This week was 49 miles of running, 16 "miles" of pool-running, and 1000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
Second to last week of taper. I'm definitely starting to peak, with perfect timing. So yay. Both Tuesday and Sunday's workouts felt very good, with an effort that normally yields 7:20-7:30 pace giving me 7:00 flat miles on Sunday. So very positive. Friday's tempo was slower than I would normally expect, but I actually felt really good during it - I just wasn't warmed up fully, and so I was creaky and stiff.
I wasn't fully warmed on Friday because we had a homeowner's emergency Friday morning when a tree fell (more details and pictures here). I showed up late for the workout, and only had time for about 2 miles of easy jogging plus two strides before starting. Much less than my normal warm-up of 3-4 miles with a fartlek (3:00 at half marathon effort, 4x30 seconds at 5K effort, 4x10 seconds at mile effort), But...two miles plus strides is more than others do, and I was also fresh and adrenalized from the combination of the taper and the tree falling, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Noted: I definitely cannot run fast on 2 miles warm-up plus a few strides. I have no idea how anyone else can, though it clearly works for others.
[as for why I showed up for the workout on Friday morning, post tree thing? Honestly, it was less about dedication and more about a coping strategy - needing to move past the stress and fear of the early morning as soon as possible.]
***
Indy is forecast to be cold. Exactly how cold is still up in the air (you see what I did there), but starting temperatures are currently forecast between 22 and 26 degrees, and it may or may not crack 32 degrees by the end. It's certainly not the worst forecast in the world, but not perfect either - I'd give it a B to B+. And certainly not anything like what I've been training in this fall.
So...I used Sunday's moderate paced run as a dress rehearsal - wearing much of what I'll likely wear in Indy. That means thin tights below, and a singlet plus arm-warmers on top, with a technical longsleeve over all of it (I'll pin my bib to my tights).
Sunday's run was in 40 degrees, so it was a good test. Would I get miserably uncomfortable running in this outfit at moderate pace? The answer was NO. I was very comfortable for the run, just slightly breaking a sweat at the end.
So...I'm confident that I can wear this outfit and be fine at marathon effort even if it warms up to 34 degrees by the end of the race. If I start getting too hot, I can just toss the longsleeve and roll down the arm-warmers; my legs will be totally fine in thin tights. And I've worn these tights in track workouts before - they don't restrict my motion at all, and so won't hurt me in the race.
If I had been training all winter and was used to sub-freezing temperatures, I think I might risk shorts. But...mid-20s are going to be a real shock to the system after a fall spent training between 45 and 65 degrees. And when it gets that cold that quickly, muscles lock up and don't work well - I think I'll run much faster and conserve much more energy dressing a bit warmer.
One issue with wearing tights is that my normal way of carrying gels (pinning them to my shorts and tucking under) doesn't work at all with these tights. So I quickly ordered a triathlon number belt with loops for gels, and ran with that one on Sunday as well. I practiced taking a gel from the belt as I ran (pro-tip - pull the gel from underneath, not from on top), and got that down too. So...unless the forecast changes dramatically, it will be tights plus number belt.
The one thing I still need to nail down is what I'll do with my hands. I normally wear snowboarding mittens when it gets that cold, with handwarmers tucked inside. But...it's very hard to take gels or carry a water bottle with those mittens (which resemble boxing gloves). So I'm thinking that I may go with a combo of a) latex gloves inside b) thin glove/mitten combo with hand warmers inside c) crew socks. I should be able to take gels and manage a water bottle with all of those, and I'll also be able to toss the crew socks if my hands are too warm. (the latex gloves are to protect my hands in case water gets spilled on them at a water stop).
I'll also need to plan around not being able to use my water bottles. I'm in the elite field at Indy, which means I can set out bottles on course. But... if it's mid-20s, my bottles may be frozen solid when I get to them. So I may end up just running with a handheld after all and refilling at water stops, like I did at CIM. The good news is that I shouldn't need TOO much water - certainly not as much as I would need on a hot and humid day - so I may be able to get away with 2-3 water stops plus a handheld.
[and yes, I could theoretically mitigate the freezing water issue by filling my bottles with sports drink instead, which would have a lower freezing point. But...I've never trained with sports drink, and I'm certainly not going to change up my nutrition plan now]
Dailies
Monday: DIY yoga and 8 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 11 miles, including a track workout of 2x800, 1600, 2x800 in 2:59, 2:57, 5:58, 2:53, 2:49 (recoveries of 2:31-2:36 after the 800s; 5:03 after the 1600). Also injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: DIY yoga, 8 miles very easy (8:58) plus drills and hill strides, and then an additional mile to test a new pair of shoes (8:13). Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: Upper body weights/core and 8 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 10 miles, including a 5K tempo in 20:11 (6:35/6:29/6:24/0:46). Also injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 8 miles very easy (8:40) and then drills and hill strides, followed by DIY yoga and upper body weights/core. Foam rolling in the afternoon.
Sunday: 10.5 miles, split as 3 miles easy (8:22) and then 7.5 miles moderate (7:00). Also light injury prevention work and DIY yoga. Foam rolling at night.
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