Sunday Long Run – The Big Momma Run

19.00 mi, 2:37:02, 8:15 min/mi

• Success?  Yes or No?  You decide.  My goal was 20 mi @ 8:15 pace.  Got the pace down but off by one mile.  So the conceptual question is ‘Did I have enough for another mile for the next 8 min and 15 sec?’  Any my answer to that is ‘YES’.
• So let’s consider a few more things here:

1. I practically ran this unfueled… kind of.  I hydrated at 6 mi with a light water/gatorade mix approx 6 oz on 4 sips.  The next was a Gu at 12 mi with the same amount of hydration.  That’s it.
2. I’ve been nailing every single run this week and then some and in fact, my Monday run, that was supposed to be 5 mi was actually 10 mi… so the total for this week is 63.29 mi!
3. 3 weeks before this run was a string of inconsistent weeks…kind of.  The last two weeks have been sort of consistent but it was only last week that I started nailing both mileage and pace.  I’m always told that run training is cumulative…and I can say that I’ve done a lot to catch up to the lack thereof.

• So to me, if I consider those things, I feel like it was a successful run.  In fact, intangibly, I feel like my confidence is built up for a 3:30 marathon in 3 weeks.
• My feet feel like they got paddled a billion times…or around 40,000 times.  Hobbling around the house with gingerly steps but everything’s good.. this is expected.
• Played the “Don’t Suck at Pacing” game again.  Check out these splits:

1. 8:23
2. 8:18
3. 8:19
4. 8:18
5. 8:17
6. 8:17
7. 8:15
8. 8:14
9. 8:14
10. 8:15
11. 8:13
12. 8:14
13. 8:14
14. 8:14
15. 8:16 (only bad round and because i misjudged it)
16. 8:12
17. 8:15
18. 8:13
19. 8:10

• HR was great but picked up after the 13th mile
• Felt some weirdness in my right knee (runner’s knee) at around 17 mi and stepping on a rock caused me to cuss up a storm…who in the world left the rock there!?  I didn’t really cuss but I was like “well, that didn’t help…”
• Same strides as before…feels bouncy but it works.  These strides give me the ability to push when I need to but feel efficient
• Cool start at 47F, and around 66F when I returned… the path around the lake was nice and not a lot of bugs.
• So exactly why did I stop at 19?  Well, I think I just simply had about enough…felt the boredom which is usually triggered by fatigue.  I actually had a perceived bonk at 17 but pushed through.  Most of the hilly parts became tougher and tougher but playing the “DSAP” game helps a lot…I may actually try to coin a term here, if not already done so, and call it “Micro Pacing”… I’m telling you, with a few tweaks to the rules, this can really help people…I want to blog about it.  It’s not rocket science but it’s a way to work with the tools at hand (i.e. your GPS watches)

I’d like to hear what my few readers think…did I nail this one or not?  Answers won’t offend me, I feel like I did and my confidence is up…wow, I didn’t know I had this kind of run in me!

Up Next: 1/2M race next Saturday, but overall tapering for the next 3 weeks.  The Denver Rock ‘N’ Roll race is on Oct 17.

Saturday Long Run

10.03 mi, 1:19:28, 7:55 min/mi

• Piece of cake run…this felt nice and easy.  160 bpm avg. with a kick towards the end (~6:30 min/mi effort)
• But then again, it was so cool out…it’s now 50 min after my run and it’s 57F, so probably low 50′s
• The hills that I used to really be mindful about in my Reunion neighborhood no longer affect me…I mean they’re still harder, but it seems my cadence and pace stay relatively constant with just a bit of additional effort.
• Play a game called “Don’t Suck at Pacing”… tried to keep every split even or negative…only lost one round (7th split) in 10 rounds and only by 1 second.  Used my “speed” page on my Garmin that shows my ‘Current Lap Pace’… and would typically switch to this page with 1/4 mile left on the split…which allowed me to tune my pace…worked relatively well.  I did try to keep all my splits even.
• These upper 7 paces are starting to really feel good.  My stride feels really good, and I don’t even feel like I’m pushing off any more than I used to…I feel like my legs are stronger with simply more forward velocity per push…feels nice.
• Breathing was very good!

Up Next: 20 mi @ 8:15 tomorrow…let’s nail this one…this is the big momma of my marathon training

Thursday Tempo

8.64 mi, 1:06:24, 7:41 min/mi

• Nailed it!  Goal was 8 mi @ 8 min/mi…I’m 4 for 4 on my training runs this week…which I consider my most important training week for my marathon in just under 4 weeks.
• 170 bpm avg but felt great…breathing was always under control and didn’t feel super hard… it only became more pronounced during the small climbs.  And, instead of “recovering” after the climbs, I kept the effort consistent which got me around mid-to-low 7 pace
• I’m starting to find my niche again in running…ironically, it’s got some Pliska in it…but feels good and natural to me… and more important, efficient.  It’s got some bounce in it and the strikes seem very hard but it works.  I imagine my cadence is right around upper 160.
• All I could think about was sub-8… nothing else entered my mind.  And, every time my watched clicked off a sub-8 mile, it just fed me to keep it up.  I wasn’t sure how I would fair with the hills that have historically kicked my ass since changing jobs here… but today, I owned them.  There were only two times that I held a low-8 pace but it didn’t last long… I just switched back to my stride
• I thought about experimenting (with my stride), specifically, lengthening my stride whilst still striking under my center… but I ditched that… everything was working today.
• Nice and cool…57 when I left, and 68 now.  Stiff breeze at the 4 mi mark and kept on me for the duration…I imagine it was 5-10 mph headwind…which didn’t help my uphill efforts
• Lots of runners out today… at least 6 by my count
• Saw a snake on the bridge again… this one was a baby one though and it uncurled after I passed it.  Cute.
• Chaffed nips…no bueno… I can still feel them.  Maybe I’ll be hunched over for the rest of the day

Up Next: 10 mi on Saturday, 8 min/mi

Base Wednesday

7.37 mi, 1:04:01, 8:41 min/mi

• 165 Avg HR, medium effort
• Good rhythm and starting to find my niche again
• Hotter than I would expect even with the cloud cover.  After coming back in, the elevators showed that it was 73 out…hmm.  Felt hot… and I’m sticking to that.
• Kicked it to near sub-6 pace towards the end…it’s a little downhill but I felt revived… and felt good having that kick at the end.

