Monday, September 7, 2009

Only 75 days until Philly !

Hard to believe that the Philly Marathon is only 75 days away. I am 1/3 of the way thru my 18 week training program! Time is flying by. Their website has only 500 spots left for the marathon, it seems to be filling up quite nicely.

The past week, I felt really good after the 20miler on Sunday. I have added salt to the beginning and middle of my long runs, and it seems to have helped with how the hammys have felt. I also added, along with my HammerRecoverite ,a protein bar after my long runs.

Tuesday, I went out for a nice tempo run. I had 1 hour to get in my 6 miler, since I was running while my oldest son was in his karate class. My goal was 8 minute miles, but wasn't sure if I had it in me after the 20 miler. I ended up right on! I did the 6 miles in 47:38, a 7:55 avg.

I did have a turtle sighting! Shoreturtle and his wife passed me, on their way to Princeton. They caught me committing the #1 rule of running on the streets. I was running with the traffic, instead of against it.

I had 8 on the schedule for Wednesday, but a combination of my car in the shop, 2 boys having karate, I didn't have the time to run. And yes, I have been beating myself up over it. I know missing a day in early Sept. won't have an effect in the big picture of training, but it's not something I want to become a habit.

I made it a point of getting up early and getting my 6 miles in on Thursday. I did the 6.12 miles in 51:41, for an 8:26 avg. It was nice, on this run to have my fastest mile as my last, at 8:09.

Saturday, I was out with the TrailRuns group. We did the entire loop around Mercer County Lake, which included some bushwhacking! Luckily, no ticks this time! The loop was 7.23 miles long, and the last 1/2 mile or so, Nate kicked it up a few notches, when we got on a nice clear trail.

Sunday, I slept in a bit, since I had to do 6, nice to have a recovery week! I made this a 2 part run. I felt really good, so I went out for the 6 at a marathon pace. I did the 6 in 50:20, 8:22 pace. I did mile 6 as my fastest at 8:07. From the 6 mile point, I reset my Garmin, and did another 4 miles in my training pace. I know I only had to run 6, but I felt good, and missing the 8 on Wed, it had me wanting to make up some of those miles. I ran the 4 miles in 35:17, a 8:48 avg.

I have (2)5 milers to run Tuesday & Thursday, and plan to do just them. I have felt a bit of discomfort in the right ankle recently, so this is a good time to let it rest a bit.

Enjoy the week, it'll be another hectic week around these parts, with the boys back in school, karate lessons, soccer practice, and fall ball starting!

8 comments:

sneakersister said...

It sounds like things are going well with the training. I may just snag one of those 500 remaining spots. I feel like my training has been so strong this year, I may just go for it. Hopefully I'll bump into you down there. I've also started hanging out in the Philly thread over at RW.

Keep up the great work.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Sounds like the training is right on schedule, brother.

Rest that ankle. That's an order!

NJShoreRun said...

Hmmm, 500 spots left. Might have to think about that one. As for salt, I'd consider using more than salt- like Hammer Endurolyes or SuccedeCaps S!Caps. Check out the runner's fueling bible @
http://www.hammernutrition.com/downloads/fuelinghandbook.pdf

billdowis said...

Can you believe that marathon is so close? I am running it this year and it will be my first marathon. I am surprised that I have stuck to my training plan so far, but I am feeling really good about it.

I am not as fast as you, but I am confident that I will have a really good finish!

Denise said...

Yikes...I didn't even realize we're that close!! I think I'm going to be more nervous this year for it...going for the BQ and all.

joyRuN said...

Dang. Only 500 spots left, huh?

Darrell said...

You have to take advaantage of the opportunities that present themselves with a busy life. Nice run during karate practice.

sRod said...

Running with traffic? Are you asking to get hit?