Irongrl’s Journey

I did finish the marathon.  Yesterday we had record heat with a high of 92.  That made it challenging for everyone.   While I cannot say I ran well, and I did not finish with a time that I am happy with, I did finish.  That was my goal, to finish this marathon and dedicate it to my mother.  That is what got me to the start (and finish) yesterday.  I will run more marathons, with better times, in the future.  Thank you for all of your positive comments to me along my way..

I haven’t posted my training for a while.  Here are the distances I’ve completed so far:

 Aug 5 - 18 Miles

 Aug 12-12 Miles

 Aug 26-18 Miles

 Sept. 2-20 Miles

 Sept. 9-12 Miles

 I also did a couple of long bike rides:

 Sept. 8 - 34 Miles

 Sept.17- 50 Miles

I am tapering for the Quad City Marathon this week, so my mileage will be very low with short runs tomorrow and Friday.  The Marathon starts at 7:30 AM on Sunday, Sept. 23, in Moline, IL.  It will cross the Mississippi River and go into Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa, then back over the river into Rock Island, IL and back to Moline.  The forecast is calling for a clear day with a high of 85.  I will post an update Sunday after the marathon. 

This morning I did the marathon training run with the Running Wild training group on the Duck Creek Bike Path in Davenport, IA.  The run was 16 miles.  I started at 6 am and ran much of the first 7 miles.  At that point, my back was bothering me  so I walked a lot after that.  When we got back to the start/finish area I kept going, as I had decided earlier that I wanted to do 17 miles.  I finished with 17 miles on my garmin gps.  I am tired now, but very happy to have covered that much distance.

I did 14.3 miles this morning.  I ran a little more than walked, an improvement over last week’s run of a similar distance.  The weather was perfect for running, low humidity and rather cool.

Next Sunday I will try to complete 16+ miles.

Tonight I did the Bix at 6 in Davenport.  I added a little so I ended up with 8 miles of running with walk breaks.

Last night I did 3 miles at the track workout.  I got my second pair of Asics Gel Kinsei running shoes, and wore them today to break them in. 

I’m starting to feel the increased mileage, and my right hamstring is aggravated.  I will probably schedule a massage appointment for next week.

This morning I did 14.2 miles with the Running Wild Marathon Training group in Davenport.  It was very hot and so I started early, at 6 am and did a combination of running and walking.  It took quite a while. My running/walking total distance for the past 7 days is 28 miles.  Training for the upcoming week includes cross training Monday and Tuesday with gym workouts or biking, depending on the weather.  Wednesday will be a track workout and Thursday will be another Bix at 6.  Next weekend is a "down" week, where we will drop our mileage back to 12 miles.  Then the following weekend it will jump up to 16 miles. 

Training for this week included short bike rides on Monday and Tuesday night,  a 10k on Wednesday morning and the Bix course last night (7.5 miles).  My mileage for running this week was 27 and for cycling it was 24.  Sunday morning I will be doing the 14 mile training run, starting at 6:00 AM.  It’s supposed to be very warm Sunday so I want to start early.

This morning was a training run with the Running Wild Marathon Training group in Davenport, IA.  I did a little over 12.5 miles.  The first 9 miles was running, with walk breaks.  After 9 miles, it was mostly walking.  This week I will do some biking Monday & Tuesday, then on Wednesday, the 4th, I am doing the Firecracker 10 K in East Moline, IL.  Thursday will be the Bix & 6. Next Sunday the long run is 14 miles.

Tonight I did the Bix at 6 training run in Davenport.  It was overcast and in the 60’s but rather humid.  I did 7.5 miles, with a combination of running and walking.  I ran approximately 75% of the time.  This approach worked well tonight so I think I will do something similar on Sunday morning when I do the 12 mile training run.  That will be the longest distance I’ve gone in over 2 years.

I didn’t get to the gym tonight, I just came home right after the Bix.  Tomorrow I will do a short bike ride and gym workout.  Saturday will be an easy day or a rest day as I prepare for the Sunday morning run.

http://www.bix7.com/2007/bix.php

Tonight I did my track workout.  It was much cooler, 65 degrees, and light rain.  We did 90 second intervals–running very hard for 90 seconds then walking/jogging for 90 seconds.  Our coach used a whistle to let us know when 90 seconds was up.  We did the workout for about 20 minutes, then ran/walked after that.