This week was 47 miles of running and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
Race week, and not the race I wanted. But what's done is done. And I hobble away a bit better educated about the marathon, and substantially fitter than I was when I started.
So where from here? My legs are shaky, and so are my emotions. What I would really like to do is to take 2-3 days off to let the soreness pass, then start running again, start training soon after, crushing workouts while upping my mileage, and then do another marathon immediately. I really miss running (it's the day after my marathon, and I'm envying the people I saw jogging on the sidewalk this morning - ridiculous). And when I have a bad race, I want to get back on the horse ASAP.
Don't worry. I know how stupid the above is, and I'm not going to do that. Especially since I think I made similar mistakes this past cycle.
I did two really sub-optimal things this fall. One was ramping up from basically nothing to a hard marathon training cycle with high volume; in retrospect I think I would have been better to focus on just staying healthy and getting fitter. It's one thing to jump into a marathon cycle after a season or two of steady and consistent running, and another to do it from where I was. It was too much, too fast, too soon.
The other mistake was training at the paces that I wanted to be right for me, rather than where I truly was. I trained at paces that matched the races I wanted to run, hanging with a group that ran the races I wanted to run. And it was easy to rationalize doing so, since it wasn't too long ago that those were my paces also. But they weren't the right paces for me this fall. I was able to fake my way through some workouts fairly well (by running them too hard); the others I excused due to allergies and high mileage fatigue.
[to be clear, these were my mistakes, no one else's, and I own them].
The good news is that I've come away from this training cycle considerably fitter than I was when I started, which is a huge win. But I fried myself too. So now I need to consolidate my gains while also letting the damage heal.
The first step to that is to take some time off from running. For this week, the rule is that I only do any physical activity if I really want to, and what I do will be restricted to yoga, some easy swimming, and some social pool-running. I'm trying to hydrate really well, but also not setting my alarm clock, and eating as many gluten free cookies as my little heart wants.
I do want to introduce pool-running back into my routine - I skipped it for a while because it was annoying my back before that healed up, and then I didn't want to intro anything new late in the training cycle.
When I do start running again (likely sometime next week) I'll keep stuff easy, fun, and social for several weeks. If everything feels right, I'll start doing workouts again in mid-to-late December, focusing on running the workouts easier than I feel I should. I really want to run another marathon, but there will be no spring marathon training cycle for me. Instead, I'll spend a season doing consistent, controlled-pace training (anybody who knows me in person, you are encouraged to forcefully remind me of this commitment), and then do a fall marathon.
I had been considering Richmond Marathon for next fall, but after yesterday, I kinda want revenge on Manayunk.
Dailies Race week, and not the race I wanted. But what's done is done. And I hobble away a bit better educated about the marathon, and substantially fitter than I was when I started.
So where from here? My legs are shaky, and so are my emotions. What I would really like to do is to take 2-3 days off to let the soreness pass, then start running again, start training soon after, crushing workouts while upping my mileage, and then do another marathon immediately. I really miss running (it's the day after my marathon, and I'm envying the people I saw jogging on the sidewalk this morning - ridiculous). And when I have a bad race, I want to get back on the horse ASAP.
Don't worry. I know how stupid the above is, and I'm not going to do that. Especially since I think I made similar mistakes this past cycle.
I did two really sub-optimal things this fall. One was ramping up from basically nothing to a hard marathon training cycle with high volume; in retrospect I think I would have been better to focus on just staying healthy and getting fitter. It's one thing to jump into a marathon cycle after a season or two of steady and consistent running, and another to do it from where I was. It was too much, too fast, too soon.
The other mistake was training at the paces that I wanted to be right for me, rather than where I truly was. I trained at paces that matched the races I wanted to run, hanging with a group that ran the races I wanted to run. And it was easy to rationalize doing so, since it wasn't too long ago that those were my paces also. But they weren't the right paces for me this fall. I was able to fake my way through some workouts fairly well (by running them too hard); the others I excused due to allergies and high mileage fatigue.
[to be clear, these were my mistakes, no one else's, and I own them].
The good news is that I've come away from this training cycle considerably fitter than I was when I started, which is a huge win. But I fried myself too. So now I need to consolidate my gains while also letting the damage heal.
The first step to that is to take some time off from running. For this week, the rule is that I only do any physical activity if I really want to, and what I do will be restricted to yoga, some easy swimming, and some social pool-running. I'm trying to hydrate really well, but also not setting my alarm clock, and eating as many gluten free cookies as my little heart wants.
I do want to introduce pool-running back into my routine - I skipped it for a while because it was annoying my back before that healed up, and then I didn't want to intro anything new late in the training cycle.
When I do start running again (likely sometime next week) I'll keep stuff easy, fun, and social for several weeks. If everything feels right, I'll start doing workouts again in mid-to-late December, focusing on running the workouts easier than I feel I should. I really want to run another marathon, but there will be no spring marathon training cycle for me. Instead, I'll spend a season doing consistent, controlled-pace training (anybody who knows me in person, you are encouraged to forcefully remind me of this commitment), and then do a fall marathon.
I had been considering Richmond Marathon for next fall, but after yesterday, I kinda want revenge on Manayunk.
Monday: 2000 yards easy swimming in the morning, foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: In the morning, 8.5 miles, including a track workout of 1600, 2x800 (6:06, 2:56, 2:52). Sports massage at night.
Wednesday: In the afternoon, 7.5 miles (8:02 pace). Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: Rest day. Did get my spasming glute dry needled and did some foam rolling.
Friday: 5 miles (8:03 pace), and got ART on a sticky calf in the morning. Foam rolling in the afternoon.
Saturday: Rest day; picked up bib and foam rolled.
Sunday: Philadelphia Marathon in 3:20:17, positive split as 1:35/1:45. Big ass strawberry margarita at midday. Foam rolling at night.
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