Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Philadelphia Marathon Training, Week 4

Monday, November 7th:

Day off.

Tuesday, November 8th:

Unplanned day off.  Throat very sore, heel still bothersome, give myself a chance to recover and get to the starting line next weekend as healthy as possible.


Wednesday, November 9th:

4:45 am, 42 degrees, 90%, calm.  Hialeah-Kilmer-Hialeah.  New Balance 890.

1.5m warm up, 5MP 6:36 (6:40 35 36 31 36), 1.5m cooldown.

Throat still sore but I think it is just allergy related.  The first 1.5m of pace running was rough, but thereafter I found a pretty solid rhythm.  I felt incredibly strong the last mile, which was noticeably uphill.  Recovered quickly and finished a solid run.  Glad to be back on the saddle.

Thursday, November 10th:

2:45 pm, 53 degrees, 75%, 15-25mph.  Cherry Hill West Loop.  Nike Run Avant.

6m easy (BOF) - 7:16 average.

Was so tired this morning.  Couldn't roll myself out of bed.  So glad I waited until this afternoon to run.  Was supposed to be a recovery day; it felt like I was holding back the whole way, yet I kept gliding and floating and the next thing I knew I realized I was running close to marathon pace the last mile!  Very encouraging, especially considering how gusty the winds were today.  Was running near my old high school track and I guess it brought back images of when 7:15 miles were walks in the park.  We'll see if I "pay the price" tomorrow morning...but for today, I'll take it. :)

Friday, November 11th:

5:20 am, 42 degrees, 65%, 10-20mph.  Maple Shade Loop (L).  Adidas Marathon 10.

7m (BOF) - 7:33 average.  8x100m strides.

Very chilly/windy, but still felt pretty solid.  Not quite as fluid as yesterday, but pretty close.  Felt very strong/relaxed on fast strides after.  In the Rod Serling department, the total time of this morning's workout: 1h 1m 11s.  Do do do do, do do do do...

Saturday, November 12th:
Happy Birthday, Janine!

5:30 am, 35 degrees, 70%, 0-5mph.  Kilmer Loop.  Nike Run Avant.

6m rejuvenation pace - 7:47 average.

Aside from the freezing first mile, I felt incredibly strong and loose for the entire run.  No residual soreness/stiffness of any kind.  Felt like I was floating the entire run.  Have been working hard on mental focus/relaxation techniques and they seem to be working wonders.  I am really looking forward to running (for the sake of purely running) next weekend.

Sunday, November 13th:

7:00 am, 42-47 degrees, 75%, 0-5mph.  Haddon Heights-Haddonfield.  Adidas Marathon 10 B.

12m easy (group pace) - 7:17 average.

Woke up with some post-nasal drip/allergies from mowing the lawn yesterday - had to hack out some phlegm a few times while getting ready.  Not pretty.  Still had a nice conversational run with Denning/Mickey.  Felt well within myself the whole way and let them do most of the work.  Got stronger as the run progressed.  Clicked off a lot of 7:0X miles without realizing it.  Very strong at the finish. 

Weekly Total: 40 miles

I am thrilled with my physical and mental preparation.  I can't believe I am just a week away from a second marathon in 5 weeks.  In some ways, Baltimore seems like it just happened - in other ways, I seemed to be far removed from it.  Greatly looking forward to this taper week and what lies ahead next weekend.  I feel much more at ease and in control the second time around.  I know what awaits me.  And I welcome it.

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