Marathon Training Thread - Week Ending 1/30

Goal Race: Snowflake 4mile 2/26 , Coogans 5k 3/6

Week

Mon- 14mi total: 800-600-400-200-1200-800-600-400-200 on track indoors, 520 pace for everything. 90sec rec. Trying to gradually ease back into the speed work that has been severely lacking since high school.

pm: 30' bike

Tue- 51', easy stationary bike.

Wed-8mi, w/ 8x40second pickups outside, snowy.

pm: 30' bike

Thurs- 8.5 moderate, snow made it a tough go again.

Fri- 9mi, 70:00. easy pace.,

pm: Millrose Games 2mi up, strides, 4x160 relay (we (NYPD) beat the Fire Dept!). This was a really fun event, for a good cause.

Sat- 8mi, 53'. progression miles 2-8 650 down to 610.

Sun- 15mi, 1:46, 7:06 pace. first 7 around 710, then 640's. felt pretty strong.

Another week over 60mi, and I am beginning to pepper in some faster paced running, looking forward to a race at the end of February, though I have no real time goal yet-

The goal this week will be to keep mileage the same, with some pickups on wednesday and a saturday morning long run/tempo run. Keep up the good running guys!

Goal: London in 2:56 (6:45 pace)

M: 6 @ 8:35 with 6 strides

T:am 4 @ 8:30

T:pm 11 incl 1.5M @ 6:3x + 3x2M @ 6:35, 6:31, 6:29 paces(with 2:30 rest) then 4x150m strides

W:am 3.5 @ 8:30

W:pm 9 @ 8:05 progression last 2M in 7:28, 6:54

R: 7.5 @ 7:41 progression

F:am 4 @ 8:31

F:pm 6 @ 8:13 hilly

S: 4.5 @ 8:11 hilly

S:am 2 easy

S:pm 17 as 1 wu then 2x2M 6:34,(2:00 rest), 6:27 then 7.5 easy then 3M @ 6:30 avg (6:34, 6:30, 6:26), 1.5 cd

Week total= 74.5

YTD= 278.5

Pretty decent week. Tuesday's workout was meant to be a challenging 4x2M but i wiped out during the first one. Ouch! The next 3x2M went well. I felt good and did not push the pace. I had a tendency to race my workouts but i am finally now convinced that i need to stick in the 6:30 pace area for my tempos and become very very confortable there.

I was meant to do my Sunday long run in the morning and i started running but the cold rain and wind told me to go back inside and have a nice long hot breakfast instead. The rest of the day was frustrating because i kept waiting for a weather break to go back outside. Eventually it came and i did a nice Daniels' Tempo-Easy-Tempo workout as 2x2M + 1 hour easy + 3M. I really like this workout because it breaks up the long run. Running 3M@6:30 at the end is a great confidence booster, it felt pretty hard though.

Marathon: October

Goal: 2:32

mon: 4 mi (6:45)

tues: off

wed: 4 mi (7:42)

thurs: 4 mi (7:22)

fri: 4 mi (8:08)

sat: 4 mi(6:43)

sun: off

total: 20 big ones

Oh I forgot to mention this is my first week back from a stress fracture.

Great training guys! Looks like most everyone is staying consistent, which in my opinion, is most important in running.

Goals: 1:13:00-1:14:00 and 2:37:00-2:39:59

Races: NYC Half Marathon and Boston Marathon

I had finally felt like I was rolling... running 90 2 weeks ago and the 7 days between Wed Jan 19 and Tue, Jan 25 over 100 miles. My legs felt amazing, my breathing relaxed... and everything was starting to come very easy. I had 0 doubts in my ability to start clicking off 100+ mile weeks for the next several...

Then... the plague. Wed I tried to run, but only got in 4 miles before my lungs and cough were so bad that I had to stop.

Thur and Fri I was lucky to live through, let alone run.

Sat I got out for 9+, and yesterday coughed my way through 16, but was really not feeling well before nor after.

That made the week a 53 mile week: 9, 15 (8&7), 4, 0, 0, 9, 16. Disappointed, but can't do anything about getting sick.

I'm reasonably confident I can jump back into things this week. I still have a cough, but its not quite as bad and I don't think running through will set me back. Will play each run by ear, though.

