MCM Week 16: Is the Race On?

I reached Peak Week in my marathon training plan, which meant I had to run at least 59 miles as a final burst of volume before tapering for the big race. I ran the Jersey Shore Half Marathon and many double-digit mileage days before an impending storm, all while trying to avoid social media chatter about MCM potentially canceling due to the government shutdown. I stayed the course with my training while I saw that others online stopped training altogether and I kept a positive outlook. Even if the race was canceled, I would still be glad I trained.

Here's the plan breakout for Week 16:

• Sunday – 16 miles Long

• Monday – 6 miles Easy

• Tuesday – 11 miles Strength: 1.5 miles WU, 2 x 3 miles @ MP-10 w/ 1 mile jog, 1.5 miles CD

• Wednesday – Crosstrain

• Thursday – 12 miles Long

• Friday – 6 miles Easy

• Saturday – 8 miles Easy

What actually happened:

• Sunday – 13.28 miles Tempo (Jersey Shore Half Marathon on Sandy Hook)

• Monday – 6.2 miles Easy (Sandy Hook)

• Tuesday – 5 miles Easy (Bedminster)

• Wednesday – Rest

• Thursday – 15 miles Long (Sandy Hook)

• Friday – 11 miles Easy (Sandy Hook)

• Saturday – 6 miles Easy (HHT)

Although I went to bed at a decent time on Saturday night to rest for the Jersey Shore Half Marathon the next morning, there was a small wedding being held at the outdoor restaurant across the street and a live band was playing until close to midnight. This restaurant doesn’t typically have events like this going late, so it was just unlucky for me. The music was great, I just needed my sleep. I woke up with a Garmin body battery reading of 30 Sunday.

It was a humid and unseasonably hot morning for the beginning of October, so I dressed in a tank and shorts for this race. I chugged electrolytes first thing in the morning to get ahead of my hydration. The race was on Sandy Hook, so it was a nice easy morning in terms of race preparation. We got a good parking spot, I only needed to nervous pee once, and at the beep I was off! It was a two-lap course, so I paced myself on the first loop and grabbed water at every aid station, which were staffed by volunteers from a few of Monmouth University’s athletic teams. Since Sandy Hook is practically my backyard, I knew that there wouldn’t be any shade. The sun was directly in my face for most of the race and I felt the sunscreen burn my eyes. I practiced my fueling strategy while at race pace since I was only 3 weeks out from the Marine Corps Marathon. I picked up speed at the end and finished in 1:55, my typical half marathon time. I was tired, but still in good spirits after the race so I properly paced myself in this heat. I was just glad that the Shore A.C. worked their magic to make sure they could still host the race on a National Recreation Area with the government shutdown. I spent the rest of the day lazily watching football.

Having fun at the finish line photo booth!

I slept well and felt recharged on Monday as if I didn’t just run a half marathon the previous day, so I ran 6 easy miles at sunrise on the Hook. It was an easy work day as well, so I was able to mentally recharge as well.

Tuesday’s traffic was brutal yet again, so my run was cut short yet again. I ran 5 miles on the bike trail at work instead of the 11 tempo. I felt a bit anxious from having to rush, so it was probably for the best that I didn’t overdo the run.

I needed a rest day by Wednesday. I would have lifted, but I had the rescheduled Running Q+A Call later that morning and I wanted to add a few more things to the deck. I had a mental hyperfocus and wanted to ride that wave for the call. I rocked my presentation and was so glad I didn’t try to push through last week during an anxiety attack. I felt great after the call, and stayed up late to sit front row at a Vitamin String Quartet performance that night.

A Nor’easter was expected to arrive over the weekend, so I tacked on a few extra miles on Thursday to make sure I still had the volume for peak week. Fifteen miles is a lot to run on a weekday, so I was glad to be working from home so I could put my feet up on the couch with my laptop to recover instead of in the office where members of the gym would be asking for my attention. I went to bed quite early that night.

On Friday I ran 11 miles to make up for some of the missed miles on Tuesday. I felt surprisingly good for having run nearly a marathon within 24 hours, but that is the beauty of peak week in marathon training. Double-digit mileage is “ONLY ___ miles” rather than feeling like a big thing to conquer. I had a busy work from home day and worked up an appetite for my parents to come visit that evening and celebrate an early birthday dinner with us.

Powered by delicious seafood and dessert, I ran 6 miles the next morning. Just as I turned around on the Henry Hudson Trail, I started getting rained on. I had to hop around some of the usual puddle spots to avoid soaking my good sneakers. I had a lovely weather migraine shortly after I returned from my run, so I was also glad I didn’t have many more miles to go. Despite my skull-crushing migraine, I enjoyed the rest of the day hanging out with a few friends that came to visit.

Overall, it was a successful peak week of marathon training. I was only about 3 miles behind on the planned volume, but I listened to my body (and the weather forecast) to fit it all in before taper. I now had the toughest week over with and had to remember how to relax for the next two weeks before the big day.