Week 26: Marathon Training

In 4 weeks the Las Vegas Strip will be closed off for the Rock n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and I will be running 26.2 miles down it!

I have no doubt that it’s going to be a BLAST, it’s going to be TOUGH, and it’s going to be WORTH IT! I’m doing this!

What would you do if you lived in a world where you knew you could never fail? Live that way!

[ week 26 / 4 weeks until 26.2 ]

Sunday – Long run, 16 miles, 2:36:26, 9:46 min/mile.

Longest long run ever in the books! 16 miles! I was nervous for this one – 16 miles is far! But I did it AND I survived! I more than survived! I felt great about this run. The weather was PERFECT and I just focused on a slow, steady pace. The last two miles were tough – my hips and legs were stiff, but I felt great afterwards!

Monday – Rest day (no run), strength training.

I felt fine after yesterday’s long run so I went ahead and did some strength training in the gym. Nothing too intense. I was also off work today…

Tuesday – Easy 3 miles, 27:13, 9:04 min/mile + Cycling.

Did some easy miles at lunch. It was sunny but really nice out. Not too hot or humid like it has been. My legs felt great! I’m really loving the new New Balance Zante V2’s. I’ve never run in New Balance before but I’m very impressed.

In fact my legs felt so great, I felt so great, that I also did a spin class after work. It was great. I want to continue to add this in until race day. I think cross training is so useful and important. It feels good to get my legs going in a different motion than running, as well as to work on my endurance in a different way. Plus it’s fun! That’s important!

Wednesday – 5 easy miles, 46:00, 8:56 min/mile.

It was sunny again (90’s) but still a nice day and a nice run. Really could’ve gone for another spin class today but it just didn’t work out. Best not to push it or overdo it but I find those classes so helpful for my running!

Thursday – 7 mile interval run, 1:02:33, 8:56 min/mile.

2 miles easy, 20:00 @ 8:30, 3 x (3:00 @ 8:10, 2:00 @ easy pace), 1 mile easy. It was nice and cool outside! And it was actually an eventful evening – I found a stray dog. I wasn’t sure what to do – I could tell he was scared, and he was just darting around. An owner wasn’t around. I wasn’t sure if he would bite or if he was nice (I have been attacked by dogs before) but I had a feeling he needed help. I squatted down and the sweet baby just darted at me, tail wagging, as if to say thank you! thank you! save me! I didn’t have a leash or anything so I ran home (literally) and got one of Derby’s leashes. I came back and he was still there. I took him home and put him in the back yard in hopes to find an owner. Anything was better than the streets where he could’ve gotten ran over. By this time my 2 easy miles were about completed and I continued on my run.

Friday – 4 easy miles, (last 10 min hard), 34:45, 8:40 min/mile.

Easy pace, stepped it up the last 10 min for a hard pace. Hamstrings s little tight today and was tired tonight but had a good run and was ready for a rest day!

Saturday – Rest day!

Miles for the week -35.2
Thank YOU for all your support and special thanks as always to my amazing coach, Andrew Simmons with Lifelong Endurance! Despite some beliefs, coaches are for everyone (beginners to elites!) and having a coach is really my #1 recommendation for anyone wanting to improve their running. Everyone is different, on different levels, and has different goals. There’s tons of information out there on the interwebs with generic training plans, but nothing compares to personalized coaching. Feel free to contact him with questions!

Did you race/train this weekend? How did it go?

What’s a must-have/do for winter/cold weather running? For keeping warm/motivated?