2022 Erie Marathon – Week 14
Training Schedule
August 7th - August 13th
Sunday: Long Run. 18 miles w/14 miles @ marathon race pace
Monday: Rest or cross-train
Tuesday: VO2Max Run. 9 miles. 5x600m @ 5K pace w/jog 50-90% interval time
Wednesday: General Aerobic Run. 9 miles
Thursday: Medium-long Run. 12 miles
Friday: Recovery Run + speed. 6 miles + 6x100m strides
Saturday: Recovery Run. 5 miles
Total: ~59 Miles
Notes. From the Pfitz plan, the workouts were the same through Wednesday. At that point, I cut two miles from the medium-long run. On Friday morning, we drove to Maine for vacation, so I scheduled a short run. I also skipped the scheduled tune-up race because I would be in Massachusetts on Saturday, visiting a town called North Adams. That evening, we would arrive in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Also, I ran the Anacostia Parkrun last week, which gave me an opportunity to plug that time (25:03) into the McMillan Pace Calculator. It said my current marathon pace should be 9:19 (or a 4:04:15 marathon – 10 minutes over my Boston marathon qualifying time.)
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
Last week was high mileage, and I still woke up feeling tired.
I checked the Weather.com app, and it said the temperature would be 80 degrees by 9 am! I decided I would start the run outside and then do the marathon-pace miles inside on the treadmill.
For the outdoor portion of the run, I ran a 4.3-mile out-and-back on the W&OD Trail. The temperature was a sticky 76 degrees when I left the house at 8 am, and I ran just under 11:30 pace to conserve my energy.
I was back home by 9 am. I spend considerable time trying to get iTunes on my computer (a PC) to play on the Apple TV in our home gym. Once I got it to work, I started my 2022 Erie Marathon playlist one hour and 45 minutes in (currently where “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars sits.) The remaining 2 hours and 10 minutes is roughly how long 14 miles at goal marathon pace should take. I wanted to use this run as an opportunity to visualize the course.
I also started a workout on Zwift as another distraction.
I set the treadmill to 6.2 (9:41 pace), which is what marathon-effort has felt like. The first hour or so went by quickly. At one point, a pelaton passed me in Zwift and I got quite a few kudos from the cyclists.
With 30 minutes to go, my boyfriend interrupted my workout to ask questions about the trip. While there, I asked him to refill my water bottle and stop my laptop from sleeping. (If I left the computer sleep, it would stop communicating with the television.) Then, our dog also made an appearance. I kept shouting, “NO!” to ensure she didn’t try to join me on the treadmill. The distractions were irritating, but I told myself that this was mental training. You’re going to encounter distractions on race day, too.
My playlist finished almost exactly on time! It would have been a better run if it had been outside, but I felt more confident about doing the run on the treadmill.
VO2Max Run
It was already 77 degrees when I woke up – terrible weather for distance running, but today was a track day! It was a beautiful day – not a cloud in the sky.
I ran a hefty warm-up, just under 5 miles, to the Wakefield High School Track. There was a mixture of people walking and running on the track. Despite the heat, all my repetitions were fast and consistent – between 7:37 and 7:47 pace. Toward the end of the workout, the high school’s football team arrived. They put a cart in lane 1, so I had to go around that during the final two repetitions. But, I had so much energy that I finished feeling like I could do one more repetition.
On the cool-down, I took an alternative route that ended up being a longer mileage than I wanted.
| Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7:37 |
7:46 |
7:47 |
7:46 |
7:43 |
General Aerobic Run
I woke up and planned out my running schedule for the trip. My partner, his daughters, and I planned to leave for Bar Harbor, Maine at 8 am on Saturday. So, I moved the scheduled medium-long run to Thursday, which also worked better because a) the weather would be cooler and b) I’d be teleworking.
The run started as a mundane out-and-back on the W&OD Trail. I listened to more Stuff You Should Know podcast episodes and thought about all the work I needed before vacation. My pace ranged from 11:00/miles during the steepest sections to 10:00 when the trail leveled off. Before turning around in Falls Church, I found a park I’d never seen before (see below). I was excited to find a trail that I didn’t know about! It was short, but the discovery gave me an energy boost. I sped up on the return trip home, clocking one mile close to 9:00 pace.
Medium Run
Thursdays are my telework days, so I had a bit more time in the morning to get ready. I left the house at 6:45 am, when the temperature was already 73 degrees.
For the course, I ran my standard 12-mile loop. I went down to Pentagon City and National Landing until I reached the Mount Vernon Trail, averaging around 9:15 pace along the way. I headed south on that trail to the Four Mile Run Trail, taking the detour related to the sanitation work done near Eads Street. My pace remained consistent until I hit the W&OD Trail. I slowed to around 9:30 pace before heading home.
Routes
Trails. Crossman Park. I discovered this small section of narrow, crushed gravel trail when I reached the end of the W&OD Trail in Falls Church. (Instead of turning north towards the Metro, I went straight towards North Van Buran Street. The trail is about a quarter-mile long and ends at Gresham Place.
Art. Imaginarium, by Yu-Baba. During my run in North Adams, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, I came across this striking mural. Using a Google Image search, I found a Reddit entry for the piece’s name.
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. “Chris Chavez Is Telling the Track and Field Stories That No One Else Will,” Run to the Top. In this episode, the host and the guest discussed why Track & Field doesn’t have a larger following – particularly with recreational runners. While they focused on issues related to USATF and broadcasting licenses, I would argue that it’s just hard to get invested because there are so many events and so much talent, which is also something the guest touches on.
Racing Schedule
Next race: 2022 South Lakes 10K on Sunday, August 28th. Goal is sub-50:00 (8:01 pace).
