Sub 2h30 Fall Marathon

hardest prescribed workout complete!

3, 2, 1 mi with 1mi easy between each. goal paces were HMP, HMP-5sec/mi, 10k

hit 5:32s, 5:28s, 5:13 with about a 6:45 mile in between both. whole workout in zoom flys, which have been my go-to workout shoe, with custom superfeet insoles to make them a little more stable. felt about the right difficulty especially for running alone with a little wind. didn't feel quite as easy as the 2xmi in 11:10/10:53 the other day, but that was in the vaporfly (although after 8 miles at 6:10 pace). I'm probably still a little tired from that workout, although I took the last couple days pretty easy and was feeling good.

next two workouts are just 6mi at marathon pace and then 5x1000 from HMP down to 10k pace.

going to make sure I'm washing my hands a lot and getting in my vitamin C in the next week...it would be a shame to not be 100% for this race. I've recruited a friend to pace me for a while during the race. not sure if he will last much beyond 6-7 miles at 5:30s though...despite just running 2:29 at CIM. he was one of the people who signed up for this race originally but raced CIM so have not been training.

First of all I'll give credit to Coach JS for defending himself. I will say that a guarantee that isnt worth anything isnt really a guarantee.

15 weeks out

Totals - 100 miles, 7 runs, 12.7 hours, 3600'

Tuesday - 18 freezing my a$$ off at 8:10 pace

Thursday - 14 with 8 x 1600 cruise intervals (1 min rest) averaging about 5:54

Sunday - 23 with 2 separate 3 mile tempo runs in just over 18 starting at miles 3 and 15

Not a bad week. It's probably my first Monday to Sunday 100 mile week since college. Im not thrilled about where my fitness is but it isnt terrible either.

On a separate note Im really sick of the New Years resolution folks. Two weeks ago there was no one running slower than 8:30 pace on the trails. Now there are dozens of folks running four abreast, not paying attention, taking up the whole trail and they get startled when I yell "on your left." It's like they are genuinely surprised that there are people running faster than them. One guy on a bike almost ran into me because of some combination of looking at the view instead of the trail and a total inability to handle his bike. Im guessing he hasnt touched his bike in years but made a new years resolution to get in shape. Yesterday, I stashed a gatorade out on the trail for between my two tempo runs and someone drank half of it but left the rest for me. Had it been a teenager or a bum, they would have taken the whole thing, so Im fairly certain it was some resolution runner bonking at the end of a 4 mile run who just had to steal my gatorade so he could waddle home at 14 minute pace. Seriously, anyone who needs the calendar to change years to get in shape should just give up, sit on the couch binging netflix and eating twinkies waiting for the heart disease to end their miserable existence. Last week it was coach JS, this week "Resolution" Runners, maybe I'll need a new rant of the week next week.

boulderunner, next time, put some food coloring in your gatorade to make it look nasty. plus you will break the seal which will scare off most people.

but really...who would drink something they just found on the side of a trail? so unsafe

update on next 2 weeks:

week 3, planned:

- 3 miles at goal pace, 1 mile jogg, 2 miles at 5''/mile faster than goal pace, 1 mile jogg, 1 mile at 10k pace.

- 13 mile "long run" including 10k in the middle in 36 - 37 minutes.

actual: (planned 85-90 miles, actual 81 with a day off...probably smart to back off extra)

3-2-1 at 5:32, 5:27, 5:13 paces, as planned. done in zoom fly flyknit, not vaporflys. didn't feel as easy as the 8mi mod, 2x2mi but maybe it was the shoe choice. will race in vaporflys for sure, with a custom orthotic.

10k at MPish was a bust - it was raining and SUPER windy out that day, so hit 4 miles at about 5:55s into a headwind but was feeling like it was harder than planned, so cut it short.

race week, planned:

Tuesday: 5 x 1k with 600 jog in 3 minutes starting at goal pace and working down to 10/15k pace.

Wednesday: rest day.

