Marathon Training Week 3 Update – Mistakes

Week 3 of marathon training was tough! I’m kind of glad I peeked ahead to see that next week’s training is significantly dialed back, because I needed to know there were a couple of rest days in my future! An interval run, a 10 mile long run, and a couple of regular runs thrown in – and a few mistakes along the way – meant I was pretty relieved to see Week 3 pass by.

Here’s the visual of this week’s marathon training:

Speed work: The interval run I did this week was a Fartlek run. I’ve described Fartlek runs before , and this did not match my description. ‘Fartlek’ is Swedish for ‘speedplay’, and the way I’ve always approached this kind of workout is exactly that – with a sense of play and fun. Like picking an object in the distance and running fast until I reach it. Think Phoebe from Friends’ style of running. This training plan’s version of Fartlek? A little more structured. After a warm up run, I did seven one-minute fast pace bursts, with 30-second breaks, still at a regular run pace, followed by 20 minutes of regular run. I was guessing at pace for the intervals, and when I looked later at my Garmin stats, I ran them about 40 seconds per mile faster than was the plan. OOPS. Mistake Number One.

Second mistake: While I was looking at my Garmin stats, I thought it would be an awesome idea to look at my marathon training log from the last time I ran the NYC Marathon, 3 years ago, figuring the runs and paces would be similar and give me a little boost of confidence. Yeah – not so much. More like I was faster on my ‘easy’ runs by about 20 seconds per mile back then. And nothing like 3 years, a pregnancy, and a baby to make an old training log sound smug and superior: “Ran an easy 8 today. Felt like a walk in intensity. Turned out I was running at just over 10K race pace!” I kinda wanted to punch past me when I read that.

Long Run: 10 miles this week, return of the double digits. The 10 mile run in a half marathon training plan is always my suckiest. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the longest training run before a half, if it’s the mental pressure of double digits, or if it’s just nerves from an upcoming race settling in, but my 10 miles training runs have always been slow, plodding, and not fun. So, to counteract that negative connotation (especially knowing this 10 mile marker will seem like a short run in a few weeks time) I ditched my regular Prospect Park stomping ground, and ran over the Brooklyn Bridge and back home. 🙂 It was really kind of awesome.

However, this grand plan did lead to Mistake Number Three: I did not take water with me. It happened to be a beautiful, slightly cool, not humid day when I ran, and I left early, but it was still about 5 miles of running I was out there without water. The last half mile of that was rough, as I counted off the steps until I got to the nearest fountain. I need to work out what I want to do in terms of water  – carry a bottle, or maybe a waist band fuel pack? I honestly don’t remember what I did on my long runs the last go around. I’m also at the point where I should start thinking about what fuel I’m going to carry with me for training and race day. I’m usually a gummy bear girl, but they got pretty gross when I ran the marathon last time. I’ve tried and CAN’T DO the gels. I’m thinking about finding mini squeeze packs of honey – has anyone used honey as a race fuel before? Help, I need tips!!

OTHER AWESOME MARATHONERS: My friend Jenny Williamson, a wonderful personal trainer, as well as the On Set Trainer for Health Magazine, shared her weekly marathon training update with me:

I think it’s so awesome that she’s working with Achilles International while she trains for the marathon! The program sounds incredibly inspiring.

Miles for Week: 31

Want to share your mileage/stories/photos with me? If you’re also training for an upcoming marathon, send me an email, leave me a comment, or share via my Facebook page, and I’ll include your update in my weekly posts on Mondays!