Vermont City Marathon Training Week 8
What Was Planned vs. What Happened
Monday 02/29/16: 30 Min. Easy Run | 34 Min. Easy
It was 45 degrees and sunny when I got out of work, so you’d best believe I took my run outside. An easy run was a great opportunity to test drive my new shoes. Things felt a little weird, but whether that was the shoes or the new compression socks I was trying, I couldn’t tell. That’ll teach me to try two new things at once! I also did some planks and other core exercises.
Tuesday 03/01/16: 4 Mile Progression Run | 1 Mile w/u + 4 Mile Progression
Oof. That’s all I have to say about this run. I think there were several contributing factors, not the least of which is that I went out too hard, but this run was a struggle. I was a sweaty, disgusting mess after.
Wednesday 03/02/16: Spin Class | Spin Class
After a night of piss-poor sleep, I so did not want to haul my ass to a 6 am class. I woke up at 4:30 am and proceeded to lie in bed, debating whether or not to go. In the end, the only thing that pulled me out of bed was the fact that if I didn’t go, I’d lose $13, since I’d signed up in advance. This is why I sign up in advance.
Thursday 03/03/16: 1 m Easy + 2 m Hard + 1 m Easy | W/U + 1 M EZ + 2 M Tempo + 1 M EZ
This run felt GREAT! I warmed up for 10 minutes, and cooled down for 5 on either end, and the middle miles were delightful. I didn’t get super fast, just fast enough to feel like I was working. I got home with a huge smile on my face and felt awesome for the rest of the night.
Friday 03/04/16: Rest/Strength | Rest/Strength
I did some planks and other core stuff, but other than that took it easy and went to bed early.
Saturday 03/05/16: 14 Miles Easy | 14 Miles Easy
I will probably write a larger post on this run later this week, but suffice to say, this run was way easier than I thought it would be, yet still very challenging. Afterwards, Ben and I spent the afternoon touring the breweries in our neighborhood and generally just enjoying having the same day off.
Sunday 03/06/16: Yoga | Rest
Once again, no yoga. My left quad was a little cranky, but really, I was just lazy. Ben and I did a bunch of cleaning and infrastructure stuff around the apartment though, which was huge and very necessary.
Weekly Mileage: 27.18
Total 2016 Mileage: 155
Another week of marathon training down! From here on out, most of my long runs will be Personal Distance Records, because up until this weekend, the furthest I’d ever run was a half marathon.
I still need to work on more recovery efforts like rolling, and I really should ACTUALLY go to yoga once in a while, but you know how these things go. Things with Mary Poppins rehearsals are about to kick up a notch or two, so March and the beginning of April will be very busy, and I’m sure I’ll have my hands full just trying to complete my runs.
What’s your Personal Distance Record?
“This is why I sign up in advance.” haha – that is great, the motivating power of losing money! Don’t discount it!
Love the description of your progression run! Yeah, going out to fast is definitely a killer, and it really doesn’t take much! Disgusting sweaty mess? Isn’t that a goal?!?! 😀
Another great week! Congrats!
Thanks, Mike! Yes, signing up in advance and knowing that I’ll lose that class credit is a huge motivating factor in getting myself to class. I just signed up for this Wednesday’s class 😉
KILLING IT. Even if you do 3 Sun A’s and 3 Sun B’s at home the day after, you will notice a difference (see my yoga clinic from last year)
I know, I know. I really do feel better when I yoga regularly.
You ROCKED this week! You stuck to the plan and got it done. I feel like you needed that Sunday rest day. I have that same type of day on Wednesdays – if it does’t happen, even out of laziness or whatever the reason is, well, it doesn’t happen! We need a day like that when we are training for something so huge!
Thank you! And I agree, sometimes full rest days are just what we need, although I really would benefit from more yoga in my life. Ah well.
my record is 13.1 and will probably stay that way!
Any more than that is quite a lot–I don’t blame you!
Sounds like you are doing amazing!!!
Thank you so much! I’m doing a lot better than I could have anticipated 🙂
Great week!! Nothing wrong with a lazy day!! The farthest I’ve ever run is 16 but it was a race- outside of a race would be 12.5 miles. This cycle will be pushing those limits. I think speed is off the table for a while so I will be working on distance until then. Good luck this week!
Distance is great because it gives you permission to chill out about pace a bit.
Awesome week! I love workouts like the 1m easy/2m hard/1m easy you wrote about… ones that feel hard but make you feel badass and awesome. 🙂 My personal distance record is a half marathon… don’t see it increasing anytime soon! Glad to hear your 14-miler went decently!
I love any kind of speed work, but especially speed workouts that go well, haha. Thursday was awesome. I’ve got another run like that this Thursday and I can’t wait!
It’s so encouraging to see your training schedule- I’m signed up for my first half in forever and I need some motivation to get up, get out, and DO it!
My personal distance record is 26.2 miles and let me tell you, each new distance record you set on your journey there feels incredible. Ok, not that the run itself is always easy, but knowing you got a little further this time and it’s going to take you across the ultimate finish line… yes. You have such an amazing journey ahead of you- enjoy it!!
Thank you! I wish you all the best in getting back out there. Your body will remember, you’ve just gotta go!