Week -3 is finished, so I'm officially tapering. I'm almost surprised that I made it this far. My total alcohol consumption in 2019 was like 3 beers and 2 glasses of wine, all in early January. I ran 743 miles in less than three months. I don't know if this made me ready, but I can honestly say that I put in the work. I also increased my VDOT by quite a bit, and theoretically, on a good day, it may be enough for a 3-hour marathon in Boston.
The week was alright, if not spectacular. I ran a 5 x 1200 on Wednesday. My legs felt tired, and it was a somewhat windy evening, and the workout was OK, but not great. Splits were 4:19, 4:20, 4:23, 4:23, 4:21, and it was rather hard, especially the last two reps. (The goal was 4:21, which corresponds to Daniels's 55 VDOT.) I think the main difficulty with this workout is its position in the training plan. I was playing catch-up with recovery... Lots of miles, then a 10K on Saturday, a 17-miler on Sunday (legs are done), the I get a rest day on Monday, and I can "recover" with 6 + 4 miles on Tuesday. Just rested enough to do the workout on Wednesday, but not rested enough to do it easily. Plus a 5 x 1200 is probably the hardest VO2max workout in existence. Oh, and do finish 11 miles for the day. Oh, and the following day you go and run 14 miles.
After two easier days the last 20-miler was waiting for me on Sunday. The weather was good and I felt great. I pushed it a bit and finished it at 7:23 pace with a 6:55 last mile.
I read yesterday that to be well-prepared for a marathon, one necessary condition is that the sum of your longest five runs should total 100 miles. (I'm sure this is just an arbitrary metric, but I was curious what coaches think about the number of length of long runs.) I added up mine: 22+ 21 + 20 + 20 + 18 = 101. But I think what counts more is the many 18-17 milers I had that I didn't count here, and those many freaking 13-15-mile midweek runs. I hope they do they magic on race day!
Monday, March 25
Wednesday, March 20
Week -4:
On Tuesday I started with 5x600 at the track. I accidentally messed up the second interval, running 700 meters instead (this is what happens when one tries to run 300 meters recoveries), so I ran only 500 for the next one. Altogether, the splits were 2:09, 2:27 (700), 1:50 (500), 2:11, 2:10, for a 2:09/600 meter average. That's actually slightly fast: correct pace would have been 2:10-2:11. I took it as a good sign just two days after the 14 miles at marathon pace. My legs were definitely tired for this workout.
Wednesday I ran a 14-miler, which I managed just fine, but my legs were trashed from cumulative fatigue. I was trying madly to recover on following two days, though I had a brutal fire training on Thursday. I was full of doubt for my Saturday tune-up race, but it went well, though due to the nature of the race I got no indication on my fitness.
I finished the week with a 17-miler, where I got dehydrated again... Why does this keep happening? I run like newbie. I still finished the run with a decent average pace, but I slowed a lot for the last three miles.
I'm ready for my last hard week. I have 5x1200 today. Not looking forward to the pain...
On a different note, there will be not tune-up race two weeks out. I'll be at a workshop in Michigan. I'll try to get in a 6-mile LT run on Saturday instead. If it doesn't work out, I might shift the days there. (It may actually be a good idea to do the day shift there, regardless.)
On Tuesday I started with 5x600 at the track. I accidentally messed up the second interval, running 700 meters instead (this is what happens when one tries to run 300 meters recoveries), so I ran only 500 for the next one. Altogether, the splits were 2:09, 2:27 (700), 1:50 (500), 2:11, 2:10, for a 2:09/600 meter average. That's actually slightly fast: correct pace would have been 2:10-2:11. I took it as a good sign just two days after the 14 miles at marathon pace. My legs were definitely tired for this workout.
Wednesday I ran a 14-miler, which I managed just fine, but my legs were trashed from cumulative fatigue. I was trying madly to recover on following two days, though I had a brutal fire training on Thursday. I was full of doubt for my Saturday tune-up race, but it went well, though due to the nature of the race I got no indication on my fitness.
