Awesome long run

I had my 4th 20 miler scheduled for Saturday, and Sue M and I headed over to Wellesley to run the Boston marathon course from miles 13 to 23 and back. This meant doing the hills (mile 17 to 23) twice, and running up the downhill from miles 13 to 17. The weather was beautiful and the course was filled with runners. Our plan was to hold back for the beginning miles, and push toward the end. We started out at an 8:40 pace. The first 3 miles were tough for me, they are always tough. I feel sluggish and just not into the run. But after mile 3 I always feel better. And this was the case on Saturday as well. We chatted away the entire 1/2 way, with a few pauses when going up the hills, and we were shocked to see our pace at the 10 mile point: 8:24. Hurray. The second part of the run was much more difficult, particularly the last 4-5 miles, when we had a steady incline. Our pace slowed down a bit but we managed an overall pace of 8:27 for the 20 miles. No negative splits for this one, but I think it is pretty hard to run negative splits when you end the run on a steady incline. In any case, I was so happy. Aside from some some nasty blisters (I get them no matter what shoes I wear, how much Vaseline I put on them, etc, etc) I felt incredible the entire day!

So here is the progression of my paces for the 4 20 milers I have done so far.

1. 9:03
2. (this was 23 miles) 9:04
3. 8:35 (on the course)
4. 8:27 (on the course)

I have one more 20 miler in 2 weeks. This will be an organized run with the entire MGH team, on the course, starting at mile 6. I anticipate this run to be easier (less hilly) than the one I just completed. I am confused in terms of the pace I should go for. I know I can run faster than 8:27, but would this be risking injury? I guess I'll wait and see how I feel. In any case, I am determined to run negative splits, as this is my usual race strategy and also my plan for the marathon!
Hope everyone had a good running week!

Training log 03/02-03/08

This was a challenging week in terms of managing workouts, work, fundraising and family responsibilities. With a little luck (a work dinner that got cancelled) and lots of help from my awesome husband, I managed to fit all workouts in including a tough tempo on packed snow, a rushed speed intervals session that was more of a 4.5 mile run/race rather than interval training, and a hilly long run. This week reinforced the fact that I am going to stick to the FIRST program for all my future marathons. I have tons of admiration and respect for all of you out there who are logging 40, 50, 60+ miles/week. I have no idea how you do! More power to you!
Monday: 03/02
Called for speed work, but we had 12 inches or so of snow. Arlington did not get plowed. I could not get my car out and into the main road. Luckily it was not a heavy patient day and we had many cancellations, so I did research from home. No run, but I made it to the pool in the evening for 1.5 mile swim including .25 mile crawl - Yes, I have been reading and learning how to do the crawl and I am making progress.
Tuesday: 03/03
A work dinner got cancelled and I managed to squeeze in the 11 miler that included 10 miles at MP (8:23). It was tough, but I managed an 8:20 average pace.
Wednesday: 03/04
Bike + Movie; 20 miles. Very happy!
Thursday: 03/05
Crazy speed; managed to run all 6 1200 milers at ~ 6:46 pace.
Friday: 03/06 - REST
Much needed, much enjoyed
Saturday: 03/07 - LONG
Goal: 15 @ 8:47; Actual: 16.5; 1.5 warm up, cool down; 15 @ 8:30, with last 2 miles @ 8:11; this was a very hilly run, including the .7 m steep Belmont Hill. The run was hard. The rolling hills, which are many and steep, and came from mile 10-13, were particularly tough today, but I recovered nicely on the downhills and was able to push the pace thereafter as planned. We had gorgeous weather in Boston today, close to 70 degrees, and I felt so lucky to be out there with two good friends running, chatting, and taking in the sun.

At home, my boys were waiting in the car for me and we drove to the Y for a little swim (.75 mile) and water play. That turned out to do wanders for my legs. I swim breast stroke, and my legs get a nice stretch during the swim. I took the icebath thereafter and for some reason it was much less painful than I was used to. Legs feel great now!!!
Sunday: 03/08 -SWIM
1.5, uneventful.

