2016 Boston Marathon Training – Week 3

Winter made an abrupt appearance on Tuesday with air temperatures in the teens and 20s.  I did my interval workout on the treadmill.  By mid-week, the temperatures were back to normal.  Running-wise, I went back to the basics and tried to keep the easy runs easy.  For workouts, I relied on recent races and perceived effort.  I still haven’t had time to more thoroughly read the Hudson book and make adjustments, so I followed the quality workouts in the book.  Overall, everything seems to be coming together nicely. Even my piriformis seems to be getting better!

The Details

The back-of-the-book program had a 16 mile progression long run w/20 minutes hard, a fartlek run, a 12 mile progression run w/6 miles moderate, and a threshold run with 2 x 15 minutes @ half marathon pace.  The rest of the runs were easy, but Monday’s easy run featured hill sprints.  Going into the week, the only adjustments I made were increasing the long run to 18 miles, changing the two 8 mile easy runs to 6 miles, and making one of those days a double.

Long Run (18 miles, last 20 min. hard).  [Log Details]

I felt like I was trying to teach myself how to run long all over again.  I kept the effort easy and consistent for the first few miles – about 9:00 pace.

I thought about speeding up once I hit the 6 mile mark but I didn’t feel great so I just tried to stay in the 8:40-9:10 pace range.  About 10 miles in, as I was leaving the Mount Vernon trail and starting the Custis Trail, I felt very tired.  Over the next 4.5 miles, I stopped several times to catch my breath.  But, that wasn’t enough.  My legs were tired.  I drank a lot of water at the stop just before the hard segment began.  I thought maybe having something in my stomach would make me feel better.  It worked.  I programmed my Garmin for 8:10-8:25, which I thought was “hard”.  The segment started out slow and rough but mid-way through, my Garmin stopped vibrating since I was under 8:25 pace.  I took the uphill home very slow, though.

Average pace=9:08 pace.  Hard segment=8:16 pace.

Fartlek Run (9 miles w/4 x 5 min. @ 10K pace). [Log Details]

It was 16 degrees when I woke up in the morning and 1 degree with windchill.  So, I decided it was going to be a treadmill day.  The last time I ran on the treadmill due to weather was back in March!

The workout went well.  I’ve been training with a heart rate monitor, so I used that for my intensity range.  On the roads, easy has been low 140 bpm but on the treadmill, mid-130s felt easy but that was only 6.0 setting on the treadmill.  For the 10K segments, I didn’t want my heart rate above 177 bpm.  My limit for that was the 8.1 setting.

Average 10K pace segments treadmill setting=8.1.

Progression Run (12 miles, last 6 miles moderate).  [Log Details]

It was my first truly cold run of the winter.  I decided to wear the warmest of everything I own – my Nike thermal, Sugoi Subzero tights, Road Runners jacket, ski cap, gloves w/mittens and hand-warmers, and even a balaclava.

I kept the easy miles in the beginning of the run slow.  The moderate section began after I climbed a pretty steep uphill along Lee Highway to the Custis Trail.  The first part of it was running hills and it was hard to keep moderate under 8:45 pace, which is where I programmed my Garmin.  But, then the hills flattened out and the pace dropped considerably with the same effort.  I was very happy with how the run went.

Average pace=8:36 pace.  Moderate segment=8:22 pace.

Threshold Run (11 miles w/2 x 15 min. @ half marathon pace).  [Log Details]

Before the run, I programmed by Garmin for 7:30-7:45 pace – the paces I get on the McMillan Running Calculator based on the California International Marathon last month and the Fairfax Four Miler last week.  But, I didn’t check the route I wanted to run, so I ended up doing a bit of an out-and-back on the Mount Vernon Trail.

The half marathon pace segments felt hard.  I wouldn’t think I’d want to run a half at that effort, but I tried to stay in the range.  I couldn’t help thinking, A few weeks ago, I was running 10 miles at 7:38 pace and now, I can’t run 2 at 7:45!  Still, I thought it was a good run.

Half marathon pace segments=1:95 miles, 1.95 miles.  Average = 7:42 pace.

Other Running-Related Activities

Injuries.  My piriformis felt better.  Tuesday’s treadmill workout had me wondering if the impact from the roads could be part of the problem.  By Thursday morning, I couldn’t believe how good it felt!  But by Saturday, it was a bit achy all over again.

I also went to a doctor to talk about the weird throat issue I experienced on my long run last week.  I have a follow-up appointment scheduled, but right now, I think it may have been irritation from tree mold.  I have pretty bad allergies to both and it’s been warm this winter.  But, he also gave me an inhaler to use before long runs.

Media of the Week

Song.  “Boston” by Augustana.  I’ve been listening to my Boston playlist from last year.  I’m not sure if the song is really about Boston, but good for running.

The Week Ahead

I may do a 20 miler tomorrow and then doing a cut back week of 50-60 miles.  I had a 20K race on the schedule for next Saturday but I see it’s been rescheduled for Sunday.  I’ll have to figure out if I want to race or run long next weekend instead.

Inspiration.  “It’s never too late to become what you might have been.” – George Elliot