Full of Jitters – Big Sur Marathon Race Week

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Big Sur Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

It is the week of the Big Sur Marathon and I am just full of jitters.

Why am I full of jitters?

1. The Big Sur Marathon will be my 3rd marathon in an 8 month span. Prior to these 8 months, I would plan for 1 marathon a year. The months of marathon training takes a toll on my body and I need a couple months to recover between each training cycle. Due to all the COVID19 race deferrals, it just happened that Berlin and CIM were 2 months apart and I could not pass up my chance to run Big Sur so here I am questioning my life choices leading up to this. 🙂
2. With all 3 marathons being so close together, my body hasn’t had time to recover and I’ve been plagued with varying injuries. I’ve been working closely with my physical therapist and he’s been able to get me to finish line of the last 2 marathons and I’m hoping he’ll be able to do it a 3rd time. Proximal hamstring tendinopathy is what I’ve been currently plagued with and it is no joke.
3. Let’s be real for a moment. The Big Sur course is not easy. It is absolutely GORGEOUS, but, the elevation gain is 2,182 feet and as I’m primarily a road runner, I’m not used to this kind of gain. I have done the 21 miler in the past, but tacking on that additional 5 miles is a little daunting for me.

With all that being said, I am looking forward to going up to Big Sur and tackling this full course. It’s been a few years in the making and I’m so excited to check it off my bucket list. Stay tuned for my race recap next week and wish me luck! 🙂

2022 – A New Year and a New Attempt at the Big Sur Marathon

Big Sur Marathon Attempt in 2022

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Big Sur Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

On December 19, 2019, I last wrote about preparing for the Big Sur Marathon in April 2020 and on February 22, 2020, I did my last 18 mile long run for the marathon. We went into lock down shortly after and most if not all races were cancelled or deferred to another year.

Now that it’s 2022 and vaccinations have been made widely available, I will be attempting another Big Sur Marathon training cycle.

Details

Distances: Marathon (Lottery drawing), 21 miler, Marathon relay, 11 miler, 12k, and 5k

Date: April 24, 2022

Time: 6:45 am PST

Time limit: 6 hours; Officially ends at 1 pm

Since my last attempt, I have raced a virtual road 50k, raced my first international marathon (more on that later), and raced a second marathon 2.5 months later. In that second marathon, I broke my marathon personal record by 11 minutes. 🙂 Despite those accomplishments, I’ve also rolled my ankle numerous times on random flat sidewalks (LOL) and have experienced tendonitis a few more times than I’d like.

All smiles post long run ^_^

I’m about 16 weeks out from the marathon so I guess I should start training. Sigh. LOL. I do love running, but getting out of bed to get those long runs in are exhausting. Hah! Anyway, before I leave, I did want to mention that I came across a Sarah Marie Design Studio crop top that said “Kinda rude how running a marathon requires months of training, but ok” and thought it was very fitting for me recently. 🙂 Happy New Year everyone!

Marathon Mondays – Marathon Training has Commenced

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Grandma’s Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own.

Hello again! Apologies for it being so quiet around my blog lately. Work picked up like crazy last month and honestly, I wasn’t in a great mental space and forcing myself to blog would have made it worst for me and probably for you as one of my readers.

I’m a bit better now and good timing too because marathon training has officially commenced. It kind of snuck up on me too because one weekend, I was thinking that I’d have to start training soon and so I started to count the weeks left until Grandma’s and lo and behold I had to start that Monday. LOL. Oops.

Choosing a plan was really difficult for me this time around. I actually didn’t announce my New Year’s resolution this year because I was too scared to attempt a marathon PR since my last PR attempt didn’t go so hot. Yes, I PRed, but I was in a lot of pain both mentally and physically. I had no fun and I remember telling my boyfriend that I would never race a marathon for time ever again.

That was Oct 2017 and since then, I’ve raced 2 other marathons…not for time. I’m not in the best physical shape right now. I’ve gained a few pounds, but I think I’m ready to give it another shot. I’m not going to go over my mileage in detail every week like I did for Honolulu, but I will periodically update you all on my progress, especially when I hit those extra long miles and let you all know how I’m doing.

