Supplemental Training: Cookie baking.
Oh, you mean baking (and eating!) delicious cookies doesn't count as supplemental training? Whatever.
Tuesday
Distance: 9.0
Pace: 2 miles easy, 5 miles at HMP (8:08), 2 miles easy
Brutal. This run was so damn brutal. It was in the low 80s with not a cloud in the sky. I have been aiming to run my half marathon pace runs at 7:45-8:00. Adjusting for the temperature, I aimed to hit 8:00-8:15 for this run.
Mile 1: Oh hey, this isn't too bad. I can hold this pace for 5 miles no problem.
Mile 2: Wait. What is happening? This is really starting to suck.
Mile 3: Oh.my.god. Dying. I am dying. Just get through this mile then take a break.
****paused watch for about a minute to get my breathing under control****
Mile 4: Wow! That break really helped! 2 miles shouldn't be a problem. That is just 16 minutes of running. Easy, right?
Mile 5: 8 more minutes! You can do this! checks watch Okay 7 more minutes. checks watch Still 7 more minutes. I need to stop checking my watch. checks watch Half a mile to go. I'm dying. I won't make it. checks watch Ugh. Quarter mile. 2 minutes. checks watch x1000 Done. I can finally die now.
The last 2 easy miles were pretty awful too. I stopped at the drinking fountain in the park before running back to my house but it wasn't working which was extremely frustrating.
Wednesday
Distance: 5.08
Pace: 9:48 recovery run
Thursday
Distance: 9.06
Pace: 9:43
Another miserable run. It was hot and humid. I was aiming to run 10 miles but I was really struggling with the humidity this day. It finally started raining about 7 miles into my run, which was refreshing right up until it became a downpour. I just didn't have it in me to push through one last mile. I figured I could try to add a little extra distance to my weekend runs to make up for it.
Friday
rest
Saturday
Distance: 16.36
Pace: 6 miles easy, 10 miles at MP (8:34), 0.36 cool down
I was kind of preparing myself for this to be a rather difficult run, but it wasn't actually all that bad. The first four miles at marathon pace felt easy. Miles 5-7 were a bit more work. I had to work to keep myself from thinking about how much further I had to go and worrying that I wouldn't be able to hold the pace. Once I got down to just 3 miles remaining, I knew I had it. I finished feeling strong, like I could hold the pace for another mile, no problem.
It is way too early in my training to start thinking about goal times for my marathon, so I'm not really expecting my pace on race day to be 8:34 (though it would be fantastic if it were!). McMillan predicts 3:43 (8:31) based on my half PR from last fall, but I know I have more speed than endurance. So that might be a touch optimistic. For now, this training pace seems like a decent place to start.
Sunday
Distance: 5.65
Pace: 10:02 recovery run
Totals
Distance: 45.15
Speed work: tempo run + MP run
The weather is so brutal now! I'm just telling myself that running in the heat and humidity will make me really strong for fall races. Crossing my fingers :) Love all of your commentary..super funny! And yes for cookies as supplemental training! I'm with you!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I've been telling myself too!
DeleteThis summer running thing never gets easier. During the fall/winter I should have appreciated the cooler weather a bit more. I definitely took it for granted.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on pushing through on all of your runs!
I frequently tell myself as soon as I complete the next mile I'm going to quit ... and then repeat until I get to the end of my run!
Haha, yes. I've told myself that lie to keep myself running so many times.
DeleteNice job out there! The heat and humidity sounds awful but I always remind myself that I will really appreciate it come fall - train hard, race easy!
ReplyDeleteI think your MP will come to you over time. My MP was 8:40, but I often trained it at 8:35. I think it might make more sense to have a goal pace range instead of a firm pace. It will allow your body to figure out what marathon effort feels like in different conditions and levels of fatigue, and keep in mind that your pace will fluctuate a little bit during the marathon anyway, so it's a good idea for your body to learn different paces and how to go back and forth between them. During my MP workouts I would consider it a success if I averaged anywhere between 8:32-8:44ish. This way I could focus on running by effort and let my body learn it naturally.
Since this was my first MP run, I gave myself a range of 8:30-8:55, figuring if I ended up around 8:45 that would be pretty nice. I'll probably tweak those numbers a bit after this weekend's race.
Delete