Happy Sunday! How did everyone enjoy the Super Bowl last week? I thought it was a good game but I was very underwhelmed with the halftime show. Although I wasn’t really cheering on a team, I was happy that the Pats lost. I find both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to be obnoxious.
When you’re a Giants fan and you pretty much dislike both teams..
But the best thing to come from the game was that I won some money in my Super Bowl pool, $150 bucks to be exact! Considering I only put in $10 to the pool, I’m excited about those winnings! I’ll most likely put that toward a pair of sneakers.
After the Super Bowl I went to bed to prepare for peak week #1 of this training cycle. I knew it would be a week full of running and it was definitely hard, but I’m glad I survived and got in all of my workouts. Let’s discuss!
Monday 2/5
7 mile run + 40 supermans.
Coming off of the 18 mile long run on Saturday and spinning class on Sunday, this was a nice and easy run. I didn’t push the pace and it felt pretty good. These old school ProCompression USA socks seemed appropriate since the Olympics started this week!
Tuesday 2/6
8.5 mile tempo run + 40 squats
Oof! Y’all know I hate tempo runs, especially longer tempo runs. 4.5 miles of this run was at tempo pace and it pretty much killed me, but I was glad to get this run done earlier in the week.
Wednesday 2/7
45 min strength workout, including 40 russian twists
We had a snow and ice storm so the roads were pretty bad. I didn’t want to risk driving to the gym so I did a strength workout at home.
Thursday 2/8
4 mile run + Yoga for Recovery (30 minutes)
This was a busy day so I had to split up my workouts. 4 mile run during lunch and then 30 minutes of Yoga for Recovery after work. I felt like my body needed some TLC after 5 days of hard workouts, so I opted for yoga over another strength training class.
Friday 2/9
REST DAY (but I did 50 squats for the challenge)! …and the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics!
I was a little excited when I got home..
I give the Opening Ceremonies a thumbs up! Team USA looked AMAZING and I hope that they do well.
…and can we also please give a round of applause for Pita Taufatofua from Tonga? I mean…c’mon now!! You can read a bit about his incredible story/journey here!
Saturday 2/10
20 miles + 50 russian twists.
I did a quick 10 minute core routine to help fire up my core and back muscles before the run. It seemed to help a little bit but I still experienced pretty bad back pain by mile 12. I’m hoping that with more focus on daily core workouts and stretches that my back will be in better shape for the marathon in a few weeks. Please send any good vibes my way – I need them! One great thing about this run is that I was able to do all of it outside because the weather was perfect (upper 30’s) and WAY better than last week’s frozen run, LOL.
Obviously I rocked the Five Rings socks – duh!
I guess running 20 miles earned me a new Fitbit badge too – hooray!
Sunday 2/11
45 minute spinning class.
As usual, I went to my Sunday morning spin class. I had to run a few errands so I was late to class, but that’s okay because my legs are still a bit sore!
Total Weekly Mileage: 39.5
Total Training Cycle Miles ā 213
Grade ā A
I survived peak week #1 so I’m giving myself an A based on that alone, lol. It was a rough week, but I tried to stay present mentally through all my workouts. Can we get real for a minute? I’m REALLY pissed off at my back. I swear it seems like once something feels good, something else fails. My knees are finally feeling great, and then my foot/ankle acts up. I change my sneakers and my foot feels 90% back to normal, and now my back is giving me issues. It’s just so frustrating and dissapointing. Can all my body parts just work in unison for once?!
I want to say THANK YOU to everyone that left a comment on my New York City Marathon – yay or nay? post. All of the advice was so good and I value all of the feedback. I’ve decided that I’m not going to run the NYC Marathon this year. It was a hard decision, but I am confident that it’s the right one for me. I don’t think that my head/heart would be into training and quite honestly, my body just isn’t bouncing back like it used to and I’m a firm believer that when your body talks to you, you HAVE to listen. One thing that makes me happy is knowing that someone that entered the lottery will essentially get my spot since I’m not claiming my guaranteed entry – I take a lot of joy in that. I’ll focus my efforts on the half marathon distance moving forward.
Before ending my post, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Wendy for sending me a buttload of Tailwind. Runners really are the best friends!
Did your team win the Superbowl? How were your workouts this week? Do you treat yourself after a peak week?
Iām linking up with Courtney for her training recap link-up and Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap.
In Case You Missed It
Tunes Tuesday 2.6 – Love Jams
New York City Marathon – Yay or Nay?
Great job with your first peak week! Im glad the core work is starting to help your back and I hope it continues to improve. Sounds like you are making the right choice about the NYC marathon.
