I think I had a really important break through this week. Maybe it was the time away last week, or maybe I just finally got in the right mindset but either way it’s better late than never!
This was a big week for me, but I’m excited to say that I feel really good coming out of it! This was what I would consider the closest to a “peak” week that I have during this training cycle. I knew it could leave my body tired so I focused on my nutrition more, made sure to fuel properly for each and every run, and really had fun!
Here is a look at my breakdown for the week:
Monday – 7 miles (2 up, 3 hard, 2 down)
I was a bit hesitant for Monday’s run because after 10 hours in the car on Sunday let’s just say I really wasn’t feel recovered or at my best. I decided to do an effort based run because honestly those just seem to be the easiest at this point since a majority of my running is done with the stroller.
I gave myself a bit longer warm up (2 miles) and then did 3 hard effort and 2 easy. My splits for the hard effort ended up being 7:53, 7:39, and 7:45. Overall, i was really happy with how the run went and it helped to start the week off on a high note!
Tuesday – 5 miles easy
Tuesday was an easy day and my legs were happy! I purposely slowed myself down on this one as well to make sure that I was giving my body enough recovery. When I felt myself speed up I would stop, calm myself, and then pick back up again.
I really enjoyed being out the trail with my sweet boy! I really treasure all this stroller time I am able to get with him the past several weeks.
Wednesday – 4 miles easy (9 x 10 second hill sprints)
I typically have been doing my hill sprints on the treadmill but lately E just hasn’t been having it when it comes to sitting by me on the treadmill. He isn’t old enough at this point to be able to occupy himself with toys so maybe in the future I can spend more time on the treadmill, but for these last weeks of marathon training I’m going to be seeing a lot more of the stroller.
We ran around a circle that’s roughly .60 miles until we hit 4 miles. I then went to the closest hill I could find and did my 9 x 10 second hill sprints.
I made sure to not overdue it because I know my biggest long run was the following day.
Thursday – 20 miles
Thursday was the BIG day. I only had one 20 miler on the schedule for this training block and I definietly was feeling nervous leading up to it. One thing I always do before a marathon on the last big long run is to practice my race day fueling. I woke up and had my normal oatmeal with peanut butter and blueberries about 2 hours before I started to run.
After I started my run my goal was to take in roughly 100 calories every 45 minutes. It went well in the beginning but as the run continued and I hit 13 miles I started to feel nauseous. I still have some tweaking to do on my fueling strategy but I know for one thing I will need to take in more water with my gels and chews. Typically on race day I do this at the water stations.
The run itself went really well. I felt strong until around 18 and then I had to really focus and finish out the last two. I was pretty shocked when I finished and saw that my pace was an 8:43 average! I don’t look at my watch throughout the run so I have to say I was really happy with how it turned out.
It’s funny that my best long run was my longest run, but no complaints here!
Friday – Rest Day
Friday was a complete rest day and I was so happy to be back on my normal schedule. I’ve had to be pretty lenient the past several weeks so this was a nice “normal” week for me.
Saturday – 7 miles (1 mile on/1 mile off)
Friday night we had a tough night of sleep (the 4 month sleep regression can SUCK it). Thankfully my body is starting to get the hang of this running on low sleep, but my legs were still very tired from the 20 miler on Thursday. I thought about doing 8 but I am reminded every time that sometimes during the last few weeks it is always better to not push it an extra mile. I’ve made it this far healthy and I don’t want to risk it now!
I did 7 miles with 1 mile easy/1 mile hard effort. My 3 miles hard ended up being 7:43, 7:48, and 7:50. It was a positive split for the workout but I really didn’t care I was just happy to still see those paces during ` miles.
Sunday – 5 easy
Sunday will consist of 5 easy miles to shake out the legs and celebrate the end of week 9!
In total that is is 48 miles for the week and it will be my biggest week of the cycle. I have one more week before I start tapering of any kind but next week won’t consist of as much. I’m happy with how my body has handled the last 2 weeks and am starting to feel a little more confident going into Boston.
My husband reminded me the other day that even though I may not feel in the best shape or where I used to be, I still need to focus on being confident and that will get me far!
How did your training go this week?