2017 Eugene Marathon Training – Week 10

2017 Eugene - Week 10

Rebounded from slight over-training and ran a healthy dose of intervals and marathon paced miles this week.  Seventy days from the Eugene Marathon, I got three indicators that I’m in about 3:30 marathon shape.

Training Schedule
Week 10: February 19th – February 25th

Sunday: Recovery run. 8 miles + strides
Monday: Medium/Fartlek Run. 10 miles easy w/5 x 3 min. @ 10K to half marathon pace
Tuesday: Interval run.  7 miles.   Speed work with run club
Wednesday: Recovery run. 5 miles + hill repeats
Thursday: Tempo run. 14 miles w/8 miles @ marathon pace
Friday: Recovery run. 6 miles
Saturday: Long Run.  18 miles

Mileage Total: ~70 Miles

Adaptations.  I had an early meeting at work on Tuesday, so I skipped the club workout.  And, Friday’s easy run was only 4 miles.  Otherwise, I didn’t make any adjustments this week.

Columbia Pike - 02192017
Columbia Pike – 02192017

Goal.  Run a traditional tempo run.  Outcome: Success!  Well, kinda.  It was a long marathon paced run but I’m counting it.

Workout Details

Medium/Fartlek Run 10 miles easy w/5 x 3 min. @ 10K to half marathon pace [Log Details].

After an easy 4 miles into the wind though Arlington, I started the fartlek segment on the Mount Vernon Trail after the Roosevelt Bridge.  I found myself running high-6:00 pace to low-7:00 during the faster segments and worked to slow myself down.  It’s so hard when you feel like running but know you shouldn’t!  But, I don’t want to run myself into the ground again after rebounding from slight over-training.

Fartlek split paces=7:24, 7:27, 7:21, 7:17, 7:27.  Overall pace=8:46.

Interval Run Speed work with run club 10 x 800m @ 5K pace w/50-90% recoveries [Log Details].

I had an early morning meeting at work and didn’t think I had time to run with the club.  I decided to do a Yasso 800s workout.  The stretch of road where I decided to run the intervals was a little short of a half mile, so I had to run on busy sidewalks and grassy knolls to make the distance.  Midway through the workout, I was ready to quit but realized I wasn’t getting slower.  I stuck with it and finished the workout.

I know there are flaws in trying to use this workout as a race predictor, but the fact that I could finish it without fading seemed good.

Splits=3:34, 3:31, 3:37, 3:28, 3:34, 3:28, 3:33, 3:29, 3:37, 3:32.  Mean=3:32.

Tempo Run. 14 miles w/8 miles @ marathon pace [Log Details].

My goal for the week was to do a traditional tempo run since, midway through my training cycle, I hadn’t done a solid block of running faster than marathon pace.

The first few miles clicked by pretty quickly.  I made a quick pit stop in Gravelly Point and then felt a bit of a headwind heading south on the Mount Vernon Trail.  My pace slowed on the Four Mile Run Trail and Glebe Road but not by much.  I got a short break in Shirlington waiting to cross to the W&OD but I continued pushing the pace until the end.

Looking at my splits, this workout was another indicator that I might be in 3:30 marathon shape since 7:59 pace is in that range.

Splits=7:59, 7:56, 7:57, 7:55, 7:53, 7:58, 8:00, 8:10, 8:03.  Average=7:59.

Long Run. 18 miles [Log Details].

It was a warm day – already 60 degrees when I started with strong winds coming out of the south.

Cherry Blossoms in February - 02252017
Cherry Blossoms in February – 02252017

I kept a pretty steady pace. I tried to run with good form and leg turnover. I wanted to zone out and listen to a podcast about dreaming big, but I had to stay engaged since there were so many people on the trail due to the nice weather. I stopped for water near the airport and refilled my Nathan Handheld.  On the bridge near the airport, I realized too late that I saw a co-worker.  Maybe a mile later, I saw another co-worker!

Race Predictor - 02252017
Race Predictor – 02252017

Near Roosevelt Island, I stopped and started a Honey Stinger gel.  I ran out of water on the Custis Trail about 2 miles from the next water fountain.  I was parched.  At the junction of the Custis and W&OD trails, I stopped at the water fountain and doused my head with water.  It’s FEBRUARY!  On the W&OD, for the third time, I ran past a co-worker! This time, I was able to give a thumbs up.  I kept my cool-down slow and finished tired but not destroyed.

My Garmin Race Predictor gave me another indicator that I’m probably in 3:30 marathon shape right now.

Overall pace=8:50.

Health

Injuries.  I felt some pain in my right calf late last week and it lingered into this week.  I guessed it was from running in shoes with a lower drop.  By Wednesday, it was much better, though.

My piriformis has been a non-issue but I’m still seeing my chiropractor on Fridays.  I think I only mentioned it once but I bought a TENS and EMS unit shortly after starting my chiropractic treatments.  I used it a lot in December and January but haven’t in the past month.

Weight. After the bad week I had, I stopped thinking about losing any weight.  But, by the end of the week, I felt like I’d rebounded and could think about getting a little leaner again.

Sleep.  I slept pretty well this week.  Having Wednesday and Friday as easy days gave me two opportunities to catch up on sleep mid-week.

Weather

It was an unseasonably warm week.  In fact, it’s on track to be the hottest February on record!  At first, it was nice.  But today, I doused my head with water mid-run.  It’s FEBRUARY!

Capitol on a Sunny Day - 02242017
Capitol on a Sunny Day – 02242017

Racing Schedule

Future races.  I booked my flight to Eugene for the marathon! TrackTown USA, here I come!

Runner rankingsRunWashington Magazine – Spring 2017 Edition.  I was 9th in my age group for 2016 – two spots lower than last year.  Given my summer and fall slump, including a disappointing Parks Half Marathon, it was nice to be on the list at all.

Next race: 2017 Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon on March 11th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)

Have you been to southern Oregon?  If so, do you have recommendations for visitors?