Last weekend, I ran the United NYC Half Marathon. The rest of the week was focused on recovery, and everything went to plan.
At the end of the week, my legs felt great. My speed was back. And I was ready to attack these last couple weeks of training.
Usually, I’d try to work in a couple good long runs with marathon pace tempos in these last few weeks. I’ve done the long, long runs last month, and my mileage has been good. But I need a little practice running at race effort for extended periods of time.
But this Sunday and next Sunday also happen to be team races in the USATF-NJ Grand Prix. After mulling my options for a bit, I decided to just sign up for the races and treat them like workouts. With some additional mileage in the warm up and cool down, they could still be good long runs.
So that’s why this week starts with a race.
The Plan the for the Week
Last week was a down week at 60 miles. Next week is the beginning of my taper. So this week, I’m going to bump back up just slightly to 70 miles.
I’ll start things off with a marathon paced tempo at the race on Sunday. I may or may not go to the Wednesday evening track workout with the team. And Thursday will be a medium long run to get a little more time on feet.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: Garden State Ten Miler (18 miles w/ WU&CD)
- Monday: 6 miles trails
- Tuesday: 5 miles treadmill
- Wednesday: 8 miles trails AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Thursday: 10 mile progression
- Friday: 11 miles easy
- Saturday: 7 miles easy
And here’s how things worked out.
Sunday: Marathon Tempo at the Garden State Ten Miler
I drove down for the race and got there a little over an hour early. My goal was to get 5 or 6 miles in for a warm up and then see how I felt afterwards.
I jogged to the start, grabbed my stuff, and chatted with a few teammates. It was great seeing everybody, because I hadn’t seen many of them since the fall racing season ended. Then, I dropped my things in the car and went off for an easy few miles. It took a few minutes to get warmed up, but eventually things felt really good.
I jogged back to where my team was congregating, and we snapped a team picture. It was chilly – low 30’s – so they all complained about the weather. I loved it. The sun was out, and I felt great. I made one final pass by my car and bathroom, and I finished a total of five miles for the warmup.
Normally, I’d be a little anxious about a long marathon paced tempo. It’s hard. But it was actually the opposite today. I knew it was going to be “easy” – relative to a real ten mile race – and that was kind of relaxing.
I lined up a little further back than usual, and I went out easy at the gun. I slowly climbed up the ranks in the first mile (6:44), and then the field started to stabilize. I settled in near a few guys and cruised the next few miles – 6:50, 6:45, 6:51. Right on target.
At mile 5, I ran next to a guy for a couple minutes. He said, “If you’re not familiar with the course, this is the best mile.” Straight, flat, and gently downhill at the end. I split 6:46 when my watch buzzed. By this point, my GPS was slightly off, so I lapped again at the five mile marker to even things out.
34:16. Did some mental math. 6:51/mi. Perfect.
I planned to pick up the effort slightly after the halfway point and then push harder in the last mile or two. I got a little overeager in mile 6 and split 6:36. But man, did my legs feel great!
Mile 7, we went up a long, gradual hill. It wasn’t too bad at marathon effort, but I’m glad I wasn’t truly racing this one. Made it to the top, only to realize it dipped down and went up a second time. Still, I survived the hills in 6:45.
In mile 8, a couple people passed me. I thought, “Wow, they’re really upping the pace for the last few miles.” Then, I got to the end of mile 8 – 6:53 – and realized I was slowing down. Whoops!
By this point, the last person that had passed me was a young woman about 30 seconds ahead of me. There was another guy further up. Otherwise, I was in no man’s land. I picked up the effort a bit and focused on keeping the gap even with her. I was back on track, and mile 9 was 6:47.
My cumulative time at the 9 mile marker was 61:30. Exactly 6:50/mi. Perfect!
At this point, I kicked it into another gear for the final mile. I thought, “Maybe I can catch her.” But she kicked it up two gears. I finished that last mile strong (6:19). Found her on Strava afterwards, and she finished that mile in 6:10. No wonder she never seemed to get closer.
I grabbed a bagel and some Gatorade from the finish. Milled around with my teammates for five or ten minutes, and watched some others finish. I felt amazing, like that hadn’t really been work – other than the last mile.
Then, three of us went off for a cool down. I tacked on three more miles – for a total of 18. At this point, the mileage was starting to get to me. I had considered pushing through to 20, but calling it at 18 was the right move.
Said goodbye to the team, drove home, took a nice nap, and then ate a big lunch of leftover rice and chicken. This was a successful day – probably a much better tempo effort than I would have managed on my own. Definitely a confidence booster as I get closer to Jersey City.
Monday: An Easy Morning on the Trails
It’s the morning after the race, and my legs feel … decent.
I went out for an easy six miles on the trails. Things were a bit creaky at first, and it took a mile or two to really warm up. I didn’t feel quite as bad as I did last Monday after the NYC Half – and I’ve definitely felt worse after a solid long run.
