17 mile training run = done!
Confession: I WILL be running a fall marathon!
It’s been a long time since I ran that long! But…I’ve been wavering back and forth on doing a marathon this fall for months. Will I or won’t I? It turns out a group of people from Trident are all running the Marine Corps Marathon. I figured….if they are CrossFitting all the time and training and running this thing, I can do it too.
20-Mile #FAIL
The big feat was going to be getting in a 20-miler. Once I do one of them, I feel decent about doing a whole marathon. Well…that didn’t exactly take this weekend. I set out intent on doing 20 but I got to a point where I couldn’t go any further. My legs and feet were so worn out. I don’t know if it’s just that I haven’t run that long in awhile, or that I was wearing new shoes, or it was hot out or just an off day but I couldn’t believe how hard it was for me to finish 17 miles.
I was even getting “the thoughts” — like “why am I doing this? Why do I even want to run a marathon? This is dumb!” But of course I’ve already recovered from those.
I prefer to head 10 miles one way and then have 10 miles to come back so there’s no skimping. But the path I took kept ending! I found a little route near the end that I did 4 times before heading back towards home. I thought that would get me close to 20 but turns out, it was only going to be 17. I told myself I get get in another three but at some point, my body said no way. So I let it be and will tackle 20 in another couple weeks.
“I Can Finish a Marathon Crawling.”
When I read Emily’s blog, I feel like 20 miles is no big deal — but of course it is for those of us who don’t run long much. Yeah, I know, I CrossFit these days — not run, but it’s all good. I know I can finish a marathon crawling if I have to (not that I’d ever want it to come to that.)
Anyhoooo, I snacked on a chocolate Gu during the run, and about 3 fruit punch Shot Blocks (thanks Clif!). Afterward, I had:
There is something to recovering with the right nutrition. I also foam rolled and used the Stick on my calves, which were NOT happy.
Soreness went away fairly quickly but I took Sunday off. Then, Monday (no work, Labor Day!), we had the Hotshots 19 workout. Here’s that workout:
- Six rounds for time of:
- 30 Squats
- 135 pound Power clean, 19 reps
- 7 Strict Pull-ups
- Run 400 meters
0 m
I was excited to have so many cleans, cause you know I love the barbell, but those last two rounds were brutal! The “advanced” crew was doing 6 rounds! I wanted to do 5 rounds but couldn’t get myself to go another.
CrossFit is going awesome these days — I feel like I’m getting stronger and more confident in my moves. Still light compared to most — and hardly ever an Rx but, a little progress is better than none!
Long story short — feeling good right now. The marathon will be ROUGH but I’m going to try for two 20-milers before the race which at this point…is next month! (end of month.)
Anyone else “kind of” winging a marathon without training too seriously?
I’m doing my first full in Dec. I had hoped to truly start my training schedule now to slowly build my base to 16-ish. Right now my base long runs are 10-12. The weather is beating me down though. We’ve had a mild summer up until now. When it’s 80 degrees at 5 am and feels like a sauna, it’s really hard to even enjoy single digits let alone double. I’m terrified of hitting anything over 14 to be honest.
Don’t be terrified — just go slow! You still have plenty of time if its not till December! Which marathon are you doing?
And oddly, the go slow part is where I have a hard time. I know that sounds crazy. It’s called the 3 Bridges Marathon. It’s the 2nd year for it here in Little Rock, AR.
So strange! Well, you will adapt. It’s interesiting your first one but after that, you will really know how your body handles the distance!
Curious about what program you are using to train for the MCM? I am running it as well and I am only up to 13 miles for my long run. Good luck!
I’m actually not using a plan…totally winging it! I just wanted to start getting in some long runs. It may be a little early to have mileage that high. It’s a mental thing for me to get over the hump and commit for sure.
I can’t wait to hear how the marathon goes. I’m curious with all the crossift training that you have been doing to get your opinion about the crossfit/running combo for a marathon. Last year when I was training for my first marathon, I struggled with my 20mile run big time, two weeks later it was a 22 mile run and suprisingly that went really well. You know how running goes somedays you got it and somedays just suck! Good luck! : )
I can’t wait to hear how the marathon goes. I’m curious with all the crossift training that you have been doing to get your opinion about the crossfit/running combo for a marathon. Last year when I was training for my first marathon, I struggled with my 20mile run big time, two weeks later it was a 22 mile run and suprisingly that went really well. You know how running goes somedays you got it and somedays just suck! Good luck! : )
Thanks, you know I’ll be writing about it all the way! True. So there are a ton of people from my CrossFit gym who do long distance running as well. In CF, they stress getting the proper running form as the most important factor — not running a ton of miles each week. My legs continue to get stronger doing weightlifting stuff at CF and then I get in my long runs because I personally think they are essential (some in CF don’t.) On the other hand, I’m not hoping for a PR this year — just a decent race that feels good.