Marathon Training Schedule

So the whole "make it to 13.1 mile" philosophy that I used when training for the half marathon didn't translate so well in training for the marathon.  I don't know if it's because of the weather that pales in comparison to the awesome spring last year, or if my excitement for running is just lower than doing it all for the first time.  Last year, each new distance where I went yet further was exciting and motivating.  So far, I'm just trying to get back to where I was.

Last Thursday, I did about 10 miles.  It was a slow 10 mile run, and I was achy the day after.  Then I made the mistake of going to yoga class where we did a bunch of warrior poses that made me use the same running muscles.  But Saturday, I went out and did 4 miles, and everything chilled out.  I felt great and recovered Sunday, and I breathed a sigh of relief.  The 10 mile run out of nowhere hadn't been the best idea.  I had only ran at most 6 miles at that point, and not very consistently.  It was a risk, and I very well could've been injured.

My feet is gaining back all the calluses I had developed last year.  I'm hoping they stay calluses and don't develop into blisters that will be more difficult to deal with.  At this point, I'm feeling pretty good about the half marathon in 2 weeks.  I'm still rather nervous about the marathon though.  I didn't really leave much leeway for things going wrong in the training, such as injuries, illness, etc.

I'm sort of following this 16 week training schedule.  I'm currently on week 7, aiming for 12 miles this Thursday.  There are some modification in the schedule due to upcoming races with various distances, but I'm keeping the long runs roughly the same and aiming for at least the same mileage each week.  The week of Black Earth will be interesting.  

Valentine's 5k

I ran the Valentine's 5k because I really needed another race to jump start me into the training for this marathon.  Upcoming races always motivate me out onto the pavement and get those miles in.  The Valentine's 5k is put on by the UW Running Club.  The cost of the race was only $5, which of course meant no chipped time.

We picked up our race bib at the UW Natatorium.  There was quite a bit of last minute sign up, but we were able to keep nice and warm waiting inside.  We had a bit of a chilly walk to the actual race start which was about 500 meters down the road for the Nat.  While we waited, they warned us at the start that the roads would be mostly clear of ice, but that when there was ice, it'd be about a 4-5 foot stretch.  An audible groan arose from the crowd.  I expected such conditions, but I wasn't looking forward to it. On the walk to the start, I met Charlie who told me about running the same race a few years back, slipped on an ice patch and fractured his hip.  Eeek!

New Year, Fresh Start

I'm way behind on this marathon training.  I took a break from running after the Berbee Derby.  I was already burned out from all the races and barely trained at all for the Berbee.  After the Berbee, I ran sporadically, roughly 3 miles every 2 weeks, just enough to not go completely soft, but not enough to call it much of anything. 

New Year's Day, I went out and did 3 miles because I ran last year on New Year's Day and that seems an appropriate tradition to maintain.  No resolutions, just running on New Year's Day.  Then a trip out of town meant that whatever jump start I was hoping to get on my training went out the window.  Plus, the weather has been a particularly good at removing all motivation and the SERF wasn't open over winter break.  I had all my excuses.

Two weeks ago I did a little math and realized I was vastly vastly behind where I needed to be for my marathon training.  I could go out and do 5 miles once, but I couldn't do 6 miles 3 times a week like I had been doing late last spring.  But I kept at it, running as often as I felt motivated to do and as far as I felt I needed.  I ran a 10k in under an hour on the treadmill yesterday, and I'll probably go for another 4-6 tomorrow. 

I'm surprised by how quickly it all comes back.  I feel pretty secure that in only a couple more weeks, I could run a half.  I figure if I get to 12 by the end of February, and 20 by the end of March, I'll have a good 4 weeks to taper for the marathon.  Or I could just make a last minute switch to the Flying Pig half marathon.