A bit of a high mileage week - I decided to schedule my 5 mile run the day after my 8 miler last Wednesday as I didn't want to run the day before the 2011 4th Annual Randy Simmons 5K on Saturday. Where was I going with this... oh yes... sorry. I hadn't planned on running the 5K until a week ago, but I figured it's for a good cause and mentally, it's a huge boost to the mindset when running with others in a big crowd. You know, the last time I ran that 5K course at Elysian Park (Los Angeles) it was early 1991.
So here's what I'm doing - I would like to run a full marathon before the end of the year and I've been looking at the Malibu International Marathon (November 13, 2011) since mid-year. Staying on a training schedule has been challenging for me, especially with working in a half-marathon race the month before Malibu! Realistically, I should have been in the upper mileage arena the week before the Long Beach 1/2, but that would have wreaked havoc on tapering down for the race.
So what to do? For me, the answer was simple: run the Long Beach race the way I should be training for a 1/2. With four weeks between Long Beach and Malibu, I calculated I could bump my mileage by 22% for the weekend long run to keep myself on par with the Malibu race date. It should be noted that this goes against the common 10 percent rule. It is generally accepted that sports injuries can be prevented using this rule. It is essentially a limit on the amount of exercise that is increased in weekly training. In this case, as an example, a runner doing 20 miles in a week should increase their run no more than adding 2 miles for the week - this is also applicable to time-based running where if one runs a total of 2 hours in the week... well, you get the idea. It's not without some controversy, but I'm going to repeat something that I truly believe in: The 10 percent rule is simply a guideline - always, always listen to your body. Don't ignore the aches and pains of your body - especially if it seems persistent. Sports injury warning signs to pay attention to (well you have to because they're hard to ignore!) include swelling, joint pain, numbness/tingling in an impact area, reduced range of motion - especially in a joint. As I like to say, your body knows best!
With that simple unscheduled 5K addition, I went over the top so to speak. I still felt strong for my long run - so earlier tonight I set out for a 15 miler to get me into the endurance mindset and on a modified training schedule for Malibu. It was a good run, too, and around mile 5 I found that I was really enjoying myself. I felt I could easily run 18 miles! So guess what? No, I didn't run 18 miles - I bonked... hit the proverbial Wall as it were at the 13th mile. With two more miles to go, I struggled to keep proper form and to make headway on my ever-slowing pace. By mile 15 I was done and ready to hit Stop on my mileage/GPS tracker! And so here as I type this, I'm rested and content; my knees feel like they're in hasty recovery and my legs are feeling fine. Maybe I can do this marathon in 2011 after all... I'll have to gauge my progress as the next two weekends still hold an endurance run at the end of each week. Another note: medically speaking (cardiac health-wise), the 35 mile per week training minimum before running a marathon is often a standard cited for post-marathon heart health for non-elite marathon participants. (I can see it on your faces now; who in the World runs over 35 miles per week?!) I believe it's equally important to keep realistic goals in mind - I'm not going to train beyond a 17 mile endurance run. But at the end of those 17 miles, I can't help but think to myself, "hold on a sec... 9.2 more miles to go???"
Well, there's always the 8-and-2 rule and that will get me to the 26.2 finish line! Let's talk about that 8-and-2 some time...
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