Just two weeks to go until the Jersey City Marathon. Things have been looking up in the last few weeks, and last week’s workout at the Garden State 10 Miler was another indication that things are moving in the right direction.
This week will start with one final workout – also at a race, the Spring Distance Classic 15k – before I start to taper off. Like last week, I’ll run the race around marathon pace and use this as a gauge of whether or not I’m on track.
Once that’s out of the way, it’s time to start tapering down and easing up. I ran 70 miles last week, and I’ll target 60 miles this week. Then, I can drop down further for the final week next week.
The Plan for the Week
Here’s the plan for the week:
- Sunday: 16 miles, Spring Distance Classic 15k + WU/CD
- Monday: 6 miles easy
- Tuesday: 8 miles easy
- Wednesday: 8 miles trail
- Thursday: 10 miles easy progression
- Friday: 6 miles easy
- Saturday: 6 miles easy
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: A Good Day at the Spring Distance Classic 15k
I woke up early on Sunday, and I drove forty minutes out to the race. The plan was to run a few miles for a warm-up, take the race at around marathon pace, and then run a few more miles as a cooldown to get to 16 total miles.
When I got to the race, I still had some time, so I sat in my car and finished my coffee. I looked up and saw one of my teammates, and I got out to chat with him. After I checked in and grabbed my bib, I used the bathroom and went for a quick warmup. We gathered as a team for a photo at 8:30, and then I did an extra mile or so to finish warming up. My legs felt great, and I got up to speed easily in the strides at the end.
Like last week, I started a few rows back and took it easy when the gun went off. There’s a little incline and a long decline at the start, so I focused on keeping things easy and not getting ahead of myself. I started out a little hot in the first mile – 6:39 – and then I pulled back.
I fell in with a group of two guys and a woman who seemed to be running together. The pace felt super easy, and partway through mile 2 I looked down and realized I had slowed past 7:00/mi. I picked out a few people about 50 meters ahead – including a trio of women and a guy from Garden State Track Club – and I started to track them. I split 6:48 for mile 2 and then 6:45 for mile 3. So far, so good.
From there, we had an out and back segment that took us to around five miles. The nice thing about these out and backs is I got a chance to see the rest of my team, spread out over the course a few minutes behind me, and cheer them on for a change. Two of the three women I had been following had slowed down a bit, and I eventually passed them as we headed back towards the main route. Miles 4 and 5 were 6:44 and 6:50, and every step felt smooth as silk.
From there, we had one more mile out, and we hit the final turnaround point just after the 10k mark. I split mile 6 in 6:50, turned around, and maintained the pace as we started making our way back towards the finish. Mile 7: 6:47.
I was originally planning on speeding up somewhere around the 10k mark, and I decided to hold off until mile 8. From there, I started to grind down the pace. I focused on the one guy in front of me, and over the course of mile 8, I think I picked off two people: 6:40.
I manually split the lap at mile 8 to get an accurate time – 54:15 or 6:47/mi – and then I focused on picking up some more speed. I had been cruising throughout the first part of the race, and my breathing was under control. When we passed the 8 mile mark, I increased my turnover a bit and started working like this was a race. There was a long string of 10 to 15 guys ahead of me, and I wanted to pick a few off.
I passed a couple more throughout that mile and worked the pace down to 6:32. With just under half a mile to go, we had to climb the one big hill on the course – and then we could coast to the end. There were two guys in striking distance, including the Garden State Track Club runner I had been tracking throughout the race.
I surged up the hill, and I caught up to the first guy by the time we reached the peak. But the GSTC guy heard me coming, and he picked up the pace significantly. With a quarter mile to go, I kept pace with him for a minute. I was breathing hard at this point – that hill had been tough. I thought about easing up and cruising in behind him.
Then I heard some cheers from the crowd, “You can catch him!” I thought about it for a split second, and then I gave it all I had in that last 100 meters or so. I caught up and passed him just before the finish. Nice!
I was completely toasted when I crossed the finish line. My teammate – who had finished a couple minutes ahead of me – grabbed me a bottle of water. Once I caught my breath, I felt better. We stood around for 10 or 15 minutes, cheering on our other teammates, and then left for a cooldown. The two of us jogged for a mile before he called it quits, and then I tacked on two more.
Legs felt good. I was cranking out an easy 8:00/mi pace on the last cooldown mile. Almost as if this hadn’t even been hard. I doubled back and chatted with a few teammates who were still hanging around before I finally went home for a nice long shower and a nap.
Monday: A Slow, Creaky Day at the Reservoir
When I first woke up on Monday, I felt ok. I lounged about in bed for a bit, but my body didn’t seem too bad.
I took one step, though, and I felt it. My body was stiff, sore, and tired. It’s gonna be one of those days …
My plan was six miles – three loops around the Reservoir. The first loop was tough. Plodding feet, heavy legs.
The second lap was smoother. Still slow, but everything was starting to flow a little bit.
The third lap? Smooth as silk. It was like night and day. I wasn’t quite up to my normal cruising speed, and my legs still felt a little fatigued … but the first mile was 10:00 downhill and the last two miles were an easy 8:30.
Good sign for recovery.
