Marathon Training Thread week ended 4/29

Ran a slow 20 miles this week. Took the past 3 days off and will start my break before summer base. It sucked to be sick this week as I felt like I was 2-3 weeks of consistent training away from being significantly better. Going to keep working on core and strength and will be back to running in 2 weeks.

Best of luck everyone!

vf runner: good job hitting the mileage and sticking so consistently with the plan. Not much longer now....

Baystate 10/21

Time: TBD

M: o

T: 8

W: 8/4

Th: 11/8

Fr: 11

Sa: 10/5

Su: 10

75

I know, I know. I'll get 80 next week I promise. Lazy Mondays and couldnt get in a LR this week. But I'm on my way back to decency. Hope all is well elsewhere!

Race: Pittsburgh Half, one week from today

S - 14

M - 7

T - 10

W - 12, 6xmile in 5:09,5:08,5:15,5:14,4:59,4:52, 2min rest

T - off

F - 8.5

S - 6.5

Total - 58

I guess you can put me in the camp that recovered quickly off of the slow race in Boston. This week was odd because I was trying to hold on to the fitness and also rest up with a race next week. I took a day off and pushed my second workout from yesterday to today. Now I am pretty sure that I'll only do sharpening work mid week. Since I'm feeling OK I am going to race but I decided that I'll go out conservatively. Just hoping for good weather this time.

First run since Boston today. Lost tons of fitness in 2 weeks but it actually feels good to burn down the forest. Going to do a few weeks of base and then put a lot of effort into track over the summer. Will likely run CIM in early December and kick up the longer training in sept. Goal will be sub-2:45. Probably will lurk here for a while until I have something worthy to add. Good training, everyone.

Aim: 2:45, late May

Mon.—12mi.

Tues.—am. 10mi. (8:01)/ pm. 4mi. easy.

Wed.—11 mi. total with 10 mi. in hills in 1:06:23 (6:39).

Thurs.—9mi.

Fri.—am. 5mi./ pm. 4mi.

Sat.—12mi. total with 5km race in 18:07.

Sun.—21mi. in 2:26:12 (7:26).

Week: 88 miles. My main goal for this week was to recover from last week’s half-marathon. Besides that, Wednesday’s 10 miles and yesterday’s race went pretty well (both at 7000ft.) The race was out and back, with the first and last 1.25 mi. up and then down a tough hill. Perhaps due to the hard climb and descent, it seems to have taken more out of me than I expected. I was dragging on today’s long run, especially in the hills after 14mi.. I’ll try to do one more hard long run before the race.

Base week 6 of 12:

1/2 effort = cMP + 20-30s

3/4 effort = cMP + 0-10s

Tempo = cMP - 0-15s

Mon: midday: 16m easy

pm: weights

Tues: am: 4m jog

pm: wu, 10m @ 1/2 effort (6:07), cd

Wed: midday: 20m very easy

Thurs: am: 9.2m very easy

pm: 9m very easy

Fri: am: 5.1m jog

pm: 11.5m very easy

Sat: rest

Sun: wu, 10m @ 3/4 (5:53), cd

Total: 103m.

I got hit with a massive IBS attack on Tuesday, which affected my week a bit (no strides, missed one weights session and had to swap Friday's planned LT for a very easy run). It happens occasionally, so doesn't really phase me any more, but does make for uncomfortable running at times.

In retrospect, it was a little dumb of me to go ahead and do my 1/2 effort Tues pm after it started, but there you go!

Tummy aside, my running has been feeling very fluid all week, but even still I was a little gobsmacked to see the pace when I finished Sunday morning's run as I ran very much towards the easy end of my 3/4 effort (as I wasn't fully over the IBS attack, but felt better enough to run a bit quicker), plus conditions here were pretty bad (20mph+ winds, rain and very cold).

Conditions here have been generally very bad for the last few weeks (which has stopped me getting out on my hilly loop as parts of it are ankle deep in water). It was so wet during my long run on Wednesday I had to change gear 15m in, and then bailed at 20 when the thunder and hailstorm started.

I am now, half-way through my base phase, and have run: 101m, 108m, 104m, 103m, 106m, and 103m in those 6 weeks, whilst my cMP has improved by something in the region of 25-30s per mile. Pleasing start.

CTA - all things considered, only 5mins off your target doesn't seem like a bad result given that pretty much everybody seemed to lose time over the last 10k. Why didn't you carb-load?

Well done on the 3rd in AG printer.

How's the knee Foogo?

Almost there VF Runner. Is the race in 3 weeks time, or taper starting in 3 weeks time?

Nice mile reps categorically.

Hans E. - nicely done on the 5km. Sounds like a good time to me with the profile and altitude (what is 7000ft of altitude worth roughly?).

