Happy with my week. Feeling much faster. Pretty stoked about the 100s I did today. Haven’t felt that natural sprinting in a LONG time. Debating a time trial next Friday at 600 or 1200.
M - 6 @ 7:14
T - 9.5 as 3 up + 7x1000 @ LT w/ 75s off + 4’ off + 4x200 w/ 75s off 3:32/3:30/3:27/3:29/3:25/3:24/3:18 + 31/32/31/30
W - 6 @ 7:28 Th - 5.5 @ 7:15 + 7x10s hill sprints.
Fr - 7 as 3 up + 8x300 @ 1500 down to 1000 w/ 75s off + 4’ off + 2x200 @ 800 48/50/48/48/49/48/48/46 + 30/29
Sa - 9 @ 7:36 Su - 4 as 2 up + 7x100 as 30m accelerate + 40m hard + 30m coast. 12.7-13.1. Felt fast.
Female, 48, 5'4", 108 PRs 5:25/18:51/38:56/1:02:28/1:24:08/2:57:42 Recent best times: 5K in 21:08, 10 miles in 1:10:19, half-marathon in 1:33:20, Marathon in 3:24:40 Next races: Broad Street 10 Miler (April 30th); Brooklyn Half ?(May 20th)
55 miles running, 500 yards swimming and 3.5 hours pool-running. M: 90 minutes pool-running. T: 90 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core W: Streaming yoga and 10.5 miles very easy (9:14) plus drills and 2 strides. Th: 6 miles easy (9:30), 30 minutes pool-running, and upper body weights/core. F: 11 miles, including 8 Iwo Jima hill repeats (~2:00 uphill, 90 second jog, 40 second downhill stride, 60 second jog). Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming. Sa: 11 miles very easy (9:01), drills and 4 strides, and streaming yoga. Su: 16 miles progressive, split as the first 9 miles averaging 9:07 pace; the next 3 miles averaging 7:57 pace; and the next 4 miles averaging 7:18 pace, plus a half mile cooldown jog. Followed with injury prevention work.
Much of this week was devoted to recovery from the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. I was pretty sore on Monday and Tuesday (windy races always seem to beat me up) so I spent both days in the pool.
Friday would normally be a tempo workout of some sort, but I thought I'd get a lot more out of doing some hill work to focus on my running gait, so I skipped the track and returned to Iwo Jima.
Saturday and Sunday I returned to the normal program, except that I kept most of my long run easy before speeding up in the final miles (usually I split it by thirds). The change in the long run wasn't a deliberate training choice - rather, I ran with a friend for the first part of his 20 miler, so I stuck to easy pace until we split off.
My paces seem to be speeding up, which is a very good sign. My last two miles of today's run were at 7:11 pace - nothing spectacular, but it's been a while since I could hold that pace at an honest marathon effort. My engine has always been solid; it's just that my running software has been royally screwed up. Now that software seems to be improving, which is a really good feeling.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Reason provided:
fixed grammar
Last big week for me, over 65 miles though a bit inflated by two long runs based on timing. Everything is going well, though my left calf was tight today so I will hit the roller hard later.
M: 18.2 @ 7:18 ft. 4.5 threshold at 6:23 pace in Central Park, felt good through the hills
T: 6.6R @ 8:35
W: 6.2 M @ 7:50
TH: 8.3 ft 3x Chestnut Hill Reservoir Loops (1.55 miles/2.5K) with 1:40 rest. Average paces 6:08/6:00/6:08 with some wind on the dirt. Second one faster made the third a little challenge mentally.
F: 7.7R @ 9:03, helped pace wife in workout
SA: 5.1R @ 9:37 with wife
SU: 13.3 @ 7:22 ft 6.05 mile tempo doing the full Central Park Loop. Average pace just around 6:31 speeding up as I went (12:50 last 2 miles despite Cat Hill). Felt pretty easy even with all the hills minus dodging bikers/tourists. I didn’t really know what pace to shoot for here but wanted smooth and easy if not marathon pace which I rarely hit on.
