Week 8 Training Recap

I have officially hit the halfway mark in my NYC Marathon training! This past week was a monumental week for running. The total miles logged this week jumped from 28 to 34 miles with a long run of 16 miles. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but I can tell you that it went fantastic! According to Daily Mile I had an Impressive week of training. They show me at a total of 36 miles, but that's because it includes all my cool down walks after running whatever distance I need to hit each day and they also round to the nearest mile.

Despite the really humid weather during the past week, I did get out at 5:30am every morning (with the exception of Monday) and logged my miles.

Monday: 3 miles - Since it was Labor Day I chose to ignore the alarm clock and went for my run around 11am. Call me crazy because it was a HOT, HUMID day.

Tuesday: 4 miles - I ran 2 miles and then did 2 miles of Intervals.

Wednesday: Rest - thank you very much!

Thursday: 5 miles - Not a great run. Just decent. My legs were tired.

Friday: 6 miles - This was not an easy run. My legs were still not having it plus I think the humidity didn't help. The important thing was that I didn't give up and got the mileage done.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 16 miles - I was fearing this run all week long. I knew how I bonked, mentally and physically, towards the end of my 14 miler a couple weeks earlier and I was afraid it was going to happen again. As you can see from the map...

...I got it done! Everything for this run was spot on and clicked. I broke the run into 3 segments so I could mentally handle it. I knocked out 6 miles and then switched out my hydration bottles. I knocked out the next 6 miles and switched out my hydration bottles. I knocked out the last 4 miles and went back to the car with a big smile on my face. My honey told me that I looked so much better after this run than with the 14 miler. I felt great!

I have reviewed over and over what I did for this run that helped me get to the finish. It's a combination of nutrition, hydration, mental strategy and approach on how I would pace myself. As I have said before, this long run course is not easy. It is full of hills and part of it can be very challenging on tired legs. While many wouldn't agree on putting these kind of hills in with a long run, for me it is paying off. This run showed me just how much stronger I have gotten and I know it will help me cross the marathon finish line in November.

*Side Note: The Rockefeller State Park Preserve is the stomping ground for many people who are training for various marathons. Every Sunday the parking lot is packed with cars and groups of runners talking about whatever long distance they have to cover. The last 2 weeks there have even been buses filled with runners coming out for a training run. Evidently I am not the only one who thinks these beautiful hilly trails are a great place for a long run!