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! 

March 30th Update

     

Another update!!  Another update and a countdown on my two races coming up!!  There are only 13 days ‘til my rust buster half marathon here in Charlotte and only 12 weeks ‘til Grandma’s Marathon!  Training has been going really well these past 2 weeks and I feel stronger after every workout.  It’s time to take training to full blast and get ready for Grandma’s, so I’ll be able to unleash the beast in Duluth. ;)

2 week overview of workouts:

March 19^{th  -} 6 x mile repeats on the track- May have added another repeat but still knocked some time off on this workout.

March 22^nd  - 20 mile easy paced long run at McAlpine Greenway- Stretching my long runs out every time as I’m getting ready for a marathon now, feels good to run on the trail for these long runs.

March 24^th - 12 x 350m hill @ 4% steepness grade- Decided to switch it up a bit this week and did hills instead of 600m repeats this time.  Now these hills will tough and will put some stride power and strength in your legs.

March 27^th  - 5 mile tempo on the road- Knocked more time per mile off on this tempo run, was so happy to have warmer weather for this workout ( above picture ^)

March 30^{th  -} 18 mile tempo long run on the road: 4 warm up, 10 tempo, 4 cool down- Felt so strong today on this tempo and was able to get into a nice rhythm during it.  Was a little windy this morning but I had no problem pushing through. (bottom picture)

P.S. Happy Birthday to the best dad ever J

March 16th Update and Exciting Announcement

AHHH!  Exciting news!  I am proud to announce that I will be running Grandma’s Marathon on June 21^st.  I’m very excited to be running this marathon as it’s a nice flat course, in a great city/area and works out great timing wise for me.  I also got a really neat training shirt from the race, it’s neon orange so everyone will see me training haha. :)   Though it matches my blue and orange shoes so I like that.  Well on the topic of races I’d like to go ahead and let you know that I am also doing the RaceFest Half Marathon April 12^th, here in Charlotte to get a good sense of where my race fitness is.

Training has been going great these last 2 weeks.  I have gotten back into full length workouts now and my mileage is back to around 100 miles a week again.  I believe my strength is pretty much back to what it was in December.  My speed isn't back all the way quite yet, but I feel as though it’ll be back within a few weeks more weeks of having strong workouts like I have been.

Now for my training recap of the past 2 weeks of good workouts:  :)

March 5^th: 5 x mile repeats on the track- felt really strong and was very consistent with my times

March 8^th: 18 mile easy paced long run at McAlpine Greenway- was a little muddy out but still a great run, I enjoy going out to the trail and just cruising around (bottom picture)

March 10^th: 12 x 600m on a road straightaway- wasn’t able to get to a track for my speed workout so did this on a flat road we have measured out but I still ran them faster than last time

March 13^th: 5 mile tempo on the road- I feel stronger every time I do my short tempo, was able to keep pushing even when tired

March 16^th: 3 mile warm up, 10 mile tempo, 3 mile cool down=> 16 mile long run on the road- felt very smooth and strong the whole way on the tempo piece, very comfortable running at that pace

P.S. Thanks to Dad for taking these pictures for me :)

March 2nd Update

    

I’m back for another training update on the past two weeks! Training has been going very well and I’m feeling so strong now that I have had a few weeks to get back into training full swing now, secondary runs included now.  My schedule has turned into a 2 week cycle, where I do 5 stress workouts within the 2 weeks, and it works really well for me right now and I love it. 

    

Along with workouts being in full swing, I have been back to doing my drill circuits 4 times within the 2 week cycles and I feel like they have immensely helped in getting my strength and stride power back so quickly.  It’s hard to not feel strong after doing a drill circuit :)

  

Now for a recap on my workouts for this 2 week cycle :)

February 19^th: 4 x mile repeats on the track- was very consistent in times for each repeat

February 22^nd: 16 mile easy paced long run out at McAlpine Greenway- felt great to be back out doing long runs on the trail, enjoyed my chocolate milk afterwards ;) (first picture)

February 24^th: 10 x 600m on the track- took me a few repeats to get into the pace, but I ended up averaging a faster pace than last time I ran 600s even though I added 2 more than last time

February 27^th: 4.5 mile tempo run- felt very in tune with my body while running and felt smooth during this faster tempo run

March 2^nd: 3 mile warm up, 9 mile tempo, 2 mile cool down => 14 mile long run- Felt a little off in the beginning of the tempo section, however was able to run through it and felt much better around half way through and ended up significantly negative splitting my tempo

By doing all these workouts I can feel my strength and speed returning and couldn’t feel better about where I am right now.  I’m slowly starting to get back to the shape I was in back in December and that’s awesome! 

February 16th Update

HEY!!!!! I’m back with an update on how everything is going!  Last blog I said that I was back running and now I’m excited to say that I’m back doing hard workouts!   This past Monday I was back on the track for my first speed workout of 8 x 600 meters; it felt great to be back out there again doing something fast.  Then this morning I did my first AT tempo run back of 8 miles; I was happy to see that my endurance has quickly come back and now just need to work on getting my training times back down.

This week was also kind of crazy! We got around 8 inches of snow between Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday here in Charlotte, NC; which is the most we have gotten in 10 years!  But that didn’t stop me from going out and getting my runs in while it was snowing and when the snow covered the roads.  It was fun the first day and half the second then I was kind of done with snow haha.  Quite a few people thought I was a little crazy though getting my runs done in the snow, but hey it’s a runner thing you get your workout in no matter what; y’all understand that. J

As I’m getting back into training I can go into every run knowing that each workout has a purpose; to get me closer to qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team.  The goal has been made.  The date has been set:  February 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA.  Now it’s time to train.