Totals: Run: 33 miles
Swim: 3.75 miles
Bike: 20 miles
Overall my training is going really well. My legs do feel tired, though not sore. I am finally understanding the need to taper before a race. So far I have only ran 1/2 marathons and one 18 mile trail race, and so tapering was not an issue for me since I did not do any training for these races. I am very happy that so far I have not gotten injured; I think the crosstraining, core/strengthening work and icebaths, good nutrition/hydration, and using the roller have played a big part on this. Lets hope it will stay like this.

I also signed up for the Mount Washington Road Race lottery - only 7 miles, only one hill, along with my friends M and J, and I hope we'll get in. I love hill training and running with these gals is going to be a blast. Something else to get excited about!

Hope everyone had a great running week. The weather in the Northeast has been incredible! Lets hope for a few more days like these.

Don't do what I do

Thursday - Speed Work

1. Instead of 10-20 minutes warm up, run .5 miles @ 8:30

2. Instead of running 3 sets of 2X1200, with 2 min between each of the 2 1200, and 4 minutes between sets, run the 6 1200 with only max 10 seconds in between.

3. Run each interval 5-10 seconds faster than goal pace (5-5:05 instead of 5:10).

3. Instead of 10 minutes cool down, run 1 mile @ 8:00.


Consequences:

1. Tasting your lunch again, only 1/2 digested this time. Swearing off turkey sandwiches for a while.

2. Feeling like your legs are melting.

3. Hating every minute of each interval.

4. Not getting any of the "glow" and "post run happiness" that you normally experience during speed work.

Disclaimer:
I thought rushing like this would be better than skipping the speed work this week. I got stuck at work too late, and then had to bring mom to the airport for an international flight. Mom gets nervous about these things. In retrospect, I think doing only the 4 out of the 6 intervals, and doing them the right way would have been much better. Live and learn...

Tempo runs are hard

I had an 11 mile run scheduled today, 1 mile easy and 10 miles @ marathon pace. I am using the training paces for a 3:40 marathon time, which makes the MP 8:23, even though I am planning to run at least 1/2 race no faster than 8:35 (which would put me at an 3:44:50 finish time, good enough for a BQ). I ace the speed drills and the long runs. In fact, I am ahead of the schedule with these, and always run them faster than I am supposed to, without feeling completely drained and exhausted. However, the tempo runs are much harder for me. Today in particular I struggled. My eyes were glued to the Garmin checking the mileage and the pace. Today I could not get into the groove. What's really interesting is that on Saturday I ran the last 10 miles of my 20 miler on hills @ 8:23 pace, and today I struggled to run 10 flat miles (OK, slight incline for the last 5) at 8:20. How could this be? I had 2 full days of recovery, my legs felt good, I took a gel and electrolytes during the run... I can only think of a couple of reasons: 1) I ran on snow, which, although nice for my feet and knees, potentially made running more difficult, 2) It was 12 degrees and windy (my water bottle froze), and 3) the adrenaline of running on the Boston Marathon course may have made me speedier on Saturday. Regardless, it's a bit disappointing to struggle with running 10 miles @8:20, when, even before starting my training for Boston I was running 10 miles @8:00 with no problem...I have another 11 mile tempo run scheduled in 2 weeks, same pace and I am curious how it is going to feel. Nonetheless, I think a tough run was in order as I believe during these tough runs one builds the physical and mental strength which are going to be much needed after mile 20.

Training log 2/23 - 3/1

This week was a great training week! I had the best long run so far - best pace, best weather, new course! Motivation is back on and strong! I am not sure whether I am pushing too hard - I ran all my key workouts was faster than I had planned to. Is that something new? Not reallY:)


Monday: SPEED
Goal: 1 mile easy, 1 mile @ 7:02, 2 miles @ 7:12, 2X800m @ 6:46.
Actual: 1 mile @ 6:50, 2@ 6:40, 800@ 6:46, 800@ 6:33.

Tuesday: 1.5 m SWIM

Wednesday: 20m BIKE

Thursday: TEMPO

Goal: 1 mile easy, 4 miles @ 7:40, 1 mile easy
Actual: 1 mile @ 8:15, 4 miles@ 7:30, 1 mile @ 9:00

Friday: REST

Saturday: LONG
Goal: 20 miles @ 8:53
Actual: 20 miles @ 8:35; first 10@ 8:48, last 10@ 8:23.
Course: last 10 miles of the Boston marathon course X2.


