Week Wrapup

Distance: 55 kilometers (34.2 miles)
Time: 4 hours 35 minutes

Comments: Strange week. I did a number of shorter distances at the start but at faster paces. Then I tried and failed miserably at my first speed day. Lastly was one of my longest runs to date and completed at a significantly better pace than the first time I tried to go the same distance.

All in all a damned hard week of work. And my body has let me know it. Afternoon naps have become a necessity and I am sleeping damned hard at night. Which is fine for now, but I need to get to the point where a week like this doesn't take as much out of me.

Injury-wise it has been a good week. There has been some regular soreness in my quads and elsewhere due to the workload but nothing that sets off any alarm bells. My ilitobial bands on both sides seem to be somewhat tighter than normal but I think that is due to the fact my hamstrings have been as well.

My plan is to take it pretty easy next week; shorter runs, slower pace, less intensity overall. Not a break so much as an effort to maximize the recent gains and get myself completely ready for the serious miles ahead.

Cause, at this point, I am just a month shy of starting formal training for the marathon. I am tinkering with different training schedules and I hope to have something formalized in a week or two. Mainly, I need to get the guru to weigh in with his sage advice. My working template can be found here.

Essentially, I will be using an 18-week schedule and I want it to include two 20-mile long runs, a three week taper and at least two 10K races. Each week should include one day of speed work (this can include race pace intensity runs), two days off and the option of cross training either on a rest day or lower impact running day.

Long Run

Distance: 23 kilometers (14.28 miles)
Time: 2 hours
Surface: asphalt/concrete/dirt/sand
Weather Conditions: overcast, cool, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco/Chorillos, Lima, Peru

Comments: The plan called for 100 minutes but between feeling guilty from cutting back and a surprising amount of energy I slugged out a whole two hours. I had a general idea of how far I wanted to run and when I finally looked at my watch I had just hit the 100 minute mark so I said 'screw it' and finished the rest.

It wasn't easy and my quads were unhappy for a great deal of it but I never had any real doubt I could do it. I started with a relatively quick but short stride and tried to hold to it the whole way. For the most part, that's what I did. 

There were a few formidable hills during the course the last of which was my favorite 'la bruja.' But I just got up on my toes and concentrated on keeping the stride as regular as possible. I surprised myself by having enough strength to handle them all with relative ease.

Finishing this run I am dog tired but it marks a certain milestone. I am almost 100 percent sure I can do the marathon now. I am at the strength level it can be done. Now my aim is to give myself the resources I need to produce a decent time and a large enough tank for that last, horrible, six miles of the race.

Interval Run

Distance: 1.2 kilometers (.75 miles)
Time: bah
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 70s, morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: The suckitude of my run today is emptying my apartment of oxygen. A pathetic effort in just about every respect.

I have decided to intergrate speed work into my training to a limited degree. The guru advised 20 minutes at race pace or slightly better for today. I decided to switch that for 'long repeats' which are slightly-faster-than-race-pace runs of shorter distances. 

The marathon book i am taking this from suggests starting at 3 x 1/2 mile to start and build up to 5 x 2 mile by the last month of training. I got 1.5 x 1/2 mile before giving in and, if my guestimated time is any indication, my speed wasn't any great shakes either.

Obviously this is a bit expected since speed has never been my forte but I added to the problem with 1) eating unwisely yesterday 2) staying up way too late and 3) doing this run on a somewhat hilly route. I also have a long run planned for tomorrow and I felt that if I pushed myself to finish this workout I would likely fry myself for that.

So I think I need to find a track and start with 400 meter sprints until I can get a feel for my form and pace at this pace. The problem is, I have no idea where to find one I can use here in lima. This effort might have to wait till I get back stateside.

Training Run

Distance: 12.8 kilometers (7.94 miles)
Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, misty, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco, Lima, Peru

Comments: Solid run. Felt in control the whole way and could concentrate on the run itself rather than surviving the thing. 

I really felt beat yesterday so I went and chowed down hard on sancochado for lunch, took an afternoon nap, pasta for dinner and then slept 10 hours of the sleep of the righteous. Woke up a bit bleary but, finally, refreshed.

So I got in a good stretching session and hit the road. Since today was a longer distance day I purposefully held back on the pace but it still seemed to be quicker than usual. The guru called for even slower than what I ran but I know good days like this only come around every so often.

There was a bit of a recurrence of the stitch in my side and my knees were both a bit achy but not actually painful like earlier in the week. One thing I may have forgotten in my earlier prognosis is this is now bad arthritis weather and I already have to deal with this problem.

Training Run

Distance: 8.4 kilometers (5.21 miles)
Time: 40 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, misty, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Tough one but due to the pace, mostly. There was a chilly mist in the air setting out which, to me, is perfect running weather. I started off at a purposefully quick clip but tried to concentrate more on maintaining it than going deliberately fast.

It was not easy by any means but I only got a hint of the stitch in the side and felt the run was possible the whole way. There was a really unfun part when I rounded a corner on the Malencon and got buffeted by a brisk little crosswind. 

My left knee had no issues today but my right knee was sore as I stretched to get ready. And it was an inside-the-knee sore that makes me very nervous. I plan to keep close tabs on it the rest of the week. After the run my quads were really achy so I put in a post-run stretch, something I probably need to be doing with regularity anyway.

Training Run

Distance: 9.5 kilometers (5.9 miles)
Time: 45 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 70s, early afternoon run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Work. The whole way.

I just really seem to be battling through my runs recently instead of just hitting the groove and going with it. I felt like I was struggling the whole way today and had a slight stich in my right side for most of the run. It was like the return of that uncontrolled flailing that marked my initial efforts to get running again this year.

That said, I knew I was making good time throughout and knew I could finish the thing no matter how unhappy I was about it. Although my time came out a bit less than I expected, I still feel I was at a bit more than 3/4 speed but not up to actual race pace. Which shows there is substantial progress over the past few months, no matter how little I seem to be able to see at the moment.

Week Wrapup

Distance: 33.7 kilometers (21 miles)
Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Comments: Shortened week due to my return from traveling. Overall, though, I think the effort ended about at the level of my normal training week.

The main reason is that I spent the last weekend hiking up and down the steep trails of Macchu Picchu which gave me a pretty frickin good hill workout. Monday was spent walking all around Cuzco which, at close to 11,000 feet in elevation, certanly was tougher than wandering around the mall.

My training guilt kicked in when I got back and I found myself running the first few runs at 3/4 race pace rather than a more leisurely 8.5 minutes per mile as I had planned. Which felt great... until afterward.

This pain in my knee has been with me for a few days now and it is starting to worry me. It is not at all like the former IB-related pains I had in sensation or location. This is more like a muscle soreness in the meaty part of the quad on the right upper side of the knee. It's not painful, per se, but it is clearly not happy.

I am applying ice and have a good rest day tomorrow to see if it sorts out. If not, I'll probably cut out hills for awhile as a start.

The focus this next set of runs seems to be speed or as close a facsimile as I can muster. I don't know how well I can hold to the prescribed paces in the training schedule so I will most likely be guestimating and trying to get a better feel for my pace.

I am still a bit nervous about this knee thing. It tends to ache when I am going to sit down or get up which lends me to think it is a reaction to my excessive hill action. That being the case, the emphasis on speed this week (and absence of inclines) should help some.

Long Run

Distance: 12 kilometers (7.45 miles)
Time: one hour 
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco/Chorillos Lima, Peru

Comments: A very unsatisfying long run today. It was only one hour - well within my ability - but felt like a slog most of the way. I had plenty of strength and my form was fine but never got 'into' the run. I desperately pray that when I run my race I am doing better than I was today. 

It was one of those runs I kept finding excuses to keep from doing. I did concentrate on the left leg pretty well because of the soreness in the knee. It was stiff yesterday and unhappy this morning. I was worried setting out but it really wasn't a factor at all during the run.

Gave myself a long hill midway and at the very end. Handled both pretty well. The last one was as tough as ever but I didn't slow down on it to the degree I have in the past.

Training Run

Distance: 5.5 kilometers (3.41 miles)
Time: 30 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: overcast, cool, 60s, mid-morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Nice and easy today. Purposefully kept my pace to just more than a jog the whole way. I went through Parque Faro on the Malencon that has a few little inclines on the path and did some exaggerated strides on those to get ready for tomorrow but that was pretty much it.

It felt pretty good the whole way. More of a warm-up, really. Most importantly, no tweaks or twinges from the left knee that has been bothering me. I iced it good yesterday and really concentrated on the quads stretching this morning. I'll ice and stretch again today as well.

Training Run

Distance: 9.4 kilometers (5.83 miles)
Time: 45 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: overcast, cool, 70s, late morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Again I started out with the intention of keeping a steady even pace and found myself churning the run out at about 3/4 race speed. The difference is that I felt completely in control the whole way. I knew exactly what I had to do to get the distance I wanted and the whole run went like clockwork.

The news shoes seem to really have been the difference for my legs and feet. Not a peep from any of the usual danger points today or yesterday. I have been trying to reign in my stride some to take the pressure off my knees some but, since I haven't had any real problems, it's hard to tell if it is making any difference. A good problem to have, for once.

I plan an off day tomorrow and then a 30 minute easy run for Saturday. Most likely I'll shoot for an hour-long Sunday run on the beach but nothing spectacular.

::UPDATE:: Whoops. May have spoken too soon. Had a slightly disturbing dizzy spell about two hours after the run and, later, my left knee felt really sore. Not the IB band sore but on the top of the knee at the quad.