While I’ve fallen a bit behind on posting blog updates regarding my run training, the good news is that I haven’t actually fallen behind on the running! It’s just been a bit difficult to post the updates because I haven’t followed the training plan exactly like it’s written – but I’m mostly back on course now and wanted to share the running that I have been doing!
Week 13 was still a bit wonky because I had switched the weekend run with the weekend before. So on week 12 I did a 4 mile run, and on week 13 I did the 13 miles required for week 12. I did the switch knowing that I would be running the Disneyland Paris half marathon in week 13! I did not do the two shorter runs because we were on vacation in Paris, but we did tons of walking that whole week so at least we were staying in shape.
The Disneyland Paris half marathon was a ton of fun, as you can read about in my recap! It was not my best time but I stopped to wait for characters 4 times – they had some amazing characters out! As often happens in big races, my watch recorded a longer distance than 13.1, so my pace was better here than the official pace (which was about 12:37).
Week 14 was 2 shorter runs and then the longest distance I’ve ever run… 15 miles. Because this was the week we returned from Europe, I only got one of the shorter runs in. But considering that we were jet lagged, returned Monday evening, and I had two job interviews during the week as well as an evening program at the library, I think just getting those two runs in was an accomplishment!
I did a short run on Tuesday and was expecting it to be slow because I’d just done the half two days before. However, I felt really excellent on this run. Maybe it’s because the weather here is finally fall and it’s absolutely perfect. High 60’s, sunny, little wind. It definitely makes you want to run when it’s so nice out! So this run was a pleasant surprise, as I was thinking it would be painful.
And then the 15 miles. The crazy thing is, completing it feels like a huge accomplishment because it’s the furthest I’ve ever run. But on the other hand, when I run the full marathon in three months I will have to keep going after 15 – for another 11 miles. 3 months doesn’t seem like a very long time and I still can’t imagine being able to run that much. So we’ll see what happens. I was able to test out my hydration pack on this run, only to find that A, I didn’t fill it up enough and ran out of water (I can’t see how much is left like I can with my water bottle), and B, the way the shoulder straps are right now gave me chafing on my left arm. So I have to see how we can adjust that. But otherwise I found the hydration pack to be very convenient!
If you’ve ever done a marathon before, did you ever feel ready for 26.2 miles during your training? Any tips?
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