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The last week of training has come to an end. It’s been a crazy roller coaster of 18 weeks!

I’m still dealing with a tight IT band. I’ve been icing, stretching, foam rolling and seeing my sports chiropractor regular to allevate the tightness. It’s a bit better than it has been.

I decided to only run2 of the 3 schedule runs. I opted out of Wednesday’s 4 mile run to allow my legs and IT band to rest.

Tuesday – 3 Miles
Weather: 54 degrees
Actual Miles: 3
Pace: 8:49
Time: 26:21
Notes: Not my prettiest run. I made sure to keep a slower pace (failed at that. Doh!), because my IT band was pretty sore. Tried out an IT band strap. Not sure if the strap worked or not since I was still pretty sore from my sports chiropractor appointment.

Thursday – 2 Miles
Weather: 52 degrees
Actual Miles: 2
Pace: 9:31
Time: 19:03
Notes: Last run before the LA Marathon! Ran with Jon from Gametiime. Knee was a bit tight. IT band was a tad sore higher on the leg. Looks like my marathon pace might be in the 9-11:00 minute (most likely on the slow-ish side) range now.

Total Week #18 Miles: 5 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 269.36 miles

My right leg feels good. However, my IT band started to scream at my this week. I hope to get it mostly worked out before the LA Marathon next Sunday. Looking forward to the upcoming low mileage (only 9 miles total) week!

I’m still seeing the sports chiropractor, but only 3 times a week. The last day I will see him will be a few hour before I fly out to LA!

Tuesday – 4 Miles
Weather: 46 degrees
Actual Miles: 4.10
Pace: 8:34
Time: 34:57
Notes: The first two miles my right leg felt fatigued and a little strained. Last two miles I felt stronger and leg didn’t feel too bad.

Wednesday – 6 Miles
Weather: 44 degrees
Actual Miles: 6.05
Pace: 8:34
Time: 51:59
Notes: Another wet run and soaked socks. Felt pretty strong toward the end of the run. Leg was a tiny bit sore/stiff. Not bad though.

Thursday – 3 Miles
Weather: 46 degrees
Actual Miles: 3.10
Pace: 8:06
Time: 25:02
Notes: Faster pace than I expected or wanted, but I went with it. Definitely NOT the pace I will be running the LA Marathon next weekend.

Sunday – 8 Miles
Weather: 48 degrees
Actual Miles: 7.08
Pace: 8:58
Time: 1:03:25
Notes: My IT band started to scream at me around mile 6 and a half, which is probably due to my sports chiropractor working on it the day before with graston. It tighten up and I finished my planned 8 miller at 7 miles. I ran marathon pace (around 9 minute pace). I slowed myself down when I noticed I was running too fast. I felt myself tighten up my legs and relaxed them. Wore some of the items I will be wearing for the marathon. A semi-dress rehearsal.

Total Week #17 Miles: 20.33 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 264.36 miles (total miles was really off the last few posts)

I’ve been seeing the sports chiropractor the entire week. They have definitely helped my leg with a combination of deep massage, graston technique and taping. It feels a lot stronger than it did. I was able to put a good amount of miles on it this week with minimal issues.

I will continue to see the sports chiropractor up until a few days prior to the LA Marathon. Though it will only be 3 times a week.

Tuesday – 5 Miles
Weather: 46 degrees
Actual Miles: 5
Pace: 8:34
Time: 43:01
Notes: Thought my strained right leg would hurt. Not the case! Took the first mile slow (9:11/mile), but felt good enough to speed it up a bit. Really enjoyed myself during this run!

Wednesday – 9 Miles
Weather: 49 degrees
Actual Miles: 9.10
Pace: 8:42
Time: 1:19:12
Notes: Wasn’t sure what to expect during this run. Started out slow, but felt strong after a few miles. It felt as if I wasn’t injured. Schedule called for 8 miles ran 9. Could have made it to 10 but didn’t want to push my luck.

Thursday – 4 Miles
Weather: 47 degrees
Actual Miles: 4.05
Pace: 8:25
Time: 34:03
Notes: I wasn’t really feeling the run until about 2 miles in, which seems to be typical. Overall a solid run. Leg definitely feels strong!

Sunday – 12 Miles
Weather: 46 degrees
Actual Miles: 2.54
Pace: 8:42
Time: 22:16
Notes: Should have been a 12 miler, but felt the strain at 2.10. I probably could have ran slower and got the 12 miles, but didn’t want to push my luck.

Total Week #16 Miles: 20.69 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 244.03 miles

I strained my right leg two weeks ago. I could feel the muscle pulling when I tried running, so I stopped running. I rested, iced, and stayed off of it for a few days. However it did not get better. So I started seeing a Sports Chiropractor last week to get this muscle strain worked out. I’ll be seeing him every day for a week to get the strain treated. The doctor is hopeful that it will be good to go for the LA Marathon.

Needless to say, it has been a frustrating last couple of weeks. I still have hope that I will be able to strong enough to run the LA Marathon in a few weeks!

Total Week #14 & #15 Miles:  13.43 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 209.91 miles

Finally back on track with my training schedule with less than 6 weeks to go until the L.A. Marathon! Overall a pretty strong week. I was extremely lucky with the dry weather this week. Definitely surprised myself this week!

Tuesday – 4 Miles
Weather: 46 degrees
Actual Miles: 4:14
Pace: 8:27
Time: 34:55
Notes: Woke up early to get my run in. Nice to finish before 8am. Not a bad run. Right leg felt a little sore and stiff. Overall not bad. Found $2 on the ground during my run. Ran to a store and bought two $1 scratcher tickets. Sadly my luck ran out there!

