Week VII: Blowing Up the Training Schedule

Sat down yesterday and re-assessed the training schedule for the Louisiana Marathon on 17 January.  I start this week with 7:10 pace, same daily workouts as before (fartleks for speed and distance, long runs, core workouts with Crystal).  Two-weeks before the race I should be at 20 miles for my long run and 6:00 for my training pace.

Week VII:

Training Pace:  7:10

Long Run:  7 miles around LSU checking out all the tailgates for the Florida game

Music:  Daft Punk (Harder Better Faster Stronger), Macklemore (Thrift Shop)

Week VI: No More IT Band

I put Crystal into full "coach" mode and she put me through the ringer with core and Pilate workouts.  That coupled with some stretching techniques from Pat Fellows and plenty of time on the foam roller has completely eliminated any pain associated with my IT band, mercifully.

I took it relatively easy this week even though my leg did feel substantially better.  As long as my planned pace was still slower than 7:00, I was more concerned with just building my leg strength back rather than hitting a certain speed.  That being said, I cruised through a 7:00 5-miler this morning and felt great.

The Marine Corps has decided it needs me to work the weekend of December 5th...the same weekend as the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon.  This was going to be my first stab at qualifying for Boston, making the Louisiana Marathon (January 17th) my back-up.  Now the Louisiana Marathon will be my primary and the Rock'n'Roll Marathon in New Orleans (Feb 28th) will be my back-up.  This means I have to re-adjust my training schedule so I peak at the right time.

Week VI:

Training Pace (Planned): 7:10
Long Run (Planned): 14 Miles
Music: I made an honest attempt to finish Bridge of Spies on audiobook...but its just awful.  The story rambles forever and I'm just waiting for it to end, so I'm pulling the plug.  I hope Tom Hanks has done a better job with the movie.

Week V: IT Band

I've stayed off my feet almost this entire week.

I wasn't sure, so I didn't want to mention it...but this image is pretty much what's going on.  Trying a bunch of different things, to include a stretching and Pilates routine introduced by Crystal.  Seems to be working pretty well, but I've never had this "injury" before so I'm unsure how to gauge my recovery.

I did get a 5 mile run Saturday afternoon.  Although I could feel the tightness in my leg, I found that if got outside of my mind (just stopped thinking about it) and relaxed my stride, I largely had no pain.  Going to start easing back into the running this week.

Week V:

Training Pace (Planned): 7:20
Long Run (Planned): 14 miles
Music: Bit the bullet and paid the subscription fee for Apple Music