Last week’s workouts: a “down week” in marathon training

Last week’s workouts including a down week in marathon training. 

Happy Monday! I started my morning with a 10 mile run that I was honestly really nervous to do. Last Saturday’s run was BRUTAL; I was supposed to run it between 8:20-8:45 pace, and I could barely hang on to 8:45. And aside from the pace feeling really, really hard, I wanted to stop the entire time. And not just stop, I wanted to sit down on the side of the road. I just felt so weak and a bit queasy. I had fueled the same way I did before my last long run (which had gone well), but maybe I hadn’t eaten enough the day before. Or maybe I hadn’t slept well. Maybe I ran too hard on Thursday. Or maybe it was needling on Friday. Maybe all of that. (Probably.) Or maybe having bad runs is just part of being a runner. Whatever it was, I was so happy when the run was over.

I was a bit surprised how hard running felt last week considering it was down week in marathon training. “Down weeks” are built into training plans so your body has a little time to recover and adapt to training levels. Down weeks may be a reduction in mileage, intensity or both. Mine was both – I ran 45 miles the previous week and 37 this past week, and my long run dropped from 16 to 12.

I was hoping to feel really fresh all week, but I only felt really good on one day. But, the first half of the week was also REALLY rough between not sleeping and work stress. I worked late every night, including working after my Tuesday evening run until 10pm. And, I know all too well that life impacts training. Stress is stress and your body doesn’t distinguish too well between whether that stress comes from something physical or mental. While it’s cliche and all runners say it, it’s true: the bad runs make you appreciate the good runs. And man, did I love Thursday’s good run. And my mind really loved yoga on Sunday night.

Last week’s workouts

M – 9.1 miles, 8:40 pace (with 10 strides near the end) + Crossfit

• I felt awful on this run after not sleeping more than 2 hours at a time the night before since Maizey was up sick. But I got it done.
• Front squats, 6 sets of 5 (I did 125#) with 10 box jump overs between each set
• Metcon:
  • 5 min amrap, 2-4-6-8-10 etc
    • row for calories
    • toes to bar (I did v-ups)
    • rest 3 mins
  • 5 min amrap
    • bar facing burpees
    • after completing 10 burpees, do 10 air squats before resuming bar facing burpees

T- 5 miles, 9:33 pace

• Recovery run on the treadmill + short upper body/core work. My legs were definitely tired from Crossfit!

• 3 sets of 15: Biceps, triceps, shoulders. Alternated sets with core work (50 bicycle crunches, 15 bird dogs, planks)

W – 4.3 miles, 8:35 pace

• I had SUCH a bad day at work and just needed to get out to clear my head. I finished up my run and took Maizey on a short walk, which helped a lot too.

Th – 8.1 miles, 7:46 pace

• It wasn’t totally dark when I got home!! But I still wore my trusty reflective vest and arm bands. 🙂
• This run was the one exception during the week – I felt AMAZING. The pace felt effortless and I was able to charge up hills easily. I was on cloud nine when I finished. 🙂

F – Needling & scraping appointment. My left calf was surprisingly REALLY tight.

Sa – 12 miles; 8:37 pace

• I wanted to stop and lay down in the gutter every mile.
• Queasy, weak, hungry. Run too hard Thursday? Not eat enough the day before? Needling the day before? I dunno.

 

Su – extra hot vinyasa yoga

I was DRENCHED after that class! And I love that they have free kombucha after the Sunday evening class!

 

Total Miles: 38.5 miles

See previous weekly workouts here!

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