Pace Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 34:21
Pace: 8:34 min/mi

Comments: Day five of a six-day workout streak. I'm definitely running on tired legs but I've got to get used to that at some point. The long run tomorrow is intimidating though.

The start was expectedly uncomfortable but I got warmed up much faster than I expected. The target pace was somewhere between 8:30 and 8:45 which I cheated on the fast side the last mile to make up for the warmup.

I really focused on associative running, keeping focused on the effort. At the end I felt pretty good, not worn out or burnt. All good signs.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 56:10
Pace: 9:21 min/mi

Comments: Slept badly last night and woke up stupid early. The result is I headed out on this one not feeling 100% at all. The target was 10 min/mi but I was willing to settle for less if my legs didn't have it in them.

The warm up went pretty well and, after the first mile, I tried to increase my cadence while cutting my stride. The idea being expend less energy for a more efficient effort. I also tried to improve my focus and associative running technique.

I was slightly behind pace at the turnaround so I increased the effort slightly over the next two miles. I kept this up on the last mile but switched back to a normal stride. Overall it was a good effort but I was less than enthusiastic about it.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:41
Pace: 9:24 min/mi

Comments: I felt good after the run yesterday but, as the day wore on, my legs got a little achy. That came back a little bit in the warm up portion of this run. There are a lot of miles this week so I need to keep an eye on that.

I was a bit tired getting going today but not nearly as bad as yesterday. I just wanted to keep it under 9:30 pace. So I didn't worry too much about pacing on the first half but watched it closer on the second half. My splits were all over today but I guess that's fine for now.

Tomorrow is gonna be much the same but at six miles. I'll try and take it easy the rest of the day to prepare.

Interval Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 32:12
Pace: n/a

Comments: Interval workout day. I was rather apprehensive. I felt exhausted after yesterday's run and took a nap that did nothing but leave me bleary. Getting up today was difficult. I warmed up OK but my legs didn't feel ready for the effort. I put that aside and just got into the intervals.

This was five half-mile efforts at 5K or better pace with about a two minute break between. I felt I was running hardest the first one which was the slowest. After that I worked on focus, keeping my attention on the run for the whole of the interval.

WU	.75 mi	7:46
1	.5 mi	3:31
2	.5 mi	3:22
3	.5 mi	3:19
4	.5 mi	3:25
5	.5 mi	3:20
CD	.75 mi	7:28

My first interval was exactly the same time as my first one last month. After that, I was a good ten seconds faster on each of these compared to last time. Finished pretty worn out but pleased with the effort.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:42
Pace: 9:54 min/mi

Comments: Legs are a bit weary and it showed on this effort. It felt like more of a slog than any run in quite awhile and my heart rate was in the higher range longer than usual as well.

I tried to accommodate the situation with a deliberate warm up mile but things never really got better. I also had issues holding on a steady pace (although keeping it under the 40 minute target wasn't too much of an issue).

Overall this wasn't a disaster of a run but it is a good warning in regards to pushing to get too much done too soon. I'll keep close tabs on mileage for the rest of the week.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 3

Distance: 29.04 miles
Time: 4:34:53
Pace: 9:28 min/mi

Comments: I was a bit concerned starting out this week due to to the workload of Week 15. I saw a lot of improvement last week as the miles increased but that was accompanied by a sharp reduction in recovery days. I responded well, but I'm certainly concerned about overload.

The idea was to dial it back a little this week, and I actually did somewhat, but it was still pretty intense when compared to my efforts as recently as June. But I have continued to feel pretty good even as the efforts have intensified.

One tool helping me with this is the Stravistix charting system that uses heart rate exertion to track fitness and fatigue (see below). After a few weeks of toying with it, I'm starting to grasp how it expresses the work I've been putting in. Hopefully, it'll be a way to keep my legs feeling strong through this training effort.

Long Run

Distance: 12 miles
Time: 1:55:57
Pace: 9:39 min/mi

Comments: So the slog toward big miles has begun. While today's long run marked a return to the 12 miles I have run in the past month, it'll be the first of a progression of increasing distance until I hit the 20-mile mark in September.

The goal today was pretty much the same as last week; hold a 10 min/mi pace until the last four miles where the target is race pace (sub-9 min/mi). The hills on the first leg got me behind a bit but I made it up progressively through mile eight.

I did pretty well on the hills at the end of mile eight and drove right into the race pace after that. Instead of longer strides, I focused on faster cadence and that seemed to work pretty well. The last mile was tougher than I liked but it's good to know I'm pushing my limits a bit.