marathon training: week 8
Well shit, we’re halfway there. I’d by lying if I said these first eight weeks have flown by — training through the winter has been an iiinteresting, challenging experience. And while I’m grateful for every step (well, maybe 75% of them) I give MAD props to people who do this on the regular. Training is humbling. And exhausting.
That said, I’m excited for the second half of this training cycling, especially as it gets lighter and warmer out, and as I feel myself get faster and more comfortable with longer distances. Eiiiiight more weeks till race time !
Monday: Yoga
60 minutes of hot yoga bliss. This was more of a “mental cleanse” than anything else. But I seriously love it.
Tuesday: 5 miles (progressive)
I was eager to get some quicker miles in, so did a progressive run around the town. Splits were something like 8:30, 8:15, 7:47, 7:32, 7:24. It felt good.
Wednesday: 2 miles, 45 min lift
I woke up to run six miles and it was pouring. I was perusing Twitter and came across a quote that said “exercise shouldn’t be a chore,” and well, heading out in my rain gear in the 30something degree weather seemed less fun than cleaning the bathroom. So I hopped on the subway instead and went to the gym. I didn’t really feel like running for long on the treadmill either, so I did two easy miles and then lifted. #FREEWILL
Thursday: 8 miles (tempo-ish)
These were a much needed “clear your mind of everything and just go” miles. This past week at work was a bit stressful and so I planned a nice mid-afternoon run up to Central Park to give myself a mental break. I barely looked at my watch as I ran up the westside highway to central park. I knew I was running fast, but I got into a nice rhythm where I was pushing myself but was ok with the discomfort. I clocked in eight miles in a little over an hour, and saw my pace hovered right around 7:42. I was veeery pleased.
Friday: 5 miles
These were slow and tiresome and I was half asleep and I almost ran over an old polish man in Greenpoint.
Saturday: Yoga
I had three miles on the calendar but opted for yoga instead. When I looked up a class schedule in the morning I saw the teacher was British, so nothing sounded better than someone with a really soothing accent telling me to “open your heart!”. Which is exactly what happened.
Sunday: 18 miles
Word to the wise: Running on lack of sleep and not-lack of alcohol the night before makes for a pretty uncomfortable morning long run. This run was definitely a bit painful, but I had Jocelyn by my side for much of the way to take my mind off the fact I wanted to crawl up into a ball on the side of the road (drama). I’m not sure the exact distance because we ditched the data once plummeted with a nasty headwind on the East River, buuut I think it was around 18 miles.
And that’s it. Too tired to type more. Seriously..how do people run marathons all the time and remain a functioning human being? Spill your secrets.
Posted on March 4, 2013, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
Camping Out In America 
It’s not just me – almost all the Marathon Maniacs I know don’t run very much in between. I workout six days a week, but usually only ONE of those is running. Honestly I find the long runs to be far more important, and believe strongly that you can switch out the other stuff as long as you’re still doing something that trains you (e.g., weight lifting, spinning sprints, etc).
ah, that’s good to know. And yes, doing consistent long runs has been super helpful and I definitely feel the difference. I guess I should focus on those going well rather than fretting over a five miler 🙂
i truly don’t know how people do it. i obviously had a “real” job but hardly worked before, and since my new job started, I don’t know how I will have time to train. EVER (once i’m all fixed and all and can run again). i’m honestly amazed at those who can balance it all-and do it year round without a break!