Los Angeles Marathon Training – Weeks 1-4 Recap

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Happy Holidays! Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and gearing up for the new year!

I had grand plans of sharing with you my Los Angeles marathon training calendar and then showing you what I actually did in the first four weeks. However, that doesn’t really matter too much since I barely followed my calendar and yes, I realize that is not great. To be honest, I am still trying to figure out what works best schedule wise on a given week and I am not completely motivated. I need a coach to hold me accountable, clearly me being a coach is not enough!

Roughly speaking though, here is a sample of what my daily goals were and what I actually did on those respective days.

Monday – spin class / cross-training
Week 1: spin class – first day of training and yay, I actually made it to a 6am class!
Week 2: elliptical and strength training (free weights, kettlebell, and planks)
Week 3: easy run on treadmill
Week 4: rest day

Tuesday – intervals
Week 1: 3 x mile repeats with 400 meter recovery on treadmill
Week 2: rest day
Week 3: rest day
Week 4: 4 x 1000 meters with 400 meter recovery on treadmill

Wednesday – rest day
Week 1: rest day
Week 2: 2 x 800s with 400 meter recovery on treadmill (abbreviated)
Week 3: ladder intervals – 1200, 1000, 800 and 600 with 200 meter recovery on track
Week 4: rest day

Thursday – tempo run or hills
Week 1: 3-miles tempo on treadmill
Week 2: 3-miles tempo outdoors
Week 3: 4-miles easy on treadmill
Week 4: 30-minute tempo on treadmill

Friday – easy run or barre
Week 1: barre class
Week 2: rest day
Week 3: rest day
Week 4: barre class

Saturday – long run or easy run
Week 1: 3-miles easy outdoors
Week 2: NYRR Ted Corbitt 15K race
Week 3: rest day
Week 4: 4-miles easy on treadmill

Sunday – long run or easy run or barre
Week 1: 7.5-miles long outdoors
Week 2: barre class
Week 3: 5-miles long outdoors (abbreviated)
Week 4: 3-miles easy run outdoors

Total Miles
Week 1: 20.7 miles
Week 2: 15.9 miles
Week 3: 17.6 miles
Week 4: 16.1 miles

I am definitely not proud of how the first fours week have gone. I still haven’t been able to fall into a routine with morning runs. I adjust my training each week based on Josh’s schedule which isn’t helping. I try to take advantage of the days I can sleep in a little more and it is throwing off my plan. I also find that I lack motivation for a long run if I don’t have a race or cannot meet with a group that week. On the weekend days that I try to sleep in and run later in the day, I end up running less than planned. It’s hard for me to be away from Charlotte when I know she is awake — mom guilt in full force.

It’s my holiday and New Year’s resolution (I don’t typically love specific resolutions) to stick to a schedule as much as possible and to get out for my runs before Charlotte is awake. To help me with this plan, one of my holiday presents was the Phillips Wake-up Light. I am excited to test the alarm out this week and look forward to reporting back on how I do.

Friday Favorites #16 – winter running gift guide

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Brr, it’s cold outside. It’s in the teens in the NYC area today and wind chill makes it feel like the single digits. My alarm went off this morning a little after 4AM and I decided I was too cold and tired to wake up. With the weather and missed workout, this day is getting off to a great start… but it’s Friday and a week away from the holidays, so I can’t complain.

In case you’re looking for some last-minute presents or something for yourself, here are some of my favorites that I know will be staples in getting me through another season of the cold.

Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Headphones – I’ve been on the market for a pair for a while but with all the treadmill running I’ve been doing recently and my epic clumsiness of dragging my phone off the treadmill, it was time to make the investment. After some research and reading the Wirecutter reviews, I decided on these. I will do a full review in a later blog post but so far so good.

I’ll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast – A good playlist or podcast is essential to help me get through the treadmill miles. I’ll Have Another is light-hearted and easy for me to follow along on early morning treadmill runs.

Feetures Elite Merino+ Light Cushion Socks – Wool socks are my go to for winter outdoor running. I am a big fan of Feetures socks and especially like the merino wool ones for winter use. They keep my toes toasty even when I’m outside waiting for a race to start.

HotHands Hand Warmers – Okay, these are not a lot of fun as a present but they are a necessity!

Oiselle Softshell Gloves – My fingers and toes hate the winter. I usually opt a double layer of gloves and mittens but love these gloves from Oiselle. They are super warm!

L’Occitane Shea Butter Body Cream – This is without a doubt my favorite lotion especially when my hands are super dry from weather. My hands feel so soft afterwards!

Lululemon Runderland Neck Warmer – I love me a soft neck warmer with adjustable sizing. I usually want the neck warmer higher on my neck and even sometimes covering my mouth initially but as I warm up, I adjust the sizing so it falls lower along my neck.

Lululemon Kick The Cold Funnel Neck and Athleta Techie Sweat Jogger – I don’t use these for running but I love lounging around in this sweatshirt (and it keeps my neck toasty, I’m extremely wimpy in my old age) and jogger pant. These are especially great for post long run relaxing or in my case like today, pure laziness relaxing.

Have a happy Friday and stay warm this weekend!

**This is not a sponsored post, rather just a collection of some of my favorite winter running essentials. Some items contain an affiliate link.