Philly Marathon Training Week 14 Recap

And here we are at the start of a new week!  How was your weekend?

My week as a whole was extremely busy!  I worked out a LOT, and I’m not done yet!  I’m in the taper for Philly Marathon training, but I still had plenty of miles to run in the process!

Congratulations to all the NYC Marathon finishers!  I hope you had a great time, it’s definitely a race that is on my bucket list!

I’m linking up with Hoho Runs and Miss Sippi Piddlin for the Weekly Wrap!  It’s a great way to see what your favorite health and fitness bloggers are up to each week!  I’m also joining Marcia, Patty, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run!

[bctt tweet=”Taper time! Winding down training for the Philly Marathon! #runchat ” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]

Weekly Wrap:   Spintensity 200 Recap

This past Saturday I participated in my first ever “cycling” event – Spintensity 200.  Here’s what it’s all about:

Join the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) for a day of energy and empowerment. Spintensity 200 brings together cyclists of all experience levels for 200 minutes of continuous indoor cycling – ride solo or as a team!

In the months leading up to your ride, raise money from your personal network to sponsor comprehensive and cutting edge cancer research. Let’s get moving and wipe out cancer once and for all.

My friend Torrina created the team months ago and I was really excited to sign up.  I’ve been taking spin class through work over the past few weeks and in the process, it has really become one of my favorite workouts! We had a 3-hour session from 1-4 pm, so that meant each of us had an hour on the bike!

We had a 3-hour session from 1-4 pm, so that meant each of us had an hour on the bike since we only had a team of 3.   At first, I thought we would just each spin for an hour straight, but these workouts were TOUGH.  My first session was sooo intense but I had a lot of fun!  The music was pumping and the instructor was really motivating.  Each hour had a different instructor leading hundreds of people!  I was hoping that my second session would be easier, but it wasn’t.  Go figure!

AACR did a great job discussing how much cancer affects all of our lives.  They had a slideshow playing on a big screen with facts about cancer research and motivating quotes from the spin instructors.  Volunteers were cheering us on with pom-poms and walked the room to provide water, candy, and paper towels as needed.  I thought everything was really well executed, considering that it was a brand new event in the city.

Spintensity turned out to be a great time.  I’d love to do it again next year, but with more people!  If you’re interested in supporting the cause it’s not too late – here’s the fundraising page for the Worthy Riders if you’d like to support AACR.

Week 14 Training Recap:

Monday 10/31:  Happy Halloween!  I had lunchtime yoga at work that went by extremely fast.  Otherwise, I took it easy since I was still feeling the effects of the previous weekend’s 20-mile run!

Tuesday 11/1:  Yoga at the studio.  We actually did some clamshell moves that my hips appreciated.  I was pretty wobbly in tree pose, though…I need to work on my balance!

Wednesday 11/2:  6 mile run on the treadmill.  Mentally it was a tough run, but I needed to run on a flat surface so I had to take it inside.  The goal was to run at my goal marathon pace of 10:40, which is much easier to manage on the treadmill!  I’m glad I was able to make it through!

Thursday 11/3:  A busy day of fitness!  Spin class was after work and I challenged myself as much as I could.  Then a couple of hours later I had a Lithe Method class hosted by City Fit Girls.  It was basically a barre class on steroids!  My core and hips revealed themselves to still be major areas of weakness, and even the pushups were a form of torture.

Friday 11/4:  6 am yoga/barre class.  I can’t believe I made it to class but I did!  The instructor was really fun and quirky.  I loved how she would make corrections in my form…I think all of my previous workouts made me a bit sloppy.  By Friday my shoulders were really sore from all of the light weights I used…I ended up taking a long nap at home, which really took me by surprise!  I was so glad I didn’t have to run that day!

Saturday 11/5: I had my 16-mile long run.  Overall, it went pretty well, though it was in the 40’s during most of my run.  I saw a deer again along the Lincoln Drive Trail but thankfully, it didn’t freak me out this time.  It was actually quite beautiful with all of the amazing fall colors.  On this run I ran to Manayunk for the first time in ages…since it is part of the marathon course, I thought it’d be good to know what to expect.    And then just a few short hours later, I was on a spinning bike for Spintensity!

Sunday 11/6:  I’ll be set for an easy 4-mile run.

Week 14 Report Card:

As you can see, week 14 was extremely busy to be a “taper” period.  I’m happy with my runs for the week but I think I did a little too much cross-training!  I’m just grateful that my body can take what I give it to do.  I’m probably in the best shape of my life right now…and I’m glad that despite my knee aches, I’m injury-free.

I’ll give Week 14 a B+.  I needed more rest days!  Thankfully, using my Legend Compression socks has helped in the downtime, but I just need to remember that the marathon is my priority and that I plan to cross the starting and finish line in one piece!

How were your workouts this week?  Have you ever cycled/spinned for charity?  Did you race this weekend?