Marathon Training: Week 6 Recap

Whoa! 6 weeks of marathon training down! That means we're 1/3 of the way through Hal Higdon's 18 Week Novice 2 training plan! Week 6 was a "step back" week where mileage went down. This happens every third week in the training program to help avoid injury and give you a mental break. Yep, marathon training is definitely mental. Scheduled training is in PINK and actual workout is in PURPLE.

MONDAY: Rest Day / 45 minutes Bike. I hate the bike! But my knee was really hurting and my biggest fear is an injury. So I skipped running this morning for a painful 45 minutes on the bike at 24 Hour Fitness. This is my personal torture.

TUESDAY: 3 Miles / 3 Miles. Brooke and I were supposed to meet early for a 6 mile run, but due to a fatness trifecta the night before (Mexican food, 1/2 bottle of wine, peanut butter pie) I had to call and cancel. There is no way I could have run 6 miles at 6 AM. I tried to do 6 on my own later in the morning but could barely get through 3. While you don't have to have perfect nutrition when training for a marathon, you do have to have common sense. Maybe have wine OR Mexican food OR peanut butter pie, but don't have all 3. That rule probably applies to everyone, not just runners.

WEDNESDAY: 6 Miles / Rest Day. Drinking beer at 6 AM means I'm out of commission for the day. No questions asked.

THURSDAY: 3 Miles / 6 Miles. Long-ish runs are so much more fun with my running partner! I get so bored by myself.

FRIDAY: Rest Day / Rest Day. I went on a 4 mile walk... maybe counts for something.

SATURDAY: 9 Miles / 9 Miles. Since this was a relatively short long run, we decided to add some hills in to get us ready for the hilly marathon course. We ran at Shawnee Mission Park and it was packed with hills!!! Wow! It was very challenging, but I'm glad we did it... I can say that now that its over. At the time I was cursing those hills!

SUNDAY: Cross Training / 3 Miles. I skipped a run during the week so I had to make it up today. I had an early morning appointment with some Chihuahuas who live about a mile and a half from me so I decided to run rather than drive and get my run in that way. Pretty green, no? I'm hoping to get to the gym to get on the bike later today too, but I'm not sure if that will happen. I feel like if I don't my knee pain will come back... and I don't want that!!!

TOTAL: 21 Miles / 21 Miles

Next week is when the running gets serious! Mileage goes up for all of the midweek runs as well as the Saturday long run. Yikes! This means no more drinking in the AM... okay, probably shouldn't be doing that anyways, right? Right. It is definitely time to get more serious about training!

***Marathon Tip of the Week: Keep it Smooth!!! I once read that after 8 miles, if it can chafe, it will chafe. This is good advice, and more often than not extremely true. Nothing is worse than trying to finish a long run when your legs are rubbing together and blistering. Sorry if that's a gross visual. Prevention is key! There's a product called Body Glide that is specifically made to combat chafing. I'm not so high tech (AKA I'm cheap) so I just use regular old Vaseline. Just apply to trouble spots before your run and you should be problem free! My biggest problem is always under my arms where my arm rubs against my tank top. I also apply to my inner thighs and the back of my heels... just in case. Better safe than sorry, right?!?