Marathon Training Thread - Week Ending 7/11

Great mileage there Pablo. Think you did exactly the right thing by running on feel. Certain you'll be feeling like your old self in no time.

Goal Race: Berlin

Goal Time: sub-2:30

M - 5 easy / 6 easy

T - 5 easy / 12 (incl. 2 x 6k @ marathon effort - 5:57m/m, 5:47m/m)

W - 5 easy / 15 easy-steady

T - 5 easy / 6 easy

F - 7 (incl. 3 x 1M @ 10k effort, 3 min rec - 5:23m/m avg)

S - 8 easy (incl. 10 strides)

S - 21 easy-steady (very lumpy, mainly off-road route)

Total: 93M

Had a decent week. This marks week 1 of a 12 week marathon-specific program. Looking to try and knock out a good few weeks resembling something like this. Hoping to stretch out the marathon effort session a bit and add a couple more reps to the 10k pace running too.

Goal Race: Berlin 9/26/10

Goal Time: 2:56:xx

M - 6 @ 8:35 recovery plus 4x100

T - am - 3.5 @ 9 recovery / pm - 9.5 including 3x1.5m w/2mins walk. Times(9:22,9:11,9:11)=pace(6:15,6:08,6:08)

W - am - 4 @ 8:45 recovery / pm - 14.5 = 2 w/u on tm then outside 12 @7:26 = 4@7:52+8@7:13 then 0.5m c/d (MI=152!!, AHR=141=79%)

R - 7 on tm recovery plus 4x100

F - 13 @ 7:55 (MI=138, AHR=131=74%)

S - 5.5 @ 8:50 recovery

Su- 20 @ 7:54 (AHR=136)

Total = 83

This is a huge weekly mileage PR by around 10 miles.

I felt very strong for the first part of the week. My legs started to feel very tired before Friday's 13 miler, although aerobically I was fine (AHR=131), I just could not bother going faster.

Sunday's long run was a dumb mistake. The trail I planned on doing was closed because of too many rocks so I ended up doing 2 mile repeats on a continuous 200ft climb on a different trail. So effectively I did 5 x (2 mile up and 2 mile down) with a 1 minute drink break at the bottom. I kept the pace very easy and steady - i.e. I didn't really run much faster on the downs. Avg Heartrate was 76% which is on the low end for a Pfitz long run. I prefer to do my long runs at roughly 7:25-7:40 average but I just wasn't feeling like I had anything in my legs. It's a weird feeling and quite frustrating to have a low heartrate but just not have any gas in the legs.

I was supposed to do a 5 mile tempo run on Tuesday but because of the heat I just knew I couldn't do it. So I decided to split it up into 1.5m pieces. It was a good idea and I had a solid workout. Wednesday night was supposed to be a 15 miler (I blew off the last 0.5 mile cooldown to prove that I am not totally obsessed) and it was a very solid run with the last 8 miles being at a decent pace despite feeling very easy.

Let's hear how everyone else is doing in the hot summer.

Goal Day: Chicago 10-10-10

Time Goal: 2:30ish

M - AM - 30 min easy, PM - 72 min. steady. 14 miles

T - AM - 76 min steady (a few 6:10 miles in the middle), PM - 30 min easy. 15 miles

W - AM - 60 min easy, PM - 30 min easy + strides. 12 miles

TR - AM - 4x(5 min. hard/4 min. easy, felt good and strong) + warmup and cooldown, PM - 30 min easy. 14 miles

F - 64 min easy/steady. 9 miles

Sat - 86 min easy/steady. 12 miles

Sun - 20 min warmup, 2x2 mile gravel loop w/ 2 min rest (10:47 and 10:48), 60 min steady after. 15 miles.

91 miles

Last 3 days felt pretty tired and drained. This next week is a backdown, so I'll take Monday off to revive the machine. October is still a ways out...

Awesome weeks guys! I had a pretty good one. Just building up...

Race: Chicago

Goal: 2:37'ish

Mon- 10

Tue- 8

Wed- 15/ AM: 10, PM:5

Thur- 11

Fri- 15/ AM: 10 (with 5x400 in 74-75 thrown in) PM: 5

Sat- 10'ish

Sun- Somewhere around 17'ish. About 2hrs of running.

Weekly Total: 85

Next week hoping for about 85 with day off, then up to about 100 and start to add some tempos...

