One Final Push

Heading into last weekend I was feeling pretty good and I figured I could afford one more distance run and hope to reap some benefit from a little marathon pace running. On Friday I did the Martin Road loop and attempted to throw in some one minute pick-ups and my legs just didn't want to participate at all. So I didn't force the issue and I made my way home just shy of an hour and 8 miles.  Saturday we had more rain and I was too crabby to get wet so off to the treadmill I went and pounded out what I termed "the best treadmill run I've had in many years. It really wasn't anything too special, rather, just a run that felt solid and very fluid. I set the pace and made an early commitment not to run anything faster then 7:20 pace. I kept to that and managed to sprinkle in some hill repeats. I did 4 X 4 minutes at 5% at 8 miles per hour. That effort felt really maintainable and I was happy to break up the monotony of treadmill running with some strength work.  Sunday found myself and buddy Erik using an open window of no rain but high winds to do the long run. I made the early decision to run 18 miles and much at the "marathon" pace of 6:30. I'm not too sure that will be my pace on Sunday but it seems attainable.  One week to go and I will be done with the marathon. I am both excited and very apprehensive. The feeling of fitness is definitely there but not strength fitness like I would like.  Oh, well, time will tell.

Here is the rest of the week:

Friday: 57:00 Woodland loop 8 miles
Saturday: 1:00:00  8.1 miles treadmill 4 X 4 min at 5% at 8mph.
Sunday: 2:00:00  18 miles  much at 6:30 min mile pace.

Weeks Total: 58 miles

Years Total:  877.9 miles

Soggy Feet

Since Sunday, I have run in the rain 3 out of 4 mornings. I have no dry shoes to wear (that's not true but it sounds good) and I fired up the fireplace tonight to dry a few pair plus my running hats.
My Sunday "long" run left me feeling quite good but I took Monday off just to be sure. Tuesday I got out for a nice easy run and found myself running kind of fast for a recovery run. I managed to slow it down a bit so I guess that's promising I feel that good I have to force to slow. Wednesday was my "uptempo" run out on west Skyline. I added a mile to my LT run and picked up the pace ~5 or so seconds per mile. The run started out sluggish but really worked out well and I finished very strong. This morning was a nice recovery run and once again had to force myself to slow in order to keep it a true "recovery" run.

Thus far this week:

Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 50:00 *short on time, slept too late
Wednesday: 1:11:00  6 miles LT @ 5:54 pace
Thursday: 54:00 Kenwood loop

*feeling really good this week and I really wish I had about 5 more weeks to race but I guess I will be able to hold my own on June 3rd. It's going to be hard not to have fast goals when I am feeling fast but not quite ready to "race" a marathon. You never know...

Pace Work Needed

I needed a nice rest after the long effort on Sunday so Monday turned into a complete rest day except for stretches and leg exercises. I managed to get in a decent recovery run Tuesday and Wednesday I jumped right in to a medium long effort with 5 miles at near LT pace. Friday I made my way out to Martin road and along my loop did 6 X 2 minutes at 5:30 pace. Our weekend was filled with camping and on Saturday I got out on the SHT north of Temperence river for a bit over an hour. What a section! My Sunday long effort was shot right from the get-go. It was raining and it managed to rain for the entire 2 hours. A good test for wet socks just incase marathon day is a wet one. I realized I will not wear the socks I had on. One killer blister on the small, pinky toe cost me a few minutes at the end and I needed to finish the run a bit too soon.

Here is the week:

Monday: 0 miles rest + walk in trails with buddy
Tuesday: 59:00 easy loop
Wednesday: 1:21:00  skyline west with 5 miles at 6:00/mi pace
Thursday: 45:00 plus exercises
Friday: 58:20  6X 2 minutes of pick ups
Saturday: 1:02:00  trails at Temperence
Sunday: 1:54:00 wet road run

Weeks Total: ~56 miles

Years Total: 819.8 miles

Progression Long Run

I spent most of the week gearing up and finally getting a little "work" done and some better  up tempo days worked into the schedule. Mid week I did a nice 11 miler with 3 X 10 minutes at 5:50 pace to simulate a little threshold session. At the moment I am not sure what my true LT is but that workout felt pretty close. The rest of the week was getting my legs under me and preparing for what was the longest run of my buildup as well as the year. Sunday we had a nice group that did a mild progression run from Two Harbors to Duluth. The only problem, and a big one it was, was the direct headwind we faced for all 22 miles. At times it was gusting to 15 mph! A bit of a challenge to say the least. In the end I managed to step down the pace nicely and worked plenty hard for it!

