I ran 90 miles this week. Here's what I learned.

After running 26.2 miles on Monday to commemorate the Boston Marathon that never happened, I proceeded to run a 90-mile week. The idea to run 90 miles in one week came from my coach. The idea to start it off with a marathon was mine. Together, we make a crazy team!

Why run a 90 mile week? With no races on the calendar, my coach thought it would be a good way to challenge myself and also discover what I was capable of. I wasn't trying to make any fitness gains. In order to do that, I would have to string multiple high mileage weeks together, combined with marathon-specific workouts. Rather, I was trying to see how my body would respond to the 90-mile week and "learn" how to do it safely.

If I do end up running a 90-mile week in future training cycles, I most likely will not kick it off with 26.2 miles on a Monday. But even still, I think my experience will translate to future cycles.

Also, there is no better time to try this than right now:

• The weather is still cool enough to push myself (I would not attempt this in the summer)
• I don't have to physically go to work, which means I have extra time in the mornings
• I don't have to physically go to work, which means I can wear recovery boots while working
• I'm not training for anything in particular, so my training doesn't have to be targeted

Without having any commitments aside from working from home, I had the luxury of trying something new. I was confident in my ability to achieve this goal, but I wasn't going to injure myself in the process. If something felt strained or "off" I would shut it down and not risk it. I always pay close attention to how I am feeling during heavy training, and this week was no exception.

First, let's see how 90 miles looks in the grand scheme of my training over the past year. While my mileage was relatively low the week before, it did include a 5K time trial on Thursday, in which I pushed very hard.

Weekly mileage for the past year

As you can see from the above graph, that 90 mile week all the way to the right is by far the highest. It's important to note that I have been consistently running in the 60s and 70s for a long time, so it's not like I was able to do this out of the blue. I have been logging this type of mileage for at least the past 3 years. I have been running 7 days a week for the 4 years, so this is something that I have built up to over time. I do not recommend that someone who typically runs 40-50 miles a week try this.

Monday: 26.2 miles at 8:23 average pace
I wrote a detailed blog post about this so I won't go into the details here. I did spend the rest of the day prioritizing recovery. I was dehydrated so I drank plenty of water. I was thirsty for the three hours following run! I also spent 30 minutes in my Rapid Reboot compression boots. I wasn't really hungry for the rest of the day. We ordered a Mellow Mushroom pizza as my post-race lunch but I wasn't hungry for it until about 2-3 hours after the run. And even then I only had one slice. For dinner I had two slices of pizza plus a salad. This was really not much food, but I didn't have a huge appetite. Greg and I took a walk around the neighborhood in the evening. I think this helped in getting blood flowing through my legs.

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep very well that night, probably due to the adrenaline of the experience. Or maybe because I had a soda late in the day. I had a Pepsi shortly after CIM and I realized how satisfying soda is post race. I try to limit my soda (I had gone cold turkey for six months last year!) but I do treat myself occasionally.

Tuesday: 7 miles at 9:31 average pace
Weather: 46 degrees, partly sunny, light breeze
Shoes: Brooks Ghost

Tuesday, April 21

It was definitely a shock to myself to run the day after a marathon. I wore my tall compression socks for calf support and they felt nice. My legs were not "sore" in the traditional sense, but they were stiff and dead feeling. The only "watch out" that I noticed was that my right Achilles tendon was achey. But the more I ran, the better it felt. The first mile was definitely the hardest. I felt pretty good for miles 2-5, but then my legs got tired for the last two miles. My energy level was high and aside from my beat up legs, I felt good.

I took an Epsom salt bath and spent more time in the Rapid Reboot. During the Epsom Salt bath, I noticed that I had a blister on my big toe. I hadn't really felt it before then, but I noted that I should put a blister Band-aid on it for the next day.

My legs felt tired and achey all day, but there was no one particular area that hurt more than it "should". This is where knowing the difference between a normal ache and an injury ache is important. Everything just sort of felt equally tender and abused-- I couldn't pinpoint any real problem areas in particular.

Wednesday: 10 miles at 9:21 average pace
Weather: 38 degrees, partly sunny, light breeze
Shoes: adidas Ultra Boost 20

I tried wearing the same Nikes that I ran the marathon in, but I had to take them off after the first few steps. My toes were still tender from the marathon and I needed a shoe with a roomier toe box. When I put on the adidas Ultra Boost, it was like a massage for my feet. My toes had plenty of room to spread out and the cushion was so plush.  I wore compression capri tights, which felt great on my hips, quads, and hamstrings.

Greg ran most of this run with me and I was happy he stayed with me at my slower pace. Once again, the first mile was the hardest and then my legs loosened up the more I ran. I had a good amount of energy and I was encouraged by how smooth the run felt.

I showered and had a 9:15am conference call for work. After that call was done, a wave of fatigue came over me. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Sleep overtook me and I was out cold for an hour. When I woke up, I felt like I could barely move. I was extremely groggy. But eventually I got going and continued with the workday. I honestly felt like crap for the rest of the day and I realized that my lack of sleep on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights had caught up with me. Allergies were also a factor, as I was sneezing my head off. I drank a ton of water and I ate really healthy foods. I was in bed at 7:30 and asleep by 7:45.

I told myself that if I still felt crappy in the morning, I would end my quest for a 90-mile week.

Thursday: 10 miles, with 6 tempo at 7:36 average pace
Weather:  45 degrees, overcast, no wind

Thursday, April 23

Shoes: adidas adizero Tempo 8

I woke up feeling refreshed after 9+ hours of sleep, so I figured I would continue on with the program. I couldn't believe my coach put a tempo run on the schedule! I told myself that tempo meant "faster than easy" and I would solely go on effort, not pace. I warmed up for 2.6 miles and then started the "tempo" run.

