Fall Marathon Training Week 7 & 8 Recap

I am still working hard marathon training, but life got a little busy, so I am recapping the last two weeks of marathon training together. The focus of my last two weeks of training has been on building my mileage before getting into more specific marathon workouts.

During the last week of July, I ran 60 minutes or longer during the Monday through Friday and ended the week with a long run. My preference is to do my long runs on Sunday, but my family and I were leaving for San Diego for the weekend and on Saturday morning. It was going to be quick trip and I didn't want to fit a long run into an already busy weekend. I opted to start my long run at 3:30am on Saturday morning to get it done before we hit the road. I went to bed early on Friday night, so it wasn't too bad and I was able to relax and sleep more on our trip. My long run was a 2 hour and 30 minute run and I ended right at 20 miles again. That brought my total mileage for the week was 61 miles.

This week (the first week of August) is the first week since June that I have ran 7 days in a row. Up until now, I have been taking every Monday after my long run as a day off or cross training day. Since I had ran 20 miles on Saturday then immediately sat in a car for 6 hours, my legs felt like they needed a shake out run on Sunday more than a rest day. I went for a nice easy run along the San Diego River and my legs felt much better after. I have found that it is important to figure out your body and learn the cues that tell you when you need to completely rest or when active recovery will serve you better. It is individualized and it may take some trial and error to figure it out.

The remainder of the week I ran everyday, but just nice and easy, no workouts. Marathoning is not always exciting. My family and I ended up going over to the Monterey area for one last summer getaway this weekend, so I did get a change of scenery for my long run. This weekend getaway, I opted to do my long run while we were in away instead of getting up at 3:30am again. We go to the area often and I love to run there whenever possible. My long run 2 hours and 30 minutes again and just over 20 miles. It was so nice to run in cool weather and different surroundings. My total mileage for the week was 71 miles. This is only the second time I have gone over 70 miles in a single week. The last time I had a 70 mile week was during my LA Marathon training earlier this year. I try not to get too stuck on milage, but it is always exciting to hit those round numbers.

The virtual Boston Marathon is less than 30 days away, so it is time to plan my race route. We were in the Monterey area this weekend, so I planned out my race route during my long run. I plan on running the virtual Boston along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, CA because it is one of my favorite places to go for a run.

Some things I considered while planning my race route:

1.) Safety and Traffic – I wanted to avoid traffic as much as possible, so I chose a trail as my race route. The downside to a trail is it will be a little bit slower than the road, but for my purposes it doesn’t bother me that much. I have always been using the virtual Boston Marathon as a training run and a as a way to connect with the great runner community.

2.) Ability to Drop Water – The route that I picked has a road along a good stretch of it, so I can easily drive along the route in the morning and drop water bottles along the way. I or my hubby can go pick them up as when I am done running. I will carry my Vespa and gels with me like I would in a normal race.

3.) Loops versus Point to Point – I decided to run loops. I don’t mind running a looped course. Logistically it is easier because you don’t have to have someone drive you anywhere. I am all about making things easy on “race” day.

4.) Views and Familiarity – I selected a route that I was familiar with and is one of my favorite places to run. I have always thought it would be super fun to run a race along 17 Mile Drive, but due to traffic and space that just isn’t possible. Now I will get my chance. Virtual racing isn't all bad 😊

Have you planned your race route for a virtual race? Where did you chose to run?