Thursday and Friday were hectic with election work so I wasn’t able to blog. I did manage a run on Friday night of 10 miles at marathon pace, which is around 9:25 per mile. It wasn’t too bad either. I felt strong.
Today was the last long run of the programme. I did 18 miles at the usual slow 10:25ish pace. It actually went quite well except I don’t think I’d fully recovered from Friday’s efforts as my heart rate was higher throughout than it should have been. On a long, slow run I can manage to go as low as 147 but today the lowest it got was 158 and was even up in 175 territory in the last few miles. This is fine, though. I may not have fully recovered from Friday but it’s not ultimately detrimental. So long as I get proper rest tomorrow I should be fine again by Tuesday.
So there’s just two weeks to go. Next Sunday is only 12 miles which, considering the long ones I’ve knocked out, will seem SO short in comparison. The next two weeks will be a massive reduction in mileage in what is known as the ‘taper period’. This is the week or two before a long run where you scale back on the mileage, while still training at the same intensity, in order to let your body fully recover in time to make the start line. It apparently takes two weeks for a long run or speed work or another harder session to affect your fitness, therefore, anything done in the next two weeks is basically just maintenance. I won’t see much difference in my fitness level between now and the marathon.
Thankfully, I think I can say with all honesty, I feel quite good. I am, of course, still scared of the race; who wouldn’t be? But I actually felt rather good in today’s long run, which I haven’t been able to say before. Yes, my feet were still screaming by the end and, yes, I couldn’t wait to stop but that was on my own. In the marathon I will have crowds and atmosphere and other runners spurring me on. I’ve even got my name printed on my running top so that 1) hubby has a bit more help finding me in the crowd; and 2) crowds will shout out my name. They will do it, you know. Race crowds are fantastic at really cheering on the runners. The last 10 miles or so I am planning on running without music so that I can hear the crowds and really soak up the atmosphere. Hopefully, and in all likelihood, that will help me to finish the race strong. Crowds really can ‘carry’ you the last miles of a race.
So here we go. The road to the marathon really starts here. The next two weeks will be all about resting, eating lots of good carbs and avoiding any last-minute injuries or illnesses. I just need to stay strong. The physical bits are almost over, it’s pretty much all mental now.