Baltimore Marathon Training Week 11

Monday, August 22nd:

5:20 am, 69 degrees, 90%, 0-10mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer Loop.  Nike Pegasus 27+ (Red).

2m warm up, 4MP (6:30 25 25 20), 2m cool down.

Great news is my heel felt fine when I woke up, at the start of the run, and at the end of the run.  But I think all the stretching and exercises I did for my heel yesterday took a toll on the rest of my leg muscles, as it took me a while to get moving today, especially during the tempo segment of the run.  I had to work harder in spots than I had wanted to, but I finished strong on the uphill segment of Hialeah Drive.  Positive sign is I recovered very quickly, and the cool down felt super easy.  Nice way to start the week.

Tuesday, August 23rd:

8:25 pm, 70 degrees, 65%, 0-5mph.  Neighborhood.  Nike Pegasus 27+ (Red).

4m easy - 7:35 average.

Slept in this morning, so I snuck out at night and go in an easy 4 with wonderfully cool temps and a mild breeze.  Air felt very fresh, and I ran free.  Wonderful.

Wednesday, August 24th:

4:45 am, 63 degrees, 80%, 0-5mph.  Home-Tavistock Loop (S)-Home.  Nike Pegasus 27+ (Red).

10m easy - 8:03 average.

More beautiful weather -- which in a way is a shame because the half-marathon this weekend appears all but a total washout with the impending Hurricane Irene.  I would rather have today's temps on Sunday and get to race.  Regardless, it was nice to get in higher mileage mid-week while running slow and easy.  Still deciding how to adjust my schedule this weekend; I am trying to get in as many miles as I can while the weather is still good.  Guess I'll make a decision closer to the weekend.

Thursday, August 25th:

4:45 am, 74 degrees, 80%, 0-10mph.  Maple Shade Loop (L).  New Balance 890.

2m warm up, 6x400 roads (87 85 84 84 84 83) w/400 jog, 2m cool down.

Nice turnover run, which is designed to be a taper workout for Sunday's half-marathon which almost assuredly won't be happening.  Felt pretty fresh after the 2nd rep, and the recoveries were pretty honest - around 7:40/mi pace.  Now that my left heel is on the mend, I felt a slight twinge on the outer tendon of my right ankle - nothing major, most likely an overcompensation thing.  Will monitor.  Kind of sad about the race, but happy I am very fit and working on a replacement long run/workout for Saturday with the group.

Thursday, August 25th:

6:25 pm, 74 degrees, 90%, 0-10mph.  Neighborhood.  Adidas Marathon 10 B.

3m easy (BOF) - 7:39 average.

Love breaking in new shoes on a first run!  These will most likely be the pair that I race the marathon in, so I am starting them off with some easy miles before using them for a workout/long run.  Second run felt great today - ran with music for the first time in a long time, which gave me an extra boost.

Friday, August 26th:

5:45 am, 70 degrees, 95%, 0-5mph.  Moorestown.  New Balance 890.

8m easy - 7:56 average.

Ominous fog, very humid - imagined that it looked like a scene out of Hounds of the Baskervilles.  Group run, very conversational and easy.  Both ankles felt pretty solid today.

Saturday, August 27th:

7:00 am, 75 degrees, 90%, 0-10mph.  Manayunk-Kelly Drive-Belmont-Strawberry Mansion.  Adidas Marathon 10.

3m warm up, 9MP Hills 6:36 average (6:37 40 37 38 44 24 35 43 28), 4m cool down.

Brutally warm and humid run today on a tough, unrelenting course of climb after climb.  Goal was to try to run 12-13 MP but with the heat/humidity/hills the 9 miles felt like half-marathon effort and I didn't want to cook myself today.  Didn't have many opportunities to take fluids, so my body temp was probably way higher than normal, but I am happy with how I toughed it out there today.  Great mental and physical preparation for the hilly Baltimore marathon course.  Now it's time to wait and see what Hurricane Irene has in store for us tonight/tomorrow!

Sunday, August 28th:

Hurricane Irene.  Spent the day emptying my flooded basement of 6-8 inches of water.  I would have rather been running in the storm!  Something tells me my glutes are going to be absolutely pounding tomorrow from lifting 824,538 buckets of water!

Weekly Total: 56 miles

I can only sum up the week like this: we had an earthquake and a hurricane in New Jersey this week, but no half marathon.  You just pick up the pieces and move on.  7 weeks to the marathon.