Peak week

If my last two marathon training seasons have taught me anything, it's that my favorite part of marathon training is the highest mileage weeks.  While training for my current marathon and also while training for Goofy, I started off the seasons feeling pretty crappy.  The runs were hard, and I finished feeling like I had to push way too much just to get my legs spinning at a decent pace.

During Goofy, I blamed all the unfun runs on the fact that I was sick for pretty much the entire duration of the training season.  While I'm sure this affected it, I don't think it was the only reason.

At the beginning of my training for the Seattle RNR, I felt the same as I had for Goofy.  My legs didn't want to move fast, my lungs were working too hard, and by the end of most of my runs I was simply frustrated.

And then, just as happened in the peak weeks of training for Goofy, once I started hitting the high mileage weeks, suddenly I felt amazing.  My legs felt strong, my lungs felt clear and happy, and my mind was all in.

Being the over-analyzer that I am, I've come up with a list of very legitimate reasons why I love the few weeks of training just before the taper:

1) Miles and more miles.  There's something incredibly satisfying about seeing the mileage numbers skyrocket.  I love the feeling that comes after finishing a run in the high teens, let alone a 20 miler (as I did this past weekend).  There's a running high that comes from knowing how many miles you've clocked on those long runs that I can't quite duplicate in any other way.

2) The earlier, not-so-fun weeks are paying off.  There's a reason that all those early weeks suck.  It's because you are building up your strength and endurance to a point it hasn't been at in a while.  To a point that most people in their lives will never build up to.  Of course it sucks.  It's the kind of "this really sucks" pain and frustration that is necessary to getting better, stronger, and faster.  And then, in the peak weeks, you suddenly feel the benefits of all the hard work.

3) Strength.  Very similar to the point above.  In the peak weeks, my legs feel unstoppable.  It's like I can feel every little iota of muscle that I've built in the previous weeks.  My legs suddenly feel like they could run faster and further than they ever have before, with much less effort.

4) The adrenaline of the upcoming race is kicking in.  By the peak weeks of training, I've usually fully entered the Marathon Reality Zone.  Knowing I have this race coming up in the not too distant future is an added motivating factor in the desire to push through the miles.

5)  Brain training.  In the peak weeks, with the strength and endurance built up, it's easier to focus on the brain training aspect of marathon training.  At the end of a 20 mile run, when you know that your legs will carry you to the finish despite how much they are protesting, it comes time to start training your brain to stay positive, keep focused, and not give up.  It's the time to start training your brain to believe that you are capable of doing what you've set out to do.  For me, this is the biggest challenge of marathon training.  And during peak weeks, I am happy to tackle this challenge.

Memorial Day Weekend marked the end of my peak week of training.  Let's recap.

I started off my week back in New York with a late long run (late meaning Monday instead of Saturday) at the tail end of wedding weekend.  Leading up to the weekend, I had been really nervous about tackling a 160 minute run all on my own.  I think the longest run I'd done on my own before that was somewhere around 11 miles.  17 miles just seemed way too daunting.  I emailed my family members to see if they'd be willing to ride a bike next to me to keep me company, but most everyone was heading back towards their own homes on Monday or acting as airport taxi all day, so that was a no go.  So then I turned to Sierra, who had flown back to Rochester with me for the wedding and to see her family.  She agreed right away to tag along next to me.

I started off the run along the Erie Canal Path in Rochester at 7 am by myself.  It was peaceful and quiet with just another runner or 2 I passed along the way in the first half hour.  As I jogged under an overpass, I saw this graffiti on the side of one of the columns and couldn't help but smile:

It's hard to tell that it's the silhouette of a head under the scribbles, hair
 pulled back in a pony tail.  Somebody knows just the right way to pep
up lady runners on their way. 

After the first 40 minutes, I headed back to the parking lot to meet Sierra who then ran with me on another out and back for another 30 minutes.  When we got back to the parking lot again, we pulled the bike out of the car, and then Sierra rode along next to me for the next hour and a half.  The weather was perfect and Sierra did an excellent job of keeping me distractedly entertained.  Before I knew it we were done, I'd clocked 17.2 miles, and I felt about a hundred times better than I had on my 160 minute run just 2 weeks before.

HLMs are the best. So is fuzzy, humidity-affected curly hair.

After getting back to my parents, I immediately hopped into an ice bath to prep myself for the cross-country flight I'd have to take in the next few hours.

My sister was more than happy to help out by pouring
the ice in for me and then taking a picture.

The ice bath, my compression socks, and the amazing luck of having an empty middle seat in my row all worked together to keep my legs from seizing up painfully on my 6 hour flight back to Seattle.

The next day, Tuesday, was team practice.  It was our last interval run of the season, and I was concerned about being able to push the pace the day after my long run.  In fact, I came very close to skipping the run altogether.  But it was peak week, and amazing things happen in peak week.  Instead of feeling tired or slow, my legs felt great.  Me and running buddy James made it twice around Green Lake (5.9 miles) in 47 minutes, with an overall average pace of 7:57--a faster overall average than any of our previous intervals.  No complaining with that one.

Wednesday, I gifted myself with a well earned rest day.

Thursday, running buddy James and I set out for our typical 6+ mile Ballard loop.  We intended to take it slow and easy, but the forces of peak week, a rest day, and a stressful workday combined and, oops, this happened:

Accidental 10K PR.  Smile.

Friday was a rest day again.

And then Saturday, it was time for the 3 hour run.  In Team in Training terms, the 3 hour run is the longest run of the training season.  Each 3 hour run I've done, I've gone just a little further than the previous season.  Last season for Goofy, Erica and I just barely eked out a 20 mile run (we went a couple tenths of a mile at the end to flip the watch to 20 miles).  This time, I was hoping to pace myself correctly and try to make it to 20 miles again.  We did a good job of starting out slow, pacing through the first half, and then speeding up just enough on the second half.  In the end, I made it 20.2 miles, with a minute or 2 to spare.  And I felt great.  This continues my streak of never having a bad 3 hour run.

This means I am officially ready for 26.2 #5!

My GPS watch decided to literally crap out about 2 minutes before I crossed the TNT finish line, so I never pressed stop on the run.  When I got home to plug in the watch, I realized that it was just the face of the watch that decided to die, and my watch therefore recorded not only the 20 miles I ran, but also the 25 miles I drove to get home.  So now, according to Nike+, I have run a 45.1 mile run, the last 25 miles at about a 1 minute pace.  I am amazing.  Starting next Tuesday, I'll be a Garmin girl.  Sorry Nike.

When I tease out the first 20 miles in the splits, it looks like I kept a pace right around 8:55 for the first 10 miles (not including water stops), then upped it to about an 8:40 for the remaining miles, with a random 8:05 for mile 15 and an 8:15 final mile.  Pretty much perfect pacing for what I'd like to see myself do on race day.

And with all those amazing runs under my belt, I'm now officially in taper.  The marathon is 3 weeks away, and I feel ready to tackle that 4 hour time goal.  Now I'm just going to cross my fingers that I'll make it through the taper without any major taper tantrums.  I'm going to channel this lady when I feel the restlessness coming on:

Lucy is an expert in tapering.

That finish line will be here before I know it.