Recap of Week and Look at Next Week: 10/26-10/31

This week I ran 29 miles, ending with an 8 mile run on Saturday. I'm just trying to build a base before my marathon program begins. I asked, Aron, from Runner's Rambles what schedule she uses and she introduced me to Pfitzinger plans. I've decided I'm going to do his plan that peaks at a 55 mile week and is 18 weeks long. I was originally going to use the FIRST training plan because I really enjoyed using the FIRST half marathon plan on my last half marathon. However, I decided to go with the Pfitz plan because I felt like I would rather put in more miles and run a little slower than the FIRST plan recommends. We'll see how this decision plays out.

This week I'm going to try and run 30 miles, ending with a 9 mile long run. I'm going to increase my long run by a mile every week until the first week of my training, which includes a 12 mile long run.

Here's my plan this week:
Monday: 3 miles + upperbody workout
Tuesday: 6 mile progression run
Wednesday: 3 miles + lower workout
Thursday: 6 mile progression run
Friday: 3 miles + upperbody workout
Saturday: 9 mile long run between an 8:46 and 9:46 pace

I've decided to do a lot of progression runs while building my base so I can still reach faster paces, but avoid injury. Ending at a faster pace than I start also helps me end my workout on a positive note. I can tell I've gotten a lot stronger because I've finally been consistent lifting weights. I plan on continuing this routine until my schedule starts, and will then reevaluate.

7 Mile Long Run

Usually, 7 miles isn't much of a long run, but it was long for me today. I haven't run a ton of long distances since my last half marathon, and so it felt good to get more than a few miles under my belt. I actually felt great, minus the vanilla Powerbar gel I took that tasted like poo. They usually taste bad to me, but this one tasted REALLY bad. I'm going to try hard with nutrition this training cycle. I've been against making a food journal because I think food was created specifically for my personal enjoyment, but if I'm going to run a FULL marathon, than I might as well do my best to lose a few pounds. We'll see...

5 mile Progression Run

Yesterday's workout: 5 mile progression run 9-7:30 pace
Today's workout: 3 miles + upper body workout

Yesterday I ran a 5 mile progression run at the gym. I started around 9 minute miles and ended up around 7:30 miles. It went well and I felt good. Today I'm going to run 3 miles and do my upperbody workout. I'm getting excited to start my training schedule but I know I have some more time to log miles. Getting excited...

Monday- 2 miles at a 2.5 incline + upperbody workout (I was supposed to run a mile after the workout but I didn't.) Completed
Tuesday- 6.1 miles (half of the course uphill) Completed

On schedule for the rest of the week:

Wednesday: 3 miles at an incline + lower body workout

Thursday: 6 miles at an 8:30 pace

Friday: 3 miles at an incline + upperbody workout

Saturday: 6 miles an an 8:30 pace

I haven't really known whether I should do speedwork or just log runs before I start my marathon training schedule. My worry is that I'll peak too soon if I start the speedwork, but if I don't do it, I'm concerned I'll just be training myself to be slow.

I decided to run in the afternoon today instead of at night, and I like that so much more. I'm so tired at night, I just want to get things done with. The thing is, I don't always have a choice because I go when the husband is home and Baby "J" is sleeping. I also started taking whey protein after workouts, so I'll return and report if that makes a difference.