Now let’s get excited. I’m attempting another marathon PR. Wheeeeee.

Question for you: Any tips and tricks to a good marathon training season? I’m all ears!

 

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! – I’m Signed up for Grandma’s Marathon

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Grandma’s Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own.

Yep! You read that right. I am officially signed up for my 5th marathon and it’s going to a fun one! (I mean, aren’t all marathons fun?)

Come Saturday, June 22nd, I’ll be racing through the scenic Duluth, Minnesota at Grandma’s Marathon. Now, you may ask, why Grandma’s? Ever since I made my announcement on other social media platforms, I’ve gotten a mixed bag of reactions. Those who have run it have nothing but good things to say about it. Those who have never heard of it have asked, WHY? LOL So I guess I’m here let you know why I’m running it and why I think it’s going to be an awesome race.

The Reasons Why

1. FOMO – Yes, FOMO was a huge reason why I decided to run this race. I heard about it in a podcast and everyone I spoke to about it had again nothing but good things to say about it soooo when BibRave partnered up with them again this year, I was ready to register in a heartbeat. What can I say? I’m easily convinced. That and I’m starting to make my way through races in different states. If I keep going and maybe pick up my pace a little bit, MAYBE I can do a race in every state. I’ve already done California, Nevada, New York, Illinois, Florida, and Hawaii. Why not add Minnesota to the list? 🙂
2. Scenery/course – The course itself is a point to point and I have heard that it’s beautiful. You get to run right along Lake Superior so you are guaranteed to have great views of the lake. When I ran Big Sur last year, I was mesmerized by the ocean and it was a running joke that my neck would hurt from looking in that direction the entire time. 🙂  I also just like point to point courses because I get to explore more of the city.
3. Support – This race, despite being in a small city, has a BIG race feel to it. This will actually the smallest marathon I’ve ever run, with a mere 9,000 runners, but I heard that the entire town comes out to cheer the runners on. Runners are treated like celebrities during this marathon and I do like feeling popular. LOL.I kid I kid. Sort of. 🙂

I am not going to lie. I am SUPER NERVOUS about this next training cycle. I had every intention to try and shoot for a personal record as this course is fairly flat, but because last month’s runs and races didn’t really go all too well, I’m not sure I want to attempt it. I don’t think I gave my body enough time to recover from the last marathon and now I’m paying the price with sluggish runs and plantar fascitis. Boo. Thankfully, I don’t have any races coming up until the end of March so I am doing my best to run smart and not over do it. Then, come March 2nd, when my official training starts, I will decided what my goal for this race will be.

Question for you: What are your favorite type of races? Big ones? Small ones? Themed ones? 

Also, if you want to join me on this crazy marathon adventure, use code “BIBRAVE10” for $10 off Grandma’s registration. 🙂 

Motigo Marathon Training Plan

Disclaimer: I received a pair of free Aftershokz Trekz Airs and access to the Motigo Honolulu Marathon Training Plan to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

If you’ve been following me along all these years, you’ll know that I have run four marathons and have seriously trained for three using different training programs each time. When I signed up for Honolulu, I knew I didn’t want to train as intensely as I did for Chicago, which used Hanson’s marathon method. I simply did not have the time to train as much this time around so I knew I’d be looking for more of a beginner’s plan. Enter Motigo’s Training Experiences.

First of all, what is Motigo? 

Some of you may remember that I used Motigo back in April for the Big Sur 21 miler.  Motigo is, in short, a phone app that allows people to record cheers for a runner. The people recording the cheers can choose specific mile markers for their runner to hear the cheer and all the runner needs to do is log into the app and when the race starts, hit start. The app will then track the runner throughout the course and when the runner hits the appropriate mile marker, the cheer will play. This is a super neat app as people can record their cheers in advance if they cannot make it out to race day to cheer in person.

So what does this have to do with marathon training? 

