Marathon Training Week 10

My training plan for the week was cross-train, run 4, 8, and 4 miles, rest, 8 mile pace run, and 17 mile long run. Ramp it up again.

I was on vacation in Vermont but still did most of my running and strength training. That meant running up and down mountains. Not hills. Mountains. I brought my exercise ball, foam roller, and yoga mat with me. I planned on doing some strength training but not as much as usual, in part because of recovering from Rock N Roll Providence and in part because of limited equipment. I was pleasantly surprised that Comcast has much better on demand exercise programs than Cox.

Sunday – Rock N Roll Providence Half Marathon, although I counted this for last week and not this week. In spite of being hilly and rainy, it went splendidly well. I set a new PR and successfully tested my marathon goal pace.

Monday – 4 mile recovery run. In Vermont. It was sloooooow and somewhat painful. Almost 600 feet of uphills. I am not sure what I was thinking. Didn’t really do a good job of listening to my body. Hot date with the foam roller later in the day.

Tuesday – 4.2 mile run. First down the mountain then up the mountain. The mountain is a series of 7 tiered hills with about 700 feet of vertical elevation. My right quad hurt on the way down but felt better on the way up. I still went pretty slow. It was good practice for running on tired legs. We’ll see about my calves later. They tend to hurt when I run in Vermont. Then again, I am more used to running on hills and I have my calf sleeves. More foam rolling and some abs, lower back, and pushups.

Wednesday – yoga on demand, plus planks and lunges. My quads were still sore from the half marathon and not properly recovering, so I thought an active rest day was in order. My calves were a little tight from running up and down hills, but less so than usual.

Thursday – 7.75 mile hike on part of the Long Trail/Appalachian Trail and another hiking trail. Up and down 2000 vertical feet. Perfect hiking weather. I took Rhody G because I wanted elevation data. It was useful to compare distance against a map. A hike is not equivalent to a run, but I'll take it. It took 4 hours 35 minutes, plus a couple of stops to look around and have snacks.

Friday – 8.2 mile pace run. Still in Vermont. Nailed it! The most challenging part of this run? Finding 8 miles of relatively flat roads in Vermont. I knew where there was a road that was mostly flat. When it got hilly, I turned around. The weather was perfect. 60, sunny, not humid. Lovely.

Saturday – 17.25 mile run. Ran with running buddies at various paces. Slower than usual, but I needed it this week. An extended half marathon recovery week, because I wasn't very good at listening to my body earlier in the week. Running buddies make runs better. I am sore, but it's all par for the course.


Total Miles: Scheduled – 41 Actual – 41.4 (with hike) 33.65 (without hike)