Goal: London Marathon in 2:35

Monday: cycled to work and back, no run (0)

Tuesday: 10 miles. Didn’t manage planned session so ran round the track alternating hard and easy (10)

Wednesday: cycled to work and back + 10 miles easy (10)

Thursday: 6x1000 off 200 (3:10/10/09/09/11/07) - ran there and back. Very cold and windy. (11)

Friday AM: 5 miles easy. Early. PM: 10 miles. Sore stomach - slow (15)

Saturday: Cannon Hill Parkrun 1st position 16:01. Ran the course, ran there and back. Felt easy. (12)

Sunday: Long run. Easy pace. (22)

Week Total: 80 miles

2011 Total: 351 miles

A good week.

Keep up the good work marathoners!

pablo - Welcome back my friend. Exciting!

4TM - You and me both on the plague. Get better dude.

Mo - OFF, death bed

Tu - OFF, sick as hell

We - 10am easy, shouldn't have done that

Th - 9pm easy, still sick

Fr - 8am/6pm easy, not enjoyable at all

Sa - 9am easy, am i really still sick

Su - 6am easy, weak as hell

Total Mileage - 48 miles

I guess I finally got a recovery week, but I'm not happy about it. On the plus side, I feel good today and ran 15miles this morning. Hopefully, I am back.

Goal Races: Indy Mini (1/2 mar) early May

and Chicago?

Goal Times: sub 1:15 (pr is 1:15:20)

2:37? (dream time, reassess in 3-6 months)

M - 0 (planned)

T - 7 (7:12)

W - 5 (7:05)

T - 6 (6:29... progressive start at 7:15 finish at 5:39)

F - 7 (7:16)

S - 0 (planned)

S - 5 (7:13)

Week - 30

YTD - 79

2nd week of running without achilles pain. 19 last week. I'm sure I'm pathetic if I raced something, but I really don't feel too bad after missing so much running the last 10 weeks. I averaged 13 miles/wk the last 10 weeks!! LOL

Hopeful to get back into groove within 2-3 weeks.

Nice job everyone! A lot of guys putting in solid mileage!

Pitsburgh

May 15 3:40

Still laying low and getting over cough/cold and several several foot issues. Cold weather hasn't helped much either. Just did the elliptical and lifted. Plan to hit the roads today if the predicted ice storm for tomorrow misses the Pittsburgh area.

Mon lift 40mins/rower 20 mins

Tues ellipt 60mins

Wed off

Thurs elliptical 60 mins

Fri lift 45mins

Sat ellipt 70mins

Sun ellipt 99mins

Chicago registration oepns tomorrow. Several runners from our local group plan to go. Can anyone recommend good, convenient accomodations. We'd be flying in so probably trying to stay as close to start/finish as possible.

Thanks and good luck to everyone for another week of training.

Goal 2:26

Sun- 38min easy (5miles)

Mon-2mile warmup, 5xmile 5:17, 5:16, 5:13, 5:11, 5:09 400 jog recovery, 2mile cooldown (10miles)

Tue- 65min easy on trails (9miles)

Wed- 72min easy, hill drills (10miles)

Thur- 2mile warmup, 8mile progression 45:44 6:20 down to 5:18 pace 24:03, 21:41, 2mile cooldown (12miles)

Fri- 61min easy (8miles)

Sat- 58min (9miles)

Total- 63miles

Still building mileage feeling very antsy I want to run 100 a week but im listening to my coach. Should hit 75 this coming week. Workouts felt easy this past week.

RE: Accommodations for Chicago. If price is no option, by far your best bet is the Michigan Ave Hilton (720 S Michigan Ave). Across the street from Grant Park where the Start/Finish is. If the budget is a little more limited, There is a Red Roof Inn within walking distance (162 East Ontario St). Otherwise, if you are in town just for the race, not worried about sight seeing or staying directly in the city, you can get a room at any hotel in the suburbs (the closer to a major expressway, the better) and drive in race morning. You'd pay for parking but save probably $100/night on your hotel. Driving into the city on race morning is very easy and very fast, as there is no traffic.

Goal Race: Boston

Goal Time: 2:48

M: AM: 10 EZ, PM: 60 min stretch/core routine

T: AM: 10 EZ, a real struggle, felt awful.

W: AM: 10 EZ felt much better than yesterday, PM: 60 min stretch/core routine

T: AM: 10 miles with 5 x 1 mile @ MP. averaged 6:15, felt great.

F: AM: 10 EZ, PM: 4 Treadmill

S: AM: 10 EZ Treadmill (with a 90 min break to make breakfast for the kids), PM: 60 min stretch/core routine

S: AM: 18, moderate pace, hilly, long climbs, strong finish.