Using the audio aspect, Motigo has expanded into training plans and created “Training Experiences.” They call it an experience because it’s not just a marathon training plan. For one or two runs a week (typically during a long run) , there will be an audio component to the run. For those days, a runner can hit start on the run and as you run, the app will track your status in miles and when you reach certain mile markers, you will hear someone give you advice on how to tackle the mileage. Three to seven messages were expected for an audio run so if you typically run with music, these messages won’t interrupt your music too often. And you’ll know the message is coming because there will be an obvious beep followed by a pause before the message.

What did I think of the training experience? 

So I signed up specifically for the Honolulu marathon training experience. For 18 weeks, I followed the plan as closely as I could and listened to the audio on those selected runs. On my particular plan because it was powered by BibRave, I heard various members from team BibRave giving me pointers as to how I should be running that day’s run.  There were also anecdotes of issues they’ve come across during their training and races and suggestions were given out during the runs.

After going through the plan, I will say that this is a solid plan for someone attempting their first marathon or for someone who isn’t looking to break a personal record. The plan itself does not include specific paces that you should be hitting during your runs and it’s more of a run by feel for the designated mileage. They do however tell you to pick up the pace at times in the audio.

The weekly mileage is fairly manageable and had I been better with time management, I think I could have hit all of those weekly targets. The lowest weekly mileage is 20, whereas the highest is 40.

Looking back at how I felt during the marathon, I think the plan prepared me fairly well for race day. I did taper a bit earlier than the plan suggested, but that was because I was bad and on the day I was supposed to run 20 easy miles, I ran 6 easy miles and raced at 110% during the RnR Vegas half only 4 weeks before the marathon. Not a smart move as my body was taking its sweet time healing. LOL. Had I not done that, I think I could have shaved off a few more minutes of my full time. 🙂

So there you have it, my review of the Motigo Marathon Training Experience. If you have any questions about it, please let me know or read what other BibRave Pros had to say about the plan. They also have a half marathon training experience too if marathons aren’t your thing. 🙂

Deanne – Corey – Lissa

 

Marathon Mondays – Only Two Week Left until the Honolulu Marathon

And just like that, there are 2 weeks left until the Honolulu marathon. TWO WEEKS. OMG, I am FREAKING OUT right now. LOL.

With the Thanksgiving weekend giving me some time off work, I was finally able to complete the designated mileage listed in my training plan indicated below. I actually exceeded the planned mileage by 1 mile so go me. 🙂

(Planned mileage) Actual mileage

Monday (4 miles) 5 miles

Tuesday (Rest) 4.6 miles

Wednesday (10 miles) Rest

Thursday (5 miles) 3.1 (Turkey Trot) + 7 miles

Friday (Rest) Rest

Saturday (18 miles) 18 miles

Sunday (Rest) Swim

So let’s talk about why I’m freaking out. I have been keeping up with my long runs so I know I can do the distance. The thing I can’t account for is the heat and humidity in Honolulu. I’ve been checking the weather in Honolulu this week and the low is 70F at 5 am with humidity at 90%. The race starts at 5 am soooo if this week’s weather is any indication of the weather in 2 weeks, I am doomed!

My last 18 mile long run

I don’t do very well in humid weather so I am a bit concerned at how this marathon will go. You can bet that I will be hydrating a ton while in Hawaii and will also be using A LOT OF BODY GLIDE. No chafing thank you very much. LOL.

With regards to my race goals, I think that my mail goal will be to complete the full. It would be nice to finish faster than my Walt Disney World time of 5:28:42 or even a sub 5, but I’m also okay completing it without an injury.

To say that I’m looking forward to the following two weeks of training is an understatement. During my 18 miler this past Saturday, my knee was acting up at mile 15 and was telling me to stop. Since I was only 3 miles away from being done, I just put one foot in front of the other until I finished. It was grueling and there were some tears being shed near the end of that 18 miler, not because of the pain, but because I had reached the peak of my training. LOL. I am over the moon to not be running 18+ miles every other week. LOL. Now, only to finish that pesky 26.2 miler. 😛

My Fleet Feet San Diego Family on Turkey Trot Day

This weekend, I have a much more manageable 12 miler. Hooray! I will also be in Austin for TRE Influencer Day so I’ll be able to run in a new environment making for a much more exciting run. More details about my experience at TRE influencer day next month so stay tuned. 🙂

Questions for you: Have any of you been to Honolulu? I’m still looking up things to do and eat. Any must try food items? 🙂 Nothing too questionable as I don’t want to repeat my Chicago marathon experience. LOL

Performance Hemp CBD Product Review

Disclaimer: I received Hemp CBD from Ikor Labs to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own. 

