Marathon Training – Week 13 – A 20 miler and a trail run
| 30/04 | - | Rest day |
| 01/05 | 10.0 miles | Easy run: avg 10:21 min/mile |
| 02/05 | XT | 1500 yards swimming, IM softball game |
| 03/05 | 4.9 miles | Tempo run: 3 miles @ 8:33/8:39/8:07 min/mile |
| 04/05 | - | Rest day |
| 05/05 | 20.5 miles | Long run: avg 10:31 min/mile (total time 3:36:08) |
| 06/05 | 3.4 miles | Recovery run: avg 10:41 min/mile (Discovery Park trails) |
| Total | 38.8 miles | YTD: 443.0 miles |
I am happy to report that my second twenty miler went much better than my first one three weeks ago. With the help of my trusty SAG wagon (that would be my father) I covered a cross town course from Golden Gardens to Seward Park for a total of 20.54 miles in 3:36:08. My legs held up quite well. After about mile 15 they reached a steady state of discomfort that I was able to run through without slowing down too much. The last 4.5 miles of my route were two laps around Seward Park. Dad arrived at the park before I did and walked the loop twice in the opposite direction. We passed each other three times and amazingly arrived at the parked car within two minutes of each other. How’s that for timing!
On Sunday Dad and I drove up to Discovery Park in Magnolia. I’d never visited the park before (it is accessible by bus but it would take a while) so I was excited to check it out. After picking up a map at the Visitors Centre we decided to do the 2.8 mile Loop Trail. We set out in the same direction with Dad walking the trail and me running it. When I had finished the loop I turned around and ran back to meet Dad. This left me with a 3.4 mile run. The trail was a little hillier than I’d expected but it was amazingly well maintained and the scenery was beautiful. We will definitely be returning to Discovery Park!
The marathon is three weeks from today which means that technically I’ve entered the taper period of my training program. I have a killer speedwork session scheduled for Tuesday (4 x 1600m with 800m jogs) so I’m going to say that the taper begins once that run is over. Next weekend I’ll be running the Kirkland Half Marathon. I’m treating this race as a dress rehearsal for my marathon. My goal is to set a personal worst! That’s a finish time greater than the 2:10:42 I set at the Vancouver half marathon one year ago from tomorrow. I’ll be focusing on making sure I have my nutrition strategy down and then keeping myself at “marathon pace” for at least the first 10 miles. Ideally I’d like to start at around 10:30 min/mile and stay between 10:00 and 10:30. If I’m feeling good I’m going to give myself permission to pick it up for the last 5K. If the weather co-operates I’d also like to wear the same outfit and shoes I’m planning on wearing during the marathon. I’m hoping the race will be a nice confidence booster going into the marathon.