Training Tuesday comin’ at ya, folks. Week 15 was amazing. But first — I just found out my bib number for the Marine Corps Marathon and while I’m not sharing it with the general public at this time, it gave me #allthefeels. My bib starts with my favorite number — it’s like we were meant to be together. I’m so excited for MCM. I know it’ll be over in a flash so I’ll relish all the training and the excitement for as long as I can.
Marine Corps Marathon Training: Week 15
Track Tuesday — 7.05 miles
Track Tuesday was uh… interesting… last week. The track I run on is very close to a high school and they just so happen to be having a fire drill while I was running. “Jog faster!” Yeah, kid, I was a jerk teenager once, too. Aside from the lovely students I got to hear from, I had a great morning. It started off eerily foggy but when the fog lifted the sun came out. I ran 20 — you read that right — 400m repeats. It was a chore just to keep the math straight which most definitely helped pass the time. But it was a great run on the track for sure.
Wednesday — 6.14 miles
Yeah, so Wednesday. I wrote a post last week based on some feelings generated from Wednesday’s run. Here’s what happened:
I met my friend at 5:45 am for some pre-dawn miles. We met in the parking lot we always meet at and it was pitch black. I had my headlamp but opted not to run with my phone. She didn’t bring hers either, though she did have a pouch with scissors (foreshadowing here). We started our run but instead of running in the woods on the trail, we opted to run on the road where we were more in the open. There were no other runners, no lights, no nothing in the park so this seemed like the better option.
As we crested a steep hill and caught our breath, we were passed by a somewhat sketchy car. It was hard to tell what kind of car or who was in it because we were blinded by headlights, but we both noticed it was an older car and it was driving oddly slow. We kept running along and for some reason I thought to turn off my headlamp and turn around. I’m not sure what prompted me to do so, but when I turned, I saw the car was turning around toward us. It was in a very precarious location on the road through the park which instantaneously sent red flags up in my already-paranoid brain. We hopped into the woods to quickly decide what to do. The car in question was essentially blocking our path back to our cars. We had two options — keep running straight or turn and head toward my running partner’s house which was only 2 miles away.
We chose to run toward her house. Before we could begin making our way to the road we needed to take, we saw what we thought was the car coming toward us so we ducked in the woods and hid from the headlights. We thought we were safe as the car passed so we started running in the direction of our cars. That’s when we saw it — the car was still parked there, this time idling with the parking lights on. Both of us thought whoever it was intended to harm us so we sprinted as fast as we could to a main road and into relative safety.
The car never came our way but we were both certain if I hadn’t turned off my headlamp we might have been followed and who knows what could have happened then. Needless to say, we were both shaken up through the rest of our run. We managed to get our 6 miles in, but it could have been a little less drama-filled for my taste.
Thursday — 8 miles
Thursday’s run was much better than Wednesday’s. I ran in daylight, on busy roads, and it was warm. It wasn’t as fast as I was hoping and it wasn’t a true progression run, but hey, overall it was great so I’m not complaining.
Saturday — 20 miles
Saturday turned out to be an amazing run. I took my friend, Julie, through all the neighborhoods of my youth. It’s always fun to explore familiar areas in a different way — it’s one thing to drive the same roads for years on end, but it’s quite another to travel by foot and relive some great memories. We had several water stops on the way which made it quite an entertaining route.
Unfortunately, we were freezing cold for the first few miles. It was supposed to be much warmer than it actually was and our arms and hands were frozen. I finally called my husband and asked him to bring us some arm warmers. Those arm warmers were a godsend. They greatly improved our overall moods and comfort levels.
We stopped at one of my friends’ mailboxes for a water refill and she had stocked it with candy! BEST AID STATION EVER! No joke. It was amazing. I fueled the rest of my run with chocolate and it was glorious.
After the chocolate aid station we had to run on a somewhat busy road for a little while. It was definitely dicey, but that’s when I flipped on the tunes and kind of zoned out. We had to run single file so there was no way we were able to talk through the wind and above the passing cars.
My right leg started to make itself known around mile 14 but I shut it down. I said, “leg, you better shut the heck up because ain’t no one got time for that!” And wouldn’t you know it — it listened! I’m not sure how I made it stop talking but when I finished 20 miles I was tired from being tired — not tired from being in pain and broken — which is a huge win in my book.
Overall it was a great run. It was a fantastic mental boost and we both finished in great moods. And as an added bonus, my husband made us breakfast when we got back. I swear, I have the husband ever. <3
Sunday — yoga for runners
Technically, I was supposed to run a few recovery miles on Sunday but let’s face it, I was exhausted. I had to go with my son to Sunday school in the morning for a parent-child activity and then we were having a a few friends and family over for his birthday party on Sunday afternoon. I opted to do some yoga for runners quickly in the afternoon and it felt amazing to stretch my legs. Plus it gave me some much needed energy for the evening.
I’m officially into taper now and I can’t believe it. The workouts won’t change too much over the next two weeks except by volume. I think my body will appreciate the much needed rest. This training cycle has lasted forever and yet it’s flown by in the blink of an eye…
xo
TALK TO ME!
Have you ever had an encounter with a creepy person or vehicle?
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.
