Rehoboth Beach Marathon Training Week 16 – On my way to TaperTown!

It’s Monday, Cyber Monday. I took a look and didn’t find a whole lot. I think I’ll just wait and pay more money later when times are more desperate.

My first day of training this week is a failure. I was supposed to run 4 and I figured I needed to take the day off due to left hip/quad pain. No sense in getting any dumber than I’ve already been at this point. No need to talk about THIS week, yet.

I sound like a real buzzkill, but it isn’t ALL bad. I survived this long and made it to Taper Town! I don’t have another double digit run until race day. I’m sure I won’t have any problems with that. Nope.

I’m not crazy. YOU’RE crazy!

Let’s focus on the ups and downs of Week 16, shall we?

Monday – Planned 5 miles/Actual 5 miles

These miles were put in after some dry needling and were on a treadmill, so not my ideal run. The treadmill seemed EXTRA boring that day and I was sweating more than usual. My bad leg was manageable, but not great. I got the miles done though.

 

Tuesday – Planned 8 miles/Actual Rest

This rest day was mainly due to staying up late to watch THE GREATEST FOOTBALL GAME I’VE EVER SEEN. If you didn’t see the Chiefs vs. Rams game on Monday night, you missed out. Not running this day wasn’t a big deal. I just swapped it out with Wednesday.

Wednesday – Planned Rest/Actual 6 miles

Sooooo I didn’t run 8 miles like I was supposed to. Cody was in town and Brooke and I had to drag him through 6. He really did a great job, especially with me pushing him and shaming him for most of the time. I was sore again. It’s a way of life right now.

Thanksgiving! – Planned 6 miles/Actual 6 miles

This one was certainly not ideal. We traveled a few hours in the car and I had no desire to run anything, but when faced with a low of 18 degrees on Friday morning I didn’t want to switch anything around either. I ran 6 tough miles in some harsh cold and wind. I did not enjoy them. My leg was about the worst it’s been on a run and that might have been due to the cold. The pain seemed to run farther down and at times I got the urge that my leg was giving out on me. Not good. I managed to get the miles done though.

From a non-running standpoint, this was a great day. We spent time with loved ones and ate our fill of all the Thanksgiving norms. Football wasn’t great, but that’s probably because I compared it to THE GREATEST FOOTBALL GAME I’VE EVER SEEN.

Friday – Planned Rest/Actual Rest

More traveling and more eating. My leg felt somewhat better after a rest day. I’m confident that when I finish my training and run Rehoboth, some rest will get me fixed up. I know there are probably people that think I should shut it down at this point and that I’m taking a risk pushing through this often and I know they might be right. I just can’t picture myself quitting now. I also can’t picture myself being tough enough to run through anything too serious.

Saturday – Planned 5 miles/Actual 4 miles

This run was appropriately titled on Strava, “Suck it up, Buttercup.” I had quite a bit working against me. I just finished driving back from Richmond and got the kids to bed. It was nighttime. I had to run around and around in my neighborhood. I had already eaten a plate of spaghetti just before running. The weather was crap. My leg was sore. I just didn’t want to!

I’ve never looked so good.

These ARE the runs that matter. Mental toughness is built around these runs. There comes a point in many endurance races where you just don’t want to run anymore. I’m closer to being ready for that point.

Sunday – Planned 14 miles/Actual 15 miles

I wasn’t able to run first thing in the morning as I prefer, but waiting until the afternoon had its perks. The weather was sunny and beautiful, but probably a tiny bit warm for long run weather in the fall. I had a certain calmness about me and that helps.

My leg was sore for the first several miles, but it “warmed up” and got a little better as I kept going. That’s a good sign. I did a good job of managing my Gu and Nuun intake. I took a Gu at miles 4 and 8, then some Run Gum at mile 11. That seemed to do the trick.

Another cool thing is that it was warm enough for my heart rate monitor to actually work and over the 15 miles, I managed to stay out of Zone 5, even when pushing the pace a little! That’s a sign that I’m in pretty decent shape.

After my run, I made a gigantic breakfast burrito for a 4pm lunch and had a big glass of chocolate milk. Yummmmmmm.

I stretched like I’m supposed to and at first was pretty optimistic about how my leg felt. Unfortunately, it seems to get worse the next day. I’ll stretch again tonight and hope for the best.

Things aren’t perfect, but all in all I’m confident that I’ll run and finish my marathon in Rehoboth Beach. I won’t BQ. I wont’ PR. I WILL finish. I WILL celebrate.

 

 

Advertisement