Impressive week Pablo! I feel scared that my marathon goal is only five minutes slower than yours.

Goal Race: Berlin

Goal Time: 2:37:xx

Miserable week. By Saturday I had to take a day off. Humidity was killing me.

Mon: 11.5 easy

Tue: 2.1 mile warmup. 5 x 1600 in 5:40, 5:37, 5:40, 5:33, 5:38. No cooldown.

Wed: 15 easy. Had to stop many times to stretch out my calf due to tightness

Thu: 12.6 easy around the Charles River

Fri: 9.3 easy. Dead tired

Sat: Off

Sun: 17.8 miles with some people who were faster than me. Very tough run.

Total 72.6 Not what I wanted but I will take what I can get.

[bold] pablo [/bold] - awesome week man. that's gotta be one of high mileage weeks on this fall marathon thread so far. good call running on feel.

[bold] marmite [/bold] - solid week as well. very impressive workouts.

[bold] 3TM [/bold] -We are hitting about the same mileage now. Good since we have similar goals.

Race: Chicago (10/10/10)

Goal: 2:36

Mon - 4 am, 8 pm easy

Tu - 10 am with 12 30second pickups in middle, 8 pm @ 6:45 pace

Wed - OFF (1 hour spin class)

Thu - 10 am Hill work (8 by 90seconds jog down recovery), 4 pm easy

Fri - 5 am soo slow 8:15pace, 6 pm @ 7:30s

Sat - 13.5 am (90 min progression)

Sun - 12 am, 5.5 pm

Total Mileage - 86 w/ 1 day off

Good week. This is my second week in a row taking wednesday off and cross training instead. would be closer to 100miles if I didn't take the day off, but it seems to really help with recovery. only struggling through 1 run a week instead of 2 to 4!

90 min progression went well. 30 easy, 30 medium, 30 med-hard based on feel. Went something like 7:15s for 1st 30, 6:2Xs for next, 6:0Xs for last.

Going to have a similar week this next week, then a HUGE week after that because I am taking a week off of work to be a counselor at Brevard Running Camp. Should be fun and great training!

There's some pretty solid training going on this week...

marmite - Great week! You've got all the key ingredients covered for a great race...now just rinse and repeat!

CTA - Outstanding week!...and congrats on the big mileage PR! I guess I would qualify as "totally obsessed", because I would never stop the run at 14.5. I NEED those round numbers...14 or 15...doesn't matter, but it can't be 14.5!

music - Nice Sunday workout, good to see others utilizing the down week. I know its really helped me get adjusted to the mileage that I do.

3TM - Good to see you ramping it up again. I assume the foot/hip/hammy/whatever wasn't bothering you as much this week?

Average Joe - I hear ya with the humidity, I heard about the heatwave that hit the Northeast this week. No doubt our friend, Another, will have something to say about it! No two ways around it, running high mileage in this heat isn't easy, but I figure even if it doesn't help me physically...it makes me tougher mentally.

Nole Runner - Good week! Have fun at Brevard, I know a few guys and gals up there right now.

Goal Race Amsterdam 10/17

Goal time sub 3:15 (7:20 per mile avg)

7/5 8 miles with 10x2 minutes (2 min jog) at 10k effort. Hilly start and finish, flat in middle for repeats. 63:10

7/6 8 miles recovery run 63:41

7/7 8 miles with 4x800 meters at 10k to half marathon pace (3:12, 3:15, 3:17, 3:17) 400 float between each at 7:30 pace.

7/8 9 miles recovery, 71:32

7/9 8 miles with 8x(60sec, 45sec, 30sec, 15sec) at 10k pace, 15sec recovery between each repeat. 61:30

7/10 18 miles, hilly course, 2:24:26. Started slow (8:15-8:30 pace) finished at 7:40 pace.

7/11 rest day

59 miles for the week. Felt good.

Hartford (Goal) Sub-2:28

Monday- day off from work

AM 10mi slow & easy on trails

PM 5mi slow & easy campus roads, very humid/warm

Tuesday- 1200 yard race at local all comers track meet. Ran(3:15) Temperature read 102 at bank when driving to meet that evening. Planned to race mile, but they cut it to 1200y due to heat?! Ran another 3-4 miles at meet. Called it day.