Sorry, should have included the date. May 20, so yesterday was my last long run. This coming Sunday is scheduled for 17, but I have Broad St. that day. Not sure if I'm going to try to move the 17 or just not worry about it.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 10 x 0 miles with 5 minutes recovery

Wednesday: 0 mile tempo run

Thursday: 15 x 0k at 4 minute mile pace

Friday: Sofa session

Saturday: Same as Wednesday

Sunday: Fartlek run - 10 x (0 minutes / 0 minutes)

Week total: 0 miles (approx)

Yes, that's right. For the first time ever, I took a whole week off running. I didn't think I could manage it but I did. Mind you, I was out at 5:30 this morning making up for lost time though. :)

I think it should do me some good.

The plan is to run easy for a few weeks, build some strength back up and then become a 3k/5k runner. Half marathon in Autumn. I'm not doing a marathon for a while though - though I absolutely love the training, I really don't enjoy racing marathons. I don't cope well with the pressure of the success of a 6-month training cycle being determined by a 2-3 hour race. I might change my mind, but at the moment it's not where I see my future. I'll keep dropping in here though.

Goal Marathon: Columbus

Next Key Race: USA HM Champs, 6/14

Mon: 8 miles (6:44); 6.1 miles with a few pick-ups (7:05)

Tue: 10.5 miles with 4 mile fast progression in 20:19 (5:15,5:08,5:03,4:53)and then 2x400m in 64,63; 7.4 miles very easy

Wed: 8 miles (6:55); 6.1 miles very easy

Thu: 8 miles with 8x30s strides; 6 miles very easy

Fri: 6.1 miles (7:12)

Sat: 15.6 miles with Louisville HM in 64:39, to finish in seventh. I was really pumped with this race. My goal was 66:00 and 65:30, best case scenario. I got out with a pack of about a dozen guys and we stayed together for the first couple of miles. The pack would randomly speed up and then I'd catch them a short time later. Shortly before six, they left me for good. I ran the next couple of miles alone, caught a couple of guys and in the 10th mile, I could see another couple of guys over a minute ahead. At 10 miles, I knew I had a shot at sub 65:00, so I tried to stay focused and slowly chase the guy ahead of me. I was slowly catching him but ran out of room and finished 17s behind him. I was really happy because this would have been an Oly Trial qualifier in the fall, but it was also bittersweet because I was in better shape then. I actually felt really good at the end and was scared of running 5:00 early on, that I held back some. I haven't gotten in any really hard workouts yet and ran 68:34 on a flat course six weeks ago, so I feel I still have a lot of room to improve. Splits: 5:00, 4:57, 4:53, 4:53, 4:53, 4:52, 4:42, 5:08, 5:07, 4:58, 4:58, 4:58, 5:19 (1.1)

Sun: 4.4 miles (7:17); 8.4 miles (7:15)

Week Total= 94.6 miles

VF Runner Another solid week and you'll be good to go. I'm sure it was frustrating to feel a little rundown, but after your taper, your body will adapt to all of that stress and your legs will be ready to go.

Race: NJ Marathon: This Sunday. Goal: 3:05

M off

T 6 easy

W 5 w/4 tempo (7 to 6:15)

Th 7 easy

F 4 easy, in Florida, 82 degrees, 80% humidity

Sa: 10 incl 8 at 7:00 pace, 75 degrees, 89% humidity

Su: off

Week total: 32. Tapering. Happy with the Saturday run in brutal conditions. Frantically checking NJ weather forecast, looks solid. Almost there! Best of luck to all.

Thanks for asking KR.

So the race was on saturday. goal was 2:45. hot day. at 7 it was 60. at noon it was about 82.

I promised myself I would post this whole training cycle and the race results even if things did not work out in the race. for the body of marathon knowledge.

The knee never really recovered. In the final 2.5 weeks before the marathon I think I took off about 8 days. The day before the marathon I did a little 3 mile jog to check the status of things. I just jogged about 8 minute pace. I felt some tightness, but i did not push into anything closer to race pace because i wanted to make the final call on race morning.

Race morning with adrenaline going, my 8 minute warm up before the race felt pretty decent.

still, i was way off for the race. i had a number of friends already coming out to watch so from the get go i was a conservative.

in training i had done 21 miles on the same course at 6:45 avg for the firs 11 and (6:20 avg for the last 10) that was 6 weeks before though.

i ended up running 3:08. the first 10 miles i was running about 6:40 pace but even then my legs felt empty. it wasnt hard for me breathing or anything. i just felt like how i feel if i don't eat all day and then try to run at the end of the day. (i had been eating well thoug)

even at that pace I cramped up as early as mile 17 which was really strange to me. it did turn out to be an 85 degree day so i was definitely feeling the heat, but i had run 6:40 pace in that heat in training runs no problem.

i keep analyzing what went wrong but i have to remind myself the knee thing played a big factor and the results of this race, don;t necessarily serve as a fair trial for the training i was doing. the saturday before i was really thinking i would not be able to run because of the pain i felt just jogging around.

regardless of what the ultimate problem was, i still think i will change two things in my next marathon based off of this one.

