Gettysburg Marathon Training : Week 13

Hi everyone!  I'm getting a little tired of the titles on these posts (and still have 7 weeks to go!).  This seems like the never ending training cycle.  Don't get me wrong- I'm still loving training and get excited before I do each and every run.  I'm just getting tired of counting the weeks, and every week feels like a repeat of the last.  I hope these weekly recaps aren't getting boring for all of you!

This was another decent week.  I was still recovering from my 20 miler for the majority of the week, and dealing with random aches and pains.  I have my next race on Saturday, which I'm really excited about.  I'm going to take it easy this week so that I can have a good effort at the race, and then it's all about the marathon in April!  I can't believe we're getting that close to race day.

Here's a look at week thirteen (unlucky 13?  We'll see!):

Monday

3 miles / 9:53 pace

I was happy to be back on the morning run wagon!  I had three super slow and easy miles planned, because I was still pretty sore from my race on Saturday.  I started out in a lot of pain and felt better and better as I kept going.  Thank goodness for recovery runs!

Tuesday

Rest Day!

Wednesday

3 miles / 9:39 pace

It was pouring outside in the morning, so I decided to stay in and run on the treadmill.  I started out at a 10:00 mile, and sped up a little each mile.  I got to catch up on the Bachelor, so overall this was a great (dry) run!

Thursday

6 miles / 8:43 pace

I wasn't sure how this speed workout would go since I was still feeling a little sore from my race and have another one next week, so I started out the run at a slow pace and just wanted to get in six miles.  After the first mile, though, I felt great and decided to do the speed workout I had planned: 1 mile warm-up with 4 miles at half marathon pace and 1 mile cool-down.  My four "fast" miles were around 8:30 pace, which felt pretty comfortable.  I feel like I could have gone faster and pushed more, but didn't want to do too much on my week in between races.

Friday

Rest Day!

Saturday

6 miles

Nothing like a trail run on a beautiful day!  It was pretty chilly out, but really sunny and not windy at all, so it felt great.  I took Selma to Riverview Park for an easy 6 mile run on the trails and road.  We walked in sections and had a lot of fun.  I love running on trails to give my knees and body a break from running on the hard road all the time, and it just feels good for the soul!

Sunday

15 miles / 9:23 pace

This was a really tough and frustrating run for me.  It was an absolutely beautiful day- temperatures were in the high 30's, but it was sunny with no wind at all so it felt amazing out.  I set out to do a hard 15 miles at North Park- adding on the lodge loop and ice rink loop, both of which are really hilly.  My legs felt great the entire time, but my left arm was killing me!  For some reason, for the past week I've been having a lot of pain in my left bicep.  I thought that I just slept on it weird, then when it kept hurting I thought it was because I overdid it with push-ups in a yoga video I did.  It doesn't usually bother me when I'm running, but today it was almost unbearable.  

I made it through my miles (adding in the final 5 at marathon pace), and when I got home I immediately laid down for the rest of the day, put it up on a pillow and iced it (thank goodness Netflix added new seasons of Great British Bake Off!).  I hope the pain goes away because it's really frustrating to have a random injury pop up, but thankfully it's not in my legs!

How was your week?

Did anyone race this weekend?

How do you deal with weird pains or injuries?

linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin and also with Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC.