Marathon Training Week 6

Six weeks into my Marine Corps Marathon training and I feel great. Last week was a lighter week to recover from a 35-mile week. My training is going well and I have managed to keep injuries at bay (knocks on wood). I have learned a lot through this training program. Its so much different from my first marathon because I understand the impact of my daily/weekly training and nutrition decisions.
Here are a few things I've learned training for marathon number 3:

• I can't eat whatever I want after a long run. It is not helpful to replace a 1,500 calorie deficit with 5,000.
• I learned that I don't have to carb-load as much as I thought I needed to. Just adding a little more into my diet in the two days leading up to a long run will suffice.
• I still need to learn what's best to eat the morning before a long run. I find myself getting very hungry a little over half way into the run. When I get hungry during a run, I can't think of anything but food. A virtual reality smorgasbord exists until the end of the run.
• I'm learning to listen to my body. I know what the training plan says, but if my body says different, I listen to the latter. Today, for example, I should be running 3 or 4 miles but I am sooo tired from traveling this weekend and an exciting day at work. I plan to be in bed by 7 pm.
• The ice bath is my friend.
• The foam roller is an evil b*tch my friend.
• I need to get more sleep. My sleep has been abysmal lately and I know that it will affect my training. I have done a decent job of adjusting when I don't get enough sleep, but as the miles build up there won't be as much room for adjustments.

Other than a few minor tweaks, my training is going very well and I am excited about it.

I feel strong.

I feel powerful.

I feel fast.

I feel a major PR coming.



How is your fall race training going? What have you learned this time around?

-Run