I don't even need to post the link for the earworm, right? You're welcome.
So, marathon training continues. I'm tired more often than not, but I'm staying on schedule. Everything is hanging together. So I'll just review a bit.
Two weeks ago I had my first big week; five runs (my new normal), 46.3 miles, including a hard track workout and a 17 mile long one. Felt pretty good! For the 17 miler, I averaged 8:09 (BQ pace) with the last 13 at 7:59. That helped the confidence!
Last week I bumped it to 50.5. But I felt the accumulated fatigue all week. Monday was a tempo run, but the legs were leaden and the usual effort was 20 seconds slower than usual. I practiced restraint and did the "tempo" 3.5 miles at 7:35 pace and just cruised the rest of the 9.2 miles. Tuesday I rested.
Wednesday was track day and I joined the group of marathoners who do repeat miles every week. We did five one-mile repeats with one lap of rest in between. I actually felt pretty good and maintained a steady pace. Each one was between 6:44 and 6:47 which is a solid effort but doesn't kill me. After the last one I was energized and felt like I could do more! Good sign! 8 miles total.
But Thursday the body was tired. I set out for nine miles on tired legs and that's what I got. Again my pace was 20 seconds slower than usual, but I plugged along and by the end I was comfortable with it. At this point in training I start to feel like the pre-historic Africans from Born to Run - running becomes like breathing. It's just what the body is used to doing so you just keep on going and it's no longer an effort. For all these tired runs, I never finished too exhausted. Weird.
I rested Friday and then did a 12-12 double on the weekend. Saturday was the club run in the hills. We chose a trail with several nasty hills and I ran with the coach and a few others. It was a hard effort but I finished feeling strong. The next day felt less strong as I stayed near the beach by myself. The tired legs made the pace slower than usual again - no BQ pace this week - but I was able to keep on trucking and finish the 50 mile week.
Luckily my lifestyle allows me to recover and rest much of the day. I've been enjoying mid-day naps almost every day lately. Such a good feeling crawling into bed at 2PM for an hour or two when the body is aching and craving rest. My legs have that tired feeling but no injury soreness is popping up.
This week I scheduled another 50. I rested Monday, although I did go to the gym, which I do one day a week. I rotate through 12 stations including upper body, core and legs, so it's not really a rest day. Tuesday I did 10.3, just racking up miles, nothing special. Wednesday was back to the track for mile repeats. I aimed to repeat last week's workout, but the legs were heavier this time. In the first lap of the first one I thought I was running the same effort, 6:50ish, but the watch said 7:15 pace! What?! So I had to push it a bit to get it down under 7. I finished at 6:55 but it felt a lot harder than last week. Ugh, this cumulative fatigue is getting tiresome. But I stuck at it. The next one also felt harder but was 6:51. After that somehow I got used to it and they seemed to get easier. The last three were 6:53, 6:45 and 6:42. I ran each of them with negative splits too, where I start out around 7:00 pace and gradually pick it up. It's the best way to do intervals. By the end my mojo was back and I was feeling pretty confident!
But the legs were tired. Thursday morning, just 13 hours later, I went out for eight more and again my pace was a good 20 seconds slower than normal pace. But again, by the last few miles I was feeling pretty OK and had picked up the pace. So I guess I'm getting used to running on tired legs. Which is the whole point of this marathon training.
Friday I rest because tomorrow I have 18 (followed by another 7 on Sunday). Then next week I cut back a bit and I have a 10K race. Then four more weeks of heavy mileage. If I can survive all that, I should be ready for a good one. LA marathon, March 18th.
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
Look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too"
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