Last week was the first in my transition from the Fred Lebow Half to my goal races for the spring: the NYC Half and the Jersey City Marathon. It didn’t go great, and I’m hoping this week goes better.
In last week’s long run, I bombed out on the tempo sections. So this week, I’m going to take a step back and ease into things a little more with a progression run. Less pressure on the pace, just focus on getting in the distance and getting comfortable at effort again.
Other than that, the big question mark is the weather. There is a lot of snow in the forecast, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be stuck in the basement. That’s not the end of the world, but it can mean shuffling around mileage and switching up workouts.
The other wildcard is that we’re traveling down to Florida towards the end of the week. Instead of the winter, I’ll be dealing with summer-ish weather. I also don’t have the luxury of padding mileage with doubles in the evening, so I may have to work in some longer singles.
The Plan for the Week
For the next few weeks, I’m going to bump my mileage up to 75 miles. That’ll be my peak mileage, with a couple down weeks around the NYC Half, going into the JC Marathon.
My long run this weekend is just going to be a progression run, and I plan on doing some kind of workout on Thursday. Depending on the weather, it may be a Peloton workout on the treadmill or it may be an I workout outside. We’ll have to wait and see.
- Sunday: 17 mile progression long run
- Monday: 6 miles easy
- Tuesday: 8 miles easy w/ strides AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Wednesday: 8 miles easy AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Thursday: 7 miles w/ Peloton workout
- Friday: 9 miles easy
- Saturday: 10 miles easy w/ strides
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: A Looping Long Run After the Snow
I wasn’t sure how today’s long run was going to go for two reasons.
First, the snow. We were expecting four of five inches of snow overnight. Luckily, it stopped around midnight, and by the time I got moving, the path around the Reservoir was cleared off perfectly. Usually, I’d prefer an out and back for a long run, but I’d still prefer eleven longer laps to 2.5 hours on the treadmill.
Second, my foot. Throughout the day Saturday, I continued to feel some discomfort on the top of my right foot. It came and went if I flexed my foot the wrong way. It had me worried that I injured something. But it felt fine when I woke up, and it didn’t bother me throughout the run. I was ready to turn around if it did.
Instead, everything ended up going pretty well. I had 20 miles written in my plan originally, but when I saw snow in the forecast I decided to cut that down. I went out with a goal of 16-18, depending on how I felt and where I ended up at the end of a lap.
The first couple miles were a little slow while I warmed up, but I felt pretty good. Mentally, the repeated laps were a slog, but I survived. There were a few other runners out there, and we waved every time we went around. Miles 5-10 were all in the 8:15-8:20 range, a solid pace for an easy run.
I picked it up after the ten mile mark, with a goal of pushing the last six miles a little bit. A couple at ~8:00, then a couple at ~7:30-7:45.
Mile 11 was a little faster than I meant (7:48), and I backed off a bit. 7:52 and 8:00 for the next two. So far, so good.
At this point, I was getting tired … but also felt like I could continue. I pushed it a little, and ran mile 14 in 7:47. At the end of mile 15, a nasty headwind slapped me in the face, but I still clocked 7:57. At this point, I was feeling pretty wiped, but I ground out mile 16 in 7:45.
I eased up to an easy, slow jog for the end of that lap and for the last segment home. I ended up at 17 miles.
My time at 16 miles was 2:15. Not bad, although I’ve done less than 2:10 a few times when I’ve been feeling really good. Overall, it was a fine run … but not great.
Monday: A Slow Morning Slog
I had to drive down to the office this morning. So despite being up a little late last night with the Super Bowl, I was up bright and early to have time to get out for my six miles.
I felt ok when I got out of bed. But when I hit the road, I was tired. My legs felt creaky and seized up. After the first mile, things loosened up a little bit, but I could tell it was going to be a slow day. On the plus side, nothing hurt. My foot, in particular, felt fine.
In the last lap, I threw in a few easy strides. They were slow, and I wasn’t trying to speed up that much. But I just wanted to lengthen out my stride a little bit and open things up – and I felt a little better for it when I finished.
Initially, I was considering an easy double after work. But when I got home I laid down for a quick nap. That nap became a deep sleep, and I woke up an hour and a half later. I decided to push the double to tomorrow and just enjoy some much needed rest.
Tuesday: Back to Normal(ish)
This morning, I woke up feeling much better. It was cold – ~20F when I got out of bed – so I waited a little longer than usual to head out. It was cloudy, so the sun didn’t help much, but there was no wind. So once the temperature climbed into the mid-20’s, it actually wasn’t that bad out.
The morning called for an easy eight miles. As soon as I started, I felt better than yesterday. I jogged down to the Reservoir, my stride fairly loose and easy. At the end of my second loop, I glanced down at the split for mile 4 – 8:46. A little slow for an easy day, but not terrible.
Over the course of the next two laps, I incorporated some strides. The first few were slow, and my legs felt a little tight. But by the end, things opened up pretty well. I definitely didn’t make it down to mile pace, but I probably got down to around threshold pace.
After work, I did another five miles on the treadmill. Uneventful. Felt pretty good, although my heart rate was still a little high. Did some easy work with the medicine ball, too.
