Marathon Training: Week 8

I had a good week! I manged to get four good runs in this week and completely nailed my long run. I don't think I have ever felt that good running 20 miles. I hope it is a good sign for my upcoming marathon. The only thing left for me to do is to convince myself that I can do it. I have to stop telling myself that the last 6.2 miles are the hardest and that I am going to fall apart at this point of the race. I have about four weeks left until my marathon and I am still planning on a 22-miler before I feel satisfied with my training.

Here is a summary of Week 8:

Run#1: 4.5 miles@9:23. I ran with my friend Pam and some other runners who participated in the run for Boston in Long Beach. I am so glad that I was able to attend because it felt great to run for such a good cause and I some new people. #runforboston #bostonstrong

Run #2: 8 miles@8:57. This was an unplanned run. I told myself that I was too tired to run but then I got out there and was able to do 8 miles without really thinking about it. I chose to ignore my Garmin and just run and I just kept going. These are my favorite kinds of runs since they do not happen too often for me. I am usually spent by the time I get home from work but not on this day!

Run#3: 4.5 miles@9:05 on the treadmill. Since my Monday run was shorter than planned I decided to make up for it since it was my day off.

Run #4: 20 miles@8:41 pace. The plan was to take it easy for the first half and then empty the tank on the last 10 miles with a fast finish. I was able to do it and my last mile was the fastest at 7:57. My legs felt great, the endurance was there and I was able to hold a pace that I consider decent for myself.  

Total Miles: 37

This week will be an easier week. I have a half marathon coming up this weekend and I will fit two shorter runs in this week as well. I don't have any big plans for my half marathon since this week should be a slower paced long run and I really need to learn how to run those long runs at the pace they should be ran at.

Did you race this weekend? What race?

Speaking of races, congratulations to everyone who ran Big Sur and Eugene!