This week of marathon training is brought to you by the word flexibility.
I will totally own up to the fact that I am not the most flexible person when it comes to my schedule (oh who I am kidding, I'm not flexible when it comes to pretty much anything). Controlling my schedule and planning out my weeks makes me feel more in control of my life in general. But last week was so not in my control. I had some evening commitments for work on Wednesday and Thursday night, and was gone for the weekend for Nora's bridal shower and bachelorette party, so I REALLY had to re-shuffle my workouts.
It went so so. The biggest adjustment was doing my long run before work on Thursday morning. I knew that the weekend was not going to be conducive to 2+ hours of running, so I did it before work on Thursday morning. Which meant getting up at 4:15 so I could eat and be out the door by 4:45. It. Was. Tough. It was dark for 8 miles of my run, which really messes with my pace. And it was warm and muggy. But I pushed through and kept focusing on putting one foot in front of the other until those 14 miles were done. All in all, they weren't that bad, but it wasn't very fun running that early in the morning.
I ended up taking an extra rest day this week, which I am fine with as I have not been sleeping well and I know I just have to accept that some weeks are out of my control. I am a little nervous as the next couple of weeks are going to be so busy and I will be traveling so much (I have 2 sets of flights in the next week). I hope I can still squeeze workouts in here and there - some of which will be on a treadmill. I'm sure I'll make it work - I will just have to be flexible and patient with myself.
Here is how the training played out this week:
Monday - 4 mile tempo run at half marathon pace with a warm up and cool down (7 miles total). I am SUPER pleased with how this workout went as I ran my 4 miles at an average pace of around 8:33!
Tuesday - 7 mile recovery run @ 9:44 pace. This was a tough run as it was hot and the route I picked had no shade. I struggled to finish this run.
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 14 mile long run @ 9:33 pace. Toughest long run of the training season. Running at 4:45 is tough, yo!
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 4 miles on the dreadmill. Given my propensity for getting lost, I opted to run on the treadmill v. risking getting lost in Nora's neighborhood. :)
Sunday - Rest
Training Tally:
Week 11: 32
Training-to-date: 340
Would you say you are a planner? I live and die by my Erin Condren planner and would be so lost without it. Most weeks I have control of my schedule, except when work-related things pop up, as they did last week.
PS - I hope those who have the day off are enjoying themselves. I certainly am!
13 comments:
I hope you are having a super relaxing day today! :)
I am definitely a planner, but I actually am a relatively flexible person as well, so I just try to be prepared for all situations. It was actually funny yesterday at the BBQ, one of Eric's friends wives was talking about people who are always prepared for everything and how shes amazed by them and I was like hmm, does it count that I have like 4 outfit changes in the car right now, as well as sunscreen, bug spray and a bottle of water haha. This is how I feel more in control since I had no idea what the weather was going to do and how the bugs/sun were going to be, I like to be ready for all things haha.
Anyway, great job with your training last week. I am seriously impressed by your super early morning workout :)
I am a notoriously planner. I use Google Calendar AND a paper planner because I would freak if I missed something. I get very fussy when things don't go according to plan. I'm working on it :)
That's awesome that you were able to fit in a run before work. I always feel extra accomplished when I can fit a 10+ miler in before work. Good work with the training. Yes, some weeks you just have to be more flexible and roll with the punches. Hope your travels go well!
Yes, I'm definitely a planner - BUT, I don't mind things changing. In fact, things rarely go as planned and I'm really okay with that I just have to have the plan in the first place otherwise I get anxiety!
I cannot believe I have had my EC planner for a year! I adore it and will absolutely getting another one. Even if I have to pay full price!
Major kudos to you on that morning run! Good gosh I'm impressed. I think I love my bed way too much :) Flexibility while training can be so hard especially when it's hard enough just to motivate regularly sometimes. I'm definitely a planner when I have a lot going on, but when I have more free time then I love being open to whatever the moment can bring. This is one reason I actually prefer part-time employment over full-time when I can...more able to enjoy spontaneity! :)
By nature, I love to make lists and plans, but I've tried to become better about going with the flow when things change rather than getting thrown off my game whenever things pop up.
Again, it is super impressive that you fit in a 14 miler before work. You are a rockstar!
I am like you, inflexible! I like to have control over things! Great job on the early run; I can't do it. I have to get up at 5:30 without running, so I would have to get up at a godawful time in order to get a run in...kind of like you did! Where do you run in the morning? Do you have a headlamp or are there streetlights? I am really dreading winter, since it will be dark so often and I already have a hard time getting out for runs as it is!
PS...even though I swear I thought I was going farther than I was (funny how that always works, no?!), I was thinking of you completing that morning run to help keep me motivated on my afternoon run today! So..THANK YOU! :)
I'm not good at being flexible when it comes to my schedule, either. This definitely made marathon training challenging for me. I had to do an 18 miler before work at one point, I was lucky that it was a day I didn't have to be into work until 9:30, but it was still really rough.
Also, I just bought an EC planner and I'm really excited about it!!
Not that I'm happy you had a tough weekday run, but I'll be honest, it did make me feel a little better. I've been struggling so much with them that it's nice to know I"m not totally alone. We're almost there though! Can't believe it's getting so close!
I'm still in awe of you running that distance before work. You're a rock start in so many ways, Lisa! Glad you were able to get in a workout on our dreadmill (which is what I call it, too!).
Still SO IMPRESSED with you getting in that 14-miler before work!! The longest I've ever done before work is 10 miles and it was tough to fit in. Pretty sure I also went to work at 10 that day!!
I used to be a BIG planner, but I have started to plan less and less as I get older.
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