Keep Moving Forward: A Training Log (Comments Welcome)

[lhermiston]

Easy run tonight and, boy, did I need it. I was a bit achy after yesterday's tempo run (which I'm still feeling good about, but you're only as good as your last run, so moving on...).

So, standard 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile) tonight. I did not do an awesome job at slowing down - miles ranged from 9:24 to 9:42 - but it was still a good, relaxing workout. Not much else to report. I thought I had a 12 mile run on Sunday, but it turns out it's 12 miles PLUS 4 Tempo miles, so I've kind of got my sights set on that.

The marathon is 38 days a way and I'm ready to rock.

Today's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:34/mile
Time: 57:28

 

[ZellyB]

I picked up new shoes this afternoon (another pair of Hokas) and just in time, today's workout called for a pretty strenuous (for me) run. This afternoon I was scheduled to do a one mile warmup followed by eight Tempo (8:05/mile) miles and a half mile cool down.

I don't look too far ahead on my schedule, but I saw this run coming up a few days ago. Not going to lie, it felt a little intimidating. Also, I am a total wimp after it warms up and then the temperature drops again. It was in the 60s not too long ago and today it was overcast, about 40 and blustery. Hooray for first day of Spring ... :/

Anyway, the run ended up feeling really good. I warmed up after the first mile and the winds died down. I got into a pretty good groove in the middle miles, too. Not quite a blind run, but I definitely wasn't checking my pace very often. I just set the cruise control and went.

Splits:
Mile 1 - warm up
Mile 2 - 7:26
Mile 3 - 8:08
Mile 4 - 8:04
Mile 5 - 8:10
Mile 6 - 7:45
Mile 7 - 8:10
Mile 8 - 8:13
Mile 9 - 8:00

By my count, that's 6 of 8 miles within range. Not too shabby. I'm sure I'll be feeling it a bit tomorrow, but I'm really pleased with today's run.

Total Distance: 9.5 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:11/mile
Time: 1:17:50

Great job on this run!! You are going to do great on your race.

 

[lhermiston]

Great job on this run!! You are going to do great on your race.

Thanks! I hope so. I appreciate the vote of confidence!

 

[lhermiston]

This weekend is going to be garbaaaaaage. Starting this (Friday) evening, we're going to get rain and it's going to turn into snow overnight. I've heard anywhere from a few to 10 inches (unlikely). Really, all it's going to take is an inch or so to ruin my training plans for at least tomorrow because it'll impact my ability to run outside. I'm thinking I'll go to a local gym and hop on the dreadmill for 10 miles. I'm so jealous of those of you who can do that. I truly do not have the coordination for it.

Sunday, it should warm up into the 40s and hopefully by then most folks will have their sidewalks cleared because I've got a total of 16 miles and I don't want to miss that, nor do I want to do another treadmill run. Oy...

Anyway, I was able to get out today before the weather turned back for 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile). The run was fine. Not much to report, really, but I'm thankful for a laid back, stress-free run.

Today's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:37/mile
Time: 57:44

 

[LilyJC]

This weekend is going to be garbaaaaaage. Starting this (Friday) evening, we're going to get rain and it's going to turn into snow overnight. I've heard anywhere from a few to 10 inches (unlikely). Really, all it's going to take is an inch or so to ruin my training plans for at least tomorrow because it'll impact my ability to run outside. I'm thinking I'll go to a local gym and hop on the dreadmill for 10 miles. I'm so jealous of those of you who can do that. I truly do not have the coordination for it.

Sunday, it should warm up into the 40s and hopefully by then most folks will have their sidewalks cleared because I've got a total of 16 miles and I don't want to miss that, nor do I want to do another treadmill run. Oy...

Anyway, I was able to get out today before the weather turned back for 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile). The run was fine. Not much to report, really, but I'm thankful for a laid back, stress-free run.

Today's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:37/mile
Time: 57:44

Our SoCal storm must be headed your way! Good luck with those runs and the treadmill for hopefully just your shorter run.

 

[CDKG]

This weekend is going to be garbaaaaaage. Starting this (Friday) evening, we're going to get rain and it's going to turn into snow overnight. I've heard anywhere from a few to 10 inches (unlikely). Really, all it's going to take is an inch or so to ruin my training plans for at least tomorrow because it'll impact my ability to run outside. I'm thinking I'll go to a local gym and hop on the dreadmill for 10 miles. I'm so jealous of those of you who can do that. I truly do not have the coordination for it.

Sunday, it should warm up into the 40s and hopefully by then most folks will have their sidewalks cleared because I've got a total of 16 miles and I don't want to miss that, nor do I want to do another treadmill run. Oy...

Anyway, I was able to get out today before the weather turned back for 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile). The run was fine. Not much to report, really, but I'm thankful for a laid back, stress-free run.

Today's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:37/mile
Time: 57:44

Treadmill = Complete Control

Let yourself just get lost into your music, a game of solitaire, whatever is on TV, people watching... Whatever works to distract you from being on a treadmill. Watch You Tube videos of a goal race, focus on the prize. It's really not that bad. Spring will come!