I finished the week with a 17-miler, where I got dehydrated again... Why does this keep happening? I run like newbie. I still finished the run with a decent average pace, but I slowed a lot for the last three miles.
I'm ready for my last hard week. I have 5x1200 today. Not looking forward to the pain...
On a different note, there will be not tune-up race two weeks out. I'll be at a workshop in Michigan. I'll try to get in a 6-mile LT run on Saturday instead. If it doesn't work out, I might shift the days there. (It may actually be a good idea to do the day shift there, regardless.)
Saturday, March 16
E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park: 27th Irish Classic 10K Race Report
Goal: Just race hard, for position, if possible.
This race looked like the perfect tune-up 10K for this weekend. Pfitzinger's 18/70 marathon plan includes three tune-up races, 6 weeks out, 4 weeks out, and 2 weeks out. I never ran all three, because in my busy life it is hard to even get in one or two tune-up races, so usually the race must be near, and there must be no family program that day; the race must be the right distance and preferably similar style to the marathon.
Well, this was announced as "mixed surface", including asphalt, gravel, trail, and grass field. The asphalt portion was about 1/4 of the distance, and the rest (especially the trail and grass) was quite treacherous this morning: frosty, slippery grass, deep mud, puddles. That is especially fun going uphill! So the style of the race didn't match after all, but the other variables were present: all-in-all I'm happy I ran it. However, that explains why time goals would not have been appropriate.
It was a small race, and thank god, they started at 9am, not 8. It was cold: about 30 F, but coming out of winter this is perfect racing temperature. I had some trouble starting the car in the morning, so I was 12 minutes "late" arriving at 8:12. I picked up my packet, put on my racing gear, went to the bathroom, and started warming up at 8:34. I did two miles of jogging checking out early parts of the course. I stepped into a deep puddle right away that soaked my shoes, but it didn't really bother me later. I felt rather tired during the warmup. In fact cumulative fatigue has been bothering me for some days, and on top of that, we had a pretty brutal fire training on Thursday that left me with aching muscles all over my body.
Just ten minutes after I finished my warmup, I lined up in the front and we started the race right on time at 9:00.
Four people got away immediately. Somebody (I think) in a blue shirt, shorts, quite fast, started to lead. Another guy (his name is Mike) in a white shirt saying "Team Mubea" on it. I noticed him before the race: he had quite a ritual, e.g. he greased his legs (or put some kind of cream on them). Good or bad, he obviously took the race pretty seriously. In the third place, another guy who wore the race shirt. That usually means less serious runner, but sometimes they can surprise you. I settled in fourth place.
I tried to be a bit conservative knowing the treacherous trails and hills ahead, but those four started quite fast, so I decided to follow them. Right after the start (like in 50 meters) we went from the asphalt parking lot to the gravel. After running maybe 0.2 miles on the gravel, we changed to grass, and that slowed us down quite a bit. The top three started to pull apart, but I was right behind the third place guy. We ran like this for a while. His pace was just fine for me: maybe just a bit faster than lactate threshold. He was more muscular than me, and we were climbing a bit, plus add the race shirt: I figured I should be able to beat him later for a podium finish.
Mile 1: 6:44
We reached the top of that gentle slope at around the mile marker (though no real markers were on the course). On the gentle downhill, I started to feel that he was slowing. This is the age old question: how much are you willing to slow, risking that somebody behind you is catching up. I didn't wait very long. We arrived to an asphalt road and I put in a strong attack (on a slight downhill). I left him in no time. Fortunately Mike was not very far ahead, and not excessively fast either, so I could "pace" after him, following him at a distance of 50-100 yards.
We left the asphalt quickly and we were back on the muddy trails: a downhill portion that you can't enjoy because of the surface. Soon I noticed that I was starting to catch up to Mike. I didn't mind that at all, of course. I caught him at around 1.8 miles. I deliberately didn't pass him. I think he expected that I would, so he looked a bit confused. His breathing sounded very labored, while I was still relatively relaxed.
