We are back from Rio! We got back last week from our South America trip (Paraguay to visit family then Rio for the Olympics). Overall, it was an amazing trip. Will post a full recap of it later this week.
Today, I wanted to talk about how marathon training is going so far. Last week was week 8 (wow) and I’d say training is mediocre. We were away fro 2 weeks so the training didn’t go as planned. It’s tough because in Paraguay, every day was packed with visiting family. Our entire family is in Paraguay, so when we go, we try to see as many people as possible.
Also, it’s not safe to run on the roads in Paraguay, which makes it even harder to run because we have to drive 30-40 minutes to the park. So unfortunately, we didn’t get any long runs in during that time, and probably only ran 2-3 times each week.
So last week was our first week back, and although the plan said to shoot for 14-15 miles, we have only ran up to 10, so I said let’s stick to 10 miles to get back into the flow of things. We still have 10 weeks left so I’m hoping we still have time to build up to those long runs and be fine. Here’s how last week looked:
MONDAY - Off. This was the day we got back from Rio. That 9.5 hour overnight flight is killer.
TUESDAY - 3 miles. Went on a 2 mile out and back, but then walked the last mile with my mom. It was super hot and humid, and being our first run back, I felt super out of shape haha. So we took it easy.
WEDNESDAY – AM 2 miles with my XC team. PM 5 miles on the track. We did a 1.5 mile warmup, then 5×1000 meter repeats, then a short cooldown. Felt pretty good actually.
THURSDAY - 4.5 miles, out and back, easy pace.
FRIDAY - 10 mile long run. UGH this run. From the beginning I knew it was going to be an off day. Isn’t that the worst when you’re at mile 1 or 2 of a long run and already feel like crap?
I tried GENUCAN before the run, and then had a DOUBLE side cramp for the whole 10 miles. I had to stop and walk a bunch. It was awful and the slowest run. But I’m glad I finished because I thought about qutiting at 3 miles, 5 miles, and 7 miles lol. But I figured I had nothing to do that night anyway so I could go slow, plus we had a wedding the next day so it was the only day I could get it done.
Has anyone tried GENUCAN and have tips? I’m going to try it one more time during this week’s long run. Hoping it goes better. I feel like I just never feel good on long runs. I absolutely dread long runs, and they make me question why I signed up for a marathon haha.
SATURDAY - 4 miles, recovery run.
TOTAL MILES: 28.5 miles
How do you all usually fuel for long runs? I have tried gels but feel like I still don’t have sufficient energy towards the end. GenUCAN gives me good energy but the cramp issue is annoying. Hmm…
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