Distance: 43.7 kilometers (27.16 miles)
Time: 4 hours
Comments: As far as I am concerned this was my first week of real training. I finally put in a solid week of work. There were high points and there were low points but I was able to concentrate and see it through to the end. When you add the mileage up, I ran my first marathon this week.
Overall the runs were strong but not particulary fast. My times will have to improve substantially to reach the goals I am shooting for in January. That requires a great deal of time and effort so it is best to start concentrating on establishing the foundation for it now.
On the injury front, the side of my left foot was sore after Wednesday's run and the day following. Not severe, just sore. And, on Friday I developed a tender bruise-type pain beneath the ball of my pinkie toe on the left. It was gone today.
There was the battle with fatigue at the middle of the week that seemed to be resolved by a very-inactive off day.
I have also been having a weird pain in my left side after I finish running. It is an interior thing in the vicinity of my kidneys but feels like a weird muscle twitch of some type. It hits for about two or three minutes and then disappears.
With the most intense two weeks of work just completed, it's probably best to pull back a bit this week. I will be keeping on my every-other-day pattern but with slightly less time each day - probably only 45 min runs - and an hour long run this weekend.
I have started to give some thought to my actual training schedule. To get started, last week I picked up Hal Higdon's book on marathon training aptly titled "Marathon." (His website can be found here.)
Essentially I wanted a general text to get basic answers for my questions on diet, pacing, training and so on. This was a great start. The book has a ton of good information although the author isn't shy about touting his own accomplishments.
By augmenting that with what the guru has to say and general research, I should be able to come up with a reasonable plan. At this point, I have decided is to use Higdon's 18-week program with a three week taper at the end. I will also be including at least two 10K races in there.
But, outside of that it's all up in the air.
More immediately, for the next two months I will be working to have a solid foundation to begin the "real" training. Basically, I want to be prepared for the punishment I have in store when the miles really count. So if I develop a problem or injury during this process, I want it to happen in the next two months, not after Sept. 11.