Knowing Is Half the Battle

I bailed on a race Saturday morning to record another DNB. Now, I'm looking for a 10-K to run at some point this year since my annual hometown race dropped its 6.2-mile option. Instead of racing, I ran seven miles at marathon race pace. The DNB was the only hiccup in last week's training.

Akron Marathon Training Week 3:

• Tuesday was a 2.5-mile recovery run with the Enthusiast (13:46 pace) to flush out Week 2.
• Thursday morning was five miles at race pace (8:51 pace).
• Thursday afternoon was a three-mile barefoot trail run (11:45 pace).
• Saturday night was a seven-miler at race pace (8:54 pace) with the Enthusiast biking.
• Sunday morning was a hot and humid 14-mile long slog (10:26 pace) on the second half of the marathon course.

My weekly total was 31.7 miles, and my legs feel surprisingly fresh this morning. This is a backdown week with 29 miles planned.

Enthusiastic Rookie
The Enthusiast continues to do well in her training for her first half marathon. After running a mile and then racing on her bike to catch up to me during my race pace run on Saturday, her legs were tight Sunday. She decided to push back her long run to today.

I've always felt that it's important to maintain some flexibility in your training, especially if it's your first BIG race. During the mileage ramp-up for a half or full marathon, you're legs are going to feel a bit dead. Sometimes an extra day off will be far more rewarding than forcing yourself out the door just to stick to a schedule.

However, getting too lax could be a recipe for injury if you're stacking too many hard runs too close together. My weekday runs are usually pretty fluid, but I really try to be steadfast with my weekend runs because it's just too hard for me to fit in a long run before or after work.

Training plans are a guide, not a rulebook.