1. because it was such a hot day, i had 4 great friends on the course with 18 oz water/ gatorade mixed bottles for me. i'm good at taking in fluids on the run, so at 5, 10, 15, and 20 i downed the whole bottle each time and took a full gu. still, the fact that i cramped up at mile 17 leads me to believe the cramping was definitely a salt issue.

last year i cramped up at mile 24 and i thought it might have been due to glycogen depletion. since i cramped up so early on such a hot day this year, i think i have ruled the glycogen depletion out. i never cramped up in my 4 20 mile training runs. the fact that i was taking in more fluid then usual makes me think i was diluting the salt i did have in me while i was losing a lot on a hot day.

so at mile 17 i just started doing 7:40 pace just so the cramps would not bring me to a complete standstill.

at mile 24 i asked a medic tent if they had salt. they did. i poured the packet of salt in my mouth, and i actually do think i started feeling a little bit better in the final. i wish i had thought to ask someone earlier about that.

in the future, i will not emphasize taking in big quantities of liquid on the course. i think i will just take some sort of salt thing with me and rely on the water cups. id like to have whatever salt thing on my person during the race so i can make in the moment judgements.

2. next race i will run in my trainers. well, i actually don't think this was a big problem but i need to try something different. i had done 2 20 mile runs in my brooks t7s in training at around 6:40 pace avg no problem. i think the cramping was why it made my legs feel so beat in the shoes on saturday. still, im 165 and the way my last two marathons have gone i have felt like by the time i am cramping up in the second half of the race, im thinking to myself, "wow even cutting off 10 seconds per mile in these flats doesnt seem that significant, now that i am running 2 minutes sloweer than goal race pace."

anyway,, very long post.

like i said i just need to jump in another marathon soon now. and not make it such a big deal. i feel like on my 21 milers in training i could have added another 5 miles on no problem to run 2:50. no more shooting for 2:40. i need to go with increments. pr is 2:54. next step is just to run faster than that.

one final thing. i definitely see how overall mileage is very important now. i was averaging about 50 miles a week for the past 10 weeks and just focusing on quality long runs. i could see what i was lacking from this type of training.

still i don't want to make any ruling on that now because i know the training i was doing still should have had me run under 2:50 regardless of my overall mileage.

ok thats enough. sorry i can't rant to my friends because they just say, "you ran a 3:08... you were top 20!" that's incredible. i guess it does put it in perspective, but at the same time when you have particular goals, you still feel like a failure regardless of what the general public thinks you accomplished. you guys understand though.

any suggestions for marathons in june or july? heat or no heat i just need to go out an run one.

Foogo, great summary. Sorry to hear about your race and your knee problems, but kudos for writing it all up for the benefit of the rest of us.

If you're looking for a June marathon, there's one in Lake Placid. Good climate, beautiful area, not too hilly. Another good one, I hear, is Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Flat, along a lake, not too hot.

Good luck!

I will have a proper read through these shortly and reply but thought I would post and let you know how I got on in my marathon.

Hamburg Marathon, the goal was sub 2.30 and I ended up running 2.28.41. (Was planning on doing London originally)

My splits were 34.45, 34.39, 34.49, 35.59, 8.28.

The last 4k were very tough, as I got terrible blisters, I wore new socks (school boy error). When it started slipping it made me realise just how cruel a marathon can be, as was one for 2.26/2.27 up until this point.

Terrific event, and I would certainly recommend it, the crowds were unbelievable and top notch organisation! Anyhow, thanks for all the comments over the past 12 weeks, its certainly helped me with logging my training, planning my programme and provided some motivation. Good luck to all of you with your training and races!

Goal: TBD. . .

I'm still recovering from the Boston Jogathon but started feeling better by the end of the week:

Monday - 7 on Trails

Tuesday - Easy 5

Wed - 10 miles on the Lake in Chicago. Avg 6:55s at low HR.

Thurs - Easy 5

Fri - 10 on rolling hills, back in Boston. Avg 6:56s.

Sat - Easy 7

Sun - Off

44 miles for the week. Will ramp it back up starting this week. (I ran 13 this AM to kick off the week.) I'm thinking fall marathon but have not picked one yet.

Brumrunner Great week and nice PR at London.

80-90miles - Well done on the 2:28. You trained really well this winter/spring and the great time is the reward. I'm sure there's more to come from you though, given your times over shorter distances. I was surprised when you didn't run London - I thought you had got injured or something, so it was a relief to see you posting a great time the following week.

I think my Boston recovery is more mental then physical considering I walked a large part of it.

That Sunday I did a slow little 5k with my family at a local event. The guy in front of me did Boston too. Of course, that means he beat me in Boston and in a 5k in the same week!!!

Started running last week, I am doing some Tri's this summer to give my legs a break. Lets just say that I forgot all my swimming and biking skills from last year. Trying to focus my running on less milage and higher intensity to try to get some speed that I clearly lost. I was running 20 to 30 second faster in 5ks last year.

I did the Tough Mudder adventure race last week. Stupid idea, my legs and arms are black and blue.

Broad Street on Sunday. I would be looking forward to salvage some of my training for a good time, but I haven't done much running in the last two weeks, so I am sure I lost some of my fitness. But on the bright side, the weather looks nice!

blaznbison - great half marathon. I'm really pleased for you. It's a shame not to get it before the trials, but it is a great achievement none the less.

Keep up the good work.