Last week was tough.
I enjoyed the cutback the week before, but jumping back up to 85 miles was rough. It started out fine, but by the end of the week I was really dragging.
I kept things super easy on Saturday, and that seemed to help. My schedule this week works out that my long run will be on Monday – so I’ll take one more recovery day Sunday and hopefully be back on track.
But after that, it’s another hard hitting week. Peak mileage and a 20 mile long run. Once I make it through this week, though, things start to get a little easier.
So one day at a time, let’s finish out this week.
The Plan for the Week
The goal this week was 85 miles, along with a second 20 mile long run. Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: Easy 10 miles
- Monday: 20 mile progression long run
- Tuesday: 6 miles trail AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Wednesday: 5 miles trail AM, 6.5 miles track workout PM
- Thursday: 6.5 miles trail
- Friday: 16 mile easy long run
- Saturday: 10 miles easy
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: An Easy 10 Miles
Typically, I do my long runs on Sunday. Although this training cycle, there have been quite a few weeks when that was not the case.
This week is one of them.
We had to help some family move later in the day on Sunday, so a) I didn’t have time for a 20 mile long run and b) I would have been pretty unhelpful if I had done so.
On top of that, I finished up last week feeling a little beat up and worn out. And the weather Sunday wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t hot – but it was still fairly warm (low 70’s) and humid. The weather would improve on Monday and then be much better for the rest of the week.
Put that altogether, and doing an easy ten miles seemed like a good solution. I could fit it into my schedule, and if I took it truly easy I’d hopefully continue to recover.
I woke up early with the dog, went about my morning routine, and I hit the road a little after 7. I decided to follow the first part of my usual long run route. It’s a ten mile out and back. It’s got some rolling hills, but there’s a pretty hefty net decline in the first half and a net incline on the way back.
As soon as I started, my left knee felt a little tight. That’s weird. Haven’t felt that recently. But it went away after a quarter mile. My right hip and lower back felt fine, though. No issues throughout the run.
I kept the pace nice and easy as planned. The first half was ~46 minutes, so slightly slower than 9:00/mi overall. The first two were well north of 9:00/mi, and the remainder were in the high 8:00’s.
When I got to the bottom of the last big hill, I had to resist the urge to speed up. But I successfully kept the pace reigned in.
Same thing on the way back. I was a little slower over the hills going back up. But I averaged ~9:00/mi in the second half. And towards the end, when things flattened out, I really had to resist the urge to speed up.
But it was a successful recovery run. I felt fresh after ten miles. I feel good about tomorrow.
Monday: A 20 Mile Progression Long Run
The other reason this plan worked out is that today is Labor Day. No work, and nothing else to worry about for the day.
I woke up and hit the road by a little after 7:30. I stepped outside, and the weather felt good. Not quite fall yet – but in the mid 60’s with moderate humidity. It was cloudy, too, although the sun was supposed to come out later in the afternoon.
I set off with a plan to take the first ten miles fairly easy and then progress down towards marathon pace at the end.
The first ten miles went exactly to plan. I ran my rolling hill route through Verona Park. There was a local 5k happening there, and I passed through as everyone was getting checked in and warmed up. I’ve run it before – but not this year.
I made it to the ten mile mark feeling good. Breathing easy, heart rate under control, legs feeling good.
Split at ten miles: 85 minutes.
Not as fast as the first half of the last twenty miler. But that’s kind of the point, because I couldn’t push through at the end of that run.
I started to pick it up here, and after a mile I made it to the flat path around the Reservoir. I made a quick pit stop to use the bathroom and refill my water, and when I got back to running I started to shave the pace down.
My tentative goal was to run ~7:30-8:00 for miles 11-15. I ran 7:56, 7:47, 7:24, 7:37, and 7:27.
Mile 13 got a little fast (7:24), and I backed off. Didn’t want to burn out too early.
With five miles to go, I tried to really pick up the pace. I was starting to breath harder at this point, but I was still in control.
7:17, 7:07 for miles 16 and 17. Nice.
My breathing was getting real heavy at this point, though, and my heart rate was up around race effort (~160). Next two miles: 7:05, 7:01.
With one mile to go, I tried to push the pace down a little further. I wanted to finish up around 6:45-6:50 – actually race pace.
For the first half of that mile, things were on point. But as I turned out of the Reservoir, there was a steep hill, and it slowed me down a bit. My gut also felt a little bubbly. Rather than push through, I backed off for a quarter mile or so to make it through the hill. I sped up a little bit at the end, and the final mile was officially 7:07.
So all told, I ran 2:39:39.
