Fall of 2020 – Week 3
On Tuesday, I ran a Yasso 800 workout to get a sense for what marathon pace might be. I had a great medium run on Thursday – the 4th fastest of the year thanks to… Oasis? And despite COVID-19 concerns, I returned to my big, national-chain gym for weight training workouts.
Training Schedule
September 20th - September 26th
Sunday: Long Run. 13 miles
Monday: Easy Run. 7 miles + Strides
Tuesday: Interval Run. Yasso 800s. Sets of 800m @ goal marathon time w/equal recovery time (AM) + Weight training (PM)
Wednesday: Easy Run. 7 miles
Thursday: Medium Run. 11 miles (AM) + Weight training (PM)
Friday: Easy Run. 4 miles = Bike commuting (AM & PM)
Saturday: Easy Run. 6 miles
Total: ~57 Miles
Notes. With two weeks of training done and fall-like temperatures moving in, I thought I could start thinking about goal paces.
Workouts
Long Run
This week, instead of dropping the mileage for my long run back to 11 miles, as I’ve been doing all summer, I kept it at 13 miles to get re-building my endurance. My goal was to run those miles a little faster, though.
When I left my house, the weather was absolutely perfect – around 55 degrees!
From my apartment building, I ran upper 9:00 pace down the Arlington Boulevard Trail to Rosslyn where I connected to the Mount Vernon Trail.
Over the next three miles, I gradually pushed the pace lower. By the time I reached the Four Mile Run Trail, I was in the low-9:00 pace range. But, by the time I reached the W&OD Trail, I was ready to dial things back to an easy pace above 10:00 miles.
This was the best long run I’d had in a while, so even though I petered out at the end, I was very satisfied with it.
Interval Run
For the past three weeks, I’ve been doing workouts without a sense for what my paces should be. For this week’s speedwork, I thought I would do a Yasso 800 workout to get a sense for what marathon pace might be, (even if some think it’s a flawed method).
Once again, the weather was perfect – just over 50 degrees in the morning!
I left the house thinking I might be able to do 8:00 pace for a 4-hour marathon.
From home, I ran down to the W&OD Trail and started the repetitions on a segment that had some at-grade crossings. So, I had a complete rest after the first repeat. In Shirlington, I crossed over to the Four Mile Run Trail, which was uninterrupted. Along the way, I kept telling myself, “You need to get into championship shape [for the 2021 London Marathon].”
By the 5th repetition, I made my way to the Mount Vernon Trail and my legs started feeling a little heavy. I was closing in on a woman in front of me but just couldn’t catch her, which I remembered was good considering we’re in COVID-19 times. Although I was carrying a handheld with Gatorade, at the next rest I stopped at the water fountain by National Airport.
I finished in Crystal City and began a slow cool-down home. I was very happy with the result because I haven’t been running 800m on the track this fast!
The times suggest I might be in 3:55 (8:59 pace) marathon shape right now. I have a long way to go to my goal of sub-3:40 (8:24 pace) by this time next year!
| Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
800m (Time) |
4:01 |
3:57 |
3:47 |
3:51 |
|
|
Set 5 |
Set 6 |
Set 7 |
|
|
|
3:55 |
3:58 |
3:56 |
Medium Run
I set out to run about 11 miles on this 60 degree day with overcast skies.
From home, I ran downhill on the Arlington Boulevard Trail to Rosslyn, as I’d done on Sunday but this time, I would head west to the Custis Trail.
In an effort to get more excited about next year’s London Marathon, I thought I would start thinking about my playlist. I found a “British rock” playlist on Spotify and put it on repeat. The only song I liked was “Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis so I put it on repeat.
After cutting over to the Custis Trail, I actually didn’t lose much speed on the uphill and it dawned on me that I was having a great run! I stopped for water briefly at the water fountain near Nelson Street but kept cruising.
After a mile or so on the W&OD Trail, I cut over to the Four Mile Run Trail. By then, Oasis was getting a little tiresome but I thought, “Dance with the one that brought you!”, and stuck with it. I was running so well!
I finished the run feeling thoroughly pleased and told myself, “This is going to be a come-back story.”
Cross-training
Weight Training. This week, I returned to my big, national-chain gym after making a mistake reserving a time in my apartment building’s fitness center. I was apprehensive but there were good signs from the start. There was a clip on the front door so gym-goers could use their foot to open it and the desk attendant took everyone’s temperature. There were plenty of cleaning supplies around and there were only 30-40 people in the weight training area.
Because the equipment was different, it took me a little longer to do my workouts. But, on Tuesday, I worked legs, back, and arms and on Thursday, I worked legs, back, and arms.
Bicycling. On Friday, I bike commuted to work. This was my first time riding in in rainy conditions so I took my time. The over-cast skies fit the mood of the city. As I arrived at Capitol Hill, Justice Ginsburg’s body was arriving to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol My ride home was equally wet and gloomy.
Routes
Trails. Bluemont Junction Trail. For my easy runs this week, I covered most of this 1.3 mile trail which runs uphill from Bluemont Junction Park near the W&OD Trail and North Fairfax Drive in Ballston. There are a few at grade crossings that make the trail a little dangerous in my mind.
Nutrition
Energy chews. Clif Bloks Energy Chews. While I re-publishing my 2012 Boston Marathon race report, I remembered that I used to be an energy chew person. I switched to gels because they took up less space. This week, I ate these chews (Ginger Ale flavor) on my run to ensure I ate enough. Three squares is 100 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrate.
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. “Episode 249 – Unbirthdays (Andy Bacon)”, Pace the Nation. Another episode about a local race that went ahead during the COVID-19 pandemic – the Rosaryville Half Marathon/10k. This episode’s guest was the owner of EX2 Adventures. He talked about the challenges the organized faced putting on the event and how it went. (Due to an editing error, I switched the order of when I listened to this and the previous episode of this show.)
Racing Schedule
Runner rankings. RunWashington’s DMV Distance Derby. I didn’t run any segments this week. My best times remain:
- Teddy Roosevelt Island – 1.4 miles. 10:08 (7:38 pace) on May 12, 2020.
- Hains Point – 2.5 miles. 20:44 (8:17 pace) on September 15, 2020
- Custis Climb – Key Bridge to Glebe – 3.1 miles. 26:10 (8:55 pace) on May 21, 2020
Next race: ?
