Marathon Training: Week 1 or Can I ever Follow a Schedule?
Yay!!! The first Week of Marathon Training has come and gone! The Schedule Below was what I was supposed to follow, but as you know, nothing ever goes as planned.
I came down with a fever on Monday, so I couldn’t do my very first training run on Tuesday as I was trying to get my body to recover. It was such a bummer, but better to get sick in the beginning of my training rather than at the end, right?
I felt a little bit better by Thursday, so I decided to do my 30 minute run in Central Park with my boyfriend John and Team Mate, Marisol. We usually do a 2 minute run segment with a 1 minute walk segment (I love the Galloway Run-Walk-Run Method. Find out more about it here), but since I was still recovering from my fever, we did a 1:1 ratio instead.
It was tough for me, even for 30 minutes, but I managed to push through and get it done. We did a total of 2.30 Miles in about 31 minutes, which is kind of on the slower side, but I’ve heard that it’s better to train on the slower side. So I did.
My long run was supposed to be 3 Miles, but Marisol and I had already signed up for the NYRR SHAPE Women’s Half Marathon, so we were obviously doing that instead!
I was feeling mostly better by then, but not 100%, so Marisol was surprised when I told her I wanted us to do our regular 2:1 Run/Walk ratio.
Before any big race, I drink a serving of Exogenous Ketones as a preworkout, so I did exactly that. Along with that, I took a baggie of sliced pepperoni and two salt tablets for electrolytes as the course only gives out Gatorade and I can’t drink that due to all the sugars in it. I wasn’t planning on eating any of the pepperoni. I only take it just in case if I need it. However, I was planning on taking at least one salt tablet halfway through the race.
Since I plan on running the Marathon with Marisol, I decided that I should run with her on every race we do together, just to get used to running with another person. Plus, running with a friend makes the run easier, right?
The morning was pretty cold, so I was feeling pretty miserable, but it was nice having Marisol and John with me to commiserate with.
Can I just take a moment to mention how awesome my boyfriend is? He wasn’t running the race (for obvious reasons, lol), but he still came out and stayed out in the cold to cheer for me and Marisol when we passed by, not once, not twice, but three times!
Half an hour before the race started, we met up with some of our fellow QDR sisters who were also running to take a team pic. After that, we headed off to our corral.
After discussing it with her, Marisol and I decided due to the crowds in the beginning of the race, we should ignore the run/walk ratio and run straight for at least the first mile, as it may be too dangerous to implement run/walk (too must congestion and all).
We ended up doing out first mile in 10 minutes and 50 seconds, which was a wee too fast, but we were both feeling good and decided it was okay since we would be following our 2:1 ratio after that.
As planned, when we hit the halfway point, I took one of my salt tablets, but I think I should have taken it a little bit sooner. My legs were feeling a little bit heavy by then, but the salt perked me right up. I think for next time, when doing a half marathon, I’ll take it an hour into the run.
I ended up not eating any of my pepperoni, but at mile 10, I was feeling a bit hungry. I resisted because I was so close to finishing the half, but maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing. I think I might try eating some of it at Mile 5 for next time. Just to see how I feel.
Marisol and I ended up doing pretty good times. I’m especially proud of my 2 Hours 38 Minutes and 50 Seconds finish considering I was still recovering from being sick, and I was able to keep up right until the end.
Well, that’s it for now. It was my first week of training, and while everything didn’t go the way it was intended, I still learned a lot of stuff, and that’s the whole purpose of documenting my journey. To address problems and situations as they arise and to pretty much have fun.
Until next time!