This week was 50 miles of running, 18 "miles" pool-running, and 500 yards of swimming.
Foer much of this week, running outside continued to be an icy challenge. The running trails were mostly clear but not all the way clear - and there is a difference between the two. As for the track, it wasn't clear and open to the public until Wednesday afternoon, so Wednesday morning's workout was on the treadmill. Which is fine - I don't mind running on the treadmill, and my fitness has been improving steadily over the last few weeks of treadmill-heavy training.
By Thursday, everything (roads, trails, the track) was clear of snow and ice. We were also gifted with one nearly perfect morning - high 40s, overcast. There was a decent wind at times (hence the "nearly") but still...so much better than the past few weeks.
That nearly perfect morning was also Saturday. Which happened to be the day I had a big marathon effort workout scheduled.
I debated between 4-3-2-1 miles at marathon effort and 2x5 miles at marathon effort, then decided to play it by ear. If I'm out of shape, the 4-3-2-1 is easier because there's more recovery. However, if I'm reasonably fit, then the 2x5 is actually easier and lower stress, simply because it's hard neurologically (and thus tiring) for me to accelerate from easy effort to marathon effort. If I'm out of shape and early in a cycle, the stress from the neurological stuff is balanced out by the need for recovery during the workout; when I don't need that recovery as much, the balance changes.
Anyways...I got about 3 miles into the first rep and hit a rhythm, so I decided to keep going and do 2x5. That was good news. The really good news was that I had been hoping to be close to 8 minute pace for this workout, which I was doing by feel. Instead, by the third marathon effort mile, I was well below 8 minute pace, and it felt controlled and comfortable - like I could go for a really long time at that pace. Which is how a marathon effort workout should feel - if you are hanging on and gritting it out, that's probably not your marathon effort or pace.
I just cruised the rest of the workout, finishing the 2x5 miles averaging 7:53 pace over the 10 miles (8:01 pace for 11 miles if you include the mile between the 2x5). And I felt like I could have kept going for several more miles without straining. Excellent.
This means that, fitness-wise, I'm already where I hoped to be at the end of this cycle, and I'm still 7 weeks out from Boston. The temptation is just to try to build on that even more and see how much fast I can get before the end of the cycle. Basically, to get a bit greedy. But I've seen how that one plays out - you just end up peaking too early and underperforming. So better to try to cruise the rest of the training cycle - do the work conservatively with no heroics. That approach gives me the best shot of running well in mid-April.
And, of course, I may still get a bit faster with that approach. Fitness is one of those things that likes to come to you when you don't chase it.
Dailies:
Monday: 9 "miles" pool-running and upperbody weights/core; foam rolling in evening.
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