I managed to run splits of 7:48, 7:44, 7:36, 7:31, 7:33, 7:25. I am not sure how I did that just three days post marathon, but I did. It was hard and I felt like I was running a pace of about 6:50-7:00 towards the end. The cool down was pretty rough, but I managed to knock out 1.4 miles to get to 10 for the day.

My legs felt totally dead afterwards, but I was proud at how well they held up. I was tired and lethargic for the rest of the day, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Wednesday. Thank goodness I didn't have to look presentable for work or go anywhere!

Friday: 10 miles at 9:21 average pace
Weather: 50 degrees and light rain + light wind
Shoes: adidas Ultra Boost 20

This run was pretty much an exact replica of Wednesday. Same shoes, same pace. Starting at around 10:00 and gradually getting faster with no sub 9:00 miles. The weather made it unenjoyable, but thankfully Greg joined me for the first half. My energy level was high but my legs had no pep in them.

As for my fatigue during the day, it was much improved by Friday. My energy level returned to normal. I attribute this to drinking loads of water + electrolytes in the previous days, and finally getting caught up on sleep. Plus, the marathon was now 5 days behind me so I was generally starting to be less beat up.

Saturday: 19 miles at 8:38 average pace
Weather: 47-53 degrees, partly cloudy with no wind
Shoes: Nike Odyssey React 2

Saturday, April 25

I had no idea how this run was going to go. My coach had 18 on the schedule, but I decided to run 19 instead for COVID-19. I try to be "cute" whenever I can. I called it "Flatten the Curve of COVID-19 Miler" as a reason to run the flattest possible route. I had already paid my dues with hills on Monday and if this run was going to happen, I needed to minimize hills! My route had 293 feet of total gain, which is very little over 19 miles.

For this run, I prioritized fueling and hydration. I parked my car in a flat neighborhood that had many interweaving roads. I put a bottle of water + a bottle of Generation UCAN in the car, and made sure to drink early and often. Normally for an 18-miler I drink Generation UCAN beforehand but then I don't take any other fuel during the run. But I figured I would be going slower, which would mean more time spent running. I definitely did not want to crash.

I started out conservatively at a 9:11 pace for the first mile. I projected that my average pace for the run would be somewhere between 8:50-8:55. But I just "felt" my way through the run an ended up going faster without trying to. I decided I would hammer the last mile and dropped the pace down to 7:45. I never would have thought I could do that!

I'm not sure if it was the weather, my fueling, the hydration, or a combination of these, but I felt really good the whole time. I tried napping afterwards, but I wasn't tired enough to fall asleep! I felt really good the rest of the day and I even did laundry! That night, Greg and I treated ourselves to curbside takeout from Sweetwater, a delicious local restaurant that brews its own beer.

Sunday: 8 miles at 8:48 average pace
Weather: 50 degrees and raining
Shoes: Brooks Ghost

This run went smoothly and a lot easier than anticipated. I was expecting to run it in the 9:00's but my legs carried me faster. I was feeling so good that I ran the final mile in 8:15, capping off a 90.2 mile week. I could have gone farther with no issues, but I decided to stick with the plan. I'm guessing that the 19-miler didn't take that much out of me, since I ran it at a conservative pace. Typically I run long runs at pace of 7:55-8:10, so going slower helped preserve my legs for Sunday.

I ran 90 miles in one week at an average pace of 8:46.

And I feel good today! I definitely plan to take it easy next week, although I feel like I could handle a "normal" week of training without any problems. Best to quit while I'm ahead and feeling good. Here are some interesting stats:

• During Saturday's long run, I hit 25,000 miles in my training log, which I have been keeping since January 2008.
• I am now on day 104 of my run streak, averaging 8.3 miles a day since Jan. 14
• My longest streak is 122 days, so I have not beaten that yet
• Half of the mileage was completed in two runs (26.2 + 19) both in the same pair of shoes

What I learned
Primarily, I learned that if I am sensible with my paces, I can handle a 90-mile week without running doubles. However, this would be much more of a challenge if I had to commute to a job every day and get dressed up for that job. I still think I could do it, but I would be more stressed with the

logistics, and any kind of stress wears the body down even more.

Sleep is key! My mid-week bout of fatigue was no joke. I was so tired on Wednesday. Once I caught up on sleep everything was okay, but the sleep deficit was hurting me.

Hydration is key! I started the week dehydrated from my marathon. Of course, that was the warmest and most humid day of the week. Any other day of the week would have provided better conditions. But regardless, I need to stay on top of my water intake.

Warm epsom salt baths are amazing! I took a Dr. Teal's Epsom salt bath every day and they were so soothing. I really think this helped keep things loose. I could even multi-task by drinking water from the faucet.

Keep the easy runs easy. On my easy days, I let my body dictate my pace, not the Garmin. I would naturally speed up as my legs loosened and usually would feel better the more I ran.

In terms of aches and pains, the most achey thing all week was my mid to lower back. I kept asking Greg to massage it and I applied Salonpas patches. I really, really wanted to get a massage. It's better now than it was a few days ago. I think Thursday was the worst of it.

I wasn't noticeably more hungry than I normally am, but I was noticeably more thirsty.

Finally, the fact that I kicked all of this off with a 3:40:02 marathon means that I could run a marathon much faster than that! My endurance is really strong right now and the irony is that there not a single marathon in sight. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this challenge and I am glad I took the opportunity to run a lot before the weather gets too warm for me.

Boston Marathon Training: 4 Weeks to Go!

With just four weeks to go until the Boston Marathon, I'm feeling really good about my training. My coach is really pushing me with this cycle and I'm running higher mileage and more intense workouts than ever before. It's really no one single workout that builds fitness; it's the consistency of workouts over time and how they are strung together. I've been working with my coach for nearly four years now, so he knows how to push me in a way that safe. When I received my most recent block of training, I was intimidated by the volume and intensity. But as I've gone through it I have managed quite well!

