2022 Erie Marathon – Week 10
Training Schedule
July 10th - July 16th
Sunday: Marathon-pace run. 16 mi w/ 12 mi @ marathon race pace
Monday: Rest or cross-train
Tuesday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles
Wednesday: VO₂max Run. 8 mi w/ 5 x 800 m @ 5K race pace; jog 50 to 90%
interval time between
Thursday: Recovery Run. 5 miles
Friday: Recovery Run. 6 miles
Saturday: General aerobic + speed Run. 8 mi w/8 x 100m strides
Total: ~51 Miles
Notes. The marathon-pace run on Sunday was the same for the Pfitz “55 to 70 miles/week” plan and the “Up to 55”. The harder plan had a medium-long run on Friday, but I chose to do a general aerobic run on Saturday instead. I also cut the total mileage for the VO2Max workout by one mile.
Training paces
| Recovery | Long | General Aerobic | Marathon | Threshold | 5K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No faster than 10:25 |
9:55-10:10 |
9:10-9:45 |
8:40-8:55 |
7:55-8:10 |
7:30-7:40 |
Workouts
Long Run
Looking at the weather forecast, it would only be in the upper 70s when I would be attempting my marathon-pace miles – relatively mild for a Washington, DC summer. But, I decided to do this run on the treadmill because, psychologically, I was afraid I would still end up walking it at the end. Without the pressure of time, I took our dog for a walk before leaving the house at around 7:45 am.
I left the house at around 7:45 am. I ran my usual 5-mile circuit – up George Mason Drive for 2 miles to the Bluemont Junction Trail. Then, running southwest for a mile, I met up with the W&OD Trail at Bluemont Park. After two more miles, I was back home. It was a very easy run – averaging 11:40 pace.
Back home, I took my time getting on the treadmill. I was hungry, so I made half a grilled cheese sandwich. I calculated that 12 miles at goal marathon pace, which was 8:55/mile, would take 1 hour and 47 minutes. I set the treadmill at 6.2 and started running.
The time flew by, but in the end, I felt it wasn’t quite the same as running on the roads.
General Aerobic Run
After Sunday’s workout, I was relieved to see the workout was “just” an 8-mile run. My legs felt heavy, and I wasn’t sure they could do much.
I did leg swings at the stop light and was surprised by how tight my hamstrings were! I could barely get my leg parallel to the ground.
For a route, I ran an out-and-back on the W&OD Trail. On the way out, I ran hard, and my pace stayed around 9:15. On the way back, the same effort was in the 8:50 pace range. Along the way, I kept thinking about how happy I was – everything in my life was going very well.
It was a fantastic run – a full minute faster than goal pace. But would I regret going out so hard? (Narrator: She would regret it.)
VO2Max Run
Speed work! I was excited to do a fast workout finally after so much slow running.
I created a 2.85-mile course to Wakefield High School Track. Midway there, on the Four Mile Run Trail, I realized I took a wrong turn, and my warm-up would be too long. I stopped at 3.5 miles and walked the rest of the way to the track.
At the track, I noticed mold floating in my handheld water bottle and threw it away. I did the first 400m interval. I decided to do 400m after each fast repetition for recovery. After three intervals, my pace fell apart. I was exhausted.
The cool-down from home was 1.4 miles, but I stopped just short of a mile. The intervals averaged 7:55, which was much slower than goal 5K pace.
| Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7:35 |
7:47 |
7:50 |
8:03 |
8:22 |
General Aerobic Run
I had two days of rest after my awful interval run session, so I had high hopes for this workout even though it was another warm day.
Once again, I ran an out-and-back on the W&OD Trail. On the way out to Falls Church, I averaged 9:30 pace, which was fantastic! On the way back, my pace was 9:11. I stopped to do some strides on the trail before heading home. Overall, it was a great week – not perfect, but I had some strong workouts.
Clothing
Shoes. New Balance 1080 Fresh Foam 11. As the miles have added up, I’ve found this to be my preferred training shoe. The Mizuno Wave Riders feel too stiff most days and this shoe has just enough cushion for my weary legs. Price: $149.99
Gear
Music players. Apple Music. After riding the fence for several months, I signed up for an Apple Music account. I had been using Spotify, but I wanted access to music I had from old CDs. After signing up for a subscription, my music synced within the hour and I had access to my music (including playlists) on all devices. Price: $9.99/month
Racing Schedule
Next race: Anacostia Parkrun #150 on Saturday, July 30th. Goal is sub-24:00 (7:42 pace).
