There is no denying it: we are in full fledged marathon training mode right now.
From that first 14 miler, the exhaustion, and the “runner tan” (racer back, shorts, compression socks), to the telling our friends that we couldn’t try SUP yoga with them because, running. All the time. I even kind of look forward to Mondays because I can actually sleep in.
We’re up to 40+ miles per week, hitting a 17 mile run last Saturday followed by an 8 mile run on Sunday. I still consider this my “building” phase, but in about 2 weeks, we enter into 6 weeks of…is there a more elegant/anatomically more accurate way of expressing “balls to the wall?” We are just 2.5 weeks away from our first 20 miler of this training cycle, and I’m kind of amazed at how fast and how undramatic the last 6+ weeks of training have been. I love drama-free runs! (knocks on wood…well, wood laminate anyway).
This is me knocking on wood laminate right now
Post 17 miler soak in the ice cold river felt AMAZING
Overall, I wouldn’t say I’m getting faster, but I am holding paces within goal range as we increase time and distance, so my endurance appears to be developing. I will focus more on speed during the BaToThWa period once that endurance has been built. During my last training cycle, one of the lessons I learned was not to push it too hard too early into training because that only led to me screwing up my legs and having to sit out training runs when it was actually important. A fast 800 repeat in week 3 does not equal a goal marathon.
This time around, we’re also kind of eating like adults on a regular basis. Less happy hour friend food, and even less burritos! I won’t say less booze because I would probably be lying if I did. BUT, we are gradually trying to switch from beer to wine in order to accommodate Aaron’s gluten issues. And with all of this healthy eating, I feel the stomach issues much harder than I did before, so even when we do spring for the absolutely delicious nachos at our neighborhood pub, I immediately regret that decision. It took me 3 days after a work potluck for my digestive system to return to normal. I’m hoping all of this “healthy eating” nonsense will help come race day because I miss my nachos.
Yummy, but a little too healthy for my taste.
We pretty much incorporate our garden kale into every meal. EVERY MEAL.
WORKOUT RECAP:
I’m like 3 weeks behind, so instead of listing all of the workouts from the last 3 weeks, I’ll just provide highlights:
* Up to 17 miles for long runs
* Consistently holding about a 9:33 average pace for long runs with a few miles sub-9 and usually 1 sub-8 mile per run (I don’t seem to warm up or get into a groove until mile 8-9, and then suddenly faster miles seem effortless)
* Hitting 800′s in the 3:27-3:40 range…a bit slower than I want, but at least there has been no more puking! I even got through yesterday’s workout nausea-free!
* Tempo miles averaging between 7:45-7:56
* All but 1 run, a recovery jog, have been outside (not on a treadmill)…the treadmill run was actually on National Running Day because temps were too high.
I took this treadmill selfie to prove that I ran on NRD, but I couldn’t bring myself to publish. Until now.
We have our first “Back Down Off It” weekend this weekend which I am really excited about. We have a fast 13 on Saturday AND A REST DAY ON SUNDAY. I don’t even know what I’m going to do with all of those extra hours of sleep. But then we go right back up the following weekend for 19 + 9, so the rest is short lived.
And that’s it for now! Hope your training is going wonderfully!