The most difficult thing about this week was daylight savings time. Even though I started going to bed an hour early on the Friday before, my body clock was messed up all week. I was up for at least an hour in the middle of the night each night, which is rare for me. Thankfully, I allowed myself enough time in the bed to still get nearly 8 hours each night. The darkness was admittedly depressing. I feel like we "worked" our way down to a 6:30 sunrise, and now it was back to square one with most of my runs being in the dark again. Since Greg is done with his marathon (Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans) he's had the time in the morning to make me "care packages" with healthy lunches, snacks, and vitamins. That has helped me feel energized throughout the day.

Monday: 14.2 miles including 10 tempo.
This was a tough workout to have on the Monday after daylight savings! I warmed up for 2.1 miles and then followed that with 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 mile tempo, all with 4 minutes recovery jog in between. My coach prescribed paces for these that seemed impossible, but I tried my best and came relatively close.

• 4 miles in 7:01, 6:56, 6:51, 6:44 (6:53 average)
• 3 miles in 6:49, 6:57, 6:47 (6:51 average)
• 2 miles in 6:50, 6:50 (6:50 average)
• 1 mile in 6:39

Even though I didn’t quite hit the paces my coach prescribed, I worked really hard and am pleased with how I held up. The 10 miles averaged out to 6:50, which is a faster pace than my 10-mile PR. Afterwards, I ran a 1-mile cool down.

Tuesday: 11.6 miles at 7:44 average

Instead of running easy the day after the massive tempo, my coach challenged me with 90 minutes at a pace of 7:45. After how hard I worked my legs on Monday, I did not think this would be possible, but I went for it anyway. It was 30 degrees and very windy but I used a route that looped around enough times that I was never running into a headwind for more than five minutes at a time. Miraculously, I felt great and this 7:45 didn't seem all that hard. My legs weren't even tired.

Wednesday: 8.5 miles easy at 8:50
I really needed an easy day! It was dark and windy again, but I didn't care because I got to run very easy, which was such a treat after Monday and Tuesday.

Thursday: 8.5 miles including 20 x 200m

Thursday, March 15th

When I saw this workout on the schedule I freaked a bit. I've never done more than 12 x 200m in a workout and the paces that my coach wanted me to hit (38-41) were fast. I ran 200m recovery jogs between each interval. I warmed up for 2.4 miles and then got into it.

• Reps 1-10: 42, 42, 40, 40, 39, 39, 39, 39, 38, 38 
• Reps 11-20: 39, 39, 38, 39, 38, 39, 39, 39, 39 

I cooled down for 1.1 miles. For reference 39 seconds = 5:14 pace and 38 seconds = 5:06 pace. Removing the recovery jogs, this is 2.5 miles at a pace of around 5:14. This workout was great practice in pushing really, really hard. In fact, once I hit the straight-away section of the track, I imagined I was approaching a finish line in a race and really gunning for it. I focused on my form and my breathing in order to stay strong throughout the entire workout. Even though I’m super focused on the Boston Marathon right now, I have to admit I would still LOVE to break 20 in the 5K. This workout gave me the confidence that I will be able to do that at some point.

Friday: 8.4 miles easy at 8:57 average
Ouch! My legs were sore. I had spent a good amount of time on the foam roller on Thursday night and Friday morning before the run, but my legs were definitely sore from those 200 meter sprints. I wanted to call it quits after an hour, but I hung in there for the entire 75 minutes that my coach prescribed.

Saturday: 19 miles with 15 at marathon pace
I was skeptical that this workout would be possible given that my legs still felt a little sore from the 20 x 200m. But I've had successful long runs in the past on sore legs, so I figured I would go for it anyway. I ran 2.5 miles easy, 15 miles at marathon pace, and 1.5 miles easy for a total of 19. My coach prescribed 7:24 as my marathon pace because that is what my recent half marathon in Houston indicates. However, I know I am fitter now than I was in January. This proved itself when I actually had to hold myself back to stay in the 7:20s throughout the workout.

• 2.5 miles at 8:27 average
• 15 miles at 7:21 average!
• 1.5 miles at 8:20 average

My splits for the 15 miles were: 7:28, 7:23, 7:22, 7:20, 7:25, 7:21, 7:21, 7:21, 7:21, 7:23, 7:18, 7:20, 7:19, 7:21, 7:18. I drank half a packet of Generation UCAN before the run, and then during mile 8 I took a homemade UCAN gel, which contained nearly an entire packet of UCAN. That was all the fuel I had and it was plenty. I was aiming for 7:24 but my body felt like going a bit faster. The pace felt relatively comfortable for the first 11 miles and then it started to get a little harder during the last four. But it still wasn't that bad- not nearly as hard as the workout I did on Monday. The entire run averaged out to 19 miles at a pace of 7:35. According to Strava, I got a new 30K PR!

Sunday: 5.6 miles recovery at 8:54 average
My legs felt better on this recovery run than they did the day after the 200m intervals.

Total Mileage: 75.9 at an average pace of 8:04!
This is a new weekly mileage PR for me. I am also on day 65 of a run streak, averaging 9 miles a day.

Past 8 weeks' mileage

I'm really excited about how much I have progressed this cycle. I'm not really associating any of this with a goal time because if Boston is hot, then that goes out the window. I think that in perfect weather on a flat course I could run a 3:13ish. That might have to wait until the fall, but I can be patient.

Boston Build-Up: 5 Weeks To Go

Boston is freakishly close! In five weeks I will be eating my "last supper" before running my first Boston Marathon.

Training has gotten super intense over the past two weeks. I never thought I would be able to train at this level--at least not without getting injured. Here's a snapshot of the training cycle so far:

This week was 68 miles and last week was 67 miles. Because I did this week's long run on a Friday, I actually had a rolling 7-day total of 80 miles as of Friday, March 11th. That's a 7-day record for me, and this 68-mile week is a "Monday-Sunday" record.