Saturday or Sunday: race half marathon.

today is thursday and I just did those repeats. race is sunday so I have just 2 days. did this later because I didn't want too many easy days in a row before racing. plus it's easy enough that 2 days should be plenty to fully recover.

the workout went as planned except that I forgot what the planned rest was. just did 5x3min on the roads to avoid the track, with 2' rests around 7:30 pace. paces started around 5:30 and dropped to 5:15ish on a paved path with minimal elevation change. might have been about 5% too fast, but I'm not concerned as I slept very well all week and have tapered for this race. gonna actually register today now that I am ready to roll.

the plan for the race is probably highly dependent on who else shows up. If I'm all alone, with no pacers, I'd start at 5:35 and try to work the pace down later. If my friend shows up to pace me, I'll aim for 5:30-5:32s. I'd be willing to go as fast as 5:26 pace if there is a small group at that speed, though I don't think I could hold that pace for 13mi (71:15 pace). if I made it ten miles at that pace and then blew up, I think I'd still be pretty happy. 10mi PR is probably 55:50ish from some other half marathon.

weather should be really good. forecast calls for rain later that day but low of 44. race would be mid 40s for sure with no rain on saturday, so hopefully a dry course.

You're looking fit. During the summer of 2017 I ran 1:12:35 and your workouts seem to be roughly in line with what I was doing then, if not a little faster.

As for Resolution runners and stealing drinks. Food coloring seems like a decent option. I could also make a more concerted effort to hide things, or just wait for these bums to give up and go back to the couch. However, I am strongly considering adding something to a gatorade and putting it in the same spot this Sunday. I'd see if there was a way to keep the seal intact. Urine or a laxative would be very high on my list for a desired additive but Im open to other suggestions.

Reed, seems like you are right on track. Im used to stuff with shorter rest but not getting faster at the end like that. I'd guess you could hold 5:35s or faster.

I had my first debacle of a workout yesterday. And its somewhat puzzling to me. I went for 10 miles at marathon pace (current fitness, and adjusted for altitude and being on gravel and hills) and totally exploded and pulled the plug after going above 7 minutes for the 8th mile. I do have over 100 miles in the last 7 days, so Im tired and im used to having some dogshit workouts on occasion. However the confusion comes from the fact that my shorter work is right about where it should be and the longer stuff is whats lacking. This is usually the opposite for me. Using VDot, I usually lag a point or two behind when doing I or R work relative to my M and T. Now Im in reverse. This makes me think that maybe my iron levels arent getting where they need to be and that Im struggling aerobically. However, I also have had some promising easy long runs with very low heart rate and decent pace.

do a reality check of how much sleep you're getting, then diet, then iron. check resting HR to see if you're just fatigued.

It`s easy to understand your problem. 100 mpw is to much for you. Do the half of it for a couple of months and you will come back to your best.

71:51ish this morning. Great conditions, great course. Will write more details later but the summary is that I still think I could go 30 seconds faster in a more competitive race and more even pacing. I went out targeting 5:32s or 72:30ish and should've taken a bigger risk. Not a bad mistake to make all things considered.

If Pikachu ever sees this, I want your email so I can get a hold of you next time I plan a road race. Your 4 week plan worked perfectly and I was well tapered and fit enough despite pretty conservative workouts. I definitely learned something this month, that even 1.5 workouts a week is enough while doing higher mileage weeks. I recommend people go look at page 19 of this thread and check that schedule. My longest goal pace segment was 3 miles and I ran 13 miles a little faster that that.

Also, go buy the vaporflys.

Congrats on the pr! I'm looking forward to the summary.

I got a pair of vaporflys about a month ago and now that the blues have just come out I'm kicking myself a little bit.

Congrats on the PR Reed and good luck with the ultra training going forward.

14 weeks out

Totals - 104 miles, 8 runs, 13.4 hours, 4600'

Tuesday - 18 @ 7:19 pace with 1700'

Thursday - the debacle 10 at marathon pace i described above

Sunday - 26.5 @ 7:26 with 1400'

Solid week, probably worked harder than the mileage indicates due to a decent snow. Had some slogs through the snow that limited the mileage. I think Im just tired, so gonna drop back to 90 this week and hope for a better workout Sunday. I seem to struggle with the second week after a jump in mileage before I adjust. Id imagine this week will start to feel a bit better.

Great work man! I am pretty happy now. I knew you could do it, but as I like conservative workouts I knew the possible problem would be your mind. But you mastered it well and believed in your consistent training.

Love it!

Best regards

Pikachu

Pikachu, next time I do a marathon I'd like to contact you. can you email me if you'd ever want to coach me again?

also, I started posting in the 2019 version of this thread, so my more detailed race recap is there.

I am planning on racing one or two 5ks before this 50 miler, and I'm sticking with the Pikachu strategy of conservative workouts. did 6x1k the other day and 3:07s were feeling very easy, so my 5k PB might be in danger this spring (15:28)