Marathon Training Thread - Week Ending 2/7

Goal Race - Rotterdam, April 11

Goal time - PR, maybe 2:57-2:58?

The first week since Houston that i'm feeling like running isn't a huge chore. I'm not totally recovered as my heartrate is now around 5-10bpm too high. I'm hoping that this coming week it will be back to normal. I have 8 weeks to goal race and i haven't done any workouts... Am i in over my head?? This coming week i have a 5 mile tempo which will be my first workout.

M - 6 @ 9:10, HR=129, treadmill

T - 9 @ 7:36 average - 1st at 8:09, then the rest in 7:30s, last mile in 7:08. HR=154, 10bpm too high, damn.

W - 4 @ 9:15, HR=128, treadmill

R - 9 @ 7:44 evenpaced with midrun 100m pickups, HR=147, felt great.

F - 5.1 @ 8:17, HR=139

S - 3.5 @ 9:30, HR=128, treadmill

S - 13.1 @ 7:20 (Felt great from the start and did the first 5 @ 7:10, realized it was too hard, and tried to slow, but once you lock in the pace it's hard to slow too much), HR=155 which is around 5 bpm high for this pace, damn.

Week Total = 50

Boston

Sub 2:19

Monday- Am 5, Pm 10

Tuesday- Am 5, Pm 3x1mi + 12 x 400 (1 miles avg 4:52,400's avg 67)

Wednesday Am 5, Pm 10

Thursday- Am 5, Pm 10

Friday- Am 5, Pm 3x4mi (20:30,20:34,20:31)

Saturday- Am 5, Pm 10

Sunday- Am 22

Great week of solid training for me. Hope everyone had a solid week of training as well!!!!

Wow marmite, I'm impressed...awesome race! Unfortunately I dealt with the exact opposite experience at my race (see below).

Good to hear the training is coming back CTA! You've still got time to put in some solid weeks before Rotterdam. Believe me, you still have some miles in your legs from Houston training.

Wow Iced Tea, solid week...the OTQ standard at Boston, not an easy feat, but more power to you.

Alright...now my week, brief warning, this will be long...

M: am – 6 miles easy (7:10) / pm – 11 miles easy (6:55)

Tu: am – 6 miles easy (7:10) / pm – 10 miles easy (6:45)

W: am – 6 miles easy (7:25) / pm – 13 miles easy (7:00)

Th: am – 6 miles easy (7:20) / pm – 10 miles easy (6:55)

F: am – 8 miles easy (7:00) / pm – skipped due to tornado warnings (only wanted to get in 4)

Sa: am – 11 miles total (3 w/u, 8k race, 3 c/d) – 8k result: OUCH (see below) / pm – 6 miles easy (7:00)

Su: 22 miles easy (6:37) – shocked to see how easy this run was. Sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

Weekly Total – 115 miles

8k Race Report – Result: 26:31 (3rd Overall)

I haven’t raced since my Turkey Trot back in November of last year, haven’t done workouts and have been putting in record high mileage for the past few weeks...needless to say, I didn’t know what to expect. Since this race was a money race, I assumed there would be a nice crowd there to help push me. Little did I know that this race would be BY FAR the least organized/most jumbled race I’ve ever run. The course is an out and back, but more like 3.5 miles out and 1.5 miles back. The turnaround point is on the intercoastal (Indian River) bridge, for anyone whose ever seen these in Florida….they are long and steep. The gun goes off and immediately there is a group of four that breaks away, after a mile the other three are breathing pretty heavy and I’m still doing fine, so I really pick up the pace and see who can go with me…nobody. At 2 miles I have a 15 second lead, it’s just me and pace bike I look up at the bridge (seems like a concrete wall) and just assume we turnaround at the peak of the bridge. I finally get to what seems like the turnaround point (there is a volunteer and a cone there) and I’m told to “keep going!” by the volunteer and pacer…so I make my way down the bridge….hmmm, okay….I turn around and see 2nd – 5th place at the turnaround point, by the time I turn forward again, I’m halfway down the bridge and see the pace bike coming toward me…he says “whoops!”...we were supposed to turn around at the top of the bridge. I’m furious now, I have to climb back up the bridge, then go back down and try to catch everyone else. I guess I’m in about 6th place now, with the new leaders a tiny speck (so it seems) in the distance. The pace bike has left me to rejoin the new leaders. I end up passing most everyone but couldn’t catch the top two guys…so I finished 3rd. I still only finished about 15 seconds back from them. Because this was a money race, I lost $125 because I went from 1st to 3rd.

