2022 Erie Marathon – Week 13
Training Schedule
July 31st - August 6th
Sunday: Long Run. 18 miles
Monday: Rest or cross-train
Tuesday: VO2Max Run. 10 miles. 6x1000m @ 5K pace w/jog 50-90% interval time
Wednesday: Medium-long Run. 15 miles
Thursday: Recovery Run. 6 miles
Friday: Medium-long Run. 12 miles
Saturday: Recovery Run. 5 miles
Total: ~66 Miles
Notes. This week was a peak mileage week!
The Pfitz “55-75 miles/week” and “Up to 55 miles/week” plans were similar. I eliminated the double on Thursday from the harder plan; otherwise, I planned to follow that schedule.
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
I had a great race at the Anacostia Parkrun #150 the day before. My legs were a little stiff, but overall, I felt okay.
It was about 73 degrees when I started the run a little after 7 am.
The week before, I discovered the Stuff You Should Know podcast and listened to some episodes during the run.
From home, I ran down to the W&OD Trail and then cut south down to the Four Mile Run Trail, running in the shade. I covered those miles in around 10:15 to 10:30 pace. A few miles down the road, I saw a sign that the path was closed ahead, so I took a detour. (See below.) Five miles into the run, I turned north onto the Mount Vernon Trail. There was a runner at the water fountain, but he yielded. At Gravelly Point, I stopped and admired the view.
I noticed my second toe on my right foot hurt in my Asics Gel Nimbus.
I headed west on the Custis Trail and switched to my 2022 Erie Marathon playlist at the water fountain. I got stung by something. I stopped for water and put some on my head. I pushed the pace when I crossed over Glebe Road. I ran into a friend from my running club that I hadn’t seen for years and stopped to chat. I continued speeding down to the W&OD Trail, getting down to 9:20 pace! I stopped my Garmin at exactly 18 miles and felt happy with the effort.
VO2Max Run
I looked forward to wearing my new Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2! I hoped I would notice a big improvement in my interval times.
I ran 2.3 miles to Wakefield High School Track as a warm-up. By the time I got there, it was about 75 degrees.
Mentally, I found 1000m intervals to be a bit daunting. To track the distance, I would get to the 200m mark and tell myself, Two more laps. And then after the first 400m, I would tell myself that once I got back to the 200m mark, I had one more lap. Repeating this helped me block the discomfort of the intervals themselves. The efforts were very consistent – a little under 8:00 pace. The recoveries were 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
It was a great workout! I thought about how poorly the first one went and was proud.
| Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Set 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7:58 |
7:52 |
7:54 |
7:52 |
7:57 |
7:57 |
Medium-long Run
It would be over 80 degrees by 8:30 am, so I planned to run 12 miles and then do extra on the treadmill at home.
Most of my courses end on Four Mile Run Trail – a trail with little or no shelter from the sun. So, I decided to just do an out-and-back on the W&OD Trail.
During the early miles, I thought about work problems I’ve been struggling with. My recent promotion has brought on new challenges, and I’ve been second-guessing many of my actions and decisions.
After 2 miles, I passed the current Pace the Nation host and said, “Hello.” It was nice seeing a familiar face. During this segment, I was running at about 10:15 pace.
In Falls Church, the trail split for cyclists “wheels,” and runners “heels.” I’d heard about this change, but this was the first time I’d run on this portion of the W&OD Trail.
On the way back, I turned on music and prepared to push the pace a little. I got down to about 9:40 pace. A woman stopped me to help her with her bra strap. I told her, “This is an emergency!” Unfortunately, I had trouble with the clasp and it took a while.
Leaving Bluemont Park, I passed a running going roughly the same speed. Rather than letting me go, he sped up and hung a few steps behind me. At the 12 mile mark, I had the chance to turn towards home and keep going, and I opted to keep going. As I was about to cross Columbia Pike, a runner passed me and said, “You both are running the same pace but it looks harder for him.” I sped across the road as the Walk Sign changed and lost him. After a half mile, I started fading and headed back toward home.
A few blocks from home, I passed a former Pace the Nation host. We stopped and chatted for a while before I got home.
At 8:52, it was already 81 degrees at National Airport and 74 dewpoint, and by 9:52 am, it was 85. I didn’t need to feel shame about not finishing that last mile.
Routes
Construction. South Four Mile Run Sanitary Sewer Project. There’s another construction project disrupting the Four Mile Run Trail. At Eads Street, the trail is closed from the junction with the Mount Vernon Trail. Thankfully, the detour is just a block away on Glebe Rd., but it adds a little distance to my pre-planned routes.
Clothing
Shoes. Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2. I bought the vapor flys! I figured I needed every advantage to run a Boston qualifying time at the 2022 Erie Marathon. I ran in them for the VO2Max workout this week, and I didn’t feel much different than my other shoes. I noticed they are lighter, and I like how narrow they are, but that’s it so far. I’m hoping I’ll see a difference on marathon day. Price: $250.
Media & Motivation
Websites and Blogs. “An Unconventional Training Idea for Older Women,” Sweat Science. This article was an interesting read. It starts with a caveat about how under-studied women are generally and older women specifically. But, it discusses research that suggests older women don’t respond well to endurance training. (Sigh.) The “solution”: donating blood. The reduced blood volume can stimulate the same aerobic response as endurance training.
Racing Schedule
Future races. On Sunday, I finally booked an Airbnb in Erie for race weekend. We will drive up after my partner’s girls leave school on Friday and head back after the race on Sunday.
Next race: 2022 South Lakes 10K on Sunday, August 28th. Goal is sub-50:00 (8:01 pace). My boyfriend and I started planning our vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine, and it became apparent that we would leave the Friday before Anacostia Parkrun #152.