Happy I only got 13+ days to go. My best-case is to run a controlled race (2:57-2:59) running with the sub-3 group maybe below my fitness (I think 2:51-2:53) and be able to bounce back quickly and be racing at the mile-half frequently the rest of the year. Overall I’ve run the most I ever had the last 11 weeks. Averaging close to 60 miles if you take out the one 35-mile down week (bachelor party + travel). Gonna do the taper but nothing crazy. 4 runs (5ish miles), 9 mile long run, 2x2mile workout this week. And then 3 runs, very light workout (5x 2’ MP?), before the full next week.
Male, 30, 6’0", 125lbs PRs: 3K: 8:33 (2023) 5K: 14:37(2023) 5M: 24:28 (2022), Half Marathon: 67:29 (2022), Marathon: 2:23:58 (2022) Next Races: Boston Marathon Goals: Sub 2:22 at Boston
Monday: Off Tuesday: 10.16 miles @ 7:30 avg Wednesday: 3 miles warmup, 4x400 @ 10K w/ 200 jog recovery, 4 miles @ MP, 3 down l PM: 4 miles @ 7:00 Thursday: 8 miles @ 7:04 avg Friday: 10.00 miles @ 7:17 avg Saturday: 3 up, Uptempo 5K (14:53), 3 mile cooldown Sunday: 15.04 miles @ 7:15 avg Total: 68.00 miles
Comments:
Coming into this week I basically had the feeling where I was just ready to be over with the build. I'm not tired or anything but with the race being this close I was just ready to get it over with.
Wednesday: 4x 400 w/ 200 jog (71,71,71,72) 4 miles @ MP: 5:20, 5:19, 5:20, 5:16 We had a muggy morning ahead of us here. I was hoping to keep my 400s around 72.5-73 but I just kept locking into 71. Happy to see the last one at 72. I decided to hit the roads for my marathon pace work out of caution for my foot. It hasn't bothered me for a bit but I'd rather play on the safe side this close to race day. The 4 mile felt a little tougher than I would have like but I figured it was a combination of the conditions and still being a little tired from the workout on Sunday. I just focused on staying engaged and knocking it out. Not much fitness to be gained here. Just focused on not doing anything dumb.
Saturday: Uptempo 5K, 14:53 (3:01-6:00-8:59-11:57) Was a bit worried that I'd have to knock this one out on my own but my good friends came out to support. Two of them alternated jumping in and out for 600-1K at a time with me, never faltering on pace. Never had to run alone at all throughout the entire thing. Another buddy ran back and forth across the track to call out 1k splits for me which helped tremendously. Coach wanted about 15:00 for me on the day. After the week I had I thought 15:05-10 would be a good day for me. Just didn't feel like I was snappy. Well that changed pretty quickly in this one and I just locked in with my buddy's pace. 72s the entire way and once I heard 8:59 I felt like I had another gear. I ended up running 71s from about a K out and closed in 69 for my last quarter. It felt controlled and fairly easy. Absolutely insane to me here. Coming into this year my personal best was 15:18. I just knocked this out in practice.
After the week I definitely needed this. This was that little shot in the arm I needed to get me in the zone. I also just received word this week that I got into the seeded section for CIM. 2:20:30 would put me in consideration for the championship field. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an eye on that time. I'm excited for what I'm hoping will be a memorable Boston.
Male, 26, 5’9", 132lbs PRs: 5k 17:24 (2023), 10km 38:27, Half Marathon: 1:17:53 (2021), Marathon: 2:45:27 (2022) Next Races: Boston Marathon, Fall TBD Future Goals: Sub 2:45 Marathon, Sub 1:17 HM, Sub 17:00 5k, Sub 5:00 Mile Mileage: 82-83 Two workouts during this Spring Break. Both alone, Wednesday on the track and Saturday on my local trail. I took this start of the taper and real final week to eat extra calories and really recover.
