Miles run: 17.8 + 26.2 = 44
Monday – 5 “easy” miles. Slept in a little on my holiday morning, so I needed to get done. Ran a bit quicker than “easy”, but got it done!
Evening run? NOPE! I skipped our Ready for the Race training group due to the Labor Day holiday and we were at Cedar Point. A great day for riding the coasters! This is our favorite one – Steel Vengeance.
Wednesday – 4 miles Ready for the Race group, intervals 5 x 1000m. My training group thought 1000m seemed like a lot when you added them all up (=5k!), but they handled it like champs! I think they all surprised themselves at how well they did. Definitely something to be said about group motivation on tough workouts!
Thursday – 5 miles, dress rehearsal! 8:44 avg pace. It was chilly out! I decided that 5 miles would be a good distance today, with 3 miles at race pace. But who are we kidding – just warm up one mile and run all the rest at race pace! Ha! Actually, there is a Strava segment almost a mile from my house which I created and named “Almost Home”. When I noticed I had a fast pace going in that segment I totally pushed it and sprinted until the segment was complete. It was my 2nd fastest time on the segment in the last 5 years. WOOHOO!
In addition to crushing that segment, the temperatures were chilly so I tested out my race day outfit with success. Had to slap on some arm warmers too. First time this year.
I can only hope my race day will go as well as this dress rehearsal did because it was pretty awesome.
Friday – Rest Day! High school football game, and getting to see my son march. [proud mom moment!]
Saturday – Rest Day! Driving to Erie PA 🙂 . Enjoy these pictures of my adorable fosters.
Sunday…. Erie Marathon. RACE DAY! I’m writing this post prior to my race, as we drive to Erie. I figured I might not find the time/energy to update my blog properly with my race results (good, bad or ugly!) so look for a race recap in a few days. I like to get all of the gory details written down while they are fresh in my mind because really, don’t we all want to sign up for a race after we’ve forgotten the pain?? Haha
EDIT: I have posted my Erie Race recap. It’s a doozy! Go see it here–>Race Recap
I can assure you, I gave the race my best effort no matter what the day brought or what transpired. And that’s a success any day 🙂 Marathon training is a lot like the metamorphosis of the butterfly. You emerge a different person after all of the months of training.
*This comparison goes along with my last picture of the week… we released 4 butterflies which we raised. Safe travels my beautiful friend!!
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
Q: Have you ever raised butterflies from eggs?
We also tagged the butterflies we released. We got the tags from the science teacher, and the monarch eggs from our backyard!
Q: How far have you traveled from home to a race?
Boston is the farthest for me! 13 hrs of driving in the car was a long haul!! (and then we decided flying would be better haha!)
Berlin is the farthest I have gone for a marathon. I drove to Erie twice from Chicago for the marathon and I drove to Denver for the Revel in the Rockies Marathon. Flying to Seattle next Friday for the Tunnel Lite Marathon. Last ditch effort for a 2020 BQ. This may be my last marathon if I don’t BQ. Burned out. Rather do half marathons and 10Ks.
I hope you have a great race day!!
BTW, I just published my Erie race recap.
https://techchickadventures.com/erie-marathon-recap-2019/
I hope you had a great race! I can’t wait to read about it. The kitties are looking so much bigger. There’s a Strava segment near my house that I love to race, but I only run that route about once a week. I should create segments for the ends of the rest of my routes.
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie recently posted…Weekly Eats: Adults Only Edition
The only problem with a neighborhood Strava segment for me is that I have speedy neighbors and I’m bummed when they take CR! haha
Race recap just posted: https://techchickadventures.com/erie-marathon-recap-2019/
A sold week for you! Heading over to read your recap
It was a good training cycle overall. Now to try and figure out what went wrong on race day!
OOOOOHHH, I’m heading over to the recap, pronto! Your comparison to marathon training to that of a butterfly’s metamorphosis is spot-on. The training does change us for the better, regardless of the race itself 😉 We raised several monarchs from eggs…such a fun process for the kids (when they were young). We even were able to videotape one of the caterpillar’s “dance” as its chrysalis emerged 😉
Kimberly Hatting recently posted…Doubling Down
We have raised butterflies for several years now so we have been lucky enough to see them transform into the chrysalis and also hatch out of them. Truly AMAZING!!
Oh heading over for the recap right now!! Birmingham UK to Reykjavik is the furthest I’ve travelled for a race. Also love the butterfly – I’ve been a big monarch fan since reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book. How on earth do you tag them, though??
The butterflies would be a good blog post! You apply a little round sticker very carefully on the center of a wing. It doesn’t affect their flight.
Your foster’s face <3
Off to find your recap
My furthest is Fort Lauderdale but given that I spend a lot of time in FLL, it doesn't feel as far if that makes sense.