Cannabidiol (aka CBD) has been the hot new rage the past year or so. Seriously. I’ve seen it being sold in a lot of places.

CBD, if you were unaware, is the non-psychoactive component of cannabis. It does not make you stoned/high and CBD derived from the Hemp plant is 100% legal in the United States. I was even able to take it onto my flight to Vegas with no issues at all. CBD oil has been shown to alleviate pain, have anti-seizure properties, and reduce anxiety.

For active people, hemp extract has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. It also is again supposed to reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality.

Below is my review of the product.

For the past month, I have been taking 10 pumps a day for 10 days, then going off of it for 3 days, and then repeating the cycle. Per day, I was taking 10 mg of CBD. I would take 5 mg after waking up and another 5 mg before going to bed.

Personally, I didn’t observe a huge performance or recovery difference when I was using it. I did feel that my body was able to manage the mileage a bit better, but when I started increasing my mileage, my body still felt extremely fatigued. I blame my marathon training and not sleeping enough. LOL. My anxiety levels were about the same regardless of when I was on it or off it, but it did improve my sleep quality. I will note though that I had the most intense dreams while on it.

Brought it with me on a plane

I really wish the CBD had a better effect on me, but everyone’s body is different and I guess mine doesn’t get as many of the positive effects that others have had with it. Some of the BibRave Pros that have also tested it swear that it’s alleviated their chronic pain so I’m sure that it works for some people.

If you know that you benefit from CBD, I would most definitely recommend this product. I have actually tried other CBD products in the past and my body just doesn’t reap the benefits like others have. 😦 They also have a money back guarantee if you find that the product doesn’t work for you so really, there’s not much to lose. 🙂

Use code BIBRAVE20 for 20% off 300 mg of Hemp Extract. Discount expires 12/31/2018. 

Also, if you’re interested in what the other BibRave Pros had to say, their reviews are below. Reviews will be added as more Pros post.

Ben   Corey   Nicole   Logan   Bill   Kim   Brenda   Bridget   Erica   Shannon   Henry   Ryan   Jen   Lindsey   Maria   Melissa   Jessica   Chris   Whitney

Question for you: What have you tried that has increased your recovery time or bettered your running performance? 

Marathon Mondays – Another 18 miler is in the books!

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Honolulu Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own.

Week 13 of Honolulu marathon training is officially done. Hooray!

I would like to say that the hardest part is over, but then that would be lie because my hardest week is actually this week with an expected weekly mileage of 40 miles and a long run of 20 miles. LOL.

Despite the longer long runs, I don’t actually feel incredibly fatigued. That being said, I did sleep 12 hours the night of my 18 miler. LOL. I have been missing my weekly mileage the past couple of weeks, but not by much so I think I’m not doing too bad with training. I have also hit all of my long run miles so that’s a bonus. If there’s anything I’ve learned in marathon training, it is to NOT skip out on my long runs. I will skip the shorter ones if I have to, but I make damn sure to check off on the long runs because those runs are the ones that mentally and physically prepare me for the marathon distance.

During those long runs, I practice my fueling strategy. I test different gels (Hammer Nutrition, HoneyStinger, Gatorade Endurance) and I test when I need to hydrate. I have not yet hit the infamous “wall,” and I honestly don’t plan to. I’d rather fuel more than I need to rather than not fuel enough. I’m a wimp when it comes to pain.

Speaking of pain, my long runs are a great time to test where I typically chafe. According to a friend, she makes fire with her thighs, which is why she can’t wear shorts during her long runs. Luckily, I don’t think I’ve ever made fire with my thighs, but there have been a few close calls. LOL It’s probably a good survival skill though if I’m being honest. 😛 My lower back and my arms are also common places where I chafe. With Honolulu being pretty humid, I expect the likelihood of chafing to be an all time high and am planning on body gliding it up. Hehe.