I've been running marathons for 10 years, and I've been training seriously (with a coach or plan) for the past 7. So why haven't I been able to run like this until just now? I think that I've built up to it properly. When I first started working with my coach in July 2014, he dropped my mileage and had me running faster, more intense workouts. Doing difficult workouts while keeping the overall volume low has prepared me to safely tack on miles.

Also, it used to be that I would run a lot of "junk miles" and my quality/speed workout days would have low mileage. For example, in the past, I might have run 10 miles easy on a Monday, followed by 5 x 800m on a Tuesday. The Tuesday workout, including warm up and cool down, might have only amounted to 8 miles. When I started working with my coach, I flipped that, making my easy runs only 4-7 miles (truly easy) with workout day mileage totaling 10+.

Essentially, I've been building up to this level over the past two years. So even though going from the low 40's in December to the high 60's in March seems like a huge jump, my body was prepared for it. One of my favorite all-time running quotes is "you do the training so you can do the training so you can do the training." And I've found that to be true.

Here's a look at my daily mileage for the past 30 days.

In addition to the high mileage, I've had some really fun/interesting/crazy workouts. I about had a heart attack when I saw this on my training plan last week (it's the purple tempo run above): "15 to 30 minute Warm-Up + 4 mile tempo run, 800m jog, 2 times 90 seconds, 4 times 60 seconds, 4 times 45 seconds, 4 times 30 seconds, 6 times 15 seconds all with the same recovery as the rep time + 15 to 30 minute Cool-down." I ended up with 45 splits on my Garmin! I felt really accomplished when the run was done, having stayed strong all the way through the finish. My tempo pace for the 4 miles was 7:02, and I kept all of the shorter intervals at a 6:35 pace or quicker.

On Tuesday of this week, I ran 10 miles at marathon pace, plus warm up and cool down. Thankfully, I had perfect weather (overcast and 44 degrees) and I felt amazing. I was able to average a pace of 7:39 and it didn't even feel hard until the last two miles. Do I plan to run a 7:39 marathon pace in Boston? I think it's possible if the weather is just right and I'm having a good day. But never having done it before, I'll probably start out slower and then speed up if I am able. My main goal with Boston is to have an amazing experience and to soak it all in! Part of that is running my best race possible, and I know I'll be prepared to do that.

Earlier I mentioned that I did this week's 20-miler on a Friday. That's because I spent my Saturday

At the start line of RNR DC

morning cheer for my husband and good friend Allison at the Rock 'n' Roll DC Marathon. Greg broke his ankle one year ago, and it's been a long road back to running for him. He was in a boot for nearly two months, and then stayed on crutches for a few weeks after that. He wasn't able to return to running until the end of August. He ran the Columbus Half Marathon in October, and then began training for the marathon in November. I wrote his training plan for him, which was very conservative to make sure he came back safely.

Greg and Allison were planning on running similar paces, which made it easy for me to cheer and take photos. Even though they weren't planning to run together (and didn't actually "run together") they were always within about a minute of each other. I was able to take the metro around the city to see them at mile 7.5, 15, 17, and the finish. I had a lot of fun, and it was so exciting to see all of Greg and Allison's hard work pay off. Greg wound up with a 3:40, which is amazing given all the time off he took last year, and Allison with a 3:39 BQ! Both of them looked strong throughout and I plan to use them as inspiration during my next race!

Greg is always so supportive of me and my running that it was nice to be able to support him, give him his water bottle when he needed it, and take photos. I also just really love the "vibe" of a big race. So much excitement!

Allison in purple tank, Greg in blue shirt at mile 7.5

I ended up logging about 17,000 steps on my FitBit, which winds up being 7-8 miles of walking. It was definitely a tiring day of being on my feet, but I loved every second of it.

I hope the next five weeks of training continue to go well. My legs are definitely feeling the miles, particularly since I run my "easy" runs on very hilly routes, sometimes with downhill strides at the end. I want to be really prepared for all the hills in Boston so I am seeking them out on my training runs.

Oh- and my Boston Marathon jacket came in the mail! I tried it on to make sure it fit, but I won't wear it until I actually arrive in Boston. I was temped to wear it yesterday at the RNR DC marathon since the weather was perfect for it, but I didn't want to tempt fate! I'll probably end up being one of those people who wear the jacket to race expos even when it's like 70 degrees outside. . . :-)

Pushing Past Limits

I've heard the phrase "pushing past limits" over and over again throughout my running career. Whether it comes up in the blogs I read, on Facebook posts, in running magazines or during in-person conversations with other runners, it's a very common theme.

I've never given the phrase much thought and honestly it's always seemed cliche. But now I am starting to really think about what it means to push beyond one's limits.

Shamrock half marathon 2014

I'm at the stage in my running where PRs will be few and far between. I've run 100+ races over the course of 8 years, with over 10,000 training miles and I'm starting to question if I am at my peak, or if I still have the potential to run faster.  Greg pointed out that it's only within the past year that I have truly addressed my mental pillar and I'm finally starting to arrive at races well rested and relaxed. Mental limits can be the most difficult to identify and break through, and I think I am making great strides there.

I think my next challenge is pushing past my pain tolerance during races. I always think I push myself as hard as possible, because racing always hurts so much, but then I wonder if there is a certain amount of pain that is familiar to me during races, and if I push past that, I would fear blowing up and not being able to sustain it. And therefore, I am afraid to run past a certain pain threshold.  I think most runners (well, I guess all runners) have this threshold, but I think I can push mine farther.

I know that Greg's tolerance and pain threshold far exceeds mine because he races much faster than he trains and it takes him a few days longer than me to recover. A common line of his is "I had no business running that race as fast as I did." We often wonder that if it was his mind running in my body, how fast I would be.

No matter how a race goes for me, my final kick is always very strong (usually over a mile per minute faster than average race pace).  I almost always have plenty of gas left for that last quarter mile or so. I'm just afraid to turn it on until the very end, when I no longer fear a blow-up.