Mile 2: 6:33
The next portion was quite hilly (up and down). I could have used some cross country spikes, but then what do you do on the asphalt? I followed Mike, and I noticed that it felt easy to do that. He did a good job though pacing the uphills (I may have overexerted myself without him), and when we reached another top at mile 2.6, I had to change into a 2-1 breathing, and I kept to that until the end. At 2.7, we hit another asphalt portion. We had to slow to find the course signs. The leading golf cart was in front of the leader of the race, who was now too far to be seen, and we got the "runner-up treatment". :) Even the asphalt was very muddy and full of puddles. At one place, we actually had to run on the grass by the road, because the road had a little pond on it. :)
I didn't really want to attack Mike before the turnaround point, because I wanted to see where the #4 runner was. But he felt slow, I felt relaxed, so it just happened. I slowly pulled away from him, willing to let him back in the lead any time, but he didn't seem to want or to be able to do that.
Mile 3: 6:59
I hit the turnaround point right at 3.1 miles on my GPS, so I knew I can rely on it for the distance. This was an out and back course, so I looked at the positions. The top four was the same people, except that I went from 4th to 2nd. Mike was right behind me, close enough so that I could hear his breathing. The 4th place was almost 2 minutes behind me, so that distance seemed safe.
Mike's breathing got quieter. We're back on the trail. I was pushing hard. By the time I hit the mile marker, I didn't hear Mike any more.
Mile 4: 6:38
The next mile was probably the most difficult part of the course. All uphill, and the first part is on trails. I knew this was coming, because I ran this portion during my warmup jog. I also knew I needed more energy for the last mile, and I wasn't going to lose my 2nd place. So I ran the hill conservatively. Made it to the gravel, then the asphalt, still uphill. I almost took the wrong turn, but fortunately I stopped myself.
Mile 5: 7:03
When we turned on the trail again, I looked back. I saw Mike not too far back. I can still lose this. I knew I had to keep pushing, so I did. This was still uphill, until about mile 5.4. I kept myself on that sweet spot that is "almost blowup", but you feel you can still finish. This mile was entirely trail/grass.
Mile 6: 6:49
Right at the mile marker another switchback to the gravel. I saw Mike at a safe distance (~200 yards). You can't erase that lead in ~400 yards. So I was happy, but it isn't a time to slow down. I pushed the last gravel bit at around 6:15 pace for a 42:29 finish. Second place overall is great, and I was happy with my effort. The time is meaningless. I'm sure this was good training. Before the race the constant fatigue I felt made me think that I might be overtraining, but based on this race, I think this is not the case.
I had a great chat with Mike after the race. We ran the cooldown together. He is from Germany, working here in Florence, KY (Mubea is the name of his company).
Postrace food was fine: I had a banana and a bottle of water. I got a medal for my age group win, but nothing for 2nd place overall. The winner was a 46 year old guy! I had a get a jump to start for the car going home, but I got lucky, and the guy who parked next to me was able to help me, so I didn't even get delayed. Now I'm off to battery shopping.
Goal: Just race hard, for position, if possible.
This race looked like the perfect tune-up 10K for this weekend. Pfitzinger's 18/70 marathon plan includes three tune-up races, 6 weeks out, 4 weeks out, and 2 weeks out. I never ran all three, because in my busy life it is hard to even get in one or two tune-up races, so usually the race must be near, and there must be no family program that day; the race must be the right distance and preferably similar style to the marathon.
Well, this was announced as "mixed surface", including asphalt, gravel, trail, and grass field. The asphalt portion was about 1/4 of the distance, and the rest (especially the trail and grass) was quite treacherous this morning: frosty, slippery grass, deep mud, puddles. That is especially fun going uphill! So the style of the race didn't match after all, but the other variables were present: all-in-all I'm happy I ran it. However, that explains why time goals would not have been appropriate.
It was a small race, and thank god, they started at 9am, not 8. It was cold: about 30 F, but coming out of winter this is perfect racing temperature. I had some trouble starting the car in the morning, so I was 12 minutes "late" arriving at 8:12. I picked up my packet, put on my racing gear, went to the bathroom, and started warming up at 8:34. I did two miles of jogging checking out early parts of the course. I stepped into a deep puddle right away that soaked my shoes, but it didn't really bother me later. I felt rather tired during the warmup. In fact cumulative fatigue has been bothering me for some days, and on top of that, we had a pretty brutal fire training on Thursday that left me with aching muscles all over my body.
