Week Nine: Workin’ Hard

About a year ago…

…and now!

Marathon Training Week Nine (Week of August 5, 2013):

Monday: Treadmill work-out.  34 minutes total, 5 min. walking warm-up, {5 min. run + 2 min. walk} x 3, 6 min. power-walking, 2 min. slow cool-down.

Tuesday: Off, I think

Wednesday: Treadmill work-out.  ~28 minutes total.  Running portion: {5 min. faster pace + 1 min. slower easy pace} x 3.

Thursday: Off

Friday: Off (TO DALLAS!)

Saturday: Off having fun in Dallas

Sunday: LONG WALK!  2 hours 15 minutes of power-walking with a few short running bursts.

Total minutes walked/ran this week: 197.  Estimated miles: 15-16.

I can’t believe that I’ve been to Dallas four times in the past four months, and I have yet to take any photos of its outdoor spaces.  I have taken NO PHOTOS AT ALL, which is sad, because Dallas has some really charming views, both of natural spaces and its urban scenes.  So today, I dug into my photo archives to find a few photos from around this time last year, which I figure is better than nothing.  Right?

On Sunday, I did my long walk in my friends’ neighborhood, and despite the scorching heat, it was pretty nice!  There were lots of trees and shade along my path, and I even broke up my walk with lunch and a coffee in the middle.  I walked for about an hour and a half before popping into Subway for a sandwich and water (oh, sweet delicious cold water!), then I went to Starbucks for an iced coffee.  I power-walked my way back with the iced coffee in my hand, which probably sounds silly, but it worked out well.

In lieu of doing long RUNS outside because of the searing heat, I am really hoping that the effort I am putting forth on the walking front will translate to strong legs when I walk/run the marathon under much cooler and more comfortable conditions.  I know I have opted for an unconventional approach to marathon training, but still, it’s hard not to worry.  The good news is that as far as “on the feet” time goes, I am on track with my long walks.  I’m also feeling like a stronger power-walker, able to keep up a good pace for longer stretches of time.  I remind myself frequently that if I’m not running, I should still be moving at a good clip to keep that pace under 15:00/mile. (That’s my “working goal” for my outdoor training.)  I think I did pretty well on Sunday, based on perceived effort/speed and in comparison to the paces I’ve experienced on the treadmill.

How are things with you?  For those of you with fall races coming up, how is your training going?