Weekly Summary – 161 miles in 14 runs. A very heavy week of volume highlighted by a fantastic first marathon-paced run (25km at 2h13 marathon pace) on Friday. Legs are definitely tired! Excited to take some recovery next week and let all this great training sink in. Less than 2 weeks to Houston Half and less than 9 weeks to the marathon!
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Lunes, 26 de Diciembre, 2016 – Sparknotes: 9M + 15x short hills + 2M Blowout in 9’17 (4’50/4’27).
Longer warmup. Did 1M on treadmill as it was pouring and then decided to stop being a baby and ran outside. Still raining but not too hard at first, then it started raining really hard and I was totally soaked but oh well. At least it was warm. Ran 8M in 60’, finishing near the track. Found a decent hill there so stopped and did drills, one stride, and then hill sprints (in tracer flats).
Hills felt good – very hard and HR needed a good amount of time to come down today. Was going hard about 15sec which is a tad longer than usual. Took a long time! Like 45’ to do all of these.
Stopped and jogged to the track after and then did 3200m blowout with acceleration every 2 laps. Started quite comfortable around 75/lap and then went 2’29/2’21/2’18/2’09. Tough on tired legs! Like to get these a bit faster and/or add a 5th 800m.
After, jogged about 2M cooldown and then got a ride back. Long session!
Total run 19M.
Time Split HR Rep
0.8 km 2’29.3 (2’29.3) 168
1.6 km 4’49.9 (2’20.6) 175 (4’49.9)
2.4 km 7’07.6 (2’17.7) 178
3.2 km 9’17.0 (2’09.4) 180 (4’27.1)
XT: Back/hips
4pm: Ran easy out/back 5km from hotel in 22’ and then met up with Mr C and ran another 4km or so VERY slow ~6’00/km. Felt nice to have company and really jog. Finished over to the golf course and did 5x strides on the grass, which felt pretty good. Total run 10km, 6M++ in 53’.
XT: OFF.
Martes, 27 de Diciembre, 2016 – Sparknotes: 10km fartlek in 31’53 (3’11 avg) w/ 1km @ 3’00.2 avg, 400m @ 1’30.0 avg + 5x200m @ 31.6, 29.5, 29.2, 28.3, 34.9
9am: Legs were very muscularly sore this morning! Definitely planned to keep the workout yellow. A lot of miles in the last few days plus the hills and blowout yesterday, so this was just a maintenance workout really. Ran easy to the track at the HS and then did drills and about 5x strides to try to loosen up and then 200m in about 35.
Workout was fartlek running 1000m on, 400m off. Had originally planned a solidly orange workout of 20x this (28km total), but I figured if I could get through 10-15k today that would be good. Super humid and ~70F as well which is worth noting.
Started off feeling okay and first few reps all got faster from 3’02->2’58 but couldn’t get the HR down after that one, so at 8.4km I decided to just do a 1600m which would round up to 10km. Total was 31’53.
72s pace definitely felt harder today but given how tired my legs felt, that seems fine.
Finished with a nice long wait and then 5x200m at 31.6, 29.5, 29.2, 28.3, 34.9 (200m shuffle/jog back). These felt pretty good, nice to move the legs fast and open things up a bit.
Jogged back easy. Stopped at the gym for leg circuit and then back to the condo. Long morning again!
Total run 15M+
Splits
1 km 3’02.1 (3’02.1) 147
1.4 km 4’30.0 (1’27.9) 158
2.4 km 7’30.8 (3’00.8) 169
2.8 km 8’59.9 (1’29.1) 164
3.8 km 12’00.0 (3’00.1) 173
4.2 km 13’31.4 (1’31.4) 167
5.2 km 16’30.6 (2’59.2) 174
5.6 km 18’00.1 (1’29.5) 163
6.6 km 20’59.0 (2’58.9) 175
7 km 22’31.0 (1’32.0) 172
8 km 25’31.0 (3’00.0) 178
8.4 km 27’05.2 (1’34.2) 174
10 km 31’53.0 (4’47.8) 180
5x200m: 31.6, 29.5, 29.2, 28.3, 34.9 (200m shuffle/jog back)
XT: Legs circuit. 3 sets of [step up (15x each leg), overhead lunge (24x), dynamic lunge (24x), squat (12x)]. 10 pounds on everything for first set, 15 pounds on second/third, bar on squat.
