Monday: 20.1 miles (6:13). Not a great long run and didn't have a single mile under 6:00, which hasn't happened in a long freaking time. Got into the lower 6:00s about halfway and stopped for a quick waterstop. Started getting a little thirsty by 14 miles and after 16 miles, it got progressively worse every mile and the last mile was pretty rough with a 6:30. Lost about 6-7 pounds of water, which is about twice as much as usual on a long run; 4.3 miles (7:28).
Tuesday: 6 miles (7:30); 7.5 miles (6:58)
Wednesday: 6.8 miles (6:41); 5.4 miles (6:59)
Thursday: 11.7 miles with 6400m tempo. Was shooting for six miles at 4:55-5:00 pace with a couple of 400s at the end. The pace felt really and relaxed at first and then the heat started getting to me a little bit more every lap. It was 82 with a 72 few point but on the black track with no shade or clouds, it had to be hotter than that. Stopped at four miles and decided to jog a mile to the park so I could do a fartlek with at least some shade. The plan was to do 3-4x3:00 fast with 1:00 rest and I stopped about 1.5 minutes into the second one because it was too hot. Ran 19:48 for the four miles with splits of 4:53, 4:58, 4:56, 5:01. Since I bagged this one early, I'll try something a little more intensive than originally planned on Saturday; 4.5 miles (7:20)
Friday: 8.1 miles (7:18); 3.4 miles (7:27)
Saturday: 13.8 miles with 10 miles of 1/2 mile on/off. Conditions were a little better with a temp of 72 and a dew point of 63. Plan was to run the fast portion at 5:05 pace and the sort of fast portion at 5:25 pace. Ended up running 51:17 for the whole thing with rounded mile splits of: 5:10 (2:42/2:28), 5:09 (2:42, 2:27), 5:10 (2:42, 2:28), 5:08 (2:40/2:28), 5:11 (2:42/2:29), 5:10 (2:42/2:28), 5:05 (2:39/2:26), 5:10 (2:41/2:29), 5:10 (2:41/2:29), 4:50 (2:42/2:08). I was really pleased with this. I was planning a max of 8.9ish miles (2.5 down and backs on the road) but it felt so easy the whole way, I went 10. Normally I start to feel this workout about 6-7 miles in, but I felt just as good at nine miles as I did in the first. It felt like I could have run this workout almost twice in a row if I had to. Since it felt so smooth, I decided to push the last half mile a bit. I had two mini hills and a small downhill and felt good without any wobbly legs or booty lock. I could have kept it up for at least another 1/4 mile if I had to. I also took the last one as a good sign because I normally have an insanely hard time changing gears, especially when I'm tired, but I was able to accelerate pretty smoothly on the last one; 3.4 miles (7:28)
Sunday: 9.5 miles (6:53).
Week Total= 104.6 miles. Crappy long run, frustrating tempo run but great Saturday session. And best of all, the Saturday session tells me more about my half marathon fitness than the other two. I feel like I'm on a good upswing and feel much fitter than I did in March. Next week I'll back off the mileage a good bit, throw in a light progressive fartlek on Tuesday and then get ready to roll on Saturday at the USA Half-Marathon Championships. They have live finish line video and probably tracking as well.
My goal was to get in the top 10 at the race and if it was the same field as last year, I feel like I would have had a realistic shot. But this year, the field is twice as deep and much faster up front. Last year, I ran 65:01 for 15th and this year, I doubt 65:01 will be in the top 25, or maybe the top 30. I don't care about my place so much because you can't control how others finish or perform. But there are a lot of people just ahead of me on paper that I would like to beat. Last year, I went out way too hard and died the last 5k. This year, I plan to be a little more patient, make up some good ground from 10k-10 miles and then throw down. If the conditions are perfect, I'd like to say I have a shot at running a low 64, if not break it, but who knows? I've been a roller-coaster this season.
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