Tempo Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 31:15
Pace: 7:48 min/mi

Comments: Rain run. Not pleasant at all. But the one advantage of a rain run is you are committed to being miserable from the start so you might as well run your ass off.

This was scheduled to be a tempo run so I set out just to push things to what I thought might be my 10K pace. I know this should be my marathon pace but I wanted to push a little bit. I don't plan on running the last few miles of the long run at pace tomorrow.

I finally set up the segments feature in Strava with a half mile either way on the first mile of this course. So now I can gauge my pace to pretty much all my previous runs. This came in right between my half mile intervals and recovery runs.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 53:50
Pace: 8:58 min/mi

Comments: Up stupid early but it made it possible to get the run in before the chance of inclement weather arrived. The target is six miles, a mid-week longer run. If this schedule works through the weekend, I'll probably keep with it through the rest of training.

I really made a point of ignoring the watch today and just trying to hit a good race pace -- half marathon, that is. Something steady and consistent but without making me breath heavy or feel fatigued. It turns out that puts me right at 9 min/mi, which is what I was hoping for.

Overall, this week has felt pretty good. We'll see how the bigger miles over the next two days work out.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:34
Pace: 8:53 min/mi

Comments: The rain this morning kept me from getting out at the usual time. It was heavy and had plenty of lightening so, no bueno. I got going after it cleared, well past midday. Which meant it was sweltering. Fun.

I toyed with the idea of doing a six miler but with all the standing water, I wasn't optimistic about the condition of the non-paved portions. Instead did a double out-and-back on the paved section.

Overall it was fine. I turned it in at sub 9 min/mi which was better than I was planning but didn't feel like I was overdoing it either.

Interval Run

Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 35:18
Pace: n/a

Comments: After a few weeks of skipping speed work, I was pretty determined to get this workout in today. The key to making progress with this is consistency over time so I needed to get on the stick to get some payoff in the time I've got left.

I was still a bit sluggish during the warm up run but not as bad as yesterday. The first interval went well but I knew I would need to push things as the workout progressed. I made it a point to focus on increasing cadence rather than just "run faster." And I held it in the 180 spm range for most of these.

WU	0.75	7:39
1	0.5	3:28
2	0.5	3:19
3	0.5	3:20
4	0.5	3:42
5	0.5	3:23
6	0.5	3:17
CD	0.75	7:10

The fourth interval was a mess. I lost concentration and didn't start the Garmin. I tried to improve on the final two and did a decent job of getting back into form. Overall, these times compare decently with my last interval effort but there's a ways to go on this front.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:11
Pace: 9:32 min/mi

Comments: Went out mid-morning and it turned out to be a bit of a mistake. The warm conditions and tired legs made this one pretty unpleasant from the start. It's the first one I've been really tempted to cut short in quite some time.

Still, my pace was strong and my heart rate was elevated, but not out of range for recovery run efforts. I was honestly surprised I finished this at almost 9:30 pace. Obviously, that wasn't the goal here but it helps handle the negative mental impact of such a struggle run.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 6

Distance: 30.21 miles
Time: 4:36:02
Pace: 9:08 min/mi

Comments: The recovery week worked out pretty much like I hoped. I not only eased up a bit on the workouts during the week, I allowed myself an additional rest day before the weekend tempo/long run effort. The fitness chart (below) really shows how the decrease in intensity but the overall level of fitness remains very stable.

Next week will be a return to big miles. I'll up my mileage during weekly runs a bit, completely eliminate additional off days and get restarted on the serious long runs. This will very much be a test on how ready I am for the heart of the training program. I feel pretty positive about it given the last month of training but there's a good bit of anxiety hanging around as well.

On another front, I have been doing regular upper body workouts for most of the year. Nothing fancy, pull up, chin ups, push ups and planks. The goal is 1) better posture and 2) enough strength to handle holding my arms up for a full four hours. I've laid off for the last week or so but intend to pick that back up this week.

Injury update: My lower back is still stiff but got noticeably better over the course of the week. I had soreness in my left quad after the tempo run and a little bit in my right knee after the long run. Neither lasted particularly long.

Long Run

Distance: 12.1 miles
Time: 1:58:54
Pace: 9:46 min/mi

Comments: Today's run followed an unusually long break from the last long run. This was partly due to being out of town but it was also helpful in terms of accommodating the planned recovery week.

I should have been running on fully rested legs but it was still a bit of a struggle to get started. After about a mile I got into the rhythm and held a 10 min/mi pace for the next seven miles without too much difficulty.

I increased the cadence and, thereby, the pace for the last four miles. I deliberately tried to keep from making it an all-out effort. I really wanted to hit more of a pace I could comfortably hold for the whole of a half-marathon. I finished feeling pretty good, not exhausted and beaten.