boston strong |

In hindsight making this the week to start giving up your biggest vice may not have been smart. Diet Mountain Dew and I have a long history. If asked my favorite food I would say Diet Mountain Dew. Favorite way to start my day-Diet Mountain Dew. Favorite pick me up-Diet Mountain Dew. My favorite treat, you guessed it, Diet Mountain Dew!

Except what we have turned into much more than a treat. The obsession turned into a strong dependency to the point I packed it with me everywhere I went. This week after feeling it suddenly tasted off, I decided to end the dependency I have on Diet Dew.

I try to eat healthy most of the time and I buy products with reduced chemicals or more natural options, yet I ingest chemicals horrible for my body 12 ounces at a time, three times a day. It was time to make a change. Plus I don’t want to have to pack cases of pop to take on our vacation out West this summer or be confused with a momma grizzly if I’m short on Dew.

Tuesday I had a can and a half of the vice. Wednesday and Thursday I had no diet soda. Friday I had one fountain diet soda with my late night dinner that I did not finish. I drank tons of water over these days and felt ok. The first few days were easier than I’d anticipated they would be.

Then this weekend came. I’ve felt like a zombie! All I want to do is sleep. Today I had no coffee in the morning either which left me with the worst pounding headache I’ve experienced. I’m hoping this is the worst of it. I don’t plan to give up coffee or start drinking more of it. My only intentions were to give up the sauce (dt. Dew)! I’m curious to see how I feel in a week. Will my training see improvement or not with less soda and more water? Will I feel better or recover faster? We will see! Anyone have any suggestions?

With one more week before the Wisconsin Marathon here’s how our past week of training looked.

Monday-5.25 miles and 50 minutes of yoga (Sarah)

Monday was Boston Marathon Monday. I dream of running this race one day and hoped everything would go positively for those running today. To show my pride and support for those in Boston I dressed in my Boston Strong colors and Boston Strong Bic Band.

Tuesday-10 mile tempo run (Sarah)

I didn’t intend to make this a tempo run, but the legs wanted to go and the weather was perfect. I averaged 8:15 pace over my ten mile run. It felt great!

Wednesday-5 miles

Sunday-8 miles

Tip of the Week-if you’ve managed to make it through your training without losing a few toenails or gaining black ones-congrats! I struggled with black and painful toenails until my third or fourth marathon. Now my toe box of my current shoes fits better so there is less sliding for my toes to hit the ends of my shoes. I’ve also learned to never go for a long run without clipped toenails. Forgetting to trim your nails can lead to painful blisters and toes later on. Ryan has had no issues with this by taking my advice about clipping his toenails and purchasing shoes that fit his feet.

By this point you’ve also earned some calluses and rough parts to your feet. Once you’ve earned those I’d recommend keeping them. I’ve had only one pedicure since my wedding in 2007. Now that my feet are often sensitive I don’t want anyone coming at them. Plus I worked hard for those calluses and I don’t want to have to work to earn them back. Foot massages on the other hand-amazing! Paint your toes pretty ladies (and gents if you wish) and carry those funky feet proud. You earned them!

Total Weekly Miles-13 miles (Ryan) and 28 miles (Sarah)

Happy Training!

First of all congrats to all the runners at Boston today. I was so excited for Meb to win the men’s race today. I was cheering and on the edge of my seat those last miles. It was also awesome to see Shalane Flanagan PR and set a new American record along with a new course record by Rita Jeptoo. Watching them run reminded me that even for the elite a marathon is a challenge.

Our first week of taper is officially over. Since accidentally posting this before it was done you can also tell that I’m already starting to lose it…sort of. Let taper madness begin. Taper madness is the self-doubt, phantom aches and pains that pop up, questioning of ones training, and general hysteria that surrounds a drop in mileage before a big race.

Ryan is following his taper schedule which is coming at a perfect time as he has baseball games three nights a week. I’m sort of tapering, but not. Since my big race is the Chesterwoods 50k in June and my two marathons in July, I do want to taper some for the Wisconsin Marathon, but it is really serving as a long run for me.

Monday started with a snow day and Tuesday it was still cold yet. While you’d think I’d be used to this, I am so over it. I also wanted to rest the legs from our 22 miler. I should have run Tuesday, but didn’t. I later regretted that choice. I swear sometimes I never learn.

Wednesday-5 miles

Thursday-8 miles (Ryan)

Friday-8.6 hilly miles (Sarah)

Saturday-10 miles (both of us)

This surprise package greeted us on Saturday! We opted to pay for packets to be sent to our house as we knew we wouldn’t have time to attend packet pickup. This makes the race seem so much more real!

We ran our ten miles on the Great River Trail which runs parallel to the Mississippi River and into the nearby marsh areas. We even saw a pelican fly by a few times which is a new sighting this spring.

This run I had hopes of going 16, but I wasn’t feeling the greatest tummy wise and we had places to go and people to see so I settled for ten miles. Sunday was the same story and sadly my miles really tapered this week. The runs I had felt great and strong so I’m not too worried. I’m looking to have a strong week and my miles up again next week although with a busy calendar it is going to take some forward planning on my part to make it happen. Get after it!

Tip of the Week: When tapering for a marathon-respect the taper. You’ve earned the time off and recovery for your legs to perform their best on race day. Remember while you might be cutting mileage, you do not need to cut intensity. Keep doing those speed sessions if that has been a part of your training. Tapering is about reducing miles on your feet not intensity. Also, now is the time to make sure you’ve done a dress rehearsal or two on you last long runs to make sure you know what you are wearing on race morning to eliminate unnecessary surprises or discomforts. A little forwards planning can really save your race ahead of time!

Weekly Mile Totals: 18 miles (Ryan) and 23.6 miles (Sarah)

Happy Training! I’m off to start my week right with a run and show some Boston Strong pride!

Tag Archives: boston strong

{Wisconsin Marathon Training-Week 17}

{Wisconsin Marathon Training-Week 16 (the real post)}