This was another great week, and unfortunately my last hard week of training before taper. I knew I had to make these workouts count, and I felt like I did just that. I didn’t go to Body Fusion for a number of reasons. We have so much going on this month, I’d have to miss a bunch of classes. I also want to make sure my leg muscles are completely recovered by race day, which meant cutting back on lifting until after the marathon.
Tuesday had a big workout. I had 9×800 repeats and hoped I’d have enough energy to make it through. My first one was “slow” compared to the rest, but I managed to pace myself fairly well until the end. Surprisingly I felt really great the entire time, and I’m actually looking forward to my final track workout.
Wednesday I took off, but Thursday I took advantage of the cooler weather. I ran up to the North end and had some amazing negative splits. My legs felt like they were flying and I was finally able to get rid of the heavy feeling they’ve been carrying around.
Friday was a rest day, but Saturday was my big workout. I met up with a few MCRR members and we took to the inlet at Buckeye Woods. I was definitely a little nervous, knowing this was my last long run and would determine my attitude and confidence going into the marathon.
I felt pretty good going in, and made sure to stick to my plan of taking in water at every mile. We covered the inlet, dropped a few people off, and then made our way out on the roads for short loop.
The weather was just about perfect, complete cloud cover and just on the edge of sprinkling. I couldn’t help but think that the perfect weather had something to do with how great I felt, but honestly I wasn’t struggling, or sweating my entire body weight.
We made our way back and took the long way around the marsh, soaking in all of the views. At this point, there was just a few of us, and we started out on our last big loop.
My beautiful, peaceful Buckeye Woods marsh
We headed to the inlet, passed by Chippewa lake, and picked up the rail trail, hoping to dodge a huge storm that was heading our way. Luckily it passed us, and we didn’t have to worry about spending our last 8 miles drenched from the rain. Jeanne and I were the last two left at this point and we made our way back to the park with about three miles to go. By this point, I had caught a second wind, and my legs were begging to let go. I tried to hold back and pace myself, but by 18.5, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I opened my stride and let my legs lead the way, finishing up my last mile in 9:14.
Beautiful day on the rail trail
I felt really great at the end of this 20 miler. I ran it 2 minutes slower than my last one, but I was able to drop my pace at the end and finish with a strong kick. This run certainly set the tone for the race and I finally feel like I’m ready for the race.
My new favorite training distance
As for fueling, I stuck with sport beans at every 4 miles, but this time, I wanted to try a few new things. I took my salt tab later on between mile 8-9 and tried eating peanuts at mile 14. The peanuts worked out great, and I plan to use them during the marathon.
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 6 Miles, 1 mile w/u, 9×800(4:16, 4:07, 4:06, 4:05, 4:07, 3:59, 3:59, 4:01, 3:55) .5 mile c/d
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 3.25 Miles
Friday: Off
Saturday: 20 Miles
Sunday: Off
Total Miles: 29 Miles
And that’s it, my mornings of long runs are coming to an end. My final long run is complete, and I couldn’t help but feel a little sad. I’m finally at the point where I’m enjoying my long runs rather than dreading them. I’m feeling really strong, but looking forward to taper, and hopefully keeping my legs healthy for three more weeks.
Masher Runs 