Happy Hump day all! I love that we are already pretty much just sliding into the weekend!
First a running update:
Last night, once home from class, I went out with John to do a short run. He is planning to do his first race since February in a few weeks, and I am doing most of his runs with him, because it is more fun to not do it alone.
Last night I did 3 miles, I ran the first mile with John, but he said he was going to do 2.5, and we all know I don't do x.5 miles ever, so I picked it up after mile 1 to get in 3 miles and try to make sure we finished at the same time.
3 Miles- 27:44, 9:15 pace
Mile 1- 10:11
Mile 2- 8:45
Mile 3- 8:48
The last 2 miles, picking it up felt pretty effortless, and if I had been doing a longer run I feel confident I could have maintained that pace as well. I finished feeling refreshed, especially after the blah-ness of my morning run.
I went to stretch and foam roll after to find that Ms. Peach has been using the end of my foam roller as a chew toy! There is only a few little bite marks and one small chunk taken out, but still, not cool little doggie!
This morning I had 9 miles easy on the schedule, but since yesterday was easy I wanted to throw in some faster miles this morning. I ended up only getting in 7 miles, I got some shooting pain in my right foot around mile 6, and since it wasn't subsiding I cut it short. It seems fine now, but better to be safe. I am planning to run with John again tonight assuming it is fine, so if I get out, I will make sure those miles are fast also.
7 Miles- 1:05:36, 9:22 pace
Mile 1- 9:45
Mile 2- 9:38
Mile 3- 9:31
Mile 4- 9:07
Mile 5- 9:19
Mile 6- 9:13
Mile 7- 9:03
So there you go 2 more runs since I last left you! I have also been doing lots of running-related thinking. I am working on making the final adjustments to my taper schedule which is approaching pretty quick now. There is a half marathon on my schedule exactly 2 weeks before the marathon, and my original goal was to go out, hit it hard and ensure myself a nice sub-2:00 PR, the more I think about it, its really not a good idea.
The course for this half is not super hard, but there are 2 steep bridges, 2 normal ones, and a few other spots that make it not the easiest course out there. I know I will be in pretty peak shape by this race, and if I am not careful could go out waaay too hard, and end up needing a full week to recover, not the best idea. So I think I am going to play it conservative, and try to do the whole race at my "aggressive marathon pace". It will make a really quality long run to round out marathon training plus it still ensures a PR by about 10 minutes. I have 3 other halfs scheduled post-marathon, and I can go balls to the walls for my sub-2:00 then, when I have to time to recover from it. I did not spend all these weeks training for a marathon to go destroy those goals on my first of 4 fall half marathons.
I have also been doing a lot of thinking about Marathons #2 and #3. There is one already on my calendar, and 2 more than I am debating between. Even though I haven't done the race yet, going through this training cycle has been more than enough to know that I do want to do this again. Anyone have any tips on 2nd/3rd marathons? Is it better to just stay in marathon shape or put in a longer waiting period and start from scratch???
i'd say staying in marathon shape is best but i'm no marathon expert. i've been told that marathon training builds on itself so that you're still reaping the benefits from the previous marathon. i know that was the case with me and my marathons were a year apart! don't know if that was helpful hahah
ReplyDeletebut great running and i agree that going out really hard on the half wouldn't be great if you're planning on a stellar marathon. very smart thinking and smart choice
I'm so happy to read this about your half marathon! You won't regret playing it smart after the fact. I promise. Since you have three more planned, I would go with your goal pace and just learn to feel that pace! :)
ReplyDeleteYou don't want to lose your training, but your body does need some down time. This is the first time I've gone back to back and I've noticed two things: 1 - My long runs are much faster and much easier! :) 2 - I've been a little burnt out on my running (UGH ... I hate admitting this)!
If you go back to back, try to give yourself at least 3-4 weeks were you are just maintaining and running for fun. You won't lose your base. Maintain 10 miles for your long run, then build back up.
If you want a couple of months .... I've done this three times you have to start from scratch. But, you can still run fun races here and there and maintain 20-30 miles per week ... so you're not "really" losing it.