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

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 8/19 - Meat and Potatoes

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 8/19 - Meat and Potatoes: This was week 8, about 12 weeks out and as I mentioned last week, the time when the real work begins.  I've been gradually building mile...

Boston Marathon Week 8/19 - Meat and Potatoes

This was week 8, about 12 weeks out and as I mentioned last week, the time when the real work begins.  I've been gradually building mileage and on top of running 80 to 90 mile weeks, I get to throw more quality and racing into the mix.

I am happy to report that I hit my mileage goal of 85 miles and nailed a quality tempo run on Tuesday night, where I ran 12 miles with 9 at sub 6:40 pace, then capped off the week with 19 miles on Saturday and a HM at 6:39 pace, followed up by 14 easy on Sunday.  Now I came up a little short on my HM goal, but I am still pleased with the effort.  I had trouble getting going, hitting the first half at about a 6:47 pace.  However, I opened it up on the way back hitting 6:30 pace pretty comfortably and even running a sub 40 minute 10k!

I am really happy with my progression so far.  No huge gains and no PR's, but I feel good, no pain or injuries and very little fatigue.  I think the cold weather training and the slow easy miles are paying off.

I will try to hit 90 miles this week and because of the mileage increase, I will stick with one quality run.  Shooting for 13 miles with 10 at 6:30 pace, but maybe wait until Thursday, to let me recover from the HM.

Happy Running!
Rick

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon - Week 7/19 - Time to Get Serious

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon - Week 7/19 - Time to Get Serious: It is hard to believe I am already 7 weeks into this training cycle.  It has gone really well so far and I am right where I need to be headi...

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 6/19 - Still Plugging Along

Chasing 3 Hours: Boston Marathon Week 6/19 - Still Plugging Along: No big breakthroughs this week, in fact it looked a lot like last week.  My plan was for a cutback week, but instead of cutting back the mil...