "let your feet take you where they want" run, which took me from Wheaton to Silver Spring to DC and back.

Since my last long run was 2-3 weeks ago, I took this run very slow and walked 0.25 miles for each mile. While the run was very slow, I will say that I actually enjoyed it and realized that I missed running. I suppose those feelings are great because I need to work my way up to running at least 20 miles during a training run.

Courtesy of ChatGPT, this will be my training plan going forward.

Mondays: Strength training.

Tuesdays: Speed work, which will include intervals, hill workouts or tempo runs.

Wednesdays: Strength training or HIIT.

Thursdays: 3-7 miles, depending how I feel. For this task, I plan to run home from work along one of the bus routes. That way, I can hop on the bus for the rest of the trip once I become tired.

Fridays: Rest day or active recovery (e.g., walking, yoga, general stretching)

Saturdays (or Sundays, depending on the weather and my laziness): Long runs and an optional core workout.

Sunday: Rest

Goals for the week:

-Nightly stretches around 8/9 pm, and getting to bed by 11 pm.

-Pack my food and clothes for the next day by 6-7 pm.

playlists:

Richmond Marathon Training: Week 1

Introduction:

I guess it's another summer, which means another fall marathon training season has begun. This time, I'm setting my sights on Richmond Marathon (link: ***). Reasons for registering for this marathon:

• I heard a lot of positive things about it from the two running podcasts that I follow.

• I've always wanted to run a marathon in my birth state of Virginia. Random trivia: I share the same "birthday" as the state of Virginia.

• Richmond, Va is pretty close to the DC metro area, which is where I currently live. Logistically, it should be a breeze to get there - a two-hour train or car drive from DC to Richmond.

According to the website (and others), the Richmond Marathon is considered America's Friendliest Marathon because this marathon "features spirit groups, party zones, amazing spectators, bands, pickle juice, junk food stops, a post-race party, world-class event execution, and more!" You can even see the 'fun' from the course's map key.

Training Plan:

Although I am super excited to start training, even though my running shape is pretty crappy at the moment, I will admit that I'm a little scared. Why? Last year (around this time), I was super excited about training for the Marine Corps Marathon. My excitement quickly turned into frustration because I had a flare up in my herniated disc. This flare up was particularly bad because I could not walk, run, stand, lie down without some sort of pain or numbness in my lower back for about a month. What a crappy way to end a summer. So, let's keep our fingers crossed that I will not have a similar fate while training for this marathon.

Since I did not accomplish my training and racing goals (due to my injury) for last year's Marine Corps Marathon, I plan to keep the same training goals for my upcoming marathon.

With the "help" of ChatGPT (blog entry link, ***), I ironed out what I hope will be a decent training plan. This time around, I think that I'm going to try to take it a bit easy by doing three runs per week. Since I have been making decent gains in strength training, I really want to ensure that I incorporate hitting the gym in this round of marathon training. In past marathon training seasons, I normally would slack off with strength training. By slack off, I mean, not do them at all. But this time around, I want to keep my momentum going. Again, I asked ChatGPT for some advice on this, and it recommended the following program based on my proposed running schedule.

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Mondays: Full body workout.

Tuesdays: 5-7 easy miles and an optional lower body workout. The easy run is something that I'm already doing because I typically will run home from work on Tuesdays.

Wednesdays: Full body workout + HIIT.

Thursdays: Speed work, which will include intervals, hill workouts, or tempo runs. For the interval runs, I hope to use the high school's track that is near my office. Actually, I should confirm if the track is open during the summer months since school is out. Since I now live in a hilly area, I don't think it will be a problem doing hill workouts. Actually, I hope to do most of my hill workouts in Rock Creek Park. Also, an option upper body and core workouts are planned.

Fridays: Rest day or active recovery (e.g., walking, yoga, general stretching)

Saturdays (or Sundays, depending on the weather and my laziness): Long runs and an optional core workout.

Sunday: Full body workout

Hopefully, I am not biting off more than can chew with this program. For instance, after my 10-mile long run on Saturday, I was a bit too pooped to do a post-long run core workout.

"Week" of Training Recap:

LOL. My 1st week was a bit of a struggle (in terms of running) because I ended up only doing a 10-mile long run on Saturday. In my slight defense, my original plan was to start training for this marathon on July 26th. So, the fact that I started something on July 6th is a bit of a win IMO.

Boy that run was a bit tough. The distance wasn't too bad, although I wish that I could run it a bit faster. Although I started the run at 6:30am, it was already hot and humid as hell. I definitely will have to start forcing myself to go to bed early on Fridays so I can start my run before sunrise. Hopefully, doing this will allow me to sneak in a few miles before the heat and humidity arrives. Well, this is not really a foolproof plan because I woke up around 5am, and it was already pretty humid. Oh well, I guess that's life training for a marathon during the summer in the mid-Atlantic region.

A bit after my run, I rode my bicycle to the National Museum of Health and Medicine and had a meal at at Dominican restaurant.

Both experiences were a bit mediocre IMO. I don't think that I will revisit this museum unless there is a really interesting future exhibit. Also, I don't think I'll revisit this restaurant unless I want a greasy stew with really tough beef.

Goals for the week:

-Nightly stretches around 8/9 pm, and getting to bed by 11 pm. Since Planet Fitness has free memberships for "kids" under 18 years old, I really want to get my strength workouts in by 5 am, so it's imperative that I get to sleep early.

-Pack my food and clothes for the next day by 6-7 pm. Actually, let me add an alarm right now to my phone for this and the above goal.

-Make an appt with my podiatrist to have the excess skin scraped from in between my 4th and 5th toes.

-Look into registering some local summer and fall races.