Baltimore Marathon Training Week 8

Monday, August 1st:

5:15 am, 73 degrees, 75%, 0-5mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer Loop-Hialeah.  Adidas Marathon 10.

8m easy - 8:01 average.

Woke up with heavy legs this morning.  Heel was slightly bothersome the first 2 miles but warmed up as the run progressed.  I didn't try to force the pace at all this morning, just let it come.  Finished the last 3 miles strong.

Tuesday, August 2nd:

5:15 am, 70 degrees, 80%, 0-5mph.  Merchantville Loop (S).  Nike Run Avant.

4m easy - 8:03 average.

The heavy rain last night made the air feel cooler, even if the temperature wasn't much cooler.  Had a real nice rhythm from the start today - felt much better than yesterday.  Heel wasn't a big deal today.  Not sure if it's going to completely go away without a long, extended rest, but running doesn't seem to make it any worse right now.

Wednesday, August 3rd:

4:45 am, 73 degrees, 70%, calm.  Cherry Hill West Track - roads.  New Balance 890.

2m warm up, 6mT (6:06 06 02 08 06 06), 3:00 walk, 2m cool down.

Was really psyched for this workout, as it is a good test of fitness for the half-marathon as it is run at roughly half-marathon pace.  Wasn't quite sure what to expect after the down time last week and the heel situation.  I was up early, drank some coffee, put some muscle rub cream on the heel/ankle, and was revved to go.  I planned on doing the entire tempo on the track, but a stray dog (I am pretty sure it was a pitbull!) came onto the infield and scared me enough that after the first mile I finished the workout on the roads.  I had a nice rhythm going on the track which is harder to find on the roads since you don't have markers the whole way - but I guess that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I will be racing the half-marathon on the roads anyway and I still finished the workout right on my goal pace: 6:06/mi average.

Also implemented a new mantra today: "The road is my friend."  Helps me to relax and not "fight" the road but be one with the road and let it guide me along.  Actually stole the idea from an Alexander Popov quote about the water and swimming, but it really helped.  Felt really strong on the cool down, and was stoked about the performance.  Also glad to know it's all easy runs the rest of the week.

Thursday, August 4th:

4:45 am, 70 degrees, 95%, 5-10mph.  Light rain.  Maple Shade and back.  Nike Pegasus 27+ (Red).

6m easy (BOF) - 7:53 average. 

The first mile was slow going as my heel didn't want to wake up today.  From there I got into a real nice rhythm and felt surprisingly strong after yesterday's very hard workout.  The quicker the turnover, the lighter the steps, the smoother the form - the easier the run and the quicker the time.

3:15 pm, 81 degrees, 55%, 5-15mph.  Merchantville Loop (S).  Saucony C2.

4m easy - 7:41 average. 

Same story as this morning.  Legs started out a little heavy, but then I got into a real nice rhythm with great turnover/form.  Solid day.

Friday, August 5th:

5:45 am, 66 degrees, 90%, calm.  Moorestown.  New Balance 890.

8m easy - 7:32 average. 

First time in 2 weeks I got to run with the group.  Felt very relaxed, casual.  Pace very comfortable, as was the temperature.  Big difference from last week.

Saturday, August 6th:

6:00 am, 70-74 degrees, 85%, 0-15 mph.  Moorestown.  Adidas Marathon 10.

19 miles total.
The breakdown: 14 miles at 7:28/mi average, followed by 6:46, 6:39, 6:26, 5:59, followed by 7:37 cool down. 

Today's run was like a three act play.  Rich and I met at the Moorestown Running Company and did an easy 3 miles together in the beginning, fueled up, and then joined the rest of the group (Colleen, John, Ron) for another 7.5 mile loop that brought us back to the store.  These first two acts were casual, jovial - a gradual buildup or prelude, so to speak, to the third act.  For the third act, we set off on a different 7.5 mile loop, with the last 4 miles of that loop at a progression, culminating in the finale of a tempo pace mile.  I purposely used as little energy as possible for the first 14 miles of the run, tucked behind John for the first two miles of the progression to stay relaxed and easy, and then wound up the pace of the penultimate mile so that the last tempo mile actually (unbelievably!) felt the most comfortable.  The goal of this workout was to achieve several purposes: 1) time on feet (good for marathon endurance), 2) marathon pace running after 15 miles (practice of what that pace feels like for the marathon), 3) approximate half-marathon pace running after 17 miles to practice finishing strong and relaxed at a fast pace for the half-marathon in 3 weeks.  Was very satisfied with the outcome - it's helpful to know that what I thought was the beginning of suffering at 16 miles turned into a revelation for mile 18 (i.e., there's more in the tank than you think there is).  Last cool down mile with Ron felt like we were walking.

Special note: The Blackberry Jet flavored Gu gel I took at mile 13 had 2x caffeine as regular Gu gels.  For what it's worth, I did feel very strong afterward.  :)

Sunday, August 7th:

5:20 am, 75 degrees, 95%, 0-10 mph.  Kilmer Loop.  Saucony C2.

6m rejuvenation pace - 8:16 average. 

Heel was tight when I woke up, but loosened up a mile into the run.  I followed my instincts and took it decidedly easy today, despite feeling capable of running faster and with the high humidity in mind.  Felt really fresh about 10 minutes after the run.  Good way to cap off the week.


Weekly Total: 65 miles.

Nice rebound this week.  Still having occasional heel issues (after doing lots of research, I pretty sure it's a case of posterior calcaneal bursitis - sounds lovely!), which thankfully isn't hindering my running.  I am just hoping I can maintain form until the season is over, at which time I can take off as much time as necessary.  My workouts are just going so well that I feel it would be a shame to cut back now and miss an opportunity to cash in on my high fitness as long as training doesn't worsen the injury.  I may, however, cut back on the amount and/or duration of some of my planned training sessions to optimize my chances of staying healthy. 

Lost in all this is the fact I posted my highest mileage week of the season, with the big Seven - Oh coming up this week.  I have faith that it will all work out in the end.  3 weeks to the half marathon, 10 weeks to the marathon.