Elements of Erin 337

After my minor breakdown at work on Friday, I set off on Saturday for Sechelt.  I have run the April Fool's Half Marathon two times and this was my third time.  It never fails to be hilly and hard.   Sunday morning I started off at in Gibsons ready to run to Mission Point Park.  I took it very conservatively knowing that I would be adding another 15kms on at the end of the 'race'.   I crossed the finish line, collected my medal, filled my water bottles, ate a  piece of bagel and a bite of banana and kept running west.   I do not recommend running your longest run before a marathon in Sechelt if you are not used to hills.  That place is full of 12-15% grades both up and down. At the end of the day, I ran from 9:17am - 2pm with a few quick breaks to refill bottles, eat gels and take few rocks out of my shoes.   After a shower and some real food, I was back on the ferry to North Vancouver.  Reward:  White Spot Legendary Burger combo with cheese and a Coke.  

Proof that my marathon training is effective.  I cried at work today.  I am emotionally and physically worn down.  

With one week of high volume running before my marathon on April 28th, I am feeling fully cooked. After a rest day on Monday, I switched up my track workout day and my trainer ride day.  We secured tickets to the second to last Canucks home game on Tuesday night so I couldn't do my track workout.   I did my trainer ride in the morning on Tuesday and my track workout on Wednesday. Instead of going solo at the track last night I created a workout in Garmin and downloaded it to my Garmin 920XT.   10 min warm up 8 x 1 mile with 90 seconds rest 10 min cool down Let me tell you, this workout completely exhausted me.  I came home after the run, showered and ate but I felt so drained.  After a bit of rest on the sofa, I was able to feel better and went straight to bed.   Today I skipped my 6am swim in favour of an extra hour of sleep.   My mantra for the week is 'just one more week'.  Just one more week of heavy volume until I start my taper. But first, a tempo ru

With only two more long long runs before my marathon taper, I set out on a 34km adventure around Vancouver.  I had great company and I felt pretty good.  The hills in Vancouver won but I think it will be good training for next week's longest run and ultimately the marathon. Locarno Beach looking west Locarno Beach looking east