Last November, I ran my first 26.2—the Richmond Marathon. At the mid-way point of that training, I had a fun little blog post that detailed my running travels. I thought it’d be fun to do that same thing this year, as I train for the Marine Corps Marathon. Last year, I trained for 20 weeks. This year however, I decided to work through a 16 week plan; hence there are some variations.
Many things are different about this years’ training {hello, miles!}, but one thing remains true—I continue to truly enjoy running & strive each time I hit the pavement to positively impact my ultimate marathon time! As of tomorrow, I have 8 weeks left of training; or 56 days. EEEEKKKK!
Here is some fun info {same data points as last year!} about the last 8 weeks:
- Total Distance – 302 miles
- Average # of Weekly Miles – 37.75 miles
- Total # of Runs – 38
- Total # of Hours – 46hr 52min 2sec
- Calories Burned – 26,272
- Longest Run – 18-miler
- Shortest Run – 1-miler
- Fastest Paced Run – Timed 1-miler for the Summer Series (6:54min/mile) ß exact same time & race as last year!
- Slowest Paced Run – 3.1 mile run with the DoubleBOB + 2 boys, on trail/packed gravel, in the 90+ degree afternoon heat! Ouch. (10:04/mile)
- # of Races – Two 5Ks (ECSC & Memorial Scholarship), plus the other 3 Tidewater Striders Summer Series “races”
- # of “other” fitness workouts – 2 Stroller Strides classes
- # of 24-hour shifts worked {trust me, this matters!} – 10 (plus four 12-hour shifts & two 8-hour shifts)
- Most Favorite Workout – A long run of 17+ miles where I felt like I could have run much longer. It was the final run with a friend who has moved to DC, along with 2 other fabulous running friends. Those girls really “showed up” & staggered the miles so that I could run practically the whole thing with someone!
- Most Disliked Workout – It’s a toss-up between 2 runs, about 12 hours apart—an “easy” evening 6-miler, followed by a 10-mile “tempo” run the following morning. Both were simply awful & really made me question my decision to train for a Fall marathon through the humid Summer heat of Southeastern Virginia.
- # of Twins + a Hubby Who Have Survived the 1st Half – 3 total; they’re getting more used to my “addiction” now & are coping better (ha!)
So, what happens next?! Well, I log a ton of miles, & then I try to pull out a big PR on October 25th. Avoiding injury, insanity, & death is also on that list. From a race standpoint, I will be running 2 more races, both half marathons, before I toe the start line of the MCM—the Virginia Beach Rock n’ Roll next weekend & the Crawlin’ Crab in early October. My longest run will be a 22-miler & my highest mileage week will top out at 60 miles. While I would love to shoot for a Boston Qualifier in the Marine Corps Marathon, that simply is not on my radar at this point of my running journey. To be honest & realistic, I feel that I really need those extra 5-10 minutes that will come when I “age up” to the 35/40-year-old age bracket. So, that goal will become more realistic in a few years. I think. Until then, I am chasing down a 15 minute PR, with a MCM goal time of 3:40. There, I said it. It is out there to the internet universe & therefore, I must work hard for that time. Deep breaths!
Leave a Reply