Marathon Training Week 3 Recap: New Things on a Short Run

Week 3 Mileage: 15

Miles Run: 15

You can't tell, but my outfit was all green today. 
Also, I broke in my new shirt, shoes and socks.

I finally went out and bought a new pair of running shoes last weekend.  My previous pair was approaching 10 months old (!) so it was about time.  I'm not sure how much mileage I put on them since I'm not diligent about tracking that, but nevertheless, new shoes are always a good thing, IMO.

I went over to Running Away Multisport in Deerfield and picked up the newest model of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS shoes.

Looking forward to putting in some miles on these babies

I also stopped by Sports Authority and picked up some new running gear since they had some great deals on the clearance racks.  I bought a sweet Nike running shirt, Nike sports bra and UnderArmour underwear.  It dawned upon me as I was perusing the racks that running in cotton underwear is probably not a good thing especially for long runs.  I mean, the general rule of thumb is not to wear anything cotton (socks, shirt, shorts, etc.) so I suppose this rule applies to underwear as well.  In the alternative, I could run without underwear since my shorts have a lining, but I don't feel comfortable doing that.

 

I decided to skip the trail run with my training group because I had to feed my parents' cats while they were out of town.  Also, I secured my first (of probably many) PT sessions, which was at 9am.  The run would have started around 7 and I probably would have been able to make it, but I didn't want to cut it too close.  After all, it was my first PT session and I didn't want to make a bad impression!

 

So, I ran 5 miles in 45:54.  Splits were as follows: 9:19, 9:13, 8:54, 8:58 and 9:28.  Mile 3 was fast because I saw another runner running behind me and I didn't want her to catch me. Also, I wanted to catch this speedy woman running with a jogging stroller.  She turned into a park area along my route so I didn't have a chance. Mentally, I checked out on the last mile and got tired.  I have to stop fading in the last half mile.  It doesn't help me that my last half mile is on a straight stretch of road, which I despise.

 

I have to practice running on straight stretches of road on dead legs because the last two or so miles of the marathon are run on Michigan Avenue.  I had a horrific time those last two miles and I really did not think I would ever finish since the buildings looked so far away.  I also did not enjoy spectators yelling at me and telling me I had just a 5K to go.  I wanted to slap them and thankfully I did not have the energy to do so.

 

On the whole, my training is going well.  Out of the 12 runs, I've only missed one and cut back the mileage on another since I ran a race instead.  I also ran more on Week 2's long run.  However, running more than prescribed probably won't happen often. 

 

However, this is just week 3 of my 18 week relationship with training.  It's new, it's fun and it's fresh.  Hopefully I can keep up the love affair while it's still burning hot.

 

If you're training, how's it going? Any tips for not checking out toward the end of a run or a race?  Is anyone racing on the 4th of July?  Racing on a Thursday is a bit weird, no?