Marathon Training - Week 12 of 30

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


First, a quick review of last week (week 11):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3.5 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 6 mile run - completed
• Thursday - 3.5 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 11 mile run - completed
• Sunday - 1 hour walking - completed
• Total distance run - 24 miles

Training went well last week. The highlight of last week was the 11 mile run on Saturday. That was only the third time I've ever run that distance (well, fourth if you count the half marathon). I was concerned going into it because I struggled with my 10 mile run last week. But I thought alot about that 10 mile run and what might have gone wrong. I decided to try increasing my fluid consumption and take a few walking breaks. I also made sure to eat plenty of carbs on Thursday and Friday. These changes worked - my 11 mile run went very well, which was a huge confidence booster for me. 


On the other hand, I found myself struggling mentally with the distance, fighting boredom at times. My route was a 5.5 mile loop that I ran twice, which may have been part of the problem. But I'll need to look into ways to deal with mental fatigue better. I'm thinking about trying to load an audio book onto my mp3 player. I wonder how I'd like listening to a book while I run?

Oh - and the hot weather continues. It's July in Texas. That's just what you expect. Can't wait until things cool down. 

Now on to this week - Week 12.

Week 12 is another cut-back week - my long run is cut back to 8 miles this week. Funny to think of an 8-mile run as "cutting back." The most challenging run this week will probably be the 6 mile pace run on Wednesday.

Here's this week's schedule:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 3.5 mile run
• Wednesday - 6 mile pace run
• Thursday - 3.5 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 8 mile run
• Sunday - 1 hour walking

Have a great week! 

Marathon Training - Week 11 of 30

Image by Wetsun via FlickrI'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


First, a quick review of last week (week 10):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3.5 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 6 mile pace run - completed
• Thursday - 3.5 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 10 mile run - completed
• Sunday - 1 hour walking - substituted yard work
• Total distance run - 23 miles

So I'm now 1/3 of the way through this training cycle, which feels good. So far I'm 100% as far as training runs go. I've missed a couple of the Sunday walks, but I've still been active enough in those cases to make up for it. So far, so good.

But, that said, I think that week 10 was the first week that actually felt like marathon training. 

Two runs from last week really stand out. The 6mi  pace run and the 10mi long run were both very challenging.

The temps continued to be in the low to mid 80's for my runs last week. I'm looking forward to these runs getting easier once it cools down in a couple of months.

Now on to this week - Week 11.

This week I get a bit of a mid-week break. The Wednesday run this week is an easy run instead of a pace run. That's a good thing, because I'll need the extra rest to get ready for the 11mi run scheduled for Saturday. The 10mi run last week was tough. Adding another mile to that run this week will be a serious challenge.

Here's this week's schedule:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 3.5 mile run
• Wednesday - 6 mile run
• Thursday - 3.5 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 11 mile run
• Sunday - 1 hour walking

Have a great week! 

Belt or Pack?

As the runs get longer and the temps get hotter, the Nathan fuel belt I wear right now is barely keeping up. The two 8-oz bottles it carries are good for runs up to about 9-10 miles in temps up to about 80-85 degrees. But with longer runs coming up on my schedule, I'll either need to start planning mid-run refills or find a way to carry more.

Here are a couple of options I'm considering:

Nathan Speed 4R Waist Pack with Four 8-Ounce Nutrition Flasks

~or~

Nathan HPL #020 2.0 Liter Men's 2-Liter Hydration Race Vest

The vest is slightly more expensive and has more capacity than I really need. On the other hand, I'm not sure I really want to carry 32 oz on a belt. My current belt tends to slip with only 16oz, especially after about 7 or 8 miles.

Please let me know your opinion, especially if you have used one or both of these or similar. What are the pros/cons of each one?

Marathon Training - Week 10 of 30

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


First, a quick review of last week (week 9):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 5 mile pace run - completed
• Thursday - 3 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 6.5 mile run - completed
• Sunday - 1 hour walking - completed

Week 9 was a cut-back week, so I got a bit of a break for my Saturday "long" run. Overall, week 9 was another good week. I found myself pushing my pace a bit too much because of the reduced mileage. Not alot, just here and there. It's a good confidence boost to run a bit faster now and then, especially with the temperatures we've been having lately. I run early, usually starting around sunrise (close to 6am). Lately it's been in the mid 80's as I start my run. Not exactly ideal, but I feel pretty good that I'm still able to keep a decent pace in the heat.  Fortunately it will be much cooler when my marathon rolls around in December.


Now on to this week - Week 10.Wow! As I wrote that, it occurred to me that I'll already be 1/3 of the way through this training session by the end of this week. Time is flyin'!So last week was a cut-back week, but this week is a "the party's over, time to get to work" week. Every run gets longer this week. Goodbye, 3-mile runs! Tuesday/Thursday runs get bumped up by .5 miles, Wednesday runs get bumped up a mile, and my long run on Saturday continues the climb from where I left off at the end of week 8 - hello double-digit runs, it's been a while!I think the cut-back week was good for me physically as well as mentally. Having a bit of a break has really left me feeling ready to get back to some challenging runs. So I'm really feeling ready to take on the longer runs I have on the schedule this week. Here's this week's schedule:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 3.5 mile run
• Wednesday - 6 mile pace run
• Thursday - 3.5 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 10 mile run
• Sunday - 1 hour walking

Have a great week! 

Marathon Training - Week 9 of 30

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!

First, a quick review of last week (week 8):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 5 mile run - completed
• Thursday - 3 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 9 mile run - completed
• Sunday - 1 hour walking - completed

So training was great last week. Which is a surprise considering what an otherwise lousy week I had. There were a couple of bright spots, but there were some really low spots last week too. Running was very therapeutic for me last week. 


Most of the highs and lows were too personal to write about here. But I'll say that one bright spot was that I think I've finally figured out what was causing the tendon pain in my right leg the last few weeks. I've added some stretching before my runs, which seems to have helped. Forget what you've read about stretching before running being unnecessary. I can tell you that for me, it's a good thing.


Now on to this week - Week 9.

This week is a step-back week. The first 8 weeks have been a steady climb in terms of weekly miles and long-run miles, with the only exception being a 5k race during week 4. For the next few months, my training looks like a series of hills - two weeks of increased miles followed by a step-back week. The chart below shows my weekly mile totals, the chart for the long runs follows a similar pattern (also - the red is what I've done so far, the blue is what's ahead):

  

The idea is to give yourself some mental and physical breaks every few weeks to prevent injury and burn-out.

So, here's what's on the schedule for this week:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 3 mile run
• Wednesday - 5 mile pace run
• Thursday - 3 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 6.5 mile run
• Sunday - 1 hour walking

Have a great week!