Marathon Training Thread - Week Ending 6/27

pablo - where on Long Island are you from?

CTA - looking back to last summer, I ran mostly by HR. (While the last 8 weeks for Boston I ran by feel). I had some brutal runs last August. Especially with newly invented MI index in the 150's. I had some tempo runs where I could barely break run 6:50-6:55/mile. I believe I took the next day off.

I only had 1 out of 3 good MP runs last summer. 1 was in Ireland and I bagged it since the winds were 40-50mph in the wind. The 2nd was the NYC Half and that was 80 degrees.

I think if its hot and/or humid you have to expect to not hit your paces now. And you should probably also expect not to hit the paces early on in the cycle. I think for Boston my MP runs went from 6:34 for 8, 6:31 for 10 and 6:26 @ 12. Just keep plugging away. Don't be afraid to run slower.

And this was in 20-35F temps. I have my first MP run on July 18th. I'm dreading it....

This is a great idea. I was just thinking about how to express how hot yesterday's run felt. This is perfect.

82F+68DP= 150MI OUCH!

m t w r f s s

6 4 6 4 6 6 12

It was a really ridiculous week at work and I was extremely tired and stressed. So I cut out all my doubles (3) and quality (2), except for some striders. That was really wimpy, but I don't want to get exhausted again. The 12miler yesterday, MI150 and all, felt really good. It felt like easy pace, but was only about 30 seconds off of goal marathon pace. total mileage 44.

Goals this week are 55+ miles and 1 workout plus one 18 miler.

GoalRace Toronto GoalTime 3:15

Chicago

2:30

Very good discussion of running by feel. I TRY to do this all year long. I have a no strain policy when I run and try to let the pace come to me rather than forcing it on my runs. The main caveat is when I am working a lot and know that I need to get on the road even if I feel like dogsh!t for the first few miles from lack of sleep or being on my feet all day. The fact is that my schedule is not hugely conducive to training but I love to run so I just accept that some weeks I am going to feel tired...

Speaking of which, Tues I tried to do a 8-10mi tempo and just felt awful but let it play out for 5mi before pulling up. It's mostly a early morning issue. I ALWAYS run better later in the day. Although the pace was slower than an 8miler two weeks previous, I was kind of sore for 2 days afterwards. Ugh. Have to take it easy on early morning workouts!

Wed-Fri I was in Bethesda, MD (just north of DC) and had temps in the 90s (not sure of MI). No way to run in it but to slow down... Was not too bad. Repeat moderate miles on Th felt better than I have felt in a while, felt relaxed and within myself.

M: 6 + 6

T: AM: 13 (5mi tempo @ 5:41) PM: 5

W: 15

T: 7 + 6

F: 15 (5 x mile @ 5:20ish by analog watch. 1min rest)

S: 4.5 + 4.5

S: 18mi

100 for the week

Nice job toughing out the heat, guys!

Race: Chicago

Goal: <2:48

M 5 AM / 7.5 PM

T 5 AM / 7 + strides PM

W 4.5 AM / 5.5 PM

T 4 AM / 11 + drills, strides PM*

F 6

S off (3-hr bike ride)

S 17.5

___

73 miles

*7 x ~1000m (3:30) hard with 3:00 jog recoveries

A decent week. The day off and overall drop in mileage was planned. I was concerned that the long bike ride Saturday (33 miles) would kill my legs, since I haven't biked at all for five months, but it wasn't that bad. I did feel rough on Sunday's long run, with my calf cramping the last few miles, but I don't think it's anything serious.

Thursday's workout was supposed to be 7 x 1000m on the track, but there was a meet going on so I had to do the repeats on an unmeasured dirt path. This removed the mental pressure of hitting the right splits, but made me worry that I wasn't running as fast as I should have been. Still, I felt much better during and afterward than last Wednesday, when I did a similar interval workout.

This week I hope to get in 90-95 miles, with another repeat workout on Wednesday and a 10K race on Sunday. Trying to keep my expectations very low for that race, given that this level of mileage is uncharted territory for me. Also need to get back to doing core, stretching, or weights everyday, and get my diet back to where it should be.

Another - Whoops, I guess I worded that a little goofy. I'm from (and currently live in) Orlando, not Long Island.

Pittsburgh Joe - Good week! I hear you on the morning workouts too. I never have a problem with early morning races, but I just can't get the legs moving for your "run of the mill" workout early in the morning. I attribute this to only giving myself about 15 mins between waking up and hitting the road. I give myself at least 2 hours (usually more) before morning races.

I have to say, I don't envy your schedule. While I do work full time, I rarely exceed 50 hours per week, no wife/kids, and I consistently get 8 hours of sleep per night. I figure this is probably the best schedule I'll ever have to tap into my marathoning potential and I have to take advantage of it while I can.