Just ten minutes after I finished my warmup, I lined up in the front and we started the race right on time at 9:00.
Four people got away immediately. Somebody (I think) in a blue shirt, shorts, quite fast, started to lead. Another guy (his name is Mike) in a white shirt saying "Team Mubea" on it. I noticed him before the race: he had quite a ritual, e.g. he greased his legs (or put some kind of cream on them). Good or bad, he obviously took the race pretty seriously. In the third place, another guy who wore the race shirt. That usually means less serious runner, but sometimes they can surprise you. I settled in fourth place.
I tried to be a bit conservative knowing the treacherous trails and hills ahead, but those four started quite fast, so I decided to follow them. Right after the start (like in 50 meters) we went from the asphalt parking lot to the gravel. After running maybe 0.2 miles on the gravel, we changed to grass, and that slowed us down quite a bit. The top three started to pull apart, but I was right behind the third place guy. We ran like this for a while. His pace was just fine for me: maybe just a bit faster than lactate threshold. He was more muscular than me, and we were climbing a bit, plus add the race shirt: I figured I should be able to beat him later for a podium finish.
Mile 1: 6:44
We reached the top of that gentle slope at around the mile marker (though no real markers were on the course). On the gentle downhill, I started to feel that he was slowing. This is the age old question: how much are you willing to slow, risking that somebody behind you is catching up. I didn't wait very long. We arrived to an asphalt road and I put in a strong attack (on a slight downhill). I left him in no time. Fortunately Mike was not very far ahead, and not excessively fast either, so I could "pace" after him, following him at a distance of 50-100 yards.
We left the asphalt quickly and we were back on the muddy trails: a downhill portion that you can't enjoy because of the surface. Soon I noticed that I was starting to catch up to Mike. I didn't mind that at all, of course. I caught him at around 1.8 miles. I deliberately didn't pass him. I think he expected that I would, so he looked a bit confused. His breathing sounded very labored, while I was still relatively relaxed.
Mile 2: 6:33
The next portion was quite hilly (up and down). I could have used some cross country spikes, but then what do you do on the asphalt? I followed Mike, and I noticed that it felt easy to do that. He did a good job though pacing the uphills (I may have overexerted myself without him), and when we reached another top at mile 2.6, I had to change into a 2-1 breathing, and I kept to that until the end. At 2.7, we hit another asphalt portion. We had to slow to find the course signs. The leading golf cart was in front of the leader of the race, who was now too far to be seen, and we got the "runner-up treatment". :) Even the asphalt was very muddy and full of puddles. At one place, we actually had to run on the grass by the road, because the road had a little pond on it. :)
I didn't really want to attack Mike before the turnaround point, because I wanted to see where the #4 runner was. But he felt slow, I felt relaxed, so it just happened. I slowly pulled away from him, willing to let him back in the lead any time, but he didn't seem to want or to be able to do that.
Mile 3: 6:59
I hit the turnaround point right at 3.1 miles on my GPS, so I knew I can rely on it for the distance. This was an out and back course, so I looked at the positions. The top four was the same people, except that I went from 4th to 2nd. Mike was right behind me, close enough so that I could hear his breathing. The 4th place was almost 2 minutes behind me, so that distance seemed safe.
Mike's breathing got quieter. We're back on the trail. I was pushing hard. By the time I hit the mile marker, I didn't hear Mike any more.
Mile 4: 6:38
The next mile was probably the most difficult part of the course. All uphill, and the first part is on trails. I knew this was coming, because I ran this portion during my warmup jog. I also knew I needed more energy for the last mile, and I wasn't going to lose my 2nd place. So I ran the hill conservatively. Made it to the gravel, then the asphalt, still uphill. I almost took the wrong turn, but fortunately I stopped myself.
