The next big race on my calendar is the Fred Lebow Half Marathon in New York.
I picked it, because I wanted to ensure that I had at least one chance to run a qualifying time for the NYC Marathon at a NYRR Half Marathon. The good thing about Fred Lebow is that anyone can register, it’s first come first served – unlike the other races that require winning a spot in the lottery.
The bad thing about Fred Lebow is that it’s a tough course. It’s two loops around Central Park, and you go through the hilly section in the north end of the park three times – the course starts just before the hills and ends just after them.
Luckily, I did make it in to the United NYC Half Marathon in March, so I’ve got a second chance (and better) chance. But I’m still going to take a crack at it at the end of January.
After taking it easy last week, I’ve got five weeks to train. My plan is to keep the mileage at 70 miles per week and focus on two workouts a week. The longer one will include race pace effort over hills, and the shorter one will be shorter, faster intervals (200s/400s).
The Plan for the Week
This was a holiday week, so I made some adjustments to my usual schedule. I had family plans early on Sunday, so I pushed my long run to Monday.
It was also very cold out this week – with overnight lows in the single digits. At first, I was hoping to get outside at some point, but I quickly decided to just stay in on the treadmill. As a result, I did a straight long run instead of the hilly race pace efforts, and I added in a few easy doubles.
- Sunday: Easy 10 miles, treadmill
- Monday: Easy 16 miles, treadmill
- Tuesday: Easy 8 mile treadmill
- Wednesday: Easy 7 mile treadmill
- Thursday: 2 x easy 7 mile treadmill
- Friday: Easy 7 mile treadmill
- Saturday: 8 mile R workout
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: Ten Miles on the Treadmill
It was frigid Sunday morning, so I didn’t even consider going outside. Definitely a treadmill morning.
I hopped on my new Peloton Tread and fired up Disney Plus. I slowly increased the pace for the first forty minutes or so, and then I kept it steady for the rest of the time. Finished up 90 minutes – 10 miles – feeling pretty good.
Then, off to dinner with the family.
Monday: A Long Run on the Treadmill
I considered starting my long run on the treadmill and then going outside for the final six or seven miles. But it was still really cold, so I bailed on the workout and just did a steady sixteen miles.
I slept in a little bit, mozied on down to the basement, and fired up the treadmill. Turned on Solo on Disney Plus and zoned out. The timing was perfect. I finished up 2:15 right around when the movie ended.
The effort got a little high at the end, and my heart rate was a little elevated. But overall, I still felt pretty good.
Tuesday: An Easy Treadmill Morning
Tuesday was Christmas Eve, so I had evening plans. No time for a double. So I just did a solid seven miles on the treadmill in the morning.
Everything went smoothly. I was able to up the speed another notch or two without my heart rate getting elevated.
Wednesday: Christmas on the Treadmill
Wednesday morning was Christmas, and we had a busy day planned with family. Just enough time for an hour on the treadmill in the morning before everything got going.
Legs felt really good, and I was able to up the speed a little bit. I’m pretty sure the calibration is off, because an easy pace (~9:00/mi) feels a lot harder than it should. But I was able to drop the pace down to the high 8:00’s on the treadmill.
Thursday: Treadmill Doubles
Thursday, I finally had a day without an evening activities. So I was able to double up and get in some extra miles. I did seven in the morning, and I did an extra seven again in the evening.
Over the course of the week, I’ve felt better and better. My pace is improving – although the pace on the treadmill still seems off. But I think I was still a little beaten down, and I needed an easy week to more fully recover.
Friday: A Final Treadmill Day
The weather was on the brink of warming up – but Friday morning was still cold. So I did one more morning on the treadmill.
It’s been more or less a week straight. This is the best part about having a treadmill in my basement during the winter. If I don’t feel like going outside and being cold, I don’t have to.
Saturday: Back Outside!
Friday afternoon, we drove out to Lancaster for the weekend. Saturday morning was a little warmer, and it was also rainy. But I was determined to go outside. Running on a hotel treadmill isn’t as much fun as watching TV in the comfort of my basement.
There was a golf course behind our hotel with a two mile loop around the perimeter. It made for much better running than the small, busy roads. The downside was that it was also quite hilly. Fine for an easy run, but not ideal for a workout.
Nonetheless, I wanted to stick with the workout. It’s been nothing but easy running this week, and I needed to put in some harder efforts. I just kind of accepted that the pace would be off, and I focused on running hard.
I felt pretty good at the end, despite being soaked to the bone and a bit chilled. Sure enough, the paces were disappointingly slow. But I felt like I put in a good effort, and I think it was still good to get my legs moving.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
This was supposed to be my first solid week of training, but it ended up being another easy week. In retrospect, I think I needed it, anyway.
My paces improved over the course of the week, and I felt a lot better towards the end of this week than I did last week. On the plus side, I got my mileage back up to 70 miles for the first time in a while. This will be my new baseline until it’s time for the race.
I’m in Lancaster for the weekend, so my long run schedule is off a little. But I’ll head out for a long run – and a workout – on Tuesday. Over the next few days, I’ll get a better idea of how I’m feeling, now that I’m outside and getting better feedback on pace.