That's THREE MONTHS of training in the books! And only five weekends to go... *barf*. To be completely honest, I'm a little nervous. "Knowing what to expect" is kind of a pro and con in this instance---I know my body can (barely) physically handle it, but I also know how freaking hard it is! This year, there's also is the added pressure / reach goal of trying to beat last year's time. Scary, fun, scary, fun, scary, fun?! I go back and forth on an daily basis!
Monday: 45 min gym cross-training (cardio + core)
Tuesday: 1 hour, 30 min run (9.7 miles)
Wednesday: 50 minute pyramid water run
Thursday: 1 hour yoga class
Friday: 1 hour SEAL Team water workout
Saturday: 3 hour run (18 miles!)
Sunday: OFF
TOTAL MILEAGE: 37.7 miles (2.3 less than last week)
Tuesday's run was fairly average in the scheme of things. I felt good and had a fine pace. There wasn't any speed work tossed in; we were told to simply run and tackle all the hills. And the instructors definitely found some long and slow inclines for us! Total time: 1:24:57; average pace: 8:46; fastest mile: 8:12; slowest mile: 9:26.
I switched back to my run 2x and water run 2x schedule this week. They took place on Wednesday evening and Friday morning. Boring, but good...intervals and having company for one of the runs kept it somewhat interesting.
[Rise & shine...tree pose!]
Even though I didn't run, I still woke up early on Thursday and went to a 6:30AM "Rise & Shine" yoga class for some active recovery on my OFF day. I went back to Squeeze and was the only one to show up. It could've been awkward, but ended up being AWESOME! I told the instructor I was training so she led a lot of leg / hip stretching for me. And then she got me to try crow pose for the first time ever! AHH scary! Needless to say, I was a happy baby after that. (too punny?)
Friday's water run (last one with the SEAL Team PT training team) was followed by...
I'm still crushing on their sunflower multigrain bagel, egg and chicken sandwich. Fried food isn't ideal for the day before long runs BUTTTT Garland made me do it?!
Speaking of food! I think my official "pre-marathon dinner" has been decided: homemade fried rice and baked tilapia. Carbs, veggies, protein, salt and minimal fat...it checks all the boxes and is easy to digest. I sent Garland out with his friends so that I could fall asleep early and not be interrupted on Friday. And then I didn't get myself to bed until after 10PM. With my alarm set for 4AM, Saturday was yet another five-hours-of-sleep run for Val. And you know what? I don't think I'm too bad at it! I tried really, really hard to stay at a slow and even pace---about 20 seconds slower than my goal race pace. It worked well until the final hour when we were faced with some hills and trails. I was also reminded of the burning pain (mainly in my quads) of running for that long. I'm definitely not ready for that 26.2 just yet...but I will be! Total time: 2:49:05; average pace: 9:24; fastest mile: 8:58; slowest mile: 10:13.
There was chocolate milk at the farmers market, homemade breakfast pizza and then a 2.5 hour nap after the run. I was pretty darn exhausted for the entire weekend; but on Sunday, I perked up and went to Brown's Island to catch the end of the 10th annual Richmond Folk Festival. What I really wanted to see was this Tezcatlipoca Voladores (Mayan sundance) below. It was just as crazy as I pictured. WHO DANCES ON A POLE THAT HIGH WITH NO HARNESS?!
This week is a bit of a "recovery" with only a 2 hour run on Saturday. I'm taking full advantage by going to Pittsburgh for a long weekend. I can't wait to eat, drink and bake with one of my best friends from college!
No comments:
Post a Comment