I was really surprised by how great I felt after Wednesday during the 400s and how conversational to me the 4 miles at marathon pace were after it. Saturday I went into it trying to stay around 5:40 and hold on, never thought I'd PR in the 5k on what coach told me to keep at 90% effort. Monday Rest Tuesday 10 Miles - 7:27 Wednesday AM Workout: 11 Miles = 3 Up - 7:28, 6 Miles - 6:22 = 4 x 400 (5:30, 5:39, 5:36, 5:39) w/ 200J -> 800mJ -> 4 Miles @ MP (6:09, 6:11, 6:12, 6:06) -> 2 Down Thursday Am Run: 4 Miles - 7:55, PM Run: 10 Miles - 7:21 Friday AM Run: 8 Miles - 8:02 SaturdayAM Workout: 9.1 Miles = 3.5 Up (7:58) -> 5k Uptempo (5:39, 5:39, 5:35, 4:59), 2.5 Down (8:07) 5k PR - 17:24 Sunday AM Long Run: 16 Miles - 7:12
Male, 23, 6', less than I was two weeks ago Started running in late 2019; PRs: 6:11 mile (2022), 21:37 5k (2022), 1:14:45 (hilly+windy) 15k (2023) Goals: Focus on consistency, volume, & aerobic work, see what happens in a few months.
Was on a two week vacation in Germany & Morocco, and was at the mercy of my (non-runner) pals when it came to scheduling/eating, so running just wasn't viable. Happy to report, however, that two weeks of walking 30k+ steps a day and scrounging for food had me back feeling no less aerobically fit (and with my pants fitting significantly looser than when I left). M -- Got home at 11 PM. 23 hours awake. Jeepers. T -- Work 9-5, took the day to let my body readjust. W -- 5 EZ (felt... oddly good?) Th -- 6 EZ F -- 5 EZ + strides Sa -- 2.5 EZ Su -- ~7.5 in ~65', felt good so did like 15-20' press in the middle
Total: 26 in 5 days
Good week just getting back in the swing of things. Was pleasantly surprised at how not-terrible I felt coming back after two weeks off. The first 3 months of 2023 were hectic from start to finish, but with this vacation behind me I've finally got some stability in my life again. Time for some miles!
M24, 5'10" 140 PRs: 15:15 5k, 31:15 10k, 1:08:44 Half Marathon, 2:31:54 Marathon Upcoming Races: Boston Marathon 2023 (Sub 2:30) M: 8 Easy T: 9.32 Easy with 10 x :30 Hills embedded W: 8 Easy Th: Workout - 14 miles with 8 x 3:00 on/2:00 off at goal marathon pace F: 7.5 Easy S: 7.5 Easy S: Workout - 2 Easy, 3 x 2 mile w/400 jog (5:50,5:50) (5:47,5:46) (5:18,5:19), 2 Easy 65 miles total Thoughts: Race week is finally here. Super pumped for the Boston Marathon and feeling confident about hitting my goal. I plan on going out a bit conservative (1:14:00ish) for the first half and then letting it ride out well the last 13.1 with hopefully a nice negative split. Workout this past week went well, nothing too fancy since the bulk of the work has already been done; the workouts were just enough to keep the legs sharp.
Male, 29, 6'4", 151.5 lbs Races: Boston Marathon 4/17
Mn - 8 @ 7:45s Tu - 2x3mi + 1mi @ 6:05s 6:08s 6:09 with 3:30 rec + WU/WD = 12.5 Wd - 7.75 @ 7:55s Th - 8.75 @ 8:00s Fr - 8.5 @ 8:05s including 10x30s hills Sa - 16 @ 7:35s Su - 8.5 @ 7:25s Total - 70
General - Not sure yet on the goal pace, still having issues with the left leg. I also think I strained my adductor longus trying to do strength work but its not that bad and feeling better each day. I think I will go out at 2:45 effort and see what happens. Over the weekend I made a summary of my three marathon training cycles. Ill try to post it if I remember, I'd appreciate input on goal pace.