Good luck to your weekend training!

 

[lhermiston]

As expected, the weather was not at all conducive to running outside today. Faced with the choice of not running or getting my run in on a treadmill, I opted for the treadmill route. The city recreation center downtown has a free workout area, so that's where I went after digging out my car.

I wish I could say doing the treadmill thing was no big deal, but it's just not for me. I did put on a podcast and that was fun, but my the *feel* of my pace didn't seem to match the results on the treadmill. I tried to replicate my EB (9:06/mile) pace and it felt like I was doing that, but my distance was off. It was frustrating and I spent most of the time fretting over that. So...ugh. I think I'm just an outdoors running guy. I am truly envious of those of you who can do the treadmill thing.

So, what was supposed to be a 10 mile, 90 minute workout was more like 6-7 miles and about 70 minutes. Still better than not running at all, I reckon.

Anyway, tomorrow is 16 miles. The snow is mostly done and it's supposed to be sunny and in the mid-30s by midday tomorrow. I'm hoping that lends itself to getting outdoors. Even if it's wet, it shouldn't be too icy. Fingers crossed!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

As expected, the weather was not at all conducive to running outside today. Faced with the choice of not running or getting my run in on a treadmill, I opted for the treadmill route. The city recreation center downtown has a free workout area, so that's where I went after digging out my car.

I wish I could say doing the treadmill thing was no big deal, but it's just not for me. I did put on a podcast and that was fun, but my the *feel* of my pace didn't seem to match the results on the treadmill. I tried to replicate my EB (9:06/mile) pace and it felt like I was doing that, but my distance was off. It was frustrating and I spent most of the time fretting over that. So...ugh. I think I'm just an outdoors running guy. I am truly envious of those of you who can do the treadmill thing.

So, what was supposed to be a 10 mile, 90 minute workout was more like 6-7 miles and about 70 minutes. Still better than not running at all, I reckon.

Anyway, tomorrow is 16 miles. The snow is mostly done and it's supposed to be sunny and in the mid-30s by midday tomorrow. I'm hoping that lends itself to getting outdoors. Even if it's wet, it shouldn't be too icy. Fingers crossed!

Great job on the treadmill- I frequent the ol’ mill and agree that paces don’t always (ever) feel the same as outside.

Good luck with your looong run tomorrow!

 

[SarahDisney]

Getting the right "feel" for your pace on the treadmill is really tough. For me, it helps to find the right entertainment - what's good for an easy run isn't good for a tempo run. Once I find the right entertainment, it's a little easier to feel the paces, but it's still not the same as running outside. It's tough.

 

[lhermiston]

For my 1,000th Disboards post, here's a little recap of today's run.

Today's workout called for 12 miles @ Long Run (8:46/mile) followed by 4 miles @ Tempo (8:05/mile). I didn't get a morning start like I would've preferred because there was still too much snow on the ground (snow that would still be there this afternoon I'd later find out, but at least it was above freezing). Because of that, practicing my nutrition strategy was also a little off. Planning on getting out by 2 p.m., I ate lunch around 11 and had about 16 ounces of Gatorade with my meal.

Anyway, 2 p.m. rolled around soon enough. The weather was gorgeous for my run. About 35 degrees, bright and sunny. Compared to Saturday's slushy blizzard, it felt AMAZING. I did find out quickly that the sidewalks weren't as cleared as I would have liked. I decided to give myself a 15 second cushion on my splits, though that proved to be largely unnecessary. However, the snowy sidewalks did mean running on the streets quite a bit and I swear it was "Take your giant truck or semi to work day" because I kept getting passed by some pretty big vehicles.

For the most part, the Long Run portion of the run went really well:

Mile 1 - 8:50
Mile 2 - 8:39
Mile 3 - 8:40
Mile 4 - 8:35
Mile 5 - 8:39
Mile 6 - 8:54
Mile 7 - 8:47
Mile 8 - 8:25
Mile 9 - 8:30
Mile 10 - 9:03
Mile 11 - 8:33
Mile 12 - 8:56

The first 10 miles felt especially good. Got a little fast on miles 8 and 9 and then slowed down a hair too much on mile 10, but it was largely a comfortable and steady run.

The Tempo portion was a slightly different story:

Mile 13 - 7:41
Mile 14 - 8:15
Mile 15 - 8:29
Mile 16 - 8:22

One mile too fast, one just within range and two too slow. Not much I can say much about it, really. I ran my butt off and it just didn't quite work out.

All in all, I'm really happy with this run and, with the race less than five weeks away, I feel really good about where I'm at mentally and physically. There's still a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to it.

Today's Run: 16 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:35/mile
Time: 2:17:20
Miles This Week: 37.5 (plus 6-7 on the treadmill)
Miles This Year: 398

 

[ZellyB]

Well done!! Doing those 4 miles of Tempo running after a 12 mile run seems pretty awesome to me!

 

[lhermiston]

Well done!! Doing those 4 miles of Tempo running after a 12 mile run seems pretty awesome to me!

Thanks!

 

[SarahDisney]

Great job on the run! That long run part was fantastic, and even though the tempo wasn't perfect, it's still pretty great. Sounds like you're in great shape for the race!

