Paris Marathon Training Week 2

I woke up the morning after the half glad it was a rest day because I was sore, much more so than I thought I would be. I guess the hills got me a little bit more than I realized. I was having my annual physical/blood work done so I had to fast. That scheduling was super dumb on my part because I was HUNGRY. Luckily I made it through with no hangry moments. That night was our annual Running Bloggers Christmas Party. It’s always great to see these ladies! And we had some new faces this year so it was nice to meet new people as well. 

  
Tuesday I had 4-5 recovery miles so I did 4 miles on the treadmill at 11:32 min mile pace. This pace is right in the middle of my recovery pace and I was just not going to go any faster. I finished this off with some hip/glute exercises.

Wednesday was 45-60 min of cross training. I did 45 min on the spin bike while watching some Nashville on Hulu. I’m recently obsessed with this show since I cut cable and am trying to find other shows to watch. I’m almost up to the current season. 

In the afternoon I had an appointment with my biomechanics guy. He’s a local biomechanics/strength/running coach that works out of my chiropractor’s office that I started seeing to get to the route of my peroneal tension issues last training cycle. I wanted to see if my form had improved and what areas I needed to continue to strengthen. 

He had me run 3/4 mile on the treadmill while filming me from different angles. We compared between my last visit and now and surprisingly (to me) I had some pretty big improvements. My stride has increased by a cm and has become symmetrical (my right leg was having trouble moving forward before). The small increase in stride equated to almost 400m over a marathon so that’s a lot less distance to travel steps wise. I’m still having some right glute strength issues that cause my hips to collapse when I step with my right foot. He gave me some new exercises to focus on and I asked for some core exercises that wouldn’t bother my SI joint. I don’t have to see him again unless I need to which is great news for my bank account. 

Thursday had 6 recovery miles on the schedule and this was a boring treadmill run. 

Friday was a rest day so I slept in, worked for half a day and then headed to Orlando.

I asked for some Orlando running trail advice from my fellow Oiselle runners that live in the area and 3 recommended the 10 mile clay trail in Clermont. It was about 30 minutes from the hotel but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a shot. It sounded much better than running along a busy highway or on a treadmill for 10 miles. 

  
I may have parked in the wrong place but I found the trail and started my run. It was a beautiful morning and cool for Florida. I started in arm warmers but stripped those off around mile 4. The trail was hilly, especially for being in such a flat state, but it was really pretty. 

It was quiet along the way but there were other runners around and I was enjoying the pretty scenery. Nice rolling hills, the citrus and blueberry farms and the little lakes. The trail is really just a clay road that has minimal traffic and it was fairly easy to follow. The miles ticked off but by mile 8 the wind had picked up and it was tough going up some of the steeper hills with pretty strong wind in my face. I averaged 11:19 min miles and with the hills and wind I’m pretty happy with that.  

  
I spent the rest of the day with my cousins, their kids and my aunt at Disneyworld. We went to Epcot for the Candelight Processional with Chandra Wilson as the guest narrator. The singing was amazing! After that we went to Hollywood Studios to see the Osborne Spectacle of Lights since it was the last year. I loved the lights! 

   
   
Sunday morning I woke up not feeling great and my calves were pretty angry from the hills plus walking around two parks the rest of the day so I skipped my 3 mile recovery run. I feel bad about it but I think my calves needed the rest and I was on my feet for a while afterwards. I headed to south Florida and spent the afternoon getting a mani/pedi with my mom and Nana. 

  
It wasn’t a perfect week, but with Monday a new week begins with a clean slate.