This week’s Sunday LSD run was very, very hard. It was tied with last week for the longest run of my training. So now, I start what is called tapering. Basically from now until my marathon, in three weeks, I will only be running shorter and shorter distances leading up to my longest distance I have ever run, the marathon. I ran 32 km at a 5:57 minutes/km pace and although this is comparable to last week, this was WAY harder. My body was weak and not cooperating at all.

Two important things I learned this week:

  1. Nutrition is everything. I did not fuel my body nearly enough to get me through 32 kms of running, not even close. This was one of my biggest downfalls of this run. One of my favourite fuels is protein shakes with peanut butter! YUM!!     
  2. A support system is essential. Running is an emotionally exhausting activity and I rely on the support of my dad during these runs. My dad sets aside the 3+ hours when I run to be available to talk via text and call when I have questions about my run. He is basically my coach.

 

 

Because of how hard my run was I took another short week. I ran about 42 km this week. This was the last week before my marathon that I can really take a short week because the last few weeks leading up to the race need to be strong and I need to follow my training plan.