Just before the halfway point, I veered off towards the parking lot to hit the porta potty for a quick pit stop. I saw a lonely car parked there with the window cracked, and I’m guessing somebody was there having a good time, because the whole are smelled like pot.
Three miles in, I turned towards home and my legs felt much better. The first mile had been dreadfully slow, but the last three were all ~9:20-9:30. Solid for a recovery day, and a sign that I didn’t overdo it yesterday in the race.
Tuesday: A Quick Treadmill Run
My morning routine got thrown off on Tuesday, so I wasn’t able to go for my regular run before work. Instead, I had to squeeze in a quick run between meetings later in the morning.
I had just enough time to hop on the treadmill for a quick 45 minute run. Everything felt good and smooth. Took a quick shower and then got back to work.
Wednesday: Back to Doubles
After a couple days of easy singles, it was time to double up on Wednesday.
I got started with eight miles on the trails. My legs felt good – much better than Monday. If there was any concern about recovery from Sundays race / workout, this put it to rest.
It was a quiet morning on the trails. I didn’t see anyone in the first half, and when I got to the turnaround point I could see the reddish hue of the sun rising behind Manhattan.
On the way back, I eased into a nice pace – 9:00-9:15/mi. My overall time when I got done was 1:16. Although I’ve done this route a little faster in the past, this is one of the fastest times I’ve had (at a very easy effort) in the last few months.
I drove down to the office, and when I got home I took a 20 minute nap. Then it was time to hop on the treadmill.
An easy 45 minutes and 5 more miles in the bank.
Thursday: A Longer Steady Single
Initially, I planned on doing a legit medium long run of 14 miles on Thursday. But I ended up having to go down to the office, and it’s hard to get more than ten miles in on a day that I have to commute.
So I called things off at ten miles and shuffled the miles around. It was quite chilly in the morning – ~30F – so I threw on my gloves as I went out the door.
The first couple miles were net uphill, and I slowly eased into the pace. But by the time I got to Verona Park, I hit the five mile mark and looked at my watch. The fifth mile was ~8:00.
I looped back towards home and progressed the pace over the next few miles. 8:01, 7:58, 7:43, 7:35, 7:22.
The last mile was a little bit of work – but the first nine miles were smooth as silk. My legs felt a little fatigued throughout the day, but overall the effort felt pretty easy.
Friday: Another Longish Single
Instead of doubling up to fill up the miles I missed Thursday morning, I decided to do another longish single on Friday.
I modified my route a little bit, and I was able to loop through Verona Park and hit 11 miles. The weather was a little warmer – low to mid 40s. Tank top weather! Altho I passed a guy in the park who was running with a whole sweatshirt on.
i warmed up a little more quickly than yesterday. The first few miles felt great, and after the turnaround I tried to keep things reigned in a bit.
if I let loose, I would have probably progressed down again to the mid-7:00s. But every time I started speeding up, I consciously backed off a bit.
I checked my time at 10 miles, and it was a smooth 1:23. After the last mile, I finished at 1:31.
The last seven miles were all right about 8:00, and the effort was easy. I haven’t done back to back double digits in a while. So I’m really happy with how these last couple days went.
Saturday: An Easy Jog Along the Canal
Saturday morning, I was out of town at a work meeting. We were back in Princeton, but at a different hotel. And this hotel is a little under a mile from the Delaware Raritan Canal Trail.
I left the hotel around 7, and it felt like spring. Not cold, but brisk. Beautiful morning.
I got to the canal and took a right onto the trail. It was a pretty busy morning, and I passed some walkers, some other runners, and even a few fishers.
About a mile up the trail, I started to see crew teams out on the river. I think they were high school teams out for a competition. Just after I turned around, they started the race and I saw a couple teams for flying by.
I love a good trail along a river – and this canal trail is one of my favorites. It was an easy morning, and I hit 7 miles in just about one hour. Rounded out a 70 mile week.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
This was a good week – and I’m really glad about that because I’ve only got two weeks left until Jersey City. If there’s a time to feel fresh and peaking … It’s now.
The week started off with a great workout at the Garden State Ten Miler. This is the first time I’ve used a race as a workout, and I like it more than I thought I would.
I did a solid ten miles at marathon pace (~6:50/mi) and I felt great at the end. My average heart rate for the race was 157. That’s right in the appropriate zone for a marathon effort. I’m usually in the high 150s early in a race, drifting up to ~160 by the end.
I bounced back from the race – and the total of 18 miles from the morning – quickly. By Wednesday, I felt fresh, and Thursday and Friday were both solid, long singles.
This weekend, I’ve got one more race – the Spring Distance Classic 15k. Like last week, I’m going to treat this as a marathon tempo – with enough warmup and cool down to reach 16 total miles.
This is one last gut check and confidence builder. If this goes well, I’ll be confident that I’m on track for a sub-3:00 finish at Jersey City.
Tomorrow marks two weeks to race day – so after this workout, it’s time to start tapering down. Check back next week to see if things are on track.