I won’t even go into details on how messed up the results were, originally, I wasn’t in the results, then they tried to tell me I was DQ’d (trying to say I “cut” the course), I had to get 1st and 2nd to vouch that I didn’t cheat…and I had to fight just to get my (reduced) paycheck. Overall I figure I lost about 25-30 seconds…even with the hills, my splits tell the story.

I’m kinda frustrated as well because in college, I used to run 26 flat in my sleep (on XC courses no less). But I guess the lack of workouts and PR mileage weeks take more out of me than I figured. This coming week, I’ll start regular workouts and keep up with the mileage, hopefully I’ll be in good shape for my half at the end of the month.

SPLITS

5:15

5:09

5:34

5:33

4:55 (0.96 mile)

Long story short...a good week, but a pointless race that didn't really tell me much. My Sunday 22 came very easy to me, and just felt very comfortable. Also ran w/ a couple of guys I haven't seen in a while, so it helped to pass the time. Hopefully I won't regret this run tomorrow.

Shamrock Marathon 3/21

Goal: 2:29

Monday-70:00 then 8xstrides, 2:30CD

Tuesday-am: 30:00 pm: 2xFloat 1200m (78-80s) kick 400, Float 400 kick 400, Float 200 kick 200

Wednesday-90:00

Thursday-am: 70:00 then 8xstrides, 2:30CD pm: 40:00

Friday-am: 9 mile tempo on rolling dirt trail 3 steady, then 4x4:2 then 2:2 until the end (6:09, 6:00, 5:53, 5:40, 5:36, 5:30, 5:39, 5:36, 5:32--51:37) pm: 30:00

Saturday-63:00 4xstrides--very snowy

Sunday-2:10

pablo - that's an amazing, although nightmarish, story! OMG! I'm sure you will be laughing about this in due time!

Goal Race: Boston 2010

Goal: 2:59 (thinking this is a big stretch, at this point, but not going to acquiesce and change yet. . .!)

M - 6 miles and weights (hard weight session)

T - 8 miles with 4 @ 6:30

W - 6 miles and weights

R - 12 miles - some heartbreak hills on this course

F - 4 miles easy

S - group speed session - 9 miles w 6x1200 (on hilly trail) was very inconsistent

S - 16 miles, mostly @ 7:30

Total: 61 (jump from last week, but I feel like I can take on more)

I'm feeling good. No back issues and just generally stronger. If I am targeting 3 hours in Boston, I probably need to do the NYC half in 1:25 or so, which will be a 3 minute PR. Not sure it's possible with only 6 weeks.

I feel like posting my training with this thread is a little out of my league, but I swear, I selfishly use you guys to push me harder on my runs : )

Nice racing, guys. Marmite, closing fast must have been fun. Pablo: impressive stuff in the midst of some serious chaos.

Goal: Boston, 2:45.

Mon: AM: 4, PM: 9.

Tues: AM: 10, PM: 6.

Wed: AM: 6, PM: 5.

Thurs: AM: 7

Fri: AM: 5

Saturday: 20, 2:23. Felt really good and easy.

Sunday: 2ish?

73 total. A tough week here. After some great runs early in the week, work (and some poor planning on my part) got in the way on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday's long run went great, but achilles felt a little sore Sunday morning. This has sidelined me before, so I'm just being cautious and taking a rest day. This coming week is a planned step back in mileage anyway, so I'm just starting it a day early. I welcome any achilles tips/shipments of snake oil.

