Counting down to the GA Marathon...

This week I am in 100% juggling mode. The Georgia Marathon is on Sunday. I have two tennis matches for my singles leagues that have to be played before the deadline this week while two of my tennis teams both have their first spring matches this week. There is always a week or two like this every season where the leagues overlap each other. I just usually don’t have a marathon in the middle of it which makes it a little more interesting. Mostly, I am hoping all the tennis doesn't come back to bite me on Sunday but it is unavoidable.

Sunday, I ran 8 miles in my last bit of preparation for the marathon this Sunday. I am using the Galloway method for this race again. The upside to the method is that my legs and knees really do not hurt much at all post race. It is remarkable really. I wish everyone could run/walk an entire race at least once; you would be shocked at the difference in how you feel at the end. The downside is that it impacts my time. Not that I have any expectation of winning the race obviously but there is something in my head that can’t shake the fact that I can run a PR of 4:12 but my last two races were right at the 5 hour mark. (The last race was the Goofy which I Gallowayed from start to finish, the previous was Chickamauga in which I ran the first half then did a modified run/death march to the end). I would like to get some of my speed back. Theoretically, the run/walk shouldn’t impact my time all that much so it is possible that I could still Galloway and have a time around 4:30. It may be that I just need to speed up the run portion of the run/walk.

The other downside of the run/walk method is that I find myself becoming accustomed to stopping for a walk on ALL of my runs no matter what the distance. (Side note, I am a HUGE fan of Galloway. He obviously got me through the Goofy. This is just me and my mental issue as it relates to trying to get my speed back to where it was last year).

After this race I think I am going to take a step back and build the running back up so I am no longer dependent on the walk breaks and do more mid week running that includes speed work. I don’t have any races planned between now until July although that is always subject to change. I am registered for the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th and would like to have a sub-55 time. My PR on a super fast course for a 10k is 52:19. The Peachtree is not a fast course (think hilly and packed with people) but a sub-55 is doable for me. I guess that makes it my next goal, huh? I love the idea of focusing on something that is a shorter distance!

I am definitely looking forward to being off of a marathon training schedule for a bit. Sunday will be my 3rd marathon in 4 months. In looking back, I have been training for one marathon or another for the last 9 months so the break is very much welcomed at this point. Isn’t it good timing that my running group is starting its season again so I can press the reset button on mileage and kind of ramp back up slowly with them? It is almost as though I planned it that way. ;)