Marathon Training Week 9

Sometimes it's nice to remember that training plans aren't set in stone, and that it isn't the end of the world to miss a workout. Sometimes it's even a good idea to take an extra rest day.

I'm not thrilled with my paces from this week, but I keep reminding myself that I'm running further than I ever have before. It isn't really likely that I can increase both speed and distance at the same time.

Everything I have read says that you shouldn't have a time goal for a first marathon, that your only goal should be to enjoy it and finish strong. Of course, that is my A goal, but you know I can't help but think about what time I would like to finish by.

So, how did this week go? It started off a little sore, but ended strong. Check it out (the bold is what my training plan called for):

Monday: Cross Training. I was really sore (especially my quads) and tired from my long run on Sunday. An hour of yoga helped stretch things out and kept me from laying on the couch and letting everything seize up.

Tuesday: 5 miles. Tuesday was a day of complete physical exhaustion. I didn't get to bed at a reasonable time on Monday, and I was still trying to play catch up from the early wake up call and long run on Sunday. I attempted to nap and went to bed early.

Wednesday: 8 miles. The extra rest day and my new shoes helped me feel good and I may have pushed it a little harder than I should have. I ran by feel, but definitely stressed out my quads on the hills. 8.04 miles @ 9:21 pace.

Thursday: 5 miles. I made myself go slow for this run. Hurting my quads even more didn't seem like the best plan. Felt pretty good (if slow) and did 20 minutes of yoga when I got home. 5.04 miles @ 10:04 pace.

Friday: Rest day. I debated making up Tuesday's skipped miles, but decided I was better off going into the weekend well rested. A little yoga probably wouldn't have hurt, but I didn't even do that.

Saturday: 8 miles. This run just felt slow. The pace wasn't terrible, but no matter how hard I pushed, the pace just wouldn't improve. The knowledge that I had 18 miles on the plan for Sunday stopped me from doing anything stupid, so I just trudged my way along. A quick 10 minutes of yoga when I got home and some headstand practice went a lot better than my run. 8.03 miles @ 9:49 pace.

Sunday: 18 miles. I was up at 5am and out the door a little after 6 with my hydration pack stuffed with gels, my sunglasses, my iPod and my phone. I felt strong for this whole run (except for mile 17 for some reason). While I won't be shouting my pace from the rooftops (just on the internet), I've never run 18 miles before, so that's impressive on its own! 18 miles @ 10:52 pace.

Miles this week: 39.11

Next week is a cutback week, so I'm looking forward to having a little more time to recover and get ready for my first 20 miler, which is coming up in a couple weeks.