Marathon Training – Week 10 – Oh my aching legs!

09/04	-	Rest/Travel day
10/04	7.8 miles	Speedwork: 4x1600m (w 800m jogs) in 8:05/7:56/8:12/8:12
11/04	XT	45 min on the elliptical, IM softball game
12/04	7.0 miles	Easy run: avg 10:45 min/mile
13/04	-	Rest day
14/04	20.0 miles	Long run: avg 10:53 min/mile
15/04	-	Rest day
Total	34.8 miles	YTD: 342.1 miles

This was the hardest week of training I’ve done so far. It all started on Tuesday morning with speedwork at the track. I did 4 x 1600m and man was it tough. My splits were fine but the workout took a lot out of me. It especially took a lot out of my legs. I could feel my legs were tight the next morning when I was on the elliptical machine. On Wednesday evening I had an intramural softball game. I was stupid and didn’t really warm up before the game. So I went to bed on Wednesday with tight legs and a tight back (I assume from swinging through while batting) and decided that my run on Thursday morning would be a game time decision. When I woke up, I felt OK so I decided to do the 7 miles on the schedule. During the run my legs felt tired and I think this is why my pace was slightly slower than usual for that distance.

Saturday was my first ever 20 mile run. I did an out and back course with a few moderate hills. Twenty miles is the farthest I’ll go in training (I’ll do it again 3 weeks before the marathon) so obviously it’s a good test of marathon preparedness. Of course I’ll have to go 6.2 miles farther during the marathon but I’ll be starting with fresh legs coming off the taper. On Saturday I felt fine for the first 8 miles or so. Then I started to feel my legs. It is obvious to me that my leg strength/endurance is more of a limiting factor to me at this time than my cardiovascular fitness. I was able to muscle through the run in 3:38:08 but my legs were shot by the time I got home. I’ll be honest, this run hurt. I really had to focus on short-term goals (run to the next turn) during the last few miles and do my best to ignore my aching legs.

In pervious long runs I’ve made it much farther that 8 miles before feeling my legs. There are several reasons why things might have gone not quite as well on Saturday. I think it’s very possible that my legs never fully recovered from Tuesday’s speedwork. I also think it’s possible that the hills on Saturday’s run were just too much for me. I also think I might just have had a fluke of a bad day.

There are six weeks until the Ottawa marathon. I don’t want to be overly dramatic but I am a little concerned about my legs. First off I’ve decided to take today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) completely off of running. I’m hoping that this will deal with my current soreness. Then I’m just going to focus on keeping my legs healthy. It’s really too late to start weight training to build strength so I’m just going to hope that continuing with my training program will be enough. There will be lots of stretching and possibly an ice bath or too (if I have the nerve) and we’ll see how it goes.