September 11, 2013

Marine Corps Marathon Training: Week 5

Last week...didn't go so well.

That's not true. I had a really bad long run which put a significant damper on the rest of the week.

I set out for 16 miles...and only ran 12. I had absolutely no energy whatsoever. From the moment I stepped out my front door, I thought about turning around. Somehow, I slugged my way through 12 miles before stopping and taking the Metro home.

It was hot...insanely hot. I was expecting the cool fall mornings of the past few days and I got 84 and sunny instead. I just had no energy to run.

I came home and spent the next few hours sulking about what this means for Marine Corps. I've never not been able to finish a long run before and that was a tough thing being so close to Race Day and feeling so behind in training at the same time.

I made up the miles with an easy 7 the next day, but it definitely put a damper on the week. I'm hoping to push through 18 this weekend, which will be a great way to reset my training going into the higher weekly miles.

We'll see.

I did manage an awesomely fast MGP (marathon goal pace) run on Thursday which, while completely draining me of all energy left me full of confidence.

That's marathon training for you...in the span of 48 hours, I had a complete confidence boosting run...and a completely soul crushing run.

I just have to shake it off and get back into this week...and somehow find new shoes in the process. I realized last night on my run that I desperately need new shoes...and that Saucony stopped making the Guide 5s...almost a year ago (oops). I haven't been able to find a pair in my size *anywhere* online and I've heard that the 6s are pretty different.

Have any of you run in the Guide 5s and transitioned to a different shoe? I'd love some recommendations!

Here's a recap of last week's training:

Monday: 4 miles, easy and quick
Tuesday: 4 miles, easy
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 5.5 miles with 4 at MGP (or slightly faster!)
Friday: Rest (2 mile walk with the puppy)
Saturday: 12 awful, awful miles
Sunday: 7 miles, easy

So that's that. I'm trying to figure out when to run my 18 this weekend since my Mama is coming to visit, but I'll make it work!

Have you ever had a big setback run in your training?
How did you handle it?

1 comment:

  1. Oh man, rough setback, but we've all been there. This weather has been crazy lately, too, so it just makes every "hard" run seem even harder. I did the same thing this spring during my training cycle - I started out for like a 20+ mile run and quit and took the metro home at 12. I was just defeated and knew it wasn't the day. The next week went much better, so hopefully it does for you, too!

    Does your mom like biking? Maybe she can bike next to you and you can run along the Mt. Vernon trail or something? Doing it before or after work on Friday might work, too, but 18 miles would be a lot to fit in. Let me know if you need a running buddy for any of it if you do it Friday!

    ReplyDelete

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