43 Miles of Running

Marathon Outfit

Last week was my peak of marathon training.  I had my longest run of the season (21 miles) and clocked the most mileage in one week (43 miles)!  By the time recovery week rolled around, my legs were begging for mercy.  While I’ve learned to incorporate marathon training into my busy schedule, I’m definitely ready for the race to just be here already.  It’s definitely a lot to keep up with, no matter how much I love running.  My highest mileage week looked like this:

Monday: 6 miles
Tuesday: 1.5 mile warmup + 1.5 mile lactate threshold + 3 miles of Yasso 800s
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 10 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 21 miles
Sunday: rest

The next week we began to taper, and my first run back was the most painful run I’ve had all season.  I was afraid I was injured!  Our first taper week looked like this:

Monday: 6 miles (I only ran 5 because it really hurt.)
Tuesday: 6 miles lactate threshold + 1 mile of 400 sprints
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 9 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 13 miles + 4 miles lactate threshold
Sunday: rest

I’m honestly surprised with how well marathon training has been going.  San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is only 2 weeks away!  Getting injured was the one thing I was most afraid of when I started marathon training.  I’ve heard way too many stories of Achilles nightmares, IT band injuries, and everything in between.  So far I’ve been lucky.  Yes, I’ve had some aches and pains but nothing that ibuprofen and willpower couldn’t cure.

What have I taken away from all this?  Here are my top 5 tips for marathon training.

1. Be persistent with your training, and follow your training program as closely as possible.
2. Listen to your body.  Pay attention to warming up and stretching, and don’t run with an injury!
3. Hydrate.  I stop at every aid station and have at least 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sports drink.
4. Pay attention to your nutrition 7 days/week.  Don’t skimp on calories and carbs, but don’t fill up on empty calories either.
5. Try strength training. I worked out 8x/week which is excessive if you’re not already doing a strength training program, but for me, 4 days of P90X + 4 days of running = increased speed and stamina.

P90X Day 90