Monday, August 22, 2011

Marathon Training Update - 5 weeks to Akron!

I thought this might be a good time for a little update on my marathon training that I first mentioned here. I've now completed 8 weeks of my plan with five weeks to go - EEK!!!

I'm actually pretty pleased with how it's been going so far! I've definitely seen improvements in my pace and definitely the distances. I started the year forcing myself to do 3 or 4 mile runs with sometimes a 13:xx average pace (I love walking!) to now having just completed a 16 mile run with a 10:50 pace (which I'm still so thrilled with! To the point I don't care how I do in my 18 and 20 mile runs, haha) And I don't beat myself up if my heart's not into it and it shows in the run. I've only missed a couple of runs so far but they were both during recovery weeks so no biggie.

I really like running 3x a week - I realize that's probably not enough for most people, especially since I don't do additional cross training, but it works pretty well for me. I don't dread running like I used to. My mentality has changed a lot. When I first started running again this year, my heart was not into it at all and I had no idea how I was going to log enough miles to prepare for my upcoming marathons. I won't say I absolutely love it now, but I like it a lot more - enough to actually reconsider my whole "retiring from marathons after NYC" thing. For special occasions ONLY - ones that Roadbunner and Alisa know about.

These next two weeks should be interesting. My speed workouts bump up from 4-5 miles to 6 miles. I have my 18 mile long run this weekend and 20 miles next weekend *_* I've only done a 20 mile training run ONCE for the four marathons I've run. So clearly I have no pace expectations for those two long runs, I just need to cover the distance and I will be happy.

I'm actually looking forward to running Akron now! Just bought my plane ticket this week. Okay, maybe I am more excited about seeing my niece and nephew (and the rest of my family of course) but I'm starting to feel a bit more confident about the marathon too!

Have a great week!


4 comments:

naomi said...

Eeek! 5 weeks left! Oh my! You should come run the race route with me on Saturday and tack on miles before or after.

If you want company for your 20, maybe a few of us can break up the miles and run parts of it with you?

Layla said...

Sounds like this training plan works for you! Nobody should dread running, so I think it's a huge win that you don't feel that way anymore. Akron will be good -- for both the family visit and the marathon!

I'm with Naomi; if you want company, I'm game! I do believe we've been talking about a grilled cheese run...

Courtney said...

Woohoo! So fun. I'll be at giant race, and would totally run with you on either of these next two weekends. for sure.

I only run 4x a week. sometimes 3. I couldn't do more. It's so interesting how everyone is so different with what works best. :)

Alisa said...

I love walking too, if only I could walk at a decent pace in the boot :).

Hehe to the race that only we know about :)...us and a million others. Would be totally fun though hoping I can afford it and fit it into plans I'm already making for 2013 that may or may not be the biggest, scariest thing I've ever considered doing.

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