2016 Boston Marathon Training – Week 7

I started the week with an absolutely brutal long run through a lot of snow packed rail-trails and ended the week with a hill repeat workout on dead legs.  Yay!  During both, I reminded myself I’m a Boston Marathoner and that means doing whatever you need to do to get your workouts done.  On a happy note, the two regional runner rankings came out this week and I was 7th in my age group for one list and 21st on the other!

Training Schedule

Sunday: Specific Endurance Run.  20 miles easy.
Monday: 6 miles easy + hill sprints (AM), 4 mile easy (PM).
Tuesday: Threshold Run.  3 miles easy, 2 x 3 miles @ marathon pace, 3 miles easy.
Wednesday: Progression Run.  12 miles w/8 miles moderate.
Thursday: 8 miles easy.
Friday: Hill Repetitions. 4 miles easy, 4 x 3 min. uphill @ 5K effort w/jog-back recoveries, 2.5 miles easy.
Saturday: 6 miles easy.

Mileage Total: ~78 miles.

Details

Specific Endurance Run.  20 miles [Log Details].

Coming out of last week, I felt great and ready to have a fantastic long run!

I parked in Georgetown and then left before meeting up with my club.  We had our annual meeting at 11am and I wanted to start as quickly as possible.

I got to Rock Creek Park Trail and it was completely snow covered.  (Sigh).  For the first few miles, I would stop by Garmin whenever I needed to stop but a few miles in, I abandoned that idea and accepted this was going to be slow going.  It was grueling work and I was very frustrated.  My pace was in the 10-11:00 minute range.  At one point, the path carved out by runners who’d come before me got so close to the creek, that I thought I was going to fall in!  I got a little bit of a break by the National Zoo, which had cleared the trail but it was short lived.  The other frustrating part was that my shoe kept slipping off!

Almost 5 miles in, I reached Beach Drive, which was a plowed road.  It’s closed to traffic on the weekends.  Phew!  Before I could get too happy, though, I realized I had an uphill climb ahead of me.  Just past the 1 hour mark, I stopped for a bath room break and started the Crank Sports e-Gel I brought with me.  My hands were very cold and I wished I’d brought warmer gloves but I could feel the sun coming out.

At 8 miles, I left Rock Creek but continued on the plowed roads of Beach Drive.  Normally, I would pick up Rock Creek Trail again through Meadowbrook Park, but I opted to stay on the road instead.  Even though I’m not from Maryland, I thought I should be able to mentally figure out how to hook up with the Capital Crescent Trail, which from what I understood, was cleared.  I felt relief knowing that I would have 10 miles of downhill running ahead of me.  I’m not used to running on the roads with traffic so I stopped frequently.  It gave me an excuse to eat my gel and have some water.

I reached the upper end of the Capital Crescent Trail about 10.5 miles into the run.  From other runners’ reports, I thought this portion of rail trail would be clear.  But, I was wrong.  This was the Georgetown Branch Trail and I had an additional two miles in ankle deep snow.  I felt a little depressed.  I really didn’t have the will to do this but told myself, You’re a Boston Marathoner! and that kept me going.

Finally!  I reached the Capital Crescent Trail and could run on pavement.  After so much slow running, I dropped the pace to 8:30s.  By the 14 or 15 mile mark, I got the numbness in my throat that I get on some long runs.  I took a different gel this time so thought I could rule out an allergy.  Maybe it’s dehydration.  I stopped at the water fountain four miles out from the city.  I also stopped at Fletcher’s Boathouse but the fountains were turned off.  I felt a little dejected.  I was tired and wanted to quit.  I gathered myself and kept going.

I planned to do 22 miles but when I got to Georgetown, I was done.  Turns out my schedule only called for 20 afterall, so, Yippee!

Overall pace: 9:20.

Threshold Run.  3 miles easy, 2 x 3 miles @ marathon pace, 3 miles easy [Log Details].

I didn’t prepare my training plan for this week and woke up thinking I would run 10 easy miles.  Then, I looked at the back-of-the-book schedule for Hudson’s and saw it had a threshold workout.  So, I switched gears and prepared a harder effort.