Mile 5: 7:03
When we turned on the trail again, I looked back. I saw Mike not too far back. I can still lose this. I knew I had to keep pushing, so I did. This was still uphill, until about mile 5.4. I kept myself on that sweet spot that is "almost blowup", but you feel you can still finish. This mile was entirely trail/grass.
Mile 6: 6:49
Right at the mile marker another switchback to the gravel. I saw Mike at a safe distance (~200 yards). You can't erase that lead in ~400 yards. So I was happy, but it isn't a time to slow down. I pushed the last gravel bit at around 6:15 pace for a 42:29 finish. Second place overall is great, and I was happy with my effort. The time is meaningless. I'm sure this was good training. Before the race the constant fatigue I felt made me think that I might be overtraining, but based on this race, I think this is not the case.
I had a great chat with Mike after the race. We ran the cooldown together. He is from Germany, working here in Florence, KY (Mubea is the name of his company).
Postrace food was fine: I had a banana and a bottle of water. I got a medal for my age group win, but nothing for 2nd place overall. The winner was a 46 year old guy! I had a get a jump to start for the car going home, but I got lucky, and the guy who parked next to me was able to help me, so I didn't even get delayed. Now I'm off to battery shopping.
Monday, March 11
Training report for week -5. The most demanding part of marathon training.
As always, you get a rest day on Monday, but it's hardly enough after that tough week. Then hit it hard on Tuesday with a 6 x 1000 meter workout. I did it on the treadmill, because of multitude of reasons, but mostly I didn't find any time to seek out a track. I alternated 10.3 mph (5:50/mile) 1000's with 6 mph (10:00/mile) 400's for recovery. Even on the treadmill, this is the kind of workout when I have to plead with myself to do it. Like even after the 2nd or 3rd, I would tell myself that if I can only do 4 or 5 that's OK. But then I do the whole thing.
So after a workout, you get an easy day, right? Yeah, sure. 15 miles. It was still cold, dark by the end, and I didn't enjoy it, especially not the end. I definitely was not recovered.
On Thursday, you finally get some recovery runs: 6 miles + 4 miles. I ran the four at 10pm after firefighting training. Definitely wasn't fun, and I really just slogged through these.
On Friday, a 12-miler. I felt just well enough to finish it at the decent pace (7:39).
Then a 5-miler on Saturday, when I felt tired again. And what was especially frightening was that I knew what was coming on Sunday. An 18-miler with 14 at marathon pace.
At last the weather got nice: sunny, 59 degrees with wind. It is a bit warmer than ideal (after having cold weather all week long), and the wind is not great, but still pretty close to ideal weather. In my previous two cycles, I made this workout as easy as possible: treadmill for the first one, and neighborhood run for the second one. But I paid for my insufficient hill training in Bowling Green, so I decided to go the Parklands this time. Not the crazy hilly southern part, but the northern side, which had some small hills, and one long and steep that I had to climb twice.
I did finish the run with 6:50 average pace, but the last mile was brutally hard (I ran 7:12 for that). I tried to conserve energy and time (kind of contradictory) for the second climb of the big hill, and though I did slow quite a bit on climbing it, I had enough energy to accelerate back at the top, and push myself on the other side. The downhill is a series of narrow switchbacks, which is impossible to run fast, because you virtually have to stop in the corners. The switching of directions hurts, too. But even that wasn't the hard part.
I still had two miles to go, the first of which was OK. But then I had to climb a bridge, and loop under it. I charged up the bridge, and when going down, I felt like I was done for. I stopped for a second, and then I needed all my willpower to cover the last mile - which included another bridge. Again, this felt like the last mile of a marathon... When I finished I felt nauseous.
So what did I learn? About my prospect for the 3-hour Boston Marathon? Not much, really. I did successfully finish this run, but it was hard and it was only 14 miles. I know this training plan is designed so that this should feel like the last 14 miles of a marathon: and it truly did. I probably started a bit too fast banking a bit too much time. If I banked 30 seconds less, I probably would have had easier time in the last mile, probably gaining it back. On the other hand I'm so happy that despite the steep hills, I was able to run 3-hour pace. This workout was the real deal. I hope I'll be much more ready for hills than I was in Bowling Green.
