RNR Nashville Marathon Training — Week 16

NEXT WEEK I WILL BE RECAPPING THE RACE.

I seriously cannot believe my 16 weeks of training has come to an end. This last week has been so crazy — the least amount of miles I’ve run since this program started.

My legs are restless and I am ready to run. All of my training is in the bank and now it’s time to see what I can do!

Ryan and I are driving down to Nashville on Friday to enjoy the expo, some food and get lots of rest before the race! Can’t wait to recap the race for you all! Follow along on Instagram @mileswithmeghann for all of my adventures from the weekend (expo, race, concert, etc!)

Advertisements

Friday Favorites v.97

Can all of my favorites from this week be things from the Boston Marathon?! But seriously how awesome was that race? Every day since the race I’ve found a new article or podcast about the crazy outcomes of Monday.

1. It’s taper week! While my legs are itching for race day, it is nice not running for hours and hours.

2. Running outside! This weather has been absolutely crazy. It snowed on Monday was in the 80s on Wednesday. I’m really hoping Spring will come to stay for a while.

3. This Patagonia I got for 40% off at my local running store.

4. Here’s the bad-weather gear that top finishers wore at the Boston Marathon.
*I love the jacket Des wore. Seriously considering buying it now.

5. My little brother is coming home from college for the weekend. I haven’t seen him in months, so it’ll be good to have him home for a few days.

6. This is precious.

7. Nurse places FIFTH in Boston Marathon — works 10-hour shift the next day.

8. #RestDayBrags

RNR Nashville Marathon Training — Week 15

Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope you all had a great Monday. I had a blast watching the Boston Marathon. DES IS A BADASS. I have so much respect for her and really all the runners that were on the course yesterday. I’m glad yesterday was her time to shine.

As for me, I am SO SO close to being done with training for my first marathon. I can officially say my race is next weekend. CRAZY.

I wrapped up my last week of long runs 28 miles total. Toward the end of training, I’ve kind of been doing my own thing. I did an 8-miler early in the week and then switched things around because of some crazy weather and did 20 miles Thursday night after work. 

The 20-mile run was a huge confidence booster. All of my runs lately have been great and I’m really trying to trust the process and get to the starting line healthy and excited to race.

Now I’m counting down the days until my marathon! I hope you all have a great week. I know I’m going to be riding the high from Des’s win yesterday all week.

The drought is over!

DES LINDEN WON THE BOSTON MARATHON.

If you didn’t watch today’s race, you missed a hell of a good one. Not only did an American woman win the race, five of the top six finishers were from the USA!

More to come tomorrow. Right now I’m crying happy tears for Desi and our entire sport.

Happy Patriots Day!

It’s Marathon Monday! Good luck to all the runners today! I hope to one day run this iconic race. I’m also praying you all have better conditions than what they are calling for right now (Sunday night).

This race has so much history and I’ve enjoyed reading all about it in the weeks leading up to today. The Boston Marathon goes back to 1897 when it was called “The American Marathon,” and it’s still the marathon.

I am so pumped for this year’s race and all the American women who are contenders for the win. Shalane, Desi, Jordan, Molly, Deena, and Kellyn are all badasses and I can’t wait to see how they finish. While I think it would be awesome for an American woman to win, I’m secretly hoping can get the win and end her career in such an awesome way.

So good luck to you all — all 30,000 of you!

Favorites from marathon training

So instead of my usual Friday Favorites post, I thought I would post something a little different instead — favorite from marathon training!

This post is NOT sponsored. Just sharing some products I love that have gotten m through training for my first marathon.

I am in the home stretch of marathon training! Since I have lasted through almost 16 weeks of training, I thought I would share some of my favorite things with you all!

Brooks Glycerin 15
These shoes have been my saving grace during all of my runs since January.  They have so much support and I got them properly fitted (a half size up from what I normally wear) and my toes have been singing praises. I recommend Brooks shoes to any runner.

