Marathon Training: Week 10 - Confidence Has Returned

I could not believe it. I actually finished a 20 miler on Saturday.

I was more impressed by the fact that not only did I do 20 miles, but I did them all on the road. I have NEVER run more than 14 miles on pavement. All of my 20 milers have been on the C&O Canal because it has little to no hills to climb. That and I HATE sharing the road with cars. I just never have felt 100% safe. Still, I knew that hills and road time were necessary. My marathon will be on the roads and it will have hills (one that is particularly nasty at mile 6 from what I have read).

Thanks, Google Maps
I was also surprised that I was able to run 20 miles when my longest run during training was only 14. I guess I just had a lot of pent up energy after having sporadic time off this last month. It went really well though.

I started the run from my driveway just before 8am. It was quite cold, but I knew that I would be thankful I wore shorts and a light long sleeved shirt. It was to be a high of 45, which was a relief after all the cold weather we have had! Anyway, my intention was to have an incredibly slow 5 mile warm up. I was not sure how my body would handle the road with having another 2 weeks sticking with treadmill only. Well, the planned pace was net met. I was actually ahead of pace the entire run!

At mile 14, I reached my parent's house, where I took a quick bathroom break, inhaled a Nature Valley Bar, and met up with Peter to finish out the final six. This is about the time that my thighs started to burn and my exhaustion started to catch up with me, but I still had some fuel left in the tank. It also helped that I had my fiance running at my side. :)

I finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes. I was quite satisfied with that number. I relaxed that evening with a Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl and some cocktails.


I am SUPER sore today, but other than that, recovery has been relatively decent. I will get more into that in another post.

Anyway, here is a review of my week!

SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
Rest5 MilesRest5 Miles5 MilesRest20 Miles

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday, my friends!

Did you do a long run this weekend?

Do you try to plan your long runs on less hilly routes?

What usually hurts after your long runs?

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