One thing is very clear: I definitely should not overrun the first half of Boston. I want to feel still pretty good when I make it to the Newton hills.
As always, you get a rest day on Monday, but it's hardly enough after that tough week. Then hit it hard on Tuesday with a 6 x 1000 meter workout. I did it on the treadmill, because of multitude of reasons, but mostly I didn't find any time to seek out a track. I alternated 10.3 mph (5:50/mile) 1000's with 6 mph (10:00/mile) 400's for recovery. Even on the treadmill, this is the kind of workout when I have to plead with myself to do it. Like even after the 2nd or 3rd, I would tell myself that if I can only do 4 or 5 that's OK. But then I do the whole thing.
So after a workout, you get an easy day, right? Yeah, sure. 15 miles. It was still cold, dark by the end, and I didn't enjoy it, especially not the end. I definitely was not recovered.
On Thursday, you finally get some recovery runs: 6 miles + 4 miles. I ran the four at 10pm after firefighting training. Definitely wasn't fun, and I really just slogged through these.
On Friday, a 12-miler. I felt just well enough to finish it at the decent pace (7:39).
Then a 5-miler on Saturday, when I felt tired again. And what was especially frightening was that I knew what was coming on Sunday. An 18-miler with 14 at marathon pace.
At last the weather got nice: sunny, 59 degrees with wind. It is a bit warmer than ideal (after having cold weather all week long), and the wind is not great, but still pretty close to ideal weather. In my previous two cycles, I made this workout as easy as possible: treadmill for the first one, and neighborhood run for the second one. But I paid for my insufficient hill training in Bowling Green, so I decided to go the Parklands this time. Not the crazy hilly southern part, but the northern side, which had some small hills, and one long and steep that I had to climb twice.
I did finish the run with 6:50 average pace, but the last mile was brutally hard (I ran 7:12 for that). I tried to conserve energy and time (kind of contradictory) for the second climb of the big hill, and though I did slow quite a bit on climbing it, I had enough energy to accelerate back at the top, and push myself on the other side. The downhill is a series of narrow switchbacks, which is impossible to run fast, because you virtually have to stop in the corners. The switching of directions hurts, too. But even that wasn't the hard part.
I still had two miles to go, the first of which was OK. But then I had to climb a bridge, and loop under it. I charged up the bridge, and when going down, I felt like I was done for. I stopped for a second, and then I needed all my willpower to cover the last mile - which included another bridge. Again, this felt like the last mile of a marathon... When I finished I felt nauseous.
So what did I learn? About my prospect for the 3-hour Boston Marathon? Not much, really. I did successfully finish this run, but it was hard and it was only 14 miles. I know this training plan is designed so that this should feel like the last 14 miles of a marathon: and it truly did. I probably started a bit too fast banking a bit too much time. If I banked 30 seconds less, I probably would have had easier time in the last mile, probably gaining it back. On the other hand I'm so happy that despite the steep hills, I was able to run 3-hour pace. This workout was the real deal. I hope I'll be much more ready for hills than I was in Bowling Green.
One thing is very clear: I definitely should not overrun the first half of Boston. I want to feel still pretty good when I make it to the Newton hills.
Sunday, March 3
Week -6 is finished. These weeks are pretty hard!
5 x 600 on Tuesday, and remember, I had a 22-miler on Sunday. It was OK, though it didn't feel particularly easy. I was aiming for 2:12/split, and ran 2:09, 2:13, 2:12, 2:11, 2:11. There were soccer players warming up on the high school track, and they were total assholes. Jogging 3-4 abreast with no regard of faster runners. I ran with Flora, and she probably did the longest run of her life!
Medium long (14) on Wednesday where my legs were still (or again) tired. Then two recovery days, and there was supposed to be a tune-up race on Saturday.
