First of all…
That’s what the thermometer says the temperature is outside. Not cool!
The Weekend
Over the lovely rainy and windy weekend, I spent time at my sister and bro-in-law’s house because…well…I could. That was basically the reason. I just got back a little bit ago and must get on with my day, even though hanging out there is always a good, chill time (except when I’m put to work).
Today
Eggs are my go-to meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner when I can’t think of anything else, and that was sounding pretty good today. But alas! We’re all out, so a peanut butter and banana sandwich was made and inhaled in approximately 2.2 minutes—approximately.
That plus a little leftover Halloween candy, and it was a tasty and oh-so-nutritious lunch (or not). I’m sad to say that the Snickers are starting to taste a bit funky from hanging out with the Starbursts and Skittles too long. Fruity and chocolate candy should never be in the same container. Seeing as how the Snickers were getting funky, I just had to see how the Twix were doing—ya know…for educational purposes.
Now that I’ve fueled up for my 8-mile run today, I need to go find some layers to run in! I was hoping the winter weather would hold off a little bit longer, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Let the winter running begin!
Switching It Up
Last week I ran 16 miles, which is the furthest I’ve ran. After I finished, I realized I probably shouldn’t keep upping the mileage every week like I’ve been doing. From what I know of others training for marathons, they don’t even get up to the 26 miles before the race. Plus, after running such a long race, you’re supposed to take a break from running for quite awhile to help your body recover. If I keep running such a long run every single week, my body could really start hating me and possibly get injured.
In order to try to be smart about this whole thing, I talked to my brother-in-law John about it this weekend because he’s a cross country and track coach and has a lot of experience with running. He recommended I take my weekly long run down to about 10-12 miles (until the marathon gets closer) and add an extra day or two of running to build up a good mile base each week.
What I’ve been doing for training is…
Monday: 8-mile run
Tuesday: Cross training of some sort (usually a circuit)
Wednesday: Long run (add a mile every week to it)
Thursday: Cross training of some sort (usually a circuit)
Friday: 4-mile run
Saturday: Rest day or cross training of some sort
Sunday: Off
This is how I plan to spend my week working out and running from now on, until the month before the marathon…
Monday: 8-mile run
Tuesday: 4-mile run at recovery pace
Wednesday: 10-12-mile long run
Thursday: Cross training of some sort
Friday: 4-mile tempo run (probably an interval treadmill workout)
Saturday: Whatever I want–a.k.a. rest, cross training, or run
Sunday: Rest
I often add some weight lifting or other cross training to the days where I don’t run as much, depending on how motivated I feel.
John gave me some advice for as the race gets closer as well. I’ll be running 10-12 miles every Wednesday but will increase that to 12-13 miles 4 weeks before the race, 15-16 miles 3 weeks before, and 20 miles 2 weeks before. Then I’ll take the week before the marathon really light, only doing about 8 miles on my long run. He also said to MAKE SURE to run 1-2 miles the day after I run the 13miler, 15miler and 20miler for active recovery.
Hopefully that wasn’t too confusing—lots of numbers and details. It’ll help me to look back on this so maybe you runners out there will get something out of it as well. Feel free to give me some advice too! I welcome all tips, as I can always benefit from knowing more.
Overall, I’m just adding more frequency and purpose with my runs, rather than killing my legs every week during my long run. John told me that the more miles I run a week, the better because I need a good base to run a marathon. I did feel a bit weird about not running very often and then running a super long run each week. Once I hit the 16-mile mark, it just didn’t seem very smart. I’m glad I have some smart guys to help me out—a.k.a. my brother and my boyfriend, both seasoned running peeps.
(John’s on the left; Matt’s on the right) Bahaha–Aren’t they just precious?!
Never be afraid to ask for guidance!
Have you ever ran a marathon? What was your training like?
Any tips for me as I continue the journey?
[…] already 40 degrees, so I’m quite pleased with the day so far. Today’s the first long run in my switched up running plan! I’m excited to only run just under 2 hours instead of 2 1/2. It makes a big difference. That […]