Wednesday

AM 5+ miles easy

PM 4 miles easy, sprained ankle on sidewalk, another 100 degree/ humid day

Thursday

PM 50+ minutes on trails, 7+ miles, very muggy

Friday

PM 3 mile easy run

Saturday

AM 4 mi warm-up, 4 mile tempo (21:20) 3 minute rest, 2 mile tempo 10:57, 2 mile warm down, not great workout pace wise, but was able to avoid any stomach issues.

Sunday

AM 15 miles easy to moderate, 1:38~ on marked bike trail

Chicago

2:30

Sounds like a common story. Hot as Hades with a solid dose of humidity throughout the week. There were a couple of days this week that my legs felt completely sapped (like completely dead and I had no interest in running at all). If I got myself out the door I began to feel better after a few miles but it was not pretty.

M: 10 easy

T: 17mi w/10mi tempo 5:50 pace (in NE in the pitch dark. Only stepped on one roadkill!)

W: OFF (Long day of travel back to the 'burgh)

T: 5 + 12.5 w/ 4x1mi w/ 60s rest @ 5:20

F: 7 (felt like garbage)

S: 10 (felt awful for the first 4, stopped at a track and did a few barefoot striders and felt a lot better ??)

S: 20 felt fine (?) @ 6:50 pace in 82F

82 for the week

Not sure what to make of the tiredness in my legs. I guess I need to work in some more striders and just accept that I am going to feel like crap in the heat some days. But it does worry me a bit. I miss the ice bath we used to stand in after practice in college.

Running is going to get a LOT tougher for me next week as I head out to Carefree, AZ just north of Phoenix where the average high/low is 105/84. Oh, and it's monsoon season so it is also going to be humid. Hello, treadmill!

Hey Pablo,

Nah man, its all hurting me. I know I must sound like a whiner, but both (hip/hammy and PF) affect me. Both are relatively manageable, though. The hip/hammy is probably more frustrating then the PF. At about 14 miles today, it went on me. I spent the rest of the run just trying to keep the leg straight. But it is what it is. The PF hurts, but doesn't seem to be getting worse. I think it will be OK through Chicago. I'm hesitant to put on flats, but hopefully it will be OK when the time comes.

Huge week for you, man. Unbelievable how you do that in FL. Like the rest of the guys from the NE, the weather crushed me this week. Wanted 15 on Tue and only got in 8. Not only did I not have time, but just wasn't motivated in 103 degree weather to get out the door again.

PJ, good luck this week. A good amount of quality this week for you, and in this heat, that is going to wear anyone down. Maybe take a week where you just run some mileage?

Nole, yup... looks like you and I are pretty similar in our amount of running right now. Will be interesting to compare workout times in a few weeks.

Goal Marathon: Rocket City, 2:37

Monday: easy 3 and 11.5 miles medium

Tuesday: easy 4 and 7 mile runs

Wednesday: 6 miles with 4xCanova style hill sprints and 4 miles easy

Thursday: two 5.5 mile runs. I tried doing a tempo in the morning, but after 1.5 miles, I wasn't feeling it, so I bagged it.

Friday: easy 4 and 6 mile runs

Saturday: 16 miles long run at medium pace. Like most of you have been saying, it's been really hot this week and it's amazing how fast you can go from feeling fine to feeling like crap. I felt really relaxed the first 10 miles, and after about 12, I could tell I was losing too much fluid and had to walk at 15.4 miles. Walked a mile, then ran .6 home. After the run, I weighed myself and lost 10 pounds. Fun fact of the day was that I drunk six 20 oz. Gatorades and two 32 oz. bottles of water and only peed twice the rest of the day.

Sunday: easy 4 and 5 mile runs.

Week Total= 81.5 miles. Happy with the volume but didn't get in much intensity. Next week I hope to run mid 80s and get in a good progression run and a tempo run. Hope we all survive the heat again.

Goal Race: Maine Marathon (10/3)

Goal Time: 2:25

M: 10.5 easy (7 pace)

Tu: 5 easy at a pace that makes Nole's "soo slow" run look like a tempo effort (8:45 pace)

W: 9 easy (7:05 pace)

Th: 7.5 easy (7:30 pace)

F: off (slept in)

Sa: 23 in 2:25 -- 11 at 6:15 pace over hilly trails (HR Avg. 155, Max 171); 1 mile on the track at 5:20 (HR Avg. 167, Max 176); 11 at 6:25 pace over same hilly trails (HR Avg. 160, Max 175).