Goal Race: Chicago

Goal Time: sub 2:37

M- 6 (easy)

T- 12 (steady - 6:40s @ 150-160HR)

W- 11.5 (strides)

Th- off

F- 9 (felt like crap, cut the run 5mi short)

Sa- 9 (followed by heavy drinking and disappointment when the U.S. lost to Ghana)

Su- 5k race (16:42, 2nd place -- hot and humid. I didn't feel very good but I put out a good effort and steadily moved up throughout the race -- splits 5:26, 5:23, 5:22)

Tot- 55mi/6d.

It is funny that we are talking about running by feel as this week started off great and then after a day off on Thursday I felt awful running on Friday and Saturday. Thus, I cut both of those runs short and ran really slow. Recently, I started regularly using a HR monitor to make sure I'm not overdoing it during these hot summer days.

Ha... I broke out my HR monitor for the first time this weekend. I know I need to get a good accurate measure of my max at some point to make the data meaningful, so right now, I'm just collecting data, not using it for anything per se. On yesterday's run I was hovering between 138 and 142 the whole time, for what its worth.

I know I tend to go too hard on tempos, so that's when I really want to utilize it.

I love the MI, that's awesome. I'm going to head out of work early today for my run, and it looks like I'll be going with an MI of 159 (90 with DP of 69). Awesome. I am almost (key word being ALMOST) contemplating going on the treadmill.

Abu, nice negative split man. Well done.

Funny, for Boston I felt like I was one of the few approaching 100 mpw who posted regularly on this thread. Now it seems like I'm on the low-end of the volume spectrum. Hopefully that will change over the next few weeks and that it will pay off this time around.

PABLO: I'll take your 8hrs of sleep any day! You do have a great opportunity to push your marathon potential. I would just say that your marathon window is pretty long at your age. Keep in mind that you are likely to keep getting stronger aerobically into your early 30s if you want to keep at it. (Mind you, I didn't say faster!) So you can stretch out your marathon goals for a while (that is, again, if you want to).

Personally, I feel sure that I could not do some of my current marathon workouts when I was in college. I topped out at 75-80mpw (w/o doubles) and that was pushing it. I just wasn't strong/physically mature enough although I was probably much quicker than I am now (no interest in finding out for sure. Thank you.).

When I was in my 20s, I had no inkling that I might want to take a crack at the marathon in my 30s. I ran NY when I was 26 and completely blew up/got hypothermic, hobbled in at 3:02. I was the guy throwing up chicken broth in the medical tent. Of course, I did this in front of all my future in-laws. ;) I then got injured, bailed on running, and took an interest in triathlons for a while. I had a sense that I could run ~6min pace but it was not until 1.5-2yrs ago that I decided to try finally do so. Ok, enough rambling...

Did I say I was starting marathon training last week? Ha ha ha. I actually meant THIS week:

Goal Race: Berlin

Goal Time: 2:37:xx (6:00/mile pace)

Monday: Off.

Tuesday: 5 miles easy

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: 3.8 miles with 2.7 brisk

Friday: 10 miles easy

Saturday: 5.5 miles easy

Sunday: 11.8 miles easy.

Not injured or anything. Just doing a lot of swimming and cycling. This week I get the ball rolling or I am in trouble.

I also am a believer in running by feel and not being a slave to the stopwatch. I remember a guy who coached me 5-6 years ago would never give me times for my tempo workouts and I would totally freak out. At that point in my life, I would write down my repeat mile times to the 100th of a second. I learned to love it because I listened to my body more and felt more free. Once I get into some faster type stuff, I will probably just run them as fartleks instead of a track workout.

Goal Marathon: Rocket City

Goal Time: 2:37

Monday: Easy runs of 4.5 and 5.8 miles

Tuesday: Easy runs of 4.2 and 6.2 miles with strides

Wednesday: Easy runs of 6 and 3.7 miles

Thursday: Easy 3.5 and then 7.6 miles with a 4.2 mile tempo at 5:50 pace

Friday: Easy 9 miles

Saturday: 11 easy with a running club and then right into 5 more miles by myself at 6:35 pace; longest run in 3.5 years

Sunday: 9.5 miles easy

76 miles for the week. I was pretty happy with the back half of the week because I got in a good long run and ran 8 seconds a mile faster than my last tempo three weeks ago with easier effort. The first 2-3 days of the week my legs were completely jacked up and trashed from the 10 mile race last week. This weekend I may try a 5k and shoot for sub 16:40. I've also been getting a lot of sleep. During the school year, I would only get 6-7 a night, now I'm getting 7 or so at night, with a 2 hour nap during the day. Looking forward to seeing how all of you do in your 5ks this weekend.

Race - Philly 11/21

Time- sub 2:40

M: pm- 9 (6:50)

T: pm- 9 (6:56)

W: pm- 9 (6:57)

T: am- 8 (6:51)

F: pm- 9 (7:09)

S: am- 9 (7:14)

S: am- 13 (7:01)

total: 66

Thursday i threw in a 1min, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 fartlek w/ equal recovery just to mix it up a bit. Felt pretty awful. Think it was a combo of the 90+ degree heat we had all week and the short turnaround from Wednesday evenings run taking its toll on me. Felt pretty bad next few days but better sunday and back to normal today. Just a part of the getting back in shape grind. Thankfully, a long way to go until Philly. Going to hit 70 this week.

