| Monday | 02/16 | Off | 0.0 |
| Tuesday | 02/17 | 8 Mi w/ 5x600m @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery | 8.0 |
| Wednesday | 02/18 | Easy Medium Distance Run | 11.0 |
| Thursday | 02/19 | Off | 0.0 |
| Friday | 02/20 | Easy Medium Distance Run | 10.0 |
| Saturday | 02/21 | 4 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides | 4.0 |
| Sunday | 02/22 | Race - Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon | 17.0 |
| Week 17 Totals | 50.0 | ||
2.16.2009
Week 16 Schedule
This is going to be fun and challenging week. I've got some shorter speed work on Tuesday and my usual mid-distance runs on Wednesday and Friday. The fun starts on Sunday when I race for the first time this year at the Colonial Half Marathon. It's a challenging half marathon on a cross-country style course with rolling hills. It's going to be another good test of form before going into the final four weeks of marathon prep.
2/15 Long Run Review
This was another 'race simulation' long run. The idea was to mimic the pacing and nutrition on similar course to race day. I went back out to the C&O Canal path which has a similar profile to Shamrock. Karolina took off on her 12 mile run and I followed after her on my 18 mile run.
I started off well, running the first mile in a relaxed 7:32 -- exactly like I want to on race day. Although it is 20 seconds slower than my goal pace, I am a firm believer in starting slow and settling in at the beginning of the race. This allows my HR to slowly rise to the low 150s rather than push too hard too soon.
The first few miles went well except my Fuel Belt was bouncing all over the place. This happens sometimes but today was really bad. One of my bottles ejected and I had to stop to pick it up. At that point I decided to carry it rather than keep it in the belt. Despite these distractions, I stayed on pace and kept my HR in the low 150s.
Approaching MD Great Falls, my HR jumped about 5 BPM given from miles 5-6. It was good to see that following those minor hills, I was able to bring my HR back down to the low 150s. Nutrition was good, hydration was good, legs felt good. Overall things were really good...until mile 14.
Then the one thing I dread hit me around mile 14...GI cramps. I had no choice but to run off the trail and make a pit stop. Although the whole thing took less than a minute, it was very hard to get back into my rhythm once I started running again. I really hope this doesn't happen on race day. I need to pay special attention to what I eat the night before...
I ran strong the rest of the way and finished up feeling solid but not great. Could I keep this (7:11 pace) up for another 8 miles? That's the magic question that I'll answer in late March. For now, confidence is high.
I started off well, running the first mile in a relaxed 7:32 -- exactly like I want to on race day. Although it is 20 seconds slower than my goal pace, I am a firm believer in starting slow and settling in at the beginning of the race. This allows my HR to slowly rise to the low 150s rather than push too hard too soon.
The first few miles went well except my Fuel Belt was bouncing all over the place. This happens sometimes but today was really bad. One of my bottles ejected and I had to stop to pick it up. At that point I decided to carry it rather than keep it in the belt. Despite these distractions, I stayed on pace and kept my HR in the low 150s.
Approaching MD Great Falls, my HR jumped about 5 BPM given from miles 5-6. It was good to see that following those minor hills, I was able to bring my HR back down to the low 150s. Nutrition was good, hydration was good, legs felt good. Overall things were really good...until mile 14.
Then the one thing I dread hit me around mile 14...GI cramps. I had no choice but to run off the trail and make a pit stop. Although the whole thing took less than a minute, it was very hard to get back into my rhythm once I started running again. I really hope this doesn't happen on race day. I need to pay special attention to what I eat the night before...
I ran strong the rest of the way and finished up feeling solid but not great. Could I keep this (7:11 pace) up for another 8 miles? That's the magic question that I'll answer in late March. For now, confidence is high.
| Miles | Split | HR |
| Mile 1 | 0:07:32 | 139 |
| Mile 2 | 0:07:11 | 149 |
| Mile 3 | 0:07:13 | 152 |
| Mile 4 | 0:07:14 | 154 |
| Mile 5 | 0:07:11 | 157 |
| Mile 6 | 0:07:14 | 159 |
| Mile 7 | 0:07:13 | 153 |
| Mile 8 | 0:07:13 | 154 |
| Mile 9 | 0:07:13 | 154 |
| Mile 10 | 0:07:08 | 154 |
| Mile 11 | 0:07:07 | 154 |
| Mile 12 | 0:07:08 | 155 |
| Mile 13 | 0:07:03 | 156 |
| Mile 14 | 0:07:06 | 157 |
| Mile 15 | 0:07:11 | 159 |
| Mile 16 | 0:07:10 | 158 |
| Mile 17 | 0:07:10 | 161 |
| Mile 18 | 0:07:05 | 161 |
| 2:09:22 | 155 |
Weekly recap: 2/9 - 2/15
This was a very good week of training. I hit all my workouts and felt solid from Wednesday through Sunday. The interval session on Wednesday went well despite running in the dark on Herndon High's track. The highlight was the long run on Sunday where I held my goal pace for 18 miles. This was a big confidence booster as I go into the final 2-3 weeks of hard training and then taper.