Thanks Lisa! One peak week down and one more to go. Luckily this week is sort of a cut back week.
Looks like you were the real winner on Super Bowl Sunday! Congrats on winning the pool!
I hope your back gets the memo that your other body parts are working well and it needs to play along! So frustrating when you get one pain under control and then another one pops up!
Yes! I’m always a fan of unexpected money, lol!
It’s crazy but it seems like my body says “Oh this is fine now, let me make something else hurt” LOL
I was happy that the Eagles won. I always root for the underdogs. Agreed – the halftime show was meh.
Great job getting all of your workouts in with your back pain. Hopefully something works to help decrease that pain before the marathon! Eeks……It’s getting close!
Thanks Sara! I really can’t believe that the marathon is a little over a month away. Now is the time when I freak out lol.
You had an intense week! I love all your Olympic-themed gear š I bet you feel a huge tidal wave of relief has been lifted since making your NYC decision. IT’s great that your coveted spot will go to someone else…that’s a win-win š
Thanks Kim! I am sucker for the Olympics. I do feel relief about my NYCM decision and I will sign up to volunteer if there are still slots available.
That is a great haul of Tailwind. I too could not have big cared less about who won the game. I enjoyed the halftime show and commercials and otherwise, I was focused on making all kinds of fun food.
Right?! I was so thankful for all the Tailwind!
What a great week of running for you!! I bet your decision to bypass NYCM, while disappointing, was kind of a relief. Now you can just focus on Shamrock!!!!
Have a great week.
You’re right Wendy – it was definitely a relief in a way. I might see if I can sign up to help volunteer if there are any slots left!
That’s so awesome that you won $$ in your football pool. Extra cash is never a bad thing. š
I’ve got my fingers crossed that your back will ease up on you. I completely agree on wanting all body parts to work together. Hopefully the core training will help!
I’m always a fan of extra cash, lol š
Thanks so much for the well wishes on my back. I just really need it to start working with me.
Our cable went out right at the start of the halftime show — luckily it came back on pretty quickly. We were sort of rooting for the Patriots but mostly glad to have an exciting game to watch. I was going to comment on your solid training, but I hope your body parts get it together!
Well I can tell you that you didn’t miss much when your cable went out lol. I hope that my body parts get it together soon as well!
Great job getting through your peak week, and it sounds like it was good weather. Training through winter and spring is always tough because of the snow storms.
Thanks so much Lesley! Training this winter has definitely been a challenge, but it will all be over in a few weeks!
Looks like we are training for the same marathon! I hope I get to see you there! My longest run has been 16 miles. I think I will make it to 18 and that will be it. Iāve had to really work hard to balance training and family. Iāve had to miss a few long runs because kids activities are on weekends. Iām so excited and canāt believe itās just 5 weeks away!
So fun to find someone else training for the same marathon! I also can’t believe that it’s just a few weeks ago, but I am excited for race day because I’ve heard that it’s such a great race!
Sometimes training doesn’t go as planned but it looks like you have gotten in some good long runs!
wow you had a great training week! Way to rock that long run. You are so ready for Shamrock. Love the Olympics hat
Thanks so much Deborah. One peak week down, and one more to go!
I am sorry your back still isn’t cooperating. Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Would you consider that? Just ignore me if you already do that, but I really do find regular chiro appointments to be helpful (and it’s not about my back, but obviously it’s good for that).
I think you’re crushing your training. I really hope you get some nice weather for your race! It’s such a fun area by the ocean.
Thanks Judy. I see my ART doctor every week and I get a chiropractic adjustment then. It does give me relief which I’m very thankful for. This lower back pain just started about a month ago – it’s baffling to me to be honest!
I’m also hoping for some mild winter weather for race day!
I turned on the last 40 min of the super bowl because I knew my youngest would come snuggle me on the couch if I did. I wore my Seahawks shirt all day. Iām still annoyed by deflate gate so I was glad the eagles won.
Great week of workouts! I love that youāre so on top of the cross training!
Sadly, I’m just not into the Superbowl!!! Great week of workouts! I’m loving the Olympics right now!
The Olympics are amazing!
Great job with peak week and that long run! Especially since your back started hurting at mile 12 š I hope the core exercises help your back feel better.
I’m going to keep my fingers crossed and keep doing my core exercises!
Congrats on a great week! Man, 4.5 miles at tempo?? So hard! Tempo runs always intimidate the heck out of me!
I hope you don’t feel too bad about not running the NYC marathon this year…I do think you made the right decision based on your thoughts about the race and training.
