Truth be told, week 6 was not very nice to me. MY legs felt heavy all week and I didn’t feel too well on Friday. Besides that, I’m happy to be almost half way through marathon training with a somewhat happy IT band and a less sore runner’s knee. The daily PT exercises that I do, combined with foam rolling twice a day and weekly ART appointments and helping to keep everything pretty happy 🙂
Monday
6 mile tempo run. Tempo runs are not my friend. I repeat, tempo runs are not my friend.
Tuesday
4 mile easy run. The temperature was a little more manageable so I had the opportunity to run my BGR-Stamford group. It was a great run!
Wednesday
60 minute Boot Camp class. This class always kicks my butt but it’s so worth it to get in good strength training.
Thursday
6 mile easy run. I was working in NYC that day so I had to do this run before work. I am not a fan of the 5am workout club but it’s so nice to have the run done nice and early.
Friday
REST DAY 🙂
Saturday
14 mile long run. This was such a BAD run – GI issues, leg pains, heavy legs and nausea. I wanted to quit at mile 9 (I actually ended up walking that entire mile), but I somehow got it together to finish the run. It was slow and I didn’t hit my “long run pace” but I was just happy to finish the miles. My stomach felt bad on Friday and I didn’t eat my typical pre-long run meal so I think that may have contributed to the disaster run.
Sunday
60 minute spinning class + 30 minutes Yoga for Runners DVD. I love my weekly spinning class because it’s always a sweatfest. Added in a little yoga today to help with the whole “legs feeling heavy thing”
Total Miles – 30 miles
Training Cycle – 140.2 miles
Grade – A-
For some reason I’ve been dealing with heavy legs all week. My runs during the week didn’t feel that fantastic, but they didn’t completely suck either. I hate that my long run was so terrible yesterday. I had a great 12 miles last Saturday so I was hoping for another similar awesome long run yesterday. Oh well, some runs just suck but we have to move on.
I gave myself an A- this week because although I hit all my mileage goals, I really need to stop beating myself up mentally during those bad runs. I have to keep practicing the power of positive thinking, which is a work in progress for me!
If you have any training tips, please let me know in the comments – I welcome any advice!
I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap.
I’m also Linking Up with the Jess’s (Jess Runs Atlanta and Jess @ The Right Fits) for their new link up for training recaps!
Also don’t forget to enter my RXBARs and Think Happy book giveaways this week!
Looks like a good week to me–but I”m sure you are frustrated with the heavy legs thing. Do you foam roll? That always seems to help me when I’m feeling tight.
Yup! I’ve been foam rolling twice a day on most days. I think it’s definitely helping with the soreness but unfortunately not the heavy legs 🙁
I am so proud of you for sticking to your PT exercises, foam rolling, and stretching. That makes such a huge difference. You did great this week.
Remember, week 7 may be coming up, but you can look forward to a cut back in week 8!
Thanks Abby! I’m ready to tackle week 7, including this weekend’s 16 miler #NoExcuses!
I feel like heavy legs are just a part of training that you have to push through; it’s as though your body is adjusting to the strain of training. Stick with it, it sounds like you’re doing all the right things!
I think I learned that the hard way last week, but I’m ready to tackle this week!
I totally agree with Jessie – heavy legs come with serious training and you are doing serious training. You’ve got this!
Definitely! I’m going into this week with a positive attitude and shouting “Shut Up Legs” LOL
Way to keep on chugging. How has your hydration and nutrition been? I cleaned mine up and it had made a huge difference in how I’m feeling. Also, not sure how much research you’ve done on this, but your performance can be impacted by where you are in your monthly cycle. May be a good idea to have a cute back week this week and sub in some easy cross training for runs to give your body a break, especially with your IT issues! Finally…..have you gotten a sports massage? Keep up your hard work and don’t let the bad runs get to you!
I’m always working on cleaning up my diet (lol), it’s definitely a work in progress! I really, really need to get a sports massage. My cut back week is the week of September 5th (hooray!) so I’m looking forward to that! Funny that you mention the monthly cycle because I’m due to start mine tomorrow so that may have thrown off the long run as well.
There could be a number of factors contributing to your ‘heavy legs’. Someone else had mentioned the amount of training you’ve done so far that causes overall soreness. – I know when I have a heavy strength training session the day before a run, I can barely lift my feet off the ground. Another person pointed out nutrition/hydration especially during the hot days we’ve all been experiencing. One thing I can think of is the quality of your sleep can affect the way you feel as well. Especially during marathon training, your body is stressed with the mileage buildup and the best way for it to recover is getting enough quality sleep.
Great job on working through it and best of training to you this week.
I definitely think that all of those things you mentioned could be a factor, especially the sleeping part. I’ve never been a good ‘sleeper’ so I’m often tired, but I’ve been drinking Sleepytime tea before bed to help me get a more solid night’s sleep. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and commenting!
I think you had a great week! You got it done! (Bam!) Maybe the heavy legs feeling is just part of the process of marathon training as your body adjusts to the demands your are placing on it. I’ve had a lot of not-so-good runs this training cycle, mostly due to heat/humidity. Could the weather have been a factor on the long run? Thanks for linking, Kim!
Yes I think you are right. My tempo run today felt pretty good so I think I my legs just need to adjust to this training process as they are not used to logging to many miles! The weather wasn’t too bag on Saturday – hot but not humid, so I can’t blame the weather. I think it was just a mix of things to be honest, but I have high hopes for this weekend’s 16 miler!
Kim you are so much more dedicated to your preventative maintenance on your ITBand issues that I am. I do know the importance but often don’t do enough rolling and stretching.
Great job on pushing through your 14 mile run. Look you could have quit but you didn’t! That is something great!!! Way to stick it out!
I hope next week will be a completely different story for you and your training! Thanks so much for joining us these last several weeks, we do appreciate you!
Thanks so much Tricia! it’s so much easy to not do the preventative maintenance, and sometimes I don’t feel like doing it, but I know it’s the only way I can get to the starting line of the marathon healthy!
You did a great job this past week! Sorry that the 14 miler was rough on you…it’s true, sometimes we have bad days and we can’t dwell on them. What was the trouble with the tempo run? I have my first tempo run next week and now I’m a little nervous!
100% agreed! I’m so over last weekend’s horrible 14 miler and I have plans to have a great 16 miler this weekend, #NoExcuses! My tempo runs are just hard because I’m pushing the pace and my IT band doesn’t like that all of the time 🙁
good job plowing through miles on a miserable run…that’s the worst feeling! i’m hoping my long run tmrw goes better than last week. wishing you a good weekend of running and see you at the NYM in November!
Yeah it was a miserable run, but the bad runs make us appreciate the good runs 🙂
The weather here will be perfect tomorrow morning for my long run so I am very hopeful that I will have a good long run (16 miles). Wishing you a fantastic long run tomorrow!!
I am sorry your 14 miler was not the best. Not every run will go the way we want it to go. You are still doing a GREAT job and you will cross that finish line with a smile.
We need to have the bad runs to appreciate the good runs! Today’s 16 miler went okay so I think I’m back in the groove lol