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.

Tempo Run

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 41:22
Pace: 8:16 min/mi

Comments: I didn't check the training plan during the week and totally forgot I added a mile to the tempo run this week. I considered pulling back to the four miles I've been doing but decided to go for it anyway. That turned out to be a good plan.

I cruised through this one the whole way. I kept pushing the pace by focusing on cadence tempo but never found myself laboring too hard. The start was tricky, as usual but it eased into the tempo pace with little difficulty. The points I eased up on the effort were where my concentration wandered a bit. Gotta work on that.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 56:42
Pace: 9:26 min/mi

Comments: Out later in the morning again and paid for it today. It was hot and humid and highly unpleasant. Even though I kept the pace down, this one felt a lot like the RnR half debacle from spring.

My legs felt uneasy at the start but I warmed up and had no issues after that. Instead of pushing the pace on the fast side, I found it creeping onto the slower side today. That's almost certainly weather related.

Still, I got it done in the timeframe I wanted and the overall effort was good.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:50
Pace: 9:27 min/mi

Comments: The speed work yesterday really made itself felt in the afternoon. I was as tired as I typically feel after a long run. But not nearly the same amount of soreness. I was not surprised to want a bit more sleep this morning but the lack of stiffness on this run was not expected.

I wanted to hold this one right at 9:30 min/mi -- just over my long run speed. This was partly about keeping constant with my pacing but also with the heart rate. It was a struggle, I really kept wanting to go faster, but I hit both targets just about perfect. And I didn't feel exhausted at the end of it.

Interval Run

Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 35:30
Pace: n/a

Comments: The first day in a week without rain or soaking wet shoes. Needless to say, I won't be taking either for granted any time soon. It was plenty humid out today though, so summer still has some fun left in it.

Interval day. So speed is on the menu. I tried to set up my Strava system to automatically record my performance on the segment I run these and it worked for about half. I ended up having to go back and figure them out from the heart rate info.

WU	0.75	8:20
1	0.5	3:18
2	0.5	3:15
3	0.5	3:19
4	0.5	3:19
5	0.5	3:17
6	0.5	3:22
CD	0.75	7:05

And, of course I messed up the first split by not having the damn watch on. Anyhow, it was a solid effort with pretty good consistency until the very end. 

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:28
Pace: 9:51 min/mi

Comments: Rain. Rain. And more rain. I was hoping it would have passed through by today but no such luck. I woke up and it was coming down hard. So, once again, the run was pushed back. And, once again, I ran with soaking wet shoes.

The goal today was keeping it slow. No cheating up on the pace, keep it at that 10 min/mi mark. And I did. One thing I really dislike about these slower runs is it makes me feel like I am slogging through it even if I am running fine. Anyhow, got it done with no issues.