Now I want to try some Tailwind..lol!
Thanks Janelle! That tempo run was brutal and I have to do a similar one next week – ugh!
I feel good about my NYC Marathon decision and I signed up to volunteer on race day!
I really love Tailwind! It’s not as sweet as Nuun so it’s a little easier on my stomach.
My older girl is all about football, so she made sure that I knew that the Eagles won and gave me a play by play of how they won.
Your daughter is awesome!
Congrats on winning that money! I felt the same way about the super bowl as you did. I really didn’t care who won. I love your headband too! It looks like you had an awesome week of training!! You really racked up some miles! Have a great week this week!
Thanks! I got the headband from Party City. I love shopping there for themed items!
Congrats for making it through a tough peak week! I didn’t watch the opening ceremonies. I’m not a fan (although everybody says it was excellent!) but I do love all the backstories on the athletes. Your patriotic hat is adorable. Have you tried a yoga routing specifically for your back? Thanks for linking!
I have a yoga DVD that I can do, but I will look for a routine specifically designed to help with back issues. Thanks for the suggestion!
Okay, I loved the guy from Tonga too. I wasn’t even paying attention to the opening ceremony. That is, until he walked out. I actually enjoyed the halftime show. I thought it was good, though it’s hard to compete with Bruno Mars or Lady Gaga who put on amazing shows in previous years.
LoL, right?! Besides Team USA, he was a definite highlight!
I missed the guy from Tonga! What a sight! ? I rooted for the underdogs and glad to see the Eagles pulled it off.
What an incredible week of training for you! Sending you positive vibes for your back to cooperate on race day.
The guy from Tonga was definitely a highlight!
Thanks so much for the positive vibes š
I am loving your Olympics spirit and all the USA gear! I say it’s definitely a well deserved A! Well done on a great week.
Thanks! I’ve loved the Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta!
I too was a bit underwhelmed by the halftime show. It felt like Justin Timberlake was trying to act 10-20 years younger than he actually is.
My thoughts exactly!
Sounds like a great week of running! The icing on the cake was that 20 miler!! Way to get it done!!
Thanks Angela!
Congrats on surviving peak week! And I feel you on the issues of one thing getting better, another popping up. It seems like that’s how it always is! I hope your back feels better soon.
Also, the Super Bowl? Yessssss! I lived in Philly for a while, so of course, I was rooting for the Eagles. I am so, so, so happy they finally got their Super Bowl win!
Thanks Christine! I feel like running is a never ending battle of getting an injury, healing, and then getting another one!
You absolutely get an A for last week! You are crushing it. Your taper is going to feel so good. I am glad you feel at peace about NY! You are accomplishing a lot right, the time for NY will come š
I hope you back loosens up for you, that is very uncomfortable when running long.
I am really looking forward to the taper. I just have to get through another peak week next week!
We didn’t even watch the Super Bowl! I honestly don’t remember the last time I did. Looks like you had a pretty good week! I always like to do core work when I have long runs too. It makes a huge difference for me.
That’s good to know that the core work helps with your long runs.
I love the Dolphins and the Jaguars, so I was thrilled with anyone but the Patriots winning. I didn’t pay too much attention to the game, though. I was tired from the morning’s half marathon, and didn’t much care.
Training is great – I just keep on going and everything is working out great.
It seems like many people didn’t really have a team in the SuperBowl, but they were happy that the Patriots lost, lol
Wow! What a nice treat from Wendy. So sorry about your back. I hope it’s better before your race. Congrats on surviving peak week #1!
Right?! Wendy is the best. I’ll have Tailwind to last the next few months!
Sounds like you did great this week! However sorry to hear about your back. Hope it feels better soon! Congrats on winning some $ in your Superbowl pool! What a great treat from Wendy too!
Thanks Sharon. I have my fingers crossed that my back will get better.
Wendy is the best!
Kim – I’m sorry to read about your back. That sounds really really frustrating. This is just a suggestion, but have you ever thought about training using the Hanson method? You already run pretty decent mileage and I think a lot about the plan might appeal to you and your body. At a minimum, I would recommend you read the book to learn about the plan. For example, one of the things the book explains is why a 20 mile run is not the best standard for everyone – they talk about the science behind the Hanson plan and why they only recommend runners run 2:30-3:00 long runs. Anything over that begins to get diminishing returns. Anyway, just a thought!
Thanks Courtney. I feel like every runner I know has had success with the Hansons plan. I wasn’t sure if it would be for me based on having to run 6x a week, but I think I will at least read the book to learn more – it couldn’t hurt!