Week 2 Marathon Training Recap

My second week of marathon training didn’t go as well as the first but I am hoping that will change by next week!  

I have been battling some aches and pains that I had chosen to ignore until they couldn’t be ignored anymore….big mistake  By Tuesday nights run at the track my shins were aching so I asked my coach what I could do and he showed me some stretches and an exercise I believe he called the ring of fire.  All I can say is that the stretches felt great and the ring of fire exercises made my whole lower leg burn hence the fire part of the exercise name and the coach basically said this is why you have shin splints.

I have been doing the stretches and exercises religiously and they have helped but I was really faced with a bigger issue that is actually the cause of all of these problems and that is my chronic lower back issue.  I knew my back was “out” for about 2 weeks because my left leg was about 3 inches longer than my right when I laid flat but instead of going to the chiropractor I chose to ignore it with the hopes it would correct itself.  As you can imagine when the length of your legs are different it throws off your whole gait resulting in issues like quad pain, hip pain and shin splints.

Today I finally broke down and paid a visit to my chiropractor because my back was hurting and I had sciatica pain up and down both my legs.  It is a shame that it took me so long to go because I feel 100% better now and I could have saved myself a lot of pain if I had gone when I first noticed that my back was misaligned.  With that being said I plan to make regular visits to my chiropractor throughout my marathon training to prevent this form occurring again.

Check out my vlog on how my training went downhill last week:

In the video I am wearing my new custom tech tank that I made on MyRaceRagz.com!!!  I am absolutely in love with this tank!!  Stay tuned for a full review and giveaway next week!  You can check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure:  MyRaceRagz.com provided me with a shirt at no cost, I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are 100% my own.

 

Here is the summary of last weeks training:

• Monday:  2 slow miles
• Tuesday:  Speedwork at the track

 

 

• Saturday:  Women’s 5K

 

• Total Miles:  Approximately 10 miles
• Check out last week’s recap here and last week’s vlog here.

 

I know it seems low but I skipped Thursday’s Hill workout because I gave blood and my shins were hurting.  There was no long planned for this week so I figured a really light week would help me recuperate before I pushed myself right into a serious injury in my second week of training.  I am somewhat discouraged but I am going to try to stay positive because I am going to run the NYC Marathon this November no matter what obstacles I face on my way to that race.

This week is still up in the air because although I am feeling better my shins are not 100%.  I will head to the track tomorrow night to at least talk to my coach about the next step but what workouts I do this week will all depend on how my body feels.

 

Have you trained for a marathon?  What obstacles did you face??