Last week was very, very busy for me! It was Tyler and I’s first real week of our marathon build up and I was also going to be working Appalachian State University men’s soccer camps each day. I have been working camps since I was a player at High Point and while I really enjoy them, they are also quite time consuming and tiring. The camp started each day at 8:30 am and ended at 8:30 pm so I fit in my runs very early in the morning before camp began.
And, in all honesty, most of my runs felt quite good. Yes, waking up at 5:30 am was difficult, but I really enjoyed running as the sun came up and I got a great sense of accomplishment knowing that I had gotten in all of my mileage for the day before 8 am! In the end, the camp was lots of fun as I got to meet some cool kids with a passion for soccer who could always make me laugh, so losing a few hours of sleep was well worth it.
Having fun with campers last week with current ASU player Donovan Japp. And no, the van was NOT in motion when the picture was being taken!
As far as training, Tyler, Tim Meigs, and I got in a relaxed 2 hour run on Sunday to open up the week. We did not have any surges during this run as it was simply our first long run after our short break. On Wednesday, Tyler and I did a 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 fartlek through the rolling streets of Blowing Rock. Pete wanted the fartlek to have good uphills and downhills so as to somewhat replicate the end of the Twin Cities Marathon course. We both felt a little rusty during the run but it was a good opening effort.
On Friday, we did a quick 14 miles at Watauga River Road in Valle Crucis, NC. Because of camp we left ZAP before 6 am and were finished with the run before 8 am. We began at our customary 8:00 mile pace but quickly found ourselves running well under 6 minute pace for the last 8 or 9 miles (FYI the Soleus GPS Fit watch worked really well out there). I think we ran the last 10 miles in about 58:50 which was solid considering how easily we started.
And in an attempt to recover as much as I could with my all the running and time on my feet at camp, the athletic trainers at App. St. were nice enough to make me ice baths during the camps! So in between the afternoon and evening sessions I was able to get my legs in some 50 degree water and prepare for my run early the next morning. Next week I will be around 110 miles with an 11 mile progression run thrown in!
P.S. Big thanks to Reebok’s Melanie Fondrier for letting me customize a pair of Reebok’s in preparation for my debut marathon. I am paralyzed by the myriad of choices.
Check out http://www.yourreebok.com to design your own pair.
Here is my last week of training (7/20-7/26):
Sunday: AM: 18.5 miles (8×120 post run)
Monday: AM: 11 miles
Tuesday: AM: 10 miles PM: 6 miles
Wednesday: AM: 11 miles (1 to 4, 4 to 1 fartlek) PM: 5.5 miles
Thursday: AM: 9 miles
Friday: AM: 14 miles
Saturday: AM: 8 miles
Total: 93 miles, 9 runs