1. I saw on twitter yesterday that the Jeff Galloway training plans for the Disney marathon were available and decided to read through them out of curiosity. It's not something that I am planning to use, but I always like seeing the different training options. First of all, these are 28 week plans, which is a long time to be training for a race! Of course, then when I saw that they started this week I realized that in 28 weeks I will be running a half marathon and marathon in the same week! Maybe I do, in fact, need 28 weeks to prepare myself. :)
I was surprised to see that the plan for experienced runners had a 29 mile long run! I realize it's a long training plan, but it seems to me that most plans I’ve read peak at 20 miles (or maybe get up to 22-23). I certainly did know that any of them went that far over the distance. I’m not sure how my body would handle that, though given that I’ll be doing 39.3 in a weekend, maybe a 29 mile run is exactly what I need!
2. I’ve been feeling a bit unmotivated recently. I think the bike crash contributed to it (I know, I’ll stop talking about it soon!), but it was building before then. I see a few other bloggers commenting about taking some time off today, so maybe it’s just the time of year, or the heat and humidity or something all together unrelated. As both Katie and Emily said, a few days off aren’t going to derail a training cycle or race and they may just be what the body needs to train even harder until the big day. And if it's true for them, it's true for me since I'm not even training for anything nearly as long as they are! The only race I have on my calendar in July is a sprint tri on the 31st. I know I could complete that race even if I did nothing for the next month. My bigger concern is that I have to start marathon training right at the beginning of August. So I'd like to have a decent running base going into that, but at the same time I don't want to start out training feeling like I need a break!
I’m going to the beach in a little over a week. I hadn't really decided how I was going to approach training, but I think I’ll take this as my opportunity to back off a bit. I’ll fit in a few runs and maybe attempt a bit of ocean swimming if I feel brave (for some reason lakes and rivers don’t bother me at all, but I get the heebie jeebies about sharks in the ocean). Hopefully I will come back mentally and physically refreshed!
3. On that unmotivated note, I have decided to let the universe decide if I will exercise today. I have tentative plans to meet a friend after work for dinner but she has a late afternoon meeting that has the potential to run late and require her to cancel our plans. I debated heading to the pool this morning, but decided last night that I’d really prefer to sleep in. If she cancels, I'll work out. If not, today is a rest day. I’m leaving my fate to the workout gods.
7 comments:
There are a lot of debates about Galloway's approach. Most coaches out there recommend that your longest run be no longer than 20 or 22 miles. Galloway differs, but many do find success in his programs. I once met a marathoner on a plane who run-walked her way to a 3:25. I like how you listened to your body this morning. :-)
I think you would find less stress in your training and the same results if for a couple of your long runs, you ran 20 and then ran 10 the next day. That's what I did for Goofy during a reverse taper after another marathon, and was fine. I personally think that 29 miles is too much. I ran my first 3 marathons with 26 mile long runs up to them. I felt the best in a later one where I got smart and only ran 20 leading up to it. Hopefully you'll find a plan that works for you!
and Have fun at the beach! I hope you get your rest day and have fun tonight!
Thanks for weighing in! I definitely have no plans to run 29, I just through it was interesting that it was such a different approach.
@Dash I'm leaning towards one of the Hal Higdon plans that has double long runs getting up to 10/20 (or 20/10 depending on how I decided to do it), which sounds like what worked for you.
maybe burnout is contagious? I say take the time easy and be raring to go when you get back. and have a great vacation!
Eesh, a 28 week plan and 29 mile run does seem a bit crazy to me, too. My first marathon training plan I think we only did 20 once and 18 a couple times. Yeah I don't know what it is with the motivation levels, but I think we area all suffering from a lack of motivation lately! I posted without having read everyone else's blogs first, and my post title was "unplugged," and now I'm reading about everyone else taking some time off, lol. Maybe it is the heat!
Whoa, I'm no coach but 29 weeks sounds like a recipe for burnout to me. Be safe and let us know what training plan you decide to use.
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