I had to get a little creative this week with my schedule. I am thankful I was able to get all 32 miles completed. This also marks the last official increase week. I finally reached the magical 20 mile run and it was emotional.
Sunday:
I was able to get a little bike ride in! I rode 10.24 miles in 52:43 and it felt fantastic. This was my first ride this year. Isn’t that sad? I also hooked up all the fancy pants Garmin equipment to my bike, but I did something wrong and it didn’t track my cadence. Oh well, I will investigate further and see what I did wrong.
Monday:
I ran 4 miles in 38:56 with an average pace of 9:03 minutes/mile. My average heart rate was 160 bpm.
Tuesday:
I ran 5 miles in 45:20 with an average pace of 9:15 minutes/mile. My average heart rate was 161 bpm. I ran this on Feaster Trail. Aaron took the boys to school, so I was able to run and shower before my 9:30 class! The folks that set next to me were quite happy.
Wednesday:
I went on a 3.14 mile walk to clear my head and relieve some stress. It felt good.
Thursday:
I rested and moved this run to Saturday.
Friday:
I ran 20 miles in 3:30:05 with an average pace of 10:30 minutes/mile. My average heart rate was 147 bpm. Dude, I ran 20 miles with a pretty good pace. Every single step of this run was all in my head. I knew it was just 2 more miles than my previous long run and I had no doubts I could complete what I started. The time passed quickly and I actually enjoyed the entire run. I also did not ice after the run. I think that made me a little more sore, but hopefully stronger. I need a foam roller.
Saturday:
I ran 3 miles in 30:27 with an average pace of 10:08 minutes/mile. My average heart rate was 144 bpm. I moved Thursday’s scheduled short run to Saturday and used it for a recovery run. I was a little sore at the beginning, but after about 2 miles, I started to limber up. I believe I am in love with recovery runs.
I am officially in taper mode for my very first marathon! I am so proud of myself and so thankful that my family has supported me in this journey. I could not have spent all this time training if it weren’t for them.
What do you think?