Two more weeks of marathon training are in the books! I haven’t been good about writing about it because I’ve been crazy busy at work, but I have at least stuck to my training schedule (with just one small exception). So here’s how the last two weeks looked:
Week 2
Monday, 8/17: A much-needed rest day after my longest run of the summer to date, although I still did some yoga in the morning.
Tuesday, 8/18: I got up early to do some yoga before work and then got a four mile “regular” run in after work, running at an 11:15 pace. Also did strength training and physical therapy exercises for my hips and back after the run.
Wednesday, 8/19: Today was a five mile tempo run in the morning – a mile warm up, followed by two 1.5 mile tempo intervals. I finished at an overall pace of 10:52 – not bad!
Thursday, 8/20: Still feeling a bit tired from last weekend’s long run and super busy at work, I opted to use this flex day to just do an hour of yoga and no cardio at all.
Friday, 8/21: Today was a very, very easy run – four miles at nearly a 12-minute pace. I also threw in strength training and my physical therapy exercises afterwards.
Saturday, 8/22: I got up early this morning to get my run in before a haircut and pedicure! Five miles at an 11:18 pace (I swear, I run faster in the morning than I do after work!).
Sunday, 8/23: While the virtual trainer only called for me to do 10 miles today, I upped it to 12 since I did 10 the previous week and because I have a half marathon in just a couple weeks. I actually felt better than I did the week before, although I had to stop several times to stretch. The weather was perfect, though – I was on the lakefront path as the sun was coming up, but it quickly became overcast, which kept it nice and cool. I got home just before a downpour! My overall pace was 11:23 – not bad!
Week 3
Monday, 8/24: Another Monday, so another rest day, albeit with some yoga in the morning!
Tuesday, 8/25: I couldn’t muster the energy to run in the morning, so I did yoga instead. My hips and calves have been feeling tight toward the end of my long runs, so I am trying to increase my flexibility a bit with the yoga. I got my four mile run in after work, and then did some strength training and my physical therapy exercises. My pace was an even 11:00 per mile.
Wednesday, 8/26: After yoga in the morning (a new “yoga for runners” DVD!), tonight was my first Fartlek run of training – after a mile warm up, I did six minute-long bursts of speed with a minute of active recovery in between. Altogether, I got in five miles at an average pace of 10:36!
Thursday, 8/27: Wow, did the Fartlek run take a lot out of me! Today was scheduled to be a “flex” day and I ended up doing nothing. Of course, it didn’t help that I had a ton of work to do and I needed to pack for an early morning flight to Minnesota…
Friday, 8/28: I had every intention of getting in a four mile run at my parents’ house in Minnesota after spending the day with my family at the State Fair. However, I was exhausted and my back was sore from all the time on my feet, so I made the decision to skip my first scheduled run of this training program.
Saturday, 8/29: This morning I was scheduled to do three easy miles, but I did four instead since I skipped Friday’s run. There are these things called hills in Minnesota that we don’t have in Chicago, so I was slower than normal, finishing with a 11:37 pace.
Sunday, 8/30: Happy Birthday to me! I kicked off my 39th birthday with a 14 mile run. I had planned to run straight down Highway 96 from my parents’ house in Shoreview, Minnesota to the town where I grew up – White Bear Lake. But after less than four miles, the sidewalk ended! So I turned and ran down Centerville Road in Vadnais Heights instead, going a couple miles one way, then turning around and going a coupe the other way before turning around and heading back home. It was an overcast morning so even though I didn’t start until 7 a.m., it didn’t get too hot. I stopped a couple times to stretch and once for a bathroom break, but otherwise I was feeling pretty good by the end of the 14 miles. And I finished with an average pace of 11:28 per mile. Not too shabby.
In other news, I am just a third of the way toward my fundraising goal of $3500 for the marathon! I can really use everyone’s help in meeting my goal to raise money for buildOn – a tremendous non-profit doing great work in developing countries around the world to promote education and alleviate poverty. Can you help by donating just $5 or $10 today?
