2023 New York City Marathon – Week 9
Training Schedule
August 27th - September 2nd
Sunday: Long Run. 10 miles
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Speed Run. 6 x 800m w/400m recovery
Wednesday: Easy Run. 8 miles
Thursday: Threshold Run. 8 miles @ marathon pace
Friday: Easy Run. 7 miles
Saturday: Easy Run. 8 miles
Total: ~53 Miles
Notes. This week, I made several changes to the Hansons Marathon Method program, mainly to catch up on mileage that I missed while traveling. For the long run, I ran 16 miles instead of 10. Instead of taking Monday off, I ran an easy 6 miler. The speed workout remained the same, but I ran 4 miles easy on Wednesday. I didn’t feel strong enough for a marathon-pace workout on Thursday, so I moved it to Friday. I took Saturday off after a long, hard week.
Training paces
| Recovery | Easy | Long | Marathon | Strength | 5K-10K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No faster than 11:15 |
10:00-10:40 |
9:30-9:50 |
8:45-9:05 |
8:30-8:50 |
7:40-8:00 |
Workouts
Long Run
I was back home and ready to hunker down into marathon training again. I was still jet-lagged, though, and woke up at 3 a.m.
I listened to podcasts instead of music, hoping they would help keep the pace slow – 16 miles was a bit of a jump for my long run mileage.
I reached the Mount Vernon Trail and maintained a sub-10:00 pace. After the Humpback Bridge, I stopped for a photo.
I also noticed a woman who seemed to be having trouble with a child – she was gesturing and putting her hands to her face. I didn’t hear her voice raised as I ran by, so I minded my business.
Before the Trollheim Bridge, I started a Crank Sport eGel, thinking I could wash it down at the water fountain near Theodore Roosevelt Island.
I took the Custis Trail slowly because the heat was getting to me. I stopped for water at Nelson Street and caught my breath.
When I reached the W&OD Trail, I had a bit of a second wind. When I finished the run at 10:30 a.m., the temperature was 80 degrees, so I timed the workout perfectly.
Speed Run
The schools were back in session, so instead of running my speed workouts at Wakefield High School Track, going forward, I would run them on the railtrails.
It was drizzly outside, and during my warm-up on the W&OD Trail, I noticed I forgot to wear a visor!
I started the speed workout at the Four Mile Run Trail in Shirlington. The first set was fast, and I worried that I might have gone out too fast. Predictably, the second set was slower. I still felt pretty good at the turnaround, though. The final three sets were also slow, but given my workload lately, I thought it was still a good workout overall.
800m/400m: 3:56/2:39 (set 1), 3:52/2:54 (set 2), 4:04/2:49 (set 3), 3:50/2:37 (set 4), 4:03/2:50 (set 5), 4:05/2:41 (set 6).
Average 800m=3:58 (7:56 pace)
Threshold Run
I’d been congested for a few days and had a scratchy throat on Thursday morning. I felt well enough to run, but a few minutes in, I realized I didn’t feel strong enough to run hard. So, I decided to push the marathon-pace workout to Friday.
From home, I ran to the Four Mile Run Trail in Shirlington.
Mile 18 at the New York City Marathon is when things get tough. For my playlist, I selected “Under Pressure” as the song I want to hear at that point.
The first mile felt comfortable and came in at 8:48. For Mile 2, I set my Garmin by time rather than distance because of the Route 1 overpass. I clicked the lap button at 8:55 and joined the Mount Vernon Trail. The turnaround was on Gravelly Point, which was a slight uphill. There were also two pedestrian bridges in the next mile and my pace slowed predictably. On the way back, I felt fairly strong during the first mile. I hit the wall on the way back near the water treatment center. My pace went from 8:50 to over 9:00.
I walked a good deal of the cool-down home on the W&OD Trail.
I was happy with the run but wasn’t sure if it was “marathon pace” or something harder.
Health
Illnesses. When I returned to Washington, DC, last Friday, I felt like I had a cold. There’s a COVID-19 variant going around, but I don’t feel like that’s what I have. For me, COVID presented as a fever, which feels more like a cold – nasal congestion, a tickle in my throat, and a bit headachy.
Racing Schedule
Runner rankings. Potomac River Running’s Regional Runner Rankings – Spring 2023. I hadn’t checked the rankings in a while and was happy to see that I was still in them. I was 27th in my age group. Qualifying races were the 2023 Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon, 2023 Cherry Blossom 5K, 2023 Cherry Blossom 10K, and 2023 Capitol Hill Classic.
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 3:50:00 (8:47 pace).
