Keep Moving Forward: A Training Log (Comments Welcome)

I was in a similar situation going into the WDW marathon. I really wasn't enjoying my runs at all and I only ran because I had to. So I just started doing all of my runs at easier paces and while I still wasn't loving running, it wasn't as bad. Eventually I started to really enjoy running again, and that's when I started to slowly reintroduce faster paces.
Hopefully something similar will happen for you and taking your runs at an easier pace will bring back that enjoyment of running that you're missing now. Good luck!

I’ve already seen a difference in my mood since easing up on things. There’s so much less pressure.
 
Love what you wrote about less focus on pace. I'm struggling with that right now and what do I really want out of my running.

It's funny because any more it's Disney and PoT stuff that pushes me sometimes and I don't know that it really matters at all if I'm in corral C or D to be honest yet I get fixated on that...which is silly.

Glad you are feeling better about running since letting it go. :D
 
Love what you wrote about less focus on pace. I'm struggling with that right now and what do I really want out of my running.

It's funny because any more it's Disney and PoT stuff that pushes me sometimes and I don't know that it really matters at all if I'm in corral C or D to be honest yet I get fixated on that...which is silly.

Glad you are feeling better about running since letting it go. :D

It’s encouraging to know I’m not the only one struggling a bit, though I’m sorry to hear about your struggles.

It does help that I don’t have any Disney races to worry about for the foreseeable future, so PoT is not a concern. I’m a little disappointed my current PoT is going to lapse, but oh well.

Even my fall race comes with a modest time goal (that I could abandon). Ultimately, I just want to have fun and continue checking off marathons.
 
Thanks to those of you who offered some words of encouragement after last week's post. Easing up mentally and physically has largely had the desired effect - I'm feeling better about running again. It doesn't hurt that the weather has largely been better, but I'm choosing to believe that just running my miles and enjoying them has been positive.

Tuesday
I had planned to run, but ended up having to have an hour-long phone call after work. So, I didn't get any miles in Tuesday.

Wednesday
6 miles @ 9:07/mile. Nothing stands out about this one. Easy peasy run, I reckon.

Friday
6 miles @ 9:04/mile. Ended the week with some low impact miles. I've just been running and not worrying about pace, but it's funny that I keep settling into the same groove. I suppose my comfort zone is in the low-9s, at least for these sort of distances.

Saturday
10 miles @ 9:09/mile. I stayed up a little late on Friday and woke up normal time, so I was a little tired for this one. Probably a little dehydrated, too. Knowing I had a big run on Sunday, I didn't want to push too hard on this, but as often the case, I went a little quicker than I had intended. By left thigh and right inner ankle were a little tight/sore at the end, but nothing I'm too concerned about. i think dehydration might have been a factor with the thigh tightness, as I was incredibly thirsty for the a while after the run.

Sunday
17 miles @ 9:31. With my 16 mile run a few weeks ago being a bit of a disaster at the end (started too fast, hit the wall hard around mile 12, too much walking the last four miles), I wanted to make a deliberate effort to ease up on pace for the sake of remaining consistent for the entire 17 miles. Fastest mile was 9:06 and the slowest mile was 10:46 (which isn't entirely accurate - I was running Strava continuously and had a long wait at a busy intersection) most of my other miles were right in a 9:20-9:30 range and I felt very consistent throughout.

I had a Clif bar an hour or so before the run, 10 or ounces of Gatorade and some water. I really wanted to make to sure I was properly hydrated before taking off.

The weather was probably perfect for a long run. Overcast, mid-50s, it had just rained so the air felt cool and damp. If we had identical conditions for the upcoming (or any) marathon, I'd be thrilled. It felt really cool.

I had a sleeve of energy chews with caffeine that I ate throughout the run. I've mentioned this before, but my body responds really well to the caffeine. Since I don't drink caffeinated beverages outside of a couple of times a year, I think the caffeine works pretty well. On the other hand, maybe it's just a placebo effect, but I'll be using caffeinated chews for the next marathon. (I used them at WDW marathon this past year and they worked really well up until the point my body just fell apart, but no nutrition strategy was going to change that.)

So, really really good run to end the week. And with that, we taper down to Run CRANDIC in three weeks. I know this won't be a peak race, but that wasn't never part of the plan. I figure I'll finish in about 4:15, which seems to be right about average for me based on four other fulls. An average marathon is just fine and better than no marathon at all. So, bring it on.

Miles this Week: 39
Year to Date: 353
 


Quick Sunday morning update before I go celebrate my daughter's 5th birthday and Easter:

Run CRANDIC is one week from today. I have a six mile run this morning and then some real light stuff next week. I'm feeling pretty good. As I've stated before, this won't come close to a PR, but I think I'll hit my average of about 4:15, which I'm totally fine with.

I PR'd this race last year, but the course was reversed and I trained a lot harder. On the other hand, my last marathon was at the tail end of Dopey, so I shouldn't have to worry about fatigue or anything like that. I'm interested to see how it all shakes out.

Weather-wise, we're showing thunderstorms, a high of 74 and a low of 51 for next Sunday. Not ideal. I'd like the high to be about 10 degrees cooler and obviously thunderstorms could derail the entire race. My rain gear options are just my rain coat, which is not made for running. Too late to do anything about it now, but I really hope I don't have to run 26 miles in a black coat. Nothing I can do now but wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Miles This Week: 30 (assuming I complete this 6 mile run)
Year To Date: 415
 


How is your next marathon here?? I suppose that means it's time for me to stop saying "I just ran a marathon..."

Good luck and have fun this weekend!!
 
Quick update before the full in the morning ...

It's been gross and rainy all day today, so no tune up run. I got four miles in Friday morning and everything feels fine, so I think I should be good.

The race kicks off at 6:30 and it should be only 29 degrees. Ugh. I'll be bundled up. I assume my body is still pretty used to the cold and I have all the gear, so that shouldn't present much of a challenge. The only concern is overheating in the back stretch, but I don't think it's going to warm up enough for that to be a concern. We'll see.

Other than that, I'm eager to see how tomorrow goes.
 

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