MT W6

Here's the plan for this week!

This is week six of training. After this week, race day will be 10 11* weeks away.  

Most of your routine is the same this week, with two days of rest, two easy runs, one run on hills, and a marathon-pace run. Your long run will inch up to 15 miles.

Sunday:  Rest Day
Monday: 5 Miles Easy w/Strides
Tuesday:  6 Miles Hills
Wednesday:  Rest Day
Thursday: 4 Miles w/2 Miles @ MP
Friday:  6 Miles Easy
Saturday:  15 Miles LSD

*Oops! I forgot that when I uploaded the plan to my calendar I gave myself an extra week.  I wanted to give myself a cushion in case of injury or vacation.  So, I'm on week 6 of training, but after this week there will be 11 more weeks until my marathon.

MT W5 Results

Sunday:  Rest Day
Result: Rested!

Monday: 4 Miles Easy w/Strides (9:58 pace)
Result:  5.01 miles in 46:10, 9:14 pace

Tuesday:  7 Miles Hills (no planned pace)
Result:  Les and I went mountain biking.  I have been missing it so much and decided Las Llajas is as hilly as anything I could run.  9.94 miles.

Wednesday:  Rest Day
Result:  Rested!

Thursday: 4 Miles w/2 Miles @ MP (2 miles @ 9:09 pace)
Result: 5.02 miles in 45:54, 9:08 pace

Friday:  4 Miles Easy (9:58 pace)
Result: The wind was howling AGAIN.  I told Les "there is no such thing as an easy run in the wind" and took the day off.  I wanted to be fresh for Saturday.

Saturday:  13 Miles LSD (9:58 pace)
Result: 13 miles in 2:17:59, 10:36 pace.
I do not know what was wrong today.  I was off the entire run and just could not get my pace on track.  My route was probably too hilly for this distance, especially since my marathon is flat!  I had to walk all of mile 11 and some of miles 12 and 13.  Disappointing!  This pace would give me a 4:36 marathon, which isn't bad, but not what I'm hoping for.  I'll have to find a flatter route since I'll be running this distance or longer once a week from here until June.

Totals for the week:
Planned 32 miles
Running:  23.04
Cycling:  9.94
Total:  32.98

I'm going to have to change my weigh-in day.  I drank two 16 oz. bottles of water with Heed while out running, plus a Recoverite with 2 cups of soy milk and 1 cup of berries after I got back - all before stepping on the scale this morning.  I'll start weighing on Fridays from now on, but report it on Saturday.

Marathon Pace!

Here was my plan for this morning:

Today is a marathon-pace run. Warm up with one mile of easy running, then try to dial in to your goal marathon pace (9:09/mile) and hold it for two miles. Cool down with one mile of easy running. With enough practice, your goal race pace will become your natural rhythm so that on race day it will feel easy.

1-mile warmup
2 miles @ 9:09/mile
1-mile cooldown

Here's what actually happened:

I headed out into the wind, but my legs were fresh after taking yesterday off.

Mile 1:  9:21.  Good warm up
Mile 2:  9:01.  I kept my eye on my watch!  There was a slight uphill and into the wind, but I kept pressing
Mile 3:  9:08.  I thought I was going to be even slower due to the wind, but again I kept pushing the pace.
Mile 4:  8:59.  I turned a corner and took advantage of a slight downhill and tailwind!
Mile 5:  9:12.  Started slowing.

Overall:  5.02 miles in 45:54, 9:08 pace!  My fastest run yet!

Taking It In Stride!

My schedule this morning was 4 Easy Miles w/4 Strides.  What are strides?  Here is the description:

Near the finish of your run, gradually accelerate over 100 meters until you reach 90 percent of all-out effort. Hold that effort for five seconds, then smoothly decelerate. Walk to recover. Repeat this cycle three more times, then cool down. The exact distance of each stride is not critical. (Easy pace: 9:58/mile)

I'm not sure that I did it exactly that way, but I did push myself four times and saw my pace drop under 8 minutes a mile! My total run was 5.01 miles in 46:10, 9:14 pace.  That's only 5 seconds off my marathon goal!!  I never feel like doing an easy pace on Mondays, I'm always well rested after taking Sunday off.

