Berlin Marathon Training Week 10

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap.   Capping off Berlin Marathon Training week 10.  I am still injured and can’t run.  I’m training for a marathon by water running and cycling.  But, how am I going to make it to the start line of Berlin if I am only biking and water running?  Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap and PattyErika, and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run!

 




Injury update:  I am still injured.  The pain in my hamstring and adductor has improved and I am not limping as badly anymore.  Since the pain has improved, odds are that I do not have a stress fracture.  I haven’t gotten an MRI or bone scan to see because insurance is really finicky about covering it.  So at the moment I am doing all that I can.  In my friend Fran’s wise words,  I am taking my challenge and making it an opportunity. 

 

Monday 7/16

Run:  Officially one week post injury.  Since I no longer limp when walking, I did a treadmill hiking workout.  The workout paralleled some that I did when training for my ultra marathon this year – .25 mi incline hikes with .25mi flat recovery.  I tried to channel my inner speed-walker and go as fast as I could without running.  Did 4.5 miles total and actually felt like I got a workout in, a feeling which I had been craving all last week.  Starting Monday off right!

Other: Appointment with a sports med doctor.  I was terrified I had a bone fracture, but he assured me that I didn’t.  Since my pain level is improving, it’s more likely a bad strain than a stress fracture.  He wrote me a script for physical therapy and said hold off on running for another two weeks.  This appointment was a rollercoaster of good then bad news.

 

 



 

Tuesday 7/17

Run:  Just because I am injured, doesn’t mean I can’t still coach at Track Tuesdays.  Instead, I channeled my energy into creating a partner baton workout for the group.  One person rested while the other ran 400m.  Then they flipped.  The rest interval was however long it took the partner to go 400m. Repeat 10 times each.  PLOT TWIST! I had them predict their overall time as a pair and the closest won some Becca Bites.  It was a total blast, and even though I was not running, I left the track happy and satisfied.

Other: Took the day as an opportunity to do a cross-training workout on a Divvy bike.  Divvy is Chicago’s bikeshare company, with these heavy 3-speed bicycles that you can rent for 45 minutes.  I commute on them all the time, but never have I done a specific workout before!  It was 3×10 minutes of easy progressing to hard effort.  In the evening, I joined the Windrunners team at our weekly strength & mobility session at On Your Mark Studios.

 

Grab a buddy Grab a baton Predict your finishing time Win some Becca Bites 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️ 🔥 There was a party this morning at the track! Time off of running makes me channel my energy into coaching and designing unique workouts. 🎉 10x400m relay- the rest interval is the amount of time it takes your partner to run a lap. PLOT TWIST: Before starting predict your total team time- closest pair wins a prize (Sampler of Becca Bites) The @sprinttuesdays Crew always makes my Tuesday start off right. 💚 . . . . . . . #trackworkout #intervals #relayrace #speedwork #partnerworkout #runcoach #werunsocial #strive #womenrunning #trackandfield #runnerscommunity #novemberproject #np_chi #edgefamily #nikerunning #windrunners #justdoit #findyourfast #runchi #marathontraining #chicagomarathon #berlinmarathon #ultrarunners #runnersworld #rabbitfoodrunner

A post shared by Becca Menke: MEd|Blogger|Coach (@rabbitfoodruns) on

Wednesday 7/18

Run: Another treadmill hike.  Same format of alternating .25 mi intervals.  Since Monday’s inclines went well, I increased them to 5, 6, and 7% grades.  I did this after a total body strength class at EDGE and again felt really good.  No hamstring pain! Woo!

Other: In the evening I got a massage, hoping that would help break up and knots that had formed because of the injury.  It REALLY helped and I left feeling refreshed and with a sense of “ok, I am healing.”  I also worked on this months Recipe Redux post: Individual-sized Grilled peach and pesto vegan pizzas!  It uses the vegan feta cheese recipe from last week’s watermelon feta salad, plus vegan and gluten-free millet pizza crusts.  Get the recipe here or click the picture.

 

mini grilled peach pesto pizzas vegan gluten-free

 

Thursday 7/19

Run:  One thing you should know about me is that I am terrified of water.  But, this injury is an opportunity to get over that fear.  Thursday I bought a day pass to a local pool to try my hand at POOL RUNNING!  The entire time I was thinking of one of my favorite 90s movies, Cool Runnings.  The pool was only 15 yards, so I felt more like a ping-pong ball than a Jamaican bobsled team. The other challenge was the depth – the pool was 3’6″ deep and ideally the water would be up to my shoulders instead of my waist.  I ping-ponged along in the pool for an hour, totaling about 3 miles if I counted laps right.  It’ll be a learning experience for sure, but I am excited to learn!

Other: Nike held another rogue race.  This time it was am 800m sprint in a parking garage.  I am bummed I wasn’t able to run, but I still went to watch and cheer. It was SO COOL and everyone had a great time.  A race that’s over in 2 minutes is pretty epic.

 

Nike Race 002

 

Friday 7/20

Run: I woke up feeling sad as I set of to do a cycling workout.  Luckily, a fellow EDGE athlete lent me her road bike so I could do a workout longer than 30 minutes.  As I rode up and down the path for an hour, I struggled to push myself into the right effort zones.  Everything felt too easy, no matter how hard I peddled. My heart rate never crept above 100, whereas normally for an intensity workout I range from 160-180.  Frustrated, I swapped the bike out for a Divvy and rode down to November Project, hoping to catch the rest of the workout.  Unfortunately I was too late, but still went to Panera to join their breakfast.  There, I was bombarded with questions about my injury.  I know that everyone wanted to help or offer support, but it was so overwhelming to have the repeat the same “I’m injured” conversation that I actually went into the bathroom and cried for a few minutes before leaving for work.

