Learning to run at Marathon Pace – 11 Weeks to MCM
School in suburban Atlanta started last week on July 31st, something about “July” and “School” in the same sentence is just weird!! This past month we’ve been busy with back to school shopping, getting a new middle schooler ready, trying to align activities and schedules and just trying not to freak out. And throw in a little marathon training in the middle of it all, because, why not! I had no free time to write in my blog either. Until a friend sent me a message last week asking if I was training in “stealth mode” because I was being very quite on social media.
I’m not in stealth mode training, although I will confess that I have tried to stay away from social media about posting every itty bitty stuff about my training. I guess the blog doesn’t count as regular social media and I should atleast write something on a regular basis now that school has started and we are getting into a routine.
So, going back to my training for Marine Corps Marathon. There are 11 more weeks to go to race day and that means the ACTUAL training has started with runs not being “just run” anymore and every run having a purpose.
Monday – With it being the first day of school, it was deemed better suited for a rest day with no stress of having to get a workout in along with getting ready for school.
Tuesday – Marathon Fartlek Run learning to hold the marathon pace
I’m usually good at pacing but this marathon pace was off. I was aiming for 12:15 to 12:30 pace but the marathon pace portion was run away faster at maybe my wish-half marathon pace. Seems like I have 2 kind of runs in my mind – the long slow where I hold my pace steadily and slowly, and a speed workout where I have bursts of speed at tempo/10k pace or faster depending on the workout. My marathon pace is about a minute slower than tempo/10k but about a minute faster than my usual slow pace. And that sweet spot was hard to find in that run.
Wednesday – Trainer Ride in lieu of swimming
Since our YMCA pool is closed for their regular deep clean, I was on the trainer to get my cross-training in. This was the first time on my bike in forever and it wasn’t easy at all. My butt hurt (even for just 1 hour) and I was bored (even though it was a prescribed workout and not just riding). Why was my speed 10mph when I was clearly dying! My favorite trainer TV show (Doctor Who) wasn’t interesting anymore and I was drained having a tween suck life energy out of me. The next time I get on the trainer, I will remember that I have a long (long) race and it’s time to shut up and SIP!
Thursday – The procrastinated run
It was really hard to get going and if it were not for the pressure of 11 more weeks, I might have skipped it altogether. I was traveling intown for work and perhaps for the first time ever, I stopped on my way home and ran. Nothing like missing the unexpected cool mornings to run in the heat of the day. Luckily, my favorite running place at the river was shaded and I had a nice run. I never listen to anything while running these days, but to get past the running long in the afternoon, I listed to The Most Pleasant Exhaustion podcast (very informative podcast from George Darden, an Atlanta area run/tri coach) and some music after.
Friday – Short Xtraining
The filler day with some core workouts and a super short run.
Saturday – The Run amongst my crazy day
Starting at 9:30am, my day was going to get absolutely crazy so I woke up early to get my run in. This one involved 10k intervals and unlike my struggle holding the marathon pace workout earlier in the week, I had no problem hitting and maintaining the 10k pace for all my intervals. Hence my light bulb moment that I need to learn this new marathon pace.
Sunday – Long Trail Run
I’ve been opting to run my long runs on the trail rather than on the asphalt or concrete sidewalk. The training plan is not making me run really long runs and so I reckon that the benefits of trail running maximizes the effort I can get with the 2hours that I’m running. This trail run with Joy and Mary Deane was about 9.5-10 miles long in about 2.5 hrs.
Not from this week, but from my trail run at the same place last week.
Next week will be some more long hard mid-week runs. Marathon training is certainly on! The one thing I’m struggling to figure out is the nutrition during my long run. I have only been running for 2-2.5 hrs and for that I’ve not needed anything more than an orange and some date rolls. But my race is going to be 5.5+ hrs and I need to figure that out rather quickly!
What do you use for your long run nutrition? Do you prefer liquid or solid nutrition? Traditional gels/gu or other food?
Linking up with HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap, and My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run.
