Now technically in week five of CIM training, I should confess that the first four weeks have been weird. It hasn’t been a great start to training, and that’s mainly because five weeks ago I had planned to run the Portland Marathon, which meant I was trying to cram in as much endurance as possible.
In other words, I did too much, too soon. And I’ve had some pretty inconsistent training as a result of that stupid approach.
During a 17 mile run I made the final decision to not run the Portland Marathon. The run wasn’t horrible or unpleasant by any means, but it was a reality check of what it feels like to run for a long time. I was pretty tired by the end and running another nine miles sounded like a terrible terrible idea. I know I could shuffle my way through Portland, but I have no interest in shuffling through another race.
Pretty bummed to be missing out this year. 😦
Not running Portland makes me sad and I’m sure marathon week will be tough, but I know it’s for the best. I’d rather run one awesome race (in California) than two mediocre ones. Dad is running CIM with the goal of BQ’ing (with his last birthday, his new qualifying time is 3:55), and I want to be in the best possible shape to help him reach that goal. I also really want that sub4.
To give you a super quick rundown of weeks 1-4, here’s what they looked like:
Week one: 39 miles, 2.5 hours yoga
Week two: 17.4 miles, 4.25 hours yoga
Week three: 43.1 miles, 3 hours yoga
week four: 18 miles, 2 hour yoga
Obviously, it’s been very hot and cold, a good week followed by a train-wreck of a week. Coming off my last train-wreck, I realized how idiotic I am when I train for marathons. I have a tendency to train too hard (read: run too many miles) when I’m feeling good. Then the next week is total crap. This pattern has followed me through most of my training cycles (read: I’m a slow learner), and this lack of consistency has made it tough to make improvements.
The last four weeks haven’t been great, but I’m committed to making a fresh start. I’m still in good shape and have 12 weeks to prepare for CIM.
I’ve been loosely following the “Run Less Run Faster” program, but I’ve been subbing out one of the cross training days for a slow, easy run. Due to my ongoing problems with dead legs and shin splints (which have made it tough to nail my key workouts), I have decided that I am going to 100% follow the program of three key runs and two cross-training sessions (spin class). Hopefully by completely ditching the junk miles I’ll have fresh legs that are ready to tackle my key runs,
Here’s to a fresh start and being SMART for the next 12 weeks of training!
Megan's Miles 
I need to pick up that Run Less Run Faster book- with two young kids and a full time job I only have time to run 3 days a week!! LOL. Great job on really thinking about your goals and acting appropriately. There is always Portland 2014!! 🙂
I’m a big fan of the Run Less Run Faster program. The runs are challenging, but I’ve experienced great results (I PR’d by 18 minutes in 2012 when following this plan). It also makes it much easier to juggle marathon training with life!
CIM is going to be epic! I am doing my best to train smart. No more three-hour tennis sessions the day before a long run. In fact, I’m not playing hardly any tennis. I am focused on being completely ready to give that BQ a chance to happen. It doesn’t even feel like a sacrifice anymore; it just feels like the intelligent thing to do. Respect the distance. Specificity of training. Each run I do I visualize the last fifteen minutes of CIM, side by side with my daughter, right on our target pace, in the wake of The White Whale.
Yes, it will be epic! Visualizing that 3:54:59 🙂