Oh hey, thanks!

My first two years of marathon training, I didn’t do these weekly recaps because I thought I wouldn’t want to own up to the weeks my training was less than perfect.

Well, my training will always be less than perfect, because I am human. And not a professional runner. (Although if anyone is looking for a middle-of-the-pack runner? I’m your girl.)

Last week was another week of late nights and early mornings and making the best of what I had.

Monday: I AM SO GOOD AT REST DAYS. Can there be an event that involves lots of rest days as part of its training? Oh, wait. That was my life before 2009…

Tuesday: Pretty sure I’ve never met a 4-miler I didn’t like. A 4-miler seems like a treat during marathon training. I can even leave as “late” as 7am.

Wednesday: Seven miles after work. Seven shitty miles. On last Wednesday, 7 = 26.2. Or at least that’s how my legs felt. I was tired and achy…but I did them.

Thursday: Nailed that rest day.

Friday: Oh. This was the 4-miler I met I didn’t like. Well, it’s not so much that I didn’t like it, I just liked my bed better.

Saturday: Saturday sucked. A lot. It made me wonder just why the hell I was training for a marathon again. I was still exhausted and would have been so much happier to just get back into bed and stay there for a large part of the day. It was supposed to be 10, but I didn’t make it past 6.

Sunday: Sunday was awesome. Thank god. Luckily all of my truly awful runs have been confined to mid-week mileage, save for one really hot 13-miler. Which is fine, because what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and all that. And the long runs are the really important ones.

This week’s mantras: Focus. Eye on the prize. Two more weeks till taper.

SQUEE!!!

How’s your training, and what are your training mantras?

First, let’s be real: I don’t agree that my training was stellar last week.

Now, let’s be kind: considering the circumstances, it wasn’t too damn bad. Last week wasn’t great.

The plan called for: a 4-miler, ~9 miles, including some Yassos, a 10-miler with 2 at marathon pace and a 20-miler.

What actually happened?

Monday: I <3 rest. And lamp.

Tuesday: Despite pretty crippling anxiety at this point, I woke up and ran 4 miles, hoping it might help even a little bit. It did not help a damn bit. The only thing this run accomplished was getting in the miles–but I’m still grateful for that.

Wednesday: Nope, no way in hell.

Thursday: Got in the planned track workout. The mileage didn’t quite add up to “nearly nine”–I ran 2 miles to warm up, 4.15 of the intervals and 2 to cool down–but it was still a decent workout that helped me head back to work ready to take things on.

Friday/Saturday: Sleep was far more important to me these days. I’m okay with that.

Sunday: I got my 20 in! It wasn’t the best run ever, but it wasn’t the worst run ever. I’m just happy I did it.

So…yeah. Just when I was supposed to have one of my peak weeks, and hit one of my first 40+ miles weeks, I didn’t. But life happens, and LIFE HAPPENED last week. Marine Corps is in just under 6 weeks, so I have just about 3 weeks to go before I start tapering. (When the hell did THAT happen?) I’m going to make the best of it.

How do you adjust your training plan when life gets in the way? At what point do you reassess your goals? (I don’t think I’m ready to reassess just yet, just curious.)