Marathon Training Update

Two weeks ago I had my most solid training run of this marathon cycle.  I knocked out 11 miles with 7 at tempo pace.  Even with a super slow 2 mile warm up, and slow 2 mile cool down, my overall pace was still considerably faster than the Sioux Falls half race.  Womp womp.  BUT YAY!  Following up that run, I had my first 20 mile long run of the cycle.  And knocked that out of the park too!  I had some hip soreness midway through the run, but was able to focus in on my running form and before too long it went away.  And after a few miles from 12-15 where I was 100% s-p-e-n-t I kept my focus and was able to find some extra store of energy somewhere to finish the last 5 miles as my strongest miles of the day.  I even endured an ice bath post run to aid in my recovery!

YAY MARATHONER JERBEAR!

20 miles of salt is hawt.

And then my knee started to twinge ever so slightly through the weekend.  I scrapped my runs.  Attempted a run last Tuesday and cut it short at 3 miles.  Continued to foam roll, ice, rolling pin (my substitute for the stick), managed 3.5 miles Wednesday that resembled a run, stop, stretch, shuffle, job, stop, repeat motion.   I lost roughly a week and a half of training, which at this point is ~75 miles.  Woof.

FRUSTRATED:  PARTY OF ONE.

I refused to freak out.

Ok, I lie, I freaked out for the rest of the day.  I found the super tight spot in my IT band that my foam roller had not previously found.  I rolling pinned that spot in to submission for the next few days.  I did the silly (but effective!) hip flexor stretch that the massage therapist taught me after the Sioux Falls half, daily as well.  Finally by Monday my legs were all ready to go, and I got sick.  Geez Louise body!

After going home sick Tuesday and staying home Wednesday I finally got out for a run yesterday.  My legs felt amazing.  It was cool, 59* (and humid, but whatevs).  I could tell I was still a little weak, but I was just so happy to be running in gorgeous fall weather, and not laying on the couch in fits of hot and cold.

While on the run I realized that I have approximately six weeks left until race day, including this week which is almost gone.  EEPS!  And then I remembered that six weeks is precisely how long I trained for the Philly Marathon in 2011.  Pfitz still has a lot of miles for me to run in the next six weeks.  I want to have a STRONG and HEALTHY race on November 10th and that's my primary goal.  Outside of the Philly Marathon, I've never finished a full marathon with a negative split or feeling strong at the end, and that would be amazing.  So I will continue to run the miles, and do more recovery crap than the average runner, and see where that gets me.

And I will continue to pray to the weather gods for a gorgeously cold day on November 10th.  WHOOP!