2016 New York City Marathon Training – Week 5
Between the heat and humidity, I hit a wall this week physically and mentally. Tuesday’s interval workout left me completely wrecked. Wednesday’s moderate run wasn’t much better. So, I ran today’s tempo run inside on a treadmill. That was better. But overall, I’d like to forget this week ever happened.
Training Schedule
July 24th – July 30th
Sunday: 5 miles recovery.
Monday: 6 miles recovery.
Tuesday: Interval Run. 8 x 1K w/2 minute recovery.
Wednesday: 9 miles moderate.
Thursday: 7 miles recovery.
Friday: 7 miles recovery.
Saturday: Tempo Run. 6 miles @ marathon pace – 10-15 seconds.
Mileage Total: ~52 Miles
Adaptations. I cut the last repetition of Tuesday’s interval workout short and walked the cool-down due to heat exhaustion Similarly, I only managed 6 miles on Thursday after deciding I was working too hard for a “recovery” run. Otherwise, I followed my schedule.
Workout Details
Interval Run. 8 x 1K w/2 minute recovery [Log Details].
It was hot and humid outside, so I thought about running on the treadmill for this workout but I didn’t give myself enough wiggle room to drive to the gym and back. My workout notes didn’t list paces but based on previous emails with my coach (and with the heat), I thought maybe it should just be “hard”. Since Liquid IV caused problems for me in recent workouts, I went with Gatorade instead.
The first three repetitions went well. But then, to my surprise, the wheels started to fall off. I had some major GI issues and urgently needed to take bathroom break. On the bright side, I wasn’t far from the Washington Sailing Marina. Even though I’ve run past it hundreds of times, this was my first time using the facility.
I thought I would feel better after such a long break but I didn’t. It was a slow slog finishing the workout. I cut the last interval short because I thought, Who was I kidding? And, I still had a 2 mile walk home ahead of me.
I felt terrible for hours after the run. Intermittently, I felt like I was going to faint (even though I’ve never fainted) and my concentration was off until around noon. I think I may have suffered from heat stroke/exhaustion.
1K Split paces=7:48, 8:05, 8:28, 8:36, 8:24 8:48, 9:34, 9:38 (0.36 mi).
Moderate Run. 9 miles [Log Details].
I was pretty excited about this run. After so much recovery running last week, my coach finally gave me a mid-week “moderate” workout! But, having struggled so badly the day before, I knew I shouldn’t aim for much better than recovery effort. I wore my heart rate monitor – even though I don’t really have a clue about HR training – thinking that it would help keep me out of trouble.
In general, the run felt fine until the final 3 miles. By that point, my heart rate was consistently in the hig-160s, which I thought was high based on previous workouts. I stopped a few times – mostly when my HR peaked above 170 – and invariably restarted when my HR had dropped to the 140s. But, those breaks didn’t seem very helpful. My HR went back to those higher readings pretty quickly.
I finished the run but decided I wouldn’t run workouts in 80+degree temperatures again.
Overall pace=9:24. Average HR=161.
Tempo Run. 6 miles @ marathon pace – 10-15 seconds. [Log Details].
Even though the temperature was high-70 this morning, I headed to the treadmill. I wanted to have a good workout this week!
I read my coach’s notes before heading out and it seemed like my goal was to stay engaged with tempo pace. Based on last week’s workout, I thought I could hold the 7.5 setting for appropriately 6 miles.
The warmup felt harder than it might have on the roads. Early on, I calculated that 50 minutes would be about 12 songs. So, I ticked off songs rather than focusing on time or heart rate. But, mid-way through, it felt challenging.
Inner Jillian Michaels: “Do you feel as bad as Shalane did at the finish of the Olympic marathon trials?”
Me: “No.”
Inner Jillian Michaels: “Then keep running.”
Me: “That’s really not a fair comparison. Who else has ever felt that bad?!!!”
I finished the tempo segment feeling pretty exhausted but also as though I could have gone a little further. I took a 3 minute break and then did a 10 minute cool down. The workout made me feel better about the training week.
Tempo segment pace=7:54? Average HR=174.
Health
Working so hard on Tuesday’s interval workout led to lingering muscle fatigue in my legs all week. Otherwise, I felt fine.
Weather
I have friends in Florida so I try not to complain too much about the weather but, this week, Washington, DC had the highest heat index east of the California desert.
Racing Schedule
Next race: Parks Half Marathon on September 11th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)
