Daily details:
Mo: off
Tu: 7
We: 8
Th: 24
Fr: 7 (in Providence, RI)
Sa: off
Su: 9
Week total: 55
Mo: 5 (back in DC)
Tu: 7
We: 20 (averaging 7:10/mi., with the second half steady at around 6:48/mi.)
Th: off
Fr: 6
Sa: 7
Su: off (skipped the Run For the Parks 10k)
Week total: 45
Mo: off
Tu: 7
We: 7
Th: 3 x 1 mile on the track averaging 6:13, with 800m recoveries (10 total)
Fr: 6.5
Sa: 12.5
Su: off
Week total: 43
Mo: 45 min. at 6:49/mi. (8 total)
Tu: off
We: 5
Th: off
Fr: 5 x 4 min. at 6:46/mi. pace with 1 min. standing rest between intervals (5 total)
Sa: off
Su: Philadelphia marathon
Total pre-marathon: 18
It turns out that I've done a kind of extended 5-week taper before the Philadelphia marathon, not entirely deliberately. After the Army 10-miler on October 20, I ran easy the following week but did one last long run at an easy pace (7:45/mi.). Almost a week later, I did my final hard long run, this time nailing the 10/10 workout that I couldn't quite pull off in early September. For the last 10 miles of a 20 mile run, I managed to hold 6:48/mi. pace, which is 2:58 marathon pace. It was difficult but gave me a lot of confidence. Afterwards I felt surprisingly ok, but in the subsequent days a tight calf led me to skip the Run For the Parks 10k and to take two days entirely off. Eventually I decided that this was caused mainly or exclusively by some new shoes (Adidas Adios Boost) that I had worn for both the Army 10-miler and the 10/10 workout. I was considering wearing those shoes in the marathon but decided to go with the stiffer Adios 2 instead. The tight calf worked itself out by the time I went to the track one last time for a few mile repeats at tempo pace in order to sharpen up and make marathon pace feel relatively slow. The next day a friend talked me into not doing a 17 miler the weekend before the marathon, as I had planned, and also suggested the schedule I'm following for race week, which is designed to lock me into race pace while allowing a lot of rest. I felt strong on Monday running at marathon pace for a quarter of the race distance, but obviously it seemed difficult to fathom running that pace for four times the distance. At this point, my main task is to prepare myself mentally for the marathon. I have no doubt that my body is ready for a sub-3 hour marathon. My workouts have shown that, and my training has been better than ever, even if these last 5 weeks didn't go as planned. Maybe the extra rest will actually be positive. But the marathon is at least as much a mental challenge as a physical one. I can't fathom running that hard for so long and need to break the race into small chunks, to stay focused on one small chunk at a time, and to remain confident that I can work through bad patches. The weather looks like it may be pretty nice: upper 40's to low 50's with a small chance of light rain. If winds stay light, those are nearly ideal conditions. I'm ready to go.
Mo: off
Tu: 7
We: 8
Th: 24
Fr: 7 (in Providence, RI)
Sa: off
Su: 9
Week total: 55
Mo: 5 (back in DC)
Tu: 7
We: 20 (averaging 7:10/mi., with the second half steady at around 6:48/mi.)
Th: off
Fr: 6
Sa: 7
Su: off (skipped the Run For the Parks 10k)
Week total: 45
Mo: off
Tu: 7
We: 7
Th: 3 x 1 mile on the track averaging 6:13, with 800m recoveries (10 total)
Fr: 6.5
Sa: 12.5
Su: off
Week total: 43
Mo: 45 min. at 6:49/mi. (8 total)
Tu: off
We: 5
Th: off
Fr: 5 x 4 min. at 6:46/mi. pace with 1 min. standing rest between intervals (5 total)
Sa: off
Su: Philadelphia marathon
Total pre-marathon: 18
It turns out that I've done a kind of extended 5-week taper before the Philadelphia marathon, not entirely deliberately. After the Army 10-miler on October 20, I ran easy the following week but did one last long run at an easy pace (7:45/mi.). Almost a week later, I did my final hard long run, this time nailing the 10/10 workout that I couldn't quite pull off in early September. For the last 10 miles of a 20 mile run, I managed to hold 6:48/mi. pace, which is 2:58 marathon pace. It was difficult but gave me a lot of confidence. Afterwards I felt surprisingly ok, but in the subsequent days a tight calf led me to skip the Run For the Parks 10k and to take two days entirely off. Eventually I decided that this was caused mainly or exclusively by some new shoes (Adidas Adios Boost) that I had worn for both the Army 10-miler and the 10/10 workout. I was considering wearing those shoes in the marathon but decided to go with the stiffer Adios 2 instead. The tight calf worked itself out by the time I went to the track one last time for a few mile repeats at tempo pace in order to sharpen up and make marathon pace feel relatively slow. The next day a friend talked me into not doing a 17 miler the weekend before the marathon, as I had planned, and also suggested the schedule I'm following for race week, which is designed to lock me into race pace while allowing a lot of rest. I felt strong on Monday running at marathon pace for a quarter of the race distance, but obviously it seemed difficult to fathom running that pace for four times the distance. At this point, my main task is to prepare myself mentally for the marathon. I have no doubt that my body is ready for a sub-3 hour marathon. My workouts have shown that, and my training has been better than ever, even if these last 5 weeks didn't go as planned. Maybe the extra rest will actually be positive. But the marathon is at least as much a mental challenge as a physical one. I can't fathom running that hard for so long and need to break the race into small chunks, to stay focused on one small chunk at a time, and to remain confident that I can work through bad patches. The weather looks like it may be pretty nice: upper 40's to low 50's with a small chance of light rain. If winds stay light, those are nearly ideal conditions. I'm ready to go.
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