Marathon #7: Ready or Not, Here I Come

I have been training like crazy over the past several months and not just myself, I've been super busy working with our athletes at the Factory as well as getting my Strength2Run program off the ground!  It's been such a hectic couple of weeks since getting back from the Chicago Marathon, I almost completely forgot I was training for another marathon.  Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, I certainly have been running.  But I haven't had much time to really think about the race to be honest, and I have been slacking on my weekly training logs.

With my next marathon in just 6 days, I figured now is as good as time as any to get back to my journal entries.  So here is a recap of last week's training and what's to come for race week...

Monday: Upper Lift
Normally I teach spin on Monday's but we are conducting interviews for a new coach at our gym, so I had to be there.  So rather than spin, I taught our adult group that morning, had the interview then got in a little lunch time lift.  Hunter went for a run while I was lifting and I thought about going with him or having him wait since we've been running together most Monday's lately.  But my hamstring has been a little tweaky since Chicago so I figured it best to take it easy in hopes it feels better for Space Coast.  I did upper with some mobility work and foam rolling.

Tuesday: 7 @MGP
I suppose I could or should have done speed work on the treadmill like I do most Tuesday's on my lunch break.  But the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS, so I had to take advantage of that and get some miles in outside.  Plus with an iffy hamstring, I figured the easier pace would be better than pushing the limits with speed work.  70 degrees and overcast, the miles flew by and the hamstring held up ok, but became pretty tight as the day went on.

Wednesday: Upper + Mobility + Yoga
Another busy day with work so I snuck in a quick upper body lift with the hubster on our lunch break.  I did (finally) take some time to work on my hamstring with some mobility work and a lot of foam rolling for my quads (specifically VMO), adductors and little over into my IT band.  That along with the Yoga class I taught later that night really seemed to help with the hammy.  I was starting to think the hamstring thing may just be in my head, I am tapering after all so something has to go wrong, right!?!

Thursday: Easy 5
Another gorgeous weather day, so I again had to take my run outside.  Knowing I wouldn't have much time to get my race day essentials race week because of the holiday, I figured I would make the trip over to Fleet Feet and Whole Foods and run at Cranesroost Park near by.  It's a really nice paved trail around a lake that is about a mile around.  With the perfect weather and the Christmas decorations up, it was definitely a nice run.  Unfortunately all that work I did for my hamstring the day before didn't seem to stick and it was giving me a little trouble again.  I was getting a little frustrated and bummed out, but I was prepared for something like this to happen when I jumped right back into marathon training after Chicago.  Fortunately it is not a major issue that I can totally treat, and if I were not running a marathon in a few days, I wouldn't be in the slightest bit concerned about it.  And besides, I am not putting any major pressure on myself for Space Coast, so no reason to get too bummed about an annoying hammy.

Friday: Upper Lift + Core
It's important to taper strength training too in preparation for race day, so I'm really having to pull back in the weight room.  Friday was a lot of accessory lifting, aka The Gun Show, and some core work.  As a strength coach and athlete, my training focuses primarily on performance.  But I would be lying if I said I don't do it for the muscles too ;-) so it's fun to "waste" some time in the gym on shoulders, bis and tris every now and then.  Later that evening I spent quite a bit of time with The Stick to roll out my legs.  I really wanted to get a good run in the next day and a lot of that depended on how the hamstring would hold up.

Saturday: 10 miles + Taper Time!
Decided to do my last double digit run of the training cycle on the treadmill, so I was able to sleep in with the family, enjoy some coffee and head over the the gym a little later in the morning.  I woke up feeling a little tight in my hamstring and sore from all the rolling, so I was a little apprehensive how the run would go.  I started off at a pretty conservative pace and just as I suspected, my leg felt pretty tight.  After a couple of miles, however, it started to loosen up some, so I was able to push the pace a little.  At about 6.5 miles, I had virtually no issues with my leg and was able to pick up the pace even more.  I finished the 10 miles out pretty strong with an over all average pace of around 7:30.  I rolled the legs a little after the run and went on about my Saturday with little to no hamstring concerns!  I'm not convinced it's completely healed but that is definitely a great sign that it's getting much better and should hopefully hold up race day. (fingers crossed)

Sunday: REST Day
Sunday's are the only days we typically have no work and are able to spend the entire day as a family, so I have made it a point to make that my rest day to maximize my time with the hubby and kiddos.  We had a fun filled day of going to see the movie Trolls, visiting a friend and her sons at a new park, then food prepping and football for the rest of the evening.  A much needed day with my favorite people to recharge the batteries and head into a busy week of work, Thanksgiving and of course a marathon!

Goals for Race Day
Oh and speaking of that marathon, I just wanted to revisit my goals one last time now that it is officially race week.  Since I just ran Chicago last month, I have to be realistic about my goals for this race.  Also, Space Coast has always been a rough race for me, so I feel like I am going into it aware that it could be yet another tough one.  But with all that being said, I still need to have goals, so here they go...

A. Swing for the fences.  If I happen to be feeling it that day, why not freaking go for it and make that BQ finally happen at the race that has defeated me so many times before!?!
B. Push a little and clock what has become a consistent marathon time for me in the low 3:40's.
C. Run with a friend (or a stranger for that matter) who is trying to break 4 hours.
D. Just finish that damn thing with my head held high and a smile on my face.  2 marathons in 2 months is certainly something to be proud of!

Well, that's a wrap as I enter into race week.  I will try to recap before I head out Sunday to get my marathon on, but definitely be on the look out some time next week for a race recap!