2016 New York City Marathon Training – Week 7

NYCM Week 7

An exhausting long progression run on Sunday and then a lot of easy running.  I had a fartlek run on Wednesday, but I didn’t understand my coach’s notes so it was more like an easy run with some pick-ups.  Then, more easy running.  Long progression run today on the treadmill and I struggled with pace.


Training Schedule
August 7th – August 13th

Sunday: Long Progression Run. 15 miles @ easy to 10K pace.
Monday:  7 miles recovery.
Tuesday: 8 miles recovery.
Wednesday: Fartlek Run.  2 x 1 minute “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 3 minutes “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 1 minute “on”.
Thursday: 8 miles recovery.
Friday: 7 miles recovery.
SaturdayLong Progression Run.  18 miles @ easy to 10K pace – 25 seconds.

Mileage Total: ~71 Miles

Adaptations. I struggled a little following the schedule.  I didn’t hit goal paces during Sunday’s progression run but I ran as hard as I could in the heat and humidity.  I didn’t understand Wednesday’s fartlek run and only ran about 8 minutes “hard”.  Then, I asked my coach if I could run long on Saturday instead of Sunday.  (Bonus: I can watch the women’s Olympic marathon live tomorrow.)


Workout Details

Long Progression Run 15 miles @ easy to 10K pace.  [Log Details]

When I saw this workout, I thought the only way I could hit 7:20 pace was on the treadmill.  But, it wasn’t horrid out – 72 degrees and 66% humidity.  But, the route I picked started with a net uphill, meaning those sub-9:00 paces at the start would be hard.  Finally, I thought, “The New York City Marathon isn’t run on a treadmill,” and prepared to run outside.

I tried to run the first two miles easy and then run about 20 seconds/mile harder for each segment.  But, the pace wasn’t there.  At about 6 miles in, I felt as though I needed to slow down a lot if I wanted to finish 15 miles.  However, I still thought maybe I could run faster on the back portion of the run since it would be downhill.  I turned around 8.75 miles into the run.

 

View of the Beltway
View of the Beltway

There were a few inclines initially going back but I increased my leg turnover a lot once the net downhill kicked in.  I was ran as hard as I could most of the way back but there were a few short periods where I felt like I needed to ease off the pace to finish.

Split paces=2 miles at 9:13, 2 miles at 9:06, 3 miles at 9:03, 3 miles at 9:17, 3 miles at 9:01, 2 miles at 8:44Overall pace=9:05.

Fartlek Run. Fartlek Run.  2 x 1 minute “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 3 minutes “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 1 minute “on”.  [Log Details]

My coach gave me this workout to break up some of the longer efforts and get some turnover in my legs.

Other: Workout notes read “1,2,3,2,1 x 2 Fartlek” but I didn’t see the x2 part when I created the workout and instead just saw the “1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 hard with equal moderate”.  Also, didn’t see the moderate part.

In the end, this didn’t feel like a workout at all.  This is one of the downsides of not having a coach present, I suppose.

Pace for “on” segments=1 minute at 9:06, 3 minutes at 8:35, 1 minute at 8:20, 3 minutes  7:54, 1 minute at 7:42.

Long Progression Run 18 miles @ easy to 10K pace  [Log Details].

Treadmill

The region was in the middle of a heat wave, so I ran on the treadmill.  I’d been wearing my new foot pod on runs, allowing it to auto-calibrate and help me determine pace on the treadmill.  I got to the gym, looked around, and Eye of the Tiger wasn’t there.  Bummer.  I listened to my playlist from last year’s New York City Marathon to get me through the run.

I set the treadmill at 6.9 for the first 3 miles, which was supposed to be 8:45 pace.  But, my Garmin was reading 7:10-7:20 pace!  I restarted the workout and ignored the pace reading for the next few segments.  I decided to run by time instead of distance.  I also downed a Crank Sport e-Gel, (Radical Raspberry).

I ran 3 miles 7.0 (8:34 pace) and 3 miles at 7.3 (8:13 pace).  My Garmin still showed low-7:00/high 6:00 pace.  I stopped the treadmill since it was close to an hour of running, refilled my water bottle, and started my second Crank Sport e-Gel (Juicy Watermelon).

The next segment was on the 7.7 setting (7:45 pace).  I faded hard.  I pushed to finish 22:15 at that setting.  I stopped and reassessed.  I was tired but I wanted to finish this workout!

During the next 3 mile segment, which should have been at the 8.0 setting (7:30 pace), I had to slow down a lot.  I was out of steam.  For the 2 miles at 7:15 pace, which would have been a treadmill setting of 8.3, I just couldn’t hold it for more than a minute before dropping the pace down.  I managed a mile before doing a cool-down.

It was rough but I felt satisfied with the run.  It’s hard to figure out pace on a treadmill and I guessed wrong.  If my foot pod is to be believed, I ran about 19 miles at 7:26 pace.  But, I think it was closer to 18 at 8:00.

Split paces=?.


Health

My legs were destroyed after Sunday’s long run but they recovered after a few days of easy running.  But, my sleep suffered since I was watching Olympic coverage late into the night.


Weather

A heat wave rolled into the area on Thursday.  On Friday’s recovery run, it was already 81 degrees and 77% humidity when I started.  I did Saturday’s long run on the treadmill to avoid heat indices in the 90s by 7am.


Racing Schedule

Next race: Parks Half Marathon on September 11th.  (My Complete Racing Schedule.)