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For some reason it won’t let me comment on the recap.
Sorry you had such a frustrating race. I hope Alan’s hip is OK
Flashlights are such great swag. I’ve had that too early moment twice for FLL. But better early than stressing
I know – WordPress is acting up! I originally posted it without turning the comments on (didn’t know I needed to). Now you can’t even see the comment spaces. Odd. It was fun to be at the race wandering around in the dark! Too bad I felt like using the porta potties again right before the race and had to wait in long lines that time!
And yes, Alan’s hip is feeling OK, but sore. He would have really wrecked it if he continued. It was a smart move!
Glad his hip is OK – and bad WordPress!
Great week! Can’t wait to read your recap!
We raised butterflies from eggs once when my boys were little – they loved it!
The furthest I’ve traveled for a race was Boston to Las Vegas.
Did you enjoy the Vegas race? My friends ran the Rock ‘n Roll race there and it seemed pretty crowded!
I am in love with the photo of your foster kitties – so darn cute.
Looks like you had an awesome last week of training before the big race. Heading over to read your race recap now!
I will have a hard time giving back those two kittens for sure. They are amazingly good / well mannered kittens!! And of course, being the cutest thing on Earth doesn’t hurt their case 🙂
I’ll have to check out your race recap! I hope you accomplished all of your goals, although I definitely know how unpredictable marathons are 🙂
LOVE those adorable kitten rescues!! And love the shot of your son marching – very cool! Hope you’re enjoying a nice recovery week.
Allie recently posted…The Rundown: What’s Age Got to do With It?
I’m super excited about marching band. The band is very large compared the other schools in the area, and they’re really good! As you probably read, my race day wasn’t the best… but at least the sting of disappointment is almost gone 3 days out already 🙂
I did read about it and my heart just breaks for you because I have been there!!! It’s incredibly hard to have the perfect run on a single day but that doesn’t make it any less agonizing. I’m so sorry you didn’t have the race you wanted to run but, you’re in good company, you FINISHED (and that is HUGE) and you can always try again…
Allie recently posted…The Rundown: What’s Age Got to do With It?
Wow! You had a lot going on this week. Watching your son march, releasing some monarchs, running training runs, AND the Erie marathon! Heading over to read the race recap now.
Laurie recently posted…Taking The Plank Out Of My Eye
I was a busy week. Surprisingly I didn’t get sick, which is something that seems to happen to me before a race or after a race. All of the things going on, and the immune system being drained. No injuries to speak of, so moving right along!
I have just read your race recap. Congrats for the marathon! Bravissima.
The farthest were Berlin, Athens and Edinburgh.
Thanks! Marathon 14 done. At the end of the day, that really is a big accomplishment. For that I’m proud!
Just read your recap- sorry it was not your day! You definitely put in the work for a strong race. Some days are just like that! I’ve felt like Ive gotten slower over the past couple of years and it made me wonder what I should focus on. Maybe just a different training approach? Who knows. But still- congrats!! You worked hard and totally earned that medal!
Thanks Lisa, it sure wasn’t my day (or Alan’s!!). I have thought about it (a lot!) and think maybe I’m ready to step up my game to a more challenging training plan. I took a step back because I was injured and “coming back”, but maybe to reach my goals it might be time to kick it up a notch. Deep thoughts!
Congrats on completing yet another marathon! Sorry it didn’t turn out as hoped, nor as well as your dress rehearsal. Still, can’t wait to read your recap!
We flew from Virginia to California for the Big Sur Marathon one year. Have you run it? If not, definitely put it on your list!
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…Gravel Grinding and Dreaming of Chicken Biscuits
Big Sur is definitely one I want to run some day!! When my kids are both in college I think we will be doing more destination races. Right now it’s a challenge just to fit in a big weekend race with their activities!
I read your race recap; I’m so sorry. Bad races do happen, no matter how well we train, but that doesn’t take the sting out of it (for some reason I couldn’t find a way to comment on your race recap).
Give yourself some time & space. Right now it’s too raw. In a few weeks you’ll be better able to evaluate what went right, what went wrong, and whether or not there was truly something you could have done differently. Perhaps just putting pressure on yourself to meet a time goal was the problem, and maybe not.
Big, big hugs — to you & your husband. It’s hard to train so hard, be so optimistic, and have your dreams crushed. I will say this, though — it can take a lot of training cycles before you see a payoff It’s almost never linear. And whatever you do decide, you know we’ll all be there cheering for you — virtually.
I’m really not sure if I’m more sad from finishing so far off my goal, or he should be for not being able to finish!! Luckily, we both have the Columbus half marathon coming up in October to keep ourselves busy and focused. Hopefully his hip will feel all better and he can run happy. He’s got a Dr appt for Monday to get it checked out!
And thanks for the well wishes – and for reading my blog Judy!!