Marathon Training Program: Week 13

(Graphic from my page at dailymile.com.  Mileage in the graphic is a little higher than below, because it includes bicycling miles.)

Week 13 was essentially a repeat of Week 11 mileage, the peak mileage of the schedule, following a reduced mileage recovery week.  Midweek: 5 miles Tuesday, 10 miles Wednesday, and 5 miles Thursday.  After a rest day Friday, weekend mileage: 10 mile pace run Saturday, and a 20 mile long run Sunday.  Total miles: 50.

The distances of the midweek runs have become routine, but the peak weekend miles continue to be extremely challenging. The Sunday 20 miler was gruelling, run while still fatigued from Saturday's 10.

I thought the second 20 miler was supposed to be easier than the first, but it wasn't. Unlike my first 20 miler, I ran today with no walk breaks, and finished 5 1/2 minutes quicker than the 20 two weeks ago. My legs really started screaming after about 16, and the last two miles were absolutely painful. However, I felt great afterward; the pains from the stress abated as soon as I stopped running, leaving a pleasant deep burn.   I saw a lot of runners out this morning, some alone, and a lot in groups of 3 or 4. I crossed paths with a group of 3 for a couple of minutes before they turned off, and found they are also running The Gusher May 1. One of them told me she was the race director, and was helping the other two ladies train for the 5K. They asked which distance I was doing, I told them the "full." We exchanged encouragements and continued in different directions.

Next week is another welcome recovery week, total miles: 34.

13 weeks down, 5 to go!