Marathon Training Week 1

Monday: Planned: Rest - Actual: Rest
I certainly needed a rest day after my 13ish miles in Umstead the day before. I had returned from Los Angeles early on Saturday morning (with zero sleep on the red-eye flight) and not slept particularly well Saturday night which combined with a later than normal start (8:45am) meant the heat and humidity really took it's toll on my body. I did do some upper body weight exercises for the first time in a long time and took Jack and the dogs for a walk along the Greenway, but that was about it.

Tuesday: Planned: 3 miles - Actual: 5 miles (Baby Jogger)
It really isn't worth the effort of getting up, having breakfast and getting Jack in the Jogging Stroller for just 3 miles, so I ran my usual 5 miles along the Greenway. 5 miles fits nicely in to Jack's morning schedule as he has breast milk at 6am and the breakfast fruit at 8am giving me a nice window between 6:15 and 8am to get some breakfast and out the door (by 7am) and then back in the house when it is time for his 8am food. 5 miles along the Greenway at 7am in July is pretty much the same every day with temperatures in the low 70s and humidity around 80% which I find uncomfortable when pushing the Jogger but I can typically hold a 8:30/mile pace with a moderate level of effort. Today's run was slightly different as I felt like I was dragging for the first 2 miles (8:57, 8:47) before I began to feel better and the pace picked up without my the effort increasing. Maybe my body had forgotten how to deal with the heat and humidity after my week of running in the cooler temperatures in LA.
Stats: 5 miles, 42:52, 8:33/mile average pace

Wednesday: Planned: 5 miles - Actual: 5 miles (Baby Jogger)
Much the same as Tuesday as I felt like I was dragging in the first couple of miles before it suddenly felt easier. I ran in my Nike Free 3's today to give my feet a change from my New Balance Minimus Road's that I run in most days now. I did my lower body workout (balancing, lunges, leg lifts and bridges)
Stats: 5 miles, 42:34, 8:30/mile average pace

Thursday: Planned: 3 miles - Actual: 5 miles (Baby Jogger)
I took Jack to the NCRC Social Run on Thursday evening and we ran 5 miles along the Crabtree Creek Greenway. The temperature was nearer 90 but the humidity was much lower and it felt slightly easier to run at a 9:00/mile pace for 5 miles that it had done in the mornings on the previous two days.
Stats: 5 miles, 45:29, 9:05/mile average pace

Friday: Planned: Rest - Actual: Rest
I did my upper body weights workout along with some core and lower body exercises.

Saturday: Planned: 5 miles @ Marathon Pace - Actual: 5 miles with 3 @ Tempo (Baby Jogger)
I had been struggling with how to do a Marathon Pace workout with the Baby Jogger for a few weeks and still hadn't worked it out as I pushed Jack up the hill to the Greenway entrance. I do most of my Baby Jogger runs at what will be my Marathon Pace (8:30 - 8:45/mile) but this Marathon Pace run is meant to train my body how to run at that pace more efficiently - which is certainly not something I can simulate pushing 40lbs! That being said, I didn't want this to be another typical 5 mile Baby Jogger run so I decided to push the middle 3 miles at a Tempo pace (challenging but manageable pace). I warmed up with an 8:10 mile and then increased the effort for miles at 7:55, 7:50 and 7:55 before slowing down for a 8:15 final mile. I'll have no choice but to leave Jack at home when the Marathon Pace runs get longer than 7 miles (Week 6) so I can perform the workout correctly, but until then we will continue to run Tempo runs instead.
Stats: 5 miles, 40:06, 8:01/mile average pace

Sunday: Planned: 10 miles - Actual: 10 miles
This was my first "Long, Slow Distance Run" with Steph and Christopher and it went really well. Steph picked me up at 6:45am and we drove to Christopher's house before starting our run in the Shelley Lake area at around 7:10am. It was nice to have some other people to run the longer distance with  as we chatted the entire 10 miles which not only helped the time pass by quickly but also ensured that we ran at an easy pace (as we could actually hold a conversation). We finished our 10 miles in just over 1 hour 41 minutes at a nice, easy 10:09/mile pace which is a pace that I typically struggle to run at when I am on my own (I always end up running faster even when I am constantly telling myself to slow down).
Stats: 10 miles, 1:41:34, 10:09/mile average pace

Total for Week 1: 30 miles