Mile Markers: Resting Up and New Gear

Mile Markers: A Week in Running, July 25-31

Hi everyone! How was your weekend?

The theme of this week was rest. I like to cut back on running and give myself some extra mental and physical rest the week before I begin race training. I find this prevents mental burnout and overtraining before the long weeks ahead of hard training. 

Mile Markers: A Week in Running, July 25-31

I begin training for the California International Marathon today with a base building and speed segment. No marathon specific work yet – it’s far too early for that – but I do want to boost my mileage up sooner than later and throw in some speed/hill training while I can. 

I’m excited to share that I am an Runkeeper Ambassador for the remainder of the year! You can connect with me on Runkeeper, especially as my running becomes more exciting with training for CIM. I still rely on my Garmin for tracking mileage and paces (GPS watches are more accurate than phone GPS – it’s a device issue, not any fault of Runkeeper’s – in fact overall I have found Runkeeper to be one of the more accurate phone apps for running). 

Monday: 5 mile run 

Whether they’re fast or slow, long or short, Monday runs are a necessity. 

Mile Markers: A Week in Running, July 25-31

Tuesday: AM: 7 miles with 3 mile tempo run; PM: Core & hip exercises

I decided mid-run to make this a short tempo run after mile 3 clocked in at 7:38. My route was hilly and involved several crosswalks, so it wasn’t ideal for a tempo run, but since I wasn’t concerned about splits I just enjoyed a bit of faster running. I averaged somewhere in the 7:30s for 3 miles, and then cooled down for two more miles to reach 7 for the day.

In the evening, I spent about 40 minutes working on my core, hips, and hamstrings. After a short warm up with the jump rope (to help with turnover), I did this stability ball workout and then some hip mobility and glute strength exercises. 

Wednesday: AM: 4 mile run + 4 x 100 m strides; PM: 15 minutes Pilates

I wanted to run further, but I was aiming to keep my mileage under 30 miles this week, so I ran 4 miles and indulged my desire to do some more speedwork  with a few strides after my run. 

I received this Race Day Running Cap from Trailheads and immediately loved it after my first run in it. The cap is made of breathable mesh, which means no sweaty hair after a run or trapped water on a rainy run. It’s specifically sized for women (they also make men’s gear), so the hat fits well and is actually flattering. 

Mile Markers: A Week in Running, July 25-31

Thursday: AM: 3 mile run; PM: Strength training

Charlie and I ran 3 easy and slow miles together. 

I threw some burpees into my strength training routine – 15 with pushups and 15 without – and wow, I forgot how challenging burpees are! I was actually sore the next day, which was humbling. Why burpees? Because becoming a better marathoner (and a healthy marathoner) begins with becoming a better athlete.

Friday: 8 mile run 

I ran this run slow and easy, especially since I need to get used to slowing down my long runs for marathon training. My pace falls very easily into a higher end of easy range during the off-season, but I know that I benefit from polarized training paces and very easy paced runs during marathon and half marathon training. 

Mile Markers: A Week in Running, July 25-31

That evening we saw Jason Bourne, went to REI for Ryan to exchange his daypack, and enjoyed Whole Foods hot bar for a late and lazy dinner. Action movies, gear shopping, and a healthy meal served with beer is my idea of the perfect date night (and Ryan’s too, which is why we’re married!). 

Saturday: Rest

So I slacked at blogging on this day and didn’t take a single photo, even though we filled our rest day with plenty of fun activities. 

Ryan and I took Charlie to the dog park in Redmond and treated him to an hour or so of off-leash playtime. Charlie fell in love with a few Rhodesian Ridgebacks (and I did too, they were so cute!) and we walked maybe a mile or so around the dog park. 

After Mass, Ryan and I headed to REI again so I could try on new daypacks. My Deuter was comfortable enough but was not fitting my long torso well. Since REI allows members to return items within a year of purchase (they then resell items at their garage sales), we returned my Deuter pack and had me fitted for an Osprey Kyte 46 pack that I can use for day hiking or shorter overnight trips. I’m so excited to try it out on our backpacking trip to Mt. Rainier next weekend!

