Week 13... ahhhhh, recovery!

This week's schedule called for a "mere" 80 minute run. During the typical marathon-training schedule, one is supposed to insert a week of lower mileage running every 2 or 3 weeks. This allows the body to recover and become stronger, which consequently allows the body to continue increasing mileage as training progresses. I find it mildly amusing that an 80 minute run sounds easy to me now. A year ago, the thought of running for 80 minutes (and all at once!) would have given me a coronary. I've come a long way!

So what does 80 minutes mean for me? Well, given my snail's pace, it's somewhere between 6 and 6.5 miles. The nice thing about running for time instead of distance, is that you don't feel as pressured to run fast. Well, at least I don't feel as pressured. I just run for 40 minutes and then turn around and go back to where I started, without worrying about how far I've gone. But I did pay attention to where I ran so that I could figure out my distance once I got home... and I went about 6.4 miles. To be honest, I should have slowed down even more. The run felt difficult - perhaps it was a combination of the cold cloudy weather, the brutal winds, and the fact that I worked out pretty hard the day before. In the future, I will not be doing tough workouts the day before my long runs.

Now I am gearing up for Week 14 - the 16 mile run. EEEK! I expect it will take me 3 and a half hours - I'm going to go extra slow (I know you're wondering how it's possible to run any slower than I normally do - trust me, it's possible). It won't be too much longer before I'm tackling my 18 and 20 milers. Am I nervous about those long runs? Not too much, really. My biggest concern is weather that won't cooperate. But I'll manage somehow. I'd rather run in the freezing rain than spend 4 hours on a treadmill. :-)