Next week I'm racing the Colonial Half Marathon on Sunday. It should be a great test of fitness on a challenging course.
Next week I'm racing the Colonial Half Marathon on Sunday. It should be a great test of fitness on a challenging course.
| Monday | 02/09/09 | Off | 0:00:00 | 0.0 | |
| Tuesday | 02/10/09 | Easy Run on the W&OD. Didn't feel so hot during this run. Stride felt off and my stomach felt funny. Did a couple strides on the second half and felt a little better. Ran a little slower than normal given my HR. | 1:10:02 | 8.6 | |
| Wednesday | 02/11/09 | 9 Miles w/ 5x1000m (.65) @ 5k pace w/ 2 min recovery. Did this on the Herndon High Track. Felt really good despite no lights and high winds. 1. 4:01 (6:11 pace) 2. 3:58 (6:06 pace) 3. 4:01 (6:11 pace) 4. 4:04 (6:16 pace) 5. 4:05 (6:17 pace) | 1:16:23 | 9.6 | |
| Thursday | 02/12/09 | Off | 0:00:00 | 0.0 | |
| Friday | 02/13/09 | Easy Medium Distance Run on W&OD. Felt really good. Stride was dialed in and effortless. Ran 7:50s with HR in low 140s. | 1:36:45 | 12.1 | |
| Saturday | 02/14/09 | Recovery Run on treadmill. Kept things easy at 8:15 pace. First run in Lunar Racers and felt good. | 0:41:45 | 5.0 | |
| Sunday | 02/15/09 | 18 Miles @ marathon pace. Huge run. Tried to recreate the race plan with a relaxed first mile and then settling into pace. Had some issues with Fuel Belt but overall a great run. Only blemish -- GI stop at mile 15. Avereged 7:11 and 155 BPM. | 2:09:58 | 18.1 | |
| Week 16 Totals | 6:54:53 | 53.4 | |||
2.12.2009
Week 16 Schedule
This is going to be a tough week. The track session on Tuesday will be the longest speed session this year. I will likely do this workout on the track. The second key workout will come on Sunday when I execute another 'race simulation'. This time I will be running up to 14 miles at race pace (7:10-7:15). Like before, I will knock this out on the C&O Canal to avoid road crossing and simulate the flat terrain at Shamrock.
| Monday | 02/09/09 | Off | 0.0 |
| Tuesday | 02/10/09 | Easy Run | 8.0 |
| Wednesday | 02/11/09 | 9 Miles w/ 5x1000m (.65) @ 5k pace w/ 2 min recovery | 9.0 |
| Thursday | 02/12/09 | Off | 0.0 |
| Friday | 02/13/09 | Easy Medium Distance Run | 12.0 |
| Saturday | 02/14/09 | Recovery Run | 5.0 |
| Sunday | 02/15/09 | 17 Mi w/14 Mi @ marathon pace | 17.0 |
| Week 16 Totals | 51.0 | ||
Weekly recap: 2/2 - 2/8
Total Runs: 4Total Mileage: 48.8
Total Time: 6:32:01
This was a solid of week of training with a little vacation mixed in. The week started out well with a solid speed session that was a little too fast. It must have been the cold wind that made me want to get it over with as soon as possible. While it was fun to knock out 600s at sub 6 min pace, the overall benefit did not exceed the risk of injury. I need to be careful going forward not to push my speed/track sessions too hard.
I bumped up my long run (17 miles) from Sunday to Friday to accommodate our weekend Ski trip to Cannan Valley. The run went well and I was able to hold sub 8s after a couple warm up miles. The ski trip was a blast, but my legs felt it on Saturday and Sunday. Rather than risk anything, I bagged my recovery run on Saturday and took things easy on Sunday. Overall it was a great week of running and skiing.
