This is week 13 of an 18-week training plan that will hopefully get me to the marathon start line ready to have an amazing race, and maybe even PR!
Monday, January 20
Today I ran my weekly speed workout, which was 10.5 miles:
1.5mi warm up 3 * 2mi @ marathon pace – 10 sec; .5mi rest 1.5mi cool down
Again, I felt strong!
In other news, I have a lot of thoughts about the fact that Strava, an app where users can track their workouts and connect with athletes from around the world, claims that January 19 is “Quitters Day”–the day when people give up on their New Years resolutions. First off…the year is 365 (or 366, yay, leap year!) days long…starting and stopping and starting again doesn’t make someone a quitter. I wrote more about this here.
Tuesday, January 21
I woke up today, went to yoga, and then ran 6.2 miles. I felt some stiffness/soreness in my right groin muscle, so I ran my typical route in reverse, in hopes that it will help balance things out. I originally thought I would go swimming today, but I have a longer midweek run tomorrow, and the last time I ran/yoga’d/swam the day before a long tempo run, I was sore and exhausted the next day. I enjoy swimming, but until I complete the marathon, running is my priority.
In the afternoon, I filed my US taxes! Productive!
Wednesday, January 22
Today I woke up and after coffee made a quick uber trip to drop Lior’s suit off at his office. I was nervous because I had 11 miles on my plan (which should take 1:50-2 hours, depending on energy levels and breaks), and I needed to be in Shoreditch to cuddle some puppies at 3pm! I dropped the suit off just after 11am, then ran 2+ miles home (I was in my running clothes but also had my jacket and purse, and no gels or water…) to make a bathroom stop and grab the extra gear I needed. My last 8+ miles were a bit faster, and since I was stressed for time, I didn’t take any breaks, like normal! I got home around 1:20, had sushi delivered (I ordered it after I ran 10 miles, to save a bit of time), and was out the door a bit after 2pm. I made it in plenty of time, and got to cuddle some adorable chocolate lab puppies!
Today’s run was supposed to be an 11 mile tempo run, with the first and last miles as warm up/cool down and the middle nine miles at marathon pace. Normally I just run the tempo runs as long runs because I’m tired, or whatever. Basically, I don’t feel like I have the energy to do this. This time, the first 2ish miles were slower and the last 9 miles were all around goal marathon pace. The takeaway here is that I can absolutely complete the tempo runs, but need extra motivation–like arriving to puppy cuddles in time…
Fun fact: I had a death grip on the puppy during the selfie because prior to that, he was chewing on my arm/sweater/watch
I picked up some groceries on the way home, and in the evening went to a yoga class. The class was very different/harder than the morning classes I usually attend. I registered for next week, and depending on how I feel during/after my tempo run, I may attend.
Thursday, January 23
I slept much better last night than I have the past few nights…I have no idea why the insomnia is creeping back now. Today was more yoga. This class is in general more stretching, which I prefer. Afterwards, I went for a 7 mile run. The rest of the day was sloth mode (with a side of laundry). All in all, a nice day.
Also, I sent my resume to a friend, for a potential job! Who knows if I’ll hear back, but I’m getting excited, thinking about job hunting and eventually moving on to my next job.
Friday, January 24
This afternoon I went and ran 6.2 miles. In the afternoon, I went to Richmond–first to lululemon, where I used my voucher to get a fancy pair of running shorts (with side pockets–crucial) for free! (Plus a bra in the clearance section…so they still got some of my money.) I then went to the pool and swam 750m freestyle (and got a side stitch partway through–not fun) and 250m breast stroke.
Saturday, January 25
Rest day! Today Lior and I took the train to Farnborough, where I’m running a half marathon tomorrow. There is lots of maintenance work happening on the trains, so I’m glad we went the night before. I got a great deal on a pretty decent hotel that happened to be one of the sponsors of the event and right by the start/finish area. Nice!
Sunday, January 26
Race day! Between my warm-up, race, and cool down, I ran 16.3 miles.
Post race Aperol spritz!
Total Distance: 57.6 miles, 3 yoga classes, 1000m swimming
Sunday’s half marathon was a major confidence boost, and I’m beginning to feel cautiously optimistic that I might be able to PR in Tokyo!