Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon 2016 - Week 12 of 19 - Takin' a Br...

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon 2016 - Week 12 of 19 - Takin' a Br...: After 3 consecutive weeks of 90 plus miles, I decided that I needed a slight break in the action.  I wanted to be able to run a halfway dece...

Boston Marathon 2016 - Week 12 of 19 - Takin' a Break

After 3 consecutive weeks of 90 plus miles, I decided that I needed a slight break in the action.  I wanted to be able to run a halfway decent 20-miler on Sunday, so I took it relatively easy on Friday and Saturday.  Boy, did I need it!  I only ran 8 easy miles on Friday, but the legs felt like concrete and had absolutely no life in them. Saturday was also a very easy 11, and more of the same.  Lead legs and fighting through every mile.  The legs are not sore and I am not in any pain, just zero pop or energy.  However, after the slight cutback, a couple of Saturday naps, lots of eating, followed by a good night's sleep, I was feeling pretty good today.  My best case scenario would be to run the 20 as a progression, with the last few miles getting in the 6:30 range, but I knew, based on how the past few days went, that would be asking too much.  Did the first few miles at "Huey" pace, which includes plenty of stopping and starting.  Then I settled into an 8:45 pace for the early miles and very, slowly and gradually worked my way under a 7 minute pace.  The legs still felt heavy and I don't think I could have run much faster even I wanted to, but still a vast improvement over Friday and Saturday.

So, ended up the week with about 86 miles and will probably be around 370 for the month.  I did get in a pretty decent tempo run on Tuesday, when I ran 12 miles with half of those below 6:48 pace.  For the upcoming week, I think I might forgo some mileage again for an attempt at quality.  I have pushed my legs to the brink and only have about 7 weeks to bring them back to life.  Time for a mini recovery then some fine tuning.

Happy Running!

Rick

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon - Week 11 of 19 - Almost According...

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon - Week 11 of 19 - Almost According...: Another week that almost went as planned.  My interval sessions that I threw in last week went so well, I decdied to do them again this past...

Boston Marathon - Week 11 of 19 - Almost According to Plan

Another week that almost went as planned.  My interval sessions that I threw in last week went so well, I decdied to do them again this past Tuesday.  These were more structured than the previous version; I ran a total of 12 miles with 5 x 1 mile intervals in 5:59, 5:56, 5:52, 5:48 and 5:58.  Pretty happy with this effort.  The plan then was to finish off the week with back to back long runs, with Saturday being easy and Sunday pushing the envelope, running a progression with a possible 6 to 8 miles at marathon pace.  Saturday's run was fine, easily logging 16 miles at a relaxed pace.  Sunday started out well, getting progressively faster from 1 to 10, where I was poised to be at MP then hold on for the rest of the run.  I hit the trail, which is flat and relatively ice free, locked into MP and ran out of gas only a mile into the effort.  Turned out to be decent general aerobic run, but a far from the effort planned.  The week overall was a B+, logging 90 plus miles again and hitting 1 of my 2 workouts.

So, how to bounce back this week?  I like how my body is responding to the interval workouts, so that is on the schedule again.  I still want a marathon paced effort somewhere in the mix, so I am thinking of a 6 to 8 mile cutback in mileage, giving me some well needed rest.  Perhaps I will do a light and short recovery run Friday, an MLR very easy on Saturday, then a full-fledged long run with 8 to 10 at MP on Sunday.

Less the taper, only 6 more weeks of heavy duty training; it is make or break time!

Happy Running!
Rick

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 10 of 19 - Change of Pace

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 10 of 19 - Change of Pace: Last week was a rough one for me.  I have been nailing my tempo runs, but logging the long and medium long runs was beginning to become a ch...

Boston Marathon Week 10 of 19 - Change of Pace

Last week was a rough one for me.  I have been nailing my tempo runs, but logging the long and medium long runs was beginning to become a challenge.  Legs were heavy and beat up and mentally every mile was becoming a chore. My original plan for this week was for more of the same, high miles and a couple of serious tempo runs, but since  things were feeling s bit stale with that routine, I decided to throw some interval and fartlek running into the mix, hoping that might break me out of the funk.  So Tuesday I went to the track and instead of my usual  12 mile run with 7 to 9 at sub marathon pace, I warmed up and did interval ladders, running 250 meters all out and 250 easy, 500 hard, 500 easy and so on.  Friday was more of the same, but less structured.  I started with 100 meter strides, a lot of them, then would run hard on the straight part of the track and easy on the turns, followed by "let's see by how fast can I run a mile."  Basically having some fun.   Worked like a charm, as my 19 plus miles on Saturday were effortless and the follow-up 14 plus Sunday was even better.  Good week, finishing up with 93 miles and a fresh perspective.

Looking forward to some warmer weather this week.  The plan is stay around the 90 mile mark, but probably move one of my quality efforts to Sunday's MLR.  I have been doing my week end runs a little too easy, so time to step up the effort a bit.  There are only about 6 or 7 weeks of quality weeks left, so time to get plenty of rest, fuel right and really get after those quality runs.  Maybe even find a race or two test out the fitness level.

Happy Running!
Rick

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 9 of 19 - Half-Time Pep Talk

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 9 of 19 - Half-Time Pep Talk: I am approaching the halfway point of my training cycle and I have to admit I am in serious need of a pep talk.  Now don't get me wrong,...

Boston Marathon Week 9 of 19 - Half-Time Pep Talk

I am approaching the halfway point of my training cycle and I have to admit I am in serious need of a pep talk.  Now don't get me wrong, the week went pretty well, but I had to talk myself into every single mile over the weekend.  I planned to do 20 on Saturday, but had to pull the plug at just over 18.    I thought I could make up the difference on Sunday, but could only muster the planned 14 and that was it.  Hips felt like concrete and really very little life or pop in the legs.

On a positive note, even though I just fell short of my 90 mile goal (88.2), it was a mileage PR for the cycle. Also, cranked out a "feel good" tempo run on Thursday night, where I ran 11 miles at 6:49 pace average and 8 at or below 6:25!

However, the real highlight of the week came on Saturday.  I got to watch my daughter debut in the mile at the Bethel track meet.  Very impressed with Malena's first effort, racing a 5:40 mile, which was good enough for 7th out of 25 gals and qualified her for MIAC conference meet!  Pretty impressive for her first mile and only second track meet.  Congrats Malena!

Okay, with 10 weeks left, what is in store?  First objective is to get some stretching and conditioning done early in the week, in hopes to loosen up these hips.  Mileage will be close to the same, maybe try to break 90, and another 8 to 10 mile tempo run mid- week.  In a couple more weeks, I will turn my attention to more interval workouts, where I can fine tune and sharpen things a bit.  Oh, and plenty of racing in March!  Here's to half time!

Happy Running!

Rick