Marathon Training Week 8

WHOA...slow down! We're already half-way through the 16-weeks of training? Yikes! My marathon is 2 months from tomorrow! I'm actually excited for it to hurry up and get here so I can get back to a more normal fitness routine! The past few weeks have been a bit stressful. My body's hurting, and my hip flexor screams at me to STOP RUNNING! My husband took a few days off last week, and I thought I'd better take advantage and go on a long run while he was home with the kiddos.

Friday morning, I still got up bright and early to start my 15-mile run. I started out slowly, and felt like I was running through mud. I left my house, and as usual, just started running. I wasn't sure what course I was going to take. The Garmin Forerunner is the BEST purchase for runners like me...I don't have to chart out my run, I just look at how far I've gone and plan accordingly for when it's time to head home. I'm a little obsessed, however, and hardly keep my eyes on the road because I'm so fascinated by the things I can look at on my watch! I can see exactly what my pace is at any given moment, how far I've gone, how long I've gone, what my heart rate is, etc.

I'd like to think the Garmin was the cause of my fall early Friday morning, but I actually wasn't looking at the watch. I was hobbling along (in the dark, mind you), and the next thing I knew, I was catching myself on the pavement. My first thought? PLEASE don't let there be a hole in my brand spankin' new running capris! Then I felt the pain. Two bloody palms, one bloody knee, and one bloody elbow. And I hadn't even gone TWO miles. I slowly got up, and the ugly cry face appeared. I didn't know what to do, so I started running again. I couldn't see my injuries in the dark, so I just kept going. I cried for a good mile or so. And these weren't silent tears--I felt like one of my kids--I was howling. I thought about calling my husband to come pick me up, but did NOT want to wake up the kids. I'd rather suffer through a long run than face the rest of the day with 3 kids who'd been woken up at 5:30 in the morning. I considered just turning around and going home. But then I decided that I was going to do what I set out to do, darnit! In a strange way, my crappy run actually turned into a sort of spiritual experience for me. I may have to crawl to the finish line in May, but however the race turns out, I'll know that I worked hard to make it there. GALLONS of sweat, blood, and tears. Some of you think I'm crazy. Who would run 26.2 miles in one day on purpose? And who would spend every single day for 16-weeks getting ready to run it? And who would keep running after falling flat on the pavement? I'm here to tell you that if you could experience crossing the finish line (after all that) just one time, you'd be hooked. The moment you cross the finish line makes all the blood, sweat, and tears worth it. And that's why I keep running.

After a 15-miler in the morning, my sister and I threw a Black Light Zumba party that night. 90 minutes of Club Zumba! That's 4 hours of working out in one day...my kind of day! I haven't stopped eating since!

Have a great week!

WEEK 8

MONDAY: Interval- 7 to 10 miles, 3 x (1,600m) at 10K pace, 3 min recovery

TUESDAY: Distance- 5 to 7 miles

WEDNESDAY: MLR- 11 to 12 miles

THURSDAY: Rest DAY! 0 to 3 miles

FRIDAY: Distance- 6 to 7 miles

SATURDAY: Long Distance- 18 to 20 miles, easy, steady paced

If anyone's interested in attending our next Black Light Zumba party, there's one happening THIS FRIDAY night (March 25, 2011) at 6:30 pm at the DayBreak Community Center. It's $5 for residents and $6 for non-residents. I'd LOVE to meet some of my FitMePeeps! Let me know if you want to come! Otherwise, happy running!