Vermont City Marathon: Training Week #9

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vermont marathon training blog week 9

Longest trail distance (and a crazy map drawing!), easy runs at home on the treadmill and more strength training with the kettlebell.

I got two awesome runs out on the dirt trails during week nine of training — which was not quite following my written workouts, though it helped me through a kind of a stagnant, tired patch of my marathon training cycle (go away, cold weather!). Though I went off-plan on my coach, I did ask in advance if swapping my long run day to Sunday was OK (and what workout I should do on Saturday) — AND got in SIX days of workouts. And then I did my longest run ever on dirt trails. It was a good week to kind of go “rogue,” since now I’m enjoying a cut-back week for my marathon training mid-point.

ON THE SCHEDULE:

  • Two strength workouts
  • YOGA!
  • Tempo Run
  • Long Run
  • A couple Easy runs
  • MOAR FOAM ROLLING!

MONDAY Scheduled Rest Day! I also did some foam rolling on my calves and feet.

TUESDAY Strength workout with my kettlebell (I’m seriously so happy that I asked for this for Christmas!). I also love starting my week with strength — a nice ease-in after resting, which helps me focus for the week ahead.

WEDNESDAY Tempo Run on the schedule… but I ended up meeting a couple trail buddies at Jester Park after work for 5 miles. I did one of my long runs here in the fall, and it’s such a wonderful park.

5.2 miles / 57:50 / 11:12 average pace / 127 elevation gain (per Garmin)

THURSDAY Finally back to my Yoga Roots class after a couple weeks off. It felt GLORIOUS — even though it’s always so hard — but the instructor always keeps the mood light and makes us laugh and reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously.

FRIDAY Started off with a 5-minute walk and then ran for 40 minutes at an easy pace. Back on the treadmill!

3.62 miles / 41:18 / 11:24 average pace

SATURDAY Since I swapped my long run to Sunday, my weekend Recovery Run became another easy run. Another notch on the treadmill. And some foam rolling to keep those tight muscles in check.

2.0 miles / 21:53 / 10:56 average pace

trail sisters running blogger
Ready for trail running season!

SUNDAY Met a flock of Turkeys (or, since we’re domesticated, do they call us a Rafter of Turkeys?) in the city at Center Trails for my long (and cold) run of the week… just in time to meet Daylight Savings Time square at 8am CST. These trails are AMAZING — and probably my favorite in the area so far (there are SO MANY trails here in Iowa to explore!). I love the mixed terrain and that these are tucked into city limits. There’s a lot of activity here — and a lot of fat bikers (not bikers who are fat). I love to see mixed use of the trails and people out having fun outdoor in winter. The Center Trails webpage also has a conditions indicator — like when it’s closed due to it being too wet and muddy.

I did another test run with Cytomax, and I’m still unsure if I want to use it on marathon day. I have only a couple more weeks to decide and fine-tune my fueling strategy. At this point, I haven’t really found something that I love OR something that I dislike — mostly just “this works” and adaptable to everything so far (I am not a light packer!).

I was SO COLD when I got home (there were multiple layers of fleece) and I couldn’t nap, which was a bummer. But a big ol’ bowl of chili for dinner was just the ticket to warm me up.

14.08 miles (trails) / 2:56:21 / 12:31 average pace / 358 elevation gain (per Garmin)

WEEKLY RUNS: 4 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 24.9 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 152.56 miles

vermont city marathon burlington panorama

Isn’t Burlington so pretty???

The Vermont City Marathon is only two months away (plenty of time for experienced runners to train!). Use discount code BibRaveDsct17 to save $5 on your registration! Prices are set to go up again April 1.