7: #Road2CIM Marathon Training: Week 12 + 13

I am catching up again on the last two weeks of marathon training. These weeks are flying by now and there are only 5 more weeks until race day. I have been keeping up with my training plan, but my motivation has been a bit down and discipline is getting me through right now. I am a little bit nervous, to be honest, but I am trying to listen to what I always tell others: trust the training. It has worked for me in the past and it will work again (it really is one big mental game, peeps.)

Focus for the weeks:

We’re being reminded to keep our easy runs easy. I am definitely guilty of not always doing that. I used to always ‘run by feel’ and that often meant that the easy runs were faster than they should be and then I was struggling through the harder workouts.  Easy runs should be done at a comfortable, conversational pace to allow our bodies to recover from more intense workouts. By properly pacing the easy runs, you can preserve energy and muscle strength to tackle harder workouts with intensity and focus. It’s a learning process but I am really trusting the training now and try to execute it as prescribed.

WEEK 12

Monday –  Rest Day! 30 min yoga + meditation 

Tuesday – 5.98 mi @ 9:45 min/mi (morning temp: 52°F) + yoga

Fuel/water: Fasted.

Wednesday –  5.52 mi @ 9:15 min/mi (treadmill) + 30 min strength + yoga

Fuel/water: Fasted.

Thursday – 6.7 mi  @ 9:42 min/mi (treadmill) + stretch 

Fuel/water: Fasted.

Friday –  4.53 mi  @  9:57 min/mi (treadmill)

Fuel/water: Fasted, didn’t carry water.

Saturday – 4.5 mi hiking + 20 min upper body strength + yoga

Sunday – 17 mi @ 9:45 min/mi (morning temp: 64°F) + yoga

Fuel/water: 32 oz of water + NUUN, fruit crusher at miles 4, 8, and ProBar Chews at miles 10

TOTAL: 40.4 mi/ 65 km
MARATHON TRAINING MILES: 375.7 miles / 605.2 km

WEEK 13

Monday –  Rest Day! Light pedaling on the bike + 10 min yoga + 30 min sleep meditation 

Tuesday – 6.03 mi @ 9:41 min/mi (morning temp: 43°F) + 30 min strength + mediation

Fuel/water: Fasted.

Wednesday –  7.17 mi @ 9:02 min/mi (morning temp: 45°F) + 20 min upper body strength + yoga

Fuel/water: Fasted.

Thursday – 20 min cycling + 30 min strength + yoga

Fuel/water: Fasted.

Friday – 5.53 mi  @  9:53 min/mi (morning temp: 45°F) + yoga

Fuel/water: Fasted, didn’t carry water.

Saturday – 6.84 mi @ 9:31 min/mi (treadmill) + stretch + yoga

Sunday – 16 mi @ 9:45 min/mi (morning temp: 57°F) + yoga

Fuel/water: 32 oz of water + Hammer Perpetuem 2.0, fruit crusher at miles 3, 6, and 12,  ProBar Chews at miles 9

TOTAL: 41.6 mi/ 67 km
MARATHON TRAINING MILES: 417.3 miles / 672.2 km

Marathon Nutrition

I am not changing my pre-long run fuel strategy, Graham crackers FTW.

Other new thoughts on fuel options during my long runs: l tried the Hüma chia gel (mango flavor) and I liked it a lot. It’s easier to ingest (because it’s liquidy) and I can definitely see myself using it in the future. I also tried the Hammer Perpetuem 2.0 fuel (orange flavor), which is a powder that you mix into water, and I like the idea of hydrating and fueling at the same time with this. Both options sat well in my stomach (I don’t seem to have a very sensitive stomach and it could handle everything I’ve tried so far. Taste and texture are much bigger issues for me.) I still very much like to use the fruit crushers, but I’d need to carry more of those and fuel more often because they “only”  have 14 g of carbs per serving (and I need 60+g/hour).

My daily macro needs per day (calculated from this marathon nutrition guide).

Protein	105 g	4-5 servings	25g/serving
Carbs	462 g	18-19 servings	25g/serving
Fats	66 g	6-7 servings	10g/serving

In the last two weeks, I averaged 94/109 g of protein,  73/72 g of fat, and 270/251 g of carbs per day, respectively. 

How I refueled after my long run

More chicken breakfast sausages, eggs, and bagels. I only eat this on the weekends after my long runs. During the week and after shorter workouts, I usually eat a bagel, oatmeal, or yogurt with fruit and granola. 

TL;DR – summary of the week:

Discipline > motivation. I am pretty good at sticking to a plan and I am really glad I am following a plan right now because I have to admit that if it wasn’t for the training plan, I’d be slacking a bit right now. But again, these mental ups and downs are part of the training and luckily, I know how to push through them. 5 more weeks!

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