Marathon Training – Week 1 – It has begun
| 05/02 | XT | 60 min pilates class & walk home from school |
| 06/02 | 5 miles | Tempo run: 3 miles @ 8:42/8:41/8:23 min/mile |
| 07/02 | XT | 60 min pilates class & walk home from school |
| 08/02 | 6 miles | Easy run: avg 10:28 min/mile |
| 09/02 | - | Rest day |
| 10/02 | 8 miles | Long run: avg 10:23 min/mile |
| 11/02 | XT | 30 min on the elliptical & light weightlifting |
| Total | 19 miles | YTD: 95.5 miles |
Well my first week of marathon training is in the books or, as I prefer to think about it, in the bank.
I believe that I showed a great deal of self restraint this morning and did not run the Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em 5K. It was tempting to race since the run was close to home and I really enjoy doing organized races. However, after yesterday’s 8 miler doing a hard 5K today just sounded like a good way to hurt myself. Plus it seemed a little ridiculous to pay money to run the same path I run in training several times a week! This is an example of one of those times that I asked myself my current favourite question: “Is this in line with my goals?” Running a 5K today would not have been in line with my goals of ensuring I stay injury free and get adequate rest.
This leads me to the question of whether or not I will run any races between now and the marathon. I’m currently leaning towards no even though a lot of the reading I’ve done suggests that doing a race or two can serve as a good dress rehersal before the marathon. There are a few Seattle races I could do: St Patrick’s Day Dash (March 11), Mercer Island Half or 10K or 5K (March 25) or the Kirkland Half (May 13). I’m supposed to be doing an 18 miler the weekend of the Mercer Island Half and a 12 miler the weekend of the Kirkland Half. They’re both possible although I’d have to tack on more mileage to Mercer Island. The problem with Kirkland is that it’s only 2 weeks before the marathon and I’m scared that I’d go too hard and that could take away from my marathon. I suppose I could set an alarm on my Garmin to go off it I started runinng too quickly and really run it as an easy training run. We’ll see…