After being out of proper training and workouts for a week at the beginning of September, I was a little bit concerned about the marathon that was quickly approaching. To my amazement and pleasure, I actually came back from my cold stronger and quicker than ever! I have actually been going quicker in workouts than I have ever gone while training for a marathon before! Normally I struggle to get under 6:30min/mile during tempos and workouts, but to my amazement I am now going 6:10-6:25 pace. Now, I know that the amount of rest I took was good for me, but I also think there is something else that is making me speedier as well. We have been having cooler days recently, which makes it so much easier to run effortlessly. Although training in the summer was miserable at some points (running 24 miles in 27 degrees), now I am so glad that my body is acclimatized to hot weather.
The marathon is now a week away and I am getting into taper-mode! (Yay!) I used to hate tapering when I ran in university because I felt like I was losing my speed and mentally I became out of it. Now, I LOVE the taper! I get to store up my energy this week and use it all on Sunday. I am actually so excited for the race next weekend! I've posted about tapering before (before Boston), but I'm going to re-highlight the main points of tapering, more for myself than anyone else.
Sleep! 8-10 hours a night! No exceptions!
Eat! Eat smart, don't be an idiot, eat foods you normally eat, more carbs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Hydrate! Drink lots all week, mostly water, some tea and juice.
Take days off running! 2 or more depending how I feel, only one (short) workout this week.
Don't do anything differently and be careful! No biking to school this week, no soccer, be smart.
After my 24 mile run two weeks ago I was feeling great! I was feeling like I was on track for the marathon that was just over a month away. The week after the 24 miles I was trying to stay on top of training, but by the end of the week I was starting to feel pretty run down. By the the time Friday hit, I had a full-blown head cold.
Being sick always gets in the way of training and it's always hard to know how much to do when you are feeling under the weather. Even after running competitively for almost 10 years I still don't know how to listen to my body all the time. This was actually the fastest I have every recovered from illness while training, so maybe I am learning! Instead of doing my long run on Sunday like normal, I took Sunday off. Monday I did 10 miles instead of the 16 I was supposed to do, but instead of pushing myself I just took it easy. Tuesday was my first full day back at school and I didn't get home until 7:30 pm and by that time I was ready to sleep. Wednesday I was beginning to feel eager to get back to running, but I knew I still didn't feel 100%. Kristjan told me to run 30 minutes (what's the point right?) actually, I felt like garbage and I honestly don't think I could've gone any longer. Thursday I ran an hour and almost felt back to normal (except for a little leftover snot). By Friday I was able to run 10 miles at my normal pace (7:45-8:00 minute miles). Saturday I did another 10 and today I ran 18 and felt great. Although, I did miss some training during the past week, I truly feel as though I didn't lose any fitness and I don't think it's going to hurt my marathon at all! I did miss two workouts, but it was a much needed recovery week.
Today was my first time not running the Winnipeg 10&10 race in 3 years. I didn't register because I was sick, but I ended up running 30k anyways and I could have probably won the 30k race with the pace I ran for my long run. This year has been pretty different. I have only ran 2 races this year (Boston and Manitoba Half). I guess this is maybe the life of a marathoner... Lots of training and not very much racing. Normally I would have run 6-7 road races by this point in the year. Honestly, I kind of like training better than racing, it's not nearly as stressful (or exciting sometimes). I do feel a little bit more pressure that I put on myself because I am only doing 3 races this year, like I'm putting all of my eggs into one basket. But I do think I can still go faster for the marathon and I am going to give it everything I've got! Until next time, drink your chocolate milk and run happy!