Good training, all!

pablo - that stinks about your race

marmite - nice 10k

CTA - It usually takes a while to get back to normal HRs after a marathon. After Chicago it took me a while. It only been 3 weeks since Houston.

bostonchick - It's great to see everyones training from OT qualifiers to us slowpokes. Its interesting to see what everyone does..

Goal Race: Boston 2010, 2:49:59

Goal Race: Boston 2010, 2:49:59

(I should probably post my week before clicking Post Message)

My week was tiring and long. First century week (102.4). Probably last one for a while. Just don't think I want to keep putting in this kind of mileage. The legs feel fine, but its just a lot of weekly running since I run most of my runs slow. I've put in weeks of 80,78,89,87,93,69,96,102 and I haven't had a day off since I started the Pfitz 18/85+ plan. I'm going to try to follow the plan the rest of the week. It will be an abbreviated week since I am moving Sunday's 20 w12MP to Saturday since next Sunday I will be on a plane to warmer climates (Thank God for that, I am sick of this cold and wind).

My week:

M AM: 6.00 @ 8:32 AHR 117 (TM)

M PM: 5.03 @ 8:33 AHR 122

T AM: 10.02 @ 7:57 AHR 131

T PM: 6.09 @ 8:20 AHR 121

W: 14.97 @ 7:42 AHR 140

R AM: 6.11 @ 8:26 AHR 131

R PM: 5.01 @ 8:31 AHR 125

F AM: 10.96 @ 7:03 AHR 150 (6 @ LT, 6:22(158), 6:14(163), 6:21(165), 6:13(167), 6:15(167), 6:15(168) )

F PM: 6.05 @ 8:30 AHR 124

Sa: 10.00 @ 7:55 AHR 129

Su: 22.13 @ 7:35 AHR 144

Tot: 102.4

Friday's LT session went well. Felt easier than last weeks 5@LT. HRs were right where they should be. Today's LR was good. HR a little high, but last 10 miles were into a stiff headwind. I'm also getting sick of running with the HRM strap. All of these miles wearing it dries out your skin and it seems to irritate the muscles right where it sits,plus I seem to always adjust the damn thing in the early miles. I think I might get rid of it earlier rather than later. Also, its nice not to obsess about every little nuance.

I ran today's run with handheld water bottle I just bought instead of my fuel belt. Way better than the fuel belt. At times I would forget I even had it.

I'm wondering what my paces would be if the temperatures were 25-30F higher and no wind....

Have a Super Sunday ;)

marmite: great race, nice job

pablo: good training week for you. sucks that you lost out on some cash, but at least you got in a good quality hard effort. nice time considering.

Another: congrats on the 100+ week.

track meat: just keep the calves loose. roll them out with the stick or something. that will help the achillies.

bostonchick: I'd say you're just as competative for a woman as we are, relatively speaking. It's funny how this thread can motivate you. Lately I've been motivated to go for my run just because I don't want to post that I didn't run one day. Everyone here seems so committed that I'd be embarrassed.

Anyways,

Most of you know how the week went.

M: Off, sore from XC skiing

T: AM-6 easy, PM 12.5 with 6mi tempo (5:39avg)

W: AM-5 easy, PM-10moderate

....and the knee injury hit....

So I think it is a patella tendon strain of some kind, but it's still a little strange because the symptoms don't match anything. Initially I couldn't bend the knee more than 30-45degrees. Couldn't walk up or down stairs. On a pain scale it was probably 8 out of 10. Wednesday night through Friday night I iced religiously, took a ton of glucosamine and advil and tried to keep the knee immobilized. By Saturday morning I was able to walk on flat ground normally without pain. Up and down stairs still hurt a little. Started to massage the area and roll out the quads to get things loosened up. Today (Sunday)continued rehab. There is no pain with normal activity. Walking up and down stairs, at least slowly, doesn't hurt. I went for a 1.5h walk just to get moving and everything felt fine. I'm avoiding testing the knee too much at this point. I think I can affort to wait a few days for that. So I don't know if it's going to hurt if I try to run. The plan moving forward is to hit the pool for some aqua jogging and take some long brisk walks for a few days. If things are feeling good, I'll try a short jog, maybe Wed, or Thur. I don't want to try a run and strain it again so I'm being ultra conservative. Crossing my fingers that it was a false alarm.

