18 Miles!

Today Sena and I did our long run in Philadelphia. We parked at Saint Joes boathouse, ran up Kelly drive to the Art Museum, crossed the river, down West River Drive (into the wind) crossed at Falls River Bridge, then back up Kelly Drive. The loop is about 8.5 miles, so you have to repeat it and add some. We did it in reverse the second time.

Sena hasn't been able to run as often as she would like due to her calf, but she did manage to finish her 18 miles today in a bit over 3:35 - under a 12 min pace average - very cool. It amazes me that she is now able to run 18 miles.

Sena is a bit stiff right now as any one is after their long runs, but she'll bounce back in a day or two.

Her next big run is in 2 weeks where she will do 20 miles. That will be the longest run before the marathon. I know she can do it mentally, I just hope nothing physical stops her at this point. She has worked so hard.

I ran 20 miles, back tracking a few times to make sure she was ok, then I did the loop on my bike to stretch my legs - it really helps! At mile 16.5 I climbed the Art Museum stairs Rocky style, then finished the course. I was toast by the end.

Sticking with it...

The last few weeks have been touch and go. Sena's calf continued to cramp up on her. She went to see - Jan W. an ART (Active Release Therapist) a couple of weeks ago. Sena was somewhat bruised for a few days afterward, but then felt pretty good. She also started cold + heat, which has been a big improvement over just cold therapy.

She is knocking out a couple of 6+ mile runs during the week now without much trouble on courses she couldn't attempt in January. She does some walking during her runs, but is still averaging 11:15 or better on hilly courses.

Her calf is still getting tight, but she keeps on top of it and is able to get her runs in, sometimes skipping runs and doing cross training instead.

She finished over 14 miles last weekend and will be going for 16 miles tomorrow. Wow - I can hardly believe it! She is really committed to this and overcoming some pretty serious obstacles.

Calf trouble

After last weekend's 12 mile run, Sena's calfs tightened up most of the week. On Friday she was able to get a 6 mile run on the treadmill in. She felt pretty good about that. She did an easy eliptical workout on Saturday, and today she ran 12 miles again. She changed several things from last week. She drank more water (last week she drank nothing during or 30 mins after the run!). She took an electrolyte before and after the run today. She took an ice bath after the run. She iced her calfs later in the day. During the run she altered her running form. Hopefully all of these things combined provides a better result.

I ran the same course with her (a 3 mile out and back - 6 miles) - she did it twice for 12 miles, I did it 3 times for 18 miles. It was nice running 'with' her, even though we only saw each other about 6 times over the 2+ hour run. It was also nice to drive to and from the park with her (30 mins each way).

She is really getting into it - how cool is that!

Weeks 1,2,3 (again!)

Now that Sena has begun her formal 16 week training program, it is time to reset the clock.

The first 9 weeks or so gave her a base to work with, but now she is doing marathon specific training. It took a while to pick the 'right' training program, but after reviewing several options, we both agreed on one that had variety, but helped her build slowly. It has workouts that not only will help her do the distance, but will improve her speed.

Last weekend her long run was 8 miles; today she ran 10 miles in 2 hours. She tried to run with some ladies that show up for the Saturday runs with the club, but none of them showed today, so she ran solo. We saw the 'Spirit of the Marathon' movie last night - a special showing at the movie theatre. It was pretty cool, but reminded me that it as Sena does her longer runs, it will be important for her to have a running partner.

Anyway, she is doing an interval workout, a tempo run and a long run every week. This was a very solid week for her, and I consider it a breakthrough week because her everything was right on target - speed, heart rate, recovery, etc.

I'm so proud!

Weeks 8,9,10

Week 8 Sena managed to do an 8 mile long run even with the holidays approaching. I gave her a Garmin 305 to track her training. We did Ridley park loop and then some. She did really well, but the big hill required a fair bit of walking.

Week 9 was touch and go. Sena did a hill workout on the treadmill on Tuesday, then decided to do it again on Thursday. Her right knee was really sore - she was having trouble walking for a couple of days. Her confidence was low. I was worried that she really did serious damage, but fortunately, after a few days off, she was as good as new. She did not do a long run on week 9, but now has a nice solid base to begin a 16 week marathon program.

This is week 10 - Sena has done 2 days on the treadmill - over 4 miles each time. She can hardly believe how easy it is to run 4 miles now! It's great to see her confidence back. This is the week that she begins a more formal marathon training program, which starts with a 5 mile 'long' run this weekend. I won't be running with her because running at her pace is taking a toll on my knees.

week 6&7

Week 6 I wasn't able to run with Sena - she went to the shore with friends on the weekend and did her long run there. With iPod in pocket, she knocked out 7 flat miles at a pretty good pace. She said her iPod froze about mid-run, and the Garmin shows that she slowed down a bit after that - could have been she was just getting tired.

Week 7 she wasn't feeling well again and her weekday workouts were cut short. Holiday preparation cut into her time and she just wasn't feeling it. On the weekend we attempted 8 hilly miles, but at mile 6.5 we started our massive 1 mile climb up Hillsdale and she needed several long walk breaks. We got home at 7.5 miles and she was hurting, so I strongly suggested we call it a day.

She hasn't been doing any cross training, but the idea was to get her body used to running before we started a 16 week program in January. Hills are difficult for her, but she does well on a flat course - unfortunately the April Marathon will be very hilly, with the most difficult hill twice the elevation of hillsdale about 12 miles into the course. Scary

Sena's first 6 mile run (week 4 & 5)

Yesterday Sena ran 6 miles straight. It was a long slow distance (LSD) run. She got a little faster each mile starting at over 13 min for the first mile and finishing at 11:35 for the last mile - running pretty hard the last half mile. Very impressive.

Her knees were sore the rest of the day going up and down stairs, but she says they feel fine today. I suspect tight quads are pulling her knees out of balance, but who knows. Hopefully she does the quad stretching that I suggested.

The week leading up to this run she did three other runs - on Monday she did a tempo on the treadmill, on Wednesday she tried to do Singer Farm (a hilly 2 mile loop), but was only able to finish one loop, and on Friday she ran home after dropping her car off at Goodyear to get repaired.

The week before this one wasn't so great. She wasn't feeling very well most of the week, but did get her long run in (5 hilly miles). It was a pretty good long run, but she isn't getting much faster.

We reviewed other runs where she did walk/run rather than straight run and her average pace was actually faster when walk / running. So she is going to give that another try to see how it turns out.

This coming weekend she will be at the beach with friends and his hoping to do 7 miles - she is thinking about having her friend drop her off 7 miles away from their place so she has to jog home.