I am making progress here, as I have been thinking about this topic for the past several months. When I ran the Shamrock half marathon and the GW Birthday 10K, I could see the finish line from about half a mile away. In both cases, I pushed hard early and was in that "I know I can't sustain this" zone longer than I usually am.  One of my goals for my next few races will be to push past my pain tolerance without the fear of a blow-up. To truly trust my training and realize that my limiting factor is my mind, not my body.

Peak Week
I haven't posted any training updates this year, and I typically blog about my "peak week" of training for a marathon. This Missisauga Marathon is on May 4, and this past week was my peak in terms of mileage.  Next week I will taper for and run the Cherry Blossom, and the week after that will include some recovery time.

I've gotten my hip under control with daily foam rolling and strengthening exercises. I've been extremely diligent about this and as a result my hip is now pain free. I did take 5 days off pre-Shamrock earlier this month to rest the hip, but since then, I have been running on it consistently with no additional time off.

Monday: 10 miles
10 Miles easy on the Mt. Vernon trail before work. It was in the mid 20's and windy, which made for a very cold run. I think record low temperatures were set that morning. Can't winter just end already!?

Tuesday: 8 miles with intervals
It started snowing about halfway through this workout, but I kept going. I knew it would probably start snowing on me, but I've had to miss quite a few track workouts this season due to a snow-covered track, and I really wanted to get this one in before anything accumulated. I warmed up for just over two miles and ran the following intervals, with 1/2 distance recovery jogs:
1600m (6:56)
1200m (5:05)
800m (3:17)
800m (3:17)

These are pretty typical paces for me. I followed it up with a cool down run for 8 miles total.

Wednesday: Rest day
Rest days are important! I still did my foam rolling and hip exercises.

Thursday: 9 miles with 5 tempo
Greg and I warmed up for 2.5 miles, ran 5 at tempo pace, and then cooled down for 1.5 miles. I think record low temperatures must have been set again, as it was only 20 degrees with a "real feel" in the teens.
Mile 1: 7:30
Mile 2: 7:35
Mile 3: 7:26
Mile 4: 7:17
Mile 5: 7:12

This is an average pace of 7:24.  I would love to run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler at that pace next weekend! I try to run my tempos at 10-mile race pace, so we'll see if I can execute on this.

Friday: 8 miles
An easy 8-miler with Greg, and finally the temperature was above freezing.

Saturday: 16 miles with 10 at marathon pace
This is a workout that my coach recommends and that I have done several times before, although none during this cycle. Considering I ran a 5-mile tempo on Saturday, I knew that I would need to keep the marathon pace miles at marathon pace and no faster. So how do I determine marathon pace for a workout like this? Based on my recent race times and paces for other workouts, marathon pace ends up being between 8:10-8:15. Do I actually think I will run the marathon at that pace? Maybe. It's workouts like these that help give me the confidence to believe I can execute.

Miles 1-2 (easy)
Miles 3-6: 8:11, 8:12, 8:17, 8:15
Mile 7 (easy)
Miles 8-10: 8:08, 8:04, 8:16
Mile 11 (easy)
Miles 12-13: 7:54, 7:40 -- I got a little carried away here.
Mile 14 (easy)
Mile 15: 8:01
Mile 16 (easy)

I felt really strong at the end and went faster than planned.  The average pace for the "marathon pace" miles was 8:06.  I felt strong throughout and my legs didn't get tired.

Sunday: 6 easy
It was 40 degrees, rainy and windy. Just miserable weather! However, I had a few friends running marathons and half marathons, so I didn't feel too badly for myself. I am in total awe of anyone who raced this morning.  Anyway, my legs felt great this morning, and I didn't have any noticeable affects from the marathon pace run.

Total mileage for the week = 57.

I'm feeling great about my training and I need to remind myself that training is just one piece of the marathon puzzle. It's the preparation. It's me doing my best to be prepared for whatever race day brings. It won't guarantee me a particular time. It will, however, give me the confidence of knowing that if I decide to push past my typical pain threshold, my body will not give out on me.

In the meantime, I've been taking this training cycle "one week at a time" focusing on immediate goals and not looking at everything as training for just one thing. Cherry Blossom is my current focus and I'm excited to see what happens next weekend.

Peak Week! (Part V)

Continuing with my tradition of blogging about my "peak week" of marathon training, I wanted to write a detailed report of this week, February 4-10. My total was 60 miles.

My weekly mileage hasn't been this high since the spring of 2010 (which I actually didn't blog about). After getting stress fractures in January of 2011, I decided I would try lower mileage for awhile, with swimming and pool running as cross training. This cycle, I removed the swimming and pool running and returned to higher mileage, along with strength training-- particularly core work. I am very thankful that I haven't gotten injured and that I've felt energized for the majority of my runs.

Previous Peak Weeks

• August 22, 2011: 51 miles
• August 9, 2009: 61 miles
• December 1, 2008: 56 miles
• August 17, 2008: 55 miles

The Big Picture
I know that many marathon plans "peak" 3 weeks out from race day. I prefer to peak 5-6 weeks out in terms of mileage and then do some tune-up races and some marathon pace workouts for the remainder of the cycle.

There wasn't a point when I "officially" started marathon training. I did create a 22-week plan when I was recovering from mono, which I have kept very closely to. I prefer to see myself as simply "training" rather than "marathon training" because it puts the focus more on the work itself and less on the end result.

Monday: 11 miles easy, avg. 8:46
I love starting the week with a 10-11 mile run. Technically, I refer to anything over 10 as a "medium-long" run in my log. I've discovered that if I truly keep these runs easy, my legs feel fresh enough for a interval workout the next day. This run went very well, but my legs did start to feel a little tired during the last mile. That's to be expected and if my legs never felt tired during a run, I would think that I could probably be doing more. It was 25 degrees and windy and I ran my typical residential route.