BB looks like good news, or at least better than the alternative.

bostonchick/another That's pretty funny about using this thread for motivation. I've found myself putting in an extra repeat on occasion as well. This thread has been going in one way or another for at least 4 years. I only started posting last spring when I decided to really make a commitment to run a solid marathon. (not that it has worked yet!!) Once you start posting here its hard to let a week slide unless you have a good reason.

Pablo I'm sure that will be funnier over some beers after a 2:21 marathon PR.

Marmite- looks like really solid pacing rather than too slow on the first half if it was up and out/down and back.

CTA, out of curiosity, what's your maximum HR?

Cleveland 3:15

4lbs lost of 20 so far (I figure if I post this I'll have some motivation?)

m 6ez

t 6 w/ 3x1mi @6:40 8x100 striders, fast

w 4ez

r 6ez w/ 6x30sec striders

f 2am, 5pm w/ 3x1mi mpace (730), 1min rests. I should of done this all in a row, but my brain was fried from work and I woosed out.

s 6 ez

s 14, w/ 6x100m striders at the end.

Total:49

Pretty good running wise. My resting HR is coming down, finally. The paces/ HR are starting to match up, and my workouts are starting to feel like they should (mile repeats are supposed to feel painful not awkward!). Ez running still feels pretty hard and is a little slow. I think this is the last thing that comes around as I get into shape, but I'm not going to try to track it down in my log.

Next week will be basically the same, but one long tempo workout instead of two mile repeat workouts, adding in a couple more very ez doubles (so 3 or 4 all together) and either a 10mile race or a 16 mile long run. Should be mid 50s in mileage. If everything is clicking by the end of the week I'll race, if not, I'm not going to run a race in 10 degree weather with our ubiquitous 25mph winds.

Actually, out of curiosity, how old is this thread?

I searched and found lol and mike in hc posting at least four years ago, but when did it start, if anyone knows?

Great weeks so far. I got up to 70 this week, so I feel slightly less mortal. Probably would have hit an all time high (76+, I know, I'm getting there) if it wasn't for the East Coast blizzard.

That sucks Pablo about the race. A similar think happened to a couple of Kenyans leading a local race near me. There was a cop standing at the final turn (about 600 out) of a 10k, but apparently his only job was to watch traffic. As the leaders went past the final turn, he didn't bother to mention that they were supposed to turn. They didn't quite make it all up either.

Mon - 6 am easy, 10 pm slightly less easy

Tues - 7 Hill run

Wed - 8 easy

Thurs - 4 am easy, 7.5 total - Included 4x600 4x400 with the local college team. 1:54's 70-72's. They aren't great, but neither am I, but it felt good to get some turnover.

Fri - 11 Mostly fast easy, but I did pick up a bit for 3 miles in the middle.

Sat - 4.5 (ish) on really snowy slippery roads.

Sun - 12.5 Should have gone longer but my finger were too numb.

Total 70.5

I'm going to take a needed day off tommorow. I did kind of break the cardinal sin of adding mileage and intensity in the same week. Legs have some tight spots, but nothing too troubling.

Sub 2:40 Los Angeles

Great efforts by Pablo and Marmite especially off of such high mileage you guys are going to roll on your marathons.

-Felt like a bounced back pretty well from having the flu last week. Overall just looking forward to have a fun first marathon experience.

