Marathon Training Week 3: 24 Hour Relay Edition

Well here we are, at the end of yet another very busy week. Lot's has happened in the last 7 days, including the official arrival of summer (yippee!) and an epic all nighter full of running, refueling and fun.

Here's how the week went:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Yoga (20min)
Wednesday: Spinning (40min) Abs (10min)
Thursday: Taught HIIT training (40 min)
Friday: Taught Cycle Pump
Saturday and Sunday: Ran 19.5km

Distance Ran: 19.5km

Here's what I learned:

Some weeks will have more cross training then others. What will ultimately matter is the full balance of running, strength training etc. over the entire training period

Running a 24 hour relay one lap at a time is multi-purpose training: speed, distance and mental strength

Blog friends are completely amazing! Both Vanessa and Aneta showed up and ran laps for our team at this weekend's event. Their contribution to the effort was absolutely priceless and it was great to hang out with both of them as well as officially meet Aneta for the first time.( Unfortunately I failed as a blogger and somehow didn't get a picture with either of them. Duh!)

Sometimes you will start out with the same attitude (and cool shades) at the beginning of a relay that you finish with. The event changes you but not that much.

Running all out for a lap then resting for upward of 30 minutes to a few hours is taxing on your body. At times that one lap (1.4km) can feel harder then the 1/2 marathons that you ran last year. Thankfully you have great friends and an excited atmosphere to keep you going all day and night. (Cynthia kicked major ass and ran 20 laps for our team, including some key ones overnight when we needed the support the most)

You can find a second (and third and fourth wind) and even manage to pull out 3 laps in a row 25 hours after arriving at the park. You dig deep, you bring your boyfriend along for one of them, you play hopscotch at the end if you have to. Bottom line is you do what you gotta do to get it done. What a great mental lesson for a runner like me who notoriously gets hit with doubts and frustrations out on the road.



That's some serious early morning hop-scotching!

You'll run without an iPod and like it! You knew??

Running is great. Running for charity is even better. But nothing, and I mean nothing is better then finishing that very last lap


Runners are amazing. One of our teammates was able to recruit a group of awesome running buddies to come in at midnight and run laps until morning at the last minute and they were nothing but cheerful and positive about the entire thing. Talk about support from like-minded people! I am so impressed and appreciative of these runners who helped carry us through the late hours of the night.

Your amazing team made of of coworkers, friends, blog friends and running buddies will pull out 283kms in 24 hours, impress the hell out of everyone around and win the award for most laps for the second year in a row. This was truly team work at its finest!

Thoughts after week three:

Running with a purpose other than simply training changes the entire experience and your outlook. I can't say it enough; I am so impressed that so many people who don't work for my company came out to support us and run laps for hours on end. I am so glad to say I was in the company of these fantastic and giving people and it truly left a lasting impression on me. Running is so much more then fitness. It's friendship too and for that I'll continue to lace up my sneakers even after the toughest of runs.

What a great weekend!!


So tell me, what has left a lasting impression on you lately?