Today was the worst workout I’ve had so far in my training for the marathon. I was supposed to run two 1600 m intervals and one 800 m interval. I couldn’t even finish the first 1600 m interval. My legs were so tired from my 7 miles on Saturday. I felt beyond exhausted. I felt on the verge of injury. So, I stopped the workout short. I’m not a big fan of doing that, but my calves are very, very tight and my shins are actually starting to hurt. I felt like something was going to snap any minute, and as frustrating as it was to stop, going down the injury road would be much more frustrating.
I am wondering whether the 10K program I’m following is too much too soon. The pace is based on a 5K race I did back in October and I know I wouldn’t have been able to run a 5K at that pace when I started the program. I probably still can’t. I’m not ready to drop it completely, but I think I’m going to repeat last week instead of upping my mileage again this week. I will up my time on the cycling workout, though.
Planned workout
12 minutes warmup
2 x 1600 m at 7:00 pace with 400 m rest interval, 1 800 m interval at 6:35 pace.
10 minutes cool down
Actual workout
12 minute warmup
1 1200 m interval at 7:00 pace, 400 m rest interval, 1 800 m interval at 7:00 pace.
10 minute cooldown
Here’s how the plan will shape out for the rest of the week:
Tuesday: 35 minutes on the stationary bike at level 7
Wednesday: Tempo run 2 miles at 7:35 pace, 1 mile easy, 2 miles at 7:35 pace
Thursday: Strength Training
Friday: Off
Saturday: 7 miles in the sweltering heat
Sunday: Off