WDW marathon training – week 22

There’s nothing like following up a big holiday with a 23 mile run!  That training run had been on my mind more this holiday than the food or anything else.  I knew I’d have to be careful to not overindulge too much so I would be in a good shape to run the next morning.

I only got in one of my short runs this week with all of the craziness before the holiday, but I think it’s okay.  And then the big 23 miler on Sunday!

Thursday morning’s run was the local Turkey Trot!  This was my third year doing it and it was a good time.  I grew up on Long Island and running down by the water is always nice.  The race starts at Corey Beach.  It wasn’t my best time for a 5k but I was trying not to go too hard so that I would be ready for the long run the next day.  But it was still a good run and I always think it’s a good way to start Thanksgiving, when it’s so focused on food!

Then, on Friday, it was time for the 23 MILE RUN.  Because I was visiting my family and not at my usual running location, I asked my dad to scope out some good spots that I might be able to run.  I was figuring I’d find an area and do a couple of loops.  But he actually created a 23 mile route for me to take, complete with a map and step by step directions – and sure it enough it was almost exactly 23 miles!  I got to run through past a number of places from my childhood (my old high school, church, and pediatrician’s office), as well as down by the water which is beautiful.  It was also a nice distraction to be not as familiar with the route.

The biggest issue this run was that I started having some ankle pain about halfway in.  It wasn’t bad enough to stop me from running, but it still caused discomfort.  Jason was kind enough to drive out and bring me some pain killers, which helped a lot.  After researching it seems to be tendonitis, which luckily isn’t very serious and is basically just a result of running “excessive mileage” as one website put it!  So I’m going to ice and rest it for a couple of days.

The hardest part was the 15-20 miles I think.  Once I got past that middle part the last 3 didn’t feel as bad.  And having completed 23 miles makes me a lot more confident that I most definitely will complete this marathon.  Now to just slow down my pace enough that I’ll be able to ride Everest when it opens…

Did you get any exercise in this holiday weekend?