Training Log - Week ending 4/1/18

This week was 56 miles of running, 20 "miles" of pool-running, and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

One of those weird hybrid weeks: recovering from the half and kinda starting to taper.  The first few days were just recovery, with an intentionally half-assed cruise intervals workout on Friday.  My legs were still somewhat tired, and there was no need to push things.  Anything that got my legs turning over a bit was fine.

Sunday was the last workout that I really cared about at all - 16 miles progressing, so that the last 6 were at marathon pace.  I intentionally pulled back slightly on this one.  My coach has given me a range of 6:45-7:00 for my marathon pace work, and like every other type A runner on the planet, I've usually ended up at the bottom of that range.  But now, with the marathon two weeks away (and a recent half-marathon still in my legs) there was no need to be aggressive, so I aimed for between 6:50-6:55.  

(I didn't aim for 7:00 pace because OMG that would be just crazy.....I mean, nobody ever targets the top of a pace range...) 

Like the 16 miler at the start of the cycle, I ran this one on the Mount Vernon Trail, structuring it so that the marathon pace stuff would coincide with the mild rolling hills near the airport.  These hills are not big at all, but they are just sharp and frequent enough to disrupt my rhythm (and I am a rhythm runner).  Holding a steady effort here was a nice way to practice for the bigger hills at Boston, without adding too much stress to the run.  And the 6:5x pace felt very easy aerobically, which was a nice confidence boost. 

(legs were a bit tired for this one also, but that doesn't worry me - I know from experience that it won't be until late this coming week that my legs start to feel fresh.)

Also like my first 16 miler, I used this run as a rehearsal for the late start at Boston.    Instead of eating my normal pre-run/pre-race breakfast, I again split the meal into two - half my breakfast at 5:15 am, and half at 8:15 am, before starting to run a bit after 10 am.  

My takeaway from last time was that I needed to skip caffeine and sugar during the first meal, saving them for the second.  Sugar/caffeine at 5:15 am made me crash at 10 am.  So this time I kept my first breakfast to complex carbs and protein (brown rice and protein powder), saving the gels for after 8 am.  And it worked very well.  Good energy, bathroom usage timed well with when I'll have access to portapotties.  So I'll go with that.

This time, since I had plenty of time to kill before the 10 am start, I decided to mimic the Boston start in another way, by getting to my run location at 8 am and then sitting outside with a book before starting the run.  Odd?  Yes, but it ended up being very helpful.  

[and honestly, practicing waiting at Hopkinton was more appealing than catching up on house cleaning (which is what I should have been doing) and more useful than arguing on the internet (which is what I would have been doing).]

My plan for Boston was to bring a mat to sit on, and then stay warm (assuming we have good weather) by wearing a throwaway sweatshirt and using a disposable "body warmer" (like a disposable handwarmer, but bigger).  As it turned out, I was freezing by the end of my roughly two hour wait this morning, and it sapped some energy from me. And it wasn't that cold - only 50-55 degrees.   I'm just one of those people who chills very quickly if I sit still.  (I'm also one of those people who keeps forgetting that I'm one of those people...)

So now I know that I need to bring a thick blanket with me as well.  And possibly 2-3 body warmers.  Best to learn that now, rather than in 2 weeks.

***
A few people have asked what my goal time is for Boston - the answer is "it depends."  On the weather, mainly.  Based on how I've felt during training, and how last week's half went, I think I could slip under 3 hours on a Chicago/Shamrock type course if the weather was good.  But the Boston course is a different beast.  

In my favor is that I'm usually very good at being patient at the start of my races, and I'm also a very good downhill runner.  However, I'm not a great uphill runner, and I also do best at races where I can hit a rhythm, as discussed above.   

Right now, I'm thinking that I have a reasonable shot at 3:05 or under, weather permitting.  Some may fear I'm being too aggressive, others may think I'm too conservative.  Maybe so to both.  But in the end, it really doesn't matter.  

Since I run my races with my watchface blanked, pacing off of feel and completely ignoring splits, my "goal time" has absolutely no bearing on how I will run the race.  If it turns out that I'm wrong about what I'm capable of running, it won't ruin my race.  As I've experienced before (Shamrock and Broad Street last year; and last week's Love Run), I'll run what I'm capable of running that day, even if it's several minutes faster than I expected when standing on the start line.

It's one of the many benefits of racing "watchless": when I don't use numbers to guide me,  I don't have numbers to limit me, and so I get the best performance I am capable of on that day.


Dailies:

Monday: 9.5 "miles" pool-running; foam rolling at night.

Tuesday: 2.5 miles very easy to yoga (9:22), yoga, then 6.5 miles home (8:47), followed by form drills (no strides - too close to the half).  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 8.5 miles very easy (9:14) to the gym, upper body weights/core, and then 3.5 miles easy home (8:48), followed by drills and strides.  Sports massage in afternoon.

Thursday:  10.5 "miles" pool-running and DIY yoga.  Foam rolling at night.

Friday: 10 miles, including a short track workout of 3200, 1600 in 12:44 (6:23/6:21) and 6:14.   Followed with injury prevention work and 1400 yards of recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 10 miles easy (8:44), followed by drills and strides, and then upper body weights and core plus some DIY yoga. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday:  16 miles progressive, split as first 5 miles averaging 8:38 pace; next 5 averaging 7:41; last 6 averaging 6:51.  Followed with injury prevention work and 600 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in afternoon.