Today is the first day of tapering for the Green Bay Marathon and I'm realizing that I haven't really written about the process of training as much this time around.
What I've learned about spring marathon training is that it makes you one tough cookie - running for hours and miles and miles on a treadmill is mentally challenging. Running through fresh snow is tough and pounding out miles during rain and getting coated in mud is tiring. But, through it all, I've learned that I can hack it.
Last summer, while training for the quad cities I had a scheduled 13 mile run (during tapering) that I completely complained about because it was raining out. However, it was in the 60's, and while it was coming down pretty steadily, there was no wind.
This weekend, not only did I run in the rain but it was cold and windy.
I ran the Crazy Legs Classic race in Madison (it's an 8k, just shy of 5 miles) on Saturday and as I drove to Madison through a torrenchial down pour I was a little concerned about running but hell bent on doing it. The race went well and I finished in 44:29 finishing 1 min and 3 seconds faster than last year. I've heard that the race was a little over 5 due to having to reroute it because of flooding on the bike path, but regardless, I'm happy with my time. I got done and while I was wet, I had a blast.
Sunday I ran my 20 miler. Thankfully, I procrastinated long enough that I got through most of it with light to moderate rain and there were times when it stopped completely! However, on my last mile, I got pounded on. I thought it was sleet, but nope, just really really big rain drops - coming down in buckets! But, I finished and while I was a little slower than I had hoped, I got the miles in and am feeling pretty good.
Today, I allowed myself to sleep in! I got a glorious 10.5 hours of sleep (I didn't get a nap on Sunday so I was in bed at 8:30!! Loved it!!), and I'm off for a massage in a couple of hours. And, tomorrow, I only have to run 5 miles!
One more thing about spring training - you see LOTS of dead things. I've "ran over" snakes, deer, skunks, squirrels, and birds. And, while I wasn't the one to bring them to their demise, I was sure happy to not have crossed any of them while they were alive (especially the snakes!!). Once fall training starts I know there will be lots of live things to run from - turkeys and deer mostly, I'm hoping to stay away from the snakes!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment