I am in a sweet spot of marathon training, getting in three good workouts and running almost 60 miles, while having legs that finished the week feeling fresh. Here’s how it went:
Monday 1/5 – planned day off after traveling late the night before.
Tuesday 1/6 – 9 miles in Central Park in windy, 28 degree weather, with 10×2 mins hard, with jog recoveries for the first set of five and walking for 45 seconds the second set of five. I was aiming for 7:25 pace, and was all over the place the first set (7:16, 7:32..), but not too far off the second set (7:24, 7:35, 7:23; 7:31; 7:26). Proud that I finished all of the reps in this hard workout, as last training cycle, I was unable to finish 10×400 workouts and felt injured afterward. I did core and strength work plus 10 box jumps that day. I was sore after the work out but did not feel almost injured as I have in the past with faster speed work.
Wednesday 1/7 – 4.5 recovery paced miles (10:10/120 bpm) and first run in Central Park with my Viszla dog, Deena! Was nervous about running Thursday’s workout without full recovery from Tuesday, but took a short nap during the day, then went to bed early and felt fresh on Thursday morning after 9 hours sleep.
Thursday 1/8 – 10.7 miles over the hilly parts of Central Park, with 3×2 miles at GMP (7:59 avg/169 bpm; 7:56 avg/171 bpm; 8:01 avg/170 bpm) with 90 sec rests between sets. First set felt hard and not fully recovered from Tuesday’s workout. Kicked it in gear and felt strong on the second set. On the third set, was tired and praying, telling myself this is what it is all about and that the improvement comes from persevering through the hardest minutes at the end.
Friday 1/9 – 8 very easy recovery paced miles (10:11 avg) on dirt bridle path in Central Park, watching the light come up and sunrise turn the white buildings of Central Park West turn pink. Felt inspired on this harder, three workout week by Diana Nyad’s persistence in “Find A Way.” Felt great at end of this run and very glad I had taken it easy.
Saturday 1/10 – 19.6 miles in Central Park (8:56 avg/157 bpm) divided between faster paces on pavement loops (8:38-8:22) and easier paces on the dirt bridle path (9:15-9:30), with short fueling breaks at miles 8 and 16. Enjoyed a chunk of the run with fellow NY Flyers and listening to “Find a Way” during the remainder. Nine hours sleep Saturday night.
Sunday 1/11 – 7.25 very easy recovery paced miles (10:00/140 bpm) on gym treadmill while listening to “All the Light We Cannot See,” followed by 40 mins strength and core session that included deadlifts, adductor machines, Kettlebell hamstring strengtheners and two sets of 10 box jumps. My legs felt surprisingly great after the workout.
Weekly total: 59 miles
That’s a wrap. Next week’s mid week workouts will be harder, but will have to cut back mileage over the weekend because of travel.
Posted by Caper. Check out more at Salty Running.