Dallas Marathon Training: Week Twelve

The plan:

Monday, Rest

Tuesday, Ran 5 miles/8:15 pace

Speed run: I’ve decided the worst thing to run in is not heat, cold, or rain – it’s WIND! This run was SO windy, and the first half was brutal because I was going up against head wind. When I turned around to come the opposite way back on the river trail, I had most of the wind at my back, and I was able to make up my pace.  Ultimately I was very surprised that this run was faster than last week’s speed run.

Wednesday, Ran 8 miles/8:58 pace

Tempo run: I did not get a good night’s sleep the night before, and I went running after work, so I was super sluggish to start, and I knew I wouldn’t have as good of a pace as last week. But I just focused on pushing through, and somehow I still got a sub-9 pace, which I was very happy about. And it was only 3 seconds slower per mile than last week. The sun was pretty much almost gone by the time I finished this run. After Daylight Saving Time next week, I am going to have to adjust my schedule so that I’m not running in the dark.

Thursday, Push-ups…

Ummm…. cross training kind of fell to the wayside this week.

Friday, Rest

Saturday, Ran Heroes Run Half Marathon/8:52 pace

Race recap here. I figured it was okay to use a long run to try and get a half marathon PR, since the marathon is still over a month away. If the race were sooner than that, I would have been worried about over-straining myself, but it all worked out! I felt really good during this run, and I wasn’t too sore afterward.

I was pleased with how I was able to dig deep at the end to up my speed and meet my goal. And hopefully I can do the same during the marathon. All these runs, including these races where I have been able to get a new PR, are really helping build my mental fortitude as well as my physical training.

After running this race as hard as I could, my energy was soooo low for the rest of the day as I volunteered at the cat rescue. I was exhausted! But I kept at it because those kitties are worth it 🙂

Sunday, Ran 5 miles/9:32 pace

Easy run: Pretty forgettable run. I have definitely felt my “easy” runs are a lot tougher when done the day AFTER my long run. Every time I do this run after a long run, I feel exhausted throughout.