It’s officially week two of marathon training. Or in my case weeks three and four. Going forward- I’m going to just call it what it is- so let’s call this week four. In the week one post I shared how I modified my training cycle on day one because I moved up the weekend I want to run my solo 26.2. The interesting twist this week is that I’m actually scheduled to run an in person half marathon on Sunday. Translation- I don’t really want to over do it this week, while maintaining the training schedule.

Monday

I really like to get my key effort for the week done at the beginning of the week. There’s a sense of accomplishment knowing that the key effort is complete and I can make up the rest of the miles during the week. Key effort this week 800×4. What that actually became was:

1 mile warm up

800 x 4 (at 8 minute a mile pace)/followed by a 400 at an easy jog

1.25 mile cool down

Speed work used to be my nemesis. Which often meant I skipped it. I learned quickly however, that the schedule calls for speed work for a reason…it helps- it makes you stronger and faster for longer distances. Therefore, I’m not religious about getting in my speed work. Lately I’ve been doing my speed work on the treadmill. If the kids ever go back to school my plan is to actually use the track!

The run felt great. I was working hard on my 800s but I dare say I could have pushed the pace a little bit more. We shall see next week what is the right push pace for that effort.

Tuesday

In a “normal” world I would not run on Tuesday. It would purely be a strength training day. But we aren’t living in a normal time. In pandemic times I started a running streak that I just don’t want to give up!! To keep my running streak going I’ve been running two to three miles on my “off” days. However, I made a conscious choice when I kicked off formal marathon training that I would limit the “off” days to two miles and then do some strength training.

I got outside for today’s run for the first time in a LONG time. I have a great two mile loop- out and back. I love that Stava tracks the similar loops and tells me how my run compares to previous times that I’ve done the same effort. Now, there are two thoughts to these runs. I should just go out nice and easy, do two miles and call it a day. But I also ran the 3000 in High School track. Basically, just short of two miles. So subconsciously I’m working hard on this time to see how fast I can get it.

The run felt great- average pace of 7:54 a mile. So clearly, I didn’t take it easy but instead gave it a solid effort. Came back home and did a full thirty minute of Body Weight only exercise with Move Daily Fitness.

So it was a solid “off” day!

Wednesday

Technically not an off day- but with a race looming I am not looking to add a lot of extra mileage. I’m also enjoying watching Bosch on Amazon Prime. The only time I watch is when I run on the treadmill. So the tradeoff is that I’ll run three easier miles and watch some Bosch on my iPad. So Wednesday brought three miles at an average pace of 8:11 a mile.

Thursday

Another “off” day. Back to my favorite two mile loop!! The goal other than getting in my two miles was to test some new items I got before race day. YOU NEVER USE, EAT, WEAR DO ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!! So I was testing one of my new hats to see how it felt and whether it rubbed, along with my RoadID bracelet. Again, it felt good to get outside and off the treadmill.

Friday

Friday kicks off the virtual Rock n Roll running series. This week there were two races a 6K (3.7 miles) and a 10K. My plan was to do the 6K on Friday and then forgo the 10K this week with the upcoming race on Sunday. Again, I got outside to run. The weather was a bit cooler and I felt great! I determined that I can only really control keeping my runs easy when I run on the treadmill. I had no grand plans for this run, but apparently the run had plans for me! For the first time since I started running again I ran four miles all under 8 minutes, with an average pace of 7:48. What?? Who is this person? Bonus, I felt great!!

Saturday

The day before race day. Two easy shake out miles to keep my running streak going! Plus I got to watch part of Bosch. A win, win!

Sunday

Race day! An hour and fifteen minute drive was well worth it for an IN PERSON RACE. Ironically, I raced six months ago to the day in Orlando. The catch-this was a trail race! Read all about the good, the bad, and the ugly here.

Overall, it was a successful training week. The week called for 26 miles total, which I would have surpassed if I ran the full race on Sunday. But I ended the week with 25.2. I’m not concerned about the additional .8 miles. I’m ready to start week five!! Despite the crazy trail experience I’m feeling pretty good to start the week and I’m ready to “never miss a Monday!”

Stay tuned for next weeks review. As always, I run for those who can’t and to #endalz! Subscribe to never miss an update!