Marathon - Richmond Marathon - 11/13/10

Goal - 2:59

Hi all -

Nice training, keep it up! My week was descent. I had two hard efforts, a race last monday and track work out on Friday. Here's what I did:

Monday - p.m - 5k race - 19:43

Tuesday - p.m - 1:01:12 easy

Wednesday - p.m - 1:03:36 easy

Thursday - a.m - 33:21 easy / p.m - 1:11:46 easy

Friday - a.m - 34:52 easy / p.m - 20min w/up +

10X500m(1:48,1:46,1:46,1:47,1:45,1:44,1:44,1:43,

1:43,1:42)/recovery = 2:20min/stand and walk +

10-15secs jog +

10min c/d

Saturday - 58:34 easy

Sunday - REST

greg: i wish you would show your paces/distances for your non-workouts. i'm one of the few (!) guys here at your level so it would be nice to see how my peers are doing.

As for sleep, my god, the rest of you guys sleeping 7 or more hours per night, i can't even imagine that! I get like 4-5 hours of interrupted sleep per night. Maybe it's old age.

Since I was a junior in high school, I've suffered from very bad bouts of insomnia. There are sometimes 10-14 days in a row where I'll get 3-4 hours a night, every night. Its right about at that time that I take an Ambien to "get me right".

Weird thing is that post Boston, I've been sleeping great (knock on wood). I'm passed out from like 10:15 until 5:45 every day. On weekends, I've been sleeping almost til 7:00. Its been really weird. Not going to complain one bit. I hope if that trend continues, it will help my running.

Oh, and thanks guys. With all this talk about running by effort and feel, yesterday I went out for my run and felt awful. Made it 2 blocks and my foot was hurting and my legs were screaming for the day off. I decided to take the day off and not force it. I had, afterall, run 27 days in a row, after an injury/marathon break, so I know it was the right call. But not sure I would have made it without this thread.

CTA - I'm also in your and greg's neighborhood. My daily easy runs fall in the 7:30 to 8:00 per mile range in recent months, if I don't especially push the pace. Occasionally will toss in a few miles around 6:45-7:00 (estimated) pace and/or finish faster.

Can't imagine functioning well on less than 7, not on a consistent basis anyway. More than a couple nights with less and I'm dysfunctional.

Pittsburgh Joe - I certainly appreciate the kind words. It is inspiring stuff to see that you've gone from 3:02 down to 2:34, it gives me hope for the future. I feel that as long as my training stays consistent over the next few years, the times will drop naturally. I have every intention on keeping with this marathon thing until I physically can't do it anymore.

3TM - I sometimes have similar bouts of insomnia, never as long as 10-14 days though, mine usually last 2-3 days. They always seem to come when work and/or life is stressful...and my mind just races at night, preventing me from falling asleep. Glad you decided to cut-off the run yesterday, sometimes, less is more.

Ok, I feel like I'm being too philosophical right now...

Abu - Solid pacing in that 5k!

Yeah, I'm a bit cautious with this build up. Things were going pretty well early with Boston training, and I think I was just burnt with a month to go.

So, this time around, I'm going to let the fitness come to me rather then force it. Yesterday was one small step towards that.

Ran a morning run this morning and my legs felt great, so I know I made the right call. Will probably be mid 70s in 6 rather then mid 80s in 7, but that's OK. It's not a big deal.

Goal: Sub 2:40 at Erie Marathon (9/12)

M: 11 miles with 5 mile tempo in 28:56

T: 15 miles

W: 7 miles

T: 20 miles

F: 7 AM, 5 PM

S: 8 AM with 10x100m strides, 4 PM

S: 13 miles

90 miles for week

1 short strength session on Sunday.

I've been feeling really good, despite running the most mileage I've ever run in a week. I was especially pleased with Monday's tempo run; it felt easy, which is a good sign. This week will be 70 because I'm at a conference and can't run as much. The week after will be low because of traveling in Russia and then back to the US. I'm hoping just to be able to maintain the next few weeks so that I'm ready to go when I get back to the US.

Goal: 2:22 Chicago Marathon

Monday: 8 miles easy

Tuesday: 4.5 am, 10.5 pm with 2 x 2m at 5:15-5:20 pace (1/2 m recovery)

Wednesday: 10 m easy

Thursday: 3 am, 15 pm at steady pace

Friday: 7.5 am run to work, 6.5 m easy pm

Saturday: 5 am, 10 pm

Sunday: 20 miles (very hot and humid in DC area and I left too late in the morning. Ran by feel but was kind of drained)

Total: 100

First week I have recorded my runs for this buildup so in all I felt a good week