The fall marathon season is in full swing. Well, virtual marathon season. If you’re running a marathon this year, chances are the race will not be on a marked course with water stops, medical tents, and thousands of other runners. It will likely take place on a course of your choosing, at whatever time you want, over a specified range of dates. There won’t be water tables, gel stations, or free samples of Biofreeze. You will probably run it alone.
It won’t be the same. And I wish I was running one.
Here is week 3 of my training for the Boston Marathon! At the end of this post I have a little story about a running route fail, which might be amusing to anyone who has ever run an unknown route for the first time.
Week 3 wasn’t initially supposed to be a down week, but after fatigue set in at the end of week 2, I decided to make it one. I only ran three times this week: a speed workout, a tempo run, and a long run at an easy pace. Plus a few strength training workouts. I’ll link to all of it below.
Thanks for hanging in there as I get caught up with writing about my training for the Boston Marathon! Which, as far as I know, is still happening!
Week 2 was actually my sixth straight week of increased weekly mileage and, by the end of it, I was feeling pretty beat. This was actually a blessing because it gave me permission to take it down a notch the following week.
Since I’ve gotten behind (again) on posting about my weekly marathon training, I’ll keep this and the next few posts short until I’m caught up. Sometimes I ask myself why I feel the need to post these at all. I’m not sure. I love training. I enjoy writing. I like to keep track of stuff. Maybe one day I’ll look back on this blog and be glad I had it.
So! The Boston Marathon! I am running it! For the first time! And possibly the last!
Here we go. Last two weeks of “training.” I do not under any circumstances recommend doing any of the last few weeks of my “training.” Do not do this and think you are trained to run a marathon. You are not. I was battling plantar fasciitis for the last six weeks and did what I could. At the start of week 16, I honestly wasn’t even sure I was going to run the marathon.
I have been dragging my heels getting the last of these training posts up! Wait, is this why my heels have been sore? I’ll knock out these last training posts so I can finally get to my marathon recap, which is already long overdue. I swear it will be done by Christmas. No, Christmas Eve.
Once again, for the sake of being a completist, I will write out my workouts and link to anything I can. This schedule is not what I would recommend at all for marathon training, but it was all I could do given the situation. I really, really wanted to run this marathon.
Updating this blog really shot all the way down on my list of priorities these past couple of months. I didn’t intend it to. I started feeling discouraged with my training and usually felt like I had more important things to worry about than writing. Also, maybe not writing was a way to avoid having to face my discouragments. This was probably the opposite of how I should have (and how I wish I had) handled it, which would have been to embrace the situation and face my fears head on.
As a young Canadian named Alanis once said, you live, you learn.
Week 9! I’m cranking all of these out way too late, but better late than never? I guess?
I have been following the 17-week marathon training plan of my awesome running club the New York Harriers, but I’m choosing my mileage based on how I feel, as well as my own strength training. Beginning in week 11, much of the plan will be thrown out the window. I’m really behind with updating this blog.
Week 9 was one of my last good weeks. It culminated with the 5th Avenue Mile on Sunday where I ran a course PR. I’ll write that short race recap next.
This entire training plan for the 2019 TCS NYC Marathon has not gone as expected and I have thrown so much of it out the window in the past few weeks. To be honest, I’ve run the gamut of emotions lately – some of it truly disheartening and painful – which is, I think, the main reason why I haven’t felt the desire to stay on top of my weekly training posts. But I’m a completist, damn it, so here I am.
This post will cover week 8 in my training for the 2019 NYC Marathon. It was a solid week, a good week, and my highest mileage week in the plan thus far.
I have been so horrible about updating this and if you’re following my blog (and didn’t just happen upon this page by accident) I sincerely apologize. I’m going to get caught up. I have the time, as I haven’t been running much lately, but that’s a story for a later post.
Week 7 happened in August! I was kind of sick and ran less than expected. But the week ended nicely.
