A Quick, Hand-Updated Snapshot of Training
Due to difficulty getting Internet service set up at my new place of residence, I wasn't able to update my Strava account with this past week's data. I was able to upload most of the previous two weeks and have found a free moment as well as Internet-access so though I am rather uninspired (yet hopped up on caffeine) I will attempt to write a quick update.
August 25-31
After a nice seven week segment where I averaged about 73 MPW, I was forced to take a bit of a down week when some sort of stomach bug derailed my long run on Saturday the 30th. Of course this wouldn't be much of a running blog if I didn't talk at least a bit about my stomach troubles. Typically during training I don't have too many issues as long as I adhere to a few basic rules (Rule #1: Don't eat much within 2 hours of starting a run... that's about it). I noticed I was not feeling 100% on Wednesday or Thursday, but this didn't really effect my training much. So I was pretty surprised to find my intended hard 20 miler in Barrington terminated by stomach problems at about mile 8.
I'm not sure what I was dealing with as my stomach has only recently (2 weeks later) begun to return to normal.
That said, despite not running more than 12 miles on any given day, I was happy to very comfortably run over 60 MPW and get in a decent 1000m repeat workout. My body probably needed the break as I was able to get in a 20+ mile long run five of the seven prior weeks.
September 1-7
I continued to be plagued by stomach issues throughout the week, only able to run stop-free when taking medication (TMI, I know).
Despite this, I was able to get in two key workouts for this training cycle: 3, 2, 1 mile ladder and 18 miles at 95% marathon goal pace.
The first workout, I did with Austin and a bunch of other guys (you know who you are) a the Fleet Feet Racing Wednesday Night Workout. It was a big help to have company for this one! I ran 16:23 (4:00 jog), 10:59 (3:00 jog), and 5:23. I went out too hard on this one, but I really did want to make this one a tough/fast one. My conservative goal was to average 5:30 (~goal marathon pace - 10 seconds) or faster for the workout which I was able to do (albeit not by cutting down) averaging 5:28 or so.
We'll see how my planned 3 x 3 mile workout goes this coming week as I'm substituting the first repeat with the St. Michael's Oktoberfest 5k. So I'm guessing I won't be getting faster as the workout progresses.
For the second workout, we were blessed with unbelievably pleasant running weather (sunny, low-60s, and breezy). Austin, Cam, Andrew, and I set out to run 18 miles at about 95% marathon pace; 6:10s or so. Excluding our single stop for hydration at the 31st Street Fleet Feet Hydro Station, Austin and I averaged about 6:05 pace for the run, well below my targeted goal.
So despite stomach issues and struggling a bit to handle paces faster than 5:30, my key, marathon workouts seem to be going quite well. As stated earlier, 3 x 3 miles is the next key workout on the docket, with 15 miles at marathon pace the following week.
What are your key workouts/key metrics that you use as checkpoints during marathon training?
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