Eugene Marathon Training Week 7
17 Feb 2020Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 2 miles easy on the treadmill to test my ankle (felt back to normal!) + strength + core
Wednesday: 4.2 miles with 5 x 1 min quick
Thursday: 2.1 mile easy shakeout + core
Friday: 3 miles easy
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 13.1 - Austin Half Marathon (1:48:57)
Total Mileage: 24.6
A niggle in my left ankle combined with my upcoming Austin half marathon race on Sunday meant I ran pretty low mileage throughout the week. I was diligent about doing foot/ankle strength exercises after running through some discomfort in my long run last Sunday. The rest and strength work served me well. I was feeling fresh and excited for the race by the time the weekend rolled around.
Overall, I was very pleased with my results on Sunday. I woke up around 5:30am, scarfed down my new favorite pre-race meal: Picky Bars Performance Oatmeal, and made it to the start line with my boyfriend and our friend around 6:30. As the sun came up, the weather was shaping up to be as good as I could hope for - cool and cloudy, though rather humid. We assembled at the start line near the 4:05 marathon pacer. Looking back, I regret not starting further up in the field. I think I wasted energy in the first several miles weaving in and out of people.
The gun finally went off (the race unfortunately started a good 40 minutes after the official 7:00am start time), and I was filled with excitement to see what I could do on that day. I hoping for a sub-1:50 (and a PR), but given that I was having ankle troubles earlier in the week I relaxed my goal to sub-2:00. As each mile went by without any signs of worrisome discomfort, I grew increasingly confident and knew that a PR was possible.
How the miles played out:
Mile 1 (8:54): Taking it especially easy since the first three miles are uphill, just working on getting around the crowds
Mile 2 (8:38): Still weaving through hordes of people
Mile 3 (8:26): STILL weaving
Mile 4 (8:17): Finally starting to get into a rhythm, the downhill is feeling great after three miles of gentle but steady uphill
Mile 5 (8:05): Cruise control. I swipe up a salty banana from a spectator and get an energy boost.
Mile 6 (8:12): Feels like I’m flying
Mile 7 (8:16): Still soaring. Turning onto W Cesar Chavez St was my favorite part of the race. The spectators came in droves and were screaming loud. I usually listen to music while running but ended up carrying my headphones with me the entire race and fed off of the cheering from the crowds instead of listening to one of my running playlists.
Mile 8 (8:22): Settling into the quieter part of the course. I’m still feeling suspiciously good. I grabbed nuun at every single aid station since it was so humid out. I couldn’t tell if my skin was wet because of the humidity in the air or the fact that I was sweating so profusely.
Mile 9 (8:27): My mind started wandering here but I did my best to stay focused and repeat various mantras. The spectators had great posters out there for inspiration!
Mile 10 (8:19): The steep hill in this mile as we turned onto Enfield Road was rough, but I was energized by how many people I passed on it.
Mile 11: (8:06): I enjoyed the rolling hills here. I started to pick up the pace because I knew I still had a lot left in the tank.
Mile 12: (7:59): Keeping calm and continuing to push the pace.
Mile 13: (7:33): Exhaustion finally begins to set in. The last hill was brutal. I did my best to push through.
.1 (7:16): Total exhaustion. I felt every muscle in my legs but finished as strong as I could.