Monday, June 27th:
5:20 am, 67 degrees, 80% humidity, 0-5mph. Home-Kilmer Loop-Home. Nike Pegasus 27+ (Red).
6m rejuvenation pace - 8:41 average. First couple of miles I just couldn't get moving, but then again, I didn't really try to push the pace. Just let the run happen. Got a surprising surge at mile 4.5 and finished strong. Definitely forging my mental strength.
Tuesday, June 28th:
Day off. I don't feel as physically beat up as my day off last Tuesday, but it's been a hectic day at the office and my Mom flew into town today so I am glad running is not on the schedule for once.
Wednesday, June 29th:
5:00 am, 75 degrees, 80%, 5mph. Maple Shade Loop (Medium). Saucony C2.
6m easy (BOF) - 8:00 average. Very humid, thick air this morning, but ran very even splits and felt strong the whole way. Could have done my mid-week workout today, but thought I would hold off for better conditions tomorrow morning when I am off work and the temps are supposed to be a little better. The deer imagery has become my everyday run focusing tool to give me strength and I am loving it!
Thursday, June 30th:
4:55 am, 65 degrees, 70%, calm. Home-Valley Run-Knollwood-Valley Run-Home. New Balance 890.
1m warmup, 7m alternating tempo run (.38m@6:00/mi, .62m@6:35/mi), 1m cooldown. Actual splits (5:57 6:33, 48 31, 57 32, 58 31, 55 32, 59 32, 55 [uphill] 32).
I was well rested for this workout and it showed. I was really amped up the first three miles and had to hold back on both the faster and the recovery segments. I got into a little bit of a better rhythm the last 4 miles but still had a hard time finding exactly the right paces - not because the workout felt difficult, but because I just wanted to let loose. Very happy with the way I felt and the overall splits. Took Gatorade at miles 3.5/6.5/8, and took a Gu at mile 5.
Friday, July 1st:
5:45 am, 65 degrees, 65%, calm. Moorestown High School. Saucony C2.
6m easy - 7:53 average. Absolutely picture perfect morning. Ran easy on the track while the group did its workout. Legs felt pretty recovered after yesterday, although hamstrings were a little tight afterward. Really enjoying this recovery week with no doubles and a drop in mileage.
Saturday, July 2nd:
5:00 am, 65-70 degrees, 80%, calm. 4x Tavistock Loop (long version) + add on.
17m easy - 7:56 average. Longest run of the year (so far). Goal was to be on my feet for about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and the time of the run was 2:14.53. Can't really argue with pacing. Forcing myself to stay at a slow pace helped practice fat burning and patience. I also got to run LOTS of hills and I felt strong each time I attacked one. I took about a 30 second break after each loop to fuel, which has led me to consider a run/walk strategy for the marathon. It may go against the norm for most people that plan to run sub-3 hours, but it is making more and more sense to me, even if I incorporate it to only a segment of the actual race. May have to practice more in training before I decide to give the run/walk thing a go, but I am really happy with where I am at.
Sunday, July 3rd:
5:30 am, 73 degrees, 80%, 0-10mph. Maple Shade Loop (Medium). Nike Pegasus 27+ (Red).
6m easy (BOF) - 8:06. Very tight glute muscles from all those hills yesterday and the air was very thick and humid this morning. Regardless, I fell into a metronome-like rhythm after the first mile and finished feeling solid after yet another 50 mile week (on a recovery week no less!).
Weekly Total: 50 miles
I have found that the secret to getting stronger doesn't come from doing monster workouts or crazy fast time trials. It comes from putting in the work everyday and doing what is on the schedule - easy means easy, recovery means recovery, tempo means tempo, long means long. When you can do that, stay healthy, and put in week after week of quality running, there's no end to the gains in fitness.
8 weeks to the half-marathon, 15 weeks to the marathon.
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