M: Off

T: 9 miles at (6:24pace)

W: 8 miles at (7min pace)

Th: 9 miles 6x150meter strides at (6:50 pace)

Friday: 7 miles (7min pace)

Saturday: Was planning to run 22 just right at 7min pace but about 8-9 miles in I was clicking off 6:25 pace and was feeling great. Decided to continue it and from mile 15-22 was running 6:10-6:15 pace. Averaged (6:25 for whole thing)

Sunday: 4miles (7:30 pace)

Total 59 miles

Also was wondering how long of a warmup you should do before a marathon?

Thanks

Hey guys, solid weeks again. Pablo, that sucks man. Had you been leading, who knows what you would have run. Sometimes its easier to lead then come from behind. Besides, you just ran a 115 mile week and ran well over 100 last week. You're training for a marathon, not an 8k for God's sake!

Marmite, nice race man.

BB- Good your being smart.

Another- over 100. Well done! Listen to your body!

Well, my week turned out well after a poor start because of that stomach bug... so on to that...

Race: Boston

Goal: 2:37:00-2:39:59

Mon- Stomach bug

Tue- Stomach bug

Wed- 16 Total: AM: 8.5, PM: 7.5

Thur- 14 Total: AM: 9, PM: 5

Fri- 15 Total: AM: 9 relatively quick, PM: 6 relatively quick (went treadmill in PM and workout down to 6:00 pace for a bit)

Sat- 10 easy (wore Garmin, 7:09 pace)

Sun- FINALLY a good long run! Let me set the stage. 19 and windy. Flat course. Lots of out and backs. Went out easy and leg was bothering me, but at about 6 miles stretched and continued on. First 6 miles were between 7:15 and 7:30 pace. After the quick stretch, I concentrated on "running tall" and lifting knees. Did that for about 5 miles and went 6:56, 6:58, 6:33, 6:33, 6:28 (without any change to my breathing). I realized I was going faster (didn't look at the watch the entire run), so figured, lets roll with it. Proceeded to run 6:09, 5:49, 6:02, 6:01, 6:02, 6:11 (into crazy headwinds and now 22 degrees) then relaxed and tried to just jog it in but still ran 6:20, 6:15, 6:15 for a total of 20 at 6:37 pace (with the last 14 miles at 6:19 pace).

Weekly Total: 75 in the last 5 days

Feel pretty good about the way things are going, even with the crappy long runs and the stomach bug. There is no way I could have done today's run 10 weeks out from NYC.

Will hopefully keep it rolling this week.

Goal Race: Boston

Goal Time: 2:35

Marmite and Pablo, great race efforts despite some pretty tough training weeks! I need to think about putting some races on my calendar... One thought I had about this thread this week was that although it's easy to get inspired by the kickass training everyone is doing, we need to be mindful of overtraining/injuries (myself def. included). The most important thing is to get to the starting line healthy!

We got a huge snowfall on Friday: ~20in. Running in the stuff is fun for a day or so and I am an admitted treadmill wimp, so I don't know how guys continue to train in the stuff. Solid week of running with one long SS run of 14+miles which I have been building up to for a while. Gave me a lot of confidence that mid 2:30s are in the cards for Boston. That said, I think I am due for a down week and will work more shorter tempo runs and fewer long efforts from here on so I don't sap the legs.

M: 12mi easy

T: 7.2mi moderate, 4x1.12mi loop (5:17-5:11 pace) w/ 3min jog, 3.2mi wd

W: 10.5 easy

Th: 2mi wu, 14.5mi SS (5:50 pace), 1mi wd

F: 10mi easy-ish in heavy snowfall

S: 12mi (snow)

S: 20mi (snow, sloppy 7:30 pace)

98mi for the week

Alright guys/gals - another impressive week from you all. I liked pablo's story about getting squeezed on the podium. Just stick the knife in 'em next time around, right? Goofy stuff like that seems to be the norm in races sometimes.