The first marathon pace segment felt comfortable but a little hard at the end.  Based on recent races, marathon pace for me should be 7:54-8:06 pace but I was running a little faster than 7:40 pace.  I eased up at the end but still finished the first 3 miler at 7:49 pace.  Determined to run the second segment as fast as the first, I started a little slow to account for the slight uphills but then sped up once the terrain flattened out.  I kept the pace a little harder than usual during the cool-down.

Marathon pace segments: 23:27 (7:49 pace) and 23:28 (7:50 pace).

Progression Run.  12 miles w/8 miles moderate [Log Details].

It seemed wrong that I would be doing another “workout” this week but it was consistent with the plan – Week 10 has four workouts in Run Faster‘s Level 3 marathon plan.  I didn’t sleep well the evening before but was surprised at how well it went.  I also took a few puffs from my inhaler for some reason.

About 8 miles into the run, I ran on a piece of asphalt that looked clean but found my feet slipping out from under me!  Black ice!  I regained my balance but it rattled me a little.  I ended up hammering the pace after that.  Thinking I only had one more mile at hard effort left, I went for it and ran sub-8:00 pace.  That mile ended and then my Garmin showed I had one more mile!  I tried to keep the same intensity but I couldn’t.  I was wiped.

Progression miles: 8:36, 8:31, 8:22, 8:20, 8:14, 8:01, 7:40, 7:48.  Average: 8:11 pace.

Hill Repetitions.  4 miles easy, 4 x 3 min. uphill @ 5K effort w/jog-back recoveries, 2.5 miles easy [Log Details].

From reading the book, I wanted to do the repeats on a hill that was 4 to 6% grade.  And then, for me, 3 minutes @ 5K pace is about 0.43 miles.  I couldn’t think of a hill that fit that criteria so I decide to run a hill I thought I could run for 3 minutes.  (Don’t judge me!)

I woke up and didn’t want to run at all so it was a victory that I did this workout at all.  I kept the pace super slow until the hill repeats.  I ran the first repetition about as hard as I could but came in slower than 5K pace, which based on recent races would be 6:50-7:00 pace. During the second rep, I thought, Remember when 6:25 pace was your goal for the 5K?  It spurred me to run harder but I was still coming up short.

I finished the run satisfied but also dejected from trying to will myself to run faster and failing.  When I was back home logging my run, I noticed the workout was for 5K effort and not pace.  That made me feel a little better about the workout.

Hill sprint segments pace: 7:09, 7:13, 7:01, 7:07, 7:10.  Average: 7:09 pace.

Other Running-Related Activities

Nutrition.  On Sunday’s long run, I tried the Crank Sports e-Gel from my August Stridebox.  I wasn’t a fan of the Mountain Rush flavor and I could really taste the electrolytes, but I liked it and would definitely use it again.  Before my run on Wednesday, I tried the Picky Bar from the January Stridebox.  I’m not a fan.

Gear.  After CIM, I went to my local running store and got fitted for shoes again.  I bought the Mizuno Wave Rider 19s  and the New Balance 880s. This week, I ordered another pair of the Mizunos.  They seem to fit my feet a little snugger as evidenced by my run on Sunday where my NB 880s kept slipping off my feet.

Runner Rankings.  The two regional runner rankings came out this week!  For RunWashington, I was 7th in my age group and for James Moreland’s ranking, I was 21st.  (The calculate the rankings differently.  RunWashington factors in “strength of schedule” and other considerations).  This field hockey player never finds being a ranked runner – in any capacity – expected news.

Media of the Week

Song.  We Belong, by Pat Benatar.  Yes, it’s a love song.  But, “There’s no looking forward.  There’s no looking back,” which applies to racing.

Magazines.  There was a great piece in RunWashington.com on local runners competing in the marathon trials.  I’m hoping to watch the trials tomorrow and cheer for all of them!

The Week Ahead

Long run tomorrow and then a cut-back week ahead.  And, I’m planning to run the George Washington Birthday 10K next weekend.

Inspiration.  “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” – Abraham Lincoln