Vancouver Marathon Training: Week 2
Training so far:
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Week 2 was much more easy going than week 1. I took one full rest day and one active rest day. I still feel really good and I’m enjoying training! I have some exciting news related to my training that I can’t wait to share later this week too ☺
OK, onto week 2!
Monday – 30 minute spin (am) and 75 minute yin yoga class (pm)
Monday morning I woke up and hopped on our new spin bike for a 30 minute spin while watching Drop Dead Diva. I love spinning! I alternated between sprinting, hill climbing and easy riding for the whole 30 minutes. I was dripping sweat. I swear spinning makes me sweat almost as much as hot yoga!
In the evening I went to a warm yin yoga class. You’ll see me mentioning these classes a lot through training as I’m trying to go to one each week. Yin Yoga targets connective tissue like ligaments and tendons in the joint and spine. It is very slow, gentle yoga that involves holding postures for long periods of time – like 5 – 15 minutes! In order to work the connective tissue we do static stretching (source).
On Monday we held snail or plow pose (pictured below) for five minutes! It was intense, in a good way. My feet don’t quite touch the floor though so I had them on a block!
Tuesday – 3.8 mile / 6 km run
Eventually we’re going to be doing “tempo” runs on Tuesday evenings so we practiced that by adding bursts of speed into this run but my pace over all doesn’t reflect a tempo run since for the most part we took it easy.
3.8 miles / 40:05 / 10:30 pace
6.0 km / 6:31 pace
Wednesday – 6 mile / 9.65 km run
It was pretty chilly this night and it took me awhile to warm up. Ended up doing most of the run with two guy’s who were way faster than me but slowed down to let me keep up with them and we chatted away about running and work and life. I felt good throughout this whole run other than I was ravenous by the end. Still trying to figure out this whole eating before evening workouts thing!
6.0 miles / 1:01:31 / 10:16 pace
9.65 km / 6:22 pace
Thursday – REST
Unless eating popcorn counts as cross-training? 
We went to see the new Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie on Thursday night (I really liked it and yes I have seen the Swedish version) and I devoured a small popcorn to myself.
It was a much-needed rest day!
Friday – 5 mile / 8 km run
Morning run with my friend! It was really chilly, – 10 C on Friday morning, but I warmed up quickly and really enjoyed my run. Was fun to chat and catch up.
5.0 miles / 50:47 / 10:10 pace
8.0 km / 6:19 pace
Saturday – Active REST
We snowboarded in the morning on Saturday but the conditions were terrible – ice, snow, rocks, UGH so I only did two runs and then read my book in the lodge while the boy’s did a few more. So it wasn’t a complete rest day but pretty much
I also spent 2 hours napping on the couch in the afternoon with Eric and the pets! So glad we have a couch big enough for ALL of us, that was our one requirement when we went couch shopping last spring
Sunday – 8.2 mile / 13 km run + 60 minute flow hot yoga class
Long run day! It of course started snowing like crazy yesterday AFTER we got home from the hill so I had a lot of snow to run in this morning! This run was pretty brutal with the crazy headwind and the snowy/icy sidewalks but it’s done and that’s all that matters.
In an hour I’m headed to a hot flow yoga class. One of my yoga instructors who’s also a runner and triathlete said I’d be better off doing yoga on the same day as my long runs so I’m going to try and squeeze in classes as much as possible on Sunday’s!
View out our front window of all the snow, at this time yesterday there was NO snow on the ground so we got a lot!
8.2 miles / 1:27:39 / 10:41 pace
13 km / 6:38 pace
Training Tally:
Miles/Km ran last week: 23 miles / 37 km
Training-to-date mileage: 44 miles / 70.8 km
Yoga: 135 minutes
Strength Training: 0
Cycling/Spinning : 30 minutes
Thoughts:
Week two was great! I am still riding the I’m-training-for-a-marathon high and loving it. I can already predict that week 3 is going to be a bit challenging though as we are getting a huge cold snap and our HIGH this week is supposed to be – 10 C (14 F). But I knew what I was getting myself into with winter training when I signed up for a SPRING marathon so I’ll just have to buckle down and get through it 
In week 3 I’m determined to get in at least one strength training session even if it’s just doing the 30-day shred!!
How did your week of training go? Anyone else get a big dump of snow this week/weekend?
No snow for us but definitely in a cold spell. Eric and I were planning to go ice skating outside today but it’s too cold to even stand outside so that is not happening haha. Maybe tomorrow. I’m glad to hear you liked Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I want to see it but Eric and I basically never go to the movies- I occasionally go with my friends, we see girly movies
but in general I’m not big on paying a million dollars to watch a movie, I’d rather watch at home for cheaper and be able to play on my computer at the same time.
Your marathon training looks great so far- good luck making it through the cold week! I’ve been trying really hard to keep up with running this winter and so far it’s going well but I think the real cold is going to kill me- I am just terrible at running in the cold!
Yuck! We got a big dump of snow here too and it’s apparently -30C with the wind chill
I got my long training run in yesterday when it was nicer and went to the pool this morning.
Good luck with your running this week. The weather is supposed to stay cold here too and I’m dreading it.
We only got a couple of inches of snow last night but we’re heading for a cold snap too. I think our predicted high for Wednesday is -29, with wind chill on top of that – and two days ago it was +6. Alberta winters drive me nuts!!! I’m starting indoor running now (I’m too much of a wimp to run outside when it’s super cold!) – our church has a running track and my MIL has a treadmill so I’ll be using those lots in the next few months
Nice training week…we have the same couch!
We have the same couch … it is seriously the best isn’t it!!! So comfy!!!
We definitely got a HUGE dump of snow. It was brown a few days ago, and beautiful too. Today we have major snow, wind and cooooooold.
keep it up girl! you are doing AWESOME
Nice work! I really liked it when I used to do swimming after my long runs. I always felt like it stretched me out in the best way possible and I didn’t need to swim too long, but it felt awesome. I need to do that a few times this training season.
Also, it snowed today here although didn’t stick really in Eugene. We were driving back from my grandparents’ at the Oregon coast and went past on wreck as we were going over the pass. Luckily, the manfriend is experienced in the snow driving so it wasn’t an issue in our little car. Now I’m trying to find motivation to run a bit. I know I want/need to, but it’s so tough to do once you’re sort of settled in for the day. That’s why I prefer to do my weekend workouts first thing each morning.
I love the snail pose! Feels so good!
You have a really nice sectional! We just ordered one but I really like yours! That always happens though!
Glad to hear your week went well!! We got a lot of snow last week but most got rained away the past weekend.
That is a great, strong week of training! Way to go you!!
Now I want to try that snail pose. I wonder if I can do it!
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