Okay so the long run was done yesterday but I completely forgot to blog about it. Life is busy.... It felt really good to type out the title to this post. It is the first time that I have ever gotten to a week 9 in marathon training. Until now I have only made it to week 8 and then I was always broken. I guess that means that no matter what happens I still have made it one step closer to my ultimate goal this go round!! I AM OVER HALF WAY THROUGH TRAINING.........whooo hoooooo!!!!
So I am changing my schedule a little right now. Jaime is available on Thursdays and since she is willing to run part of my runs with me, Thursday will be my new long run day. From a schedule standpoint it makes it a little harder b/c Wed is my mid week semi long run. This Wednesday I ran my scheduled 7 mile run with an average pace of 8:04. I was worried about the long run b/c my leg had been acting up a lot more after that 15 mile run. Still I was willing to meet Jaime and run with her. We met at the Monon in Carmel just like last week. She needed to do 8 and this week for me was a taper week of 13 miles. I had already set in my mind that I was going to go slower for this long run. I was worried Jaime was going to kill me. Luckily the two of us could not possibly be any more alike. Her legs were feeling very tired from her faster Wednesday run. As a result we actually went slower. I think my legs very much appreciated this change of pace. So Jaime and I ran 7.85 miles with a pace of 8:39 per mile. Once Jaime was done, I went back out for the final 5.15 miles. My pace was still slower at average of 8:24 min per mile. Once done I was shocked at how good I felt. Totally different feeling from last week. I was not disoriented on my drive home. I stopped at Starbucks for a frozen coffee. I think that helped a lot. I am sure the woman serving me thought I looked strange with white salt and dead bugs all over my forehead.
I still felt great even when I got home. I had a lot more energy this go round. I was pretty excited that I made it thru a week 9 long run. My legs held up. My back flared a little but I was thrilled my right leg was not worse. I had PT this morning where we stretched my leg, focused on my back some and went over for the billionth time the plan for this marathon......."to finish the race." My therapist didn't take long to figure out that he was gonna have to tell me this over and over and over in the hopes that I follow his advice and not screw things up. Speed is NOT the plan. Slow and steady is how I am gonna finish this training and make it to race day. Next week we are going to do therapy on Thursday at the hospital instead of the Y (I for one am super happy about this change in location:) so that he can stretch me out before my 17 mile attempt. Gosh just typing that sounds daunting.
After therapy today things did not quite go as I had planned. I wanted to ride the bike. I did for 30 minutes. I was gone from the gym so long that I had almost forgotten about army man. He however did not forget me and was thrilled to see me back at the gym. I don't know why this person makes me so uncomfortable but he does, and I can't stand when he comes up behind me! Moving on..... After the bike, I wanted to do 4 miles on T mill at the Y. Here is where my legs said NO WAY IN HELL! I had some pretty intense pain from the start in my thigh. So bad that I thought I almost was going to pass out. Only those in my family know that is my typical reaction to two things, pain and blood. Growing up I did this many many times. So I stopped after 2.5 miles. I think this is my first failed run since starting this training. I have had some scheduled runs that were never started but it is rare for me to stop once I do start. Still it was the smart thing to do. My leg was excruciating the entire drive home. I thought I was going to have to waste one of my percocets (that I have had since my 2010 surgery and try and save for races when broken). Instead I took a Mobic and things got better. Now I will take that much need rest day tomorrow and try again with 4 miles on Sunday!
I am still very happy to have made it this far. I hope the weeks continue to tick on by quickly. May 20th can not come fast enough.
I hope everyone has a great weekend enjoying this amazing weather. 80's in March. How totally awesome is that. I on the other hand am on call and working all weekend. BOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I hate call weekends. I just can't say that enough.
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