MCM Training Week 9

Week 9 of Marine Corps Marathon training was a recovery/cutback week and I was so grateful for it. I'm used to training blocks that are 4 weeks long; this one was 5 weeks and waiting that extra week for recovery felt like an eternity!

I really focused on recovering to prepare for what comes next week...the beginning of our "build" block. We are beginning the weeks with our highest volume and specific intensity levels, with a focus on increasing our lactate threshold. My training plan cautions: "This block will likely be hard for you." Bring it, build block! I am ready for you.

Rocking My Run

I don't run with music or headphones, but last week during our long run a bicycle whizzed past us with a bluetooth speaker and a great song. After getting that quick earful, I decided we needed some background music for our long runs.

I got a bluetooth speaker from Amazon that easily connects to my phone and clips onto my hydration vest:

The speaker has a carabiner that I clipped to the strap behind the gray plastic

I don't have time to put together a mix, so I explored "RockMyRun," an app that has been on my phone for over a year that I hadn't really used. I think I originally heard about it through #Runchat. I checked out some mixes and we ended up listening to 80s Poptacular during our long run. It was awesome. We kept the volume low enough that we could easily hear bikers and others on the trail, of course. Safety first!

Week 9 Statistics

I ran 4 times for a total of 23.3 miles.

• Track: 5x800 building to aerobic capacity (AC) w/ 4 minutes rest (3.7 miles)
• I had a tough time with this workout. My legs felt heavy and my energy was low. I think it's because I ran too fast on my recovery run on Sunday (see below). 
• Easy runs: 3.5 and 4.0 miles
• The 3.5 was the Sunday run that was too fast for easy. I was running around the track during my son's practice and my pride got the best of me. I wanted to run faster. I wanted to look like a "real" runner. I'm sure no one else was even paying attention to me, so how ridiculous is that?! I know better.
• Long run: 12 miles: 6 at easy pace and 6 building to race pace
• I felt great during this run and my energy level was high. Like last week, I focused on fueling up with carbs leading up to my long run. 
• I marveled every time I said "only 12 miles" this week. 16 months ago I hadn't even run 12 miles yet and it seemed like such a long distance.
• Strength training: 3 times (my routine)
• My husband surprised me with a new Bosu Trainer this week so I mixed things up a bit and did some of my lunges and planks with the Bosu. 
• I can see bigger muscles in my legs! I feel really strong.
• Yoga: 1 yin yoga class

Onward to Week 10 and the Build Block!

Read about previous training weeks: 

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8