Tuesday: 8.5 miles, including 4 x 1200m
I did this workout with my team at the track in Arlington. It's a 25-minute drive to get there, and then 40 minutes to drive back to the gym near my office where I shower because of rush hour traffic. But it's worth it to run with such a great group and to have the coach encouraging you each lap. I warmed up for 2.4 miles, and then we started the workout. My times were 5:10, 5:01, 5:01, 4:58. Pace-wise, these are in the low 6:40's. I didn't look at my Garmin during the run, and although the coach was calling out splits at each lap, I have zero ability to do the math when I am running fast. I wasn't targeting any particular pace, I just put out an effort level that felt appropriate for 1200's. Recovery between each was a 500m jog. I then cooled down for 2.1 miles, giving me 8.5 for the day.

Wednesday: Rest + Stretching/Strengthening
Wednesday has been my scheduled rest day for most of this cycle. I know it would probably be ideal to have complete rest rather than to do core work and weights, but it's so hard to fit in strength training on the days when I am running so many miles.

Thursday: 10 miles, inc. 6 tempo avg. 7:29
On Thursday, I ran 2.5 miles warmup, 6 miles tempo, and 1.5 miles cooldown. I prefer a longer warmup in the winter and a shorter warmup in the summer, for obvious reasons! I don't think I have run a 6-mile tempo since the fall of 2011. I wasn't at all intimidated by this run because I knew all I had to do was keep my heart rate between 172-179 and I'd get the desired benefit. No pressure to run a particular pace. It was a pretty good morning for a tempo run-- 27 degrees and very little wind.

Mile 1: 7:31 (165 avg. HR)
Mile 2: 7:25 (174 avg. HR)
Mile 3: 7:34 (174 avg. HR) - net uphill
Mile 4: 7:32 (176 avg. HR)
Mile 5: 7:30 (176 avg. HR)
Mile 6: 7:15 (176 avg. HR)- net downhill

It definitely nice to finish on a downhill! I was very pleased with how I kept my effort level consistent and my heart rate reflected that.

Friday: 5.5 miles easy, avg. 8:44
I was pleasantly surprised at how peppy my legs felt after the previous day's tempo run. This was not a nice day for running- very cold, windy, overcast, but I got it done.

Saturday: 20.6 miles, avg. 8:56
I ran the Rock Creek Park loop with my teammates. A wind advisory was in effect, with sustained winds form 20-25 mph and higher gusts. The temperature was in the high 20's so this was really not ideal long-run weather. The wind kept waking me up the night before, so I hadn't slept well. In fact, for various reasons, I didn't sleep well this week at all. It didn't seem to affect my running, but I do want to make sure I get back on the right track with my sleep.

This Rock Creek Loop is much more challenging than my typical 20-mile residential route. The last 5 miles are noticeably downhill, but you pay for that in the first 15 which feel like they are primarily uphill. The coach recommends we hit marathon pace for the last 6 miles, which I did, but because they were all downhill, the 8:00 pace felt at the end of the run felt a little easier than the 9:00 uphill pace earlier in the run. I guess I'm just not used to so many hills. Once I finished, it felt great to have that run behind me, especially with such windy conditions.

Sunday: 4.4 miles easy, avg. 9:02
My legs felt great after the previous day's long run, but once again I didn't sleep well so I was pretty tired. I took a nap afterwards, so now I feel better.

It feels awesome to be logging this type of mileage and feeling good. I think I've finally found a training formula that works for me that I plan to repeat in future cycles.

Peak Week! (Part IV)

With only five weeks left until the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon I am feeling pretty good. I'll write a blog about my overall training cycle as the race gets closer, but for now I want to just focus on this week. As I've said in earlier blogs, I am running fewer overall miles with this training cycle in exchange for swimming and pool running. I've also added in core strengthening which consists of 3 planks each day.

Here have been my past "peak weeks" and their resulting marathons:

• August 2008: 55 miles. I ended up getting really sick (maybe the swine flu) and wasn't able to run the Hartford marathon
• December 2008: 56 miles. I bonked at the RnR Arizona marathon due to the heat/sun. 
• March 2009: 61 miles. I bonked at the NJ marathon and ended up in the medical tent with hypothermia.

I don't have blogs for my other peak weeks, but upper 50's-lower 60's has been the norm. This week I only ran 51 miles as my peak.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to add in as much pool running/swimming as I would have liked because my pool is closed for maintenance. Tomorrow I do plan to drive to another pool for pool running/swimming. Or I guess with all the rain we're supposed to get from the hurricane, I could just go outside. . .

 I started the week by mailing my new Garmin heart rate monitor back to Running Warehouse for a refund. The "soft" strap monitor has continued to chafe me, despite massive amounts of body glide. And the readings were completely messed up too, showing heart rates as low as 60 and as high as 200 within the same minute. My readings were just all over the map. I'm now using my old HR monitor and getting accurate readings and no chafing.


Monday: 9 miles easy, avg. 9:05
I took this run very easy knowing that I had a hard week ahead of me. The weather was nice and cool and I resisted the temptation to go any faster.


Tuesday: 8 miles, including 4 x 1200m
I ran this track workout with my teammates in Arlington. I was fully expecting to do 5-6 repeats, so I started out easy. Using the pacing chart from my coach, my goal was to be at 5:12 for each repeat or slightly under. In my past track workouts, I have been doing 800's at around 5:08-5:10.

The woman who I usually run with during these workouts was on vacation, so I wasn't quite sure who to pace off of. During the first lap, I tucked behind this girl who is super fast (wayyyy faster than me) and told myself that she'd probably get ahead of me. Instead, I kept fighting the urge to pass her, knowing how fast she is. I soon realized that she was having leg issues and purposely going slower than she otherwise would. As a result, my first interval was much slower than target pace: 5:23. But I was perfectly fine with this because I knew I had 4-5 more to go. I ended up compensating for that first interval by going a bit too fast on the next: 5:03. But then the next two were more in line with what I expected: 5:07, 5:07. Instead of doing a 5th, the coach told me I was "done" because my form was falling apart. He wouldn't even let me finish it off with a 400.

