Long Run Sundays

My next marathon is June 15th which gives me six weeks to prepare. I got through the Boston Marathon without any major aches and pains, so I don’t have anything to hold me back. Good judgment will dictate that I ramp up this training plan slowly. If I’m careful I can get through the next six weeks without an injury. No one else from my club is running this race, so I have to cobble together a plan on my own.

A group from my club are training for the Vermont City Marathon on May 25th, so I’ll be running with them for the next three weeks. They are going into their taper weeks just as I am going into my ramp up weeks. This week they ran 17.8 but I only ran 12.36. I’m less than two weeks out from Boston and the quads are still a little sensitive to high mileage, so I decided to cut out the loop through Breakheart Reservation and those hills.

Next week when they run 12 I’ll run with them. The next week they drop to 10 miles, so I’ll tack on a few miles at the end of that run. When they are done training I’ll have to go out and do my long runs by my self, or find another group of hearty souls in training for another race. It’s great to have some company on the long runs and these guys even had a few water stops set up.

In addition to running with these guys for the next three weeks, I’ll start adding on other runs. This Tuesday, I’ll stretch my Tuesday night club run to about 8 miles. I’ll also add-on two 3-6 mile lunch time runs during the week. As the weeks go on the lunch time runs will stretch to 8 miles each. I should be able to get to 30 miles per week fairly quickly.

Transition Time

The week after Boston I was on vacation and did not run at all. It’s a good idea to take at least one week off from running after a marathon. Last week I did two short lunchtime runs, and a 5.77 mile Tuesday night run with the club. Total miles were just under 13. When you take a break from running it’s amazing how much free time you have! I got so many things done the week after Boston, and even last week.

During this transition time I did not have that little voice in my head telling me to go run. If I wanted to read or watch a bunch of shows on the DVR, no problem. Rest is what I need, so doing nothing is good for me. A week of vacation without the drive to run was truly relaxing. Now I am transitioning into marathon training mode.

I have a great base of training to build on. One week off completely and one week of light running did not deplete my fitness level. All I have to do now is be smart, ramp slowly and not jump into hill training like a mad man. Slow and easy. This next marathon is more about the journey and the destination than it is about time.

Run well my friends.

Andy

© 2014 anagelin