Marathon Training Update Week 11 – ‘V’ is for Vegas

Last week I mentioned that Week 11 of marathon training was going to have its challenges. We got home late Monday after a day of flight delays in Chicago and then Fran had to leave at 4:30am Tuesday to head to Vegas for a week for work! I really thought my week without Daddy support was going to be super challenging when it came to training, but it ended up being surprisingly okay – the only real concession I had to make was to change a couple of clients’ times on Friday so I could get my long run done (and thank you to my flexible, understanding clients!!).

That said, Roman and I were very happy to have Fran back! I even got an extra day of running in this weekend, since the weather was so gorgeous. My training plan gives a ‘flex’ day, where I can decide whether to run or not and I usually always use it as a day off – not this week!

This was another great week of training. Seriously, I am getting worried that something monumentally bad might happen, since my training has gone so smoothly the past few weeks! My tempo run was great – the intervals I ran fast and when it came to the marathon pace mile, I went by feel and ended up running it a lot faster than goal pace. That’s actually a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because if I can hit a fast goal pace when I’m tired from a workout, it means I’m in a great place with my fitness level. Bad, because it means if I rely on feel for pacing, I’m clearly running too fast. I have to remember I need to maintain my pace for 26.2 miles, so it has to be an attainable pace.

LONG RUN: 19 miles. Oof. This was a tough one. Schedule wise, I had no choice but to start my run at about 11:30am. I’d already mapped out  a run into Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge, then over to the west side to do an out & back. What I didn’t take into account was that meant I’d be running through the Financial District during lunch hour. Oops.

Apart from that little pace debacle, this was a successful long run. I can’t call it ‘good’ because 19 miles is a tough run for me. I actually misjudged my turnaround point and hit 19 miles when I was still a mile away from home. There was no way on earth I was going to run a step past 19, though, because I was feeling spent and nauseous. I actually bought ginger ale for my mile of walking warm-down, which if you know me, you know I really didn’t feel well, because I am not a soda drinker. What was successful about this run was that it was the first time I’d actually approached it as a workout, rather than just getting the miles done, or thinking of it as training to be on my feet for a number of hours. The NYRR virtual trainer plan broke it up into five stages: 4 x 4 miles and 1 x 3 miles, giving me a pace range to hit for each section.

I LOVED it. It made it easier to tackle, because I was really only thinking up to 4 miles into the future. It forced me to focus, which was  a new experience for me for a long run. And what was awesome was that (with the exception of the mile there and back through downtown), I did hit my paces. I ran a negative split! AND after 16 miles, I managed to hit the lower end of my marathon pace for 4 miles straight, without feeling awful. Talk about a confidence-boosting long run.

This upcoming week is a lot easier in terms of mileage, plus I am REALLY looking forward to my ‘long run’ which is actually a half marathon race! 🙂 Woo hoo! My half marathon PR is from the last time I was training for the marathon and this is the same race! So, fingers crossed, guys!

MILES FOR WEEK : 42

 

Am I the only runner who hadn’t ever approached a long run as a structured workout?

How does the weather affect your running? I am LOVING this perfect Autumn weather!!