Sunday: 1.5 SWIM


Total: Run: 33 miles
Bike: 20 miles
Swim: 3 miles

This week I also managed to do core work and leg strengthening exercises two times, so I am happy about that. I have to decide whether I should keep pushing the pace during the long runs, or I should only work on maintaining the 8:35 pace, and perhaps try to go faster during the marathon. I know I could go much faster - I have 2 more 20 milers - but am I risking injury?

I also need to figure out whether my Garmin is recording pace and mileage accurately. On Saturday's run we had 3 Garmins showing different mileage and different paces. This makes me very nervous because I am going to count on my Garmin to show the correct mileage and pace during the marathon.

We have a snowstorm planned for tonight and tomorrow....and I have speedwork tomorrow. Might be the first day in a while when I may not be looking forward to a Monday:)

Heartbreak Hill, you are NOT a heartbreaker!

Today I did my long run on the last 10 miles on the Boston Marathon course. It was such a beautiful day in Boston. The course looked that a race - I must have seen at least 100 runners on it, which made my pace quicken up.

The Sue(s) and I started our run at the finish line and turned back after 10miles, for a total of 20 miles. We basically wanted to get hill-intoxicated. We assumed we are going to hate hills after this run. Well, that did not happen. This may be useful information for those running Boston who don't have the luxury to train on the course. The hills are NOT that bad. Heartbreak Hill has .7 length, and it has a slight incline, so slight that it does not feel like you are running on a hill. The last .2 are steeper, but not too bad. There are about 3-4 other hills (2 before and 2 after, I think) that are steeper but very short (.2, .3). I would lose about 1 second average pace on the inclines, which I would immediately regain on the downhill. Given that we ran the hills both ways, I assumed that my legs would be very upset, no, angry with me during the run and after. Not really. I was sore, but not too bad. And my pace? 8:35 for the 20 miler, with negative splits (after first 10 miles average pace was 8:48).

I'll have more info in 2 weeks, when we are going to run 20 miles on the course, starting at mile 6.

Addicted to speed(work)

Recently I have started to look forward to Mondays. How could this happen? Mondays are super busy to the point where I have to eat my lunch in less than 5 minutes (so that I can see a very sick patient who can't do the 10 minute walk from the main hospital to my office), type notes while talking on the phone, and fight with myself so that I don't go and grab another cup of coffee and/or a sugar+fat fix! I manage and love Mondays because, after all the craziness of the workday is done, I get to do speed work! I leave work, eat a protein/carb combo that gets to digest by the time I get home, change clothes, and head out. After the first couple of intervals I feel energized, after a couple more I feel clearheaded, and by the time I start to cool down, I get overwhelmed by an out of this world sense of happiness, clarity and purpose. It's like I am walking on clouds.

Speed work has made me stronger and faster. It's such a mental game, particularly for the longer intervals where toward the end breathing becomes rapid, legs starts to hurt and mind starts to protest and throw down arguments as to why you should slow down or stop. Pretty persuasive, the mind! I think speed work is such a great exercise in living - you don't give up during a speed interval, you don't give up fulfilling a dream, you don't back out of something difficult that life throws your way! Speed work reinforces toughness, stubbornness, and confidence that anything is attainable with hard work, dedication and determination.


The problem is that I am addicted to speed work. I want to go faster and faster. What satisfied my craving one month ago does not seem enough any more, and I have to work on proving that it is enough, stick with the paces suggested by my training program, and don't go faster than 1-2 seconds per interval. This past Monday I gave in and ran my 1 miler @ 6:50 instead of 7:02, my 2 miler @ 6:46/mile instead of 7:12, my 2 800 meters @ 6:40 and 6:33 instead of 6:46. Thanks to the ice bath my legs felt only a bit stiff the next day, and they are fine now. Still, I may need an intervention here. I need to get a grip on my addiction to speed work, as April is almost here and I need to be healthy and fresh legged in order to run a good race!

Anyone has this problem?