It’s been two full weeks since I ran the Jersey City Marathon, and my recovery has been going well. Last week, I worked a few strides into my easy runs, and my legs feel pretty good.
It’s still early, and I’m still not “fully” back. But it’s time to start adding in a little light work as I turn my attention to some races coming up in the early summer.
Although this week will still be more like recovery than training, I’m mentally pivoting from one to the other. This week is still going to be light, and the workouts are going to be easy, but I’m going to consider it “training” – and not just taking it easy.
My first race is coming up on May 17. It’s a mile race, and it’s more about fun and team camaraderie. But I’d be lying if I didn’t hope to do well, too. My mile PR is quite soft (5:40 from a hot day last summer), and it’s not out of the question to knock that down a bit.
The Plan for the Week
The plan for the week is to start increasing my mileage, but still keep it lower than my typical baseline. The goal his to hit 6+ miles each day.
I’ll also go out for a longer run on Sunday, although it’ll be shorter than a typical long run. And Wednesday and Friday will feature some light workouts so I can start testing out where I’m at.
Here’s the plan for the week:
- Sunday: 10 miles easy
- Monday: 6 miles trail
- Tuesday: 5 miles treadmill
- Wednesday: 8 miles speed “workout”
- Thursday: 7 miles trails
- Friday: 8 miles T “workout”
- Saturday: 6 miles trail
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: Something Like A Long Run
Two weeks post-race means it’s time to take these legs for a spin. Not a real long run, but something a little bit like it.
The plan was 10 miles easy, out and back to Millburn. I took it easy and didn’t have any real pace aspirations, but I kind of hoped that I’d be able to finish in 1:25-1:30 – not a fast time by my normal standards, but not a slow time, either.
It was in the 50’s and cloudy. Not warm, not cold, kind of comfortable. I turned out of the house, hit the road, and felt pretty loose. When I passed by the Reservoir, I could see people arriving and setting up for some kind of charity 5k or walk that would take place later in the morning.
Up, over the hill, and down the other side. I felt good. Legs were moving smooth, breathing was easy, and I didn’t feel tired. Got to the halfway point, ran through the checklist, and all systems were go.
The way back was a little tougher. It’s a net incline with a couple of big hills, and I’ve noticed that while I’m recovering from a race hills tend to hit me a little harder.
Today was no different, and my effort was high on the hills. My heart rate had been pretty solidly zone 2, and it snuck up into zone 3 for a bit here. But I made it to the other side.
As I came down the last hill, I ran back by the entrance to the Reservoir. The power walkers were heading across the street for their event – something for the MS Society. I found an opening and zipped through the line of walkers waiting to cross the street.
Got back to the house in 1:27:28. A decent recovery day. Definitely not normal pace – I was doing these in 81-82 minutes pre-race. But a step in the right direction.
Monday: Back on the Trails
Sunday was for testing things out – and it went well. Then, Monday was back to normal. Six easy miles on the trails.
It was a little warmer today – 50’s and sunny. Thankfully the trees offered cover. But I was definitely starting to sweat a little more than usual.
The tree branch was still crossing the one path. I hopped over it on my way out, but I took a detour down some single track trails on the way back. It’s funny how you feel like you’re going faster on the smaller trails – but you’re really going slower.
Otherwise, an uneventful, enjoyable morning. Legs were a little stiff early on, and then they loosened up. 58:00 even.
Tuesday: On the Treadmill Again
Tuesday, we had a plumber coming by to work on the house. He was scheduled to be there at 7, but you know how these things go. Could be any time.
Rather than rush out for an early run, I decided to hop on the treadmill. The first couple of minutes was rough. My legs felt pretty stiff. But they loosened up, and after ten minutes I was zooming along.
Finally had a chance to start the new season of Andor – and I’m looking forward to the rest. But I’ll save it for when I start doubling on the treadmill more in a few weeks.
I was done by ~7:15 … and of course the guy didn’t show up until 10.
Wednesday: A Baby Speed Workout
Last week, I mixed in some strides and things felt good. This week, it’s time to do something more akin to a real workout. But for the week or two, I’ll keep the volume down and go relatively easy on the pace.
