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!
Running in shorts, running in birds, and running on new trails…
Earlier in the week, I decided that the combination of my “new” office location and the late start of yoga didn’t work for me, so I took it off my weekly schedule. I’ll be returning to my former office space next week, so I’ll be back to my 25-minute commute. Whomp, whomp. I had plans on Tuesday night, so swapped my usual Monday Rest Day to include an easy run — and then took ANOTHER rest day because I was just generally feeling like poop.
The good thing is, the workouts that I DID do, felt awesome. I mean (*spoiler alert*)… besides the long run in the rain. Having a confidence-boosting week — and finding the “wins” even in these tough runs — was a really good push over the halfway hump in my marathon training.
MONDAY YAY! They finished the paved trail by my house, and I now have a completed 4-mile loop nearby. The weather was brisk (probably too much so for shorts!) but pretty great considering how long winter has stuck around. I got in 4 miles + a set of Strides.
4.32 miles / 4:48 / 10:22 average pace
Splits: 10:25, 10:13, 10:14, 11:17
1: 6:16 / 10:54
2: 6:55 / 10:33
3: 6:46 / 11:21
4: 7:11 / 10:22
TUESDAY Scheduled Rest Day, since I had wine/dinner plans after work.
WEDNESDAY I felt like CRAP – tired, unmotivated and really stressed out. I didn’t run. And then I felt crappier because I “kitchen-sinked” my husband after he had been traveling for a couple days. SIGH. Moving on…
THURSDAY It’s like someone flipped a switch on my mood, and I was so glad that I delayed my run a day. I felt AMAZING — and my paces proved it.
5.75 mi / 57:37 / 10:01 average pace
10:23
9:04 (14:33)
8:32 (12:37)
8:49 (13:43)
10:35
Man, that was a confidence builder run! ? I used the sidewalks and trails around my neighborhood again because it was SO NICE and so many people were out and YAY SPRING IS COMING. I kept passing the same couple in different directions on the trail, and it kind of cracked me up.
FRIDAY Rest + foam roll
SATURDAY Well, this training run goes right in the memory books: 40 degrees, rain the ENTIRE time and good ol’ Iowa wind. It was miserable, awful, no good, terrible. But I finished my dang 15 miles sopping wet (13 with the Striders running group; 2 miles afterward on Drake’s campus). I was SO COLD after this run and shivering pretty bad by the time I got home (despite changing out of my wet clothes in the car). A super hot shower and layers of fleece fixed me right up.
I packed Cytomax with me to try again and snacked on a Pamela’s gluten-free fig newton bar (Figgies & Jammies) during the run — and didn’t take any GUs. I’m still not sure about my fueling strategy for the marathon and what’s really “working,” but I’ve got a WHOLE MONTH of long runs to tweak my plan.
15 miles / 2:37:20 / 10:29 average pace
Splits: 10:05, 10:20, 10:03, 9:56, 10:33, 10:38, 10:13, 10:05, 10:09, 10:48, 10:54, 10:40, 10:53, 11:32, 10:29
SUNDAY A 25-minute recovery run on the treadmill, followed up by a core workout.
2.20 mi / 11:24 average pace
Lots of foam rolling before bed! My legs were feeling pretty beat up, but by Monday I was back to normal.
WEEKLY RUNS: 4 runs
WEEKLY MILES: 27.3 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 192.56 miles
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