2023 New York City Marathon – Week 6
Training Schedule
August 6th - August 12th
Sunday: Long Run. 12 miles
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Speed Run. 4 x 1200m w/400m recoveries
Wednesday: Easy Run. 6 miles
Thursday: Threshold Run. 7 miles @ marathon pace
Friday: Easy Run. 6 miles
Saturday: Easy Run. 10 miles
Total: ~51 Miles
Notes. The long run leading into Week 6 of the Hansons plan is 12 miles, but I wanted something closer to 16. Ultimately, I met him in the middle and did 2 hours and 25 minutes on the treadmill – about 14.5 miles. I also did the threshold run on the treadmill. I ran hard for an hour – about 7 miles.
Training paces
| Recovery | Easy | Long | Marathon | Strength | 5K-10K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No faster than 11:40 |
10:00-10:40 |
9:30-9:50 |
8:45-9:05 |
8:30-8:50 |
7:40-8:00 |
Workouts
Long Run
I had a pretty taxing “easy” run the day before. Then, my boyfriend and I went to dinner at a fancy restaurant. I woke up at 6:30 a.m.; by 8 a.m. I still wasn’t ready to hit the roads. It was already 75 degrees out, so I decided it would be a treadmill day. I would do the equivalent of 14 miles – 2 hours and 15 minutes.
I selected the Tempus Fugit course on Zwift and started with the treadmill on the 4.4 setting. I gradually increased the pace every 9 minutes and 50 seconds.
At 45 minutes, I jumped off the treadmill and chugged some ice cold water. I also brought a Crank Sport eGel (Strawberry) on the treadmill to eat.
By the end of the run, I’d worked my way up to the 5.7 setting on the treadmill, which felt strong rather than exhausting.
I added 5 minutes for a cool down.
Speed Run
At some point, I planned to transition to doing my speed workouts on the Four Mile Run Trail. Mentally, doing repetitions longer than two laps is hard for me. However, I decided to keep this session on the Wakefield High School Track.
I’d created a playlist for my track workouts and knew it would be helpful today. The first repetition was hard, but I felt I could handle it. The second felt the same, but I did take some extra time recovering.
By my third repetition, they set up a cabana in Lane 1. I told myself I could run it at 8:00 pace – remembering that was my upper limit. To my surprise, I was holding 7:30 pace!
It was a great workout, but I had a mini-melt down with my boyfriend when I reached home. Between work, relationships, and marathon training, I’m feeling overwhelmed.
1200m/400m: 5:46/3:03 (set 1), 5:45/3:09 (set 2), 5:44/3:13 (set 3), 5:54/2:49 (set 4).
Average 1200m=5:47 (7:43 pace)
Threshold Run
There’s an initial stage in a marathon cycle when exhaustion sets in, and I hit that stage this week. Maybe it was because I was in good shape before I started training that it took until Week 6.
I knew there were showers in the forecast, but the humid air rushed into the house when I let the dog out. Even though I had already done my long run on the treadmill on Sunday, I thought I could tolerate another hard run.
I chose the Surfin Safari route on Zwift and started the treadmill at 5.7. I programmed my Garmin to count every 9 minutes as one mile. For the first 3 miles, I gradually increased the pace. Starting with mile 4, I kept the treadmill at 6.3.
I finished feeling like I couldn’t run much further, which is how I’ve felt on the roads.
Routes
Treadmills. Landis L8. This week, I ran two workouts on my treadmill. I bought it a year and a half ago and have logged about 250 miles on it. I sprang for the orthopedic deck, which has made running on it more comfortable. The only negative is that the screen is rather “dumb” – it shows standard metrics like distance, pace, and elevation – but that’s about it.
Gear
Heart rate monitors. Garmin Premium Heart Rate Strap. Back in October, I purchased a heart rate monitor. While my Garmin tracks heart rate, I found it could be inaccurate – particularly in the summer when I’m sweating a lot. For some of my treadmill runs, I’ve been using heart rate as my goal rather than pace, and it seems to work well. Price: $92.90.
Media & Motivation
News. “Wait… Is It Okay to Run Through a Cemetry?,” Runner’s World. This article covers a controversy in Eugene, Oregon, on the topic. At Arlington Cemetery, running is forbidden. But, I believe some people run in the Congressional Cemetry. My vote on this is: No. As the article says, “Visitors come to the cemetery to grieve, remember those who have passed on, and seek solace.” I don’t want to invade that process.
Racing Schedule
Next race
2023 George Washington Patriot Run (10 Miler), Sunday, September 10th. Goal is 1:20:00 (8:00 pace).
Future races
- 2023 Army Ten Miler, Sunday, October 8th. Goal is 1:20:00 (8:00 pace).
- 2023 New York City Marathon, Sunday, November 5th. Goal is 3:44:00 (8:33 pace).
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