Akron Marathon Training: Week 18

Race week is finally here! When I signed up for the Akron Marathon back in February, it seemed so distant.  However, like so many things in life, time flew by as the Blue Line called to me.  Going into this last week of training, I wasn't exactly sure how things would turn out.  I still wasn't at 100% but I wasn't going to back down.

Monday-Wednesday: Rest Days - As I continued to let my body rest up, yoga was a part of each day's routine.

Thursday: 3 Miles - With only a few days to go, I knew I had to at least see how my body would react to hitting the pavement.  After a decent bit of walking and stretching, I set off to the aches and pains of tight muscles.  This tenseness, while uncomfortable, was not nearly as bad as I expected nor did it last the whole workout.  While the run was not long, it did give me some confidence in my ability to go 26.2, which had been lacking as of late.

Friday: Rest Day - In being an out-of-state race, I spent most of the afternoon traveling to a friend's house near the course.  After packet pick-up and an amazing dinner (the hamburger and quinoa were so good!), I hit the hay relatively early.  I slept surprisingly well considering I could feel my nerves starting to build!

Saturday: 26.2 Miles - Wow, to see that number typed out and in my running log still feels surreal.  The race did not go exactly as planned, but I made it to the finish line in one piece with a time of 3:46:59.  I'll be posting a recap of the race in full shortly, so stay tuned!

With that, the journey to my first marathon is complete!  Some runs went better than others, but that is all a part of the experience.  I'm planning on taking the next two weeks to recover - my body has made it very clear that it needs it!  After that time, I'll be gearing up for the EQT 10 Miler in November and the Pittsburgh Marathon in May.

Thank you for following my adventure to Akron and happy running!
Sean