CIM Training Week 6 - We Are Halfway There

Really?  I'm halfway through training? Three more weeks of 70 plus miles and then three weeks of taper.  And then I put my body to the ultimate test.

I've already decided I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself.  If I don't sub 3:40, I'll sign up for a spring marathon and try again.  Maybe I'll have to try again and again and again.  My half marathon time says I have the ability to meet the goal.  But it was a race with ideal conditions where pretty much everything went right.  Races are unpredictable.

My week in a review:
Monday - 6 recovery miles before work and 4 at 10pm (no I didn't want 10pm.  Susanna wouldn't sleep.)  Legs were still pretty tight from the race the day before.
Tuesday- Rest (although I did two with the boys running club I coach -- Tuesday is not a good day to choose "rest" because those boys won't let me.)
Wednesday- GA (general aerobic) pace 9 before work, 6 after.
Thursday- 3 with the running club before work and then insane speedwork -- .75 mile repeats at a 6:45 pace with .25 jog recoveries plus warm up and cool down.  So 8 more miles.
Friday- 6 recovery miles in the morning, 2 in the afternoon
Saturday- 17 at 8:45ish pace
Sunday- 9 recovery miles
Total mileage:  72.  Another record.

Tomorrow is rest. WHAT?  I have run for 11 days straight, and my mind is having trouble grasping this concept of rest.  I have a feeling the taper is going to be very, very itchy come November.

A couple things I learned this week:

1.  I can't run at 5am every morning.  I need a couple mornings a week where I can relax and not feel rushed and sleep in a bit longer.  I also hate speedwork in the mornings.  So it looks like Thursdays will be my "Run After Work Day."

2. Though all these solo runs are great for mental toughness, I really enjoy running with others.  Saturday long runs I always do with the DSG folks.  These past two weeks I've met up with Brittany once outside of DSG to do a run.   I also started doing my Wednesday moring recovery runs with a neighbor.  It's hard to fit in a social life with two kids and a full time job (and, er, running 70 mile a week) -- this helps.

This week Brittany and I are meeting up for speedwork on Thursday.  We are somehow supposed to hold half marathon pace (about 7:40) for 7 miles, sandwiched between a mile warm up and cool down.  I have no idea how I'm supposed to run that fast if I don't have a timing chip on and someone to chase down, but we'll see how it goes.