Marathon Training Week 13

Good evening everyone! I hope you're doing magically <3 Today, I have measurements and progress photos for you! Yay! I am really excited! I have yet to make more progress on the Chamber of Secrets, but I am planning on finishing it this week! Things have just been super busy with work, teaching Barre class, workouts, and helping out with math homework! I should definitely have more time this week to get some reading done. Hopefully, I get get a groove going and maybe finish the Prisoner of Azkaban! We shall see. I am super happy and excited with my new tattoo!!!

I am in love with it 😍! I was super nervous because of the colors, but I love how it came out. With every tattoo I get, I put a lot of thought into it and there is always meaning behind it. With this one, I wanted to express my nerdy side. I love anime. This is from the anime, Fairytail. It is definitely in my top anime (I can never name one single favorite, I love so many)! I chose the Fairytail Guild Mark because they are my favorite guild in the anime. I chose blue for Erza because she is one of my favorite characters. She is such a strong individual physically, mentally, and emotionally. I also combined it with Jellal's face tattoo to give it a little something more. I chose Fairytail because they are about bonds. That you can forge strong familial bond with people who aren't your birth family. You can forge family in the journey that is life. You can forge these strong ties to people who are there for you. The guild is also all about getting back up when you have been knocked down and never giving up. They also are about standing by each other and lifting each other up (even when you fight). The darker part of the blue is to represent the night sky. The moon and stars are lights in the dark (friends and family) lighting the way in the dark, being guiding lights and helming to navigate the way back.

Anyways, here is my training week in review:

Week 13: Marathon Specific Training

Monday 7/22/19: Speed Work

2 mile Warm Up
8 x (400m uphill at 10k pace, 45 seconds rest, 400m downhill at MP)
90 seconds rest between sets
2 mile Warm Down

Warm up and warm down pace were ran at about an average of 8:27min/mile. The uphill incline was at 5% and the downhill was just a 1% incline since the treadmill I use doesn't do decline and I keep it at 1% for running to help prevent shin splints. 10k pace was ran at 7:03min/mile and marathon pace (MP) at 7:41min/mile.

Tuesday 7/23/19: OrangeTheory, Legs, and Barre

Reached the 12 splat point goal!

Legs

4 sets:

Hack Squat: 45lb plus rack

Laying Leg Curl: 40lb

Leg Abductors: 90lb, 110lb, 120lb, 130lb

Leg Extension: 110lb, 130lb, 140lb, 150lb

Hack Squat: 45lb plus rack

Abs

The first set was 12 reps, second set 14 reps, third set 17 reps, and last set 17 reps. I have not done the hack squat in awhile. It was fun. I really miss going heavy. I know that I can't because of my high mileage (it comes out close to 40 when you add in OrangeTheory). I still love lifting even if it's not as heavy as I want to go. I don't want to overwork my legs and joints, but I still want to work them.

Wednesday 7/24/19: Aerobic Run

5-7 mile aerobic run

I did a pace of 8:57min/mile for my aerobic pace.

Thursday 7/25/19: OrangeTheory, Upper Body and Barre

Reached the splay point goal!

Upper Body

4 sets:

Bench Press: 65lb, 75lb, 85lb, 95lb
Seated Row: 90lb, 110lb, 120lb, 130lb
Shoulder Press Neutral Grip: 50lb, 70lb, 80lb, 90lb
Tricep Push Down: 40lb, 50lb, 60lb, 70lb
Hammer Curl: 15lb dumbbells, 20lb, 25lb, 25lb
Abs

First set was 10 reps, second set 8 reps, third set 6 reps, and fourth set 6 reps. I think I could have gone up to 30lb dumbbells (not for six reps though). Maybe I will try it next time.

Friday 7/26/19: Easy Run, Yoga, and Volleyball

5-6 mile easy run

Easy run was ran at an average of 8:27min/mile.

During my lunch hour, I went to yoga! It felt really great!

In the evening, I went to play volleyball! It was a lot of fun! My arms definitely were hurting though!