Tuesday: Feeling Much Better
Tuesday morning, I spent a little too much time lounging in bed. By the time I dragged myself outside – and I needed to do 8 miles – I was a little pressed for time. It had also rained heavily the night before, so I decided to stick to the roads instead of the trails. It was fast, and it would be drier.
From the first steps, I felt much better than the day before. I ran back to the Reservoir, and I did my four loops. This time, my first mile was 9:15 – instead of 10:00 – and the last couple miles were around 8:00.
I felt great.
Wednesday: On the Trails and Back to Normal
When I woke up Wednesday, I thought (hopefully) that the trails had had some time to dry out. I had 8 miles on my schedule, and I had a little extra time, so I hit the trails instead of the roads.
It was a brisk morning, and the trails were still a little wet. Some parts were dry, and some were mud. But they weren’t terrible. I bunch of people out walking their dogs.
By the time I got to the turnaround, my legs felt great and everything was moving along. I had to stop in the porta potty on the way back for a quick pitstop, but otherwise my pace was great throughout the run.
I finished up in 1:15 – inclusive of a short stop – and my pace in the later miles was ~8:50/mi. One of my fastest runs along this route in a long time.
Once again, recovery seems to be going very well – and I feel better than ever.
Thursday: The Final Midweek Push
The plan for today: one final ten mile run. A midweek, moderate progression.
It rained overnight, and it was starting to warm up. After getting down near freezing yesterday, today felt like spring again.
My legs felt pretty good. Last night, I felt a little discomfort around my front, right hip. I wasn’t sure if I was just going crazy – that happens during the taper – or if I had tweaked something on my trail run. But as I warmed up, there were no signs of any discomfort. So far, so good.
I wasn’t paying attention to the pace on the way out, but in my mind I was hoping that I’d comfortably get down to around 8:00/mi. When I got to the turnaround point in Verona Park, I saw my time for 5 miles was ~43:00. The first couple warm up miles had been a little slow, but that fifth mile had been 7:48. So far, so good.
From there, I gently pushed the pace with a goal of getting down to ~7:30/mi at the end. For some reason, I just wasn’t noticing my watch vibrating today when it lapped. But I saw a couple splits, and they were all going in the right direction.
I finished up in just under 1:21. The last five miles were 7:59, 7:50, 7:28, 7:30, 7:25. So … pretty much perfect.
Friday: A Dreary Morning at the Reservoir
My car is in the shop, so I had to drop my wife off at work this morning. That cut down on my available time a bit, so I skipped the trails and headed down to the Reservoir instead.
The weather has been funky lately. First cold, then hot. It was warm and humid overnight, and it was a warm-ish, dreary morning at the Reservoir. It wasn’t overly hot, but the moisture just hung in the air. It’s one of those early signs of spring and summer.
The run felt good. My legs were loose, and everything felt smooth. I jogged the first lap as an easy warm up, and then I incorporated some easy strides over the course of the last two laps.
My top end speed wasn’t quite there. That might be just a little bit of residual fatigue from yesterday’s progression run. But I still felt good, and my average pace for the morning was a comfortable 8:30/mi.
Saturday: Back in PA at Longwood Gardens
We came down to Kennett Square Friday night so that we could go to Longwood Gardens in the morning. It was a late night, so I slept in a little and hit the road around 8.
It was another gloomy spring morning – warmish, but not as humid. It’s supposed to rain on and off throughout the day, but it was dry through my run. The cherry blossoms and other spring trees are just starting to come into bloom, and it’s nice to see the world coming back to life.
I ran out three miles, through downtown, and turned back. I actually saw a few other people out today – I don’t usually see any other runners when I’m here. But maybe now that it’s spring, people are starting to come out more. The last couple times I’ve been here, it’s been winter.
My legs felt great. It’s hilly, so my pace fluctuated a bit, but I averaged 8:40/mi / 52:00 for the full six miles. A decent easy run to wrap up the week.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
This was the last real week of training, and it went just about as well as I could have hoped.
I started things off with a final long run and a workout. I kept the pace under control at the Spring Distance Classic 15k, and I hit a mildly aggressive marathon pace of ~6:47/mi – for the majority of the race. I had plenty of gas in the tank at that point and was able to push the pace down and kick at the end.
The rest of the week was pretty easy, as it’s time to start tapering down. For the first time in a long time, I did all singles. No doubles at all. Thursday’s ten mile progression run was a good gut check – just to make sure everything still felt smooth.
I finished this week out with 60 miles, and I’ll bring it down further to 45 next week. I’m running one more race – a local 10k – on Sunday. But again, I’ll keep it easy. It’s a team race, and all my friends are going to be there … so what the heck. At this point, I’m at least confident I have enough discipline not to charge out and tire myself out before the real race next Sunday.
With a week to go, the weather for marathon morning is starting to come into focus. It’s still a little early to be 100% confident in the forecast, but the weather looks like it’ll be mild for several days leading up to the race. Dew point in the 30’s, and race temperatures in the high 40’s to low 50’s.
At this point, I’d say it’s all systems go. My body feels good. The pace feels good. The weather looks good. I’ll drill down a little bit more on race strategy at the end of the week, but I’m going to go out at three hour pace – and I’m pretty sure it’s going to work out this time.