Su: 7.5 at 6:50 pace

Total: 62.5

Thilled with Saturday's long run. I can't remember too many long runs where I've felt this strong after 20 miles, and I don't think I've ever thrown a 5:20 mile in the middle of a long run. The rest of the week was filler, but this made up for it.

Some pretty impressive weeks for a lot of you.

Pable I definitely don't know how you do that kind of a long run at the end of a 117 mile week.

CTA Conrats on the milage PR. I'm hoping to make the same kind of bump up to mid 80s this week or next, but easier said than done.

I feel like I should be on the "JV" marathon training team after reading about all the mileage and great workouts everyone put in this week.

Goal Race: Chicago

Goal Time: sub-2:37

M- off (scheduled)

T- am 5 pm 7

W- 10 (steady run in an absolute downpour, HR avg 156=6:15/mi)

Th- am 4 pm 7 (felt like junk)

F- 11 (legs feel awful -- are they going to fall off?)

Sa- 5 (decided to go really short and easy to recover)

Su- 16 (easy day worked -- first 8mi @ 7:15s, last 8mi @ 6:40/mi)

Tot- 65mi/6d

Not a bad week but similar to the rest of you guys I felt like junk the second-half of the week. Not sure what it was but my legs felt destroyed from Thursday-Saturday. As a result, the mileage total was a bit low. Oh well.

BB24: Love the fun fact! During my long run I stopped at 7/11 (@13mi) and bought two 20oz gatorades. Downed one before I made it out of the parking lot and carried the other for a few miles before putting it away, too. Had the stomach sloshes for a while but when I got back home I basically peed dust.

3TM: Man, I hope you can work through these injuries. Sounds like you are managing ok and keeping the fitness despite it all. I think the heat really beats me up and pushes me over the tipping point. I slept 9-10hrs on Sat and Sun so I think that's a big reason why I felt better on the long run. But, sheesh, I almost miss the freezing rain from this winter.

Pablo: You are a freaking animal.

Marmite: I aspire to your consistency. Arizona will be a big test...

Good week, all. It's a little inspirational to read of everyone else working hard and feel a small part of that, even if I ain't about to run pablo's MPW and am around a minute a mile slower than many here.

NYCM (7 Nov), 2:57 or better

Mo: 9 + 4

Tu: 4

We: 5 + 7 (progression)

Th: 6 (strides) + 7

Fr: 4 + 8 // gin rickeys turn out not to be the ideal recovery drink

Sa: 15

Su: 10 + 6

85 in all

Legs feel great, though I'm a bit fatigued and definitely ready for a down week. Hopefully freshening up a bit will let me fold in some more brisk running in the weeks to come (including what I hope will be a cooler week in the PNW later this month). It's been more about piling up miles so far: 4 weeks averaging 80 now, after about half that earlier this year and most of last year.

Heat didn't really bother me this week - struggled more two, three, four weeks ago. Probably because I was acclimating to both heat and mileage then.

Hartford Marathon

Goal Time 2:55

Mon 5 Miles AM, 10 Miles on Trails PM

Tues 3 Miles on Treadmill AM, 5 Miles Road and Trail PM

Wednesday 5 Miles AM, 7.5 including 5x600 on track PM hot

Thurs 3 Miles Treadmill AM, 10 Miles PM

Fri 11 Miles(hills) AM, 8 Miles PM

Sat 8.5 AM, crapped out on PM run

Sun 16.5 Miles AM, planned 20 totally crapped out with the heat and humidity finally breaking me today, 3 Miles with the dog late evening

95.5 Total

Best 4 week stretch ever 95, 77, 94 & 95.5. Looking forward to the down week coming up.

Thanks PJ. I am doing OK. Better then a month ago. I sleep in a boot every night, and that seems to help a ton. It almost doesn't matter in how bad shape the foot is in when I go to bed... I almost always wake up with it back to where it was... completely manageable.

I was starting to do some exercises for the hip/hamstring, and I think they were helping, but fell off the wagon last week. The heat sapped me so much, that I just couldn't motivate to spend 30 minutes 3 or 4 times during the week to do them. This week I'm going to really try and get consistent. Hopefully it will help the foot too.

Abu, 6:15's left you with a pretty low HR. That's a pretty good sign, man. I said it before, but I'll say it again... I'm really interested in seeing how your, Noles, and my training compares when we start workouts. Should be interesting...