I haven't given up on the fact that one day I will have the time and energy to get back into a regular blogging schedule. I also haven't given up on the marathon.
I've had some ups and downs with training, and have definitely missed a few of my runs during the week. I've even had serious thoughts of stopping training completely, but I haven't. Last week I made the decision to change training plans to one that was specifically made for runners that are doing planned run/walk intervals. The plan is by Coach Jenny Hadfield and strangely enough when I was training for the half with one of Hal Higdon's plans (as I am now) I ended up switching to one by Coach Jenny as well. For the rest of this training, I will be following a plan similar to this one. I will be using the intervals I use currently (which are longer), switching up some days, and probably cutting out one of the days of cross training. It is a lot lower in intensity and mileage during the week, which make me a little nervous about being fully prepared for the marathon, but at this point, I'm willing to take the risk for what seems like a training plan that fits me a lot better.
The first week of the new training plan has gone great! I had a disaster 15 mile run a week ago, so I spent a good part of the week psyching myself up for my 16 mile run on Saturday and trying to find a new route to run that would help me not be so bored. Because doing anything for 3+ hours can get pretty boring, and I really think that was most of the reason my 15 mile run was a diaster. Nathan suggested we travel across the river to Grafton, IL and utilize the bike trail that runs along the Great River Road. What started out as a casual idea turned into a small weekend getaway for us, which proved to be just what we both needed.
Even though I wasn't as fast as I would have liked, the 16 mile run went great. I had great weather and an awesome husband that met up with me on his bike and filled up my water bottle. A woman stopped me at mile 15.5 and told me she saw me 3 hours ago and wondered how long I had been running. When I told her I was marathon training she told me she thought it was just awesome. It was a quick moment, but made me feel great.
I spent the remainder of the weekend eating, drinking, and being marry with my fabulous husband. I got to eat at one of my favorite restaurants and soak in a jacuzzi tub while drinking wine. Not a bad way to top off a great run!
The next few weeks are going to be a challenge, but I keep telling myself that if I can do 16 miles then I can do 18. And if I can do 18 I can do 20, and according to all the experts, if you can run 20 miles at the end of training you can run 26.2.
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5 comments:
You can do it, Teresa! It sounds like the new plan is going to work a lot better for you. Glad you found it!
you can do it! Congrats to you girl, that is awesome! You should def be proud!
Good luck with the new training program! Sounds like an awesome weekend trip. As I was reading your post, a girl in the office showed me a beginner's half-marathon training...weird!
That is so awesome, Teresa. You are kicking marathon training butt! And I"m glad you got a great weekend out of the deal too. ;)
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