2016 New York City Marathon Training – Week 7
An exhausting long progression run on Sunday and then a lot of easy running. I had a fartlek run on Wednesday, but I didn’t understand my coach’s notes so it was more like an easy run with some pick-ups. Then, more easy running. Long progression run today on the treadmill and I struggled with pace.
Training Schedule
August 7th – August 13th
Sunday: Long Progression Run. 15 miles @ easy to 10K pace.
Monday: 7 miles recovery.
Tuesday: 8 miles recovery.
Wednesday: Fartlek Run. 2 x 1 minute “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 3 minutes “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 1 minute “on”.
Thursday: 8 miles recovery.
Friday: 7 miles recovery.
Saturday: Long Progression Run. 18 miles @ easy to 10K pace – 25 seconds.
Mileage Total: ~71 Miles
Adaptations. I struggled a little following the schedule. I didn’t hit goal paces during Sunday’s progression run but I ran as hard as I could in the heat and humidity. I didn’t understand Wednesday’s fartlek run and only ran about 8 minutes “hard”. Then, I asked my coach if I could run long on Saturday instead of Sunday. (Bonus: I can watch the women’s Olympic marathon live tomorrow.)
Workout Details
Long Progression Run. 15 miles @ easy to 10K pace. [Log Details]
When I saw this workout, I thought the only way I could hit 7:20 pace was on the treadmill. But, it wasn’t horrid out – 72 degrees and 66% humidity. But, the route I picked started with a net uphill, meaning those sub-9:00 paces at the start would be hard. Finally, I thought, “The New York City Marathon isn’t run on a treadmill,” and prepared to run outside.
I tried to run the first two miles easy and then run about 20 seconds/mile harder for each segment. But, the pace wasn’t there. At about 6 miles in, I felt as though I needed to slow down a lot if I wanted to finish 15 miles. However, I still thought maybe I could run faster on the back portion of the run since it would be downhill. I turned around 8.75 miles into the run.
There were a few inclines initially going back but I increased my leg turnover a lot once the net downhill kicked in. I was ran as hard as I could most of the way back but there were a few short periods where I felt like I needed to ease off the pace to finish.
Split paces=2 miles at 9:13, 2 miles at 9:06, 3 miles at 9:03, 3 miles at 9:17, 3 miles at 9:01, 2 miles at 8:44. Overall pace=9:05.
Fartlek Run. Fartlek Run. 2 x 1 minute “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 3 minutes “on”, 2 minutes “off”, 1 minute “on”. [Log Details]
My coach gave me this workout to break up some of the longer efforts and get some turnover in my legs.
Other: Workout notes read “1,2,3,2,1 x 2 Fartlek” but I didn’t see the x2 part when I created the workout and instead just saw the “1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 hard with equal moderate”. Also, didn’t see the moderate part.
In the end, this didn’t feel like a workout at all. This is one of the downsides of not having a coach present, I suppose.
Pace for “on” segments=1 minute at 9:06, 3 minutes at 8:35, 1 minute at 8:20, 3 minutes 7:54, 1 minute at 7:42.
Long Progression Run. 18 miles @ easy to 10K pace [Log Details].
The region was in the middle of a heat wave, so I ran on the treadmill. I’d been wearing my new foot pod on runs, allowing it to auto-calibrate and help me determine pace on the treadmill. I got to the gym, looked around, and Eye of the Tiger wasn’t there. Bummer. I listened to my playlist from last year’s New York City Marathon to get me through the run.
I set the treadmill at 6.9 for the first 3 miles, which was supposed to be 8:45 pace. But, my Garmin was reading 7:10-7:20 pace! I restarted the workout and ignored the pace reading for the next few segments. I decided to run by time instead of distance. I also downed a Crank Sport e-Gel, (Radical Raspberry).
I ran 3 miles 7.0 (8:34 pace) and 3 miles at 7.3 (8:13 pace). My Garmin still showed low-7:00/high 6:00 pace. I stopped the treadmill since it was close to an hour of running, refilled my water bottle, and started my second Crank Sport e-Gel (Juicy Watermelon).
The next segment was on the 7.7 setting (7:45 pace). I faded hard. I pushed to finish 22:15 at that setting. I stopped and reassessed. I was tired but I wanted to finish this workout!
During the next 3 mile segment, which should have been at the 8.0 setting (7:30 pace), I had to slow down a lot. I was out of steam. For the 2 miles at 7:15 pace, which would have been a treadmill setting of 8.3, I just couldn’t hold it for more than a minute before dropping the pace down. I managed a mile before doing a cool-down.
It was rough but I felt satisfied with the run. It’s hard to figure out pace on a treadmill and I guessed wrong. If my foot pod is to be believed, I ran about 19 miles at 7:26 pace. But, I think it was closer to 18 at 8:00.
Split paces=?.
Health
My legs were destroyed after Sunday’s long run but they recovered after a few days of easy running. But, my sleep suffered since I was watching Olympic coverage late into the night.
Weather
A heat wave rolled into the area on Thursday. On Friday’s recovery run, it was already 81 degrees and 77% humidity when I started. I did Saturday’s long run on the treadmill to avoid heat indices in the 90s by 7am.
Racing Schedule
Next race: Parks Half Marathon on September 11th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)
