Week Eight - Philadelphia Marathon Training

Monday - 30 minute recovery run

Tuesday - Intervals (10 min warmup, 10 min running, 90 sec rest X3, cool down

Wednesday - 45 minute cross training (30 min spin bike, 15 minute run)

Thursday - 30 min easy

Friday - 1 mile run

Saturday - 160 minute long run (Susquehanna River Running Fest, Half Marathon)

Sunday - 5k run (CHOP Parkway Run)

Now I'm at the halfway point in training! I felt pretty tired early on this week but kept up with all of my runs. On Friday morning, I woke up and I just felt worn out. I really wanted to feel good for my half marathon on Saturday so I bagged the intervals that were on my schedule and did an easy mile instead. I probably could have pushed it and done the full workout but I just felt like staying in bed an extra 45 minutes seemed more valuable.

Saturday morning, we headed an hour away to Havre de Grace, MD for a half marathon. This is the second year I've done this race. The route goes from Havre de Grace to Perryville and back. A lot of the course is along the Susquehanna River and it goes across a bridge which is a fairly busy highway and usually not open to pedestrians. It's a really nice route and a well organized event.

Last year, my time was 2:25 and based on looking back at my watch data, it looks like I went out fast and couldn't maintain. This year, my time was 2:24 and I started much more conservatively stayed more consistent. I felt really good at the end of the race. The humidity has definitely broken and that summer heaviness is out of the air. For some reason, I thought the long run on the schedule was 2:30 but when I went to start my watch at the start I realized it was 2:45. I could have easily done ad 20 minute job before it started but I didn't realized.

On Sunday, we went to Philadelphia for a 5k to benefit Children's Hospital of Philadelphia cancer research. I learned about the event because the major sponsor is a bank I have some accounts with. The course measured really short, 2.59 miles but it was such a nice morning to be out running. My legs felt really good after the half marathon. They had been really restless and crampy Saturday night so I was happy a good nights sleep did the trick.

I didn't think about it when planning but it got my amped up for the marathon. Both races start and end at the art museum and I hadn't been to Philly in awhile so it was nice to refresh my memory and got me excited for November. The event itself was really good. There were so many feels as there were many children who are and were patients at CHOP. Hopefully this is an event we keep going back to year after year.