2018 Summer Training – Week 5
The word of the week: intervals! I ran sets of 400m and 200m on Monday and 1,000m on Thursday. Watching the Stanley Cup finals kept me up late twice this week but overall, I ran well.
Training Schedule
May 27th – June 2nd
Sunday: Easy Run. 60 min. E pace (1 or 2 runs to total 60 min) + Drills
Monday: Interval Run. 6 strides, 6 x (400m R pace with 400m E pace + 200m R pace with 200m E pace to recover)
Tuesday: Weight Training
Wednesday: Easy Run. 30 to 40 min. E pace + 8 strides
Thursday: Interval Run. 5 x (1,000m I pace with 3 min. E pace to recover)
Friday: Weight Training (PM)
Saturday: Long Run. 60 to 90 min. L run (steady E pace) + Strength Training
Mileage Total: ~43 Miles
Notes. I stretched my long run to 15 miles on Saturday but otherwise, followed the schedule.
Workout Details
Interval Run. 6 strides, 6 x (400m R pace with 400m E pace + 200m R pace with 200m E pace to recover) [Log Details]
It was a cool 65 degrees in the morning and drizzling lightly. During the warmup, I got lost in my thoughts about going back to work after the Memorial Day weekend and ended up taking a longer route to the Four Mile Run Trail than I intended. Before starting the intervals, I paused and told myself to get my head in the game! The first set started well enough – not lightening fast but not pokey, either. I got confused during the third set. I ran the 400m and then after the recovery, ran another 400m instead of a 200m! I recovered and decided to run the last two sets as hard as I could. In the end, I didn’t do as well on the 200s this week as I did the week before, but I improved on the 400s.
Split paces=1:44, 0:46 (Set 1), 1:42, 0:50 (Set 2), 1:44 (Set 3), 1:43, 0:47 (Set 4), 1:40, 0:50 (Set 5), 1:41, 0:49 (Set 6). Average=1:42 (400s) and 0:48 (200s).
Interval Run. 5 x (1,000m I pace with 3 min. E pace to recover) [Log Details].
I stayed up late the night before watching the Washington Capitals win Game 2 of the 2018 Stanley Cup!
SAVE. OF. THE. YEAR! #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/OCBBQoEPMI
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 31, 2018
Before heading out the door, I consulted the VDOT tables in Daniels and made my goal pace range for the 1,000m 7:05 to 7:20.
Unfortunately, I had some GI distress again during the first repetition. I thought about going to the Starbuck’s on Glebe Road or my gym for some relief but walking during the recovery helped. The next 1000m went well and I turned around just before the Washington Marina during the third. I finished the workout feeling very confident about my fitness. I ran it as well as I did in the fall, which made me think I haven’t lost any fitness since then.
1000m intervals=4:33, 4:29, 4:29, 4:29, 4:32. Average=4:30 or 7:17 pace.
Long Run. 60 to 90 min. [Log Details].
Anxious about the low mileage I’ve been running, I decided to run 15 miles to start building more endurance. And after last week’s gastro-intestinal distress, I ate a baked potato for dinner the night before rather than spaghetti. From my house, I ran through south Arlington to the Mount Vernon Trail. It was hot and muggy. I started sweating after only a mile of running! To make sure I wasn’t over-exerting, I ran by heart rate throughout the run. On Humpback Bridge, I stopped to take off my singlet.
I felt comfortable running around 9:00 pace. At Roosevelt Island, I stopped for water and ate a Crank Sport eGel. The second half of the run was on the Custis Trail and W&OD trails. Unfortunately, my gut started rumbling after 10 miles. It wasn’t as bad as last week but I decided to give myself the gift of not running through discomfort and made a bathroom stop. I put my shirt back on for the slow uphill home through the neighborhood.
Overall pace=9:31.
Cross Training
Unrushed due to the Memorial Day holiday, I spent a good amount of time in the gym on Sunday and worked my back (seated cable row, lateral pull-down, upright rows, and stiffed legged dead lifts) and arms (dumbbell curls and triceps press) hard. On Tuesday and Thursday, I worked legs (squats, leg curls, and leg extensions) and back again as a circuit – working in about 15 minutes of running between sets. Unintentionally, I skipped crunches.
Health
Sleep. It was an absolutely terrible week for sleep! I stayed up late watching the Stanley Cup finals on Monday and Wednesday. Then, I went out with Ragnar friends on Thursday.
Weight. I was losing at least a pound a week this past month but my weight loss plateaued on Tuesday. I tried cutting a few more calories but it’s still not budging.
Weather
With the exception of Monday, it was a warm week with dew points in the low 70s or upper 60s. It rained during my interval workout on Thursday.
Racing Schedule
Next race: 2018 Lawyers Have Heart on Saturday, June 9th. I’m a little nervous about racing next weekend. It’s been a while!
(My Complete Racing Schedule.)
