I’ve had a bit of a rough start with this training cycle.
Early on, I don’t think I was quite fully recovered from the Fred Lebow Half. And last week, I had to deal with the heat in Florida.
I’ve hit my mileage goals, but I haven’t had any great workouts. That said, things started to look up at the end of last week. After I acclimated to the heat a bit, I felt pretty good – despite doing 10+ miles several days in a row.
Now that I’m back home and I don’t have to deal with any training interruptions, I’m hoping that things continue to move in the right direction.
I’ve only got a couple weeks until the NYC Half, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.
The Plan for the Week
For the third week in a row, I’m aiming for 75 miles per week. This Sunday will (hopefully) be my first 20 milers of this training block, and I’ll do another I workout on Thursday.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: 20 mile long run
- Monday: 6 miles easy
- Tuesday: 8 miles easy
- Wednesday: 6 miles easy AM, 5.5 miles tread PM
- Thursday: 10 mile I workout AM, 5.5 miles tread PM
- Friday: 8 miles trails
- Saturday: 6 miles easy
And here’s how things worked out.
Sunday – The 20 Mile Long Run
I had 20 miles penciled in for this morning, but I wasn’t 100% sure I’d stick with it. As I got started, I toyed with the idea of calling it at 18.
I slept in a bit, and I hit the road late in the morning. But the nice thing about late winter/early spring is you don’t need to worry about the afternoon heat.
For the first few miles, I eased into things and warmed up. After a pit stop at a porta potty in mile 3, I felt better. My pace and effort seemed normal, and when I got to my turnaround point at mile 6 I felt great.
I turned around and looped back towards home. By this point, I had committed to the full 20. At ten miles, I checked my watch and the time was 1:27. Not bad, but not great.
I ran back up the hill to the loop at the Reservoir, and the plan was to push the pace for six miles at the end.
Once I got to level ground, and my watch hit mile 13, I kicked it up a notch. My breathing was ok, but I just didn’t quite have the normal pep in my step.
The next six miles worked down 8:10 to 7:54. Only the last two were sub-8:00. A decent effort, but I should have been able to work them down to 7:30-7:45 pretty easily.
I jogged the final mile for a cool down, and then I headed home. Took a shower, ate a big breakfast/lunch, and then laid down for a good nap.
The pace was a mixed bag. But the distance was a success – and I didn’t feel completely drained at the end.
Monday – An Easy Recovery Day
I woke up Monday morning feeling pretty good. Not too stiff, given the long run from yesterday.
I went down to the Reservoir for an easy six miles. The first lap was a little slow while I warmed up. In the next two laps, I mixed in a few easy strides.
They were slower than usual, but it was good to loosen up my legs a bit. At the end, I did some leg swings and stretches. My right hamstring is still a little tight, and I’m going to try to focus on working that out this week.
Tuesday – 8 miles, a Little Faster
I initially planned on doing doubles today, but then I realized I had a meeting scheduled for the early evening. So I shifted the evening double to tomorrow.
That just left an easy 8 miles for the morning before I left for the office. I woke up early and hit the road. Felt better than yesterday.
I warmed up a little more quick than yesterday, but my pace was about the same. A little slow, fine for a recovery effort. I mixed some strides in over the last two laps, and they were a little smoother than yesterday.
Finished up with leg swings and stretches. Still working out that hamstring.
Wednesday – Doubles and Feeling Good
The plan for today was an easy set of doubles – 6 miles in the morning and 5.5 on the treadmill in the evening.
I ran down to the Reservoir loop for the morning miles. It was a little warmer – more like spring – but there’s still a sheet of ice slowly melting off the water.
The first three miles were similar to the last two days. Warmed up slowly and eased in. I was going to mix in strides again, but at the last minute I decided to finish with a mild tempo effort instead.
I started to push the pace, and it was like a lightbulb turned on. My legs just felt so much better!
Finished up in 7:40, 7:30, and 7:45. It was a solid aerobic effort – right where Pfitz says my aerobic runs should be at the end.
In the evening, I got home from work, laid down for a few, and hopped on the treadmill. Did my usual 50 minutes, but I inched the pace up an extra tick or two.
My heart rate was nice and low (~140) at the end, and it was the best I’ve felt on the treadmill in weeks. Finished up with some stretches.
Thursday – Time for a Workout
Yesterday was great, and a bit of a confidence builder, but today is workout time. And I still haven’t had a great workout.
When I first got out on the road, I didn’t feel great. A little slow to warm up, and I felt a couple niggles. But over the first four miles, everything worked itself out and I started to feel a lot better.
The workout was 7×3 min I.
The first rep was fine. Started out a little slow and got on pace. The next few reps, I struggled a little with the pace, tho.
In the final rep, I progressed the pace down from ~6:20/mi to under 6:00/mi. It was my best rep of the day.
Not the best workout, but I’m happy I ended a high note.
In the evening, I hopped on the treadmill for another easy double. At first, everything was super tight.
But after a five minute warm up, I felt great. I ended up progressing the pace another tick higher than last night – and my heart rate was still in the right range.
Friday – Back on the Trails
Thanks to the snow and ice, I haven’t been on the trails in a few weeks. The last time I tried it, thinking things had had time to melt, the trails were a sheet of ice.
But we’ve had a few warm days, so I thought I’d give it another go. And sure enough, the trails are ready for spring. Most of the ice had turned to mud. There were a few remnants of ice, but they didn’t get in the way.
Once I warmed up – and that first mile was a drag – I felt good. After the four mile turnaround, I felt like I was flying.
The last few miles were 9:00-9:15/mi. A good pace for the trails. Overall time was 1:17, which is not bad. When I’m feeling good, I can cover this route in ~1:15.
Saturday – Out of Town for Six Miles
We went out of town this weekend to Longwood Gardens. I planned it differently this time, tho.
We drove down Friday to see the Gardens on Saturday. That meant I could do an easy short run down here – and be back home for my long run tomorrow.
I woke up around 6:45, drank my coffee, and hit the roads.
I felt great, and I warmed up easily. When I hit the turnaround point at 3 miles, I kicked it up a notch. Despite some serious hills on the way back, I finished up in 8:04, 7:59, and 8:03.
Another solid aerobic effort, and my legs feel better than they have in weeks.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
This was a good week.
In isolation, my long run was a mixed bag. I hit the mileage and felt ok, but my pace was a little slow. And my workout on Thursday was slow, but I was able to push through to finish strong at the end.
The real confidence booster, though, was hitting some food places at the end of my easy runs. For the last couple weeks, my legs have felt a little heavy and my right hamstring has been tight.
Something clicked this week, and everything feels so much better. I’m hoping this is a sign of things to come, and tomorrows long run should be much better than the last few.
And this comes right on time. Because I’ve got one more full week of training, a shorter long run next Sunday, and then I’m tapering down a bit for the NYC Half.
I’m still on the fence about whether I’ll be able to hit my goal (1:25). But my internal confidence needle definitely went up this week.
After next week, I should have a better idea of how that race will go. Fingers crossed everything continues to move in the right direction.