15 weeks to go!

When I don't have a training plan to follow, I let life get in the way of running. As a result, I had a rest week going into my first week of marathon training.  Though this week was no less busy than the last, and included 3 nights away from home and a flight to Whitehorse and back, I hit all 4 of my runs, including 2 workouts and a long run.  And, by walking instead of driving from point A to B to C to D (you get the idea), while in Whitehorse, I managed to squeeze in some cross training too.

Monday - 5K easy

It felt great to get started with a short and sweet run around the neighbourhood!

5.48K in 32:36 or 5:56/km

Tuesday - 10 min easy, 3 x 1600 @ 5:05 pace, 10 min easy

This one didn't quite go as planned, and led me to realize that there was something wrong with my pace chart.  Thanks to Marlene, I'm switching to the McMillan pace chart, which makes more sense to me.

1.7K easy, 1600 @ 4:58, 1600 @ 5:00, 1200 @ 5:15, 400 @ 5:15, (with 200m rests), 1K easy

Wednesday - rest

I flew to Whitehorse on Wednesday morning for a work trip which called for me to visit a number of organizations around the downtown area.  I walked to the food bank, the Friendship Centre, the Visitor's Centre, and 2 youth organizations, all at a good pace.  This was my mid-week cross training.

Thursday - Tempo Run

It was great to get the chance to run in Whitehorse!  Though I didn't have my Garmin, and had to rely on feel for this run, it was a beautiful trail and I felt great and destressed from my busy week afterwards.

8.5K @ 5:44 average pace

Friday - Rest

I ended up doing some heavy lifting on my rest day!  We picked up a heavy desk and dresser and moved them from the Reuse Centre to the van, to the house and down a flight of stairs.  For someone that almost never works on her arms - this was a workout!

Saturday - Long run 21K at MRP + 19s

This was a great long run to start training with.  I wasn't sure how it would go after taking a week off, and a light week before that following my half marathon in Calgary, but all of that rest paid off!

21K in 2:08:15 @ 6:06/km

Sunday - hike

Almost every Sunday, the BF and I go for a hike.  A few weeks ago, while I was away in Calgary, the BF met a lady with a huge chunk of property, and a nice dog.  The lady needed a dogsitter, so while I was gone, the BF dogsat.  In exchange, the lady offered use of her property and trails whenever we want!  It's nice because it's only a 15 minute drive, I was able to stay in cell range while on call for work, and we had a 2 hour hike in the bush!

2 hours hiking, 16 mosquito bites