pablo - awesome HALF! congrats on the 3+ minute pr. I like the looks of your 3 days leading up to the HM. I may mirror your "taper." What HM did you do? How was the weather? You are ready to roll at Twin-Cities!
I'm looking for a big pr this weekend as well. My current PR is 1:15:08..
CTA - Haha no problem. I think your consistency (the past 8 mpw you posted) will pay off more than you think.
Wow, Pablo, great race
Goal Race: Berlin Marathon
Goal Time: 2:37:xx (6:00/mile pace)
Mon: 10.8 easy
Tue: 4.3 mile warmup, 5 x 1 mile (with 1:00 rest) in 5:45, 5:32, 5:26, 5:31, 5:27. 0.5 mile cooldown. Felt good
Wed: 15.2 easy
Thu: 2.7 easy
Fri: 14 easy
Sat: 19.6 with some guys going about 20-30 seconds per mile faster than I wanted to go... Really bonked in the last 2 miles but held on
Sun: AM: 10 easy, PM: 10 easy
Total: 91 miles.
Two more solid weeks left and then it's taper.
Goal: Boston, 2:55
M: 6.5 tempo @ 6:37 pace
Tu: 7.25 easy
W: 6.75 tempo at 6:35 pace
Th: 6.5 easy
F: 6.5 total, incl. 6 x 800 @ 2:57 pace with
Sa: 8.75 easy
Total: 42.25, all at altitude.
Question: I'm going to be in Toronto in October, flying through Buffalo/Niagara Falls. It will be Niagara Falls Marathon weekend. I'm going to do a race. But which one -- the HM or the 10k? Training-wise, I look like I could run the HM faster than goal MP, but nowhere near to my PR. I should be in decent shape to try to run a (second career) PR in the 10k. I guess that I'm leaning toward the latter, but it seems a little silly to waste an opportunity to race a longer distance at sea level.
Given how far away October is from Boston, you really don't need race-pace specific work so much at that point. You are frankly even earlier than base-building (if you believe in the strict periodization approach).
I think there is such a thing as over-preparing for the marathon. In the October time frame you should just be running a bunch of different speeds and distances, keeping a good base going without worrying about April.
If you truly think you can PR in the 10k, run the PR. If this were 3 or 4 months later, I would probably run the HM
Agreed, I think. We're also going to be in Southern California in mid-January, and I'm going to try to run a HM then, which would fit the timetable much better. My initial plan was just to do a 5k-10k fall racing season. The trip to Toronto was sort of a last minute addition that just happened to fall on marathon weekend, and I'm in a little better shape for the first stages of training than I thought. (I figured I was in about the same shape I was 7 months or so before my last marathon build-up, when in reality its more like 5.5 or 6.)
As for the 10k, I'll be lucky to come within 5 minutes of my PR -- that was a mid 33 run 15 years (and 30 pounds) ago when I was 26:45/15:45 college runner. However, my "second career" PR is ridiculously slow -- I ran a 40:15 at sea level en route to a HM finish, and I ran a 40:30 at altitude on a hilly 10k course about a month into my last marathon build-up. Basically, since I started running again, I've only raced the distance at altitude and when I'm out of shape. My guess is that with two more months of base building*, I could do 37 high at sea level.
* I actually approach base building before a marathon a little differently than most. I mostly like to get my speed where I need it to be, so the mileage is relatively low, but with a bunch of faster stuff.
Marathon Goal: Rocket City, 2:37
Monday: Easy 3 and 7 mile runs
Tuesday: 7.5 miles with 4 mile progression (5:42,5:27,5:20,5:19) and 2x200m fast; Easy 4 miles
Wednesday: 10 miles medium at 6:19 pace (felt like I was jogging); 6 miles easy
Thursday: Easy 7 and 4 mile runs
Friday: 8.5 miles with 2 miles a little faster than a.t. pace (10:50), 4:00 jog, 1 mile at 10k pace (5:14), 3:00 jog and 8x400m fast with 1:00 jog rest (averaged 71-72 and felt like I could run these all day long); Easy 6.5 miles
Saturday: Easy 5 and 3.5 mile runs
Sunday: 19 miles with two mile pick-up at the end
91 miles for the week. This was probably my toughest week so far and I was really pleased with the result. I will back down the intensity a tad this week to get ready for a Labor Day 10k.
3TM: Impressive week man! Looking forward to seeing how you do in your next week.
Pablo Congrats on the half! Looks like you are right on schedule.
Wow, it looks like everyone is rounding into PR shape at just the right time. I am very jealous of all the great workouts everyone is putting in.
Race: Chicago
Time: ??
M- off (achilles)
T- off (achilles)
W- bike 24mi (22mph) -- Finally, got my road bike fixed
Th- bike 25mi (19mph)
F- bike 27mi (20mph)
Sa- bike 32mi (19mph)
Su- Ran 5mi (36min) -- Achilles felt good.
