12 weeks to Marathon #12

Coming off of Ironman Canada on August 28, 2011, I thought I might want to take a break from racing for a bit.  That lasted, oh, about three days.  Then I get a text from my friend, Meghan, which read: "Sooo... interested in training to run a 3:30 marathon?" Uh, yes!  I do! And with that, I started looking at December marathons.

I thought I would go back to where it all started for me in 2006 ... my very first marathon: California International Marathon.  I texted my coach and asked if he thought I could be race ready in 12 weeks AND take 11 minutes off my PR.  Daryl said it was doable.  So with that, I signed up!

This week marks 1 of 12 in the books.  Here is what my week entailed:

Monday:  Rest or Swim.  I chose to swim in Lake Padden, albeit, a short swim.
Tuesday: 5 miles.  2 warm-up miles, 2 miles at 7:20-7:40 pace, 1 mile cool down.
Wednesday: 3 miles easy.
Thursday: 3 miles easy.
Friday: 5 miles.  2 warm-up, 2 miles at MP (8:00 pace), 1 mile cool down.
Saturday: Rest or bike.  I chose to rest.
Sunday: 10 miles.  Easy, relaxed between an 8:30 to 9:30 pace.  I hung out around 9:00. :)

Total miles for week 1:  26 miles

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WEEK 2 of 12

I had a work conference in Portland, Oregon this week making workouts a little tough. Especially since my hotel was several miles and two freeway exchanges away from my co-worker in the Industrial area (not a runner friendly area).

Here is my week:  Training plan vs What I accomplished

Monday:  Rest or Swim.  I chose to rest and pack for Portland.
Tuesday: On the plan was 5 miles.  2 warm-up miles, 2.5 miles at 7:20-7:40 pace, .5 mile cool down. I didn't arrive in Portland and get checked in to my hotel until after 5 pm, so I did 4.5 miles with 2 miles at tempo pace as I had to go and meet co-worker for dinner.
Wednesday: 3 miles easy.  I talked my co-worker into running after class today. 3 miles from his hotel on the waterfront in Portland.  Very nice area!
Thursday: 3 miles easy. I woke up early to run my 3 miles as the co-worker and I had a networking event after class today.  I went to my hotel so-called "gym" which consisted of one treadmill and one weight rack.  There was no ventilation, no windows, no air conditioning.  Basically a sauna for 3 miles. Miserable!
Friday: 5 miles.  1 warm-up, 3 miles at MP (8:00 pace), 1 mile cool down. I considered getting up early for another treadmill session, but that thought lasted only one nano-second before I remembered how miserable it was yesterday.  I considered driving to the waterfront and running by myself, but someone decided to drive their vehicle into the river and drown so the boardwalk was closed to any sort of foot traffic.  Then I thought I might get this run in after getting home late tonight.  That didn't happen as my family was ready for game night.  I decided to miss this 5 miler and not worry about it. 
Saturday: Rest or bike.  I chose to rest.  Actually was a busy busy day, starting with football, then a housewarming for some friends, then dinner with other friends.  Felt like I was going on day long.
Sunday: 12 miles.  Easy, relaxed between an 8:30 to 9:30 pace. I ran this with Lora and Jess at 4 am.  It was dark, WINDY, and started raining after the first hour.  We did it though! Then, I went to cheer my friends running the Bellingham Bay Marathon. :)

Total miles for week 2:  22.5 miles