Week 28: Marathon Training

This was THE week! The week that I did my longest training run, the week that I had to really dig deep, the week I put in the extra work. The toughest week until marathon day!

I’m so happy to report this week to you guys, knowing in confidence that I worked my little booty off and am ready to take on this last bit of training and DO THIS THING! IN ONLY 2 WEEKS I will be running 26.2 miles down the Las Vegas strip!

[ week 28 / 2 weeks until 26.2 ]

Sunday – Long run, 20 miles, 3:24:52, 10:14 min/mile.
Longest long run yet again in the books! It feels amazing to have broken into the 20’s. It wasn’t easy – mostly mentally – but I did it. The last 2 miles were especially grueling. Also, oddly enough, the FIRST few miles were tough – mentally. It was a bit hard to wrap my head around how many miles I had ahead of me. I had to adjust my mindset and just take it one mile at a time.

Monday – Rest day!

I felt pretty good after yesterday!

Tuesday – 3 miles, 27:14, 8:59 min/mile.

Easy, nice, lovely, enjoyable miles. My legs felt great! I felt under the weather last night for just a few hours – I got my flu shot the day before. I was glad to feel better in the morning and even better after my little run. Apparently the flu is going around the school of the kids I tutor for. So, it seems as though I just missed it and hopefully got my flu shot just in time.

Wednesday – 5 miles + strides, 5.5 miles, 50:29, 9:16 min/mile.

Easy 5 miles with strides. Strides are short bursts of energy or exaggerated running at the end of the run to help loosen up (not quite a sprint). I felt a little sluggish today, especially to start, but the strides felt good (hooray for a little speed!) and I felt great afterwards.

Thursday – 6 mile tempo run, 51:23, 8:33 min/mile.

1.5 miles easy, 6x (800m @ 7:50-8:00 min/mile), 1.5 miles easy. This was a tough run! I was EXHAUSTED today, had to drag myself out there (and I’m usually excited for tempo runs!) but I got the run in and kept it up… it was hot and muggy (what’s going on, Texas?!) so that was fun. I thought the cool weather was here, but instead I burned my hand on the front door today.

Friday – Cycling + easy 4.4 miles + strides, 40:11, 9:13 min/mile.

I was really excited to do a spin class today! Popped out of bed at 4ish am ready to go. It was tough, but I had a great class and it was good to get out of breath and get a sweat on (all before 6am!). I can tell I haven’t been cycling as much because it’s harder than it used to be.

As for the run, I did a quick 4 mile lunch run with strides again. It was nice out (warm, but nice) and I just enjoyed a short run.

Saturday – Rest day!

Miles for the week (running) – 39

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. I can’t stress enough how much I absolutely love the running community. Runners are the nicest, most encouraging bunch I’ve yet to meet.

HUGE thanks to my coach, Andrew Simmons, for guiding me to where I am today!

October running miles – 150.5 (242.2K)

How was your October?

Do you have any races in November?

As always, tips for a first marathon are appreciated!