Here is the week:

Monday: 0 rest
Tuesday: 50:00 easy
Wednesday: 1:13:00 w/ 3 X 10 minutes at 5:50 pace
Thursday: 50:00 easy
Friday: 52:00 with 8 X 100 meters at 5:00 pace
Saturday: 1:20:00 easy trails in Hartley
Sunday: 2:32:00 north shore progression run
             average 6:55/ last three: 6:31, 6:28, 6:21

Weeks Total: ~64 miles

Years Total: 763.5 miles

Virus Magnet

I seem to have been a magnet for different viruses lately and have been hit with a common "head cold" virus and this past week the damn GI "virus" that leaves you with ass-stomach for two or three days.
Right now I feel quite good and hope to have kicked all of the bad bugs out of my system and now on to better training and daily living.

This past week really rolled out well for me and I would have been very satisfied except for the zero I had to take yesterday because of the stomach thingy.

Today I managed to join a wonderful group and run a bit over two hours on the Voyageur course from the Zoo parking lot. I do love this section and I have never ran the 50 miler so I have no bad taste from the ugly uphill climbing out from the Zoo. Lot's of smiles today and I am ready to have a killer 4 weeks until my potential race. *I know I  can make it to the start...

Weeks Summary:

Monday: 36:00 slow in Rock Hill
Tuesday: 47:00 easy
Wednesday: 1:00:00 treadmill 4 miles @ 6:22 pace
Thursday: 46:00 easy
Friday: 50:00 *feels sluggish
Saturday: 0 *sick
Sunday: 2:13:00 trails/nice run

Weeks Total: ~46 miles

Years Total: 699.5 miles

Bump, Bump, Bump It Up!

I'm referring to training volume and intensity. This past week was another great "test week" that went about as well I could have hoped. The weeks mileage passed without any difficulties or soreness to speak of. My Sunday long effort went well but did manage to leave me with a bit of a sore low back and minimal tightness in the hamstring. I did some stretches after and that seemed to lick it. Part of me thinks that now that I have had the injured hamstring I am over sensed to that area and any twinge or tightness makes me very aware, as compared to months ago it may have gone unnoticed. That may be a good thing, I prefer to think, or that may be something I just need to press a bit to see how things are going to progress. I will mix a bit of those two thoughts as I press forward in my training and see how things iron out. On paper I am scheduled for some light repetitions this week as well as a 20 miler on Sunday! My first of the year!

Here is the weeks summary:

Monday: 32:00 easy jog
Tuesday: 52:30 w/ 7 X 30 sec @ 5K pace
Wednesday: 0 miles
Thursday: 55:00
Friday: 37:00
Saturday: 51:30 *harder pace run sub 7:00's
Sunday: 2:03:00  17 miler rather hilly route.

Weeks Total: ~ 49 miles

Years Total: 653.5 miles

A Week of Progress = Smiles!!

The past week has been wonderful to me. I continue to bump up my runs by time  and soon hope to be back on track to fitness.  It's really hard holding back as I continue this venture and progress is great, but I really just want to start hitting the miles and doing some up tempo work. In due time...

I took last Monday off to give myself the extra rest and then have run six days in a row with runs varying from 30-50 minutes with weekly long effort of 90 minutes this morning. The therapists have really got me in line. Near weekly chiro visits, deep tissue massage, acupuncture along with my strength program at home has been my recipe and I can't remember the last time I felt so fresh while running. I mean, wow, no hamstring pain, no hip pain, no back pain, no achilles pain, NOTHING! Is this how you should feel when you run/train for a marathon? I hope so, and I hope I can keep the ailments to a minimum as I continue to crank up the volume over the next month.

Here is a brief summary of the week:

Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 50:00
Wednesday: 39:00
Thursday: 29:00 with 8X100 meters pick ups
Friday: 45:00
Saturday: 56:00
Sunday: 1:30:00
*most weekly runs @7:30/mile pace

Total: ~41 miles

Years Total: 604.5 miles