2017 Eugene Marathon Training – Week 6

This was the final week of my base building phase!  Once again, I hit all my pace and mileage goals.  Feeling fit, fast, and fierce!  (In that order.)  Now, I’ll work on developing some speed endurance through longer workouts just slower than marathon pace.

Training Schedule
Week 6: January 22nd – January 28th

Sunday: Easy run. 6 miles.
Monday: Aerobic run. 12 miles w/4 miles @ half marathon pace & 4 miles & threshold pace.
Tuesday: Interval run. 4 x 1200m @ 10K pace + 6 x 800m @ 5K pace.
Wednesday: Recovery run. 6 miles + hill sprints.
Thursday: Tempo run. 14 miles w/10 miles @ marathon pace.
Friday: Recovery run. 6 miles.
Saturday: Long Run. 22 miles easy.

Mileage Total: ~75 Miles

Adaptations.  Sunday’s recovery run turned into an easy run and I added strides.  Then, I ran with a club on Tuesday and did their workout.  I didn’t feel great on Wednesday morning so I cut that workout short.  And, I only did 9 miles @ marathon pace on Thursday.  Looking back at my plan, I’m pretty close to where I wanted to be.

Goal. Complete a 22 miler.  Outcome: Success if 21.87 miles counts.

Workout Details

Aerobic Run.  12 miles w/4 miles @ half marathon pace & 4 miles & threshold pace 11 miles w/5 x (0.25 mi. @ half marathon pace, 1 mile @ threshold pace) [Log Details].

I was introduced to “alteration workouts” by a fellow runner from RunningAhead.  In short, the workout involves alternating intervals of running slightly faster than lactate threshold pace and slightly slower.  For this workout, I planned to do repetitions of running a quarter mile @ half marathon pace (7:20-7:35) followed by a mile @ threshold pace (8:05-8:25).

What’s your favorite unconventional workout?

It was raining and extremely windy – steady at 22-28 mph w/33-40 mph gusts!  I started the workout in the city and therefore couldn’t run very fast due to pedestrians and cars.  Plus, it was dark and I couldn’t see my watch to gauge my speed.  Once I was on the deserted Mount Vernon Trail, during the threshold part of the second set, I settled into the run.  Still, I ran by effort and mostly stayed on pace.

I enjoyed this workout.  It was challenging but not impossible.  I think I’ll do a longer version as my tempo run as I entered the next phase of my training.

Split paces=7:12/8:10 (set 1), 9:04/8:14 (set 2), 7:33/8:25 (set 3), 7:40/8:17 (set 4), 7:36/8:31 (set 5).  Mean=7:37/8:19.

Interval Run. 4 x 1200m @ 10K pace + 6 x 800m @ 5K pace 6 x 800m @ 5K pace [Log Details].

Encouraged by my ability to hang on last week, I ran with a club again for my interval workout this week.

During the workout, I didn’t know what pace we were running the repeats and tried to stay just behind the two women who were ahead of me last week.  The first three were fine.  But on the fourth, we ran into the wind on the southwest side of Hains Point.  Heading back, the fifth interval was more like the others.  I didn’t have much left for the last repetition.

I didn’t have strong feelings about this workout.  But, the splits weren’t bad considering I wasn’t targeting a specific pace.

Split paces=7:15, 6:47, 6:44, 7:06, 6:44, 7:01.  Mean=6:55.

Tempo Run.  [Log Details].

For this week’s tempo run, I decided to do the same workout as last week.  I felt terrible when I woke up but the 50 degree temperature motivated me to get out of bed.

I ran a relaxed warmup.  The marathon pace segments started on rolling hills and my Garmin was telling me I was slow.  I wasn’t discouraged, though.  I thought, “This is about how much you slowed on the hills in Boston.”  I ate a few Sports Beans while I waited at the “Intersection of Doom”.  I wanted the energy but not the post-run caffeine crash.  Once I was on the flat Mount Vernon Trail, my pace settled around 7:50.  It was slower than last week but I felt like I was running “better”.

Marathon segment pace=7:59.  Overall pace=8:28.

Long Run. 22 miles easy [Log Details].

The warm-up was pretty swift.  I bought some new songs on iTunes before the run and “Play That Song,” by Train was adding some pep to my step.

Have you listened to a song over and over again during a run?  If so, what song?

I switched to a podcast to slow myself down.  The damage was already done, though, because I started fading around National Airport.  I stopped for water – the fountain was on today.  “This is way too early to feel this bad,” I thought.  But, I just kept plugging along.  By the time I was on the upper part of the Mount Vernon Trail, my gait was really just a shuffle.

On the Custis Trail, I was seriously slogging during the rolling hill section.  I stopped at the water fountain, even though it was turned off, under the guise of switching my iPod to music.  But, I also needed to convince myself that I needed to get over whatever was going on here.  Sure enough, once I reached the W&OD Trail, I felt a second wind and found I was running just as fast as when I started.

My base is built!  On to the next stage – focusing a more on speed.

Overall pace=8:49.

Health

Injuries.  This week, I had my chiropractor appointments on Wednesday and Friday.  I asked about cutting my appointments down to once a week and the doctor was fine with that.  Hooray!  And, my piriformis didn’t really hurt during or after Thursday’s tempo run or Saturday’s long run.

Weight.  My goal was to weigh 126 pounds by the end of the base period.  This morning, I was 128.8 pounds.  That’s only a half-pound weight loss in 6 weeks.  Whatever.  I’m feeling fit and running well so I’m not going to worry about that number.

Weather

My run on Monday was miserable – rain and sustained 22-28 mph winds with 33-40 mph gusts!  On Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures were around 40 degrees.  By Thursday, it was warm enough to run in shorts!  But, the weather chilled by the end of the week.  In general, it’s been a mild winter so far.

Racing Schedule

Next race: 2017 Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon on March 11th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)  I heard on the radio that the start for the half marathon has moved to 8:30am.  The marathoners might feel lonelier than usual.