Marathon Training Week 5

Monday: Planned: Rest - Actual: Rest
I felt great after this morning after yesterdays long run but struggled to find the time in the day to do any strength exercises. I did manage to squeeze in 3 x 10 toe raises, 3 x 30 seconds balance on one leg, 3 x 10 single leg squats but that was about it.

Tuesday: Planned: 3 miles - Actual: 5 miles (Baby Jogger)
Even though the temperature (74F) and humidity (88%) were still high, it seemed to feel cooler. I ran with Jack along the Greenway and I made sure to keep the pace nice and easy.
Stats: 5 miles, 41:44, 8:20/mile average pace

Wednesday: Planned: 7 miles - Actual: 7 miles (Baby Jogger)
Jack and I went back to Falls River today for our 7 miler. It felt like another cool day even though the temperature (76F) and humidity (75%) were still high - maybe I am finally becoming acclimatized to the heat and humidity! I saw a couple of other runners running hill repeats on one of the hills (I was running down it as they were running up) which just reinforced the fact that this route certainly wasn't flat! The blister that had appeared from the manufacturing defeat in my shoe last week had been quiet until today (until the last mile of the run in fact) as the Band-Aid that I had covering it moved out of position and the skin became irritated.
Stats: 7 miles, 58:37, 8:22/mile average pace

Thursday: Planned: 3 miles - Actual: 5 miles (Trail)
I ran solo today and headed to the trails in Durant Nature Park for a change of scenery and pace. I was great to pull on my trail shoes for the first time in a couple of months and run on the packed dirt trails.
Stats: 5 miles, 46:40, 9:19/mile average pace

Friday: Planned: Rest - Actual: Rest

I did an upper and lower body workout today consisting of 3 x 10 toe raises, 3 x 30 seconds balance on one leg, 3 x 10 single leg squats, 3 x 10 dumbbell curls, 3 x 10 overhead presses, 3 x 10 standing rowers and 3 x 10 press ups.

Saturday: Planned: 7 miles  - Actual: 7 miles @ Marathon Pace
Thunderstorms bought some much needed rain to the area overnight and they continued until about 9:30am. I got out the door at 10am and managed to get a couple of miles in before the rain started. It was actually quite nice to run in the rain as it was humid and the rain made it feel like I was running in a warm shower. I ran at something like Marathon Pace today and felt like I had to keep slowing myself down, which I think is a good sign!
Stats: 7 miles, 58:25, 8:20/mile average pace

Sunday: Planned: 14 miles - Actual: 14 miles
Steph and I returned to Umstead to run a route that included just over 5 miles of the Marathon Course. The five miles includes a couple of decent size hills (one is a 160ft climb in 0.9 of a mile and the other is 120ft in 0.65 of a mile) and we are planning on practicing on them as much as we can over the coming months. Overall our 14 miles included over 1100ft in elevation gain on a sunny, warm morning. The 14 miles today took me to 38 miles for the week, which equals my record for one week. Next week is a cut-back week (34 miles total) to allow my body to recover before another mileage increase.
Stats: 14 miles, 2:24:54, 10:20/mile average pace

Total for Week 5: 38 miles