Other: This weekend, Windrunners had an in-town retreat.  We kicked it off with dinner on a yacht and then a sunset river cruise.  Take about a 180 shift for my mood from this morning.  Is this real life?

 

 

Saturday 7/21

Run:  In the morning, the Windrunners took a trolley out to Maple Lake for a trail run.  While the rest of the team ran off to do 14-18 mile long runs, I went for a 6.5 mile hike on the single track.  After a good 20 minute warmup, I attempted running a few strides.  Hamstring felt totally fine, it was just the front hip that was sore.  But I was running without ANY pounding pain like last week.  I almost cried in happiness, despite still running at least 4 minutes slower than usual and only being able to sustain it for 3 minutes.  But progress is progress and I alternated between 3 minutes running 5 minutes hiking for the rest of the way.  

Other:  After the run, we went to Aire for a relaxation day.  Aire is a bath house, modeled after the ancient Roman, Grecian and Ottoman baths.  There are different pools, all heated to different temperatures.  One pool is modeled after the Dead Sea so you can float in it.  Another pool is has a waterfall.  There’s a pool heated to 104F next to a 60F pool so you can alternate between hot and cold (similar to the baths at EDGE!).  It was, in short, FANTASTIC.  Just what I needed to recharge.

Sunday 7/22

Run:  I was supposed to run the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Chicago, but instead went to cheer Jon.  Reminder:  Jon, little brother, is also going to run the Berlin Marathon with me.  Berlin would be his first race ever, so his coach (aka me) suggested he do a benchmark race in order to experience a race day atmosphere on a smaller, slightly more local scale.  Right as the gun went off to start it started to pour!  I felt so bad for him – and also for myself because I had no umbrella. These last two weeks have made me a great power-walker, so I was ale to see him at miles 2, 5, 7 and 12.  He finished the race with a smile on his face and was able to negative split like he wanted. I was such a proud sister. Overall a good first race experience for him!

Other: After going home to eat and dry off, I went to EDGE for cross-training.  I was supposed to do another water running workout, but I was planning to go in the lake.  With the weather, I took it as an opportunity to do my first indoor cycling workout.  It was a learning experience for sure… the biggest takeaway was learning how to shift gears on the bike I am borrowing.  No wonder Friday was so frustrating!!

 

 

 

And that’s a wrap on Berlin Marathon training week 10.  Not the kind of week 10 I would have imagined at the outset of training.  It’s still really difficult for me to not run from an emotional and mental standpoint, but I’m trying.  Where there are challenges, there is opportunity to grow.  This coming week, I will be growing more as a pool runner, cyclist, and treadmill mountain goat.

 

What were your opportunities to grow this week? Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

 

 

Happy running,

Becca

 

Share your thoughts below

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

10 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Michelle @ Running with Attitude

I love your attitude – great job not letting your injury stop you!

fairytales and fitness

wow, your injury is not holding you back girl!

Did you know they make treadmills for the pool?

HoHo Runs
5 years ago

I logged many hours pool running when I became injured training for my first marathon. My PR PR was 2 hours and 45 minutes non-stop! LOL. Ideally, you should be in very deep water. My biggest tip is to wear your flotation belt backwards. It gives you a more upright feel.(so you are not constantly leaning backwards) in the water. That rain was something else during the race. Congrats to your brother! Thanks for linking!

kookyrunner
5 years ago

Sorry that we didn’t get a chance to link up in Chicago – maybe next year! Congrats to your brother on completing his first race!

You have been very smart following your injury and I’m glad to hear that it’s feeling better and that it’s not a fracture!

Deborah Brooks
5 years ago

Too bad we missed you in Chicago! Sounds like you are being really smart about your injury. Hang in there. I am going to try some pool running this week too. People seem to really swear by it

Shathiso @thegaboronerunner.com

It’s not easy to turn challenges and disappointments to opportunities for growth. You are doing just that – keep doing what you are doing. I have a feeling it will all pay off in the next couple of weeks. Best of luck! And well done to your brother!

Liz Dexter
5 years ago

Looks like you’re doing really well and getting in those workouts. I get what you mean about not getting your HR up enough – i get frustrated if I’m doing some walking and I’m all like oh come on. I played tennis on Saturday and I was pleased (OK: smug) to see that my husband, who does a lot of walking but nothing else, was panting and sweating, while I was hot from the sun but not from the exercise, because I felt fit and strong! Ha! Anyway, looks like you’re making great progress and keeping very sensible. I’m glad… Read more »

Wendy
5 years ago

I’m so sorry I didn’t get to see you today! We had quite a few bloggers in town and tried to connect with as many as we could. The weather wasn’t the best tho…

I’m so glad to see you running again! I had to do deep water pool running when I was training for Big Sur. I had PF so bad it wouldn’t let up. So that’s what I did. It wasn’t optimal, but Big Sur wasn’t a goal race, so it worked out just fine. Hang in there!

Chocolaterunsjudy
5 years ago

I know it’s super fripustating, but you’re doing everything right, as far as I can tell. We’ve had more than one blogger on the linkup have to resort to pool running & still have great races. Chin up!

That bath sounds AMAZING & I’d really love to be in it right now . . . ID has warm springs but we never made it to any.