KT Tape
My knees have been a big point of caution for me during this training cycle. To be honest, I was a little skeptical about using KT Tape. I absolutely did not think it would help me — and I was so wrong!

My NordicTrack Commercial 1750 treadmill
Basically, the first three months of training were almost solely on my treadmill. I even ran a half marathon and one 14-miler on my treadmill during training.

ProCompression Socks
After seeing ProCompression socks all over Instagram (#keepittight) and finding a coupon code on Facebook, I decided to buy some and see what they were all about.

So when I found a discount to get FIVE pairs for the price of two you best believe I ran to my computer to buy some.

Gu Chews
While in the past I’ve typically stuck with strawberry-only Gu — this year I changed it up and started taking the cran-razz flavor. It’s definitely a new favorite. After my race, I am thinking about trying some new nutrition (honey stinger waffles, bonk bars, huma gel, etc)

FitBit Blaze
While at first, I was only going to use this watch for day-to-day wear, it’s kind of become my go-to running watch. I reviewed it early on but I love it more every day.

What are some of your running-related favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

20 miles!!!

I just ran 20 miles.

20. Freaking. Miles.

Ahhhh! I’m in pain, but so so happy. Now it’s time to taper!

RNR Nashville Marathon Training — Week 14

Happy Wednesday afternoon! Sorry, this recap is coming so much later than usual. It’s been a crazy, sick-filled week.

The stomach bug hit Sunday and finally left this morning. So this recap will be short and sweet because there isn’t much to say. I’m just putting in the work and trusting the process. 

Some mid-week inspiration. Thanks, Oiselle. 

17 days until race day!

Friday Favorites v.96

When is going to feel like Spring?! It’s like we got two days of nice weather and it’s back to being cold, rainy and even a chance a snow. Ugh. By now, we’re usually in the 70s. Our yard looks like a jungle, but we can’t mow because it keeps raining/snowing. Also. I just want to run outside in shorts.

Okay, okay. Pity-party = over. Let’s talk favorites!

1. 5-minute full-body HIIT workout. Since I’ve been traveling a lot lately, simple workouts like this are a must. The basics work, people. A workout doesn’t have to require machines, lots of fancy moves or even a lot of space. Just get to moving and break a sweat.

2. Shalane Flanagan has some unfinished business to attend to on April 16.

3. Did you catch this from Sunday? Brooks expertly owns April Fools’ with “release” of a voice-enabled running shoe.

4. Baseball is back! Opening day was yesterday at Busch Stadium and I can’t wait to be back in one of my favorite cities watching the Cardinals play.

5. My bracket won in the office pool!

6. Ordered these meal prep containers on Tuesday and got them yesterday! Ryan and I are both committed to cutting our grocery bill and cut back on eating out — so meal planning to the rescue! This was our first week and I’m so excited to have some more containers to pack our meals. If you have easy and tasty lunch ideas that can be prepped ahead of time, let me know in the comments below!

7. I’m rounding up a different type of favorites post for next week! It’s an entire post dedicated to the products, apparel, and services that have gotten me through marathon training.

8. Playing in the grass before our yard started looking like a jungle. After playtime, someone also got a much-needed bath this week.

This post is not sponsored and is just a list of my favorite things from this week. 

Some great running reads from this week

Women’s distance running is at an all-time high right now. I feel like there are so many amazing women in the sport currently and they are all crushing it. Even though I am an average runner, the pros inspire me and make me want to push harder. With my marathon less than one month away, I’ve been trying to get into this positive mindset and visualize only good things about my running.

These articles from around the web are certainly helping. They are all so helpful and motivating!

A champion’s new chase: Gwen Jorgensen on her move to marathoning.
With Boston being less than two weeks away, I thought this was appropriate — Shalane Flanagan has some unfinished business to attend to on April 16.
The woman who crashed the Boston Marathon.
How this 34-time marathoner—and mom of 3—fits it all in.
An interesting read on the “equality” in cross country.