UphillGuyy (from last week) - I'm going to do a bit of a brain dump here. I used to have a smooth and even stride that people would compliment me on. But I've had issues for a few years (circa 2019) and there are many factors that I attribute to my single (left) leg issue to that come to mind. 1) Getting extensor tendonitis in one foot causing me to change my stride subconsciously to favor the other side to avoid pain. 2) I am right handed and there is natural tendency to be stronger on the right (also have this issue swimming). 3) I did a lot of cycling over the summer and had occasional pain in my left hip area while on the stationary, I probably favored my right side. It's also obvious my left side is weaker while doing any sort of strength work. 4) Left turns on the track shortens left leg stride and lengthens right. 5) Camber of the road, though I would think it would have the opposite effect (lengthen left, shorten right). 6) Weak core and lack of consistent strength training probably exacerbates everything.
The worst was after my first (&only) triathlon season last summer. I had serious issues placing my left foot during efforts. I ended up bailing on my fall marathon and stopped most workouts on the track.
My ongoing 'fix' is to do strength work(squats, lunges, step ups) and some stretching/yoga positions and workouts to the road. I believe strides and hill sprints should also help even things out. I am also thinking that things like ladder drills, skip drills and plyometrics might help. I already try to vary the types of shoes I wear in workouts/easy runs to give my legs different stimulus (11oz vs 8oz, 4mm drop vs 12mm drop, Endorphin Pro/Alphafly vs TypeA/Takumi Sen 8s) I suspect that hilly trail running could also help but would be concerned to heavily favor my right leg on technical ups and downs.
I think it is ok to skip workouts on the track and still race well on the track. I believe I read somewhere (Out of Thing Air by Crawley or Endure by Hutchinson maybe) recently that a lot of East Africans do their training off the track but come back to the track to 'see where they are' fitness-wise. In the loss of coordination of leg thread some of the posters explain better the specifics of why they think track running (left turns) can be bad (shortening of such and such muscle ect). I don't think this is my issue but it could be nerve/spine related.
Not sure if anybody else wants to chime in. I'm no expert I just like running.
hhw - Fun workouts, does the soreness feel much different? or do you feel more beaten up after the fast stuff. Sub 6 - I'm glad to see some races on your calendar darkwave - Happy with the 'software' progress! ThoughtsLeader - The increase in mileage will certainly help out in those later miles. I think you should have a lot of confidence going for 2:57-2:59 pace. For the taper, I like to keep in touch with pace work but reduce the volume by ~25% and ~50% for the last two workouts. My current plan is 20min tempo six days out and 3x1mi four days out (which is a little heavy). beersandmiles - Glad your week ended on a positive, big things to come at Boston! Your still a ways away but I think you should at least play around with the idea of 5:17 pace come CIM AverageForFun - I am happy to see your race goals are quicker (and more equivalent on difficulty). I am in corral 2 of wave 1 if you wanted to try to pace 2:45 together at Boston. Not sure if you are in the Strava group but you can find me there, I stand out at 6'4" 150lb JerrmyMiznerApologist - Sounds like a fun trip, I did 0 miles my only time I traveled overseas(in the middle of track season), tough in a new place with different diet, no routine and different time zone. Looks like you are doing alright bouncing back. pewow - Sounds like a fun relay, I will assume it is running but could be skiing? WinorLoseD3 - Solid taper week No1.
Sounds good, I will be in white cap, blue and red singlet, white adidas shoes, Livestrong bracelet, Lanky, sipping on a regular plastic water bottle (with Maurten 320, to ditch before start), probably talking to strangers, maybe a poncho prior to the race if its raining.