Ave HR 154
Max HR 166
Calories burned 502

MT W5

Training Peaks (my training program) is upping the ante this week!  The pace changes from 10:04 to 9:58, I have 7 miles of hills, along with a 13 miler on Saturday!

Here's the plan:
This is week five of training. After this week, race day will be 11 weeks away. This week you’ll have two easy runs, two days of rest, a goal-marathon-pace run, and one day on hills. Your long run will be 13 miles.

This week you’ll try strides. Adding strides to any easy run activates fast-twitch muscle fibers, improves coordination and leg turnover, and preps the body for speed. On Thursday you’ll have your first marathon-pace run. Throughout the program, these runs will give you a chance to practice the speed you’re hoping to hit in the race.

Sunday:  Rest Day
Monday: 4 Miles Easy w/Strides
Tuesday:  7 Miles Hills
Wednesday:  Rest Day
Thursday: 4 Miles w/2 Miles @ MP
Friday:  4 Miles Easy
Saturday:  13 Miles LSD

MT W4 Results

Sunday:  Rest Day
Definitely needed rest after yesterday's 12 miler.

Monday: 4 Miles Easy (10:04 pace)
Result:  5.03 in 47:29, 9:27 pace.  I always feel good after a rest day!

Tuesday:  5 Miles Hills, no planned pace
Result:  6 miles in 1:02:49, 10:28 pace.  I was a little sore after Monday's run, so I slowed down a bit and ran several tough hills.  I told myself I'd be happy with a 10:30 pace, so 10:28 was good!

Wednesday:  Time Trial, no planned pace
Ending up resting this day.

Thursday: 4 Miles Easy (10:04 pace)
Result:  Combined yesterday's time trial with today's run.  5 miles in 47:52, 9:34 pace.  Time trial mile - 8:36 pace.

Friday:  4 Miles Easy (10:04 pace)
Result:  5.2 miles in 49:40, 9:34 pace.  The wind was blowing, but I battled hard and won!

Saturday:  10 Miles LSD (10:04 pace)
Result:  UGH!!!  I paid for yesterday's pace.  I had nothing in the tank this morning.  After about 2 miles, I knew 10 miles was out of reach. The wind wasn't blowing as much as yesterday, but it seemed like every time I'd get up to speed, I'd turn a corner and run right into the wind!  I think it was as much mental as physical today.
Lesson learned:  Dial it back on Friday.  I can't push that hard on Friday and expect to do well on Saturday.  I'll know better from now on.  Must run easy on Friday, must run easy on Friday!
5.03 in 56:13, 11:11 pace.

Totals for the week:
Planned 28 miles
Actual 26.27

Weight loss goal:  10 pounds
Lost this week:  0.0  (Nothing happening here, folks, move along... )
Total lost: 2.5

Time Trialing

My plan for yesterday was a time trial.  I've been having a little pain in my hip, so I took yesterday off and combined the time trial with today's 4 easy miles.  Here is the explanation for a time trial:

Go to a track or any one-mile stretch of road. After a 10-minute warmup, time yourself while running four laps (or one mile) as fast as you can. Note your finish time, then cool down with 10 minutes of walking and jogging.

Do the same test every month and compare the results; as your fitness improves, your time will decrease.

Here's how it went for me:
I warmed up for a mile at 9:56 pace.  When my Garmin hit the one mile mark, I upped the pace.

Time Trial mile - 8:36 pace!  This was a relatively flat stretch of road, not a track, and definitely as fast as I can run at this point.

Mile 3 - 11:05, I took a short walk break.  Just before I hit the 3 mile mark, another runner passed me.  He was probably a foot taller and definitely faster.  I decided to see how long I could keep up...

Mile 4 - 8:53.  I kept the other runner in sight but he kept pulling away.  I'm guessing his pace was about 8:00-8:15.

Mile 5 - 9:18

Total - 5 miles in 47:52, 9:34 pace.

Ave HR - 156
Max HR - 182
Calories burned - 500