Marathon training week 9 recap

 

      This week was tough and I had a lot of ups and downs that I had to deal with.  I wouldn't say this was a shining week in my training, but I feel like I made the best of what I could.  I said at the beginning of this adventure that my training plan would be a fluid situation and this week began that.  I am going to sit down and make a couple of changes since next week is going to be a little off from my normal routine.  I am not going to tinker to much, but I need to if I want to maintain a steady plan and not risk injury or over training. 

Sunday:

     Today I headed out on a 9 mile run at race pace and I wanted to be at 9 minute mile or less for this one.  When I left it was cloudy and comfortable until I got around mile 4.  The clouds broke open a hole and the sun started baking me almost like it was doing it on purpose.  I also had a hefty head win that I had to fight through on my last 3 miles.

Monday:

     Today is Labor day and since I have worked Memorial Day and 4th of July I decided to take the day off from work.  Mandy and I relaxed most of the day, we went to Maumee Bay state park and walked the beach, took some pictures, got our feet wet in the cool lake water and chased the sea gulls hanging on the beach.  On our way home we stopped so she can get a slushy and we spent the evening relaxing on the couch together watching movies.

Tuesday:

     I really felt good today on my route that took me 3 miles out and 3 miles back.  I wanted to stay at 9:30 or below and I felt I was able to with little effort despite my pace bouncing around a little.  It was still humid and the temp was a little cooler so I wore sleeveless shirt and that made it pretty comfortable.  I can't tell you how good it felt to go out run and return and feel really good.  Lately most of my runs at some point I end up feeling tired or worn out, but today was perfect.

Wednesday:

     Today and next Wednesday I am working so I had to shorten my running time so I could accommodate work and running. Next Saturday I am presiding over my friend Jim's wedding and had to switch my day off so hence why I am working next Wednesday as well.  Yes if you were wondering I am an ordained minister and am licensed in Ohio to perform wedding ceremonies.  I have pretty much hung up my collar though because getting weekends off from work are nearly impossible, but I made an exception for my good buddy Jim.  

     So now that you know today I did my race pace run let me tell you about it.  It was scary as shit.  A cold front has moved through the area and made the temperature quite comfortable and even though the weather shows 94% humidity, it sure didn't feel like it.  It did however cause some major freaking fog this morning.  I took a picture before I left but it really doesn't do it any justice for just how bad it was.  To be honest it was as thick as peanut butter as good old Yukon Cornelius would say.  I stuck to the bike trail for safety from cars and what not, but with all the trees along the path kept me feeling like I was running through the woods.  It was truly like a scene out of some horror movie!  I was wearing my headlamp and only being able to see about five feet or less in front of me, woo that is scary.  I ended up packing a little high velocity protection with me just in case ;) but of course I didn't need it.  Better to have and not need than to need and not have!

     Despite the lovely picture I just painted for you above, the run went quite well.  I managed to keep my pace right were I wanted to through out the entire run.  I basically did a 5 mile out and back and only got off the trail when I reached the neighboring town and had to run about a quarter mile on the streets before I hit the five mile turnaround mark.  I wore my Camel Bak, mainly because it has a lot more storage room, but it provided me with more than enough water.  I also used my Clif Shot Bloks chews every two miles as well.  I wanted to simulate eating on the run in my marathon pace.  No real issues with it, now I just have to figure how I am going to carry them, because I can't and won't be using the Camel Bak for the race.  Anyway, the sun finally started to lighten things up for the last two and a half miles and even then the fog kept my visibility down to about fifty feet or so.  For the last mile, as I always do, I pushed the pace and had a nice strong finish.  When I got back I stretched out and did two sets of 15 and one set of 10 push ups.

Thursday:
     I was going to run today and then run tomorrow so I could take Saturday off before my twenty mile run on Sunday.  Well I woke up and my body was just a run down mess.  I had no energy and was extremely tired.  I just couldn't see myself doing my speed work and I didn't want to risk any injury so I went back to bed to get a couple more hours of sleep before work.  When I got home from work Mandy and I relaxed, ate dinner, watched a little of the football game, and I took some night quill and went to bed a little early.

Friday:

     It was a humid humid morning but the temp was manageable since the sun hadn't come up yet.  This was the first speed workout I have been able to do after missing it for the last two weeks.  I could tell my body seemed to have lost a little something with how it responded.  I wanted to keep my pace between 8:20 and 8:30 and I did that quite well despite how tired my legs felt.  I did a 2.5 mile out and back route on the bike trail.  Just after I hit mile 2 a small animal crossed in front of me, it was hard to tell what it was at first because it was very dark.  It froze when I was right on top of it and once I saw that white stripe I made sure to give him a wide berth.  I am pretty sure that was the first time I've seen a Pepe Le Pew that wasn't a pancake on the road, luckily he didn't feel threatened and didn't spray any of his perfume on me.  After that my run was animal free and pretty uneventful.  I was able to maintain a nice steady pace till the last mile when I pushed the pace a little bit.  When I got back I did two sets of 20 tricep dips, stretched out and called it a day.

Saturday:

     Well it happened again, I Didn't run.  I have just been so freaking tired.  What clued me in was when I almost fell asleep two or three times on the way to work yesterday.  Also people at work said I looked tired and exhausted, so I decided I really need to get some sleep, with my 20 miler tomorrow I really didn't want to jeopardize that.  

Week 10 begins now

* For quick access to my entire Marathon training journal click the "Marathon Journal" tab just below the Running In The Fat Lane header