2016 Boston Marathon Training – Week 11

Here’s a marathon training tip for you: don’t do a hard 15 miler the day before a tempo run.  This week, I learned that lesson the hard way and went to a very painful place.  Somehow, I came out of that scheduling disaster in one piece.  In fact, overall, it was a pretty good training week.  I’m excited about running Rock ‘n’ Roll DC next weekend and seeing where I am at this point in my Boston Marathon training cycle!

Training Schedule
February 28th – March 5th

Sunday: Specific Endurance Run.  1 hour steady, 5 x 1 mile @ marathon pace/1 mile easy, 30 min. steady.
Monday: 8 miles easy + hill sprints.
Tuesday: Specific Endurance Intervals.  3 miles easy, 5 x 1K @ 5K pace w/2-min. active recoveries, 3 miles easy.
Wednesday: 10 miles moderate.
Thursday: 8 miles easy.
Friday:  Threshold Run.  2 miles easy, 5 miles accelerating from half-marathon to 10K pace, 2 miles easy.
Saturday: Off.

Mileage Total: ~66 miles.

Adaptations.  I significantly increased the amount of marathon pace miles from the Hudson schedule for my Sunday long run.  I slept in on Wednesday and did a medium run on Thursday to make up the mileage.  (Bad idea).  I ran 6 miles easy on Saturday since I didn’t want two off days this week.

Details

Specific Endurance Run.  1 hour steady, 5 x 1 mile @ marathon pace/1 mile easy, 30 min. steady [Log Details].

I drove to Georgetown and met up with my club but didn’t run with anyone.  Instead, I ran by myself to East Potomac Park/Hains Point for the first hour of my run and then out-and-back to Alexandria for the marathon pace portion of my run followed by the cool-down.

I felt terrible from the start.  The pace during the one-hour of steady running never quite felt comfortable.

Hains Point always seems windy and today was no exception.  I reached the end of it and wondered if I’d feel the wind on the back side, as well.  I was relieved when the winds were calm.

I wanted to use this run to test my fueling for Boston.  At the 45 minute mark, I started a Vanilla Strawberry Slam Crank Sports e-Gel.  This brand of gel tastes very salty but they seem to agree with me.

I started the first marathon paced mile right as I reached the 14th Street Bridge.  I finished it faster than estimated pace (7:54-8:06), but I wasn’t concerned.  The second MP mile was just as fast but not particularly hard.  Along the way, I saw a windsock near National Airport.  The winds were coming out of the south!  Maybe that was why my running felt so labored.

During the recovery from the second interval, I started my second Crank e-Gel – Cherry Bomb flavor.  I ate most of it but I was having trouble breathing and eating at the same time.  I wanted to walk a little but reminded myself that I’m trying to teach myself to run hard when I’m tired.  I finished the third marathon pace mile, turned around near Old Town Alexandria, and then downed the rest of the gel during the recover mile.

I completed the fourth marathon paced mile at the same pace as the first two, which surprised me.  I was so tired!  Plus, there was also a 20 degree temperature change from when I started this run.  I was wearing two long sleeve shirts and hadn’t finished my handheld.  Still, I ran a strong final repetition at marathon pace.  I finally stop for a bit at Gravelly Point.

I skipped a third gel since I only had 30 more minutes of running.  But, I ran hard back to Georgetown.

Marathon pace miles=7:46, 7:48, 7:52, 7:47, 7:44.  Average=7:47 pace.

Specific Endurance Intervals. 3 miles easy, 5 x 1K @ 5K pace w/2-min. active recoveries, 3 miles easy [Log Details].

The warm-up and first two reps were faster than they should have been.  I want to run as fast as I used to run!  The third and fourth reps were slower but mostly due to GPS issues and some GI distress.  My piriformis was irritated but I pushed anyway.  I really concentrated on engaging my glutes and that seems to help.  Overall, I was happy with the workout.

1K @ 5K pace segments=4:15, 4:16, 4:22, 4:25, 4:19.  Average=4:19 or 6:58 pace.

Medium Run.  15 miles hard [Log Details].

I woke up on Wednesday and just couldn’t get out of bed.  So, I took a rare off day.  I decided to do a medium run on Thursday to make up the mileage.

I guess the rest did me good because I started at a strong pace and kept it up throughout the run.

The effort was hard at points but it didn’t feel faster than I could handle.

Average=8:12 pace.

Threshold Run.  2 miles easy, 5 miles accelerating from half-marathon to 10K pace, 2 miles easy [Log Details].

Needless to say, yesterday’s hard effort left me feeling completely fried.  I did the first mile at 7:47 pace – slow but not too far off my estimated half marathon pace (7:31-7:42).  The drop from HM pace to 10K pace over 5 miles is about  6 seconds/mile for me, so I decided to just make that my goal.  The pace felt hard and I wanted to stop or slow down the whole time.  I did a lot of bargaining.

“Okay, you can stop after the second mile”,
“How about you stop at the 2.5 mile mark?”,
“Only two miles to go and you made it this far, keep going”,
“Just do the best you can for this mile”.

By the end of the last lap, I was running as hard as I could.  When it was over, I couldn’t believe that I did it!

Progression miles=7:47, 7:42, 7:36, 7:28, and 7:21.  Average=7:35.

Other Running-Related Activities

Racing Schedule.  I got into the 2016 New York City Marathon!

Nutrition.  On Tuesday, I tried the VoloVitamins from my November Stridebox.  It tasted like medicine.  I think this is more of a nutritional supplement than a sports drink.

Media of the Week

Song.  “Live Your Life,” by T.I. featuring Rihanna.  This song got my through the latter stages of Friday’s tempo run.

The Week Ahead

I’ll run hard early in the week but then mini-taper for the RnR DC Half Marathon next Saturday!  I can’t wait to take these legs out for a spin!

Inspiration.  “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” – Jack Dempsey.