Marathon Training: Week 5

I'm officially 5 weeks into marathon training and going strong. Or, I was going strong until a few hours ago, when I am pretty sure I pulled a butt muscle. Not kidding.

I spent an hour hobbling around Walmart getting Super Bowl groceries, and it was very sad. Hopefully I can take it easy the rest of the day and be ready for next week's long run, which will be 14 miles....the longest I've ever run in my life! 

But let's not jump ahead. 

This week was another great week of training. Per usual, I did my Tuesday and Thursday runs inside on the treadmill in the morning. I know some people don't like the treadmill, but I swear it is helping my training, because my long runs outside have been amazing so far!

Today I wanted to take it easy. I decided I wasn't going to push myself; I was just going to do what my legs wanted to do. And then I paced UNDER 9 MINUTES. 

Good land of mercy! 
I kept seeing the 8 in front of my pace number and getting confused.

As crazy as it sounds, I even felt like I could have gone faster if I'd tried. As I tweeted earlier this morning, it is now officially impossible to deny that I am faster than I was a year ago. I used to go running with a girl from work, and running at 9:15 pace nearly killed me. Now I am pacing under that for much longer mileage than we used to run. Consistent running DOES make a difference, and I couldn't be happier with where I am right now as a runner.

Next week, though, I really do need to take it slow. I've been reading a lot of articles about running lately, and the importance of recovery runs and a slower pace cannot be overstated. In the back of my mind sits a nagging fear that I will do something stupid like go out too hard and injure myself, so I need to be careful.

Either tomorrow or Monday I will do some cross-training. I found a great video online that has some cardio workouts, and I've already mentioned the 10-minute arm workout video I pinned on my fitness board. My arms are shaking by the end of it, but it's fantastic. 

I also want to take a minute and give my dad a shout-out. As you may remember, he also signed up for the marathon, and we've been keeping up with each other's training on daily mile. You guys. My dad is a ROCKSTAR. He's 53 years old and training for a marathon. And killing it, by the way. It's so fun to share this experience with him.

Next week is 14 miles! The longest I've run is a half marathon, which is 13.1, so I'm excited to run longer and farther than I ever have before. Wish me luck!