2017 Eugene Marathon Training – Week 3

Brrr!  It got cold this week.  It snowed overnight Thursday and again today.  My piriformis pain returned but it wasn’t severe.  I ran two hard workouts this week – a 12 miler with some half marathon and marathon pace miles on Thursday, and an 18 mile long run today.

Training Schedule
Week 3: January 1st – January 7th

Sunday: Recovery run. 6 miles.
Monday: General aerobic run. 4 miles easy to steady + 4 miles @ threshold pace.
Tuesday: Speed support run. 4 x 1 mile @ 10K pace + 8 x 400m @ 5K pace.
Wednesday: Easy run. 7 miles + Hill Sprints.
Thursday: Tempo run. 2 miles @ half marathon pace + 3 x 2 miles @ marathon pace.
Friday: Recovery run. 8 miles.
Saturday: Long Run. 18 miles steady.

Mileage Total: ~69 Miles

Adaptations.  I didn’t plan properly and couldn’t fit in Tuesday’s speedwork before or after my morning chiropractic appointment.  But, this is my base building phase, so I didn’t sweat it.  Otherwise, I stayed pretty close to schedule.

Goal.  Complete 18 miler without stopping for rest breaks.  Outcome: Success!  I stopped to take a picture, for water, and cars that don’t understand the concept of yielding; but not due to fatigue.

Workout Details

General aerobic run. 4 miles easy to steady + 4 miles @ threshold pace [Log Details].

Thanks to the New Year’s Holiday, I could sleep in!  I didn’t start this run until close to 10:30am.  The warm-up was mostly uphill.  I was able to keep the pace comfortable, though.

I started the threshold pace segment on the Custis Trail on one of the steep uphills near Ballston.  This meant I was slower than goal pace from the start.  My Garmin kept alerting me that I was running too slowly.  I pushed harder.  Due to the terrain, I knew I was running harder than threshold and closer to half marathon or 10K effort.  I was finally in pace range at the ~3.5 mile mark.

I had a relaxing cool-down home.

Threshold pace segment=8:22.

Tempo Run. 2 miles @ half marathon pace + 3 x 2 miles @ marathon pace
[Log Details].

I took me a while to get my clothing and gear together since it was cold and dark.  I also decided to carry a handheld with water since I was going over 12 miles.

The warmup was uphill but I kept the pace super slow.  I was expending a lot of extra energy fussing with my water bottle and mittens, though.  The half marathon pace segment was on suburban streets which was poorly planned since I had to stop for lights and really watch my footing.  My left hip, which was feeling better, was a little angry during the uphills.  The marathon pace segments were on the Custis and Mount Vernon Trails.  I never found a good rhythm and while I hit goal pace for the first two repetitions, I faded hard during the third.

When it was over, I couldn’t decide if the workout itself was too hard, or if I did well considering the terrain wasn’t completely flat.

Split paces=7:36 (half marathon); 7:45, 7:57, 8:08 (marathon).

Long Run.  [Log Details].

I headed out early (for me) to beat the expected snow.  I listened to music during my warm-up to get pumped but then switched to a podcast to keep the pace easy.  My quads were sore from the workouts this week.

The first ~6 miles of the course I planned was uphill on the W&OD and Custis trails.  I tried to just keep the effort easy and not worry about pace.  The first podcast I listened to talked about understanding why you run so I thought about that for a while.  It’s 20 degrees and snow flurries keep flying into my eyes.  Why am I out here?

I reached the Mount Vernon Trail and was happy for the short break navigating the “intersection of doom“.  I was running just a few steps behind the woman for 2 or 3 miles and finally quickened the pace to pass her.  I wondered if it was foolish but felt okay.  I stopped at the water fountain near the airport at 12.8 miles.  It was turned off!  It was working last week!

The final stretch of this long run was on the Four Mile Run Trail.  I was pretty tired and at this point, running into ~15 mph winds.  I really wanted to keep my overall pace under 9 minutes and pushed myself to run harder but not hard.  Satisfied that I would make my goal, I let up on the cool-down home.

I felt satisfied that I completed the 18 miles without stopping out of fatigue.  (An hour after the run, it finally started snowing.)

Overall pace=8:58.

 

 

Health

Injuries. My piriformis pain returned on Monday.  It wasn’t severe but my hope from last week that I was cured vanished.  I had chiropractic treatments on Tuesday and Friday.  My hip didn’t hurt during today’s long run, so that still felt like progress.

Weight. New Year’s Eve and a skipped run led to weight swings at the beginning of the week.  I got back on track by Wednesday but my weight really didn’t budge.

Sleep.  I had some sleeplessness on Tuesday night but made up for it on Wednesday into Thursday.  Otherwise, I slept pretty well.

Weather

It was cold early in the week – below 50 degrees and windy.  Then, the region had its first sub-freezing day of the winter on Thursday.  That night, flurries came down but nothing stuck to the road.  It snowed again today but I got my run in before it got slick.

Racing Schedule

Next race: 2017 Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon on March 11th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)