2019 New York City Marathon – Week 6

Running 28 miles over the weekend left me exhausted by Monday night and I slept for 9 hours! My weekday runs were good, but not great, which was confirmation that my body needed recovery.  But, I finished my 20 mile long run on Saturday feeling marathon-ready!

Training Schedule
September 8th – September 14th

Sunday: Medium-long Run. 10-12 miles
Monday:  Off
Tuesday: Interval Run. 11 miles
Wednesday: Recovery Run. 5-6 miles
Thursday: Lactate Threshold Run. 12 miles w/8 miles @ goal half marathon pace
Friday: Recovery Run. 5-6 miles
Saturday: Long Run. 19 miles

Total: 62-66 miles.

Notes. As a high mileage disciple, I opted the most miles on every run.  I ended up doing my first 20 miler of the training cycle on Saturday. On Thursday, I chose to do a speed workout rather than lactate threshold.

Workouts

Medium-long Run. 12 miles [Log Details].

The night before, I stayed out a little late after cheering my boyfriend on at a local 5K.  I was exhausted but wanted to keep up the back-to-back long runs going so I can be prepared for my ultra-marathon in December.

There was a half marathon happening on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Trail at the same time.  I listened to two This American Life episode so my mood was pretty pensive.  I thought about being given a second chance to run a 50 miler.   Knowing last week’s run was just under 10:00 pace, I wanted to beat that time.   I enjoyed the pockets of shade.

I turned around at the undertow sign for the Potomac River.  Oddly, I actually felt better running faster on the downhill back to the City.

Overall pace=9:44.

Interval Run. 5 x 1200m @ 5K pace w/400m recovery jog [Log Details].

Garmin said I had 9 hours of sleep the night before! After two weeks of easy and long running, it was time for some fast intervals, so I did this workout from Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning.

From home, I ran an uphill warm-up to Clarendon. Then, I started the first repetition on the long downhill to Rosslyn. Somehow, I managed to finish it without stopping! I didn’t get so lucky on the second. The third was timed perfectly for my entry onto the Mount Vernon Trail.

The fourth repetition was a little hard because the terrain was uphill.  I finished the final repeat on Gravelly Point and then ran easy the rest of the way home.

1200m paces=7:16, 6:59, 7:22, 7:29, 7:28.  Average=7:19.

Long Run. 20 miles [Log Details].

At the beginning of the run, I wanted to run around 8:40-8:50 pace. The temperature was low 70s, which was cooler than it has been lately.  I listened to an episode of Hit Parade about Woodstock and ran towards Potomac Yard.  After a couple miles, I dropped my goal down to 8:20-8:30 pace where it stayed for most of the run.  I ate some Movit Energy Gummies, as I approached the Mount Vernon Trail and switched to music during my water stop at National Airport.

Mid-way through the run, I ate a Crank Sport e-Gel and washed it down with water at Roosevelt Island before hooking up with the Custis Trail.  I went back to listening to a podcast as I made my way to the W&OD Trail.  On the last stretch, I was running sub-8:00 pace!  I ran my first 20 miler of this training cycle!  And, felt confident that I could finish the marathon distance in November.

Overall pace=8:53.

Routes

Trails.  “Section of Custis Trail Near Bon Air Park to Close for a Year,” ArlNow.  There have been signs posted about this change but it becomes effective next week.  It should be a minor inconvenience but it means the segments for many of my workouts saved in Garmin Connect will be off.

(My Guide to Washington D.C. Area Running Routes)

Media & Motivation

Podcasts. “Miles to Go With Dean Karnazes: Running for the Soul“, Run to the Top.  I don’t know much about Dean – even though his running feats are legendary, I haven’t had much interest in ultra-marathoners until recently.  In the interview, he talked a bit about Badwater 135, which sounded absolutely miserable.

Racing Schedule

Future races.  The two-week registration period for the 2020 Boston Marathon opened on Monday! The qualifying time for my sex and age is currently 3:50:00 (8:47 pace).  My fastest time during the qualifying period was 3:33:17 (8:09 pace) from the 2018 New York City Marathon. Because my time was 16 minutes under that time (a “BQ-16”), I was able to register on Tuesday.  But, I didn’t get around to signing up until Friday.

I also spent Saturday scrambling to fill the last vacant spot between the two 2019 Ragnar Sunset Washington DC teams that I’m organizing.  Luckily, I found a friend who was willing to join in with only a week’s notice.  Otherwise, I was going to run two of the spots, which would have meant running 18.8 miles next weekend instead of 9.4!

Next race: 2019 Ragnar Sunset Washington DC on Saturday, September 21st.

(My Racing Schedule)