Week 4 - Marathon Training
It is time to make goals public.
It is time to put aside fear.
There is no secret as to what can happen. I can either meet my goal, exceed my goal, or fall short of my goal.
But here’s what I’ve learned about disappointments—they rarely last longer than glory. And glory is short-lived and fleeting.
Week 4 - Training Record
Monday - 8.1 mi w/ 5 x mile Tempo Repeats
Tuesday - 7.2 mi Easy
Wednesday - 5.1 mi Easy
Thursday - 7.1 mi w/ 3 x (4 x Hill Repeats)
Friday - 6.2 mi Easy
Saturday - 10.2 Long Run w/ 9 mi @ MGP
Total - 43.9 miles
Sure, there are professional athletes who claim to have not recovered from a humiliating defeat in a high stakes competition, but if you ask me that is less about disappointment than it is narcissism. I don’t care what level athlete you are, whether a weekend casual jogger or a World Class Olympian, what we’re engaged in is simply a sports competition. It’s not saving lives. It’s not world peace. It’s merely athletics. And if what I’m remembered for are my feats of athleticism, then I failed as a human being.
Within the context of larger concerns, I realize that goals do not define me, but I am empowered by the chance to define my goals and use my personal pursuits to connect with and mentor others.
My ultimate goal will be to run the 2019 Eugene Marathon in a time equal to or better than 3:20:00.
Last spring I ran the Tacoma City Marathon (with its 1,000 feet of elevation gain in the first 13 miles) in 3:27:15. I trained to run 7:55 pace and I ran it in 7:54. This succeeded in giving me my Boston Marathon Qualifying mark, but when it came time for registration and the Boston Athletic Association cut off its registrations at 25,000 people, the registration cut-off turned out to be 4 minutes and 52 seconds faster than the qualifying mark.
I was disappointed, but that disappointment was ephemeral. It lasted maybe a minute. Perhaps thirty seconds. The thought that went through my mind was this: If I trained to run 3:27, I can train to run 3:20.
So there, I’ve said it. Now it’s time to do it.
According to the McMillan Running Calculator, if I’m going to run 3:20 for a full marathon, I have to train to run 1:35 for a half-marathon, 42:40 for a 10k, 20:30 for a 5k, and 12;33 for a two mile.
So those are my targets.
True, a marathon is an endurance test and is inherently a different race than shorter efforts, but running faster with more efficiency (and speed) will complement the endurance training. With that in mind, I spent Week 4 of my training building that speed and endurance with tempo repeats, short hill repeats, and a steady state run at marathon goal pace.
Week 5 - Training Plan
Monday - Easy Run
Tuesday - Fartlek Run
Wednesday - Easy Run
Thursday - 12-16 x 200m
Friday - Easy Run
Saturday - 10k Race
Sunday - Off
Target - 41-44 miles
Tempo Repeats:
I returned to this workout from Week 1 in my training, when I ran 4 x mile @ 6:56 average. The temptation for many is to increase the pace on tempo repeats, because if you run them properly you should feel like you can run faster. What I wanted to do was increase the volume by running 5 x mile at the same pace, building endurance rather than speed. The weather was not fully cooperative. Gusts of 25 mph were present along with a steady 12 mph wind. My first mile was downwind; my last mile into the teeth of the wind. Note: I hate wind. There is no chance I could ever train in Oklahoma. Still, I felt good about the workout and these splits:
6:48.9, 6:56.9, 6:58.2, 6:58.4, 7:02.4 = 6:57.0 average
Hill Repeats:
I have mentioned before that hill repeats of any length are my nemesis. I am hardwired as an endurance runner, so workouts that tax my strength tend to also tax my confidence. Long hill repeats are a cause for even greater misery, but I have no plan to suffer them for another few weeks. The key, I think, for me in surviving a workout like 3 x (4 x 35-40 second hill sprint) is allowing for an easy jog back down the hill. In the past, I have rushed the recovery in an effort to get this workout done, and it merely succeeds in making the work portion that much more difficult. In being mindful of the workout’s purpose to build strength and running efficiency, I have decided to be less worried about how slowly I run during the recovery portion, so long as the work bout is at a strong effort.
I run this workout at a steep hill (approximately 7% incline), from one fire hydrant to another. I have no idea how long the distance is precisely, but it takes me around 37 seconds to run it on average. The emphasis, as with the tempo repeats, is not to go faster at this point, but to build up strength to increase the total volume at the same effort. In this manner, I ran 2 x (5 x repeat) two weeks ago and 3 x (4 x repeat) on Thursday.
Steady State:
Probably unwise of me to run this final workout, but I was feeling good from the week of training, and I knew it would be followed by a Sunday of rest and recovery. My weekly long run was scheduled for nine miles, but I also wanted to test my ability to complete a run at marathon goal pace. After a one-mile warm, I ran nine miles (just over one-third the distance of a marathon) with a target of 7:35 per mile. The goal pace is actually 7:38, but I like to shoot a bit under that mark and “bank” any extra seconds. (This is more to build confidence in my race or workout management than anything else.) The difficultly with this sort of workout is not to run it too fast, but instead get the feeling of being “locked in” to a pace over a given distance. Perhaps in my enthusiasm, I ran it a bit too fast, but still under control. And you’ll notice that I felt consistent with the pace in the second half of the workout.
7:29.3, 7:36.2, 7:28.1, 7:20.1, 7:31.6, 7:29.0, 7:27.1, 7:30.3, 7:31.1 = 7:29.2 average
The plan for Week 5 is to gear up to run a 10k race on Saturday. That will be the most demanding workout of the week, so use the days leading up to it as preparation and confidence-building.
-
Not only is it Lou Pinella Hawaiian Shirt night, but it’s also the end of the school year for these four teachers.… https://t.co/GKPuVKhP9e -
RT @CrossProb: if you're going into your freshman year of hs and planning on running cross country run this summer, you dont have… https://t.co/P7ezX6dUla