CIM Training – Week 7

I had two tough workouts this week.  I did alright with the intervals on Monday even though I struggled a little in the middle.  But, I couldn’t pull off the goal marathon pace (GMP) tempo workout on Wednesday.  (“Again!“)  After a couple of miles, I decided to just run easy for the rest of the week and give my legs some rest before the Parks Half Marathon.  Otherwise, I felt a lot of “California Love” this week, (teaser for the full post).  But, most importantly, heat and humidity seems to be leaving the area!

The Details

The scheduled workouts for Week 7 were the same as Week 6 except for the speed workout.  Instead of 6 x 800m w/400m recoveries, the plan called for 12 x 400m w/200m recoveries.  Like last week, my other two workouts were a tempo run of 8 miles at goal marathon pace (GMP) and an 18 mile long run.  However, since I was planning to run the Parks Half Marathon the next Sunday, I wasn’t going to do the long run on Saturday.  In addition, the authors of my plan would probably recommend replacing my tempo run with an easy run.  But, I didn’t want to do a 5 day mini-taper during marathon training.  I planned to do the GMP workout as scheduled.

I continued to run injury free.  However, the training load and intensity left me feeling tired most days.  The weather was hot and humid through Thursday but conditions cooled down towards the end of the week.

12 x 400m @ 10K Pace w/200m Recoveries.
“‘Baby workouts’, huh?”

My first workout of the week was an interval workout on Monday.  The warm up and cool down were only supposed to be 2 miles.  It’s about 2.75 miles from home to the track.  So, rather than driving to the track and doing 2 miles there, I decided to just run from home.

The workout went pretty well.  The first few repetitions (“reps”) felt pretty easy.  But, by rep 3 or 4, I was already feeling a bit fatigued.  By the 5th or 6th rep, running goal 5K pace felt like a struggle.  I held on by taking more time during the recovery intervals.

Splits (Garmin): 1:41, 1:42, 1:41, 1:42, 1:45, 1:35, 1:41, 1:43, 1:40, 1:41, 1:41, 1:41.  Recovery times were 1:21 to 2:16.  (However, the longest rest period was because I stopped to talk with someone who recognized me.)

8 Miles at Goal Marathon Pace.
Live to fight another day.

Last week’s goal marathon pace workout did not go well.  I try to learn from mistakes and do things differently.  What did I want to do differently this week?

• Take the long view.   I may have put too much pressure on myself to hit my goal paces.  It’s probably more important for me to finish the workouts at this stage of the plan, than grinding myself into the ground this early in the plan.
• Lower expectations.  The temperatures have been in the upper 70s with dew points in the mid 70s.  It’s really hard to run well in those conditions.
• Change fueling.  Last week, I thought these tempo runs would be a good opportunity to try taking in fuel on my runs.  But, since hitting MP is such a challenge, it’s probably better to test that during long runs instead.  It’s one less thing to think about.

But, the workout was a bust.  The first mile was fine.  But, midway though the second, I knew I didn’t have it in me.  I felt on for another mile or so running at a pace that felt “hard”.  I hate to quit on workouts but by 4 miles in, I gave up and decided to save my legs for Parks.  I stopped and took a selfie.  Despite feeling terrible I told myself it was the end of summer:

I was disappointed but not deflated.  Other than my first marathon cycle, I’m not sure I’ve ever managed to consistently run goal or even actual marathon pace in workouts.  I think I just need to get some rest and I can rebound.

Overall pace for GMP: 7:46, 8:10, 8:38, 8:59, 9:15, 9:26, 9:16.  Average was 8:47.

Other Running-Related Activities

Gear and Nutrition.  I got my second Stridebox this week.

I haven’t tried anything from this box but I’m glad there’s more gear items than in last month’s box.  I tried some of the food items from that box and didn’t really like anything.  Probably because they were flavors I don’t like – cucumber, beet, and coconut.

And, I’m thinking of running CIM in my Brooks Pure Flows.  Out of all the shoes I bought this summer, I’m happiest with them when it comes to faster running.  I’m hoping to race in them tomorrow.

Song of the Week.  I like to include songs that are “tributes” to the city the race is being run for my marathon playlist.  This week, I listened to a lot of songs about California.  (I was born and mostly raised in the state for all but 4 years.)  It’s a song about the entire state but with several shout-outs to Sacramento (“Sac-town”).

“California Love,” by 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Roger.