Seven weeks down and 11 to go before the race on 6 November in New York. After seven weeks, I'm on track and making good progress toward my goals. I ran 37 miles this week, punctuated by a strong 17 mile run on Saturday, 20 August.
I've been making corrections all summer to my running strategy. Diet, rest, and weather are the dominant factors in my running performance, and when I deliberately plan before I run I enjoy success. When I don't plan well I feel the burn. That's why this is training, and why it's important for me to train before I try to run 26.2 miles in under 4 hours.
Saturday, 20 Aug: 17 mile run. 2hr 44m 23sec (9m 40sec per mile pace.) This was to be a 16 mile run, but due to miscalculating my route slightly it ended up 17. I felt as if I could have run all day. I didn't sleep all that well the night before, though I did eat 3-4 pieces of pizza and drink 4 beers. I drank a lot of water and Gatorade on Friday, too. So when I woke up at 5am Saturday I felt pretty well prepared.
Upon waking I ate 1/2 of a bag of Jelly Belly sport beans, had some Gatorade, and a Thomas' 100% whole wheat mini bagel. I put Gatorade in both of the 10oz bottles I carry on my hydration belt, and took 3 Endurolytes pills. I packed three GUs and the other 1/2 of the Jelly Belly's with six more Endurolytes pills. I was out the door and running at 5:23am to 61 degrees and 100% humidity.
The moon was high as I knocked out the first several miles; the sun would not rise until close to 6:30. I started conservatively and set an easy pace for the first six miles. Miles 1 and 2 were at around 9:45/min and 5-7 were my slowest miles at around 10 mins each.
There are lots of hills on the route I use for my long runs, which makes for good training. I ate a GU and drank some Gatorade at the hour mark, then took 3 of the Endurolytes at the 9 mile mark with some more Gatorade. I was determined not to cramp or dehydrate. Took the second GU just before mile 12.
I had to work to maintain a slow pace for the rest of the run, as I felt great. I wanted to stay close to 9:45-10 pace but felt myself charging up hills and coasting down hills at faster paces. When I figured out I was going to finish 16 miles before I got home I immediately planned to run the last mile vs walk. I ended up charging up the last hill before being home; this is a hill that routinely kicks my butt and on the days when I struggle I loath walking up it as the folks out for 2-3 mile jogs pass me. I got to mile 17 and felt awesome.
The experience of doing 17 miles and feeling good validates my strategy and gives me great confidence at this stage. As further evidence of how well this went, I followed up nearly 3 hours of running with 90 minutes of shoveling playground mulch into a wheelbarrow and carrying it from the driveway to the backyard.
Thursday, 18 Aug: 8 mile run. 1hr 14m 03sec (9m 15sec per mile pace.)
Tuesday, 16 Aug: 8 mile race pace run. 1hr 11m 41sec (8m 57sec per mile pace.)
Sunday, 14 Aug: 4 mile run. 36m 57sec (9m 13sec per mile pace.)
I've been making corrections all summer to my running strategy. Diet, rest, and weather are the dominant factors in my running performance, and when I deliberately plan before I run I enjoy success. When I don't plan well I feel the burn. That's why this is training, and why it's important for me to train before I try to run 26.2 miles in under 4 hours.
Saturday, 20 Aug: 17 mile run. 2hr 44m 23sec (9m 40sec per mile pace.) This was to be a 16 mile run, but due to miscalculating my route slightly it ended up 17. I felt as if I could have run all day. I didn't sleep all that well the night before, though I did eat 3-4 pieces of pizza and drink 4 beers. I drank a lot of water and Gatorade on Friday, too. So when I woke up at 5am Saturday I felt pretty well prepared.
Upon waking I ate 1/2 of a bag of Jelly Belly sport beans, had some Gatorade, and a Thomas' 100% whole wheat mini bagel. I put Gatorade in both of the 10oz bottles I carry on my hydration belt, and took 3 Endurolytes pills. I packed three GUs and the other 1/2 of the Jelly Belly's with six more Endurolytes pills. I was out the door and running at 5:23am to 61 degrees and 100% humidity.
The moon was high as I knocked out the first several miles; the sun would not rise until close to 6:30. I started conservatively and set an easy pace for the first six miles. Miles 1 and 2 were at around 9:45/min and 5-7 were my slowest miles at around 10 mins each.
There are lots of hills on the route I use for my long runs, which makes for good training. I ate a GU and drank some Gatorade at the hour mark, then took 3 of the Endurolytes at the 9 mile mark with some more Gatorade. I was determined not to cramp or dehydrate. Took the second GU just before mile 12.
I had to work to maintain a slow pace for the rest of the run, as I felt great. I wanted to stay close to 9:45-10 pace but felt myself charging up hills and coasting down hills at faster paces. When I figured out I was going to finish 16 miles before I got home I immediately planned to run the last mile vs walk. I ended up charging up the last hill before being home; this is a hill that routinely kicks my butt and on the days when I struggle I loath walking up it as the folks out for 2-3 mile jogs pass me. I got to mile 17 and felt awesome.
The experience of doing 17 miles and feeling good validates my strategy and gives me great confidence at this stage. As further evidence of how well this went, I followed up nearly 3 hours of running with 90 minutes of shoveling playground mulch into a wheelbarrow and carrying it from the driveway to the backyard.
Thursday, 18 Aug: 8 mile run. 1hr 14m 03sec (9m 15sec per mile pace.)
Tuesday, 16 Aug: 8 mile race pace run. 1hr 11m 41sec (8m 57sec per mile pace.)
Sunday, 14 Aug: 4 mile run. 36m 57sec (9m 13sec per mile pace.)
This is really good to hear, considering your difficulties during the hottest days of July/Aug.
ReplyDelete