Detroit Marathon: Week 9 training recap

This week marked a major milestone: Halfway done with Detroit Marathon training! Although the excitement continues as I try to balance workouts with post-move disorganization (that’s putting it mildly; I can’t find anything in our new apartment at the moment) and business travels to IDEA World and BlogFest in Anaheim (recap with pics to come!).

Note that I said try because it’s been a struggle knowing I can’t do it all. right. now. But I am finding some solace in having the predictability of the training schedule staring me down each week. Otherwise, there’s a decent chance I wouldn’t be able to tell you what day it is.

When I am “home,” however, Hubby and I are having a blast exploring new running routes = #allthebridges. And I’m pumped to have a brand-spanking-new, ass-kicking running buddy, Katie (above). She just rocked her latest half marathon a few weeks ago and is doing Hood to Coast next week, so we’re motivating each other to get out on our weekly long runs.

Speaking of motivation…Track Tuesday was a doozy this week. Five repeats of 1000 meters at a 4:36 pace with 400-meter (one lap) recovery jog in between. Not only is it getting more challenging to hold the pace as the distance grows each week, but adding that half lap for each kept throwing me off. Although I suppose having to concentrate helped me plow through.

And the good news is there’s a track that’s running distance from our apartment. I’m counting the jog to and from as warm-up and cool-down from now on, which will save my sanity by cutting down each track workout by eight laps! It’s the little things…

Other than that, I’m hitting my paces on tempo and long runs, although the easy ones are probably still a bit speedy for what the program calls for (I’m in the 9:00-9:30 range, as opposed to 9:50-10:30, which just sounds painful). And I’m continuing to care for my bum heel with ice, Advil and rolling with a lacrosse ball, which all seem to be working well (fingers crossed).

So on that note, I’ll leave you with one final marathon-training public service announcement: It’s summer. It’s hot out. Stay hydrated, people. Here’s how Hubby and I prefer to do it after our long runs 🙂