Wednesday – 9 Miles
Weather: 47 degrees
Actual Miles: 9.3
Pace: 8:39
Time: 1:20:29
Notes: The weather was perfect. I ran a few hours later than planned, but less people were out. Legs felt a little off and I almost wanted to stop 2 miles. Yup, one of those runs! But powered through it and came out with a not-so-bad time.

Thursday – 5 Miles
Weather: 47 degrees
Actual Miles: 5
Pace: 8:13
Time: 41:14
Notes: I could definitely feel that legs and hip were sore. Thought I could only run 3 miles, but hit my 5. I thought I was running slower than usual. I thought wrong!

Saturday – 18 Miles
Weather: 41 degrees
Actual Miles: 18
Pace: 8:34
Time: 2:34:39
Notes:  Felt pretty good for miles 1-13. But miles 14-18 were pretty tough! Had to take a few breaks to catch my breath. Overall a pretty good run with prefect weather.

Total Week #13 Miles:  36.83 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 209.91 miles

Not one of my best training weeks. Didn’t get my long run in, but I did manager get my mid-week runs in. <insert-every-runner-excuse-in-the-book-here>

Tuesday – 4 Miles
Weather: 45 degrees
Actual Miles: 4.01
Pace: 8:27
Time: 34:00
Notes: Made it outside before the rain started. Picked my route as I ran to make it interesting. Overall a good run. But I think I’m pushing myself too much and need to pull back a little.

Wednesday – 8 Miles
Weather: 48 degrees
Actual Miles: 8.1
Pace: 8:27
Time: 1:08:24
Notes: Checked the weather, said it would there would be ‘dry conditions’. Not the case at all – sprinkling rain. Oh well, still ran and killed it. Ran one of my first running routes. It was nice to run it again!

Friday – 5 Miles
Weather: 46 degrees
Actual Miles: 3.1
Pace: 8:00
Time: 24:46
Notes: Whoa! Really surprised myself! My left leg was bothering me the other day and still bothered me a bit today. But I ran my fasted 5k yet! And my last mile was under 8 minutes (7:55). In total shock.

Total Week #12 Miles:  15.21 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 173.08 miles

Again with the crazy weather, errands, travelling, and a wedding. I had little time to run. I know – excuses, excuses! I only managed to run very low miles. But not enough.

Total Week #10 & #11 Miles:  8.66 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 157.87 miles

With the crazy weather (freezing temps, icy roads/sidewalks and some rain) this week, I didn’t get nearly as many miles that were on my schedule. However, when I did run I felt really good. Pace is getting more consistent.

Wednesday – 3 Miles
Weather: 42 degrees
Actual Miles: 3.10
Pace: 8:20
Time: 25:50
Notes: Found a break in the weather to run a quick 5k. Legs felt great!

Saturday – 10 Miles
Weather: 34 degrees
Actual Miles: 10.01
Pace: 8:38
Time: 1:26:29
Notes:  I ran my ass off. Lots of hills – my legs were working overtime! There was ice here and there, managed to avoid it and not slip. Fastest hilly run, so far.

Total Week #9 Miles:  13.11 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 149.21 miles

Happy New Year! I can feel myself getting faster with each run. My middle of the week mileage will be going up next week. Excited to start ramping up more!

Tuesday – 3 Miles
Weather: 41 degrees
Actual Miles: 3.00
Pace: 8:42
Time: 26:06
Notes: New Year Day run! Was a bit dehydrated and tired during the run. But overall a good run!

Wednesday – 6 Miles
Weather: 45 degrees
Actual Miles: 6.00
Pace: 8:42
Time: 51:56
Notes: The perfect weather for a run – sunny and 45 degrees. Legs felt fresh. Time was not too far from my ‘flat’ run last week

Thursday – 3 Miles
Weather: 28 degrees
Actual Miles: 4.00
Pace: 8:20
Time: 33:24
Notes: Coldest and fastest run, so far! Let felt really good. My schedule had 3, but ended up running 4. Fastest 5k (so far) of my training – 25:52. Surprised at my pace at the end!

Saturday – 13.1 Miles
Weather: 42 degrees
Actual Miles: 13.11
Pace: 8:57
Time: 1:57:04
Notes: One of those runs where I really didn’t feel like running. At mile 2 I still wasn’t feeling it. By mile 5 I told myself that I was almost there. Mile 6 – 13 were a blur. I finished strong! My pace was all over the place – not consistent at all. And I did not have any nutrition or water or electrolytes during my run. Luckily my run ended at a Starbucks where I bought a water.

Total Week #8 Miles:  26.11 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 136.10 miles

I spend time with family and friends and missed a couple of runs. But not going to sweat it. I’m feeling really good about my runs up to this point. My legs feel stronger with no soreness or aches!

Tuesday – 3 Miles
Weather: 56 degrees, sunny
Actual Miles: 3.43
Pace: 8:57
Time: 30:43
Notes: Christmas Day run. After flying the day before, eating a lot, and staying up late – this run was surprising easy. Plus the flat course and sun helped!

Wednesday – 6 Miles
Weather: 58 degrees, sunny
Actual Miles: 6.00
Pace: 8:28
Time: 50:51
Notes: Another sunny day and flat route. I was a bit warm, due to the warmer weather than I’m use to. Overall an awesome run. Fastest run of my training so far!

Total Week #7 Miles: 9:43 miles
Total LA Marathon Training Miles: 109.99 miles