Total: 82 miles

Solid week of training. First time over 80 miles since last summer. The stretch/core routine has been my savior this year, it keeps me running, and I can really feel it when I don't do it.

Keep up these threads everyone! Great information!

0z - I apologize, I always look to see if someone else has started the thread before I start one...but I guess I just missed it. Sometimes I forget that we have Aussies and Brits posting here so by the time I start the weekly thread on Sunday afternoon, it's already Monday morning for you. Anyway, to answer your question, I would continue with the base building. That doesn't mean everything has to be easy runs though. If you feel good one day, feel free to turn it into a progression run. Maybe throw in some strides 3 times per week. 18 weeks is long enough prep for a marathon (personally, I would do something more like 12 weeks) so I definitely wouldn't start your quality sessions just yet.

Road Racer - Thanks, I appreciate the advice. Over the last 2 years or so, I've gotten pretty good about listening to my body and knowing the warning signs...so I think I'll be good. I'll do a fartlek and some strides this week, but probably won't hit the track until next week. Nice to see you back on the roads BTW.

Another - Why'd you switch from Canova to Pfitz? I know it's very early in your cycle, but I'm curious as to what you think of the Canova workouts. I'm strongly considering doing them for my fall marathon.

mlbfan - Solid 3k, those are painful races even when you're training specifically for that event...let alone when you're in marathon mode.

stamford - Nice track meet! That double brings me back to high school trying to juggle multiple events...4:25 is excellent this time of year, lines you up pretty well to run sub-4 1500 by outdoor season.

CTA - I admire those that can run those Daniels workouts...they always look impossible for me to even attempt.

It's official, I signed up for Chicago last night!

Anyone else sign up yesterday? Or planning on signing up this week?

GoalRace Cleveland

GoalTime 3:2x

m 4

t 4

w 4

r 6 w/ 4x800, 3 min walks (aborted after 4, was supposed to do jog recoveries. Just a bad day I guess or maybe lack of sleep)

f 4

s 8 w/ 3mi @7:30, 2min walk, then 6x800, 3min jogs recover. I could have done 10. Remarkable the difference in two days.

s 10 ez

40 total

I need to figure out how to dig more time out of my schedule for running out of my schedule. I have not had time for even short doubles, and I ran out of time on tuesday and wednesday and friday, missing about 10 mile I had intended to run.

Pablo,

I am signed up for both Chicago and New York. Not going to make a decision until later. If Boston goes well, and I run a good bit under 2:40, I'll probably do NY. If that doesn't happen at Boston, the chances of doing Chicago go way up. I may still do NY as an "experience" run, though, even if I race Chicago.

pablo wrote:

It's official, I signed up for Chicago last night!

Anyone else sign up yesterday? Or planning on signing up this week?

A couple of local folks from our running group signed up. I am planning on signing up as soon as I can get a committment to split a room from one of them. I really don't want to get a single room at over $200/night and end up having to drop around a grand on a marathon trip from Pittsburgh.

pablo - I switched because I suck basically. I tried to do that 2 x 5mile workout outside and it proved to me that I don't have no business doing those kind of workouts right now. So I'll go back to Pfitz and his 85+ plan. I think lots of slow(ish) mileage will get me back to where I want to be. I think I'm a plodder. After Boston, I'll do an extended Daniels' 5k-15k plan until August to get faster leg speed.

Those thinking of Chicago, 17,000+ people have already registered. I'm doing New York, so its nice not worrying about when its going to close. I've got until April 30th to register.

I've already made hotel reservations for Houston 2012 also...

It's official for me too. I just registered for Chicago. For those who came in from out of town from some distance, did you just fly in Friday and fly out late Sunday night?

I made my trip into a bit of a vacation, flying in Friday and then back out on Weds/Thurs (I forget). I had free place to stay (friends couch) and time off work, so I just went for it and hung around town eating and drinking all week.

I don't know how people get on planes the afternoon post marathon.

rh and Pablo, thanks for the advice, hopefully my logs reflect that i have taken it seriously. I appreciate it, its a godd rreminder about the importance of patience in marathon training.

silky, I know what you mean re the flight. In October I ran Melbourne and at lunchtime boarded my 3hr flight. The weather meant we couldn't land and the flight ended up being 6 hrs with the seatbelt sign on. Fortunately the person beside me ran the half and was sympathetic towards my cramping.

I hope all the training is going well!