Tot- 5mi running/109mi biking
After 5 weeks of running 40-60mi/wk hindered by my sore achilles I decided to take the last two weeks almost completely off to let it heal up. It is still a bit swollen but there is no pain.
Goal Race: Chicago 10-10-10
Goal Time: 2:30ish?
Last 2 weeks were problematic w/ food poisoning and time off for a sore hip, but now it's back to business. 90 degree highs feel a lot better than 100 degree highs!
M - AM 72 min steady, PM 30 min easy. 14 miles
T - 15 min warmup, 2x2 mile w/ 2 min rest (11:28, 11:04), 10 miles at 6:15 pace, 15 min. cooldown. 18 miles
W - AM 80 min easy, PM 30 min easy. 15 miles
TR - 5 miles easy, 5 miles in 29 min, 6 miles steady. 16 miles.
F - AM 64 min easy, PM 45 min easy. 15 miles
Sat - 60 min steady, stopped for gel/water, then 90 min steady, progressing to Marathon pace for 10ish miles. 22 miles. Felt surprisingly good!
Sun - Off. Tired.
100 miles
Less than 6 weeks till game time!
Goal Race: Chicago
Goal Time: 2:40
M-12.5m progression in 1:25. Last 8m <6:20 pace. Good run.
T-8m Easy
W-8.55/4.75 Easy runs
Th-14.3 in 1:37:25. Tempo in the middle of 9.6 in 60m (6:15 avg). Probably the fastest I've ever done a long tempo like that.
F-8.55/4.6 Easy Runs
S-21 in 2:34.
Total: 88.35
I purposely did two harder progressions this week. I wanted to see how I could run a tempo on Thursday after doing a decent progression on Monday. It went great; the problem came Saturday when I was clearly beat up from the earlier week runs. Overall good week. Mileage was still down a little from vacation spilling into Tuesday. This week will be at or around 100 and I'll stay there for the next 3 weeks.
Thanks for all the kind words everyone, it is very much appreciated.
stallion - Interesting to see someone here aiming for Disney. I don't know if you've done Disney, but I've run the course before and if you have any questions about the race/course/etc., feel free to ask.
tycobb - Excellent mileage this month! I think more than anything else in marathon training, consistency is the key...and you've done a great job at that.
mrb - You definitely did the smart thing to take a few weeks easy, it may have rattled your confidence...but it could've very well also saved your marathon. You've still got 3-4 weeks of hard training left, plenty of time to get the confidence back...I'm sure it won't even take you that long.
CTA - I don't feel like the "hay is in the barn" until a few days before the race...like marmite said. But in reality, the hay is in the barn about right now for you. Personally, I think with 4 weeks to go until Berlin, you're not trying to improve your fitness....you're trying not to f*ck it up! I guess the big thing for you now is to get as comfortable as you can running your goal MP, don't overdo anything...don't kill yourself in workouts, just maintain.
NoleRunner - I did the Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon in Ohio. The weather was fantastic...well, for me anyway. It was about 65 at the start and climbing to the mid-70's by the finish, but with low humidity...it's far and above what we've been training in for the last 5 months. By the looks of your training the last couple months, you're gonna crush 1:15!
I'm back. I've missed this thread, but life has just been crazy so I haven't gotten here. Solidly into training for my fall marathon. Following Pfitz 12 wk/70 plan (trying to work up closer to the 85, but heat/humidity/life have made it tough. 2 weeks ago saw my highest ever mileage for a week at 83.5 and I felt better at the end of it than I did at the beginning.
Goal: 2:48-50
Race: Columbus
Mon - Off
Tues - 8 (6:50's)
Wed - 15 (7-7:15's and unexact distance)
Thurs - 5 (Easy 7:25's)
Fri - 12 (1:20:36 Progression 5 in 35:44, 5 in 31:27, 1 in 6:06. Hilly course, 1/2 mi w/u c/d)
Sat - 7.5 (Easy 7:25's + 6x100)
Sun - 20 (7:03 avg last 12-17 @ 7/mi 18 - 6:42, 19 - 6:33)
67.5 for the week
For the record, the 1/2 marathon will attract a quality field, while the 10 k is a recent addition the last few years and I don't think it really attracts anyone competitive.
If you are there long enough I would run north on the parkway towards Queenston Heights (north of the finish line area)- 6 miles each way. It is gradually downhill so a tougher run coming back, but a nice scenic route with Niagara University on the U.S. side of the river.
If you have time for any tours ask about Niagara-on-the-Lake and the wine tours.
Enjoy your stay.
CTA- Unfortunately I have no further insight into the ear-blocking problem. Mine have still been becoming plugged right on cue, about halfway into workouts & about 1:30-1:45 into long runs. For this past week's long run, I really think that it helped to have water during the entire run. I think that the combination of keeping hydrated as well as swallowing frequently, minimized the annoyance, & I think that my ears became unplugged much quicker than they have other days. You may be onto something with the sweat accumulation though.
