If you follow me on Instagram, then you might know I was selected to run the Big Cottonwood Marathon (Yes, MARATHON). A week ago, training for a marathon wasn’t my plan for the summer. I wanted to get speed and get back into shape, but I didn’t have any huge goals in mind. I applied for the Team Hylands Big Cottonwood Team because it sounded like an awesome experience. I never thought I would be selected.
Big Cottonwood is the exact opposite marathon experience of what I’ve been used too. I’ve run NYCM twice, and it’s crowded and hilly. Both of my better marathon times have come from NYCM (3:17, 3:07) despite it being one of the toughest courses out there. The second marathon I ran, Phoenix, was downhill enough that it doesn’t count towards an OTQ but you can still Boston Qualify. I ran a 3:14 there, and at the time was a PR. It wasn’t close to the 3:10 I wanted and my quads were on fire from the downhill.
Am I entirely sure I will excel at a new downhill course? I don’t know, but I am excited to have a big race on the books.
I’m not in the same shape as last spring, summer, or fall, so my goal is to get back into shape. I would be ecstatic to run about the same time as NYCM, knowing it wouldn’t translate into the same fitness as a 3:07 at NYCM. I’m most excited to train for something. I’ll have a post about it at some point, but I’m going to wait a couple more weeks to start “training.” I want a shorter training cycle with 2-3 20 miles. I don’t want to focus much on doing anything past 20 miles because in the humid summer, that is unpleasant. I would rather take shorter quality miles, than longer, slogging through the humidity miles.
That was a long intro to my training log, right?
| Monday: | Easy 60 minutes/3000 meter swim |
| Tuesday: | Rest |
| Wednesday: | 12X400 averaging 6:20 pace |
| Thursday: | 3000-meter swim |
| Friday: | Easy 60 minutes |
| Saturday: | Movie Madness Half Marathon (14 Mile at 7:10 pace) |
| Sunday: | Easy 60 minutes/3000 meter swim |
Thoughts:
Besides marathon training, I guess. As always, my easy runs are just that, easy.
Workout Wednesday: 12X400 averaging 6:20 pace with 90 seconds recovery
I do my workouts on roads. I like it better, and most tracks aren’t open except very early or very late. So I do them all on roads. When school is done for the summer, I might get on the track. The workout was a little faster than last week, which is progress.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxfRLHMF9UE/
Swimming:
I still plan to swim throughout the summer. I’m enjoying the cross training, and even though I’m marathon training soon, I think the extra cross training is going to keep me healthy.
Movie Madness Half Marathon: 14 Miles (7:10 average):
After my weekend plans changed, I decided to skip town and run the Movie Madness Half Marathon in Harrisburg. You can’t beat a $60 half marathon these days. The short story is, I was misdirected around mile 3 and ended up running 14 miles instead of 13.1 While yes, it stinks to get lost and run longer, my goal for the race was to get quality miles in. I wasn’t in a “race mode,” and I didn’t go to the half marathon to run my “fastest” ever. It was fun to get a long run done elsewhere and enjoy myself.
Anyway, that was my most exciting training log for a while, because I’m going to start training for something.
Posts from the Week:
Exploring Tyler State Park (Newtown, PA)
Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. This week I talked about why running shoes are so expensive. Each week in the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are often giveaways as well as discount codes.
Questions for you:
Have you run the Big Cottonwood Marathon? Have you run a downhill marathon? Any tips?
Are you training for something this summer?
How exciting!!! Your marathon times just blow me away so I can’t wait to see what your training looks like for this downhill marathon 🙂 I agree on the track – unless school is out I stick to the road or the indoor track at my gym.
Awesome job on the half – sounds like it was mission accomplished – except for the extra mile or so – oops!
Just signed up for your newsletter! 😀 I’ve never run a downhill marathon. Only miserable uphill marathons over here in the mountains. lol However, this December I will be running Rocket City where it’s a bit flatter and hopefully (fingers crossed) a bit faster. This spring I’ve been nothing but sick though. So, I’ve not been running much. Lots of yoga, tlc, and stability training.
Thank you for subscribing! I hope you enjoy. I’ve heard Rocket City marathon is fun Jess.
Congratulations and good luck with BCM! It was on my shortlist for this fall, but I’ve almost exclusively run downhill Utah and Colorado marathons and halfs, so I’ve chosen instead a Nebraska marathon with a more rolling profile. I have two tips for downhill races: strengthen your quads (I like lunge variations) and practice your form (I think ‘soft knees’). Enjoy those beautiful Wasatch Mountains!
Do you have any advice with downhill marathons? I ran one once and to be honest it wrecked my quads more than any other race.
I’ve run Big Cottonwood! It’s a beautiful race. It’s a little bit like flying for the first 18 miles down the canyon, and then, WHAM! Like hitting a brick wall with those last 8 flat miles! Good luck!
Thanks Kathy! Do you have any specific ideas for training? I’m a bit worried about that because the last downhill marathon wrecked my quads!