May 25th Update

Hey guys! Another week as flown by and it’s Sunday again.  I swear the weeks just seem to go by faster and faster every week.  It maybe because it’s the end of the school year but oh well haha.

Just 4 more weeks until Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth and I can start to feel the excitement building up as my workouts get better and better.  All I have to do is get through the rest of the school year and then bam marathon time!

May 19^th- May 25^th

Total Mileage: 112

Number of runs: 13

Number of workouts: 3

Monday: 2 mile warm up, 16 x hills w/ jog back down, 2 mile cool down- 350m hill at a 4% grade, great strength building workout to work on my stride power for the marathon :)

Thursday: 2 mile warm up, 6 mile wave tempo, 3 mile cool down-  alternated each half mile between marathon pace and 8% faster, to average the normal 4% faster than marathon pace.  I love doing wave tempos!

Sunday: 21 mile tempo long run = 5 miles easy, 10 mile tempo at marathon race pace, 6 miles easy- keep feeling stronger every time I do this run! Hit a good negative split this one. I really enjoy this type of long run.

Monday Workout: hill repeats

Thursday Workout: 6 mile wave tempo

Sunday Workout: after my 21 mile tempo long run

I hope that everyone has a great Memorial Weekend!!! I know I have had an awesome start to mine with some fun at the lake with my siblings and cousins on Saturday.  I tried kayaking for the first time and loved it! Now to spend my Monday with my friends to start the long studying process for finals :P

Fun at the Lake :)

May 18th Update

Hey!  I can’t believe another week has flown by!  The end of the school year and Grandma’s Marathon are creeping closer and closer every day. 

I am currently 5 weeks away from my marathon in June and am getting more and more excited as it gets closer to race day.  I finished week #2 of my 2 week micro- cycle, which included 2 hard workouts. 

May 12^th – May 18^th

Total mileage: 113 miles

Number of runs: 13

Number of hard workouts: 2

Wednesday: 2 mile warm-up, 8 x mile with 400m jog recovery, 2 mile cool- down - first time I have done 8 mile repeats and it was definitely a hard long workout.  Am building up my strength and hope to do them faster next time 

Saturday: 24 mile moderate pace long run @ McAlpine Greenway - It was nice to be out on the trail for my run and I really enjoyed the cooler starting temperatures.  I felt really good on my run and was able to get into a nice groove and click off the miles :)  

Saturday Workout: 24 mile long run

This week has been pretty good school wise as well.  On Thursday we had our Spring Chorus Concert, and then on Friday my friends and I went to see the play The Diary of Anne Frank, as put on by our school’s theater department.  It was so much fun and I enjoyed spending time with my friends outside of school! :)

Hope you have a great week! I’ll be back next Sunday to keep you updated. 

May 11th Update

Hey!! Hope y'all had a great past week.  Can't believe the school year is almost over and summer is closing in on us fast.  Unfortunately this also means teachers are in full blast preparing us for finals in less than a month so I've been busy with homework lately.  Luckily I had a break from all the work this weekend. :)

This week I decided that I wanted to share with you what one of my training weeks looks like as I work toward making my dream of being an Olympic Marathoner a reality. 

I am currently working hard to improve my marathon times so that I can be more competitive in higher level marathons, attract the attention of sponsors, develop my career as a professional marathoner, and have the amazing honor of representing the USA in major championships and races around the world. 

I follow a 14 day (2 week) micro-cycle training schedule which includes 5 stress workouts.  This is what I did this past week, 6 weeks out from my goal marathon (Grandma’s Marathon on June 21^st) and week #1 of my 2 week micro-cycle, it included 3 main stress workouts (Mon/Thu/Sun). 

May 5th – May 11th

Mon:      AM – 5 mile easy run

               PM – 2 mile warm-up, 16 x 600 @ 12% faster than MP w 200 jog recovery, 2 mile cool-down

               Ancillary – Core Circuit

Tue:       AM – 5 mile easy run

               PM – 10 mile easy run

               Ancillary – Drill Circuit

Wed:     AM – 5 mile easy run

               PM – 10 mile easy run

               Ancillary – Core Circuit

Thu:       AM – 5 mile easy run

               PM – 2 mile warm-up, 6 miles Tempo Run @ 4% faster than MP, 2 mile cool-down

               Ancillary – Core Circuit

Fri:         AM – 5 mile easy run

               PM – 10 mile easy run

               Ancillary – Drill Circuit

Sat:        AM – 10 mile easy run

               PM – 5 mile easy run

               Ancillary – Core Circuit

Sun:       AM – 20 miles: first 5 miles easy, middle 10 miles Tempo @ MP, last 5 miles easy

               PM – Nap!!!! about 3 hours ;)

Total:    112 miles in 13 runs

*MP = marathon pace

Acceleration sprints during my drill circuit

 

Monday Workout: 600s

 

Thursday Workout: 6 mile tempo

 

Sunday Workout: 10 mile tempo / Long Run

Note #1: With temperatures getting into the 80s this week my coach modified my paces on my Monday and Thursday workouts to take the heat into consideration.  This is an important thing for everyone to do as we are getting closer to summer, as you need to allow your body time to adjust to the heat increase.

Note #2: In the past 4 weeks since my half marathon in April I have logged in 440 miles. This averages to 110 miles each week, 13 runs each of those weeks.  While I am only 17, I have worked up to be able to run this kind of mileage and handle this type of schedule over the last 10 years I have been running.

I am extremely motivated in my running to make my dreams of being a successful Professional Marathoner and Olympian a reality.  I really appreciate all the support you give me and the interest you have taken in my quest there.  Let’s get training! 6 weeks until Grandma's Marathon :)

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms out there.  Don't forget to hug your mom today if you can :)

May 5th Update

Hey I know I haven’t updated in a while and I realized I completely missed the month of April, which I apologize for.  I have been busy during the weekends lately and never got around to writing a new blog.  But I’m doing it now!!

First off on April 12^th I ran the Charlotte RaceFest Half Marathon.  I ended up winning the race and walking off with $300 which I put straight in the bank. J I ran the first 3 miles with a friend who was running the 10k that started with the half.  After the 10k people turned off I realized I was pretty much by myself and ended up using the race as long tempo run workout.  I got in a good strength builder with that half as it’s hard to find a race not hilly in Charlotte. :p

The next weekend was Easter weekend which I spent with my family and we all had a nice get together that Sunday.  Had a very wet run that Saturday however as it didn't stop raining the whole 23 miles but it was still a good long run. Easter Pics:

    

The next weekend was PROM WEEKEND!!!! That Saturday was prom for my high school and I was incredibly excited to be going with a group of 4 of my friends.  We met up beforehand for pictures and had fun eating dinner at P.F. Chang’s with more pictures afterwards.  It was a late night with prom ending at 12 and then getting up for a long run the next day at 7 but I still had a good workout, but let’s just say I took a very refreshing 4 hour nap later that Sunday lol.  Prom was a blast and I had the best time hanging out and dancing with my friends!  Prom Pics:

  

   

This past week was busy as well.  I am proud to say that on Tuesday I was inducted into the National Honor Society and on Wednesday I was inducted into the National Technical Honor Society.  Next on Saturday I went and took the SAT first thing in the morning. Then came back with a nice 24 mile long run that afternoon, luckily the temperature wasn't as bad as it had been the past week and I ran on the trail to stay in the shade.  But let’s just say all my tan lines got much more defined after that run. ;)

Hope you had a great month on April and will have an awesome month of May!