Today’s focus: speed. I planned 8 miles – four laps of the Reservoir. The first lap was an easy warmup, and the second lap I did 6x easy strides (~80-90m).
The path is marked at tenth of a mile intervals, so the next two laps I alternated one tenth on and one tenth off – so ~160m repeats with equal rest for six reps per lap. Kind of similar to 12x200m, but a little easier.
The first one was a little slow. Couldn’t quite get up to speed. But the next few went better. Just needed to knock off the rust a little bit. I could feel the pace improving as I went.
By the end of the first set, I was starting to get pretty tired. I definitely needed that jog. From the sixth rep, there was about a half mile jog before I started up again.
On the second set, I was able to go faster. I was also slowing down on the recoveries. You can easily tell in the Garmin Connect graph which set was harder.
After the second set, I took a little extra recovery and I did one last long rep – two tenths of a mile (320m).
It felt good to get out there and run hard. The second set, I was high 5:00 / low 6:00 paces. The last rep was ~5:55/mi at the end.
The paces are a little slow – more like 5k pace than mile pace. But things are moving in the right direction.
Thursday: Some Easy Trail Miles
Thursday was an uneventful easy day. Seven miles on the trails.
I saw a couple people out there, but it was a quiet morning. My pace picked up on the way back, and I finished up with ~9:00-9:15/mi for the last few miles.
Friday: Something Like a Threshold Workout
Friday morning I was back at the Reservoir for another workout. Today’s focus – threshold-ish running. A normal workout would have been something like 6-8 x 5 minutes at threshold with one minute walking recoveries. So for a lighter version, I did 4×5 minutes, with 2 minute recoveries – walking into jogging.
The first two miles served as a good warmup. Ease in, finish up with some strides. Feeling good.
I started the first rep, and I avoided looking at my watch. I didn’t want to force it to hit a specific pace – just wanted to run hard-ish for five minutes. I focused on my breathing and used that to gauge what was hard enough.
The first five minutes was tough. But it got the engine revved up. The next few went better. Four reps was the right number – I was pretty wiped after the last one.
The first rep was 6:56/mi and the next two were 6:51/mi. The last one was a little slower. So basically marathon pace. It felt like I was pushing pretty hard, so I guess I just wasn’t ready for threshold yet.
But hopefully this week jump started things, and next week will go smoother.
Saturday: Another Warm Day on the Trails
The weather has been seesawing back and forth. One day it’s summer, the next it’s fall – or almost winter.
Today was a warm one. The temps got into the 80’s yesterday, and it was in the high 50’s or low 60’s when I left for my run this morning. It’s brew day, so first I had to get my beer mashed in and then I hit the trails.
At the beginning, I felt a little stiff from yesterday’s workout. So I made a concerted effort to hold myself back and keep it slow.
The stiffness went away pretty quickly, and after the first mile or two I felt great. With the weather warming up – and since I went out a little later than usual – I saw more people on the trails than I’m used to.
The first three miles were nice and slow. After the turnaround, I paid a little less attention to the pace – and I ended up running ~9:00/mi on the back half. Probably should have slowed that down a bit.
My effort was a little higher than I’d have liked for an easy run. But in part that was likely due to the temperature. I was sweating a lot more than I usually do.
Regardless, the run felt good. Got home, finished up some writing projects, and put my beer in the fermenter to go to work for the next two weeks.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
The two weeks of strict recovery went well, and this first week of training is heading in the right direction. But I’m definitely not back to 100% yet.
I tested things out with a couple of light workouts. They went well enough and served their purpose – they got my legs moving and my heart pumping. But my paces were slow, and I definitely need another week or two before I start to pay more attention to pace.
I’m going to approach next week in a similar fashion. Two light workouts and a few more miles. By the end of the week, I’ll see how things are looking for that mile race coming up on May 17.
Hi, just came across your web site and love to read about all you do and the data you collect!
Especially the Abbott World Marathon Majors.
Recently April 27, 2025, in London, my daughter and I earned our 6th star!
We ran all 6 marathons together too! I was wondering if you had any data on Dads and daughters that have completed the 6-star journey together? Look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you.