Summer 2017 Training – Week 3

This week, if I was running, I was probably running hard!  I ran the Capitol Hill Classic 10K on Sunday, a fast 8 miler on Tuesday, some mile repeats on Wednesday, and a hard 12 miler on Friday.

Training Schedule
May 21st – May 27th

Sunday: Capitol Hill Classic 10K.
Monday: Off.
Tuesday: Maintenance Run. 8 miles moderate.
Wednesday: Lactate Threshold Run. 9 miles w/3 miles @ 15K to half marathon pace.
Thursday: 6 miles recovery.
Friday: Medium Run. 12 miles.
Saturday: Off.

Mileage Total: ~40 Miles

Notes.  I thought 40 miles would be a nice coming back to running number.  For the most part, I stuck to my schedule.  I changed Wednesday’s tempo run to an interval run.  Since it was raining Thursday morning, I took that day off and ran easy today instead.

I ran to the Marine Corps War Memorial (the “Iwo Jima Memorial”) in honor of the Memorial Day holiday weekend today.

Goals.  Run 40 miles for the week and lose 1 pound.  Outcome: Partial success!  I hit my mileage goal but didn’t reign in my diet as much as I hoped.

Workout Details

Capitol Hill Classic 10K.  [Race Report].

I almost pulled a “did not start” for the race since I hadn’t done a lot of running after the Eugene Marathon and the running I had done was pretty uninspired.  But, I took one step at a time that morning and showed up for the race.  Just before the start, I saw a friend who wanted company and we ran the race together.  It’s been a long time since I ran with someone stride for stride!  It was a lot of fun sharing the experience with someone else.

Time=48:25.  Overall pace=7:46.  Split paces=7:56, 7:48, 7:48, 7:46, 8:02, 7:35, 1:34 (6:29 pace). 

Maintenance Run. 8 miles moderate [Log Details].

Even though I ran a 10K two days before, I decided to run hard.  I felt pretty good during the first few miles.  Most of these early miles were uphill, so I was surprised when I looked at my Garmin and saw how fast I was running – sub-8:00 pace on hills is unusual for me.  I reached the Custis Trail after 3 miles and the terrain leveled out.  I stopped for water when I reached the W&OD Trail and assessed how I felt.  I thought I could keep the hard pace going.  By then, the route was mostly downhill and I was running under 7:45 pace!  The last mile and a half home were mostly uphill but I didn’t slow down by much.  When I got home and logged my run, I saw I missed a course PR by 6 seconds!

Average=7:46.

Lactate Threshold Run. 9 miles w/3 miles @ 15K to half marathon pace 3 x 1 mile @ 15K to half marathon pace [Log Details].

I woke up feeling great and looking forward to this workout!  I decided to run it along the Mount Vernon Trail.  It would be my steps on that trail in about a month and I sort of missed it.  Perhaps I was too enthusiastic because I went out a little hard during the warm-up – low 8:00 pace.  A mile into the tempo segment, I knew I had pushed too hard and decided to take a 2 minute walk break.  I was upset with myself that I went out too fast, but I thought 5K-10K pace workout was just as good as a threshold effort right now.

I ran the second and third repetitions pretty strong, too.  I concluded perhaps I’m just having trouble figuring out faster paces right now.  It wasn’t the workout I’d planned but it might have been a better one.

Splits=7:28, 7:29, 7:20.  Average=7:26.

Medium Run.  [Log Details].

By Friday, I was tired and didn’t want to run but forced myself out of the door so I could keep my weekly mileage up.  I felt better than I expected during the first mile.  The second mile was mostly uphill and I didn’t fade as much as I expected.  I thought, Maybe this run wouldn’t be so bad after all.  On the downhill through Clarendon, I was enjoying the sights of the neighborhood waking up until a newspaper almost hit me!  I made my way to the Custis Trail through Rosslyn and ran well on the Lee Highway hill.  I stopped for water just after the 6 mile mark, the junction for the W&OD Trail, and at Columbia Pike.  I didn’t stay long, though.  I wanted to work on speed and endurance.  It wasn’t a course PR effort, but it was pretty close to some of my best times.

Overall pace=8:11.

Health

Injuries.  Physically, I felt pretty good this week.  With all the hard running, I had some general muscle fatigue.  And, my piriformis was irritated after the hard efforts on Wednesday and Friday.  It wasn’t a sharp pain, though.  It was more like lingering discomfort.  I have an appointment with the chiropractor next week.

Weight.  One of my goals this week was to lose one pound.  Last Saturday, I weighed in 128.9.  And today…  I was 128.4.  I’m a half pound down.  Not very impressive but it’s a start.

Weather

The weather has been a big motivator for getting me out the door every morning.  It was fairly pleasant for most of the week with temperatures in the high 50s.  It poured rain on Thursday morning, though.  Each day, it gets a little more humid.  Summer is coming.

Racing Schedule

Future races.  I updated my racing schedule page to reflect the races I plan to do this summer before I start training for the New York City Marathon in early July.

Next race: 2017 Alexandria Running Festival Half Marathon on Sunday, May 28th – tomorrow! (My Complete Racing Schedule.)

What do you consider maintenance level mileage?