Up Next: 8 mi, 8:00 min/mi YIKES!

Track Tuesday

7.96 total mi

1.74 mi, 16:07 (9:15 min/mi), easy warmup
3x2000m, 8:17 (6:37 min/mi), 8:30 (6:48 min/mi), 8:27 (6:45 min/mi)
1.73 mi, 15:29 (8:56 min/mi) , easy cooldown

• Great workout for me and really proud of myself for pulling it together for this important week
• Held upper 6:30′s for most of the intervals, breathing was excellent, effort felt efficient…I felt light today
• With the way this felt, I think I can pull a sub-20 5K… “think” being the key word
• The warmup and cooldown distances are longer than what I was used to and more technical than a simple 4+ laps around a track… but I think I’ll benefit from them… kind of a stepping stone to putting more mileage into my runs
• Middle-schoolers were out today… track was empty when I got there but they came out of nowhere when I started my first lap.
• Hit the wrong button after completing the first interval and hit the Start/Stop button instead of the Lap button…ugh… but I saw that I did 8:17 for that one… it was easy enough to spot on the graphs too.
• Wow, my HR didn’t even go past 175 bpm….wow!
• To the weather’s credit, it was really really nice out today… very cool breeze and the sun was never a factor.

Up next: 7 mi, 8:45 min/mi, base run

Monday Long Run

10.29 mi, 1:40:15, 9:44 min/mi

• Did some trail running in Cherry Creek…no map, no clue… just went for it.  Got lost a little bit but it was nice running in the trees
• Felt good for the most part but the heat took it’s toll on me, eventually…felt really ill when I got back to work
• Ran into another runner named Jeff…actually, caught up to him and we ran for a bit together.  Nice fella.
• I wanted to do 12 mi to make up for yesterday’s DNR but 10 mi will do… I think doing this run probably saved my marathon…I feel like I’m jjuuuuussst there with my base… even though this run sucked… I feel better about it already.
• Now, having said “I feel better” about this run.. I actually had to stop a few seconds in the shade… man it was hot.
• I actually stopped quite a few times to look at some posted signs that turned out to “not be” maps…plus all the traffic… so I imagine my moving pace may just be right at 9 min/mi.

Sunday Long Run (DNR)

DNR

• Plan was to do 12 mi during the camping trip but didn’t happen
• Grrr

Saturday Short/Long Run

6.10 mi, 48:27, 7:56 min/mi

• Felt good, nice and cool…
• More like a tempo run so not boding well if this is close to projected marathon pace
• Forgot to reset Garmin, so it includes Monday’s run.  Only view splits 1 thru 7

Thursday Tempo

10.27 mi, 1:29:55, 8:41 min/mi (moving pace)

• Found a good rhythm in my stride and held it for as long as I could… this rhythm had me at around 170 bpm and mid 8:30′s and sometimes below
• Every time I had a nice downhill stretch, I was already dreading it on the way back… man, Cherry Creek has some really tough hills… I had 4 huge battles on the way back
• Saw a snake and almost pooped my pants… the dude was just hanging around on a wooden bridge
• Took a wrong turn so doubled-back (~2 mi mark)… I knew that wrong turn was there… but it was hard to tell when I was actually there…it actually looked like the right turn at first
• Super nice dirt trail… my run was approximately 70% all dirt… soft, but packed hard enough that minimizes the slip…. lots of horse apples, too.  My route took me all the way to Peoria…holy crap!  On the way back, I could see that cement bridge that sticks out from the damn… and it looked FAR AWAY!
• Got back and our building is having a little get-together with the other buildings to promote products… they had lemonades and such, so I went straight for that… I can’t say that I’ve ever had a lemonade right after a run… it was soooo refreshing!
• Lot’s of ‘hoppers… and they’re really starting to annoy me…one flew right onto my HR monitor and made a sound like one of those dog-clickers (for obedience training)…it was hilarious… im sure that left a bruise on him
• Goal was 8:00 min/mi but there’s no way… either I’m just not cut out for that at this point, or it’s just more difficult over here.  It’s most likely the former… I have to start considering changing my goal time for October… but staying on the same training plan.
• Oh yeah, it was hot.

Base Wednesday

7.88 mi, 1:09:56, 8:45 min/mi (moving pace)

• With all of the lights, I’m starting to look at my moving pace instead
• Hot today, and switched to bonk mode by the time I hit Cherry Creek State Park… so pretty much bonked it back for the next 4 miles
• Kept looking at my avg pace on my Garmin and it kept getting higher and higher, up to 9:30 min/mi… THEN, when I finally got back to the office, I realized that I was on my “speed” page and I actually wasn’t reading my avg pace… I would’ve been okay with 9:30, I guess… it’s been a while since I’ve been in the 9′s.