On June 8th, I ran the Lake Placid Marathon. Making it my forth marathon of the year and my 9th overall. I also qualified and became a Marathon Maniac. MM # 9469, to be exact. Lake Placid had breath taking views. The course was challenging with plenty of hills. The horse flies were terrible. My calves were chewed up from all of the bites. Still, overall, I had a great time.
I took a few weeks off before I had to begin yet another 16 weeks of marathon training. After taking two weeks off, I was forced to take another two weeks because of tendonitis in my right ankle. Frankly, I wasn't feeling up to training 16 weeks for yet another marathon. 16 weeks is a long time. So, I looked for an alternative. I came across a 12 week Crossfit Endurance marathon training program. One of my biggest complaints when it comes to marathon training is that I always end up with some sort of injury and I lose a lot of strength. At the end of July, I began the 12 week program.
By August, I was in full swing with the crossfit endurance program. Through out the week, I ran a lot of 200's, 400's, 800's and even some 1000 meter runs. The weekend runs consisted of anything between a 5k and 10 miles. In addition to the crossfit endurance program, I was also adding additional crossfit workouts and helping out with the physical training at the police academy, three times a week. There were days where I was putting in three workouts in a day and I wasn't taking any rest days. I was like a work horse. At first I felt great! I was doing what I love to do - work out all day. Now add the stresses of taking care kids, house, and a full time job. I'll give you one guess as to what happened by the end of August?... I was over-trained. My legs felt like lead on my weekend runs, a common sign of over-training. I was in desperate need of a time out. I took a week off from the endurance plan, slept a bunch. And that week off felt great. I went out for a 10 mile run with a running friend and my legs felt refreshed. Boy was I glad that the week off seemed to be what I needed.
Now we're into September. School for the girls has started. With very little adjustments, I am into a pretty good routine. Mid-week I take a day off from training, no matter what. I've also learned that my Boston qualifying time for 2016 is now 3:55 because of my age. I love being in the masters division. On Sunday, 09/21/14, I set out for a 6 mile run at marathon pace. I ran 6 miles in 52:28, 8:44 overall pace. A bit too fast, but I felt great. I'm thinking that I will go with a pace setter so that I don't gas myself out during the marathon. Yup, I have all intentions to try and BQ in three weeks at the Mohawk Hudson Marathon, on a 10 mile for my longest training run. Seems a little crazy, but I will give it my best shot.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sheila