4pm: Ran with Mr. C to start off very slow on same 4km loop as yesterday. Nice shakeout and good company. After, ran solo out/back down A1A south across the long causway and back. Very pretty afternoon but felt pretty bad. Finished with 4x strides only because I was on pavement. Total run 8M+ in 65’.
XT: OFF.
Miercoles, 28 de Diciembre, 2016 – 9am: Legs felt surprisingly good out the door today given the last very big 6 days. Planned to do somewhere between 90’ and 2h20 and was feeling great so went all the way out 70’ (9.5M) to the north tip of the island. Beautiful day too which always helps! Big negative split without too much increase in effort (74/66 for first and second 10M). Finished with 6x strides on the pavement, last one about 35 seconds, which felt surprisingly good after such a long single. Body is definitely feeling better with these big morning runs!
Total run 20M+ in 2h20.
XT: Back/hips
3pm: Ran earlier before travel home. Still got the nap in! Makes such a big difference! Easy and short run after a long morning and an absurd 7 days here. Still running faster than I expected, 4M in ~29’. Finished with 4x strides on the grass, last one relaxed ~200m again. Total run 4M++ in 31’.
XT: OFF
Jueves, 29 de Diciembre, 2016 – 10am: Slept late after getting home around 10pm last night. Easy run out/back on MVS past the big bridge. Felt surprisingly good again. Running quicker on the way back (45’ first 10k, 40’ second 10k). Stopped and did 7x strides on the grass which felt good, if a bit slippery. Not too cold, too, around 45F. Total run 21km, 13M+ in 1h29.
XT: Back/hips
4pm: Easy shakeout out/back on MVN and then to grass for strides (4x). Very windy! Almost got blown over on the airport field. Felt okay though once I got moving. Only 18 miles today – so short! Big one tomorrow though. Total run 5M+ in 37’.
XT: Hips
Viernes, 30 de Diciembre, 2016 – Sparknotes: 25km in 1’18’55 (3’09.4/km, 2’13’11 marathon pace). Negative split, 66’52 at HM and last 5K 15’27. Very strong.
7:15am: Woke up at 5:15am and didn’t feel too bad – getting on this early sleep schedule finally! Workout today was 20-25km at marathon effort/pace. Didn’t really know exactly what this would be as I haven’t done any MP running this block yet, so I figured this would be more of an experimental workout. I hoped that ~3’12/km (2’15’00) pace wouldn’t feel too bad.
Weather was not awful – a bit windy from the north and cool around 40F. Warmed up about 2M and then changed into Clifton 2 (9s) and did drills and maybe 3 strides and 200m around 38 to get the pace in my legs. I ran on the bike path on a 5K out/back, so I was into the wind out, with the wind back. I carried two gels and took one 15 min before starting. I left my bottle at the start so only got it every 10km but I figured I wouldn’t need it as much anyway.
First 5K felt pretty good and I was very consistent 9’36 at 3K, 16’01 at 5K. I ran slightly quicker on the way back from 5-10km but it just didn’t feel very good. I remember in particular around 8km just feeling like it was taking an awfully long time and I was already quite tired and that I still had 10 miles+ to run and that seemed impossible. I was really trying to stay positive and in each moment as I knew that this would feel a bit different than what I’ve done up to now (plus I was running on very tired legs), but mostly I was trying to run for effort, so I just tried to soldier on.
From 10-15km, I started to think about the run as the last XX km of a marathon, so at 12km, I imagined myself at 30K and suddenly that didn’t seem so bad. When I got to 15k (47’39), I told myself I could definitely get to 20k, and then it’s only another 3 minutes to get to the half marathon, and at that point, you’re just about done with the whole 25k, so you might as well just stick it out.
