SLOultrarunner: SLO Marathon Training Week #2

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - 5.66 mile tempo run
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 10 mile pace
Sunday - 11.5 mile easy

Total mileage for week #2 - 27.19

Since I don't have that much time to train for this hilly course of a marathon, I am taking a more laid back approach to training. I am concentrating more on staying uninjured and maintaining the same level of fitness I gained from training in Napa. My goal is to have fun on the course and enjoy this inaugural race in my own town. That said, my weekly mileage is hovering around 24-26 miles a week. Monday and Tuesday was devoted to rest. I rewarded my body with an extra day of rest because it did not dissapoint me in Sunday. I had a great 20 miler and I was so stoked that I completed it with a great pace.

Wednesday was my tempo night. I ran for a warm up pace of 9:51 for 1.85 miles. Then I ran my 3 sets of 2000 meters. My results were: 7:43 / 7:58 / 8:09. I tried not looking at my Garmin for pace. I was experimenting with how close I could come to what my actual pace was by focusing on my breathing and my effort. It was not easy as I am still learning. By the end of the last 2000 meters all I could focus on was my grumbling tummy. I should have cooled down for at least 1 mile, but was too hungry. I just wanted to get home and take off my wet clothes. Total work for tonight was 5.66 mi for 49:05 at 8:40 pace.

Thursday and Friday were both rest days. Not by design however. I just could not find that window at work to breakaway for even an hour to run. It worked out for the best since I would have fresh legs to run for Saturday's pace run.

It was rainy and windy on Saturday. It was heavy at times so I waited until it died down. Finally it let up and I dashed out. Stepping out into the cold rain is almost a deal breaker for me. I guess what I am trying to convey is, I don't like getting wet without being warmed up first. I can take the rain just as long as I'm properly warmed up. You can throw me buckets after that and I won't complain. So it was like so for all 10 miles. I even managed to dodge hail. I came home Hubs was like, "Did you get hailed on?" My answer, "Hail no." Get it?

Because of the...(here comes the excuses)...wind and rain, it was hard to hit my goal pace. I was 10 seconds per mi/min short. It took me 1:33 to complete 10.03 miles. I was okay with it however. I can't control the weather.

Sunday was my day to preview the second half of the SLO marathon course. I've never ran on this side of town, beyond Edna Valley, up Orcutt, Tifanny Ranch Road and Corbett Canyon. I was glad I had the chance to do this before the race, so that I can anticipate the trouble spots. It was a perfect day as it turned out. It didn't rain and only a few gusty winds hit us sporadically near the end. The course seemed normal with its undulating roads and there wasn't any scary hills as I first thought. I ended the 11.5 mile run with a 9:36 pace. I was happy with that since I tried to run hard the day before. This week ended well. I'm hoping to keep this momentum going.