The Past Few Weeks: The Bad, the Good and the Ugly.

The Bad
Week 6 was interesting to say the least.  Lower mileage during the week ramping up for Saturday's 18 miler. I ended up going out after lunch on Saturday. It was low 30˚s with a brisk wind. Not quite as painfully cold as the week before (no ice on my water bottle this time). I was pumped about this run (and a little nervous to be honest) so I was eager to hit the road. Unfortunately I let my excitement for the new distance get the better of me and I went out too fast. My target average pace was supposed to be 9:45. I felt great the first 4 miles averaging 8:45. Mistake. By mile 10 I was hitting 10 minute miles and by the end it was around 11:30 minute miles and I hurt. My muscles were screaming at me for a while after that one.

28 miles for the week

I consulted with my awesome (and much more experienced) sponsored Hammer athlete group for some advice. Obviously pacing was brought up. I will be managing pace next time using my heart rate monitor to see if I can even out the whole thing and stay feeling better longer.

I also started reading a new book this last week. It is "Racing Weight" by Matt Fitzgerald. After having lost a great deal of weight, my previous hard cut diet was not working for me anymore. It got rid of the bulk of my fat stores but the last 15 pounds or so are gonna be stubborn, so I wanted to get a newer sustainable plan aimed at performance and getting lean, not getting skinny. So far it's pretty good stuff. I'll do a write up later in more depth.

The Good
Week 7 went better. My first 20 miler ever was a rainy 34 degree day. But I got out there and did it. I fueled more often and kept a more even  pace throughout. I ended feeling much better than the previous week. A lot less sore and a lot happier with the whole experience.

33.5 miles for the week

Some Rest
Week 8 was a  good rest week. I ended up putting in a lot less miles, but I was a good recovery week. I missed 1 workout on Saturday.

20 miles for the week

The Ugly

Week 9 : This winter has been the worst for training for my first full marathon. The bitterly cold weather has forced me to log way too many treadmill runs. But so far Saturdays have been 'good enough' to run outside. But sadly single digits and freshly iced roads made running outside not possibly for me. Seeing as it was scheduled only for a 16 miler, I decided to suck it up and do it on the treadmill. Lets just say that I am DONE with winter. 16 miles on a treadmill is miserable. 150 minutes of going NOWHERE! ugh. But I got it done and with a 2%-3% incline the whole time, I feel pretty good about the effort. I missed 1 workout this week.

29 Miles for the week

Next week is back to a 20 miler again. With 37 miles scheduled for the week. We will see how that treats me. 10 weeks until race day.