In just over a week I’ll be packing #allthethings for my second marathon — the Marine Corps Marathon. My husband and I will load the car and we’ll make our way to the nation’s capital. This marathon is different for me than my first marathon on so many levels. I’m legitimately excited for this race experience. I wasn’t in a positive headspace for my first one. I’m very much looking forward to being in Washington, DC, running the monuments, seeing the sights, and experiencing all that the Marine Corps Marathon has to offer.
But before I get into #allthefeels, let me tell you about my first week of taper!
Marine Corps Marathon Training: Week 16
Monday — 8 miles
Monday was an extraordinary day for a run. I’m not sure what happened but I think I might be in the “cooler is better” camp finally. Don’t tell my coach I said that because I always tell him how much I prefer running in the summer. Which is still 70% true because it’s sunny and warm. Monday’s weather was 47˚F, sunny, and no wind. Perfection.
Tuesday — 3.14 miles
Tuesday’s miles were short and sweet. I logged them in honor of International Day of the Girl as part of my participation in the If Girls Ran the World movement. I was technically supposed to run some recovery miles on Sunday but I was wiped from the 20-miler so that clearly didn’t happen. But it felt nice to get out for such a short run. And it’s amazing the difference a day makes because on Tuesday I felt chilly despite it being the same temperature.
Wednesday — 7 miles
Back to the track for me last Wednesday. I love the track. I set out for 8x800m and even though I was a second or two off (literally) for each lap, I felt like I nailed this workout. It did get pretty warm while I was out and my pace slowed down by two seconds per 800m but overall I felt really great so I’m definitely counting it as a win.
Friday — 6 miles
I ran steady state miles on Friday and BAM! I nailed this workout. I felt amazing. I had a great warmup, solid splits in the middle, and a great cool down. Plus it was perfect weather out which definitely helped.
Saturday — 12 miles
On Saturday, Julie and I met up for our taper long run. Granted it was still 12 miles, but it was a drastic reduction in mileage which was a very welcome change. But as I was thinking about it earlier today, 12 miles is still far… so there’s that.
We saw a lot of wildlife on our run on Saturday. We got so close to a blue heron. It was amazing! We’ve seen them before but this was the first time we were able to get so close. We also saw a muskrat, plenty of deer, and tons of birds.
My goal for Saturday’s run was a marathon pace run. I found it somewhat difficult to maintain pace. I did it and then some, but it was tough for sure. Looking back on my splits, there were three miles (miles 5-7) that were on pace. All the rest were 10-20 seconds faster than goal pace. I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull that off come race day. 26.2 miles is hella longer than 12 miles. But again, I was running faster than I would be come race day.
Sunday — yoga for runners
I definitely needed a good stretch on Sunday. I had a window of time in the afternoon to do yoga but I opted to wait for the evening when the house was quieting down a bit. I waited a bit too long but I wanted to enjoy the weather so I took my practice outside. It ended up being pitch black by the time I was finished, which made for some interesting balance poses. I toppled quite a few times, in fact. But it was a beautiful evening and I’m glad I did it outside.
I’m shockingly calm being this close to a race. I can’t quite explain it. All I know is that I hope my zen hangs around for a while. I much prefer the peace and calm to the frantic anxiety I normally experience before a big race. Then again, I’m still 12 days out from the Marine Corps Marathon and a lot can change in those 12 days. I’ll let you know how I’m feeling next week when I’m just five days out from race day… 🙂
xo
TALK TO ME!
Have you practiced yoga at night?
Do you see a lot of wildlife on your runs?
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, and myself, Susie, Debbie, and Lora Marie for the Running Coaches’ Corner linkup.