I wasn't able to find any appropriate race at a reasonable distance. So I decided to run a 6-mile threshold run. Since I had to take Esther to the gym anyway, I ran on the treadmill. I started with a setting of 9.5 mph (6:18/mile), and felt surprisingly easy. So much so that I cranked it up to 9.6 (6:15/mile) for the next two miles or so, meanwhile deciding to run 10K instead of just 6 miles. When I still felt great, I kept increasing the speed bit by bit, until I hit 9.9 mph (6:03/mile), where the treadmill maxed out. I ran the last ~0.5 mile at that pace. I finished the 10K in about 39 minutes.
So, yeah, it's treadmill, so it's easier, maybe even it was incorrectly calibrated, but if not, it's fair to say that I hit 55 VDOT. Which means that I do have a pretty good chance of a 3-hour marathon if the weather cooperates and I don't mess it up.
I ran 18 miles today, the day after the workout. I felt my legs at the start, but at the end it felt reasonably easy. I didn't push the pace hard, but still finished with 7:41/mile average (with heavy snow at the beginning), and three strong miles at the end. It's amazing that in perspective, 18 miles doesn't seem that long.
5 x 600 on Tuesday, and remember, I had a 22-miler on Sunday. It was OK, though it didn't feel particularly easy. I was aiming for 2:12/split, and ran 2:09, 2:13, 2:12, 2:11, 2:11. There were soccer players warming up on the high school track, and they were total assholes. Jogging 3-4 abreast with no regard of faster runners. I ran with Flora, and she probably did the longest run of her life!
Medium long (14) on Wednesday where my legs were still (or again) tired. Then two recovery days, and there was supposed to be a tune-up race on Saturday.
I wasn't able to find any appropriate race at a reasonable distance. So I decided to run a 6-mile threshold run. Since I had to take Esther to the gym anyway, I ran on the treadmill. I started with a setting of 9.5 mph (6:18/mile), and felt surprisingly easy. So much so that I cranked it up to 9.6 (6:15/mile) for the next two miles or so, meanwhile deciding to run 10K instead of just 6 miles. When I still felt great, I kept increasing the speed bit by bit, until I hit 9.9 mph (6:03/mile), where the treadmill maxed out. I ran the last ~0.5 mile at that pace. I finished the 10K in about 39 minutes.
So, yeah, it's treadmill, so it's easier, maybe even it was incorrectly calibrated, but if not, it's fair to say that I hit 55 VDOT. Which means that I do have a pretty good chance of a 3-hour marathon if the weather cooperates and I don't mess it up.
I ran 18 miles today, the day after the workout. I felt my legs at the start, but at the end it felt reasonably easy. I didn't push the pace hard, but still finished with 7:41/mile average (with heavy snow at the beginning), and three strong miles at the end. It's amazing that in perspective, 18 miles doesn't seem that long.
Friday, March 1
Possible tune-up races:
3/16: E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Irish Classic 10K. Register by 3/13. $35
This is pretty much a no-brainer. Right in town, right distance, cheap registration, somewhat familiar course. It has some grass, dirt, gravel, as well as asphalt, but nothing wrong with that.
3/30: Carmel Marathon Weekend 10K. Register by 3/24. $45
This seems to be the best choice. Alternatives are Caracole's Run/Walk for AIDS 10K in Cincinnati ($40 on Sunday, no deadline posted), or RunTheBluegrass 7 mile race ($100). The former is on Sunday - it might be good, if I shift my training by the required one day. The latter is very unlikely: it is outrageously expensive, and what an odd distance!
3/16: E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Irish Classic 10K. Register by 3/13. $35
This is pretty much a no-brainer. Right in town, right distance, cheap registration, somewhat familiar course. It has some grass, dirt, gravel, as well as asphalt, but nothing wrong with that.
3/30: Carmel Marathon Weekend 10K. Register by 3/24. $45
This seems to be the best choice. Alternatives are Caracole's Run/Walk for AIDS 10K in Cincinnati ($40 on Sunday, no deadline posted), or RunTheBluegrass 7 mile race ($100). The former is on Sunday - it might be good, if I shift my training by the required one day. The latter is very unlikely: it is outrageously expensive, and what an odd distance!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)