We also scoped out GPS watches, since I want to upgrade my Garmin Forerunner 10 for my birthday this year. The Garmin 230 is my top choices right now – has anyone tried either of these?

Sunday: Rest

Ryan’s launching his gear site today, so we spent Sunday working and relaxing before the busy work week. 

[Tweet “Cutback before marathon training, new gear, and weekly workouts from @thisrunrecipes #runkeeper #trailheads #gear #running”]

Linking with Weekly Wrap!

Have you tried the Garmin 230? What GPS watch/app do you use?
Are you training for all fall races?
What new gear have you tried lately?

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28 Responses

  1. I hope you have a great first week of marathon training! Congrats on being a Runkeeper Ambassador! So if you use your watch why do you also use a phone app for tracking your runs? Im just curious because I wear my Garmin so I never track using my phone but I have seen that other runners do this.

    1. Thank you, Lisa! I’m using the phone app because as part of the ambassadorship I get to test out a beta version and promote their app in exchange for compensation. I only just started using the app with the ambassadorship. I do like the elevation charts that it provides immediately after a run – which I don’t always get right after a run on my Garmin since my current model doesn’t automatically sync with Garmin Connect. I think the social component is a big reason why many other runners use apps + Garmin.

  2. Sounds like a solid week of easy before training starts. I’ve been thinking of getting a new Garmin but I’m really not into all the data at the moment. It’s really strange that I was all about it and now I’m like, I ran, I covered distance, I picked up the pace here and there. I’m officially training for the Leaf Peeper 1/2. Eeek! It’s been 2 years since I ran a half – how do I do that again?!?!

    1. Thank you! That’s what I do like about the Garmin 10 – no data overload. Data like vertical oscillation or cadence would just be overwhelming to have! But the battery life is short, only 4 hours in GPS mode – which doesn’t work for when I hike or backpack. That’s so exciting that you are starting training for Leaf Peeper!!! Good luck and I can’t wait to see how you do in person!

  3. I definitely think that runkeeper is accurate! it makes me happy lol. I love that you had whole foods for dinner, you know I love the food bar. so exciting that you begin marathon training today and yay for ryan launching his site!

    1. Thank you! I love Whole Foods bar and neither of us wanted to cook and it was late but we didn’t want to eat out. It’s also my go-to choice for out-of-town pre-race meal!

  4. I think it’s a great idea to have a cutback week before diving into hard training. That is a perfect way to tackle the hard weeks/months ahead. And, TrailHeads is one of my favorite companies!! I have the same hat in pink and I wear it all.the.time!

    1. Thank you! I am already wearing this hat for every run – it works for all weather! The pink one is so cute also. I can’t wait to try their other products in winter!

  5. I had a great week of running, but something is still wrong with my hip, and I really don’t know what it is. I’m going in this week to try to diagnose it. But basically, I just want to run and have something not hurt! Love that hat–I’m going to try to get in touch with them!

    1. Noooo bad hip! Hopefully you can figure out what’s going on soon and not hurt anymore. And yes, you should contact them – they were super friendly and a joy to work with!

  6. I have a VivoActive watch and love it. I sync it with Strava and record workouts there. I’ve never run with my phone on an app, but I know they can be crazy inaccurate. Of course the watches can be too depending on the settings and auto pause, and things like trees and buildings.

    Looks like you had a great week of running and resting! I agree with you on Mondays- I try to never miss a Monday because I feel like it sets the tone for the week.

    1. The VivoActive does look so cool – and it can do so many different sports (unless I’m confusing it with one of the other Vivos). I’m glad to hear that you like yours! I never set my Garmin to autopause for that reason – it makes it more inaccurate. And thank you!