Slightly slower than the 20 mile long run last month. But pretty close. And I’d rate this one as more successful.
Just comparing the last ten miles – I ran that one in 77 minutes and this one in 74. So I was able to speed up the pace at the end, and I closed things out much more strongly than I did last time.
And both of these runs are so much better than the 20 mile long runs I did in the spring. I ran both of them ~2:48, and I was happy with that at the time.
The progress continues, and the confidence grows.
Tuesday: The Day After and Feeling Great
I woke up Tuesday morning and thought, “Twenty miles where? I feel great!”
I was a little surprised, to be honest. Later on Monday, I felt some of the usual muscle fatigue. Especially standing up and sitting down and such.
But after a good night’s sleep, I felt brand new. Woke up and went for an easy 6 miles on the trails. Felt great.
The first mile was just a little slow on the warm up, but the rest were pretty solid. 9:15-9:30 miles, and an overall finish time of 57:58.
In the evening, I did another five miles on the treadmill. Uneventful. Warmed up, felt fine, and powered through while watching some TV.
Wednesday: A Decent Track Workout
Wednesday morning, we had some guys coming to work on the house. So instead of going out for an easy trail run, I started the day with 5 miles on the treadmill.
Quick, easy, uneventful. Still feeling good.
Drove to work and back. Walked the dog and then left for the track. Jogged a mile and did some drills to warm up, and then it was workout time.
The workout started with 4x400m on short rest (~45 seconds) at I pace, followed by 8x200m (60 seconds rest) at R pace. Coach then suggested an “optional” 2x800m at I pace with a 400m jog recovery, but of course that wasn’t really optional.
I was tying my shoes when the first interval started, so I ran a bit hard trying to catch up with the other guys. Did 84 seconds, maybe a little aggressive. But more or less on pace.
The next two were a solid 86 seconds each. The short rests were really short, so it was important not to push these too hard.
The final rep, I pushed a little harder and came across in 85 seconds.
Nice pace – ~5:50/mi – for those reps. Especially considering the short rest.
The 200s started out pretty smooth. Some of the faster guys sped ahead, and I had a feeling I was going too slow … until I came across the finish in 37s.
Perfectly fine pace for me. Me and one of my teammates grouped up for the rest, letting the speedier guys run ahead of us a little bit. 39s, 37s, 39s, 37s, 39s. Pretty consistent for the next five reps.
The faster crew had taken a little extra rest between #6 and #7, so they started after us. In the last 50m, I heard someone coming up and I pushed a little harder to keep up with him across the line. Finished that one in 36s.
I also felt it afterwards … but I was almost done, so I’d survive. The last one was tough. I finished in 38s – but it felt a lot harder than the other ones.
After that, we took a short break (~2 minutes) and we all lined up for the first 800m. My legs were still a little heavy from the 200s, but not bad. I kept up with the leaders for the first 200m or so, then I realized the pace was a little aggressive for me and I backed off. Finished the full rep in 2:55.
400m jog, and then it was time for the final 800m. Most of the guys bailed here, but me and one teammate went the extra (half) mile. He’s a little faster than me, and I let him pull ahead at the start. I was just trying to repeat the 2:55.
Really, I figured I’d be happy to keep the final rep under 3:00. And I just managed to do so – 2:58.
After a couple minutes of milling about, we jogged a mile for a cool down, chatted for a while, and called it a night.
Overall, it was a solid workout. The 200s were a titch faster than the 8x200m we did two weeks ago, and the 800s at the end were pretty solid. According to the VDOT calculator, these paces are more or less in line with around an 18:30 5k. And they’re faster than I could run consistently just a few months ago.
Just a reminder of how much I’m looking forward to some shorter races after Chicago.
Thursday: Oh There’s the Fatigue
I woke up Thursday morning, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Wednesday’s workout was tough, but it wasn’t that tough. So it must have been the combination of the workout plus the 20 miler – plus a double in between.
My legs were stiff, and I was slow. I got moving and I hit the trails for an easy 6.5 miles.
The first mile was a slow trot. Not unusual for the day after a workout. But I never really sped up.
Halfway through, I felt a little looser, but my stride was still kind of short and the effort was super easy.
Towards the end, I hit the 6 mile mark. Looked down at my watch: 63 minutes.
Yowza! That is by far the slowest I’ve done this route in a long time.
But it’s a recovery day. It’s ok. Rest up, and feel better tomorrow. Right?
Friday’s Midweek Long Run
Right.
I didn’t sleep well Thursday night, but I actually woke up Friday feeling pretty great. I had my coffee, and I started doing some work. The plan was to take care of a few things and then stop to go for my run.
