2017 Eugene Marathon Training – Week 2

I front-loaded the workouts this week so I could run long on Friday and race on Saturday night.  I ran well but I was tired by the end of the week.  Ran in some rain and wind. I didn’t have any piriformis pain, though!

Training Schedule
Week 2: December 25th – December 31st

Sunday: 6 miles easy to steady.
Monday: Race Specific Run. 6 miles @ goal marathon pace.
Tuesday: 6 miles easy.
Wednesday: Threshold Run. 4 miles @ threshold pace + 8 x 400m @ 5K pace.
Thursday: 7 miles recovery + Hill Sprints.
Friday: Long Run. 16 miles easy.
Saturday: 6 miles easy (AM) + Fairfax Four Miler (PM).

Mileage Total: ~68 Miles

Adaptations.  This week, I front-loaded the hard workouts so I could run long on Friday and race on New Year’s Eve.  The only change I made was doing the hill sprints on Tuesday instead of Thursday.

Goal.  Fit in a 16 mile run before work on Friday. Outcome: Success!  I was pretty tired about midway through but I did it!

Workout Details

Race Specific Run.  6 miles @ goal marathon pace [Log Details].

Going into this workouts, I had my doubts about whether I could finish 6 miles straight given how hard last week’s broken workout felt.

The first few miles clicked off in the 7:45 range and I was shocked.  Don’t doubt yourself!, I thought.  On the way back, I slowed down a little, which was understandable – the downhills out became uphills going back.

I had been thinking of doing 7 miles at goal marathon pace next week, but now I’m thinking I can handle 8 miles as intervals.

Marathon pace segment=7:50.

Threshold Run. 4 miles @ threshold pace + 8x400m @ 5K pace [Log Details].

I ran a pretty brutal workout this morning – 4 miles @ threshold pace followed by 8 x 400m @ 5K pace.  The goal was to teach my body to run hard at the end of a workout.  It’s a little early in the schedule to throw this kind of quality in.  But, I’m racing on Saturday night and through I would split my interval workout.

The threshold pace part went fine.  I stayed well within the 8:05-8:25 pace range that I set for myself.  In fact, it was a little fast for most of the segment.

I really struggled during the interval segment.  I was completely gassed after the second repetition.  Somehow, I managed to run them all in the 6:40-6:55 range but only with taking complete rests between.

I finished the workout but thought 10K pace would have been more reasonable.

Threshold pace segment=8:13.  400m pace=6:53, 6:49, 6:46, 6:55, 6:41, 6:49, 6:42, 6:52.

Long Run. 16 miles easy [Log Details].

In order to fit in 16 miles on a work day, I ran into work.  I got a late start, though.  Leaving the house, I noticed my Garmin had a low battery.

I felt great at the start of the run.  I thought, Maybe I should go longer than 16… When I reached the detour on the Four Mile Trail, I decided to run along Glebe Road rather than going south through Arlandria.  It turns out the trail opened up again at the Metro bus parking lot.

I hit the Mount Vernon Trail and did a short jaunt south before heading north towards the City.  Suddenly, I felt the full force of the wind!  It felt about 10 degrees colder and it took a lot more effort to maintain the same pace.  The thought of running more than 16 miles quickly left my mind.  It was even worse through Hains Point, which always feels windy.

My Garmin finally died just before the 14 mile mark.  I think I kept the same pace for the final 2 miles, though.

I felt relief and exhaustion after the run.  I thought, How am I going to race tomorrow?

Overall pace=~8:37.

Fairfax Four Miler. 4 miles @ 10K pace [Log Details].

I did a recovery run in the morning to keep my mileage up.  I ate a hearty breakfast as soon as I got home, did a TENS treatment, and then put on my compression wear.  I put myself down for a nap at 2pm and woke up just before 4pm.  This year, I made sure that I put my bib on before leaving the car.  My friend and I did a short warm-up before the race.

I’ll post a full race report soon but I knew from the start that my legs were shot.  I took it pretty easy during the first three miles to make sure I could finish and then pushed the pace to the finish.  In the end, the pace was closer to half marathon than 10K.

Splits=7:36, 7:37, 7:33, 6:46. Overall pace=7:23.

 

Health

Injuries. I only had one chiropractic treatment this week – after Monday’s goal marathon pace workout.  On Tuesday, I was moving around in my office and heard my left hip go, POP!  I’ve been waiting to hear that noise for months!  My piriformis pain has been almost non-existent  since!

Weight. I did well with watching what I ate my weight hovered around 128 pounds.  I’d like to hit 126 pounds by the end of this base period.

Sleep.  Thanks to the Christmas holiday, I slept in on Sunday and Monday.  It was fantastic!

Weather

It was sunny on Christmas morning. I wore sunglasses and Capri pants!  But, temperatures were around 40 degrees for most of the week.  Rain moved in on Thursday.  And the wind picked up on Friday.

Racing Schedule

Future races.  I downloaded the map for the Eugene Marathon and the elevation profile so I could start breaking down the course.  It looks flat (and fast)!

Next race: 2017 Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon on March 12th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)