  7. Sounds like a great week of running! I definitely also need to work on slowing down my long runs–easier said than done. I’m also looking into upgrading from a Forerunner 10 so super interested to hear what you end up choosing. I love Garmin’s products but I think Strava is by far and away the best app/site for storing and accessing your data–it has an incredibly smooth interface, no annoying ads, and is completely free. Plus, it has tons of users so the social features are the best!

    1. Thank you! Yeah, the Garmin 10 was great but since I hike a lot I’ve been wanting something with longer battery life – which the 230 offers without being super expensive like some other GPS watches. I’m probably going with the 230, so I will share what I think when I make the change!

  8. Happy first day of training! How exciting that we are starting our respective running journeys on the same day/week!

    I have a Fitbit Surge GPS watch now – in the past I have had a Garmin 210 and a Nike watch. The Surge is comparable to my Garmin in terms of GPS accuracy (my biggest concern with any watch), and it also tracks my HR and steps. I love the social aspect of Fitbit, which is ultimately why I went with the surge over the comparable Garmin model. Change is good, right? I agree about phone apps, they are all a little generous in terms of mileage/pace. I have my runs auto uploaded to Strava though, because I also like Strava’s social component – lots of runner friends on there who don’t blog much anymore so it is one of the only ways I can keep in touch with them.

    1. Happy first day of training to you! It is so exciting that we start on the same day – and that it’s the first of the month as well. I even think our goal races are at the same time! The step tracking feature of the newer GPS watches is definitely an attractive one – the Garmin 230 has that also – no need for two devices then! Change is good – I think especially for us runners because it’s easy to develop sort of superstitions or a crutch on a type of shoes or a watch.

  9. Great job with your workouts! My marathon training plan for Philly starts this week. I always get nervous about hitting my paces though because I tend to go a little too fast, but I think that the heat will help slow me down! I’m hoping to get a Garmin at some point, but as long as my Nike+ watch works, I’m sticking with it!

    1. Thank you Janelle – and good luck with the start of your marathon training, how exciting! The heat (and humidity) are good for slowing down – no point in pushing when it’s super hot outside. And then paces feel easier in fall once the heat subsides!

  10. Congrats on the Runkeeper ambassador thing! Woohoo! And sometimes it’s good to just take a day off of blogging/picture taking and just enjoy the day. Oh, how was the movie? I want to see it!

    1. Thank you! And yeah, sometimes just forgetting we even have phones is great. You should see Jason Bourne – it was so good! Interesting, fast-paced, and fun. It was probably one of my favorites of the year, which is saying something because there have been a lot of awesome movies this year.

  11. I’m excited for you to have marathon training starting! I like to enjoy a cut back week before training too. Otherwise it is a looong stretch of training. I like my cut back weeks every 4-5 weeks during training also!

    1. Thank you, Laura! You’re right – without a cutback week it just feels like base building bleeds into training. Cutback weeks are good in training as well – definitely incorporating those this time. I hope your training is going well!

  12. That is a very cute hat. I run with a Garmin 225 (with HR monitor). It seems to get the job done and I’ve always liked the info you get with the Garmin Connect app. Fear of another marathon training injury is shadowing this training cycle. I find myself running easy and not pushing myself like I should. Of course, with the heat faster paces are nearly impossible. Congrats on the ambassadorship. Thanks for linking, Laura.

    1. Thank you! All of Trailheads hats are so cute – and they have ponytail holes so they don’t squish down hair. There are worse things that you can do than run easy during marathon training, especially early on and when it’s hot – there’s nothing wrong with those easy miles!

  13. Sounds like a great way to go into the first week of marathon training! I have the Garmin Forerunner 220 with optional heart rate monitor – which I never use! Haha – and I like it. It’s also purple, which I like! 😉

  14. Your training is going great! I’m just hanging on and getting really comfortable with the low mileage of a runstreak. My first half is not until end of Oct so I’m not rushing into building back up my mileage right now.
    I use the Garmin 235 and while there is still features I don’t use I do love it. I sync it to Mapmyrun because that is the very first running app I used and it stuck.

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