I kept thinking about myself in the post-20-mile-point in that last 10k and found that as a great mental strategy. When I got to 20k and then 21.1km (~66’52), I actually somehow felt pretty good and tried to really accelerate. I did the last 5km as 2.5km out/back and ran quite hard the last 2.5km, probably like 7’40 with the last km definitely the quickest.
I finished in 1’18’55 with the last 5K in 15’27. This is 2’13’11 marathon pace, 3’09.4/km avg.
This is a super strong workout, especially for my first MP workout of the block and ESPECIALLY because I ran 166 miles in the 7 days before this. This was also a great mental victory as I really overcame some early workout doubt and then surprised myself with how good I felt in the last 20% of the run. A great reminder about what it feels like to push.
It’s interesting to note that the HR data here are quite a bit higher than, for example, my HR at Mohawk Hudson Marathon (where I was barely about 170 the whole race and the avg was 167). It will be interesting to get some more data from the next few marathon workouts and try to get good sense of where my ideal HR is. Maybe it’s simply elevated because I have so much fatigue in my body right now, or maybe this is a sign that I can actually run the marathon at a slightly higher average HR (the overall average for this workout was 172). Always experimenting!
Cooled down about 1.5M back home to round up. Finished at the gym for leg circuit.
Total run 19M+.
Splits:
Time Split HR Rep
5 km 16’00.6 (16’00.6) 163
10 km 31’52.1 (15’51.5) 171
15 km 47’39.3 (15’47.2) 175
20 km 1’03’28.0 (15’48.7) 176 (66’52.0 at HM)
25 km 1’18’55.4 (15’27.4) 178
XT: Legs circuit. 3 sets of [step up (15x each leg), overhead lunge (24x), dynamic lunge (24x), squat (12x)]. 10 pounds on everything for first set, 15 pounds on second/third, bar on squat. Very tired after that!
4pm: Easy run out/back on MVN. Windy and cool around 35F. Not as bad as yesterday afternoon. Stopped at black squirrel field for 4x very light grass strides just to get the legs opened up. Felt good. Jogged home. Total run 6M in 45’.
XT: OFF
Sabado, 31 de Diciembre, 2016 – 9am: Slept for like 11 hours last night – wow! Ran MVS long out/back way past the big bridge. Planned to do 90-120’ and felt pretty decent so went out 1 hour ~13.5km and then back a bit quicker maybe 57-58’. Stopped at black squirrel and did 5x strides – definitely felt more tired on those. Jogged home. Total run 17M in 2h00.
XT: Back/hips.
4pm: Last run of 2016! Easy shakeout around CC loop and then stopped and did drills and 4x200m in flats at around 35 just to get a feel before the 5K tomorrow! Felt pretty sluggish out the door but better after that. Finished at DCA to pick up uber. Total run 3M+++.
Domingo, 1 de Enero, 2016 – 9am: Easy shakeout on MVN out/back before going to north Arlington to race. Legs felt surprisingly decent. Total run 5km, 3M+ in 20’.
11am: Got a ride up to WLHS and checked in and warmed up 5km on the course plus another 1km or so of strides etc to try to feel good and warmed up. Felt pretty but course was MUCH hillier than I’d expected – constantly little steep ups and downs. Very tough! I knew it would probably be much slower than I’d hoped. Weather was perfect and super pleasant though – in the mid 50s and sunny – so I can’t complain.
Led from the gun and was very even according to their mile markers, just never was able to really accelerate. HR never got that high ~180 max, so I think this was a case of legs being a bit fried from the last 10 days. Won by about a minute in 15’04.
Cooled down on the course 5km easy with the second place guy, Tom, who was a friendly Brit. Got my BIG PRIZE – $25 at starbucks – and then ran all the way home, which was about 12km, carrying my spike bag with flats, my jacket, and a bagel I got from the race for breakfast. Long morning as it was like 2:30pm by the time I got home and I hadn’t even had breakfast yet!
Total run 20M++.
XT: Back/hips.
4:30pm: Short turn around to double this afternoon with the 12pm race. Ran easy out/back on MVN and stopped at Black Squirrel for strides. Did 4x on the grass which felt fine. Legs still a bit tired but not bad. Jogged home. Total run 6M- in 43’.
XT: p90x.
