Regrouping:
Ok, I know that I'm supposed to be in week 4-8 of marathon training. ;) After returning from Spain (during the 1st week in August), it has been extremely difficult return to Richmond Marathon training. A few reasons:
The Olympic Games: I think the Olympics really did a number because I was staying up way too late watching them, which messed up my sleep schedule. It's really hard to wake up at 5 or 6 am when you go to bed at 3 am. Lol. I do not know what I'm going to do in a couple of weeks because I really want to check out the Paralympic Games. ;)
Post-vacation work: Vacationing from an American point of view is a double-edged sword. Pro: it is a great to get away for a couple of weeks. Con: catching up on all the work you missed, while staying on top of the new/current work, is a pain.
Quitting smoking...again: At the beginning of the summer, I told myself that I wanted to quit smoking by Labor Day. Since I finished my last carton of cigs ~2 weeks ago, I figured why not start now.
I went to my local Target and picked up a box of these lovely nicotine patches, which "worked" the last time I quit seven or eight years ago.
BTW, when the hell did Target start selling vibrators?
Unfortunately for me, the first couple of weeks on the patches is HELL. Although my body technically is still receiving nicotine through the patches, my body still has intense withdrawal pains. Most of my "pain" come in the form of INTENSE nightmares and literally sweating my ass off. Let's just say that a couple of nights, I sweated so much while sleeping that I did not know if I pissed the bed.
I addition to the patches, I have been reading (well listening to) Alan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking without Willpower. Several folks have personally told me that this book worked for them. Something must really happens in the last chapter of the book, because I have been told that once you finish the book, you will not want to pick up a cigarette again. Right now, I'm about 64% through the book, but I do not feel any different about smoking...except extreme guilt for being a "nicotine-addicted slave to cigarettes." Eh, I guess we'll see. Also, sometimes, I wonder if it is better to actually read the book rather than (passively) listening to the audiobook while doing other things.
Ok, I'm getting way off topic because this was supposed to be marathon training update. Perhaps, I'll give a smoking cessation update once I hit 30 days.
Training Plan:
Since I'm staring my marathon training again, I'm not sure that I will reach my target time of 4.5 hours because I have downgraded myself from five to three months of training.
But, I guess I'll just power on. Since I can run 10 miles with little (well, with some) effort, I should be able to hit at least a 20-mi long run during these three months...IF I do not skip any long runs OR succumb to an injury.
I started (well, restarted) my training program with an "easy" 11 mile run. I was very dedicated because i was out on the road by 5:30 am. Let's hope this dedication will stick with me.
I did a "let your feet take you where they want" run, which took me from Wheaton to Silver Spring to DC and back.
Since my last long run was 2-3 weeks ago, I took this run very slow and walked 0.25 miles for each mile. While the run was very slow, I will say that I actually enjoyed it and realized that I missed running. I suppose those feelings are great because I need to work my way up to running at least 20 miles during a training run.
Courtesy of ChatGPT, this will be my training plan going forward.
Mondays: Strength training.
Tuesdays: Speed work, which will include intervals, hill workouts or tempo runs.
Wednesdays: Strength training or HIIT.
Thursdays: 3-7 miles, depending how I feel. For this task, I plan to run home from work along one of the bus routes. That way, I can hop on the bus for the rest of the trip once I become tired.
Fridays: Rest day or active recovery (e.g., walking, yoga, general stretching)
Saturdays (or Sundays, depending on the weather and my laziness): Long runs and an optional core workout.
Sunday: Rest
Goals for the week:
-Nightly stretches around 8/9 pm, and getting to bed by 11 pm.
-Pack my food and clothes for the next day by 6-7 pm.