2016 New York City Marathon Training – Week 8
My training had a little more variety this week. I ran two tempo runs as workouts – one on the treadmill and the other on the trails. But, the heat and suspicious treadmill data continued to confound any of my attempts to run by race pace. My other runs ranged from “recovery” to “moderate”.
Training Schedule
August 14th – August 20th
Sunday: 7 miles recovery.
Monday: 8 miles recovery.
Tuesday: Tempo Run. 3 x 2 miles @ half marathon effort.
Wednesday: 10 miles moderate.
Thursday: 7 miles recovery.
Friday: Tempo Run. 3 x 15 minutes (5 minutes @ marathon pace, 5 minutes @ half marathon pace, and 5 minutes @ 10K) w/ 3 minute recoveries.
Saturday: 5 miles recovery.
Mileage Total: ~58 Miles
Adaptations. On Sunday and Monday, I cut my recovery runs short due to heat. On Friday’s tempo workout, I cut the last set short because I only planned on running 11 miles and was running late for work.
Workout Details
Tempo Run. 3 x 2 miles @ half marathon effort. [Log Details]
With morning air temperatures in the high 70s and humidity at low 90 percent, I decided to run on the treadmill.
Last week, I doubted the readings I got from my foot pod on the treadmill. For this run, I decided to run the segments by time rather than distance and to use the treadmill settings as a guide for pace. (Before the workout, I checked the calibration factor on my foot pod. It was 109.9.)
The first repetition, with the treadmill at 7.5 (8:00 pace), felt harder than half marathon pace but not quite 10K pace. It felt “hard” but I wasn’t too concerned. The second repetition was pretty tiring. I started with the treadmill at 7.5 setting but went down to 7.0 (8:34 pace) about mid-way through and then 6.4 (9:23 pace) with about 3 minutes left. The third repetition was a mess. I started with the treadmill at 6.9 (8:42 pace), but then went down to 6.6 (9:05 pace) before ending the segment early.
I was disappointed with how the workout went. Obviously, I started the workout way too hard and paid for it. I’m beginning to believe my foot pod might be close to accurate.
Split paces=6:47, 7:23, 8:00?
Tempo Run. 3 x 15 minutes (5 minutes @ marathon pace, 5 minutes @ half marathon pace, and 5 minutes @ 10K) w/ 3 minute recoveries. [Log Details]
The weather was a little more pleasant on this morning – the temperature was 76 degrees with humidity in the low 70s at the start. Normally, I start my speed work on the Four Mile Run Trail, but I decided to run an 11-mile loop that included the Mount Vernon Trail instead for a change of scenery.
I kept the warm-up pretty easy and felt fresh going into the workout. The first set started on a downhill so it was fast. It was also in an urban area so I had to stop a few times. But generally, it felt pretty comfortable. The second set was entirely on the flat Mount Vernon Trail. It started to feel hard about mid-way through the half marathon pace segment. Strangely, the 10K segment felt easier. I ended the third set after the marathon pace segment since the workout was going long and I was running late.
I felt good about this workout because the paces were consistent for a change.
Splits=8:12, 8:17, 7:58 (set 1); 8:20, 8:22, 8:00 (set 2). Overall pace=9:27.
Health
Generally, I feel great. Saturday’s long run on the treadmill left my hips and calfs a little sore. Both felt better by Thursday, though.
Weather
Leading into the week, the Washington D.C. area had been under a heat wave with record-setting temperatures. It broke on Wednesday but morning temperatures were still in the high 70s with humidity around 70%.
Racing Schedule
Next race: Parks Half Marathon on September 11th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)
