Week 8: keep on running

I completed Week 8 of the 18 week Hal Higdon Novice 1 marathon training program. I did a couple of up-tempo runs to start the week but then took it easy for the next one since my knee was a bit sore. A rest day took care of that and I finished off 13 miles today feeling strong. My wife commented that I looked so fresh compared to how I looked after the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon. I told her that the slower pace made a big difference but she was still impressed.

Next week is another stepback week and marks the half way point for the training program. However, even the recovery weeks are starting to get harder. The mid-week kinda long run goes up to 7 miles and the day 3 run increases to 4 miles. The long run is only 10 miles, though. The weekly total is only 1 mile less than week 8.

I also completed Week 3 of the One Hundred Push Up Challenge. This is starting to get tough. In the first two weeks, I easily surpassed the minimum push ups required for the final sets. Not so this week and on Day 3 I barely managed to do the 27 required. On to Week 4.

For my One Hundred Sit Up Challenge (modeled on the One Hundred Push Up Challenge), I'm doing a bit better than the push ups. I did 34 for the final set of Day 3 but this is still down from week 2 as the sets get tougher.