I was upset, but I trusted that he knew what he was talking about. I felt like I definitely had the energy for at least one more interval. As a result, I left the track feeling like I didn't "give it my all" like I typically do after these group track workouts. Since the first one was too slow, I really only did 3 intervals that challenged me, and it just didn't seem like enough given that this is my peak week, and considering that it was a cool morning.


Wednesday: Rest
Typically I would have gone pool running and swimming, but with the pool closed (and the next closest pool closed as well) I just took a rest day. Except for the planks, of course.


Thursday: 8.5 miles, including 6 tempo
I placed a lot of importance on this run because I feel like I haven't had many good tempos this cycle. I did two of them on the elliptical (trying to prevent a foot injury), and the ones that I did on the road were in really hot/humid weather with less than impressive results.

It was about 72 degrees for Thursday's tempo and very humid. My goal was to run 6.2 miles at a pace of 7:40. If it had been cooler, I would have targeted 7:25. My plan was to start out on the slower side and then pick it up slightly in the last two miles. I ran the first mile by feel and logged a 7:46. This was about what I expected-- so far, so good. Then came 7:44, 7:40, and 7:43. With two miles left to go I was started to feel it. I got through those last two miles with these thoughts:

• This tempo run IS important. You need a good tempo.
• Look at your HR monitor. Stay in Zone 4. If you go above that, just slow down.
• Your pace doesn't matter as much as getting in the full distance and staying in Zone 4
• If you keep up the effort level, I will reward you by not making you do that last 0.2

I focused really hard and kept my HR at the top of Zone 4 and logged 7:46, 7:46. And I allowed myself to stop after 6 miles, without requiring the 0.2. I don't regret this decision-- it was definitely time to stop. The average pace ended up being 7:44, which I was okay with given how hot and humid it was. I would have really liked to see 7:40, but I'm not sweating it (pun intended).

Based on my coach's pace chart, this training pace correlates with a marathon time of about 3:33. (My track paces correlate with a marathon time of 3:25). Given that the weather for the marathon should be substantially cooler and less humid than this tempo run, I think I am realistic in expecting to run a 3:35.

Friday: 3.5 miles

Friday normally would have been a rest day, but since I took one of those on Wednesday instead of going to the pool, I figured that a really short, easy run couldn't hurt. Average pace was 8:58.


Saturday: 22 miles

I was nervous about this run. The temperature was 76 with a "real feel" of 82 and 22 miles is a long way to go in those conditions. I pre-hydrated all day Friday and even used Pedialyte on Friday evening for added electrolytes.

This run was a "test run" for race day nutrition. I ate a fairly large meal on Friday night at Maggiano's with my family. We were celebrating Greg and my one-year anniversary. I ate the same things I typically eat the night before a marathon-- lots of bread and pasta and some chicken. Usually I eat a bagel and a half the morning of a marathon, but my coach recommends more of a "meal". I know peanut butter is popular among runners, but I don't particularly like it (gasp) and I have a sensitive digestive system. I was up at 4:15 this morning and had about two tablespoons of peanut butter on my bagel. Which, by the way, I did not slice in half. :-) I took three Honey Stinger gels with me and a bottle of G2 and set off with my husband on our journey.

At mile 1.5, my husband tripped on his shoelace and fell to the ground pretty hard. Luckily, his water bottle broke his fall so he was okay, but he was scraped up on his other hand and his knee. His water bottle proceeded to escape his hand and fall down the nearby sewer, so we had to go home and get him another bottle and also clean and bandage his scrapes. So at mile 3, when we got back home, there was a 10-15 minute break in the run. But we got him all cleaned up with alcohol and band-aids and got him a fresh bottle of G2.

After that incident, the run was relatively drama-free. We ran around local neighborhoods, as usual, and made two stops at a McDonald's to refill our bottles with water. I took my honey gels at mile 7, 13 and 18.5. During the marathon, I will probably start taking them sooner, but I had the calories from the G2 in those early miles. My husband had 20 miles on schedule, so we split off at mile 16 and he ran home and I continued around the neighborhood we were in.

I typically like to speed up the long run during the last 1/3, but given that this was a 22-miler and it was really hot and humid, I decided to wait until I had just 4 miles left to speed up, and even then, I wouldn't turn on the gas too much.

The overall pace was 9:05, with an average heart rate of 157. For me (based on my VO2 max test) Zone 2 is 155-165, so I was towards the bottom.

• Miles 1-8 avg. HR in Zone 1
• Miles 9-19 avg. HR in Zone 2
• Miles 20-22 avg. HR in Zone 3 

I was very pleased with this run. I have been ending my long runs in Zone 4 and really exerting a lot of effort lately, but given the extra long distance and the weather, I opted to play it safe. 

Sunday

I plan to make the long drive to a pool that's actually open tomorrow and swim at least 1200yd and pool-run for 20-30 minutes.

I'm pleased with my 51-mile week. Up until now, my highest mileage week this cycle has been just 45, so it was a bit of a jump. Next week, I'll cut back the mileage slightly as I have the VA Beach Rock 'N Roll half marathon on Sunday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I stay injury and illness-free for the next five weeks and that Milwaukee isn't having a heat wave on Oct. 2!

Peak Week! (Part III)

In the past, I have written about my "peak week" while training for the Hartford marathon, and then for the Rock 'N Roll Arizona marathon. I was following a similar training program for each, but this time I have really mixed it up.

