Week 9
Good week this week. Last week was an easy week but was bit rough, everything seemed a little harder.
I noticed something on Tuesday. I took off and felt like I was flying, just like I did on Tuesday two weeks ago. Here is the pattern I noticed. Long run on Sunday followed by a light but rough week with a relatively short run on Sunday. Tuesday starts a longer run week but I feel great and the runs are extremely easy although they are longer. I'm constantly amazed at how great this training plan is. For anyone who wants to see it again, here is a link:
Cool Running Beginner Marathon plan
So, Tuesday I did 6 miles with hills. No big hills, just the ones in my neighborhood and I felt great. 4 miles on Wednesday, not as easy as Tuesday but still pretty good. 7 miles on Thursday which I did without even breathing hard. I'm telling you, it's amazing how my breathing has improved. I can easily do 10 miles without ever breathing hard. Saturday was an easy 3.
OK, if you looked at the plan, you know what I had to do today. 18 miles. Say it with me, 18 miles. That's a 20 minute drive in a car. I know there are people who would say "only 18..." but 18 miles is huge for me. I drove my course a few days ago just to make sure the roads were all still there and it seemed like a really long way.
Anyway, I got up about 7, had a cup of coffee, a breakfast bar and a banana. Just kind of putzed around till about 8:30 then started to get the wife moving. She was going to be riding along on her bicycle to carry the extra water and Gatorade. She was almost ready but with gathering all our stuff and getting it on her bike and yadda, yadda, yadda we didn't leave the house till 9:10. It was pretty chilly, somewhere around 50 and a stiff breeze. I debated whether to wear my parka or not but opted to just go with my long sleeve shirt. I started off really slow, not wanting to wear myself out. I started out carrying a bottle of Gatorade and had some Clif Shot Bloks in my pocket.
All in all, it was an excellent run. It's a pretty hilly course and I handled it beautifully. The first 5 miles or so, the wind was blowing across my path. I could feel the cold but I was never really cold. At Cele, which is about the 5 mile point, I turned into the wind and reached the hilliest part of the course. The wind really didn't bother me much, I was running strong, had lots of energy and was still feeling real good when I hit the turn around point at 9 miles. Let me tell ya, it was really nice to turn around and put that wind at my back becasue even though I was dealing with it well, it was still making it's presence known. My hips started getting stiff at about 10 miles and my knee was a little sore here and there but I just kept plugging. When I hit Cele again, my hips were still pretty stiff but I was feeling so good I picked up my pace a bit. The next 5 miles back to the house were mostly uneventful and I was cooking at a pretty good pace at the end. I was extremely pleased with how everything turned out, I've got my eating figured out, I keep a good pace, the hills and headwind were a non-issue, everything is coming together really nicely.
When I got home, I tried something I had been hearing about. I got in the tub and ran it full of cold water to soak my legs. It's supposed to reduce the inflammation quickly and provide for quicker healing. I even talked the wife into doing it. It's tough getting in but once you're in, it's not that bad and even though I was very stiff when I got home, I can tell the difference already. Not that I won't be still hobbling a bit tomorrow but hopefully not as bad as usual.
I noticed something on Tuesday. I took off and felt like I was flying, just like I did on Tuesday two weeks ago. Here is the pattern I noticed. Long run on Sunday followed by a light but rough week with a relatively short run on Sunday. Tuesday starts a longer run week but I feel great and the runs are extremely easy although they are longer. I'm constantly amazed at how great this training plan is. For anyone who wants to see it again, here is a link:
Cool Running Beginner Marathon plan
So, Tuesday I did 6 miles with hills. No big hills, just the ones in my neighborhood and I felt great. 4 miles on Wednesday, not as easy as Tuesday but still pretty good. 7 miles on Thursday which I did without even breathing hard. I'm telling you, it's amazing how my breathing has improved. I can easily do 10 miles without ever breathing hard. Saturday was an easy 3.
OK, if you looked at the plan, you know what I had to do today. 18 miles. Say it with me, 18 miles. That's a 20 minute drive in a car. I know there are people who would say "only 18..." but 18 miles is huge for me. I drove my course a few days ago just to make sure the roads were all still there and it seemed like a really long way.
Anyway, I got up about 7, had a cup of coffee, a breakfast bar and a banana. Just kind of putzed around till about 8:30 then started to get the wife moving. She was going to be riding along on her bicycle to carry the extra water and Gatorade. She was almost ready but with gathering all our stuff and getting it on her bike and yadda, yadda, yadda we didn't leave the house till 9:10. It was pretty chilly, somewhere around 50 and a stiff breeze. I debated whether to wear my parka or not but opted to just go with my long sleeve shirt. I started off really slow, not wanting to wear myself out. I started out carrying a bottle of Gatorade and had some Clif Shot Bloks in my pocket.
All in all, it was an excellent run. It's a pretty hilly course and I handled it beautifully. The first 5 miles or so, the wind was blowing across my path. I could feel the cold but I was never really cold. At Cele, which is about the 5 mile point, I turned into the wind and reached the hilliest part of the course. The wind really didn't bother me much, I was running strong, had lots of energy and was still feeling real good when I hit the turn around point at 9 miles. Let me tell ya, it was really nice to turn around and put that wind at my back becasue even though I was dealing with it well, it was still making it's presence known. My hips started getting stiff at about 10 miles and my knee was a little sore here and there but I just kept plugging. When I hit Cele again, my hips were still pretty stiff but I was feeling so good I picked up my pace a bit. The next 5 miles back to the house were mostly uneventful and I was cooking at a pretty good pace at the end. I was extremely pleased with how everything turned out, I've got my eating figured out, I keep a good pace, the hills and headwind were a non-issue, everything is coming together really nicely.
When I got home, I tried something I had been hearing about. I got in the tub and ran it full of cold water to soak my legs. It's supposed to reduce the inflammation quickly and provide for quicker healing. I even talked the wife into doing it. It's tough getting in but once you're in, it's not that bad and even though I was very stiff when I got home, I can tell the difference already. Not that I won't be still hobbling a bit tomorrow but hopefully not as bad as usual.
posted by Big Ed at 1:41 PM
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