2017 Eugene Marathon Training – Week 3

Brrr!  It got cold this week.  It snowed overnight Thursday and again today.  My piriformis pain returned but it wasn’t severe.  I ran two hard workouts this week – a 12 miler with some half marathon and marathon pace miles on Thursday, and an 18 mile long run today.

Training Schedule
Week 3: January 1st – January 7th

Sunday: Recovery run. 6 miles.
Monday: General aerobic run. 4 miles easy to steady + 4 miles @ threshold pace.
Tuesday: Speed support run. 4 x 1 mile @ 10K pace + 8 x 400m @ 5K pace.
Wednesday: Easy run. 7 miles + Hill Sprints.
Thursday: Tempo run. 2 miles @ half marathon pace + 3 x 2 miles @ marathon pace.
Friday: Recovery run. 8 miles.
Saturday: Long Run. 18 miles steady.

Mileage Total: ~69 Miles

Adaptations.  I didn’t plan properly and couldn’t fit in Tuesday’s speedwork before or after my morning chiropractic appointment.  But, this is my base building phase, so I didn’t sweat it.  Otherwise, I stayed pretty close to schedule.

Goal.  Complete 18 miler without stopping for rest breaks.  Outcome: Success!  I stopped to take a picture, for water, and cars that don’t understand the concept of yielding; but not due to fatigue.

Workout Details

General aerobic run. 4 miles easy to steady + 4 miles @ threshold pace [Log Details].

Trail Signage – 01072017

Thanks to the New Year’s Holiday, I could sleep in!  I didn’t start this run until close to 10:30am.  The warm-up was mostly uphill.  I was able to keep the pace comfortable, though.

I started the threshold pace segment on the Custis Trail on one of the steep uphills near Ballston.  This meant I was slower than goal pace from the start.  My Garmin kept alerting me that I was running too slowly.  I pushed harder.  Due to the terrain, I knew I was running harder than threshold and closer to half marathon or 10K effort.  I was finally in pace range at the ~3.5 mile mark.

I had a relaxing cool-down home.

Threshold pace segment=8:22.

Tempo Run. 2 miles @ half marathon pace + 3 x 2 miles @ marathon pace
[Log Details].

I took me a while to get my clothing and gear together since it was cold and dark.  I also decided to carry a handheld with water since I was going over 12 miles.

The warmup was uphill but I kept the pace super slow.  I was expending a lot of extra energy fussing with my water bottle and mittens, though.  The half marathon pace segment was on suburban streets which was poorly planned since I had to stop for lights and really watch my footing.  My left hip, which was feeling better, was a little angry during the uphills.  The marathon pace segments were on the Custis and Mount Vernon Trails.  I never found a good rhythm and while I hit goal pace for the first two repetitions, I faded hard during the third.

When it was over, I couldn’t decide if the workout itself was too hard, or if I did well considering the terrain wasn’t completely flat.

Split paces=7:36 (half marathon); 7:45, 7:57, 8:08 (marathon).

Long Run.  [Log Details].

I headed out early (for me) to beat the expected snow.  I listened to music during my warm-up to get pumped but then switched to a podcast to keep the pace easy.  My quads were sore from the workouts this week.

The first ~6 miles of the course I planned was uphill on the W&OD and Custis trails.  I tried to just keep the effort easy and not worry about pace.  The first podcast I listened to talked about understanding why you run so I thought about that for a while.  It’s 20 degrees and snow flurries keep flying into my eyes.  Why am I out here?

I reached the Mount Vernon Trail and was happy for the short break navigating the “intersection of doom“.  I was running just a few steps behind the woman for 2 or 3 miles and finally quickened the pace to pass her.  I wondered if it was foolish but felt okay.  I stopped at the water fountain near the airport at 12.8 miles.  It was turned off!  It was working last week!

Snow – 01072017

The final stretch of this long run was on the Four Mile Run Trail.  I was pretty tired and at this point, running into ~15 mph winds.  I really wanted to keep my overall pace under 9 minutes and pushed myself to run harder but not hard.  Satisfied that I would make my goal, I let up on the cool-down home.

I felt satisfied that I completed the 18 miles without stopping out of fatigue.  (An hour after the run, it finally started snowing.)

Overall pace=8:58.

 

 

Health

Injuries. My piriformis pain returned on Monday.  It wasn’t severe but my hope from last week that I was cured vanished.  I had chiropractic treatments on Tuesday and Friday.  My hip didn’t hurt during today’s long run, so that still felt like progress.

Weight. New Year’s Eve and a skipped run led to weight swings at the beginning of the week.  I got back on track by Wednesday but my weight really didn’t budge.

Sleep.  I had some sleeplessness on Tuesday night but made up for it on Wednesday into Thursday.  Otherwise, I slept pretty well.

Weather

It was cold early in the week – below 50 degrees and windy.  Then, the region had its first sub-freezing day of the winter on Thursday.  That night, flurries came down but nothing stuck to the road.  It snowed again today but I got my run in before it got slick.

Racing Schedule

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