Marathon Training - Week 3

Week 3 felt pretty good. Did a morning run on Tuesday for the 2nd week in a row! As much as I hate getting up, it is very nice to know that my run for the day is done and I can focus on other important things, such as homework! Shins are a little achy and hopefully that is not an ongoing problem. I'm trying to keep some of my runs on trails or the canal path to give my shins/knees a break. I'm also looking into getting a kiddie pool/ice bath setup in my backyard! :)

I wanted to go to Lake Placid that weekend as a "social member" of the Valor Triathlon Project training camp, but in the end I decided not to go. I had a TON of schoolwork to get done which was stressing me out. Unfortunately, I do not handle stress well (especially with regards to school) and the only way for me to deal with it is to cancel the plans that are making me stressed. It worked out ok - I was able to get the software I needed onto my computer (took several hours and the help of someone who actually knows things about computers) and then it took another 4 hours at RIT to get the homework going, but I feel better now knowing that I am not falling behind in class. I also sleep better at home and can keep my own hours; both of those things help reduce stress.

Anyways, on to the miles for the week!

Monday - 3 miles, 27:24, 9:08 min/mile

Tuesday - 5 miles, 46:52, 9:22 min/mile - done at 5:40 am - this is going to be the theme for Tuesdays, run in the morning, work, then class after work! (also, this was supposed to be 6 miles - oops)

Wednesday -  3 miles, 27:08, 9:02 min/mile - very sticky out but I felt pretty good

Thursday - 5.5 miles, 43:21, 7:52 min/mile - this was my first track workout since 2002 (high school track)! I guess this shows how motivated I really am to do well at this marathon because I freaking HATE track workouts. It was pretty hot out and I ran in my compression sleeves so I was dying by the time this workout was over, and I went into Wegmans afterwards completely soaked in sweat - sorry people of East Ave. Wegmans. I did 4x800 repeats with 400 recovery in between. I tried to run them as Yassos (at projected marathon time) and did.. ok at that. I need to figure out how to set up my watch to show the lap I am on and not overall time, so when I started and couldn't keep track of my split (wanted to check it at the 400m mark) I just ended up winging it. Ran 3:26, 3:32, 3:34, 3:35. FYI, my BQ standard is a 3:35 and I would really like to run as far under that as possible.

Friday - off

Saturday - 6 miles, 53:54, 8:59 min/mile - in hindsight this was supposed to be at marathon pace. 2nd oops of the week.

Sunday - 8.53 miles, 1:16:43, 8:59 min/mile - I did this with Kevin in Mendon Ponds Park. About half were on the roads and half on the trails. Felt pretty good, pace was probably a little quicker than I am used to for longer runs and my HR was a little high. I need to work on this more. I just replaced my very sketchy HR strap so I am hoping to run a little more by HR in the future (nailed my pace this morning).

Week 3 Mileage: 31.03
Total Training Cycle Mileage: 77.28

My goal is to take the easy runs easy and the hard runs hard. I also need to pay better attention to the specifics of my training plan. I missed a mile on my Tuesday morning run and also missed my first marathon pace run (supposed to do that on Saturday and I just ran it at endurance pace). Probably minor details but I am anxious to do this the right way! I printed the entire marathon plan out so that I can hang one in my cubicle, one on my fridge, and one in my home office. Maybe I should get one printed on a pillowcase too!