Wednesday, May 23, 2012

High Mileage Love

This training cycle I really think I pushed my limits.  Before this I had only hit 40 miles in a week once and it had literally destroyed my legs. 

Last year I was reading about Marlene doing mid week long runs during her marathon training and I hoped that maybe one day I could do that.

My garmin after my run to work in April

I started off running about 20-25 miles a week almost 2 years ago, last year I increased to 30-35ish while training for my half, and this year I peaked at 54 miles a week while training for the marathon.

I did my first run to work and ran many Thursday evening long runs with my running club.  And it turns out that I LOOOOVE the higher mileage.  I was kind of sad to see taper come because I knew that would mean I would be decreasing my miles.  But I know that my body needed the rest.

This whole marathon thing wasn't really my idea - I wasn't sure I really wanted to do it.  But now I am happy I did, I am happy I pushed my limits and ran farther and faster than I had before.

Last night, I went to my running club and I ran my last tempo workout before the marathon.  4x1000m at Tempo pace (7:06) and my legs actually felt pretty good.  I talked to many of the other girls from the club who have done a number of marathons and they shared some advice which really made me feel better.

That didn't stop me from having a scary marathon dream last night though.  I was running the race, but then all of a sudden someone was chasing me.  I ended up running through a mall and out into a housing development.  I hid in the bushes until the man left and then fled to a river where I floated down stream for a while.  As I was floating, I was trying to figure out how I could get back on course for the marathon and still finish under my time goal.  Then I woke up. Definitely not your typical pre-marathon dream.

Only a few days left before the race.  I still can't believe it is THIS weekend.  Feels like just yesterday I was secretly signing up for this race and had no idea if I would really even be running it.

4 DAYS!

12 comments:

Indi said...

great miles!! WoW 4 days! Enjoy the leadup to the awesome day! You totally have this!

misszippy said...

You really sound ready! It's so great that you've been able to get in the mileage this time. It will really bode well for your race! Go get it!

Johann said...

Awesome miles! You will do great in the marathon. I love high miles!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

you can do it!!! good luck!

Taffi said...

Very best of luck, not that you'll need it after the fantastic prep work you've done.
Enjoy :-)

Elizabeth said...

You've dominated this training cycle! I'm so excited for your race this weekend. Best wishes for a fun, strong race!

Allison said...

I always have really crazy race dreams right before a marathon! Good luck this weekend, it sounds like you are ready to have a great race.

Kim said...

I love that you love the high mileage!

Ha ha ha. That dream is awesome. My dreams are always about not making it to the start on time!

Amber said...

You will do amazing. Very excited for you!

Jamie said...

Can't wait to hear how it goes! Try to relax the rest of the week :) Enjoy yourself!

RunningJunkie said...

4 days is VERY exciting!! Best of luck to you!

I found that with my marathon I had a tad bit of an issue tapering. Even if my plan said 3 miles I had to do 4-5......it was WAY harder with the half marathon I just did though. I just didn't like the low mileage....

However, I broke my foot during my half marathon on Sunday....so I guess I won't have to worry about tapering for a while.

Marlene said...

I remember being SOOO excited when you announced that you had this up your sleeve. You have put in the work and it's going to pay off!

Hahaha that is one wild dream. Hope you get a couple of good sleeps now before the big day!