Eight weeks down, seven to go. Training in week 8 was a bit unique with three 6-mile recovery runs, a 14-mile midweek run, and a 16-mile long run. The recoveries each went well enough if not uneventful.

It was kind of nice to have several easy runs all lined up. Tuesday’s 14 miler was faster than expected, mainly because I knew Colin was also going to be running 14 miles (in Connecticut) and I wanted to put up a good showing. Well that jerk a) “got lost” and ran 15 miles; and b) was tired so probably going to be a little slower. He ended up still being faster, even with the longer distance and being “tired”.

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After a great weekend in Seattle it was back to the Austin grindstone for Week 7 of training. Things started off a bit shaky with a red-eye that netted me about 3 hours of sleep taking me straight from the airport to the office. To make up for the lost morning I laid down 7 easy miles in 102* heat after work.

The heart rate was higher than a normal recovery, but I’m ok with that. My goal was to simply survive. Tuesday was even less fun, feeling nauseous during and after the run. I think my body was still out of whack from the travel and weird sleep schedule, but I got through it.

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Six weeks down, zero runs missed. Last week was the first real big week. On tap was 50 miles of left foot, right foot, repeat. The real highlight though was our trip to Seattle. That’s right, Ev and I escaped the swelterfest known as Austin and made our way up into the Pacific Northwest for a long weekend for rest and relaxation. And running.

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Sometimes you need an easy week and sometimes you don’t.  Last week was one of those times when I definitely needed an easy week of running.  I diligently knocked each one out exactly as the schedule said, including a sweltering lunch time run in the heart of Texas summer heat.  There were no tempo or speed miles and no real long distances.  It was much-needed after a rough Week 4.  Heading into Week 6 I’m feeling refreshed and ready to light it up.  I’m looking forward to hitting 50 miles this coming week, particularly with an 18 mile run that I can do in Seattle’s cool, dry climate.  I’m not even sure how to prepare for a place where their HIGH temp is cooler than our LOW temp.  I think I’ll figure out a way though.

Week 4 is in the books leaving destruction in its wake. More specifically, my self-destruction. I hit all my prescribed runs, but not really all the paces I wanted. I’m happy I got through each day without much drama, but disappointed with most of the performances.

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Now we’re getting serious.  It’s been a long time since I cracked 40 miles in a week, which isn’t really all that much when it comes to marathon training, but it’s a milestone nonetheless.  Another milestone is going 14 for 14 on scheduled runs so far in the training plan.  Hopefully I’ll be able to say I went 74 for 74 by the time the race rolls around, but we’ll see.

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Week 2 was much better than Week 1. Sticking to the schedule didn’t go particularly well, but the actual running was much improved. I hit all my runs, though had some more rescheduling to fit into general life. I pushed my long run up from Saturday to Wednesday to accommodate the Couples Triathlon on Sunday. Yep, I participated in another tri even after swearing off switching to running-only.

For now things are going smoothly, but my paces are slower than I’d like. I can’t expect to pick up where I left off at my peak, but I’m hoping I see some big gains soon. Otherwise I may need to reevaluate my goal for the race. Still early though, so only time will tell.

Well, Week 1 of my Team VW Chicago Marathon training plan is in the books. It started off shaky but quickly found a groove. It’s nice getting back in the running seat, but I can tell I’m thoroughly out of running shape. It’s true my swimming abilities have seen some exponential improvement, apparently at the cost of my running fitness. That’s OK though! Week 1 in the books and things can only go up from here.

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