Week 22: Marathon Training

8 WEEKS AWAY!!!

Marathon is happening. In 8 weeks.

Need I say more?

It’s getting real.

Thank you to my coach, Andrew Simmons, for keeping me sane. I have confidence. I can do this.

(Right?)

[ week 22 / 8 weeks until 26.2 ]

Sunday – Long run. 15 miles, 2:23:36, 9:34 min/mile.

My longest run ever! Ever ever! And it felt great! It was only 79 degrees and a beautiful morning. Don’t get me wrong, the run wasn’t a walk in the park, but it was doable. I just thought of it as three 5 mile runs. It felt way better than my 14 miler last week for some reason – the weather probably helped but I was also working on my running form which may have helped as well. I started my Good Form Running class yesterday and am focusing on mid-foot striking, a 190 cadence, and not ding weird things with my left arm (when I don’t have a water bottle in that hand as usual, I start to swing it out and crick my wrist and, just weird stuff). Anyway, simply being aware of what I need to improve has helped tremendously.

Overall, I had an awesome attitude about how my run went and felt really good about it afterwards. I broke two PR’s – Longest Run and Half Marathon time, so it was a good day.

Monday – No run. Strength training.

I did a cross-fit class today – nothing too tough in my opinion except for the last 15ish minutes of circuit training. We did dead lifts, some arm things, and some endurance drills.

The week ahead consists of a bit less mileage than usual due to the fact that I’m doing a half marathon next Sunday. (woot woot!)

Tuesday – Easy 3 miles. 29:04, 9:40 min/mile.

Quick, easy, early miles. I worked on form again and a 180 cadence (which I now know that I personally need to be at about 190-195). My arms felt weird and if I did the “lean,” I seemed to be going way too fast. Still working on it!

Wednesday – Easy 3 miles. 28:40, 9:27 min/mile.

Worked on cadence again today (as I will be doing now every day, realizing its importance). I downloaded a metronome app that has helped get me used to it. I was a bit fatigued this morning because I was fasting for routine blood work that morning (the WORST!). Needless to say, I was more than ready to eat after this run. While getting my blood taken, the nurse was talking about her morning Casserole and I just about lost it. I don’t normally go more than 30 minutes without a snack, so going 8 hours is noteworthy.

Thursday – 6.5 miles, 58:25, 8:59 min/mile.

This run was TOUGH. It was hot, humid, and late in the day. I also ate way too much stir fry right before my run. Bad idea. Terrible idea. I had to swing back home to get more water (which I’ve never done before) because I was dying. I could also feel that slight discomfort in my right hip again… it was just one of those runs. You know.

But I did it!

Friday – 4 easy miles. 37:52, 9:27 min/mile.

Easy early miles. I was tired. Apparently so tired that all I wrote in my journal was “4. Tired.”

Saturday – Rest day!

No run, but I was anxious and eager to wake up early and get to my Good Form Running class. We did some drills to help land on the mid-foot and worked on cadence. We also did a “reset, lean, and go” drill to help with lean and posture. I’ve learned so much in just two classes. We also recorded and analyzed our form at the end. Good stuff!

Excited for the balloon fest half marathon next week!

Total miles for the week – 31.5

If you have any questions about coaching, what it’s like to have a coach, who can benefit from a running coach (everyone!), or anything run-coach related – please ask me or Andrew Simmons!

Did you race this weekend? Have any races coming up?

What do you think about on long runs?