Good morning, friends!
I did my first long run of my marathon training on Monday morning, so now I want to tell you guys all about it!
Pre-run eats: Steel cut oats (made in the crockpot <— super easy), eggs, and cantaloupe.
Weather: Ever since I committed to running this marathon, I’ve been obsessed with the weather. I’m not a fan of winter or being cold, so I often check the weather multiple times a day to plan my long runs around when it will be the warmest. For instance, we’re getting some “dangerous” arctic air later this week (ooooh, sounds so scary), so my usual long run was moved to Monday instead of Thursday (or Saturday). I also try to run in the late morning/early afternoon since it’s typically the warmest part of the day, but Monday’s weather was a little wacky. It actually got colder, windier, and even started to snow as the day progressed, so, as soon as I dropped Quinn off at daycare, I headed right out to get my run in before it got any nastier outside.
Gear: Mal bought me a new running jacket for Christmas and he was sooooo excited for me to wear it, so I just had to blog about it. (He seriously asked me like 5 times when I was going to wear it. Haha!) Once again, he did a lot of research on the best cold weather running gear and then got an enthusiastic recommendation from a local running store employee (who happens to be a blogger running Boston too), so I was even more pumped about trying this jacket.
Verdict: I LOVE IT! Obviously, I love the color and the way it looks, but it also has some really amazing features, including a built-in face mask, hand-warming thumbhole cuffs, big pockets with zippers (I just threw my iPhone and keys inside – no need for my Spibelt), and it’s lightly insulated and waterproof, so it’ll be perfect for wet, snowy days. Lovvveee it!
The run itself went okay. I took off two weeks from running around the holidays (I was busy eating cookies), so my legs were tired and heavy, and I just felt sluggish overall. I also started to feel some pain on the top of my left knee, which is a totally new issue. I didn’t have a single ache or pain during my pre-training weeks (and I consistently beat myself up at CrossFit and KFIT), so this knee thing really came out of nowhere, and I’m hoping it goes away ASAP. Maybe my body just needs to get back into the swing of things? Maybe I shouldn’t have taken 2 weeks off? I also haven’t had a massage in awhile, and I just ordered a new pair of sneakers that have a bit more support in them, so maybe those things will help? Blah. Knee pain GO AWAY!
I stopped a few times to stretch my quad and hip on the left side, but the pain continued for almost the entire second half of my run. Boo. Even still, I managed to run all 75 minutes, which was my goal for my first long run.
Post-run eats: Protein smoothie made with Stonyfield Greek and Chia Blood Orange, SFH vanilla Recovery protein powder, almond milk, and a banana.
I made my smoothie as soon as I got home from my run and drank it while icing my knee. I also took some Ibuprofen to help with any sort of inflammation. Hopefully, I can nip this thing in the bud before it gets any worse!
Questions of the Day
Anyone else training for a spring marathon? How’s it going? Any advice for a bum knee?