hhw - Fun workouts, does the soreness feel much different? or do you feel more beaten up after the fast stuff. Sub 6 - I'm glad to see some races on your calendar darkwave - Happy with the 'software' progress! ThoughtsLeader - The increase in mileage will certainly help out in those later miles. I think you should have a lot of confidence going for 2:57-2:59 pace. For the taper, I like to keep in touch with pace work but reduce the volume by ~25% and ~50% for the last two workouts. My current plan is 20min tempo six days out and 3x1mi four days out (which is a little heavy). beersandmiles - Glad your week ended on a positive, big things to come at Boston! Your still a ways away but I think you should at least play around with the idea of 5:17 pace come CIM AverageForFun - I am happy to see your race goals are quicker (and more equivalent on difficulty). I am in corral 2 of wave 1 if you wanted to try to pace 2:45 together at Boston. Not sure if you are in the Strava group but you can find me there, I stand out at 6'4" 150lb JerrmyMiznerApologist - Sounds like a fun trip, I did 0 miles my only time I traveled overseas(in the middle of track season), tough in a new place with different diet, no routine and different time zone. Looks like you are doing alright bouncing back. pewow - Sounds like a fun relay, I will assume it is running but could be skiing? WinorLoseD3 - Solid taper week No1.
It hasn't been too different. One exception was after 7x100 hard last Sunday. I was pretty beat up the next day for some reason.
hhw - Fun workouts, does the soreness feel much different? or do you feel more beaten up after the fast stuff. Sub 6 - I'm glad to see some races on your calendar darkwave - Happy with the 'software' progress! ThoughtsLeader - The increase in mileage will certainly help out in those later miles. I think you should have a lot of confidence going for 2:57-2:59 pace. For the taper, I like to keep in touch with pace work but reduce the volume by ~25% and ~50% for the last two workouts. My current plan is 20min tempo six days out and 3x1mi four days out (which is a little heavy). beersandmiles - Glad your week ended on a positive, big things to come at Boston! Your still a ways away but I think you should at least play around with the idea of 5:17 pace come CIM AverageForFun - I am happy to see your race goals are quicker (and more equivalent on difficulty). I am in corral 2 of wave 1 if you wanted to try to pace 2:45 together at Boston. Not sure if you are in the Strava group but you can find me there, I stand out at 6'4" 150lb JerrmyMiznerApologist - Sounds like a fun trip, I did 0 miles my only time I traveled overseas(in the middle of track season), tough in a new place with different diet, no routine and different time zone. Looks like you are doing alright bouncing back. pewow - Sounds like a fun relay, I will assume it is running but could be skiing? WinorLoseD3 - Solid taper week No1.
It hasn't been too different. One exception was after 7x100 hard last Sunday. I was pretty beat up the next day for some reason.
Beat up where and/or in what way specifically?
btw, were those 10" hill sprints done from a standing start or did you end up doing them with a slightly downhill roll-in?
ThoughtsLeader - The increase in mileage will certainly help out in those later miles. I think you should have a lot of confidence going for 2:57-2:59 pace. For the taper, I like to keep in touch with pace work but reduce the volume by ~25% and ~50% for the last two workouts. My current plan is 20min tempo six days out and 3x1mi four days out (which is a little heavy).
Thanks and I agree. I pretty much did just that today running 2x2mile (~75%) with 2 minutes rest on the Lower Reservoir just now. I did not know it was 80 degrees out there. My confidence just shot up. I thought it was low 70s maybe 75. Low humidity, but still bodes well for my fitness in my mind. Paces were nothing special (13:06, 12:52) as the surface is not quick and I was pretty intentionally trying to run a tad slower to inch closer to MP. I think 7 days, I out will do similar to your 20 min tempo with something like a 9-10 mile long run with the last 3 miles at a quicker tempo. Do not think I'll go as aggressive 4 days out, but you are higher volume so i don't think that's crazy or anything (though I could see doing more like 3 x 1200).
This post was edited 5 minutes after it was posted.
It hasn't been too different. One exception was after 7x100 hard last Sunday. I was pretty beat up the next day for some reason.
Beat up where and/or in what way specifically?
btw, were those 10" hill sprints done from a standing start or did you end up doing them with a slightly downhill roll-in?
Calves mainly. I think it was because I re-introduced spikes for the first time in a long time. Sore lower back too I believe from taking my kids on a bike ride Sunday (first time in like 10 years I have biked).
Hills are with a flat roll-in this week. Couldn't use my preferred hill because I had to fit it in post daycare drop off. I probably looked like a maniac doing hill sprints in front of a daycare wearing full spandex.