 

[lhermiston]

Great job on the run! That long run part was fantastic, and even though the tempo wasn't perfect, it's still pretty great. Sounds like you're in great shape for the race!

Thanks! I sure hope so!

 

[lhermiston]

After a solid long run on Sunday, it was time to turn up the heat today with some .... T TIME!!!! (Trademark pending)

Today's workout called for a 2-mile warmup, followed by 2x2.5 @ T (7:35/mile), a 3-minute resting interval and then ending with a 1-mile cool down. Slight modifications: I cut the warmup and cool down in half and basically took a breather for my 3-minute RI so I could kept better track of my pace.

Not-so-slight, unintentional modification: I completely blew the paces.

So, T is probably the hardest pace for me to get a feel for. It doesn't come up often, when it does I don't have a ton of miles to work with and, really, on paper it looks like this unobtainable goal. I never think I'm going to be fast enough to hit 7:35, let alone maintain it. So what happens is what happened tonight, I go too darn fast out of the gate and then have a hard time correcting.

T-mile 1: 6:48. Strava logged two times, actually, and is showing 6:48 and 6:45. The 6:45 is apparently a PR. Ooops. Time to slowdown.
T-mile 2: 7:13. So, I was pretty successful in slowing down, which was good, but not quite good enough.
T-mile 3: 7:19. Little better, still too fast despite being a bit of a climb. This was broken up by my 3-minute walk/breather.
T-mile 4: 7:27. Hey! Just barely within range.
T-mile 5: 7:28. See above.

So, neither of my 2.5-mile segments were within range. The second just barely missed out. Now we have ourselves a little good news/bad news situation. Bad news: unless I'm missing something, that was my last shot at doing a T workout during this training period. Good news: I still have some Tempo workouts and I think I have a better feel for those.

Today's Distance: 6.5 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:48/mile
Time: 50:48

 

[DopeyBadger]

Ask yourself, did that feel like 3k-5k pace? I think it would be wise to take tomorrow's 6 mile EA VERY easy. Like super slow. Don't want this run to start building a trap with 5 weeks to go so let's nip it in the bud now.

 

[lhermiston]

Ask yourself, did that feel like 3k-5k pace? I think it would be wise to take tomorrow's 6 mile EA VERY easy. Like super slow. Don't want this run to start building a trap with 5 weeks to go so let's nip it in the bud now.

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

 

[lhermiston]

On Coach DopeyBadger's orders, I took it easy tonight. 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile). My actual run was even slower. Splits ranged between 9:56 and 10:07. Everything felt good. Nothing much else to report, really.

Today's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 10:00/mile
Time: 1:00:01

 

[lhermiston]

No workout scheduled for today, just posting because my race is in exactly ONE MONTH.

Thirty days separate me from marathon #3. Before then, I'll also be signing up for the Dopey Challenge. That's a lot of running to think about.

Physically, I think I'm feeling good. I've had some discomfort in my left shoulder for a week or so now and a little pain in my left elbow today. Nothing that appears to have an effect on my running. Legs feel good and fairly fresh. Shoes don't have too many miles on them yet and will be fine on race day.

At this point before my first marathon, I'd had X-rays on my knee and was either doing or at least signed up for physical therapy. Two weeks before that race, I turned down a cortisone shot in my knee. At this point before marathon #2, I was probably skipping runs due to the pain in my foot (the beginnings of, if not a legitimate stress fracture, I suspect). I went into that race undertrained, in my opinion.

So yeah, physically, I think I'm good. There's nothing that DopeyBadger is going to throw at me in the next four weeks that I can't handle. If I stick to my prescribed paces, I believe everything will be fine.

Mentally ... yeah, I think I've got this. I've completed two marathons, so I know I can handle the distance. There's no question about that. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself too much and think about questions that I won't be able to answer until race day: What pace will I stick with? Will the hills be bad? Will I PR this race? There's really no sense in worry about that too much at this point - sort of like worrying about WDW marathon weekend weather in November - but it's hard to stop my mind from wandering there.

This is also completely different training from what I've done in the past. I trust the training. I trust DB's plan. I've seen the results in others on these forums and I know it works. There is still a little voice in the back of my head, at times. What if you're the one person who doesn't pull this off? What if you hit the wall at the halfway point again? What if you can't stick to the plan? What if, what if, what if...

Like I said, I trust the plan, but do I trust myself to execute it? Mostly, yeah. But self-doubt is a pain in the backside sometimes.

So, mentally, I'd say I'm at about 90 percent. I've done the work. I've put in the time. I've (mostly) stuck to the plan. There's no predictable reason I can't pull this off. And there's really no sense in fretting over the unpredictable.

In conclusion ... I've got this.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Best advice I can give you is to:



Work on the mental game now of "letting it go". A marathon is a long distance and many things will be thrown at you during the race. It's important to figure out now what your motivations will be to continue pushing forward when it gets tough. I'm a strong believer in the Psychobiological Model of Endurance with it's basis in the Motivational Intensity Theory. Keep the motivation high and you will succeed. So what motivates you?