9 - TWR 3 - Training Week Recap (4/3-9)

3 weeks out from Eugene Marathon!

Total Run Mileage: 56.28mi / 90.57km

Format: (Planned / Actual); “” denotes that the workout what completed as planned

• Monday: Full Recovery Day / “”, cafe day, blogging
• Tuesday: Easy 10 mi + Strength Maintenance / “”
• Wednesday: Easy 4 mi / “”
• Thursday: 14 mi Midweek Long Run / “” + hamstring+calf work + 8 min yoga
• Friday: Easy 4 mi / “” + 2.5 mi hike
• Saturday: 20 mi Long Run / “” + ham+calf work + 20 min yoga
• Sunday: Easy 4 mi / “”

This is my 4th consecutive week above 50 miles! I think this is the most consistent I’ve ever been at this volume. As of yesterday I’ve also hit 600.4 miles run this year. Huge! (For me). I feel like I’ve really gotten into a groove with running and incorporating it into my lifestyle. I’ve managed to mostly keep to my plan since the very beginning of the year, while making some compromises/concessions to other life priorities.

In the past the swings had been much more extreme, partly I think due to a lack of focus. I wanted to do too many things at once. This time last year I was prepping for my Everest Base Camp trek, so I devoted a lot of my weekend time/energy to hiking. Naturally that meant spending less time running and also having less energy to devote to running. I also was definitely less clear on what I really wanted out of marathon running. The pipe dream of the 2028 Olympic Trials was present in my mind, but it felt so nebulous and far out that it was hard to really be driven by that end goal. Also EBC was a really cool thing to train for. Anyway, that was just an aside on how other priorities can be distractions while also being worthwhile.

Overall this training week felt like I was sticking true to my plan. The distribution of miles across the runs was interesting though: 10, 4, 14, 4, 20, 4. So undulating. Those 4 milers really helped to feel like I was still getting my work in for the day and also prepping for the big run the next day. It’s still wild to me that looking at the 14 and 20 on my training calendar didn’t really phase me. On the mornings of those runs, those numbers were more simply just things I had to do. Not in a draggy “ugh I have to do this” way but in a “it’s my duty..passion(?!?)”. Something like that. I feel good. I feel happy. I want to be able to say that after each training week, and for the past couple weeks, I have been able to!

Okay now the biggest thing on my mind, or maybe more accurately the biggest thing I’m trying to get on my mind..

Eugene Marathon, 4/30/2023.

Less than three weeks away! That hasn’t hit me yet.. at least, I was expecting it to hit harder now than it is. Part of it is that I’ve been really wrapped up in my personal and work life to give much more thought to running than the daily run planning and the actual running. I’m glad I have this space though to focus on it and sift my brain for any thoughts on it.

The other major part is that my training’s been going really well! I truly feel like I’ve done most of what I can and want to do with this training cycle. I didn’t skimp on workouts or get injured or sick. And I’ve managed to that while being mostly happy doing all the runs. So I have a lot of confidence that I’ll show up to the starting line honest with myself and well-prepared. The only big unknown is what the day itself will bring.

When looking at my training plan, I usually don’t look further than the week directly in front of me. I was curious though if I have a taper in the plan. Usually a taper involves decreasing mileage but maintaining some intensity starting a few weeks before the race to ensure that you show up to race day with fresh legs and without loss of fitness from running less. I’ve got 58 miles planned this week, 45 the next, and 57.3 miles on race week. So mini taper? I’m not thinking about it much. I trust my coach, and again, training’s been going well.

A couple discrete things I do want to think about before the race:

• Mindset training - overall just getting my mind ready to race. This might involve meditation, visualization exercises of different race scenarios, watching the anime Run with the Wind.
• Race day warm-up routine - dynamic stretches, short sprints, drills?
• Race day routine - (also the night-before routine). Laying out my race kit, bedtime, morning stretches and meditation, journaling, etc.
• Carb loading - a little self explanatory. I wanna make sure my energy stores are topped off! I did this kinda dirty for 2022 CIM with lots of sugary things, so I’ll see how I can eat more cleanly.

Okay that’s it for this week’s Monday reflection and brain dump. I’m gonna devote some time specifically on these topics and likely some blog posts. Stay tuned!

4/10-16 Planned

• Monday: Full Recovery Day
• Tuesday: 10 mi Fartlek Workout
• Wednesday: Easy 4 mi
• Thursday: 14 mi Midweek Long Run
• Friday: Easy 4 mi + Strength Maintenance
• Saturday: 18 mi Long Run Interval Workout
• Sunday: Easy 8 mi

LET’S GOOOOOO