Walt Disney World Marathon Training Recap Week 12

Wow! I can’t believe I am recapping week 12 already! I am three-quarters of the way through this training cycle, and race day is around the corner. We found out this week that the course map has been posted along with the digital event guide book, which outlines the weekend events. Now that we are in the homestretch it is time to start finalizing race day prep. I’ve already communicated with my friend, Laura, who is making my race day shirt. I am also figuring out my fueling strategy and more importantly how to take care of my knee on race day.

Week of 12/4-12/10:

Monday: The plan called for a rest day and I used that to my advantage to focus on my knee pain. In case you missed it I went to the orthopedic urgent care Monday afternoon, you can read about the update here.

Tuesday: I had 5 miles to do but ended up taking the day off as a pre-caution. My knee was actually feeling good Monday night and I seriously considered going to camp but with two races this weekend I wanted to give my knee all the TLC it needed.

Wednesday: Kim and I met for 5 miles in the morning. I tested out a knee brace to get a feel for it. I don’t know that it did anything since the pain doesn’t appear till later in the distance but my knee felt stable and well supported.

Thursday: Rest day. I debated going to camp but decided to stick with the plan since I had a busy few days ahead.

Friday: 2 mile run before camp with another mile and a half logged in camp.

Saturday: Fit Foodie 5K in Clearwater with my sister, Erika. We met up with Becky for the pre-and post race fun. The weather the night before was not pretty, thunderstorms all night and the temps dropped off first thing in the morning. Along with the falling temps the weather produced high wind gusts and of course, the route of the race took us over the Memorial Causeway Bridge which only made it more challenging but we did it. My knee felt good with no aches or pains.

Sunday: The 16th Annual Florida Holiday Halfathon with my ladies, Kim, Nicole and Becky. The temperatures on Saturday continued to drop and it was a cool, crisp 45 degrees at the start of the race on Sunday. I haven’t had to pile on that many layers in a while, and I ended up running most of the race with my headband (covering my ears) and gloves on. There were some things I didn’t do right leading into the race like fueling enough the day before, but then there were things that I did do right, like applying KT tape and wearing the brace for my knee. In the end, I had a 12 minute course PR for the race which was great!