Marathon Training – Week 9 – Not a wimp
| 02/04 | 7.0 miles | Tempo run: 5 miles @ 9:16/8:52/8:47/8:41/8:34 min/mile |
| 03/04 | XT | 45 min on the elliptical & light weights |
| 04/04 | 8.0 miles | Easy run: avg 10:18 min/mile |
| 05/04 | - | Rest/Travel day |
| 06/04 | 16.1 miles | Long run: avg 10:38 min/mile |
| 07/04 | - | Rest day |
| 08/04 | 3.1 miles | Recovery run |
| Total | 34.2 miles | YTD: 307.3 miles |
“Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’” – Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and Sub-2:12 marathoner
That little quote was a huge source of motivation for me during week 9. In fact, I think it’s amazing that I got all my training runs in last week. I was, as my Dad would say, “slammed” with work last week. I ended up having to be out the door before 6am on Monday and Wednesday to get my runs in. I am a morning person and I love to train in the mornings but getting up at 5:40am is a bit too early for me.
On Thursday I flew to Toronto and when the plane landed the snow was blowing horizontally and it was frigid outside. It was a major shock to my system. In Seattle, we’re almost through the cherry blossoms and daffodils and most of the trees have started to grow their leaves. I had packed a variety of running clothing but I wasn’t really prepared to run in sub-freezing temperatures. It just didn’t occur to me that it might be that cold in April. I didn’t even have a toque with me!
When I set out on my 16 mile long run on Friday (after raiding Matt’s closet for extra layers) the temperature was -7C with a windchill of -14C. There was snow on the ground and light snow falling but the sidewalks and roads were clear. From a training perspective the run went quite well – I felt strong and kept the pace moderate. From a personal perspective the cold made the run more than a little uncomfortable at times. I also got a tiny bit lost a few miles into the run. Basically I made a wrong turn after a twisty section of road and ended up running north when I thought I was going west. Thankfully my basic knowledge of Toronto was sufficient so that once I hit the next major road I had a good idea of what I’d done wrong. I then checked a map at the next bus stop and figured out how to get back to my originally planned route. All was well after that.
So all in all another good week of training is in the bank. I’m just going to keep rolling through this training program and hope for the best. Next weekend I’ll do my first of two 20 mile runs…