Daily details:
We: off
Th: 7
Fr: fartlek: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 min. at 10k effort with half recoveries
Sa: 8 in Venice
Su: off
Mo: 7 back in Rome
Tu: 13 with 9 at 6:49/mi.
Week total: 45
This was a low mileage week, which nonetheless had a couple of hard workouts. On Friday I ran my first fartlek with half instead of equal time recoveries. Even though I averaged around 8:00 per mile on the short recoveries, I still averaged 6:37/mi. pace overall for over five and a half miles. Fartleks are much harder with half instead of full recoveries, and one thing I've learned from my new coach is that one can gain a lot of fitness from fartleks. Shortly after finishing that workout, I hopped onto a train to Venice with a group of students. I had never been to Venice before and, when we arrived that evening, was immediately and naturally stunned. Nowhere else in the world looks quite like this:
But (since this is my running blog) how does one run on an island where the streets are canals, people get around by boat, and what sidewalks exist are completely mobbed with tourists? On Saturday afternoon I took a bus-boat out to Lido, the barrier island outside of Venice, where there are actual roads and sidewalks but not many people (in spite of George Clooney's wedding, which happened to coincide with our trip to Venice itself that weekend). I ran for an hour on Lido island, but the entire trip took two and a half hours including the boat trips and waiting for the boats to arrive. Shortly after I finished running, my right hip tightened up enough that even walking became uncomfortable, perhaps because of the hard and rough concrete path on Lido that I ran on. So I didn't try to run again on Sunday. Venice is spectacular, but trying to run there is just too much trouble. My hip loosened up enough to do an easy run on Monday and to attempt the workout scheduled for Tuesday, which was supposed to be 12-14 miles at marathon pace (6:50/mi.). I considered postponing Tuesday's workout but ended up going ahead with it, even though I was obviously still worn out from the Venice trip. From the beginning of Tuesday's workout I didn't feel good. I was breathing too hard and couldn't find a rhythm. But I pressed on until a side cramp convinced me to stop after 9 miles. Initially I figured that I'd just take a short break before continuing on. But when I squatted down to get water from a spring, I realized that various muscles were tightening up. So I pulled the plug, walked a bit, and then jogged home. Nine miles is fine for my first marathon pace run more than six weeks out from the marathon, especially when I'm worn down from a weekend of traveling. Ideally the next few weeks will be a notch higher in overall mileage, and I'll revisit marathon pace at least a little bit in each of my next few Tuesday long runs, culminating in another extended marathon pace run three weeks from now. I'll be better rested for that workout than I was for this one.
We: off
Th: 7
Fr: fartlek: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 min. at 10k effort with half recoveries
Sa: 8 in Venice
Su: off
Mo: 7 back in Rome
Tu: 13 with 9 at 6:49/mi.
Week total: 45
This was a low mileage week, which nonetheless had a couple of hard workouts. On Friday I ran my first fartlek with half instead of equal time recoveries. Even though I averaged around 8:00 per mile on the short recoveries, I still averaged 6:37/mi. pace overall for over five and a half miles. Fartleks are much harder with half instead of full recoveries, and one thing I've learned from my new coach is that one can gain a lot of fitness from fartleks. Shortly after finishing that workout, I hopped onto a train to Venice with a group of students. I had never been to Venice before and, when we arrived that evening, was immediately and naturally stunned. Nowhere else in the world looks quite like this:
But (since this is my running blog) how does one run on an island where the streets are canals, people get around by boat, and what sidewalks exist are completely mobbed with tourists? On Saturday afternoon I took a bus-boat out to Lido, the barrier island outside of Venice, where there are actual roads and sidewalks but not many people (in spite of George Clooney's wedding, which happened to coincide with our trip to Venice itself that weekend). I ran for an hour on Lido island, but the entire trip took two and a half hours including the boat trips and waiting for the boats to arrive. Shortly after I finished running, my right hip tightened up enough that even walking became uncomfortable, perhaps because of the hard and rough concrete path on Lido that I ran on. So I didn't try to run again on Sunday. Venice is spectacular, but trying to run there is just too much trouble. My hip loosened up enough to do an easy run on Monday and to attempt the workout scheduled for Tuesday, which was supposed to be 12-14 miles at marathon pace (6:50/mi.). I considered postponing Tuesday's workout but ended up going ahead with it, even though I was obviously still worn out from the Venice trip. From the beginning of Tuesday's workout I didn't feel good. I was breathing too hard and couldn't find a rhythm. But I pressed on until a side cramp convinced me to stop after 9 miles. Initially I figured that I'd just take a short break before continuing on. But when I squatted down to get water from a spring, I realized that various muscles were tightening up. So I pulled the plug, walked a bit, and then jogged home. Nine miles is fine for my first marathon pace run more than six weeks out from the marathon, especially when I'm worn down from a weekend of traveling. Ideally the next few weeks will be a notch higher in overall mileage, and I'll revisit marathon pace at least a little bit in each of my next few Tuesday long runs, culminating in another extended marathon pace run three weeks from now. I'll be better rested for that workout than I was for this one.
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