2018 New York City Marathon – Week 17

Only two workouts this week as my marathon taper started in earnest – a 17 mile long run on Sunday and 3×1 mile intervals on Thursday.  As the temperature continued to drop, my training paces followed suit.  I also took care of a last-minute hurdle – a jury duty summons.

Training Schedule
October 21st – October 27th

Sunday: Long Run. 17 miles
Monday: Off
Tuesday: General Aerobic Run + Speed. 7 miles w/8x100m strides
Wednesday: Recovery Run. 4 miles
Thursday: VO2Max Run. 8 miles w/3x1600m @ 5K race pace
Friday: Recovery Run. 5 miles
Saturday: Recovery Run + Speed. 6 miles w/8x100m strides

Mileage Total: ~47 Miles

Notes. I wanted to run easy on Monday but resisted the urge and took the off day.  Instead, I focused on running my workouts hard and my recovery days easy.

Workout Details

Long Run. 17 miles [Log Details]

I started the morning with a message from my Garmin that my training status was “unproductive”.  I already doubted my ability to run well because I had just run the Roosevelt Island Parkrun the day before but wanted to have a good final long run before the 2018 New York City Marathon.

And, the weather was less than ideal.  A storm came through the night before and the winds were whipping at a sustained 10-25 miles per hour with 30 mph gusts!  I tried to wait for them to calm down but finally left the house at around 11:30am.

From home, I essentially ran the “Arlington Loop” only I took a shorter route to the Custis Trail rather than the W&OD.  These early miles were uphill and I settled into a nice 8:45 pace.  After a half hour of running, I lowered the pace to 8:30 through the rolling hills of the Custis Trail.  Then, on the flat Mount Vernon Trail, I knocked 15 seconds/mile off my pace again.  The run was turning into a very nice progression.

At Gravelly Point, I really pushed the pace and hovered around 8 minutes even for the next 5.5 miles, including running into the wind on the Four Mile Run Trail.

I couldn’t be happier with my last long run.  It was so hot this summer that most of my endurance runs were slow.  Running a speedy 17 miler was great for my confidence.

Overall pace=8:22.

VO2Max Run. 8 miles w/3x1600m @ 5K race pace [Log Details].

I woke up tired because I went to a program at the Library of Congress on music and exercise the evening before and didn’t get home until late.

After a two-mile warm-up to the Four Mile Run Trail, I started the first 1-mile repetition near a construction area but luckily there wasn’t a lot of activity at this point in the morning.  I didn’t check my watch during the first repetition.  It felt comfortable and came in at 7:06.   Having raced a 5K days before, I knew the pace should be around 7:18, though.  The second repetition was on the Mount Vernon Trail, out-and-back to the Washington Marina.  Again, I didn’t monitor the pace but came in at 7:08.  The final repetition was back on the Four Mile Run Trail.  My splits are almost always slow on this section because it’s always into any, but my last split was as fast as the first!

The workout didn’t feel particularly taxing, which I decided was a great sign.  And, I ran even 5K race pace without monitoring my splits!

1600m repetitions=7:06, 7:08, 7:06. Average pace=7:06.

Health

Injuries. Last week’s pain in my right hip went away but I had mild irritation from both piriformis muscles this week.

Sleep.  Instead of going to bed early so I could catch up on sleep, I stayed up late most nights.  (On one of those nights, I finished  Guide to the New York City Marathon.)

Weather

Winds whipped me around during Sunday’s long run – they were sustained 10-25 miles per hour and gusts reached 25-30.  Temperatures were mostly in the 50s but dipped into the mid-30s on Thursday.

Racing Schedule

Future races.  A few weeks ago, I got a jury duty summons for the Thursday before the New York City Marathon!  I requested and was granted a deferral until December.  Phew!

I don’t like finishing a goal race without another challenge in mind.  I thought about running the 48-hour race in Across the Years but couldn’t get excited about doing another ultra-marathon.  So, I’m looking at spring marathons.  I’m already signed up for the 2019 Boston Marathon in April and was thinking about doing the Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon in March.,  But, I have my eye on the 2019 Cleveland Marathon on Sunday, May 19th as my goal race.

Runner rankings. Potomac River Running’s Regional Runner Rankings – Summer 2018.  I didn’t make the list for my age group (45-49 years old) – probably because I only ran the 2018 Crofton 10K during the time frame.

Next race: 2018 New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 4th! (My Complete Racing Schedule.)