Marathon Training - Week 18, FALLing Behind

After successfully completing my 25k (15.5 mile) race, I realized my tracker actually had died at mile 14.97 so I was unable to log the race as a 25k. The following week, I ran the same route again and this time my tracker manager to stay alive long enough. Running two race weeks in a row, I quickly noticed that my knees had really taken a toll.

As I shared in my previous post, I ordered new shoes which I had hoped would help alleviate some of the impact and thus the pain I was starting to feel in my knees. However, I later read in the fine print of my shoe order that shipping could take 6-8 weeks so as of this post, I STILL have not received my new shoes. I will definitely be more careful next time when shopping for the best deal online, realizing that it's probably more important to go with a reputable supplier who can guarantee delivery in a reasonable amount of time. Since I really wanted to give my knees a break, I dropped down my training last week to only 2 runs - a 5k and a 10-miler. My plan this week is to do at least 2 short runs and shoot for 17 miles for my long run this coming weekend. I really hope that my new shoes are here by then, last tracking said they were 2 hours away in New Jersey.

What has improved is that temperatures are now much nicer to run in and I'm no longer pouring sweat throughout my run. Additionally, I'm regularly feeling a "runners high" by mile 5 or 6 - the point at which my mental state overcomes any physical discomforts and I am able to run to whatever distance I have set for myself. Looking back at the training schedule I had tentatively set for myself however I'm realizing I am now several weeks behind - I was hoping to be at 17 miles in late September and it is nearly the middle of October now. The days are quickly getting shorter and at the end of this month we'll be losing an entire hour of daylight in the afternoons. I will likely need to adjust my weekday runs to mornings soon in order to avoid running at night.

While fall is progressing and I have fallen a bit behind, I am still very much on track to finish a marathon this year! It may not be the original mid-November date I had targeted but there are plenty of virtual options which only require that the marathon be finished sometime this year to be counted. Right now, I will keep taking it one week at a time, listening to my body and making adjustments as needed. Marathon training for me is like anything in life - progress not perfection!

#marathontraining2020 #dirtygerman25k