I ran 3 miles on Friday. I was planning on running 6 but needed to get to a Christmas party and was running late. I'm not going to fret about the splits.
Splits - 14:13 / 14:35 / 14:26
My main goal this week is to recover from the 30K and it's been tough. One option is to just stay in bed or stay off my feet at least. The other is to get back out there and try to get my legs moving again. I know one thing. There's no way I was going to be able to run the 33 miles that Hal had scheduled for me this week. With 4 on Wednesday, 3 Friday, and 14 tomorrow, I'll be cutting it back to 21 miles by week's end.
In my opinion, I've made a bit of a mistake in my training and it's too early to tell how it's going to effect my marathon. There is a huge difference between a training run and a race. I think it was a mistake to blow my wad on the 30K like I did and not have enough in the tank to continue proper training this week. I really gave the 30K a goal race effort. I went into that race without any sort of taper and now I'm supposed to jump right back into the meat of the final weeks of marathon training? Not a smart plan. I firmly believe that first timers should approach these warmup series races like a training run. Now, for me, to do that would have put me even further beyond the time limit. So, the best thing for me to have done would have been to do an 18 mile training run on Saturday and work the water station on Sunday.
Still, I'll never forget that 30K and do not regret doing it. If I end up trading that hammered 30K for a successful marathon, sobeit. Don't get me wrong. I'm not resigned to a poor performance come January 14. I'm just saying that this whole journey has been a blast and I wouldn't trade any run or race to date for anything.
So, it's tempting to fret about those 14:30 miles but I'm not. Like I said, if it were the week after the marathon, I wouldn't be running at all. Tomorrow is a 14 miler. It will be a confidence building run for me. I don't plan on trying to hammer sub-14 minute miles. I just want to do my thing and try to get my legs back.
God bless!!!
7 comments:
You are by far not the first to make that mistake, Vic. The first year I did HouFit, the coaches were adamant that we *not* give an all-out effort for the 30K, as it was close enough to the marathon that you could really screw up your marathon, and they all had stories of folks who had done exactly that.
I think you'll be ok, though--if you back off just enough to recover, you can still get some good training in and be ready for race day.
Good luck!
i think the process of training for someones first marathon is a learning experience in of itself. i know it has been for me.
i worry constantly if i am doing something stupid or something wise, but i dont think we ever know till we have the next run under our belt.
you're gonna be just GRRREAT!!
It would be far worse if you kept grinding out the miles. cutting back now sounds like the right plan. You'll do great on the 14th.
Pat
Arizona, USA
Vic,
You are on the bubble in regard to finishing the Houston Marathon in the alloted time. By getting that quality 30K done, you know that you can get the marathon done. Your recovery is taking longer but it should not affect you in a negative way. Keep up the good work and remember- Physics and faith.
SteveS
Last year Jennie took two weeks off due to injury at this same time and she still managed to qualify for Boston!! So, don't worry Vic - you are feeling exactly how you are supposed to right now!!
First off, you blew off some mileage for a Christmas Party? Say it isn't so...
That said, take what ELF said to heart. I think you will be fine come marathon day.
I have a feeling you will do great come race day. Just stick with the plan come marathon day and do not get caught up in the moment (unlike me!!).
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