Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 16

The taper is a beautiful thing.  The decreased mileage is giving me a chance to at least pretend I have a life outside of work and marathon training.

Monday, 4/11 - Zumba
Tuesday, 4/12 - off
Wednesday, 4/13 - 4 miles in 43 minutes (10:45 average)
Thursday, 4/14 - 4 miles in 41 minutes (10:18 average)
Friday, 4/15 - off
Saturday, 4/16 - off
Sunday, 4/17 - 12 miles in 2 hours, 14 minutes (11:12 average)

That said, 12 miles is a distance not to be taken lightly.  Not being prepared for a long run, whether physically or mentally, is setting yourself up for failure - trust me, I've done it too many times.  Many training schedules feature "step-back" weeks, during which the distance of the long run actually decreases from the previous weeks.  This allows your body to rest a bit (to get ready for the following weeks, which ramp up the miles yet again).  It's really easy to think, "Oh, well, 13 miles this week is NOTHING!  I did 18 last weekend and 17 the week before - this week will be no problem."  And while that may be true, you still have to respect the distance.  ALWAYS respect the distance.

Source

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 26
Completed (This Week): 20 (77%)
Scheduled (Overall): 434
Completed (Overall): 354 (82%)