I am signed up for the inaugural Big Cottonwood Marathon on September 22. Signing up was a big leap of faith as I didn’t really start training until early July, giving me less than three months of training. Add to that the adjustment to the altitude here and scheduling issues and I have really been feeling behind the eight-ball.
I have muddled through my runs. I ran 14 miles twice, feeling tired and slow. I struggled through 16 miles twice. My training pace is SO much slower than any training I have done, including my very first marathon.
My training plan is been all over the place. I was supposed to get 16 miles in and we took a family camping trip where family time outranked my run. I was supposed to do an 18 miler and my husband went out of town for his annual guys trip. It has been all about adjustment, tweaking and getting the runs in when I can.
My eighteen mile run this weekend was the first time I felt somewhat normal. My pace stayed closer to 10 minute miles (although not under like I would like). That run also marked the end of my first 40+ mile week in this cycle. I actually felt like I might be on track for a marathon in six weeks.
I am going to continue to plug away. I will increase my mileage to hopefully peak over 50 miles. I will attend track workouts and I’m considering a monster hill climb that the local trail group does every other week.
I will be able to run a marathon. I know this. However, the big question mark is how fast can I run it. My sporadic training and acclimatization makes it unlikely that I will see a PR. Hopefully, I can fine tune my goal over the next several weeks.
The good news is that Fort Collins is a wonderful place to run [see previous long run pictures HERE]. So far I have run miles and miles right out my front door. I am dying to try the miles and miles of trails in the front range a short drive away, but haven’t felt confident enough yet to go out on the trails alone.
And there is something about the clouds here. They seem so much more interesting.
There is plenty of variety in the scenery as well. As I get off road, it is only going to get better.
Happy Running….
4 comments:
Keep up the good work and I am sure you will be ready and you will likely surprise yourself. :)
I am so very jealous of your runs in the West - those are gorgeous pics! That marathon should be fun too.
Great photos...looks like an amazing place to run
At least you are been trying hard to adjust to all those things that you need to tweak. Sometime everything is against yourself and the interesting part it is to fight back.
Post a Comment