Marathon Training Week 4 Update – Priorities

I had a really fun, busy week. But my training suffered. Which is ironic, because week 4 of my marathon training program was supposed to be a ‘down’ week, with extra rest time built in after a steady 3 week acceleration in training. It didn’t feel like a rest week, though.

So, what happened? Well, just life kinda got in the way this week. I had priorities which came before marathon training. I had all my regular personal training clients, two interviews scheduled for a couple of upcoming blog posts, and my mother-in-law was in town for the week, which meant take-out and later nights and Grandma time! So I switched a couple of my planned workouts around, thinking I was making the best use of my time and prioritizing. Turns out fitting a long run, an intervals workout, and a longer regular run into 4 days probably isn’t the best idea, except in theory.

It wasn’t well planned. Two days of not running, followed by a long run (which, at least, did go well), then a day off, a hard interval workout (in which I ran the intervals too fast again – I have to work on that), then doing a 7 mile regular run the day after intervals. My legs felt heavy and sore by the time Sunday rolled around.

Added to the actual physical strain of squeezing everything into a few days, this was the first week I felt guilty for spending the time I need to take for marathon training. On Saturday I found myself negotiating with Fran for the hour or so I needed for one of my runs, getting defensive about him taking Roman to the playground in the afternoon while I ran. I admit, I got a little passive aggressive, saying something along the lines of, “I guess if I have to skip one workout this week, it won’t affect my training too badly,” while what I really meant was, “Just tell me to go run and that it’s no big deal so I don’t have to think twice about it.” Luckily we hashed it out pretty quickly, I managed to get my run done without feeling guilty the whole way, and when I got home, Roman was out on the stoop, ready to stretch with me after a busy afternoon of chalk drawing and bubble blowing.

(Defensive side note, while I’m on a defensive roll!!: I spend lots of quality Mama/Roman time with my little guy, and actually since on Saturdays Fran has a longstanding morning appointment, it’s generally me and Roman hanging out together solo until about 1pm. So for me to feel bad about taking an hour for myself in the afternoon is pretty crazy. I should take better notes and advice from my Fit Mama Friday mamas!)

LONG RUN: This was, by far my favorite run of the week. It bumped up to 11 miles this week, which I did in Prospect Park, feeling great the whole way. A small difference was that the first 10 miles were at the slow long run pace, then the last mile was at marathon race pace, to start to get used to picking up the pace and pushing even on tired legs. The route I ran meant that last mile was on a hill for most of the way, but regardless, I was able to run it at the faster pace, so I was THRILLED with my long run.

I’ve peeked ahead at Week 5’s planned sessions, and it’s a ramping up week, with two harder workouts, along with a long run and a regular run. Of course, as it turns out, my normal schedule will be off again this week, and I have a bunch of stuff planned, so stay tuned, guys – next week’s update should be interesting!

MILES FOR WEEK: 26

What priorities do you have that get in the way of working out?

Do you ever feel guilty for working out, even if logically you know it’s okay?

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!