Day 221.

This morning I did 30 minutes of Pilates, then 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill.  Despite a bit of soreness in my legs and back, I feel in pretty good spirits today.  My friend, Rebecca reminded me of the words in the "Complete Book of Women's Running", by Dagny Scott Barrios.  Though I've read the book twice and referenced different parts of it many times, it had been a while since I'd read the portion on marathons.  She points out that if your goal is to finish the marathon, the training should focus on the long run.  "The purpose of long runs is to develop endurance - particularly in the leg muscles and the connective tissue - and to develop the fitness of your cardiovascular system so that your body can withstand the rigors of the marathon distance."  She also says: "Walk early and often in order to go the distance.  Maureen Roben (5-time Olympic trials marathon qualifier) refers to these workouts not by the amount of running, but by 'total time on your feet'.  It's assumed that you'll spend some time walking."

Anyway, re-reading that made me feel a little bit better about yesterday's long run.  I've rearranged my training schedule for these last 7 weeks leading up to the marathon so that instead of running 4 days in a row during the week, then having 3 cross-training/rest days in a row, I will run on Mondays, cross-train Tuesdays, run Wednesdays and Thursdays, rest Fridays, long run on Saturdays, then rest on Sundays.  I'm hoping that by placing my long runs between two rest days, I will gain the most benefit from my runs.