This past 18 miler wasn’t easy (ie it was hilly), but I think I took it like a champ; Although, I think my boyfriend might beg to differ. 😛 Due to his injury from last weekend, he wasn’t in a great place to run with me so he volunteered to skateboard alongside me for 18 MILES. LOL. Fortunately, there were a lot of things to see along the run so I think he was cool hanging out with me for 3.5 hours. He even took footage of my awkward running (Check my IG for that video) and got some cool photos. 🙂

Week 13 Honolulu Marathon Training

(Planned) Actual mileage

Monday (4 miles) 6.03 miles

Tuesday (Rest) 5.02 miles

Wednesday (10 miles) 5.3 miles

Thursday (5 miles) Rest

Friday (Rest) Rest

Saturday (18 miles) 18 miles

Sunday (Rest) Rest

Weekly mileage: 37/34.2

So I missed my weekly mileage by 2.8 miles, but it’s not a big deal. I closed out October with 144.8 miles, which is my highest mileage of the year. Not too bad. 🙂 Another week down and another 5 more to go before Honolulu. Wheee!

Marathon Mondays – The Trials and Tribulations of Marathon Training

Why hello there readers! I am done with another week of Honolulu marathon training meaning that I am 12 weeks into my 18 week training program. That means I have 6 more weeks before conquering the Honolulu marathon. Eek.

Am I totally stoked to be running the Honolulu marathon? Hell yes. Am I excited to be putting in 6 more weeks of marathon training? Nope. LOL. Don’t get me wrong, there are lot of joys in marathon training, but there are also sacrifices that must be made during the training season.

This week, I want to talk a little bit about the ups and downs of marathon training.

Marathon training is no joke. It’s not something that you can easily do and for those who say otherwise, they’re lying. LOL. Marathon training requires time, A LOT of it. I have given up lots of Friday nights binge watching Big Bang Theory in order to go running early Saturday mornings. I know. I lead a very exciting night life. LOL. I have also given up a lot of sleeping in on Saturday mornings because I know that if I miss my group run, the possibility of me running later goes from 100% to 0%. 

In addition to time, you are putting your body through a TON of stress. I have experienced lower back pain, knee pain, and lost more toenails than I care to admit due to marathon training. I mean, the lower back pain was probably just me getting older, but the knee pain and the toenails were definitely attributed to marathon training. In all honesty, I don’t mind losing the toenails as much. It’s kind of a source of pride for me nowadays. I’m a runner and that’s the type of thing that can happen. LOL. I also find it really funny when non-runners are grossed out by it.

So why do I run or put myself through it? Maybe I’m a masochist. I’m actually not sure. LOL. But I do know that I love running. I love pushing myself to what I believe are my limits and then  breaking them. I love finishing a 10 mile run Saturday morning when my non-runner friends are just waking up. I love the camaraderie that comes along with running with friends. You’d be surprised how much you and friends can talk about on a 3 hour long run. LOL. You also suffer and bond together. 😛 Last, but not least, runners are kind of cool. 🙂

The reason I wanted to discuss the ups and downs of marathon training is because of something that happened this past week. On Saturday, my boyfriend jumped off a curb while running and sprained his ankle. We were starting our 12 mile run and within 5 minutes of running, he landed on his ankle wrong and it swelled up A LOT. It’s too early to tell, but there is a possibility that he won’t be able to run the marathon with me. 😦 I’m hoping that it will heal up quickly and he can resume training, but if he can’t run it, it’s still a-okay. 🙂 I will just run it solo and he can watch or sleep in while I run 26.2 miles. LOL.

