Overview:
Looks like the die has been cast, and I’m officially registered for this year’s Marine Corps Marathon. I will admit that hitting the ‘register’ button was an impromptu decision that took place around 1 or 2 am. Although I knew nothing about this marathon at the time of registering, many folks have said that I should give it a shot.
Since I alway complain about the temperatures while training for fall marathons during the summer, this meme is perfect for me.
Training:
The previous week’s plan:
Monday: 3mi easy
Tuesday: X-train or rest
Wednesday: 6mi ladders
Thursday: 3mi easy
Friday: X-train or rest
Saturday: Rest bc I couldn’t get it together to do the run
Sunday: 13mi long run
One cool thing about running in this is seeing so many ‘wild’ animals. I routinely see deer, rabbits, and chipmunks during my runs – something that I rarely saw in in NYC.
I think that I should invest in one of these alarms. Actually, maybe I could get my iPhone to play a sound clip of a vomiting dog as the alarm.
Normally, seven or eight weeks into marathon training, I start hating marathon training. This time around, I’ve noticed that I’m looking forward to certain workouts especially speed workouts and long runs (for the most point). This week’s speed workout called for ladders, which are “fun”. This week’s ladders were 400 m (VO2 max pace) -> 800 m (tempo run pace) -> 1600 m (marathon pace) -> 1600 m -> 800 m -> 400 m. I dunno, there’s something about a speed workout that makes me feel quite accomplished.
Although I’m sticking to my plan (and completing the majority of my training runs), I think the plan is a bit too easy (at times). Ok, I take that back, it’s not too easy. Having run about 8 or 9 marathons, I know that I can (and should) do more. That said, I have to keep reminding myself that I’m starting from scratch.
LONG RUN CHRONICLES:
I’ve had it! I’m done trying to use my long runs as a way to explore my new area. I’m realizing that combining technology with a long run frustrates the hell out of me. For this week’s 13 mile long run, I found a nice little route on Strava that would give me a tour of the Silver Spring/Wheaton/Glenmont area. Long story short, I ran about 10 out of the planned 13 miles. You can see below that I did not close the loop.
Issue 1: Strava’s map did not let me zoom in far enough to see certain street names. Unfortunately, I had to rely on the the little blue tracker dot, which would take a few minutes to update - probably due to a weak signal in the area. On multiple occasions, I did not know if I made the correct turn until a few meters after making the turn. Some might know that backtracking is one of my biggest annoyances while running.
Issue 2: Since I’m still somewhat unfamiliar with the area, I had to constantly check the app to make sure that I was on the correct route. Over time, this became mentally draining and lowered my motivation. One aspect that I like about long runs is not having to check my watch of phone a bunch of times. Since I constantly had to check app’s map to figure out where was or where I was going, I’m frequently reminded about how slow I’m running slow or how many miles are remaining. This isn’t a bad thing at the beginning of a run, but about midway, I’m over it (especially when it’s hot).
Issue 3: At some point during the run, I was like something isn’t right especially once I saw this sign.
When I started the route, I was running in the opposite direction of the route’s outline. Around Mile 9, I noticed that I was running in the correct direction of the route. So I was like how the hell did this happen? One possibility: When my new running shorts become wet with sweat, they start “controlling” my phone. So, I think my shorts selected a different route while I was running, which I started following the second route instead of my original route. When I realized this happened, I was beyond pissed off and became extra annoyed because it was getting hotter. Since I was near a bus stop, I took the bus back to the park’s parking lot. The sad thing: At that point, I just had to run along the bus route to return to my starting point. But, like I said earlier, I was over it. Also, there was no shade on that street.
Going forward for long runs, I just gonna build off of my Forest Glen to the Washington Monument 10-mile route. I pretty much have to make 1-2 turns and run in a straight line to the tall, pointy building.
For instance, if I have a 15 mile run, I can do one or two things:
Run 7.5 in one direction and 7.5 miles back to return to my starting point.
Run the 10 mile route, run an additional 5 miles in Washington DC, and take the metro back to Silver Spring, MD. Since DC somewhat is built on a grid and most of of the streets are lettered and numbered, it’s pretty much impossible to get lost.
Strength Training:
Last week, I mentioned that I joined my local rec center. So, um, yeah, no, I think that I’ll just have to bite the bullet and get a REAL gym membership. My local rec center gym is pretty close, I have a couple of “minor” issues:
the weight room was pretty small, and I’ve seen larger weight rooms in hotels.
the hours are kind of weird. In my history of “rec center’ing”, I don’t think I’ve visited a rec center that didn’t open before 7 am. The hours of operation for the one nearest to us are from 9 am to 8 pm.
Goals for the week:
-Starting riding my bicycle from work to sneak in an extra cardio workout.
-Return to nightly stretching.
-Register for a few races. Someone on Twitter (or was it Facebook) clued me in to Run Washington, which has a collection of races in DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV).
TRAINING PLAN:
