Base Training, Week 14

Monday, December 17th:

7:50 pm, 46 degrees, 100%, 5-10mph.  Maple Shade RR loop.  Nike Pegasus 29 Shield.

6mi easy - (7:57)

Got to test out my new shoes in semi-crummy weather.  Foggy, misty, and humid with wind in my face on the way out - felt much better on the way back.  New shoes are super pillowy.  While my body felt a little sluggish, my feet felt very protected and bouncy.

Tuesday, December 18th:

7:30 pm, 45 degrees, 60%, 15-25mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer-Hialeah.  Nike Pegasus 29 Shield.

8mi progression - (7:04): 7:37 21 11 01 06 6:53 49 31

There is certainly no good reason that I ran as well as I did tonight.  Long, stressful day of work...horribly windy conditions (Miles 5 & 7 were almost completely into a headwind)...yet somehow I knew it as soon as I started that I just felt different tonight.  The first 4 miles were incredibly smooth, and even mile 5 - directly into the headwind - I just relaxed and let the pace come.  Started to labor the last 1 1/2 miles or so, but still finished strong.  I try not to get to up or too down on a given run anymore, but I am pleased with tonight's results.

Wednesday, December 19th:

Unplanned day off.  Unbelievably long day at work.  Wasn't worth pushing my body to a breaking point before marathon training even officially starts.

Thursday, December 20th:

5:00 pm, 43 degrees, 65%, 0-5mph.  Downtown Merchantville.  Nike Pegasus 29 Shield.

6mi easy - (8:00), 5mi easy with 8 x 100m strides @ mile race pace

Ran a new route tonight to break up the monotony.  When I got back to the house and my watch said 5mi, I figured I would throw in some strides to inject some speed before my first official speedwork session scheduled for this weekend.  Turnover felt really good - very strong push off and arm action.

Friday, December 21st:

2:20 pm, 41 degrees, 60%, 15-20mph.  Garden State-Grove-Pennypacker Trails-Neighborhood.  Brooks Ravenna 3.

8mi easy - (7:35): 7:52-:17

Overcast, gusty, at times sloppy conditions.  Heavy rain overnight left some areas of puddles and mud.  Regardless, I felt strong and in control the entire run.  Form felt fantastic the last mile as I opened it up.

Saturday, December 22nd:

7:30 am, 36 degrees, 60%, 15-30mph.  Moorestown.  Nike Pegasus 29 Shield.

7mi easy - (7:30)

Ran with the group into a headwind on the way out, ran solo with tailwind on the way back.  Gusty at times, but manageable.  Surprised to see how quickly I am improving the pace of my easy runs, whether they are with the group or not.

Sunday, December 23rd:

9:15 am, 36 degrees, 60%, 5-15mph.  Cherry Hill West.  Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.

10mi total - (7:15): 2mi warmup, 12x400 w/400 jogs, 2mi cooldown
Goal splits: 85/lap
Actual splits: (84 5 4 5 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4)
Recovery splits: 1:56-2:02

Great first track workout of the marathon cycle.  Bit of a headwind on the home straight, but I stayed relaxed on each lap and drove to the line with proper form.  Never felt all-out, but was definitely working at times.  Surprised how quickly I recovered in between in rep and how I kept a pretty honest recovery pace.  The goal now is to extend the distance of the reps each week (400s, 600s, 800s, 1000s, etc.) while keeping the same pace.

Weekly Total: 45 miles

Very pleased with the quality of running this week, even though the mileage was a bit lower with the off day.  I would rather know that I am running the right paces than the right distance right now with the marathon cycle officially kicking off.