It’s getting real. Running all the miles. Eating all the food. Last week was an intense week of training, indeed. The Marine Corps Marathon will be here before I know it.
Marine Corps Marathon Training: Week 5
Tuesday — 6.32 miles
I had a really fabulous run on Tuesday. I was supposed to do hills but I ended up doing tempo intervals instead. I was actually hoping I could con my friend Eugenia into joining me for hills again this week (didn’t work) — hence the switch. But I felt pretty great and had no foot/ankle pain, though I did wear my foot compression sleeve for additional support.
Wednesday — 4.75 miles
My Wednesday was super light and easy. I took my dog out for 1.6ish miles, then I ran for a mile solo, and then I picked up my son for another 1.6ish miles. Part of the reason for this is because the city was laying loose gravel on the roads, which made everything really sticky. I think “loose gravel” is code word for “laying asphalt.” Totally mucked up my shoes. Road running fail.
My pup was a great runner on Wednesday. And my son kicked our run’s booty — even though it became known as the thirstiest run on the planet. “Mom! I’m dehydrated!” Again, I ran with the compression sleeve.
Thursday — 6 miles
So here’s something foolish I did. I decided on Wednesday that I should “stretch” out my ankle. Rookie-friggin-mistake. Note to self: just let it heal! So I “stretched” and made my ankle infinitely worse. By Wednesday night it was swollen and I was almost in a panic.
Cue run on Thursday. I was supposed to be running hills, but I decided to take it super easy and just run by feel. No stress, just see how far I could go without pain. I ran taped up but felt great. I was pleasantly surprised.
Friday — 11.78 miles
This was the run of all runs. I had 14 on my schedule. I was hoping for 12. And I’d be happy with 10. Something similar happened in week 3. There’s just something about the 14-mile mark that doesn’t seem to bode well for me.
I was up late all week so I was already starting this run extremely fatigued. My legs felt like lead. Thankfully no ankle pain. It was so hot and humid, I literally lost buckets of fluids within the first 5 miles, which of course impacted my ability to run comfortably. I sent my husband a text — there was no way I was going to make it 10 miles. After a lot of self-talk and egging myself on, I finally made it home at 8.7 miles. Pitiful.
After my husband left for work, I took my kids to the track. I was hoping for an additional 3 miles. Of course that was foolish mom-logic. We left the track after 1.44 miles for me and 1.5 miles for my son. (Yay!)
But I was determined to get as close to 12 miles as possible so I ran up and down my short little road until I got to 1.65 miles. Then I was all done: completely spent.
Total Friday miles: 11.78.
This week will be almost a repeat of last week, mileage-wise. It’ll be good to get into a groove. And no more traveling for me until race day.
xo
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What makes a long run awesome for you?
Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run, and HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap. Also linking up with Nicole, Annmarie, Jen, and Michelle for Wild Workout Wednesday.