For the past few weeks, here is my weekly mileage, starting with the Monday of each week:

Feb. 9: 42.8 miles
Feb. 16: 52 miles
Feb. 23: 57 miles
March 2: 58.5 miles
March 9: 61 miles

For Hartford, I peaked at 55 and for Arizona, I peaked at 56. This time, I pushed it to 61, and gave myself more weeks in the 55+ range.

Monday: 6 miles, "recovery" pace of 10:05.
Tuesday: 12 miles, average pace of 9:17
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 11 miles, including 5x1 mile at 7:42 pace, with 1:00 recovery jogs between
Friday: 6 miles, "recovery" pace of 10:05
Saturday: 20.5 miles, average pace of 9:31
Sunday: 5.5  miles, "recovery" pace of 10:05

The 1-mile repeats on Thursday replaced a tempo run. I am trying to increase my tempo pace, so instead of running 5 miles at my former tempo pace of 8:00, I ran them at a 7:42 pace, but jogged for one minute in between each mile. This workout was challenging but manageable, and there was no soreness the next day.

Next week will be a "cutback" week to about 48-49 miles. I am running the Shamrock half marathon on Sunday and I want to give myself a bit of a taper at the end of the week. My goal for Shamrock will be a pace of 8:09, which is a 1:46:43. If I don't hit this goal, I will have to reconsider my BQ attempt in New Jersey.

As for the Garmin, the best part about it is the automatic upload to the computer and the charts and graphs. I especially like the heart rate data. Yeah, the watch is big, but I am used to it. I ran 8 miles "free form" last Sunday and it gave me the freedom to go wherever I wanted without needing mile markers.

I've noticed a significant drop in heart rate for equivalent paces over the past six months. I haven't noticed significant improvements in my race times, so I am hoping that will change soon!

Peak Week!

I "peaked" with my marathon training this week-- meaning that I ran more miles this week than any other week of the program. I'm definitely feeling it right now! Here is a recap of my week.

Monday- 6 mi The week started off easy with six miles at a "recovery" pace of 10:30. As I approached the end of the run, I did six 100m strides. The purpose of this type of speedwork isn't to get your heart rate up, but to improve your form. The faster you run, the better your form needs to be. So, I ran these strides as fast as 6:55/mile pace. When this was done, I did some core work and upper body strength training. No matter how many miles I am running, I do not want to abandon my core training-- I believe it is crucial to injury prevention. On Monday evening, I went for a sports massage. I have been getting sports massages every two weeks since June, and I think they are helping to keep my muscles loose.

Tuesday- 12 mi w/7 at tempo There is some controversy as to whether or not 7 miles is too long for a tempo run. Especially when embedded inside a longer run of 12 miles. I did this run on the treadmill. A 3.5 mile warmup, 7 tempo miles, and then a 1.5 mile cool down. The tempo miles felt challenging, but they actually got easier as the run progressed. I increased my speed throughout the course of the run. The tempo miles were: 8:18, 8:16, 8:09, 8:05, 8:03, 8:03, 8:00. Average 8:08 pace. I was tired at the end, but felt like I could have gone for longer if I had to. This run has helped me set a half-marathon goal pace of 8:10 for the VA Beach Half next weekend.

Wednesday- Rest! I was pleasantly surprised that I had no lingering soreness or aches from Tuesday's run. I never used to recover so quickly.

Thursday- 12 mi Another mid-week 12-miler. I started this run on the treadmill, because it was still dark at 5:00am. And then after 6 miles, I took the run outside for the second half. I started out at a pace of 9:50, and sped up to a pace of 8:48 by the end of the run. The average pace was 9:23.

Friday- 5 mi Another recovery run at a pace of 10:30. I didn't feel like I could go much faster. My legs felt like bricks. They were so heavy and tired. The two 12-milers had really taken their toll. Apparently, this is normal for intense training. I am training my legs how to run when they are tired. After the run, I spent about 15 minutes stretching and using the foam roller. Afterwards, my legs felt better. I also did some core strengthing exercises, and upper body weights. It's not good to do too much weight lifting on recovery days, because then your body uses some of its "resources" to re-build the muscles you worked. But, I want to maintain a minimum of 2 times per week with weights.

Saturday- 20 mi As I set out on this run, I was not too optimistic about how it would go. My legs felt heavy and tired. 8 miles into it, I simply couldn't imagine completing the full 20. But I kept reminding myself that I was supposed to feel this way, and the this run was supposed to be slow. Thankfully, the weather was nearly perfect. Upper 60's and cloudy. The parts of my run that are typically hellish due to the sun were really nice because the clouds were out. The run averaged a pace of 9:32, which is perfectly within range for my marathon goal pace.

Miles 1-5: 9:50, 9:48, 9:53, 9:51, 9:41 Miles 6-10: 9:49, 9:38, 9:32, 9:23, 9:25 Miles 11-15: 9:28, 9:21, 9:21, 9:23, 9:25 Miles 16-20: 9:32, 9:25, 9:28, 9:07, 9:07

During the last section, I was thinking: I can stop at mile 17 and take a break. (Arrive at mile 17 and keep going). Okay, 18 miles is good, I know that I will have to stop then for a break. (Arrive at mile 18 and keep going). Okay, 19 miles is all I can do. Once I get to 19, I am walking. (Arrive at mile 19 and keep going). Hell, I'll just finish the damn run!!!

The last time I attempted 20 miles, I started having ITB issues at mile 16. I was only able to run 19 miles instead of the full 20. I am pretty sure it was because of the shoes. I love my Nikes, but I have found that they aren't supportive enough for runs longer than 12 miles. Today I was in the Adrenaline GTS 8, and everything was pain-free. I never take a pain-free run for granted. And I am happy to say that this entire week was pain-free and injury free. Just some really tired legs!

Total Mileage: 55

Next on tap is the VA Beach RNR Half marathon on Sunday, August 31. You can track me live, and I will be providing details for that in a bulletin later this week. I am bib 5257, and I expect to finish around 1:47:00.