Niagara local wrote:
For the record, the 1/2 marathon will attract a quality field, while the 10 k is a recent addition the last few years and I don't think it really attracts anyone competitive.
If you are there long enough I would run north on the parkway towards Queenston Heights (north of the finish line area)- 6 miles each way. It is gradually downhill so a tougher run coming back, but a nice scenic route with Niagara University on the U.S. side of the river.
If you have time for any tours ask about Niagara-on-the-Lake and the wine tours.
Enjoy your stay.
Thanks! I actually ran the marathon several years ago and loved it -- though that was one of the years where there was no headwind, which I hear makes things tough.
As far as competition, that's not an issue. I probably won't be in good enough shape to run much faster than 1:24-1:25 or so in the HM, so there's going to be a bunch of people beating me. Though it looks like I could place pretty well in the 10k with a 37:30 or whatever.
We probably won't have much time to do touristy stuff in Niagara Falls. My wife is doing a conference in Toronto that will take up the first few days of the trip, and then we'll be visiting family the second half (she's from Middleport, if you know where that it -- about halfway in between Niagara Falls and Rochester).
Pablo,
I just realized you destroyed it at the half. Your splits for that 10k 3 weeks ago were:
Mile 1 - 5:25
Mile 2 - 5:31
Mile 3 - 5:31
Mile 4 - 5:24
Mile 5 - 5:28
Mile 6 - 5:28
Compare that with this past weekend's half:
5:26
5:17
5:24
5:19
5:22
5:27
5:25
5:29
5:28
5:20
5:28
5:24
5:15
If I can run 5-10 sec a mile SLOWER then I averaged for a 5 miler the same weekend you ran the 10k, for my 20k on Monday, I'll be doing back flips! You ran faster on average for your 1/2 then you did for your 10k. Sick man.
Well, I'm new to this thread and to the marathon scene (and didn't sign up until today!), though as you'll see I'm not new to the distance. I'm more of a trail guy, though, so I do need to work on doing more running on the roads now. That will probably happen naturally when I head out to grad school (roughly an hour away from Philadelphia) in a couple of weeks.
Goal Race: Philadelphia Marathon 11/21
Goal Time: Not really sure. 2:37-2:45 doesn't seem completely unreasonable, but if anyone has some advice to offer on how to set a goal time I welcome it.
Monday: AM - 43 minutes on sloppy trails. Pretty fun.
PM - 60 minutes on roads/trails in better condition. Pretty good pace.
Tuesday: 100 minutes. 10 minutes up, roughly 68 minutes "steady state" (probably close to but slightly faster than MP effort, but I don't know) on pretty flat trails, though there were some breaks where the trail was a little overgrown or very slippery with mud. On the section I could measure after the fact I was going about 5:50-5:55 pace. Cooled down for the remainder.
Wednesday: AM - 60 minutes on same trails as Monday PM, but not as far.
PM - 40 minutes on trails.
Thursday: AM - 40 minutes on trails. Hit a root and took a jarring step. Nothing too bad, but caused the shift to smoother surfaces the next few runs.
PM - 40 minutes on treadmill.
Friday: 8.5 miles in 56:30 on a nice cinder trail with mile markers. Wasn't intending to go fast, but ran 6:20 pace on the way back.
Saturday: 40 minutes slow on the treadmill.
Sunday: GLER 50k in 3:40:57 for second. Very happy with the run (though it would have been better if I could have induced movement before the race).
Total: 700 minutes.
Most running I've ever done in a week, and not surprisingly also with the longest run I've ever done. Very happy with how everything went and how quickly I'm getting into shape. Did a good job with recovery stuff post-race and the only thing that feels off is my left knee, which I banged a bit when I tripped on a root during the race.
From the rest of you, lots of great weeks of training like usual. Looking forward to "spending" the next few weeks/months with you guys!
3TM - Thanks! Though I will add a few suggestions to why the 10k was much slower than my recent half:
1 - It was an XC race
2 - It was at the end of a 115 mile week
3 - It was run in the God-awful heat and humidity of FL
4 - It was a solo effort the ENTIRE way, I won by over 4 minutes.
That said, I still feel I brought my training up to a new level with this race, and for the first time...I'm truly confident about sub-2:30. The 5:23's I was running in the half didn't get difficult until mile 11, hopefull this should make 5:40's feel like a cakewalk.
FWIW, I had an excellent workout 8 days out from my half marathon...not unlike your baller workout this past week. Keep the workouts this week a good effort, but not anything that will hurt your recovery. Your last few days leading up to New Haven should be SLOW miles....I mean seriously slow, then get ready to roll on Monday!
StevenJ - Wow, excellent week and congrats on the 50k! You're right, you need to log some significant miles on the roads...at least your workouts and long runs. I do nearly 100% of my miles on the roads, but that's more out of simplicity. I just don't have easy access to trails...unless I drive, then I'd really have no time left in my day.