Countdown to Ogden: Week 10

A week full of many ups, and one solid fall down...

Ogden Marathon training, week 10

Monday:
Goal: 20 mi. @ 8:30-9:00
Actual: 2.43 mi. @ 7:54 pace

After feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to run after taking nearly 4 days off for my brother's wedding, I hit the streets Monday morning, raring to get my missed 20-miler in. Perhaps I was moving too fast or maybe I was not thinking clearly, but just after mile 2 I felt myself flying through the air, landing on both my knees, knocking my left hip, skidding across my palms, and somehow landed by rolling onto my back (!!??). First things first: I looked up to make sure no one saw me fall (*whew*; no one!). Then I started assessing the damage while I sat in the grass stunned. My ankles were feeling fine, so I didn't roll or dislocate anything. My right knee was scratched, the hip I landed on felt a little sore, my hands were bloody, and my elbows were banged up. All of that was okay by me. But sadly, my left knee was swelling like a balloon.

I have no idea what happened or how I fell, but given how much pain my left knee was in and how quickly it was growing, I couldn't go on. I gimped into a nearby bathroom to clean my wounds, called the gentleman to come pick me up, popped a few ibuprofen, and started icing immediately. 

So long, 20-miler.

 

Tuesday:
Goal: 10 mi. @ 9:00+
Actual: 10.06 @ 8:00

I set my alarm early to assess how my knee was feeling and if I would be able to fit in a few missed miles before work. I hopped out of bed and felt very minimal pain, wrapped up my knee anyway, and headed out for a test run. Apparently I felt fine -- my pace was faster than expected, but I felt good & went with it. It was nice to really, truly be back out running after what was essentially 5 days off.

Wednesday:
Goal: Scheduled to rest, but I wanted to make up missed miles from the weekend
Actual: 4.06 mi. @ 7:49

I couldn't sleep any longer on Wednesday morning, so I ran a loop of my neighborhood before work. I wanted to make this a double day and log some slow, steady miles in the evening to make up for my missed miles, but I got sidetracked and called it good with just my morning run. Once again, my knee was feeling strong and I went with what my legs wanted.

Thursday:
Goal: 7 mi. @ 8:00
Actual: 20 mi. (!!) @ 8:00 (!!)

BAM! Ballin' on a school night!

Thursday was a pretty magical day for me. My training plan had 7 written in, but by mile 2, I could tell I was going to have a great run. The first two miles clicked away at what felt like an effortless (and still fast!) pace, so I decided I was going to at least try for 10 miles.

Once mile 5 rolled around, I debated about turning back for an out & back, but ended up running a few more laps of Stow Lake. 10 miles quickly became 13, 13 became 15, 15 became 17, and then I decided to head home. I started feeling a little dizzy & light-headed since I didn't bring proper fuel with me (I always carry a GU with me and I took it at mile 13, when normally I'd take 3 or 4 for a run of this distance), but figured it would be good to train my body to tap into stores it doesn't normally use. I treated my last few miles as a cool down, but enjoyed pushing my pace during the random miles I tacked on.

And my pace -- that's another story. I knew I was pushing it, but I wasn't fixating on my Garmin. While I kept adding on miles, I also kept pushing myself just a little harder: "Let's just do one more mile at goal pace," "Okay, how about one more mile now?" "If you get too tired, you can always take the bus home -- heck, why not try to race the bus home?" 

I was playing all sorts of crazy mind games with myself on Thursday, but this was by far one of my most successful and confidence-boosting runs I've ever had. And 20 miles on a school night?!? Geez.

20-mile splits: 8:04, 7:55, 7:53, 8:06, 8:11, 7:58, 7:53, 7:57, 7:46, 7:48, 7:46, 7:45, 7:59, 7:58, 7:54, 8:01, 8:14, 8:19, 8:10, 8:29

A new 20-mile PR, and a still-bruised knee.

Friday:
Goal: 10 mi. @ 9:00+
Actual: 7.71 mi. @ 9:29

I met up with Courtney in Golden Gate Park before work, but my legs were not having 10 miles, no matter how "recovery" they were. I slept like crap (imagine that -- restless leg syndrome after running 20 miles before bed), and trying to attempt 10 more miles 12 hours later wasn't working out. Courtney and I ran a few together, and then I headed straight to Starbucks and enjoyed my morning by not killing my legs instead.

Saturday:
Goal: Rest
Actual: Rest

Love.

Sunday:
Goal: 6.2 mi. @ 9:00+
Actual: 7 mi. @ 10:23

On Sunday morning, Cate, Courtney, & I carpooled over to Walnut Creek for the lululemon anniversary 5k/10k fun run. I had a super awesome time chatting it up and running with Pavey and XLMIC. XL & I began discussed pacing strategy for Ogden, and having their company in the heat made this morning so much better. XL & I may or may not have gotten a little lost on the way back after a quick bathroom break, but oh well. The time on our feet and the great company made the extra distance worth it. :)

lululemon Walnut Creek anniversary 5k/10k fun run

 

Jess & I were finally able to convert Katie to TEAM NEWTON!!!!!!!! Finally!

 Brunch with everyone afterward -- I seriously have the coolest friends. (P/s: Happy birthday, XL!!)

Overall, I finished week 10 with 51.28 miles of running. This isn't quite as "peak"-ish as it probably should have been (I wanted to hit ~60 miles), but I feel like the runs I completed were the best they could have been & I'm so satisfied with ALL of my paces. I've never felt more ready to taper both mentally & physically, and I'm soooo looking forward to taking these next two weeks easy. It's all downhill from here!

MF-ing TAPER TIME!!!!!!!! 2 more weeks!