There are only THREE TRAINING WEEKS left of marathon training, and (thankfully) Week #17 was a pretty strong week for me.
That said, I’m paying attention to my lower back — it doesn’t bother me at all when I run, but I feel a strain on my right side when I’m laying down for bed or sitting up with my legs out straight (or, sometimes, when I’ve been sitting too long). I’ve had a few muscle spasms randomly at work, too, which… I don’t know if I have a knot somewhere that is just transferring to my lower back or I strained it doing a strength workout. Though I cancelled my golf lessons for the remainder of the month to be safe because the twisting-turning motion bothered me most. Hoping it’s nothing, but being mindful of it, nonetheless. I FINALLY have a massage appointment this upcoming weekend.
MONDAY Golf was cancelled due to the weather
TUESDAY I was committed to getting my easy run in Tuesday night. And it was a late run, since I attended a volunteer ceremony event after work. And yes, my treadmill still smells like burning rubber.
6 miles + 6×20 Strides / 1:11:38 / 11:09 average pace
WEDNESDAY Tempo Run on the schedule! It was a little chilly running outside in crops and a t-shirt, but the sunshine felt good. Everyone was out cutting their lawns, so my allergies sucked something major. My nose running must have distracted me because I realized within my warm-up mile that I was running too fast of a pace.
So I continued.
I stuck to faster paces for my next two miles.
And then faster paces for my next two miles. I finally completed a legit tempo workout. I DID THE WORK. ???
Warm-up: 10:03
2 miles: 9:38, 9:27
2 miles: 9:16, 8:58
Cool down: 10:45
THURSDAY Rest – was supposed to do yoga, buuuuuuut I went out for Happy Hour after work to celebrate an early Cinco de Mayo.
FRIDAY Foam rolling before bed — my quads and calves needed a LOT of work. And I had a GREAT night of sleep, holy moly. Maybe my body knew that I didn’t have to wake up early the next day?
SATURDAY Hahahahaha, just kidding. Woke up at 6am, though it was 9 glorious hours of sleep. I did a quick shakeout run — 3 easy miles + 4×20 Strides. The weather was BEAUTIFUL!
3.3 miles / 32:45 / 9:53 average pace
SUNDAY My second 20-miler of this marathon training cycle. 20 MILES… AGAIN! This felt SO MUCH better than the 20 miles that I did a few weeks ago — I felt strong and like I could run an actual marathon. I finished 7.12 miles before the start of the Des Moines Women’s Half Marathon — 1:16:49, with an average pace of 10:47 — and then finished the half marathon in 2:15:19, a 10:26 average pace.
Check out these half splits: 10:27(1), 10:29(2), 10:33(3), 10:32(4), 10:28(5), 10:45(6), 10:25(7), 10:39(8), 10:31(9), 10:30(10), 10:39(11), 10:16(12), 9:25(13). That’s a pretty consistent pace. I’m proud of the work I put in this week.
WEEKLY RUNS: 4(ish) runs
WEEKLY MILES: 35.8 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 361.37 miles
AHHHHHHHH Race Day is so close! Still time to register and join me in Burlington, Vermont (if running marathons is your thang) for the Vermont City Marathon: Use code BibRave10 to save $10 on your registration!