November 17 - 30 Training

November 17 - 23

Mom: AM – 6 miles easy (7:34)

Tue: 8.2 miles eas with 6x30s pick-ups

Wed: AM – 9.5 miles with 14x60s on/off.  Weather was crap – cold (39 deg) and rainy.  Ran the fartlek on rolling terrain with the on portion at 10K effort and the off portion moderate.  Averaged 5:20 and 6:30 for the on/off portions.  PM – Skipped run. Traveled through a winter storm for the Thanksgiving weekend.  

Thu: 6.4 miles easy (7:06). Lots of snow in Lexington MA, but as expected the roads were cleared.  

Fri: 12 miles with 5 miles moderate at 6:35-6:30 followed by 5 miles at MP 5:50-5:55. The 5 miles moderate (32:30 – 6:30 pace) felt comfortable. The next 5 miles at MP felt controlled, but not as smooth as I’d hoped for.  Splits for the MP portion were 5:47, 5:48, 5:54, 5:49, 5:50 (34:08 – 5:50 pace). 

Sat: 8 miles easy (7:12)

Sun: 15 miles long run (6:54). Ran out (52:30) and back (50:48) on the Minuteman Trail.  Pretty amazing that the trail was cleared of snow.  There were some slick spots from black ice but nothing to worry about.  

Weekly Total: 65.1 miles on 7 runs/7 days

One week down one more to go.  Legs are starting to freshen up from the decrease in volume.  

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November 23 - 30

Mon: AM – 8.3 miles with 4x30s pick-ups (7:00);  PM – 4.2 miles easy (7:05)

Tue: AM – 11.5 miles with 4 mile Tempo (22:34 – 5:38 pace) and 4x400m uphill sprints.  Plan was to run the 4M tempo at 5:35 pace and the 400m uphill sprints at about mile effort.  It was so cold (12deg RealFeel) I considered running the tempo on the treadmill.  However, I manned up and ran the tempo on the track.  The tempo was tougher than I thought it should have felt.  The 1st mile (5:36) was okay, but I didn’t feel smooth.  The next couple miles (5:43, 5:41) were a struggle.  I actually thought about cutting the workout short because I wasn’t hitting my splits.  I toughed out the last mile and ran a 5:33.  The 400m uphill sprints were just brutal.  I thought that I'd feel the wobbly legs on the last 2 reps, but experienced it in all of them.  400m uphill splits were 1:28, 1:34, 1:30, and 1:38.   PM - 4.2 miles easy (7:05)

Wed: AM - 10 miles easy (6:58); PM - 4.3 miles easy (7:11)

Thu: AM - 6.5 miles easy (7:29); PM - 4 miles easy (7:20)

Fri: AM - 16.2 miles with 2x6 miles at 5:50-5:55 pace. First 6-mile segment felt tougher than the 2^nd segment.  Splits were: 35:20 (5:55, 5:52, 5:54, 5:52, 5:53, 5:54) – 5:53 avg pace, and 34:57 (5:50, 5:51, 5:48, 5:49, 5:51, 5:49) – 5:50 avg pace.  PM – 3.5 miles easy (7:23)

Sat: AM – 6.5 miles easy (7:13); PM – 4 miles easy (7:28)

Sun: 20 miles long run (6:48). Ran comfortably to get in the distance.  The first 13 miles were on rolling and the last 7 fairly flat.  Felt like I was jogging in the late miles.  

Weekly Total: 103.2 miles on 13 runs/7 days.  

It was my last tough week of training for CIM.  It was also the first week of 100+ miles during this training cycle.  I think the last time I logged 100+ miles in one week was about a year ago. 

October 20-26 Training

Mon: AM - 6.8 miles with 6x30s pick-ups (7:12); PM - 4.2 miles easy (7:25)

Tue: AM - 14 miles with 10mile (61:15) MP workout. Goal was to start out at 6:15 pace and work my way down to 6:00.  This was my first marathon specific workout in this training cycle and I wasn't sure how it'll feel at altitude.  Workout turned out great. Splits were 6:14, 6:14, 6:12, 6:12, 6:08, 6:07, 6:04, 6:04, 6:01, 5:59. PM - 3.5 miles easy (7:28)

Wed: AM - 10 miles easy (6:59); PM - 4.2 miles (7:20)

Thu: 8.3 miles easy (7:07)

Fri: 8.5 miles including 3x1mile with 3:00 rec. Plan was to run the mile repeats alternating between 75 and 80 second laps.  Didn't have access to a track so I ran the workout on a 1/4 mile loop on the roads.  It was tough to feel the switching of gears because it all felt fast.  Splits were: 5:04 (73, 77, 74, 80), 5:06 (74, 78, 75, 79), and 5:06 (75, 80, 73, 78). Very pleased with this workout at altitude.  PM - 4.2 miles easy (7:25)

Sat: 21 miles long run (6:53). First 6 miles were nice and easy around 7:00ish and then 6:45-6:50ish for the remaining 15 miles.  Glycogen-depleting long run. Ran the entire 21 miles without taking in any fuel or fluids.  I also didn't stop at all during the run, even at intersections (could only be acheived when running at 3:30am).   

Sun: AM - 5 miles easy (7:24); PM - 4.2 miles easy (7:16)

Weekly Total: 94 miles on 12 runs/7 days.

It was the first week of incorporating marathon-specific workouts in preparation for CIM.  I actually enjoy marathon-specific workouts because it not only gives me confidence, but it also gives me a good idea of where I'm at in my marathon fitness.  So far, the fitness is looking good and I expect good things to happen in 6 weeks.