Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Vermont City Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!
As the runners like to shout out: WOOOOOOOOOOOOAH, WE’RE HALFWAY THERE! Halfway through Marathon training!
This was a drop-back week for me, as I rest and recover from the first half of training — and prepare for some serious mileage. Per my conversation with my Coach, the theme of the week was: Focus on something other than running. Kinda weird coming from a running coach, right? But the intent of that was to save my mental energy and let my brain refresh. I think most of us runners — especially those in the middle of marathon training — seemingly eat, sleep, bleed, (eat again probably) running. The downtime can help a runner be reflective in how training is progressing, but also be a wake-up call to do. your. strength. training. That said, this was also the week to NOT add anything crazy or new into my schedule.
As Coach says: There’s plenty of weeks left to worry about training (and mileage and fueling and… and…). FOCUS. Worry about other things, like, GETTING MARRIED.
My weekly plan included only 3 runs (all easy), 2 strength sessions, and yoga.
MONDAY Rest – and bi-weekly Coach call.
TUESDAY Strength workout for runners with kettle bell and TRX.
WEDNESDAY Easy 3-mile run (ran 3.17 to celebrate the upcoming holiday ?)
39:09 / 12:21 average pace
THURSDAY Skipped yoga; felt pretty energy-drained (thanks, PMS) and distracted about work and wedding stuff. Probably all the more reason to go to yoga, right? NOTED, UNIVERSE.
FRIDAY Wedding Day (and Rest Day) 😉
SATURDAY 7 easy miles on the treadmill
1:25:58 / 12:16 average pace
SUNDAY Easy 2-mile recovery run. A beautiful day in Iowa — we saw 70 degrees in the late afternoon! And though my motivation to run was low, I really wanted to be outside. Followed up my run with two rounds of my strength workout using both my kettle bell and TRX.
19:49 / 9:52 average pace
I also had a massage on Sunday morning. Every month, I’m dealing with a different issue – right hip, left calf, right glute, left hamstring… this session, seemingly a bungled up right quad. The last couple days I’ve had some right knee issues, and I wondered if something else might be the root cause. So, I’m spending some extra time stretching my quads (like, really stretching) and focused foam rolling. And I’m probably not going to wear those shoes on a long run anymore, just to be safe.
WEEKLY RUNS: 3 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 12.7 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 165.26 miles
Getting so excited to see Burlington in person again!
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.