We are so close to the next marathon I can almost feel it! I can feel my nerves as I get into the longer runs. its kind of crazy how after a few weeks your body can adapt to the type of training you put it under. It’s really hard work but I’m dedicated to seeing it through.

The past couple of weeks the runs have been ramping up to over an hour of running and I’ve been feeling it. this week I decided to bring some fuel for my runs whether it be the shorter ones or the longer ones. I feel like it made a slight difference but the only problem is that I haven’t brought water with me on my runs. I’m going to change it for this week. There’s just a certain point in the run where I just feel sluggish and I don’t want to run any more. physically I feel like I can keep going but mentally something tells me that I’m exhausted. So, note to self, bring fuel and water on the next couple of runs.

As for injuries this week I’ve been keeping up with some stretching after my runs or before I go to bed and I haven’t really had to deal with the pain in my hip. Every once in a while i take a step or two that feels wrong but after that it goes away. I mostly had to deal with an achilles issue this week. I made sure to stretch and use the massage gun to get at the problem areas but I didn’t warm up one day before a run, because I was crunched for time, and my achilles started hurting after the run. the issue I’m dealing with right now is having to go to work right after hard or long runs. I feel like my legs don’t get a time to rest. I’m constantly on my feet when it comes to work and I really feel it by the end of my shift. my foot becomes really sore and my hamstrings and calves become really tight. There’s nothing really I can do at this point. I just have to deal with it. my fear is just not being able to recover enough for my next runs.

This weeks long run was 12 miles. anything above 5-6 miles feels daunting to me right now. especially because I know that I will be running for more than 2 hours at that point. I get nervous especially if I have any lingering injuries prior to the run. So it made me nervous when I saw that I have to run 7 miles the day before the 12 miler. That seven miler felt harder than the 12 miler so I was nervous getting up at 6 to run but fortunately I was able to run pretty consistently. My long run route is pretty rough because the first 4 miles are uphill at a steep incline. then once I get to mile five, I get to these rolling hills, so, its hard to get into a rhythm and stay at a constant pace without going over my goal heart rate. this week I think ill change the route to give my mind some relief from the shifting inclines. Especially considering that this week is a long run workout. I have to try increase my pace through every mile.

Overall I want to say this has been a good run week despite my not carrying water. I will change that. I want to make sure to be the healthiest I can be fore these runs so I can get the most out of them. Anyways that’s it for this week! until next time!