Weekly Training Update - 15 Weeks To Go
This is the first of what I hope will be weekly posts as I work through my training program for the Chicago Marathon on October 12.
First, some stats:
Week 2 target mileage: 32 miles
Week 2 actual mileage: 21 miles
Target cumulative miles through last week: 62 miles
Actual cumulative miles through last week: 55.2 miles
Variance: (6.8) miles
Last week was a pretty big miss. As I mentioned here, I was fighting (am still fighting) a head cold that has affected my running. After sleeping 10 hours on Friday night (about 4 more than is typical for me) and waking up feeling like junk, I decided I could not face the day's scheduled 15 mile run.
Everything I've read so far suggests the weekly long run is the most critical part of a marathon training program; those runs are supposed to be sacred. I opted to take a sick day/mental health day in the interest of recovering more quickly and managed to make up some of the lost mileage by with a decent run on Sunday.
The week three schedule includes runs of 7, 7, 5, 3, and 12 miles. In spite of uncomfortable conditions yesterday, I managed to run 9 miles in Central Park, giving me a little mental victory as a way to start the week. I'm increasingly aware of the importance of the mental/psychological aspects of running all this distance. Halfway through yesterday's run I was thinking I'd just do one loop of the park, but then decided to go for the extra couple of miles; the overall run was pretty slow, but it left me with a sense of accomplishment and positive frame of mind for the week.
I had the extra pleasure yesterday of running into Chris (the friend with whom I will run Chicago) on the east side of the park - that was fun!
First, some stats:
Week 2 target mileage: 32 miles
Week 2 actual mileage: 21 miles
Target cumulative miles through last week: 62 miles
Actual cumulative miles through last week: 55.2 miles
Variance: (6.8) miles
Last week was a pretty big miss. As I mentioned here, I was fighting (am still fighting) a head cold that has affected my running. After sleeping 10 hours on Friday night (about 4 more than is typical for me) and waking up feeling like junk, I decided I could not face the day's scheduled 15 mile run.
Everything I've read so far suggests the weekly long run is the most critical part of a marathon training program; those runs are supposed to be sacred. I opted to take a sick day/mental health day in the interest of recovering more quickly and managed to make up some of the lost mileage by with a decent run on Sunday.
The week three schedule includes runs of 7, 7, 5, 3, and 12 miles. In spite of uncomfortable conditions yesterday, I managed to run 9 miles in Central Park, giving me a little mental victory as a way to start the week. I'm increasingly aware of the importance of the mental/psychological aspects of running all this distance. Halfway through yesterday's run I was thinking I'd just do one loop of the park, but then decided to go for the extra couple of miles; the overall run was pretty slow, but it left me with a sense of accomplishment and positive frame of mind for the week.
I had the extra pleasure yesterday of running into Chris (the friend with whom I will run Chicago) on the east side of the park - that was fun!
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