Saturday 7/27/19: Long Run, Yoga, and Barre

2 mile warm up
10 miles at MP (start a little slower and finish faster)
2 mile warm down

I reached a personal record on the half marathon! Yay! I was super excited about this! Below are my splits:

My goal was to run the warm up and warm down at 8:27min/mile. I was supposed to start slower and end faster. My goal was to do 3 miles at 8:00min/mile, 4 miles at 7:45min/mile, and 3 miles at 7:30min/mile. I did not do that 😅. I did the first warm up mile close to my goal and then the next three were faster than planned. Mile 6 was what I planned, mile 7 was faster, and miles 8-10 were slower than planned. Mile 11-13 were on my target pace and mile 14 was faster than goal pace. I felt much better than last week. It was so humid when I started my run which I thought meant I would not do well at all. I did better even with water consumption and with a gel! I ate the gel slower and took a slower mile during mile 8 because of it, but it definitely helped! It made me feel like my ultimate goal pace is a possibility, but in order to achieve it, I really have to keep training hard!

After my long run, before I taught Barre class, I did 45 minutes of yoga! It felt so good! I definitely napped after Barre!

Sunday 7/28/19: Rest

I did nothing today. I should have done another yoga session, but that did not happen. Definitely did more yoga this week, but it is my goal to do it on Sundays as well.

Measurements from 6/30/19:

Weight: 128.6lbs
Neck: 12in
Chest: 34.25in
Waist: 28in
Hip: 37in
Left Thigh: 22.15in
Right Thigh: 22.25in
Left Calf: 13.25in
Right Calf: 13.5in
Left Bicep: 10.5in
Right Bicep: 10.5in
Left Forearm: 9.25in
Right Forearm: 9.5in
Wrist: 6.25in

Body Fat w/tape measurements: 27.94%
Body Fat w/caliper: 23.84%
-Abs: 22mm
-Suprailiac: 27mm
-Tricep: 15mm
-Thigh: 19mm

Average Body Fat: 25.89%

Today's Measurements:

Weight: 126.1lbs
Neck: 12in
Chest: 34in
Waist: 27.5in
Hip: 36.5in
Left Thigh: 21.5in
Right Thigh: 21.5in
Left Calf: 13in
Right Calf: 13.25in
Left Bicep: 10.5in
Right Bicep: 10.5in
Left Forearm: 9.25in
Right Forearm: 9.5in
Wrist: 6.25in

Body Fat w/tape measurements: 26.59%
Body Fat w/caliper: 22.47%
-Abs: 20mm
-Suprailiac: 23mm
-Tricep: 15mm
-Thigh: 19mm

Average Body Fat: 24.48%

I tried to get pictures of my back (it is difficult for me to 😂). It has definitely improved. My sister is going to take one this week so I can post a comparison next week!

This is a comparison between my last set of measurements on 6/30/19 and today's measurements. I am definitely making progress slowly but surely. I have noticed that I have been meeting my macros, however, I am going over my calorie goals more often than not. Therefore, I have been eating more at a maintenance phase rather than a cutting phase. It is a different problem than before. I used to meet my calorie goals, but wasn't necessarily eating the best. Now, I am eating better (not the best though), but not meeting calorie goals. I am really going to focus on meeting my macros, eating better, an meeting my calorie goals these next four weeks. I am going to keep my macros at 50% carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fat.

I felt pretty good for the majority of my run. I definitely started to feel it during mile 7 and 8, but before I hit the wall, I had finished my gel. I definitely noticed that I timed the gel better. Every 60 minutes is definitely how I need to do it. I also did water every 40 minutes. I might need to change that to increase the occurrence, but for now, that worked for me. I will tell you that I was tired at the end of that 14 miles. I really pushed myself this run. I was so tired and just wanted to stop. Somehow I managed to keep going. I kept telling myself what I tell my clients during Barre class. That when you want to stop, push yourself just a little more, so I did. It helped me finish my run. I definitely wanted to stop in the middle of it to. My shoulder started hurting, I cramped ever so slightly, and I was tired. However, I just kept breathing and focusing on relaxing and just continued to run. I don't know how my marathon is going to go, but I know that this training is no joke, It is so hard some mornings to get up and go run. Especially when I'd rather be sleeping, but it is worth it. It is worth it to see the beautiful sun rise. It is worth it to see my progress, even if it is the tiniest of progress. Putting myself through this, pushing myself, it's worth it.

"When you fall in love with running, you fall in love with struggle. And when you fall in love with struggle, you fall in love with life."-Michael D'Aulerio

I definitely think this is true, but I think it can apply to more than just running. When we struggle and learn to embrace the struggle, we are embracing life. We are embracing endurance and in doing so gaining so much strength. 

Stay strong lovelies,

💚Ari💚