But next thing I knew, a few things had turned into an hour or two. It was 8am, and I still wasn’t outside. Oops.
Got ready, and I finally hit the road around 8:30. Thankfully, the weather has been beautiful this week. It’s going to warm up a little next week, but it was still ~60 with moderate humidity at 8:30 this morning. It was cloudy, and there was no danger of the temperature rising or the sun making me overheat.
The plan was to take it easy for the first ten and then evaluate whether or not I should push it for the final six.
I felt pretty good from the onset. The heaviness from yesterday was gone, and I wasn’t stiff. I did feel a few little aches and tight spots here and there, but they all disappeared pretty quickly.
I ran the five miles up to Verona park, felt pretty good, and circled back. Ten miles over rolling hills: 1:24:55.
Not my fastest time on this route, but faster than I expected for today. And I felt really good – low heart rate, breathing under control, legs full of life.
I decided to push it for the last six miles. I didn’t plan to get all the way down to marathon pace, but I aimed for somewhere around 7:30.
The first two were ok. I felt like I was going faster – but I clocked 7:40 / 7:37. I’ll take it.
Next two – 7:33 / 7:34. That’s better. Starting to feel a little tired, but I can make it two more miles.
Pushed a little on the next one: 7:22.
I looked at my watch and saw the split, and if I ran ~7:15 for the final mile I could finish under 2:10. So I started to push it. I got down under 7:00/mi pace for a little bit in the middle, but then I turned out of the Reservoir and hit a small hill. Slowed down at the end, but finished the final mile in 7:08.
16 miles in 2:09:52.
A few seconds slower than a similar run at the beginning of last week. But I felt much stronger at the end of this one – speeding up instead of slowing down.
All these midweek long runs are definitely paying off.
Saturday: 10 Easy Miles to Wrap Up
It’s the end of the week, and the hard part is behind me. Just ten easy miles, and I’ve got another solid peak week in the bank.
We’re out of town this weekend. We came down to a conference hotel a few miles outside New Brunswick Friday night.
I wasn’t sure where I was going to run, and I half expected to get stuck running down some nondescript road into the middle of nowhere. But when I looked at the map, I realized we were only about a mile from the Delaware & Raritan Canal Towpath.
It’s a great running route – flat, long, and by the water. I’ve done a segment down by Princeton (near another conference hotel) and if I follow it from here to the end in New Brunswick it’s exactly five miles. Turn around and come back, and I’ll hit my ten mile goal. Perfect.
I got to bed last night, so I didn’t get much sleep. But otherwise, I felt fine in the morning. Drank my coffee and hit the road for the canal.
My plan was to take it easy today. Don’t pay attention to the watch, but generally expect to finish between 1:25 and 1:30.
On the map, it seemed like it was further down to the canal. But before I knew it, I was crossing the road and running along the water. I crossed over the bridge, turned right, and headed towards New Brunswick.
It was calm, and mostly quiet. The canal sat to my right, and the Raritan River peaked through the trees on my left. The sounds of cars came and went from the highway. I passed a few other runners and walkers out there this morning.
The miles quietly ticked by, and eventually I got towards the end. Just as I was getting to the very end – about 50m to go – my watch buzzed and marked five miles. Perfect.
I turned around and headed back the way I came. My legs felt pretty good throughout the run, although they started to get a little tired in the last two miles or so. That could also have been because I started to speed up a little towards the end. The final mile was also mostly uphill – I hadn’t noticed the downhill on the way out.
Just as I got back to the hotel, my watch buzzed and marked 10 miles. Stopped the activity: 1:27. Nice easy run. Not dreadfully slow, but definitely didn’t push the pace.
Mission accomplished. Capped off this tough week with a relaxing ten miles.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
This was another solid week. After the way I felt at the end of last week, I was beginning to think I might be pushing a little too hard. But a couple easy recovery runs last weekend helped me hit the reset button.
I made it through a solid 20 miles, a solid workout, a solid 16 miles, and a full weekly mileage of 85 miles. And I felt great. Thursday was a little tough, but if the fatigue comes and goes in a day it’s not a problem. It only becomes worrisome when it lingers.
It’s hard to believe I’ve only got five weeks left. I’ve got one real long run left this week coming up (18 miles), and then it’s just a couple 16 milers and two tune-up races.
Next week, I’m dropping my mileage down to 70 to ease up before the By Hook or By Crook 12k. I planned on doing one more week at 85 miles after that, but I’m going to be out of town at a conference. I’ll probably only be able to hit 75 to 80, but we’ll see how it goes.
One way or another, there’s just a few weeks left to go … then it’s Chicago time.