Wednesday: More Well Timed Snow
Tuesday night, we got some more snow. Not much – just 1-2 inches. It had stopped by the time I woke up, and the path at the Reservoir was already cleared when I got there.
It made for a beautiful backdrop for my run. The snow was light and fluffy, and it sat on top of all the tree branches. Looked like a scene out of a story book.
It was a little slow going, but my heart rate was nice and low. Maybe I was a little tired from the double from Tuesday, but it was a nice, slow recovery jog. I threw in a few easy strides in the last lap.
After work, I hopped on the treadmill for another easy double. Felt even better than last night. Same pace, lower heart rate and less effort.
Thursday: A Workout On the Peloton Tread
The weather Thursday morning was iffy. It was cold and rainy, but the rain was supposed to ease up later in the morning.
I had planned on trying out a Peloton workout, but then I thought the rain let up. I laced up my shoes and let the dog out, and I realized it was still raining fairly steadily. So the back to the treadmill.
This is the first time I’ve done an actual workout class on the Peloton. I browsed around and had trouble finding something I wanted to do. I was looking for a short interval workout – something like the equivalent of 5-6 x 1k.
I ended up finding an interval class with Becs Gentry that was more like a threshold workout – 5 x 5 minutes at challenging pace. I did a separate fifteen minute warmup before I joined the class, because the class itself was only 45 minutes.
It ended up being pretty fun. The music and Becs’ energy helped pass the time. She worked in some elevation as well, which helped make the workout a little more challenging.
From my easy runs, I know the treadmill isn’t well calibrated. It’s faster than it reads. So it’s hard to get real pace feedback about how well I did. But I felt good at the end of the workout. My heart rate was in the right zone, and my legs felt like they’d done some work … but I wasn’t dead.
I don’t plan to give up my outdoor workouts for Peloton workouts. But I could see myself doing this again if the weather is bad.
Friday: The Humid Hell of South Florida
Thursday night, we flew down to West Palm Beach to visit family. Due to some delays, we didn’t actually get in until about 2AM. It had also been terribly hot on the plane, so it was just an uncomfortable night. I finally got some to sleep, and next thing I knew it was 6:30 and my alarm was going off.
I had some coffee, took a bit of time to wake up, and hit the road by 7:15ish. I knew it was warm, but I wasn’t ready for it. The overnight temps were in the 70’s, and the humidity was high. I pulled off my singlet after only a block, and braced myself for a tough nine miles.
I kept the pace nice and easy, knowing the weather would take its toll. The first couple of miles were enjoyable, albeit hot. I made it downtown, stopped at a water fountain, and waved to some passing runners. About four miles in, I took a left turn across the bridge to Palm Beach Island.
I looped north, stopped in another park for a drink of water, and turned left across the bridge. The drawbridge happened to be up, so I slowed to a walk. I needed it.
Once the bridge was down, I continued on, knowing I had only three miles to go. From there, though, I couldn’t make it more than a mile or so without needing to stop for a short walking break. I was going dreadfully slow, and my heart rate was up around 160.
I finally made it to the end. When I got back to the house, I drank some water, took a shower, and collapsed in the bed for a much needed nap. Eugh, what a reminder this was about how terrible summer running is – especially in Florida.
Saturday: Better Weather, But Still a Struggle
Saturday morning, I needed to do 10 easy miles to round out the week. I got up at 6:30 again, went through my routine, and prepared to head out. When I looked at the weather, I was pleasantly surprised that it was a little better.
The temps were still in the 70’s, but the humidity had dropped a bit, and the dew point was only in the mid 60’s. When I stepped outside, I was treated to a nice breeze and some clouds.
Today went a lot better. I started out at an easy pace again, and eased in. With the breeze and the clouds, the weather wasn’t hitting quite as bad as yesterday. My pace settled in to the mid to high 8:00’s.
At the halfway point, I got out to the ocean side of Palm Beach Island. Stopped to take a picture and continued on.
At the seven mile mark, I crossed over the bridge back to West Palm Beach. I was starting to feel worn down. My legs were heavy and my heart rate was drifting up. But I was still in much better shape than yesterday.
Over the course of the last two miles, I tried to work in some strides. They were dreadfully slow. But I was pleasantly surprised that I finished the 10 miles in 1:27 – an 8:41/mi pace overall. Much faster than I expected in the heat.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
I’d say this week was a step in the right direction. I was much happier with how things went than I was with last week.
My long run wasn’t amazing, but it went pretty well. Some of my easy days were slow, but on others I was feeling better than I had the last couple of weeks. If I was still carrying some fatigue from the race and/or some hard workouts last month, I think that’s dropping off and I’m back to normal.
The end of the week was a big confidence boost, too. Although Friday’s run in the heat was a struggle, Saturday’s went great. The fact that I followed up a nine mile easy day with another ten miles – and felt great – means I’m getting my marathon legs back.
I hit 75 miles for the week, and my legs don’t feel heavy or weighed down at all. I’m feeling pretty good, and hopefully things continue to progress from here.
I’ve got to struggle through a long run here in Florida, but once I’m back home I’ll have four more weeks for solid long runs before the NYC Half. Things are looking up.