uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Hi. As some of you know, I am training for my first marathon. It is four weeks from today so it is getting close and I am getting anxious. I am training to race this SOB and as Baboon is wont to say I want to "kick it in the nuts." I am using the Pfitz 18/55 plan and today I ran 17 miles. I have not missed a run yet but today was the first day I did not want to get out of bed to run. I did it, but I didn't want to. It was a bad run. It was not fun and I didn't like it. I was almost bitten by a fat black lab who was not on a leash. The owner yelled at me because I yelled at the dog. I have a confession to make... I am sick of training. As soon as last week I was LOVING it. Last Sunday I did 18 miles with 14@GMP. I nailed it and was proud of myself. Now, a week later, I want it to end. My fitness is great but my legs are tired. Remember the old shampoo bottles? Lather, rinse, repeat. Lather, rinse, repeat. That is how I feel. Run 50-55 miles, recover, repeat. Run 50-55 miles, recover, repeat. I have two weeks of hard training left and then the taper. Sorry if I sound like I am being a baby, I just feel like my mind is going in a million different directions. Sometimes I think I need to be put in a padded room. I suppose I am tired of being tired. I hope the taper will allow me to feel fresh again. Now I just feel beat up. Is this normal at this point of training as race day approaches?
You are doing it right. Carry on.
As a wise man once said: suck it up, buttercup. If you wanted this to be easy, you would've signed up for one of those 5k marathons.
And the night before the race, just don't forget to check for separate volume knobs on your alarm clock.
Dave
I just looked at the splits for your MP run. One word for that; nice!
Hold on tight, you are almost home.
Oh, I know how you feel!
Sounds like you feel exactly how you should feel at this point in your training. Just hang on and then really enjoy the taper. You will be fresh on race day. Keep up the great work.
Training hard isn't fun. I pretty much hated running most days this last marathon cycle. I was worn down, exhausted and wanting to quit from early on in the program. I stuck with it but was feeling pretty burnt out toward the end. Anyway, it's been a week since my marathon and I'm itching to get back to running. And training. It's funny how easy it is to forget. But yes, it's normal to feel that way when you're in the middle of a hard training cycle.
You and I are both running our marathons on the same day. You and I are both training with Pfitz. You and I both had 17 miles to run today. Guess what... I just stopped for a little break, I still have a mile to do before I finish this bi*ch (where did I learn to talk like this?). I'm fed up too! We are both NORMAL!
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
I still have a mile to do before I finish this bi*ch (where did I learn to talk like this?).
Not guilty.
I am only training for a half, not a full, but I posted almost exactly the same thing on a couple of groups two weeks ago, when I finished my "4 weeks out" long run. It was miserable the entire way. My legs felt tired, and I just plain wasn't having fun. For me, it was 14 miles of no fun at all.
Luckily, everyone posted that that was exactly how I was supposed to feel at 4 weeks out. Tired, beat up, unmotivated, and sluggish. I had a good recovery run the next day, and the day after that a good interval run. Then my LR the next week rocked.
Sounds like you are exactly where you should be.
YOU! You are such a bad influence on innocent me.
Oh... and I finished the bitch.
Winning!
Are we there, yet?
A plan is a tool to help you reach a goal, not a taskmaster. If you need to modify the plan, even drastically, to get to the starting line fresh and feeling confident that you're ready, then do it. If I were in your position, one thing I would consider is backing off now to recovery, possibly adding another week of training, then cutting the taper by a week.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
delicate flower
Welcome to marathon training, son.
It feels like a chore sometimes. Sometimes you just don't feel like running, but you get out there any do it anyway. Sometimes your run sucks and you hate it and wonder why the hell you're doing all of this.
When you cross the finish line, remember days like this when you didn't want to train, then thank yourself for sticking with it.
<3