2017 New York City Marathon – Week 7

Five workouts this week: a threshold pace run, two medium runs, a general aerobic workout, and a long run!  Coupled with the weather, it was too much for me.  I hate it when a good week is followed by a bad one.

Training Schedule
August 13th – August 19th

Sunday: Recovery Run, 6 miles (AM) + Recovery Run. 4 miles (PM).
Monday: Lactate Threshold Run. 11 miles w/5 miles @ 15K to half marathon pace.
Tuesday: Medium-long Run. 15 miles.
Wednesday: Recovery Run. 7 miles.
Thursday: Medium-long Run. 13 miles.
Friday: General Aerobic Run + Speed. 8 miles w/10x100m strides.
Saturday: Long Run. 20 miles.

Mileage Total: ~84 Miles

Notes. I cut Thursday’s medium run and Friday’s general aerobic runs short due to fatigue. And the paces for all of the workouts were slower than desired due to heat.

Goal. Complete the mileage.  Outcome: Fail!  But, I managed to hit 80 miles for the week, which is still pretty good.

Workout Details

Lactate Threshold Run. 11 miles w/5 miles @ 15K to half marathon pace [Log Details].

My legs felt strong but last Saturday’s long run left me drained.

Four Mile Run Trail east of Shirlington re-opened recently so I decided to run my threshold run on that section and then head south on the Mount Vernon Trail.  During the first mile or two, my legs felt strong.  But, they quickly showed signs of strain.  At the turn-around point, I really wanted to stop but I wanted a true reflection of this day’s effort more.  I slowed down a little but not by much.  I finally ran out of energy during the last mile.  I felt a little woozy during the cool-down.  I ventured to a nearby park that I’ve passed dozens of times over the years and found a water fountain!

5 miles @ 15K to half marathon pace segment=8:13.  Overall pace=9:03.

Medium-long Run. 15 miles. [Log Details].

The last time I ran this route, I managed to salvage the run and give myself confidence.  I wasn’t so lucky this time.

When I woke up, I absolutely positively didn’t want to run.  I forced myself out the door and three miles in, I felt better.  At Gravelly Point, I played leap frog with another runner which led to me running a little harder than I wanted.  I stopped at the fountain near Roosevelt Island and realized sweat was streaming from my visor.  By then, it was also starting to rain a little.  I had a hard time pulling the hills on the Custis Trail.  At the Nelson Street water fountain, I actually sat down!  I thought about exit strategies, “Are there Metro stops or bus routes that would take me home?”  I sat down again at the W&OD Trail hook-up.  Utterly deflated, I thought, “What good is this doing me?”  I trudged along, though, and completed the workout.

Overall pace=9:38.

Medium-long Run. 13 miles 10.5 miles. [Log Details].

It’s amazing I even started this run, so it’s no surprise that I cut it short.

The run was pretty bad from the first steps.  My body felt depleted and sore from Tuesday’s workout and I hadn’t slept well the night before.  I decided to do an out-and-back on the W&OD Trail so I could turnaround whenever I wanted.  I made it out a little over six miles before heading back towards home.  I started dousing my head with cool water.  Feeling the warmed water seep down my back reminded me of this year’s Boston Marathon and it was somehow comforting.  During a stop in Bon Air Park, I hung onto a railing and focused on a small stream.  I was miserable.  After another mile or so, I called it quits.

Overall pace=9:22.

General Aerobic Run + Speed. 8 miles 6 miles w/10x100m strides [Log Details].

Some days, you have to cut your losses and think about salvaging future workouts.

I woke up feeling slightly better than the day before but in no way wanting to run “hard”.  What a disappointing week!  A mile into the run, I asked myself what it would take to salvage this training week for me.  I responded, “Running 80 miles” and after some math set out to run 6 easy miles before attempting a 20 miler the next day.  The first few strides were terribly stiff, but after a few under my belt, they felt better.  I almost felt like a runner again!

Overall pace=10:16.

 

 

 

 

 

Long Run. 20 miles [Log Details, Part 1/Log Details, Part 2].

“Discipline”.

Deflated by the week, as I left my house, I reminded myself, “This is what you do for fun.”  I kept the thought that I’m choosing whether to make this run tolerable or miserable in my head for the first six miles.  To keep the pace easy, my mantra was, “No sweat,” meaning I wanted to run so easy that I wasn’t even sweating.  But, I reduced that to, “Discipline.”  I get so excited to run fast too early in my longer runs.  Holding back was great practice for me.  Along the way, I drenched myself at every drinking fountain on my route, sought shade, and ate a Crank Sport e-Gel.  Based on how this week went, I was shocked that I finished this run.

Overall pace=9:44.

Health

Injuries.  Nothing was screaming at me, but I had a lot of general muscle fatigue.  My quadriceps were killing me this morning!

Sleep.  Despite being absolutely exhausted each day, I didn’t get a lot of sleep at night.  I was staying up late watching news and falling asleep with the television on, which led to me waking up in the middle of the night.

Weight. I barely finished this week’s workouts before 9am, which meant I was eating a heavy snack instead of a full breakfast most days.  Between the calorie deficit and dehydration, I lost a couple of pounds.

Weather

After a respite last week, the heat and humidity returned.  Morning temperatures were in the mid-70s with similar dew points.  It rained a little during my run on Tuesday.  It didn’t cool the region down, though.  It was hotter and soupier by the end of the week.

Racing Schedule

Next race: 2017 Dulles Day on the Runway 10K on Saturday, September 23rd. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)