CIM Training – Week 9

I had a pretty good week.  I (finally!) hit goal marathon pace in a workout.  I was thrilled!  I also hit goal pace during my long run today.  So, there’s a rainbow and a fierce-looking dog in this week’s infographic because that’s how I feel.  If I’d just pushed a bit harder on Monday, I’d have the trifecta.  Grrr!  With the pope’s visit this week, I ran to work on two days.  I also handled some travel plans for the New York City and California International Marathons.  I was a little tired but the cooler weather made running more enjoyable.

The Details

In Week 9, the plan featured three workouts: 3 x 2 miles at half marathon pace (HMP) on Monday, 8 miles at goal marathon pace (GMP) on Wednesday, and an 18 mile long run on Saturday.  I was in the threshold phase of the training plan where I’d start running more miles  a little faster than goal marathon pace.  It’s also when my body should start running truly easy on easy days and marathon pace should start to feel comfortable.

The pain in my left hip flared up on Sunday and my lower legs ached most of the week.  Generally, I was tired and found myself ready for bed by 9pm.  The weather was fall-like all week and I even stored some of my summer singlets.  I ran to work on two days this week.

Intervals (3 x 2 miles @ HMP).  [Log Details]

I was not looking forward to this workout.  I had a lot of doubts about hitting goal half marathon pace, which should be in the 7:13 to 7:28 range.  That pace range seemed fast and I wasn’t sure if I’d recovered from last Saturday’s long run yet.

I felt pretty good out the door.  I ran down to the trail and did my drills and strides.  The first segment felt pretty strong but I gave myself permission to run in the 7:30-7:40 range.  I took the recovery very slow.  I felt like I was flying on the second segment and tried to hold myself back.  The last segment was interesting because I felt like I was running faster than what my pace showed.  I felt like I could have run faster than the splits showed.

Goal half marathon pace miles: 14:54 (7:28 pace), 14:46 (7:23 pace), 14:52 (7:27 pace).   Average was 7:26 pace.

Tempo Run (8 miles @ GMP).  [Log Details]

I think this will be one of those workouts I’ll remember on race day.

I felt really off during the warm up.  I couldn’t settle down and find an easy pace.  This was the first time I was running to work in a long while and I think I was anxious about whether I had done everything I needed to do.  When I reached the trail, I realized I had run the wrong course and was closer to the city than I wanted to be.  This meant I would need to double-back on Hains Point, which I really didn’t want to do.  Before I started the GMP segment, I told myself it would be okay if I didn’t hit 7:38.  Based on recent training, 7:50-8:00 would be great.

And, then… Surprise, I felt good once the workout started.  I stayed in the high 7s and was content with it.  I pushed the pace a little as I crossed the bridge into the city because I knew I’d be fighting the wind.  I was shocked to see I ran GMP on the bridge!  I reached Hains Point.  I still felt pretty good so I tried to stay in the 7:40s.  I didn’t feel the wind, though, and I knew I would pay for it on the back stretch.  Sure enough, I passed the end of the Point and felt the head wind.  I slowed quite a bit but managed to fight on.  I reached Ohio Drive at 6.25 miles in to the GMP segment and double-backed.  I turned around again at 7.50 miles and headed back into the wind.  I thought about holding back but I was so happy with the run that I ran all out.  I rested a bit and then walked.  I ended up talking with a three guys who were working out and saw me pass them.  They wished me good luck with my marathon, which was nice.  I ran 3 easy miles back to work.

It’s funny.  When I accepted that I would probably “fail”, I ended up “succeeding”.  Maybe, just maybe, I’m putting too much pressure on myself to do well on every workout.

Marathon pace miles: 7:57, 7:46, 7:39, 7:37, 7:47, 7:38, 7:29, 7:28.  Average was 7:39.

Long Run (18 miles).  [Log Details]

I was really looking forward to this long run.  The heat and humidity wasn’t going to be a factor.  I didn’t have to run any marathon paced miles.  I could just run.

The course I planned to run was going to be flat for the first 10 miles, and then rolling for the next 4-5 miles.  I looked at a previous run on the course and it showed I gave up about 10 seconds on my overall pace on the hilly section.  So, if I want to hit 8:28 pace today, I should plan on finishing the flat part at about 8:20 pace.

Heading out the door, I wasn’t sure how this run would go.  I felt like it could go really well or I could crash and burn.  I was running strong during the first few miles, though, and I just went with it. I was using this run to arrange my CIM playlist but I think it was messing up my effort.  So at the 5 mile mark, I turned off the music and tried to find a natural rhythm.  I cruised for the next 5 miles.  I thought I should take in fluid or the sports bar I had but I didn’t want either.  I finished the flat section at 8:10 pace.  I was happy about that but wondered if I had went out too hard.  Surprisingly, I didn’t slow down very much during the rolling section – just on the steepest parts.  I realized one of the local running clubs was running the same route that I was but in reverse.  I tried to make sure I was running as strong the first time I saw them as the second.  I took the uphill home very easy.  I was completely satisfied with this run and had nothing left to prove.

Overall pace: 8:15.

Other Running-Related Activities

Future Races.  I finally booked my hotel in Sacramento.  I looked at airfare but haven’t booked anything yet since I’m not sure how many days I’ll be out there.  I’d like to combine my trip out West with a vacation in San Francisco.

For the New York City Marathon, I had applied to volunteer with Achilles International but wasn’t accepted.  So, I went ahead and made plans to meet up with a friend for pre-race dinner and started scoping out my post-race celebration options.  It’s almost a month away!

Song of the Week.  “We Are Young,” fun. feat. Janelle Monae.  This song came up on my playlist at the point in my GMP workout when I was feeling great.