Monday, November 23, 2015

Weekly Wrap-Week 16 Marathon Training

November 16-22, 2015

***Sorry the formatting is so crazy on this post. Some of it is centered and some of it is not. I've spent all afternoon trying to correct this, but Blogger has a mind of its own.
 
I am joining the Weekly Wrap hosted by  Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin. The Weekly Wrap is a blog link up where bloggers share their active lifestyle and other exciting things weekly. To find out more, click on the image below. Feel free to join in on the fun.
 
http://www.misssippipiddlin.com/weekly-wrap/
 
I am currently training for my second marathon at St. Jude Memphis this December. I just completed Week 16 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Marathon Training Plan. I will recap my training and other highlights from my week here in the Weekly Wrap.
 
Monday, November 16th
 
Monday was a scheduled rest day for running. I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. My legs were still tired and sore from my 20 miler on Saturday.
 
My St.Jude Heroes singlet arrived in the mail. I also received two more donations towards my fundraising. Thanks to everyone's generous donations, I exceeded my goal of $1,000 raising $1,120 for the children of St.Jude.
 
 
Tuesday, November 17th
 
I ran 4 miles at an easy pace to begin week 16 of marathon training. There was a beautiful sunrise.
                 


I had a nice surprise when I got home from school Tuesday evening. Michael has baked me a cake every year for my birthday since we've been married. I didn't expect him to bake me one this year because he wouldn't have an opportunity when we weren't both together. He told me he was working his off day because they really needed the extra help. He left the house for work as usual. Turns out he came straight home after I left for school and began baking my cake. My birthday is not until the 24th, but this was the only chance he had to make my cake. He made this triple layered chocolate ganache cake from scratch. It tasted as good as it looked!
 
 

Wednesday, November 18th
 
When you oversleep by 30 minutes and you're under a Wind Advisory with wind gusts up to 30 mph you adjust. I was supposed to run 5 miles at marathon goal pace on Wednesday morning, but I swapped it for Thursday's run of 4 miles easy. I was able to get this run in before the downpour later that morning.
 
 
Thursday, November 19th
 
I ran 5 miles at marathon goal pace. It cooled off a bit since the rain on Wednesday. It was foggy with a light drizzle.
 
 
Friday, November 20th
 
Friday was a scheduled rest day for running. We had a laid back day at school. All the students were eager to get out for Thanksgiving Break. I stayed late to do my lesson plans. I still need to go back sometime over the next week to get my Christmas stuff put out. I always like to surprise the students when we get back with the Christmas tree and the arrival of our class elf.
 
Saturday, November 21st
 
I had a 12 mile long run on my training plan for this weekend. My friend Paula convinced me to sign up for the Magic City Half Marathon in Birmingham, AL. It probably wasn't wise to sign up for a half this close to my full at St.Jude, but I planned to treat this as a training run and take it easy.
 
Michael and I arrived in Birmingham around 12:30 and got an early check in at our hotel. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and settled into our room. Michael was ticked because the hotel didn't have the SEC Network, so he couldn't watch the Bama game. He refused to go to a sports bar nearby to watch it. When Paula and her husband arrived, I walked with them to get my packet at Regions Field. There really wasn't much to the packet pick-up. We got in and out quickly. There were a few sponsors set up and clearance merchandise from the Trak Shak.
 
 
Michael and I ordered Pizza Hut to eat in the room while we watched other football games. I went to bed around 9:00, but I tossed and turned most of the night.
 
Sunday, November 22nd
 
I ran the Magic City Half Marathon. It was the coldest morning that we've had all fall with temps in the 30's, real feel in the 20's, due to the wind chill. I took it easy as planned. It was actually more fun running with no pressure for a PR or time goal. For the first time ever I brought my phone with me and tried to take pictures along the course. Click here for a full race recap and more pictures.
 
 
 

31 comments:

  1. Wasn't that wind something else Wednesday morning? I was supposed to ride my bike. No way. I have never run the Magic City half, only Mercedes a couple of times. I think it's close to the same route though, which is not flat. Your cake is awesome! That's such a sweet gesture. The Bama game was a blowout with their second and third string playing the second half. You didn't miss much. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Debra and I appreciate you linking with us.

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    1. The wind was awful. I was already dressed and out the door, so I figured I might as well go ahead and run. I want to do the Mercedes Half, but I don't know if I'll make it in 2016 or not. There's so many half's that I want to run January-May. Michael always does a great job on my cakes. I told him the game would be a blowout, but he still hated to miss it. We saw highlights during some of the later games on ESPN. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. Congrats on your St. Jude fundraising. That is really impressive and such a great cause. And great job getting it done in the wind! We had a really windy day on Sunday here.

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  3. Congrats on your fundraising efforts, that is awesome! I like how you slipped in the half - cold!!!! Big smiles!

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    1. Thank you! My long run for the weekend was 12, so I figured why not run that half and just treat it as a long run with different scenery. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  4. Sounds like a great training week! Very cool that your hubby baked you a cake! Congrats on your half!

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    1. Thank you! Michael bakes me a cake every year. He always does a great job! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  5. How sweet of your boyfriend! From scratch!? How did he manage that photo of you! Must be some talented baker of a boyfriend ! The chocolate type sounds so fancy too!
    Happy Birthday btw! And safe training for your marathon!

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    1. Thank you! Michael is a wonderful baker! He makes the best chocolate chip cookies from scratch too.

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  6. That is the cutest cake and your husband is just so sweet. Happy birthday to you!!! I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating. Great week of training and good job sticking to your training plan so closely.

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  7. What a great cake your husband made! So cool he added the picture! Congrats on the half marathon too! Always fun to enjoy it more and not worry about time or a PR.

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    1. Thank you! The picture was edible icing. He ordered it online. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  8. great week :) I have never run in that cold of weather, im not sure i would know how to dress lol -- congrats on your half :)

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    1. Thank you! It really wasn't that bad once I got going. I was only cold at the start and finish. I don't see how people run in the ice and snow. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  9. He made you that cake? How sweet! Congrats on surpassing your fundraising goal and on your half!

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    1. Thank you! This is the third year Michael has baked me a cake for my birthday. He does a great job! I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  10. Happy birthday! That cake sounds amazing. I'm such a chocoholic and the more chocolate, the better.

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    1. Thank you! The cake was delicious! His best one yet! Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  11. Your cake looks amazing! Happy Birthday!

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  12. I am almost to my goal for St Jude. I know you will do great in your marathon. I participated in a half an treated it like a training run too. It was at home so I didn't have to worry about not sleeping before. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and thanks for linking up with us this week.

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    1. Thank you, Tricia! It won't be long now before St.Jude! The Magnolia Half looks like fun. I need to look into running it one day. So cool that you got to spend some time with Katie. I hope to meet both of you in Memphis! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  13. Excellent job on your fundraising!! And, happy celebrating...that cake looks delish ;-)

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  14. good luck with your marathon! Mine is Dec 6!

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    1. Thank you! Good luck on yours too! Race week is finally here!

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  15. Michael did a great job on your cake! It was so nice of him to surprise you like that. I hope you had a great birthday this week. Congratulations on meeting your fundraising goal. That's great!

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    1. Thank you, Meagan! I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

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