Week 6 of Marathon Training 8/13 - 8/19

The after effects of last Sunday's nightmarish run carried over into this week's training. I took Monday off as planned and considered running on Tuesday, but my legs still felt pretty tight and weak so I took Tuesday off as well thinking that an extra day off from running might be wise.

I went over to the track on Wednesday for my speed session and almost didn't make it through the workout. After warming up, I started off with two 1200m repeats. I was able to run the first at the target pace, but really dropped off on the second 1200. Next, I moved on to four 800m repeats. On the first one, I had to stop after the first lap and recover myself before running the second lap to finish the 800m. At that point, I really wanted to just pack it in and go home. I had to talk myself into staying and finishing the workout. I was exhausted and disgusted. I could run about a half a lap before my legs would start feeling like rubber. I made it through the workout, but I wasn't able to hit my target pace for any of my 800m repeats.

On Thursday, I played volleyball and I noticed that my legs still didn't seem to have the jump and the snap that they normally do. On Friday, I headed out for my 5-mile tempo run. I usually like to wait until evening to run when it's hot outside, but I wasn't able to do that because we had company coming over at 7:00pm. I left the house at around 4:30pm for my run. It was warm and humid, and I felt pretty crappy at the outset of the run. The sun was really pounding on me, and I felt hot and still slightly fatigued. I still was able to run way better than I had on Wednesday although I didn't hit my target pace for most of the miles.

I got up this morning and capped off my week with a 15-mile long run. It was cool and overcast outside and the lack of stifling humidity was very refreshing. I ran fairly well and felt about 200% better than I did last Sunday on my 14-miler. My legs did start to tighten up slightly at the end, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I was able to finish the run at a fairly strong pace and still felt good. After three consecutive subpar workouts, it was nice to finish off the week with a run that felt productive.

Wed 8/15: Speed Work 2x1200m, 4x800m
Fri 8/17: 5-mile tempo run (5 miles at mid tempo pace)
Sun 8/19: 15 mile long run