And just to keep consistent with all of my other marathon mondays, a recap of my training below. I unfortunately have not been doing as much cross training, but I did do a short trail run on Thursday and climbed up a crazy mountain that was only 0.1 miles in length, but had a 275 feet gain. I also got a laser engraved pumpkin from the trail run, which was AWESOME. I was short 2.3 miles in my training plan, but considering I have another 18 miler coming up next week, I’m going to take all the rest I can get. 🙂

Week 12 Honolulu Marathon Training

(Planned miles) Actual miles

Monday (4 miles) 6 miles

Tuesday (Rest) Rest

Wednesday (8 miles) 5 miles

Thursday (6 miles) 1.58 miles Trail

Friday (Rest) 3 miles

Saturday (12 miles) 12 miles

Sunday (Rest) Rest

Question for you: What ups and downs of training have you experienced? 

Marathon Mondays – The Influence of Other Runners

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Honolulu Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own.

If you’re interested in signing up for the Honolulu Marathon, use code “HNLBR2018” for 10% off the registration.

Runner friends are just the worst.

And when I say that, I actually mean the exact opposite. LOL. Let me explain. I went into week 11 of Honolulu Marathon training with a bit of hesitation. I had an 18 mile long run scheduled at the end of the week and it was my first 18+ miler since FOREVER (ie January 2018, when I did the Walt Disney World Marathon). I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but as the days went by, my confidence grew. Or maybe it was my friends’ confidence in me grew. I’m not really sure which. LOL.

On Monday, I did my usual 6 miles with my run group. Coming off of a 15 miler on Sunday, I was pretty worried I wouldn’t have it in me to pull off the 6 miles, but for some reason, I felt okay to run. The first 3 miles were great, but the last 3 miles weren’t. LOL. I had started a little too fast chasing the sunset that I had drained my legs the first 3 and had to run slower the last 3. It has been helping that it’s a been a lot cooler in the evening and since it’s darker, I’m a bit more scared and will try to speed up my workouts.

I had no intention of running on Tuesday, but at the end of my Monday run, a friend was pestering me to go so I did. Again, I wasn’t sure if I could run faster over the course of 6 x 6 min intervals (Do you see my pattern of self-doubt? -_-), but in the end, I did and I felt fantastic. Who knew?

On Wednesday, I put in 5 miles with my usual run group. It got dark really fast and everyone sped up as to not lose one another. LOL. If I couldn’t see the light from the runner in front of me, I had to run faster and the person behind me did the same. I guess it’s a blessing in disguise. 😛 I DID run faster as a result.

On Thursday, I decided to run a mile. At work, I put together a to do list for my colleagues to participate in for the month of October. We’re pretty sedentary at work so I chose to include a Run/Walk streak for a week as one of the activities. Despite being tired as hell, I got that mile in. I also did some core workouts with TRX since my lower body was really fatigued from running.

On Friday, I managed the mile and did some more core workouts with a yoga ball. It hurt. LOL.

On Saturday, my friend from out of town, Nicole ran with me. She had a 22 miler and so our long runs would match up for the most part. Thank goodness I ran with her because it made the time pass by so much more quickly and I enjoyed the 18 mile run so much more. A huge thank you to her for making that the most enjoyable long run I’ve had in a longggg time. Who knew that I could hold conversation pace for 3.5 hours and learn so many new things about her? LOL. If you have a long run scheduled, try to run with a friend. It’s just so much better and who knows what stories you’ll get from one another when you do. 😛

I was scheduled to rest on Sunday, but my boyfriend hadn’t gotten around to his long run so I offered to bike with him as he ran. I was able to log 10 miles on a bike and boy was it fun. So much easier than running. LOL. I’m still too scared to ride a bike more consistently though. The fear of getting hit by a car is too great. 😦

TLDR? Below is a recap of my training. I was short 0.5 miles of my goal (37 miles), but I’ll still take it as a success. This week will be a cutback week so I’m so stoked to rest and recover from last week’s mileage. 🙂

Question for you: How was your week? 

Week 11 of Honolulu Marathon Training

(Planned) Actual mileage

Monday – (4 miles) 6 miles

Tuesday – (Rest) 5.5 miles (1 mile warm up with 6 x 6 min intervals, 1 min rest)

Wednesday (9 miles) 5 miles

Thursday (6 miles)  1 mile with core workouts on TRX

Friday (Rest) 1 mile with core workouts on yoga ball

Saturday (18 miles) 18 miles

Sunday  (Rest) 10 mile bike ride