OK, I'm keying off the bostonchick and Another, although dude is logging 100 mile weeks and I'm stuck in the 50's. I still think I can roll a 2:53 in Boston - alright, miles:

Boston 2010, Goal: 2:52:59

M: 5mi - lunch

T: Off

W: 5.5mi - lunch

4mi - pm, treadmill

Th:5.5mi - lunch

6mi - pm, treadmill

F: 9mi

Sa: Off

Su: 20mi

Total: 55mi/wk

Moved to a lunch hr/evening treadmill routine to avoid the cold temps and recovery from this nagging chest cold. I need a breakthrough this week.

niarun, my Max heartrate (which i never really measured) is around 178 plus minus. My normal training ranges are: recovery 120-130, easy 125-145, medium and long runs 132-150, MP 150-157, LT 160+. This is how my last training cycle lined up so i am judging my current numbers against those.

Most of the guys on this weekly thread are so fast that i really don't think i can comment on anything they say or do. I'll arbitrarily set my cutoff point to determine mortal runner versus sick runner to be my approx half marathon pace for the full marathon. So let's call that cutoff to be a 2:45 marathon. I can visualize running a marathon at that pace. Anything faster than that is just too ridiculous as far as i am concerned.

"Another" falls within my mortal range. With that said, your weekly mileage logging is so damn impressive. I have a feeling that you are going to have a strong breakthrough run at Boston and crush your target. I am curious to know how you built up your weekly mileage to this level. I seem to recall that you mentioned that you used the 18/70 Pfitz plan in the past - what did you do between marathons to allow you to work on the 85+ plan?

Question for everyone: I use the 70 mpw plans but sometimes want to add more mileage. Is it better to add a double in somewhere in my 6 running days or to add a run on my scheduled day off? I feel that i can easily add a 3-4 mile recovery run in sometimes. I'm not sure if there is aerobic benefit from a slow 3 mile run but i do know that sometimes (not always) i feel better after such a run.

Goal Race: Boston 04/19

Goal: sub-2:25/top 50

M - a.m. 4, p.m. 9.5; 13.5 tot.

T - a.m. 9, p.m. 3.5; 12.5 tot.

W - a.m. 14.5 (6:12 avg), p.m. 6, 20.5 tot.

Tr - a.m. 9, p.m. 5; 14 tot.

F - a.m. Cruise Intervals: [4 x 5' w/ 5' rec., 4 x 75" 10k r.p., 45" rec.] 12, p.m. 6; 18 tot.

S - a.m. 16.5 light progression/hills

Sn - a.m. 9.5, p.m. 4, 13.5 tot.

Week: 108 miles

Nothing crazy from me, just a decent week. Getting used to a new area, run on Monday was in between the U-Haul move, lots of lifting. New home is very, very hilly. You'll probably all get to hear more about that in the coming weeks. Good for Boston though.

Pablo, man I have been there. And it sucks. BB, glad to hear some hope from you my friend.

My training hinges on getting enough sleep at this point. Maternity leave has run out and I'm watching my son, bracing for impact...

Might run a 5k next weekend though...

Race: Eugene, May

Goal: Sub 2:40 (LOL)

Mon: 8, 6:55 av

Tues: 10, 7:04 av

Wed: 8 total, 4xmile 2min rest (5:34, 5:35, 5:25, 5:22)

Ran on a hilly trail 2 miles out and back. 6:10 average for the whole run.

Thurs: 10, 7:20 av on the deathmill

Fri: off, 22 mile road bike

Sat: 10 on the deathmill, 7:00 av

Sun: 14, 6:45 av (Actually ran with my new team. I felt awesome and was running 6:20's for about 6 miles in the middle. I need to run with these guys more! Its like running with 5 of you guys!)

Summary: 60, 1 day off. Very happy with the week. Workout was a step in the right direction. Again, I don't know if taking 9 minutes off my last marathon is realistic. But who knows right now. You guys are killing it! It really makes me want to jump up to 90-100's! Although I know that I would be broken in two weeks. Keep it up! I need to get my long run to 20+ over the next month as well. Good luck this week.