Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 55:27
Pace: 9:14 min/mi

Comments: A very nice effort today. Finally got a full night's sleep and got up feeling rested. Got going a shade late but not enough to really make a difference. From the start I worked on a higher cadence but, not specifically to go faster. I wanted a good consistent effort without overexertion.

Truth is, I felt pretty strong the whole way and could have run it at tempo/race pace with just a little more effort. In fact, the times I did check the Garmin was in order to slow the pace down some. Finished without feeling exausted. Which is good because I've got some serious miles to cover this weekend.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:15
Pace: 9:33 min/mi

Comments: Work travel obligated me to take a mid-week off day. With my unscheduled Sunday rest day that's kind of knocked me out of my routine. Today was simply about getting back on track.

I wanted a bit more than a recovery/easy run but nothing extreme. I also didn't get out until mid-morning so there was significant heat and humidity to contend with. Still, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.

The run turned out OK. I did it almost entirely on strength. My heart rate and pace were really all over the place. I hope to get a more polished effort tomorrow.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:35
Pace: 9:38 min/mi

Comments: Because of the unplanned rest day that pushed my long run back, I had to bump the recovery run up a day as well. I haven't done a 'day after' recovery run this cycle but I have been considering it given how tough these runs have been for some reason. As I hoped, this went a lot better overall.

I started off as stiff as one might expect and just tried to hit a rhythm. It turned out I was pretty much dropping into the long run pace so I just decided to keep on with it. There was a bit of stiffness the whole way but not really getting into the land of sore, so I was happy. Finished feeling pretty good, overall.

Long Run

Distance: 16 miles
Time: 2:41:48
Pace: 10:07 min/mi

Comments: I was feeling inordinately guilty for missing the long run yesterday and was determined to make up for it today. I wasn't sure if I was going to go the full planned distance (16 miles) or dial it back a bit and go for the bigger miles next weekend. In the end, I decided to do the whole distance.

This run went pretty well on the first half but it was a bit on the humid side. At the turnaround I was already sweating hard and the sun was on me from there on. I made a reasonable stab at negative splits but when I got to the last four miles it was a fight for survival. The last mile was particularly agonizing.

I'm glad I did it and I feel it was a significant accomplishment. But the idea of tacking another ten miles on top of that seems insane to me right now.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 8

Distance: 23.53 miles
Time: 3:30:51
Pace: 8:58 min/mi

Comments: A good week of work that ended on a lackluster note. I got up late today and, as a result, decided to put off the long run. The plan is to do it tomorrow, which will make this week look pretty lacking. Of course next week will start with a long run and, depending on how things work out, might have a second. We'll see how the legs respond to moving things around.

Overall the week went well, though. Got a lot of solid runs in and really kept to my intended goals the whole way. I kept closer to my target paces and my heart rate stayed in the ranges I was hoping. The temperatures are still a bit warm for the mid-morning runs though. Need to work on eliminating those if at all possible.

Injury update: Nothing really.