Marathon Week - 11 & 12

So I know I am a little late on posting these last two weeks but the training has been keeping me very busy and it has been pretty boring as of late so there hasn't been much to blog about.  Weeks 11 & 12 were two more solid 70+ mile weeks which has given me a ton of confidence that my training is headed in the right direction.  The double running days are getting easier, my recovery runs are all dipping sub-8:00 min/miles and overall I feel like even when I am completely beat up I can slog through 6 miles at a decent pace without struggling.

My long runs have been coming down in speed and been significantly easier especially in the later miles.  My last two long runs were both sub-7:30 min/miles for 22 miles with all miles being in the 7:00-8:00 min/mile range which is a huge improvement since my longs previously all ended with multiple miles in the 8:00+ min/miles some even closing in on 9:00.  I had been concerned that I was just going to hit a wall hard post 22 miles since that is the longest I am going to run, but now with a trusty goo at mile 20 and the training going well I think I am good.

One big change over the past few weeks has been the amount of mileage I have been running on the local trails. I have moved all of my recovery and easy runs to the trails and it has really helped to keep soreness to a minimum.  Plus it has provided some interesting and humorous content for my blog.  For example, the other day I was chased by a pack of 3 cockerspaniels for about a mile as I dragged them away from their house, man they are fast.  Or the time I was running on the trail and saw what appeared to be the brawny man in a tent on the side of the riverbank. Or there was the high school girls who were on bicycles who were singing and dancing while riding behind me.  Or the gang of snapping raccoons that wouldn't let me pass, oh wait nevermind...

Week 12 was an interesting week as it was my first race in a long time and really proved to be a true test of my fitness. See my race post for all the details.

Week 11 Total: 74 miles.

Monday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:44; 400@6:22; 400@5:53; 1200@6:58]. 10 miles PM: 46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		53 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 45 minutes easy. 6 miles. PM: 45 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		65 minutes threshold @ 7:10 + C/D. 11 miles.
Saturday:		Rest.
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:29. 22 miles.

Week 12 Total: 71 miles.

Monday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 10 miles PM: 53 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Wednesday:		50 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 84 minutes easy. 11 miles PM: 46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		Rest.
Saturday:		5K Road Race. 3 miles.
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:25. 22 miles.