This was a recovery week but I have to say I don't feel recovered yet. Things went well overall and I had a three critical workouts which went well.
My track session on Wednesday was very good. Despite running across snow and ice (there was a little ice on the
HHS track), I was able to hit my targets for 5x600. I stayed near 5:45 pace and dropped down to 5:39 for the last effort. Legs felt good and my speed/turnover were dialed in. The jog to and from the track in snow and ice was terrible and I was lucky I didn't slip or fall. In hind sight, I should have drove to the track and done the entire run there rather than risk injury this close to my goal race.
The next key workout came on Friday night. I executed a 7 mile tempo run with two miles of warm up and one mile of warm down. The tempo miles started at 7:00 pace and dropped down to 6:50 over the last five miles. This was my first hard run in 'warm weather' and I did feel some additional fatigue. Warm weather efforts have always been challenging for me but I need to get some warm weather acclimation done before
Shamrock. There is no telling what the weather will be on race day. It could be rainy and 40 or sunny and 70. I pushed through a few tough patches during the tempo run and finished with strong confidence that I have some speed.
Sunday's long run went well but it seemed 'harder' than normal. Karolina, Reid, Mary Beth and I went to the C&O Canal for this run and I tried to execute a typical pre-race routine. It was a warmer out (70s) and I tried to hydrate as much as possible before running. After a two mile warm up and quick potty stop I settled into 7:45 pace and felt great over the next 10 miles. I paid special attention to nutrition and hydration, using my
fuel belt at regular intervals. The last four mile I picked things up a little into the 7:30 range and started to feel the effort. I'm not sure if it was fatigue or dehydration, but my HR was creeping up to the mid 150s when it was normally in the mid-high 140s. I finished well but felt more dead after the run than expected. It was a good effort and it was great to be out running on a beautful warm day with friends.
I ended this week of training feeling a bit dead. The long run on Sunday left me more pooped than normal but overall I still feel great. Next week I have one hard workout remaining and then it's all recovery and strides. So far so good, now the focus starts to shift to my mental game.
Thanks for reading.
| Monday | 03/02/09 | Off | 0:00:00 | 0.0 |
| Tuesday | 03/03/09 | Recovery Run on the treadmill. Kept things steady at low 8 min pace with some 7:55 mixed in. Felt solid but a little tight in right hamstring. | 0:49:50 | 6.2 |
| Wednesday | 03/04/09 | 8 Miles w/ 5x600m (.37 mile) @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery on HHS track. Very icy conditions so WU/WD were slow. Intervals felt good.
1. 2:06 (5:43 pace)
2. 2:08 (5:47 pace)
3. 2:06 (5:43 pace)
4. 2:07 (5:44 pace)
5. 2:05 (5:39 pace) | 1:12:37 | 8.6 |
| Thursday | 03/05/09 | Off | 0:00:00 | 0.0 |
| Friday | 03/06/09 | Tempo run on W&OD. WU first two miles then settled into 7:00 pace. Ran the last miles at 6:50 pace. Felt solid but a hard effort. | 1:13:47 | 10.0 |
| Saturday | 03/07/09 | 4 Miles recovery run around Reston. Felt tight after the tempo run so I took it easy. Hot weather and wasn't used to the heat! | 0:35:35 | 4.3 |
| Sunday | 03/08/09 | Long Run on the C&O. WU first two miles then settled into 7:45 pace. Felt really good going. Dropped things down to 7:30s for the last 6 miles but started to tire and feel the heat. A solid run but tired at the end. | 2:07:52 | 16.1 |
| Week 19 Totals |
| 5:59:41 | 45.3 |
