Tuesday - 5 mile run
Wednesday - 3 mile run
Thursday - 5 mile run
Friday - Rest (and pottery!)
Saturday - Rest or swim
Sunday - 10 mile run!
Thats it, i'm up to the highest weekly mileage on my calendar. To me it's weird that I wouldn't at least try to run the 13.1 miles once before the race, but thats the training schedule (and all seem to be that way). I am wondering about trying to run/walk the 13.1 on the weekend rather than just 10. Guess i'll decide on the day. Next week the training goes a little screwy as I head to Maui. Yikes, 2.5 weeks to go!
My learning experience of this week - rubbing spots! So my chunky thighs have always rubbed (and always have even as a teen, so i'm not expecting that to go away!) and I wear long compression shorts to stop any sore spots. This weekends 9 mile was hot, and for the first time I ended up with too little spots under my arms! Took me a while to realise where they came from, but I guess next time I do a long one I need to slaver the vaseline there.
I have to be careful where I clip my ipod too, that has caused a rub when I have put it on my shorts. This weekend I also ran without it for the first time (I ran out of batteries!), and though the start sucked, it was actually fine after I got used to not having my music blasting. It's not obvious if i'm going to be allowed to wear it on the day (most races do not let you, but they actually don't say), so figured I'd better try and get used to running without just in case. It really does provide a lot of motivation for me, but it was good to know I can do without.
3 comments:
I always thought "chafing" was simply a result of skin rubbing skin, but have learned that it really becomes an issue when you get salt buildup on your skin from sweat. This explains why it's not a problem on a 3-miler but maybe after 10 or so miles. So for days that you haven't used vaseline (or Glide, which I like), if you have water along you can rinse the salt off the area and it provides much relief.
I've seen plenty of training programs which stop you short of your full half or full marathon by a few miles, with the idea that "the crowd" or "the adrenaline" pulls you through the last few miles. I found that to be true for a marathon, and the fact that the distance itself is a stress on your body, these types of training programs are trying to keep you from doing the full distance too much in order to avoid that much more stress. But if your body is handling the longer distances without too much stress, than it shouldn't hurt you to do the full 13.1 ahead of time. My measure of "too much stress" was how much I felt I needed to nap to recover from the long run. A lot of napping signaled my body was working hard to recover and points to the need to be conservative on the longer distance. if you aren't experiencing that, then you're probably building up at a good speed.
Great to know on the salt issue - thanks! That definitely explains why this was a first, it was a long one and a hot one!
I've seen read about the adrenaline factor, and understand it in a way, but worry a little. To a regular runner maybe 3 more miles is not that much of an issue, but for me, an extra 3 miles is a lot, and somedays running just 3 miles poops me out! That's my concern with this. Interesting on the napping front, I haven't really been affected too much (though I do love a good weekend siesta!), so maybe I am ready to do the 13, maybe just take it at an easy pace...
It sounds to me like you'll be fine either way - stopping at 10 or doing the full distance. One thing about the extra 3 is that your program has been designed just so that your body will be ready and respond accordingly. The best success you can have on a program like this is remain uninjured. For some folks, that last extra push because they're feeling so good can tip them over the edge and cause injury from overuse. So if you are wanting to remain injury-free, my advice is to stay conservative and with your program, and have faith it was designed to get you right where you want to be on race day. However, if it just kills you to enter race day not having done the full distance, then that psyschological barrier might be best overcome by simply going ahead and doing it nice and easy like you're thinking. If you end up enjoying the event enough to do another in the future, your body will have learned a lot, and your whole strategy may change on the next one and you can be more aggressive. But there is a lot to learn that first time around, don't forget how much each of those miles and those important rest days are teaching your body.
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