Week 12 - Training Summary

I felt very sloth-like all week. Slow moving. Almost lazy. Lazy girls don't run 70+ miles per week though. This was my peak week in training and it's all down here from here! Kinda:-) As we get to the end of this training cycle, I am of course thinking about what is next which is the Boston Marathon in April. I really want to train with a coach/team. First, because I have never done that and I am the first to admit, I don't know it all. Second, because I have not had much success training for Spring marathons on my own from a motivation standpoint. Third, because I think with a coach's help, I can run a 3:30 marathon in 2012. I had a great conversation with George from the Capital Area Runners group on Friday. He is completely honest and upfront. A no nonsense type of guy and told me the things I needed to hear, which were hard but appreciated. This ultramarathon training is risky, no doubt. It's hard on my body. I have made it 12 weeks without any injury which is unique. My goals for the weeks leading up to the JFK 50 is to complete the race in one piece. Not doing anymore than I have to do and focus on my rest and recovery.  

TOTAL MILES WEEK 12 : 78.23 miles


10/17 (Monday) - Gym - 5:35am
I pedaled away again this morning on the bike and did a very light short jog. Seriously, it was a "jog." There is a difference between a jog and a run. I saw a funny quote a few weeks ago and it was something along the lines of, "At a crosswalk, you can see the difference between a jogger and a runner. A jogger happily bounces from foot to foot and a runner has their hands on their hips and just looks mad."  Ha! I also developed a quarter-sized blister on the arch of my foot this weekend which prevented me from going out too fast. It is gross and I will spare you the photos. I immediately tweeted to all my ultrarunning buddies asking how to deal with the blister. Apparently you "lance" it, clean it up with peroxide, and let it dry out. I don't know why I developed the blister now. Strange. I tweeted how very sexy and glamorous this whole ultrarunning thing is and Kara replied:

10/18 (Tuesday) 5:45am - Interval Training turned Easy
I am running low in the energy department. It takes so much effort just to put on foot in front of the other - seriously. I was scheduled to do 6 x 1 mile repeats with a 2 mile warm up and cool down. I just decided to do an easy 10 miles at about an 8:34 pace. I think that is ok, really. I am proud of myself for keeping up with the interval work for as long as I have! The race is one month from tomorrow and I am just going to make sure I get in the miles from this point forward. 
10/19 (Wednesday) 5:35am - Easy Run
I felt a little more revived today, but still dragging a little. Managed to knock out 7.14 easy miles at an 8:24 pace.
10/20 (Thursday) 5:41am - Tempo Run
My legs felt more energized than they have all week. I did a 3 mile warm up, a slow 3 mile tempo at about a 7:40 pace and then a 3 mile cool down. My blister is still giving me issues! It won't dry out at night and I hesitate to leave it exposed during the day. Heaven knows I don't need another infection! I am going to have to pad and wrap my foot this weekend although, I am hoping it heals tomorrow.
10/21 (Friday) - Gym - 5:45am
One good way to guarantee that you will go to the gym to do strength training and core work is to leave all your stuff you need to get ready there overnight. Ooops. I seriously would have slept in today if I didn't have to go get my stuff. I did a nice and easy workout.
10/22 (Saturday) 7:31am - 5 Hour Long Run
I was pretty nervous about this run this morning. It was my longest one to date. I wanted to run at least 30 miles. I made the decision not to wear my Garmin or any type of watch. Why? Because I wanted to enjoy this run. I didn't want the pressure of my pace to ruin the run for me. Even though I tell myself, it's OK to run a 9:30 - 10 minute mile, as soon as I look at my watch and see that "9", I start to hyperventilate. I have been working hard to get faster over this past year and I don't want to go in the opposite direction. So, I played the 'ignorance is bliss' card. I didn't need a device to keep track of my mileage because I ran on the C & O towpath starting in Georgetown right at the start so I ran to the 15 mile marker and turned around. I love this portion of the C & O. It's so beautiful and peaceful. I practiced my drinking and nutrition taking water every 5 miles and a GU Roctane at miles 10 and 20. That stuff is like rocket fuel! There were parts of the run that were hard, but I kept just repeating, "One foot in front of the other." When I got back to my car, grabbed my watch only to find out I did 30 miles in 4 hours and 40 minutes! I still had 20 minutes to go to hit my 5 hours. Stopping and then starting up again is hard. I decided to take it SUPER EASY and just ran under the bridge, over to the Kennedy Center and back to where I started around Jack's Boathouse. I ended up running a total of 32.09 miles! That's weird. I can't believe I ran that long!
10/23 (Sunday) 8:00am - 3 Hour Long Run
George invited me to run with the group this weekend, so I took him up on his offer and met them at Fletcher's Cove at 8am. Everyone was doing different distances from 6 to 20 miles. After yesterday, there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with the runners doing the 18 to 20 milers, so I started with some people running an 8:15 - 8:30 pace and hung with them for about the first 5 miles, then continued up the Capital Crescent Trail through Silver Spring until I hit the 10 mile mark, then turned around heading back. I was the last to finish and George was still there chatting with another teammate. I love talking about running or eavesdropping on people talking about running! Ha. I was frustrated because I felt slow but he made me feel better telling me that he can tell a lot by looking at someone's running stride/form for a couple minutes and he thinks I have a lot of potential. That made me feel better. There really is no reason why I shouldn't be running sub 21 minute 5Ks, sub 44 minute 10Ks, sub 1:40 half marathons and a 3:30 marathon. I think he can help me get there in 2012.