This week was another rocky week of training. I finally got myself to the doctor last Sunday and got some antibiotics for my cold-turned sinus infection. I’m pretty much better now, aside from a cough that gets really bad at night. In fact, it has kept me from getting much sleep at night this entire past week.
I’m trying to stay optimistic about Marine Corps, because the first 3/4ths of my training went really well. I had that awesome 16 miler that came at the end of a week of work, the way its supposed to. Things have not really gone according to plan since then. But just like weather on race day, you can’t control all of the variables in training. Despite still fighting this sinus infection all week (and week four of being sick, by the way!!) I was able to get in a handful of decent runs.
Monday- Rest. Still feeling pretty crummy.
Tuesday- I was feeling a bit better, aside from my cough, and decided to give a long run a try. After a full day of work I hopped on the treadmill and started running with no particular goal of how far I would go. I chose the treadmill since it was storming outside, and it would likely be dark by the end of my run. I had enough of running in the dark at Ragnar 🙂 Plus the treadmill gave me the option of stopping immediately if I suddenly started feeling worse.
As it would turn out, I got in a full 16 miler on the treadmill! It was a new personal distance record for treadmill running, and my legs felt really great the entire run (okay, they did get tired the final 3 miles). I watched two re-run episodes of 19 Kids and Counting and then watched most of the second Hunger Games movie while I ran.
Wednesday- Rest day (as scheduled, and I needed it due to lack of sleep).
Thursday- I had planned on getting up and running about 6 miles in the morning before work. We were heading out of town immediately after work, so this was the only time I could fit a run in. But I probably got a collective 2 hours of sleep Wednesday night, with the last hour happening from 6 – 7 am, when I was supposed to be running. So yea, that run didn’t happen.
Friday- I snuck in 10 miles in the morning before we had to be dressed and ready for a family friend’s wedding. We had driven up to my dad’s house the night before, so I did this run in the neighborhood and surrounding roads. My legs felt great the whole time and it really felt good to be out running. However, my chest felt like I had a 10 pound weight on it. I just could not catch my breath and no amount of air felt sufficient.
It also rained steadily during the second half of my run. An omen for what was to come on Sunday.
Saturday- Another rest day. It was pouring rain at my Dad’s, so a morning run was not going to happen. We had a 6 hour drive home, that included a stop in Blacksburg to pick up our race packets for Sunday’s race. By the time we got home around 6:30 PM a run was just not going to happen. I hope the Hansons don’t get on a plane in two weeks to steal my Marine Corps Marathon bib from me.
Sunday- Hokie Half Marathon race in Blacksburg! This was the second year for the race. The weather conditions were not ideal (50 degrees and pouring the entire time), but I had a solid run. I didn’t want to push it and wear myself out for Marine Corps, so I just ran at a comfortable pace and enjoyed the race.
You know the drill – full race recap coming Wednesday!
Total Miles: 39 miles* (with only 3 runs, I don’t think that’s so bad!)
*With this week I also broke 1,000 miles total for the year!
Turkey Runner 
Well, at least all of your runs were long and meaningful! The thing that bothers me about Hansons is the easy run days, which are relentless. I totally get it and love the concept, but in reality, fitting in 6 days a week is difficult. Furthermore, knowing that 3 of the days are at a really easy pace makes it difficult to justify all that running. I am much more of a 5 days a week kind of runner 🙂 In any case, way to go getting in your longer runs.
It’s kind of like I switched from Hansons to RLRF (except we’ll make the F stand for further). I have enjoyed the Hansons training program with its easy days and six days of running. Sure, it has seemed stressful and overwhelming at times, but the easy days have allowed me to actively recover from hard workouts while increasing mileage. They’ve also allowed me to safely increase mileage to places I’ve never gone before, which was really neat. I definitely like it as opposed to the training plan I followed last year, where I had 3 short weekday runs and a really long run on the weekend. But the Hansons program isn’t the type of schedule I’d keep outside of marathon training. I think 5 days a week of running sounds like a good medium 🙂
Jeez… that could have been a whole blog post! Maybe I’ll have to come back to this comment if I do a “Thoughts on Hansons” post….
I still think you are doing really awesome with this training. I’m so anxious to hear how you feel during the marathon to know if this training program makes you feel more prepared than the others.
Thank you! I’m trying to hang in there. Although I’m not sure I’m the best example of how the marathon goes based on training, with the way things have gone these past few weeks. I wish I had been able to follow it to a ‘T’ to get a better feel for the results!
Good for you for racing in the rain! I loathe running in rain or snow, but will do it for a race.
Treadmill question: do you take breaks for those long runs on the treadmill? Or eat? I’ve done a few longer-ish runs and mostly do it by time. I think my treadmill needs to be re-calibrated. Anyway, I will eat some chews, but it’s so different than a regular run. Just curious what others do.
Thanks! Sometimes I’m okay with training in the rain or snow, and other times I want nothing to do with it. But when it comes to races, the weather doesn’t matter. If they’re holding the race I’m going to run!
The only breaks I take while running on the treadmill are bathroom breaks. I do take in fuel, although I don’t think I take in as much as I do when running outside. During my 16 miler I think I had one gel and only 4 Shot Bloks.
Making sure my new camera is waterproof is moving up the list in terms of priorities when I start shopping for a new one! I didn’t dare take my phone out of it’s sealed plastic bag for any pictures until we were under the tent after the race!
It’s definitely a great feature to have if you want to carry your camera while running. You don’t have to worry about sweat or any type of precipitation messing it up!
I think you were still do great come race day!!! Hopefully in 2 weeks you’ll finally be over your sickness/cough too!!! The weather for the Hokie Half did not look fun but I’m sure it just made it more of an adventure 🙂 Gotta love mother nature sometimes haha.
Thanks, Becky! I really hope so 🙂
So, I thought I had commented on your blog before, but I just filled in my info, so maybe I haven’t. If I haven’t, I’ve been stalking your marathon journey and am sorry to hear that you still have a cold! Hopefully it kicks out of your system for good pretty soon here!
Hmmm I thought you had, too, about the Manitou Incline! Anyway, thanks for the well wishes on the cold. I do believe it is on its way out finally!