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Daily Training Log
Team (Apollo) In Training - The Lunch Hour Athlete
"It is very difficult to train for a marathon; but it is even more difficult to not be able to train for a marathon."
-Aaron Douglas Trimble
It's official I finished my first week of training* for the LA Marathon last week. And I would love to say it went swimmingly. And after completing successfully one marathon earlier this year, I expected things to start off on a better foot. However, it was harder than I had anticipated. No one said it would be easy.
Though I felt off to a good start on day one, especially when your first day of training is a rest day. I was all over that one.
Then came Tuesday, the 3 mile run. No problem, outside of the fact that I am still training myself to get up and run in the morning before I head off to work. It was a slow steady 9:40 minute pace, with NO ankle rolls, yey! (see my previous blog on November 11).
Still so far, so good. Then on Wednesday, I had to pick up a co-worker at 8 AM after he dropped his car off to get worked on and I just could get up early enough to do my 5 mile run. So, I hit the snooze button a few times until finally I gave up and decided I would do it at lunch. Little did I know I might have been better off getting up at 5:30 AM to get it done. As lunchtime was nearing at work I asked one of the other "Lunch Time Athletes," Mr. Matthew Booth if he would recommend a trail to run for my 5 miles. He mentioned that he and the 3rd Musketeer, one Mr. Mikael Ohlsson, were going to run 3 miles on the very trail he was recommending to me. Since I had been threatening to join them on a lunch run when winter hit and it got to dark to run after work, I figured the time had come to pay up on that promise (I mean we ARE running the marathon together, though after running with them just once, I am not sure how long we will all stay together).
Just to draw the right image in your mind: starting out the run is "The Swede" Mikael Ohlsson at a staggering 6'6", setting the pace right off the bat, at what feels like an 8:30 minute mile but I am sure is only 9 flat. Following, not so closely behind him, we have the All-American boy, Mr. Matthew Booth at 5'10" and finally me, the short, 5'2" Mexican gal trailing them both. Of course there is the occasional swapping of the leading order, but let's be honest, at 6'6" Matt and I can't really compete with those legs, my little stubs probably turn over twice as fast at Mikaels and still I am lagging behind him (at least that's my excuse, being short has to be good for something, if only an excuse here and there). After a mile and a half, (though it feels like 10) they point me in the right direction to do another mile before I turn around, and they head back. Thank God!
I continue to run out, but at my own pace, what might normally be 9:45 minute mile, turns into a leisurely 10+ minute mile. Going that extra mile out was fine, it wasn't until I turned around that it hit me how tired I was. I struggled to keep the feet moving on my way back. I knew if I walked the boys would be waiting at work asking me what took me so long, but it was probably just my pride. I finished the run and was happy they pushed me. But at the end I was dead. And it was ONLY 5 miles. Needless to say I was not feeling very strong or positive about my running and training for the marathon.
