First Marathon Training Week Recap

Week one down, only like 18 weeks to go-give or take. Week one of my marathon training went pretty well. I can say I didn't skip any runs I know I didn't do as much as I thought I would. Monday I woke up with a raging headache. That pretty much wrote off Monday. Tuesday I managed an 8k speed workout, nailing my 5k speed sets right on pace (6:30). Wednesday another 8km, this time an easy run that felt almost as hard as the speed workout-wtf? Thursday I took a cross training day and did a P90X workout-awesome. It was fun and gave my legs a nice break. Friday the weather looked so cold and windy I went back to the track again for another 8k. Saturday I did a very very slow 16k. I can't blame it totally on my tired legs; I did have a nasty headwind for 1/2 of the run. My diet was pretty good, but I need to step it up if I'm going to be in top shape for the full marathon come May.
This week I've decided to take a day of cross training in between runs so my legs have more time to recover. I'm loving the P90X workouts, really, no dvd has been such a good workout and it seems to have even helped my speed too. This week I've got two 8k runs (one with speed intervals of 1600 meters), a 10k easy run and a 19k long run for a grand total of 45km. This week I'm determined to get my long run in on Friday morning-something I've been battling for a month now-what is it with the dark, cold, icy mix that turns me off road running at 4am?! Call me crazy but it's been hard to get my butt out the door, even when I get up at that ungodly hour full of energy, the look of a street covered in black ice, a cold wind and the fact it's pitch dark=me going back to bed. Not this Friday though!! I have to get serious about training or else this first marathon won't be pretty (alright it won't be "pretty" anyway, but at least I can help make it less painful ;-)
I was so happy for Eric Gillis (formerly of Antigonish) who ran his first marathon this past weekend, coming in just under the 2:14 mark. Here's hoping he continues running strong so we can get some serious representation from Nova Scotia on the marathoning circuit and in the 2012 Olympics!!
Well that's it for me, just about to head off for my 8k speedwork session. Happy Trails everyone!