2020 Boston Marathon – Week 3
I returned from Tampa, Florida very early on Sunday morning, slept for a few hours, and then completed a 12 miler in the rain. Two days later, I ushered in the new year by running the 2020 New Day New Year’s 10K.
Training Schedule
December 29th – January 4th
Sunday: Long Run. 11 miles, easy to moderate w/hills if possible
Monday: Easy Run. 6 miles w/hill bounds
Tuesday: 2019 Fairfax Four Miler
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Marathon-pace Run. 4 x 1 mile @ goal marathon pace w/400m jog recoveries
Friday: Easy Run. 6 miles
Saturday: Easy Run. 6 miles w/strides
Total: ~40.75 Miles
Notes. I left work late on Tuesday and missed the 2019 Fairfax Four Miler. I ran 4 miles easy that night and ran the 2020 New Day New Year’s 10K the next morning.
Workouts
Long Run. 12 miles, easy to moderate w/hills [Log Details]
My flight from Tampa, Florida was delayed and I didn’t get to bed until 2 am on Sunday morning! I woke up tired but determined to stay on schedule. The temperature was 50 degrees and raining.
9:35a: Showers now moving into the DMV from the W and SW. They’ll expand E and NE across the rest of the area during the next 30-45 min. pic.twitter.com/HJoFh4QUFB
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) December 29, 2019
From home, I ran uphill two miles to the Clarendon neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. On the way, my mind was cluttered with all the things I needed to do now that I was home from vacation. But, I was running well. On the long downhill to Rosslyn, I averaged 8:20 pace.
Then, I hooked up with the Custis Trail. On Lee Highway, my pace slowed to 9:30, which was fast for that hill! I downed a Gatorade Endurance Energy Gel (Blackberry). The consistency was so thin that it went down quickly. Still, I rinsed it down with a lot of water.
Soon, I met up with the W&OD Trail. Despite the rain, there were still people playing disc golf in Bluemont Park. The conditions were miserable though and thoughts of the 2018 Boston Marathon entered my head at points. I got my pace down to 8:45, though, before heading home for a very slow cool-down.
Overall pace=9:15.
2020 New Day New Year 5K [Log Details] [Race Report]
On New Year’s Eve, I normally run the Fairfax Four Miler but I left work late on Tuesday evening and knew I wouldn’t make it to the race start on time. I perused a RunWashington article on New Year’s Day races and decide to run the New Day New Year 10K on Wednesday morning instead that starts at House 6 Brewing.
The night before, I ran four miles easy and had a big plate of spaghetti for dinner before meeting a friend for a couple of drinks. According to Garmin Connect, I was asleep a minute after midnight!
Wednesday Digit – 6/10: Bright and a bit breezy as we start the new year slightly cooler, yet still topping out above average. -Dan, CWG
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 1, 2020
I’ve been feeling run-down since September, so my goal was just to have a good race under my belt.
I ran strong during the early miles. Spotify went out on me so I only had about 20 minutes of music. I weakened after battling a headwind during the middle miles. I recovered during the last mile and finished fast. My time was 50:16 (8:04 pace), which was my slowest 10K in 15 years! The course, while nondescript, wasn’t too technical so I would run this race again.
Time=50:16. Overall pace=8:04.
Easy Run. 6 miles w/strides [Log Details]
On this day, I wanted to go a little further than my LHR Virtual Boston Training Group schedule prescribed to end the week with 42 miles total. But, I wanted to keep the pace easy because I had a long run the next day. I also wanted to revisit the location where I had an attack of exhaustion months earlier so I ran north and uphill to the Custis Trail. It was such a lovely day that I wore shorts!
After the run, I did some strides before heading home content that I’m well enough to train harder.
Overall pace=10:03.
Cross-Training
Beginner Pilates with Caroline Sandry – Episode 3. The LHR Virtual Boston Training Group coach, Luke Humphrey, cautioned us runners against adding too many new things into our routine this early in the schedule. But, “New Year, New You!,” right? So, I chose this week to add pilates to my workout schedule. I searched Amazon Prime Video for a beginner pilates workout and settled on this one after reading Caroline Sandry is a runner. (Just in time for New Year’s resolutions, Amazon Prime Video is offering a one-week trial on Yoga and Fitness TV, which is normally $5.99/month.) I just did this one, 20-minute workout. My abs were sore for the next few days!
Routes
Construction. Arlington Boulevard Trail. Construction wrapped up on a small section of this trail that leads from my neighborhood to the western part of the county. In the coming months, there will be a series of public meetings on making further changes that might make this route safer.
(My Guide to Washington D.C. Area Running Routes)
Racing Schedule
Future races. The New York Road Runners (NYRR) sent out an email notifying past participants that they would be recalculating everyone’s “best pace” for race seeding. Going forward, a runner’s expected pace would be based on a race from the past two years. For me, that means the NYRR will use my 7:33 pace from the 2018 New York City Marathon for this year’s race.
Next race: 2020 DCRRC JFK 20K on Saturday, January 18th. When I created my 2020 Boston Marathon training plan a few weeks ago, my goal for this race was 1:36:32 (7:46 pace) but after the 2020 New Day New Year 10K that seems like a stretch right now.
(My Racing Schedule)
