End of my second big week, and my 2 week vacation. Last long run achieved (prior to my marathon attempt weekend after next). 24.2 miles in today, and an easy 3mi yesterday evening. I was a bit sore from all the hard work and running these past two weeks but didn't feel to bad this morning. However it was cold and gloomy, damp, and windy. Took some determination just to get out there.
Was the only vehicle in the lot at the trailhead which is rare for a Sunday morning:
Thats fine less people, bikes, and dogs to dodge lol. There are a couple other lots (the trail is about 14 miles long), and I did come across a couple other runners, a couple walkers, and a few bikes, but probably less than 10 people in the 3+ hrs I was on the trail!
It started out mid 30's but by the time I was on the trail it was about 40F and finished around 50F. But the gusty wind really made it chilly right up to the last 2-3 miles when the sun finally started peaking through. First run this season with a long sleeved shirt! I was so worried about the cold I packed my hat, gloves, and jacket in my pack but ended up not using any of them.
Run went pretty well, about 5 miles in I started getting a pain in my left foot where I stepped off my trailer after I was unloaded it the other day and landed on a rock right on the outer edge of my foot about in the middle.
That metatarsal or whatever its called had bothered me a little ever since I did that 2 days ago. If I land on something on my forefoot or heel I can often shift the weight but in the middle I can't do much to cushion it, and I had the extra momentum of stepping down off the trailer, which is low but still a good step high. Luckily after about 3 more miles it faded. Everything was going well, and after a few miles of warmup I settled in at around 8:30 pace for several miles, a little faster than I thought I could do a long run but felt right so went with it. And with the cool temps I didn't even hit my MAF HR until after I turned around... wasn’t until 13 miles I hit ~145. It was very slightly uphill on the return half, about 300' across 12 miles and also the wind was now in my face. I did manage a few more miles in the 8's but the return trip slowly slid over 9m/m. I would be thrilled if I could hold 8:30 for the whole marathon but doubt its going to happen. I did really start getting some fatigue a bit after 20 miles, some soreness like I struggled with so much earlier this year in my lower right calve/achilles. Also started getting some straining under the toes in that foot, not the big toe but the next two. Might have been from the pains in my left foot earlier IDK. But thus concludes my marathon training with this week at 46.25 mi and last at 45.88. I hope that’s enough to get me through. Sadly most of my weeks this summer have been in the 20ish range with only a few hitting 30.
Worse than last year, and the marathon hurt then! But I feel a little redeemed with these last 2 weeks and better off than I was last year.
This coming week I go back to work on nightshift. At least on nights I can get up and move around a bit more without management in. I like to do stairs ever couple hours... will challenge myself this week on breaking some stair records.