Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Gettysburg Marathon Training, Week 7

Monday, February 4th:

Off.  Had planned on taking off anyway, but when Penny came down with the flu yesterday afternoon, I slept in and stayed home from work with her in the morning, and then got home from work late at night.  Probably best for all involved to rest anyway!

Tuesday, February 5th:

7:40 pm, 34 degrees, 90%, calm.  Maple Shade Loop (L).  Nike Pegasus 29 Shield.

8mi easy - (7:55): w/7x100m strides after

Had some Garmin issues the first mile, but then I was like clockwork from there on out.  Felt very strong on the strides and stayed relaxed with powerful form.  Solid run.

Wednesday, February 6th:

7:15 pm, 37 degrees, 50%, 5-10mph.  Hialeah-Valley Run-Kilmer-Valley Run-Hialeah.  Adidas Supernova Glide 4.

11mi total - (7:13): 2mi warmup, 7mi@MP, 2mi cooldown
Target warmup/cooldown: 8:10-:40
Actual warmup/cooldown: 8:15, 8:11
Target tempo splits: 6:40
Actual tempo splits: 6:40 38 38 37 38 38 35

I needed a confidence booster like tonight after the last two weeks of training.  This was the first time I ran my MP run on a relatively rolling course, much like I hear I will be facing in Gettysburg.  I found my rhythm right away, relaxed as much as possible, and just clicked off the splits.  I practiced taking a GU while running at goal pace halfway through the tempo, and it went down smoothly and kept me alert.  Had to really slow myself on the cooldown because the urge was there to run faster.  A great run.

Thursday, February 7th:

8:05 pm, 31 degrees, 70%, 5-10mph.  Maple Shade Loop (L).  Brooks Ravenna 3.

7mi easy - (8:04)

Consistent pacing tonight, but felt a little sluggish the last couple miles.  It'll be nice to run with Larry's group in the morning so that I will have some great company that will make me take it easy.

Friday, February 8th:

5:15 am, 37 degrees (light rain), 90%, 5-10mph.  MRC-Pinsetters-MRC.  Brooks PureFlow.

9.75mi recovery - (8:29): 2mi warmup (9:18), 6mi easy (7:47-8:01), 1.75mi cooldown (9:28)

Conditions weren't ideal but they could have been much worse.  Great to fall into the pack today and run at a comfortable pace.  While easy, I still had to focus during Larry's tempo section - warmup and cooldown felt wonderful.  These "time on my feet" runs feel like they are providing me with the same benefits of my own workouts, just because I know I am doing some fat burning and converting to fast-twitch muscle usage toward the last 10-15 minutes of the run.  And it was nice to be done and home by 7:00 am. :)

Saturday, February 9th:

9:00 am, 27 degrees, 60%, 15-30mph.  Moorestown.  Nike Pegasus 29 Shield.

8.5mi easy - (7:58): including 8x100m fast strides in the last 1.5mi

Some overnight snow dashed any chances of racing a 5k this afternoon, plus the winds are really supposed to pick up later.  Some slower running in the snow during sections of the run, but I really felt great the last 2.5mi including the strides.  Was surprised to see how fast the average of today's run was given the conditions - completely ran it on feel.

Sunday, February 10th:

7:30 am, 20-24 degrees, 55%, calm.  Haddonfield.  Adidas Supernova Glide 4.

14.75mi total - (7:15): 3mi warmup, 6x1mi (MP-10secs/mi) w/.25mi recovery jogs, 4.25mi steady
Target splits: 6:30/mi
Actual splits: 6:22 32 29 25 27 26
Target recoveries: 2:00-:10
Actual recoveries: 1:58 58 2:00 00 05 05

Absolutely nailed this workout.  On top of that, ran it on a rolling course with some nice hilly segments which had no bearing on the effort whatsoever.  I really felt strongest on the uphill segments with fantastic form and arm action.  Stayed loose and relaxed the entire way, and felt plenty recovered in-between repeats.  Major, major confidence booster.

Weekly Total: 59 miles

I am back.  I am kind of glad that the 5k fell through yesterday, because today's workout gives me a much better indicator of my marathon fitness right now than any race would have.  I feel that as long as I keep my head, stick to the game plan, and roll with the punches when weather or life events come up, I will be more than ready come game day in 11 weeks.

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