This week was 40 miles of running, 11 "miles" of pool-running, and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
This week was messy in multiple weather induced ways. Tuesday's workout was one of the most miserable I can recall - very windy, rain, 38 degrees, dark. I was tempted to skip this one, but I get stale if I pull back too much on the intensity. So I sucked it up and did the workout, trying to avoid straining since a) I had the Sunday 20 on my legs; b) I had a race coming up; and c) I'm tapering for my marathon anyway.
[plus straining in workouts is just a bad idea in general]
I was supposed to fly down to Florida for a work off-site on Wednesday morning, but a late season snowstorm screwed with that plan. I ended up staying in DC after my flight was cancelled and I couldn't book a replacement that wouldn't both cost a fortune and get me there after most of the off-site was concluded. Due to both weather conditions in DC and remote attendance of the off-site (I had to dial in at 7:50 each morning), I didn't end up running any more than I would have if I had attended the off-site.
Despite all the turmoil, Sunday's tune-up marathon went shockingly well. I felt like I usually do in tune-ups - dull and stuck in a low gear - so to come so close to my PR was stunning.
Of course, this raises the question: should I have done a different race? Many of my teammates did the Shamrock Half-Marathon a week before. Shamrock is (in my opinion) the fastest legal half marathon course in the US, and the weather was perfect at Shamrock this year - resulting in a lot of great times and major PRs. I didn't regret skipping it because I knew I wasn't going to PR anyway.
Only, apparently I might have, given how close I came to PRing on a slower course with not-quite-as-perfect weather.
On reflection, I'm still happy that I chose Philly Love Run over Shamrock. I'll have plenty of other opportunities to PR at the half distance. And there's no guarantee that I would have PRed at Shamrock - I might have had an off day or stepped in a pothole.
Plus, I much preferred the timing of Philly Love Run in terms of marathon training - important, since my ultimate goal for this cycle is a good marathon, not a fast half.
Everyone's different, but for myself I like my training cycle to be:
1) 6 weeks of uninterrupted emphasis on marathon pace work and mileage, with just enough lactate threshold work to preserve that aspect of my fitness.
2) a half-marathon, raced all out, to serve as both a dress rehearsal for the marathon and a final very hard lactate threshold boost.
3) 3 weeks of reduced mileage while maintaining or slightly emphasizing the track speedwork, to peak.
When I do this right, I feel fresh on race day, with all the different aspects of my fitness peaking together. Running a half-marathon earlier in the cycle just doesn't mesh in quite the same way for me (though it might for others).
Dailies:
Monday: Yoga and 7 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 9.5 miles, including a track workout of 2000, 4x800 (8:03, 3:05, 3:06, 3:07, 3:04), followed by a long hot shower and then 1000 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 6.5 miles very easy (8:59) plus drills (didn't want to risk strides in snow). DIY yoga and foam rolling in afternoon..
Thursday: 4 "miles" pool-running. Later snuck in light upper body weights/core and DIY yoga. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 7 miles, including a mile pick-up in 6:22. Followed with DIY yoga and foam rolling.
Saturday: Drove to Philly. DIY yoga and foam rolling in afternoon.
Sunday: 2.5 mile warm-up, then half-marathon in 1:25:56. 1.5 cooldown and drive back to DC. 1000 yards recovery swimming and foam rolling in evening.
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