So I’ve signed up for the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio, and I’ve moved around the runs in the Pfitz 18/55 plan. This is leading up to the first week of 18 on the plan.
Monday: 8 miles with 4 @ HM Pace: It was cold in the morning, and I woke up with enough time to start work by 6:00 AM. I figured that by 11:30, I could have 5.5 hours in and I expected (and told my boss) that I’d be taking some PTO. The backstory there is that I changed jobs, starting my new one on December 3, and because of that, I had 18 hours of PTO to use for holidays and other days. Christmas is a definite no-go, so that’s around 8 to use, leaving 10 for days like Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve (and the Cincinnati Bearcats play on Christmas Eve, I’m an alum and adjunct faculty, so I *want* to watch them). To make a long story short (too late!), I decided to run at lunch when I might be able to wear shorts instead of pants.
Tuesday: Rest. Christmas Day. I like my wife married to me, so I didn’t even think about running. I ran today’s easy 3 miles on the Sunday before, and it was partly to test some new shoes.
Wednesday: 9 miles. This plan certainly drops the gloves quickly. Nice little big run in the middle of the week. Unfortunately, I was suffering from a cold on Christmas and was completely run down when I woke up. I skipped the run, probably for the better.
Thursday: 4 miles. Recovery Miles. Felt worlds better that yesterday and ran 4 miles around the park. 4 miles in 35:33 (8:53 min/mile pace).
Friday: 12 miles. It was harsh. Decided to go up to East Fork. It was dark and rainy, but not cold. I didn’t feel ‘with it’, and my pace showed it. Worse, I needed to relieve myself and there was no good place until mile 9/10 where one of the campground loops had an open bathroom (after checking at a park around mile 4 and the loop prior to the one I was running in). After that pitstop, I was able to throw down some speedier miles. 12.01 miles in 1:57:43 (9:48 min/mile).
Hopefully next week I can cobble together one solid week of training. This week topped out around 25 miles. I clearly need to make it to East Fork a little more often because it is hillier than the park around the corner.