Last Week’s Workouts + the best lightweight long distance running shoes

A recap of last week’s workouts, including the best lightweight long distance running shoes that I’ve found while training for the Wrightsville Beach Marathon.

Last Week’s Workouts

M – 5.7 miles, 8:45 pace

T – 6 mile run with Ali & Kim, 8:30 pace + CrossFit

• Crossfit was 6×3 backsquats (I worked up to 135#) and the metcon was 8 rounds of 200m run, 6 deadlifts, 6 handstand pushups.
• I also got needled on Tuesday morning.

W – Hip & core work. I did the Oiselle Dirty Dozen + my physical therapy exercises

Leggings (obsessed) | sports bra | similar tank | sneakers (my review here) | no-show socks

Th – Tempo Run, 9.3 miles total with 7 at tempo pace (7:10-7:15). The wind was BRUTAL on this run. In theory, my tempo pace should be 6:55-7:05, but I was thrilled to hit 7:10.

F – REST. Actually, I got needled and scraped and that counts as a workout! 🙂 (I’m planning a post on needling and scraping, what it is and how it’s helped me.)

Sa – 22.2 miles, 8:28 average pace

capris (I LOVE these things – I can store so many GUs in the long side pockets) | shoes |
socks | shirt | running watch

Su – REST (I should have done my hip/core work but I got my nails done and it took FOREVER and I ran out of time). I should have stayed home and snuggled Maizey instead. 😉

Jeans | similar shirt | sneakers | purse (I saved up for this and I’m in love) | wall mirror

Total Miles: 44.9

How I feel: Really, really good. I can’t believe what a difference needling and scraping has made. Just three weeks ago, I was worried I would have too much pain to even finish my training, let alone the marathon. I was SO happy with how Saturday’s run went and that I had ZERO pain. It was my last long run before race day, and it was just the confidence boost that I needed since I hadn’t run over 18 miles in training because of pain — until now.

In addition to treating my IT band/glutes/hamstrings/calves with PT, three other key factors contributed to yesterday’s great run:

Food + Shoes + E-Stim

1) Fuel. I used 3x a much fuel yesterday as I usually do on my long runs and it made a WORLD of difference. I’m planning to do a post about my long-run fueling soon.

2) New shoes. I got a pair of New Balance Zantes and after giving them a couple test runs, I LOVED them and felt comfortable using them for my last long run. Luckily, they felt great on my entire run on Saturday and did NOT feel clunky, which is something I’ve struggled with as I’ve tried to find new shoes for marathon training. (My go-to Adidas didn’t have enough cushion for runs of 15+ miles.) I’ll be running in the Zantes on race day.

3) I’ve also been using an electrical pulse massage machine. I bought this one from Amazon and my muscles definitely feel more relaxed after I use it. That thing is powerful! I can’t even turn it up all the way.

Alright, I’m off to make dinner. I’m trying my first Burgabox! Hope you have a great week!

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