Daily details:
Mo: 7
Tu: 14 on hills (last 4 miles 6:44, 6:42, 6:42, 6:42)
We: 7
Th: 4 x 1k in 3:46, 3:41, 3:38, 3:46 (10 total)
Fr: off (tight hamstring)
Sa: 7
Su: DNF at the Annapolis Striders Metric Marathon (but ran 18 miles)
Week total: 63
Mo: 7
Tu: 14
We: 7.5, 5.5
Th: 8
Fr: 7.5, 5.5
Sa: 8
Su: 6 x 1k in 3:51, 3:47, 3:48, 3:49, 3:47, 3:47 (12 miles total), 5 (pm)
Week total: 80
Mo: 5
Tu: 2 (felt burnt out)
We: off (back hurt)
Th: 8
Fr: 7
Sa: 5 plus 6 strides
Su: Army 10-miler in 1:02:49 (13 total)
Week total: 40
These three weeks did not go so well. I'm not sure exactly what has been going on, whether it's just plain burn-out or some more specific problem(s). Looking back over my training log, the problems seem to have started with not allowing my body to recover adequately from the Clarendon Day 10k on September 28. I didn't run well in that race and, as I typically do in such cases, I acted as if I therefore didn't need as much recovery as usual. So three days later I did a hard medium-long run, attacking up steep hills and (after getting kicked out of Rock Creek Park because of the federal government shutdown) running under marathon pace for the last four miles. My legs were still sore from pounding down the hills in the Clarendon Day race. Two days after that, I attempted to do a 6 x 1k track workout at the same pace (roughly 5:48-9/mi.) that I had run 6 x 800 two weeks earlier. Feeling weak, I couldn't handle the pace for more than a couple intervals and stopped early. Afterwards, my right hamstring hurt in the same way that it did at the end of August, again forcing me to take a day off. A couple days after that was the Annapolis Striders Metric Marathon (16+ miles), which I planned to run at around 6:45/mi. as a marathon pace training run. It was sunny and unseasonably warm that day, and humid way out in rural Maryland. My hamstring didn't bother me, and the pace felt easier than last year, especially for the first 10 miles or so. But after that, when the course started getting hillier and the heat began taking its toll, my strength deserted me. I averaged 6:46 pace for 12 miles but then fell off that pace precipitously. Shortly after the half marathon mark, I decided simply to stop instead of running myself into the ground on what was supposed to be a training run. So I walked and jogged back to my car without crossing the finish line. It was still a good enough workout, but my low energy all week was a sign that I needed to back off or burn out. For the next week, which happened to be quite rainy, I did easy and mostly short runs but still got in 80 miles by doing three doubles. At the end of the week, I figured I was ready for another workout and this time completed 6 x 1k at a slower pace (in the rain). But it was alarming that I simply could not run under 6-minute pace. Two days later I stopped two miles into an easy run and walked back home because I felt weak and burnt out. I just did not want to run, which is very unusual for me. (I almost always want to be running). The next day my lower back was a mess, probably from doing the track workout when my body remained in a weakened state. So I took another day off. By then it was clear that my 80 mile weeks are over for this training cycle. It's time for me to start resting more and get back to feeling strong again. I was worried that I may have blown it, since I've read that once you dig yourself too deeply into a hole there is no way to recover without taking significant time off. So I'm relieved to have run strongly in the Army 10-miler. I can't keep running only 40 mile weeks like I did this past week, but I think maybe I'll do a couple weeks in the 60's without any doubles and only very limited hard efforts the week after next (none this coming week). I suspect that one reason I've never run a marathon time that befits my times at all other distances is that I haven't let myself recover adequately from months of heavy training before a marathon. This time around I hope to feel fresh on race day.
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