| Monday | 02/02/09 | Off | 0:00:00 | 0.0 | |
| Tuesday | 02/03/09 | 8 Miles w/ 5x600m (.33 mile) @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery. Did this on the W&OD at night in the bitter cold with a nasty headwind during the odd intervals: 1. 1:55 (5:49 pace) 2. 1:51 (5:38 pace) 3. 1:57 (5:55 pace) 4. 1:53 (5:45 pace) 5. 1:58 (5:59 pace) | 1:02:22 | 7.8 | |
| Wednesday | 02/04/09 | Easy Medium Distance Run on the W&OD. Very cold and windy. Didn't feel great until the final 5 miles. Ran the last 2 miles hard. Solid run but felt beat at the end. | 1:29:49 | 11.4 | |
| Thursday | 02/05/09 | Off | 0:00:00 | 0.0 | |
| Friday | 02/06/09 | Long Run on W&OD. Moved up from Sunday due to the ski trip. Felt solid. Warmed up the first few mile then ran 7:50s for the next 13. HR was in the high 140s low 150s. | 2:20:56 | 17.6 | |
| Saturday | 02/07/09 | 4 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides - Missed this workout. Was too tired to run after 6 hours of skiing. | 0:00:00 | 0.0 | |
| Sunday | 02/08/09 | Medium Distance Run. Did this after the ski trip. Legs were tired so I kept things easy and ran in the low 8s with HR in low 140s. | 1:38:54 | 12.0 | |
| Week 15 Totals | 6:32:01 | 48.8 | |||
2.03.2009
Week 15 Schedule
This week I start to add more speed work to my volume. I'll repeat the 5k-pace workout I did on 1/21 with five 600 meter efforts. Strides and a tempo run will round out another 50 mile week.
| Monday | 02/02/09 | Off | 0.0 | ||
| Tuesday | 02/03/09 | 8 Mi w/ 5x600m @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery | 8.0 | ||
| Wednesday | 02/04/09 | Easy Medium Distance Run | 11.0 | ||
| Thursday | 02/05/09 | Off | 0.0 | ||
| Friday | 02/06/09 | 4 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides | 4.0 | ||
| Saturday | 02/07/09 | Tempo Run or Race | 10.0 | ||
| Sunday | 02/08/09 | Long Run | 17.0 | ||
| Week 15 Totals | 50.0 | ||||
Weekly recap: 1/26 - 2/1
Total Runs: 5Total Mileage: 56.2
Total Time: 7:45:53
This was a challenging week. I hit my peak mileage for the marathon build and ended the Endurance/Lactate Threshold cycle. The only wrinkle came from the one thing I couldn't control, the weather. Tuesday and Wednesday brought snow and ice which pushed my training back on the treadmill. While not the end of the world, I would have preferred to do my Tuesday lactate threshold workout on the road. The ice did not melt until Sunday which made Friday's 12 miler a challenge. Given the black ice on the W&OD, I could never maintain a consistent pace or stride. While I still hit my goal mileage and nailed my workouts, I feel that the quality was lacking.
Sunday was my second 20 mile run in three weeks. The weather was looking great and I left around 11 AM after my usual pre-run breakfast. Despite a GI stop at mile 4, I felt solid and settled into 7:55/8:05 pace. After about two hours, I slowly started to overheat. The temperature had risen almost 10 degrees since I started and my tights, baselayer, and long sleeve were way more than I needed. I slowed down the last couple miles and stopped for water to rehydrate. I made it home fine and quickly downed my recovery drink and 32 oz. of Gatorade Endurance. It was a solid long run but I wish I'd dressed better for the conditions. Another lesson learned at the end of solid week of training.
| Monday | 01/26/09 | Off | |||
| Tuesday | 01/27/09 | 6 Miles w/ 6x100m Strides. Did this on the treadmill due to weather. Felt ok the whole way cruising at 8:00 pace with strides at 6:15 pace. | 0:52:28 | 6.2 | |
| Wednesday | 01/28/09 | 12 Miles w/ 7 Miles @ half marathon pace. Did this on the treadmill due to weather. Ran threshold at 6:50 pace with HR at 165-171. Started to bonk and had some GI issues towards the end requiring two quick stops. Overall, I was wasted after this workout. | 1:36:18 | 12.0 | |
| Thursday | 01/29/09 | Off | |||
| Friday | 01/30/09 | Easy Medium Distance Run. Did this on the W&OD in trail shoes. Very icey and difficult to get into a consistent pace. Hard run. | 1:42:57 | 12.0 | |
| Saturday | 01/31/09 | Recovery Run on the treadmill. Kept things steady and easy at 8:20 pace. Felt OK. | 0:49:43 | 6.0 | |
| Sunday | 02/01/09 | Long Run on W&OD. Overdressed and the temp went up into the 50s. Felt great going out, had a quick GI stop at mile 4, and held 8:00s/7:50s until last couple miles. | 2:44:27 | 20.0 | |
| Week 14 Totals | 7:45:53 | 56.2 | |||
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