Marathon - Week 9

WINNER - MAYNARD HURRICANE HALF MARATHON!

Place    Name           City         Bib No  Age Gend Time      Pace  
1        BRIAN BENTO    MAYNARD  MA  1       29  M    1:34:26   7:12/M

[Please ignore that there was only one entrant into the race]

Irene threw a wrinkle into my week as the hurricane caused my half marathon to be cancelled.  In retrospect, probably a good thing because running in a 30mph headwind could have been problematic.

I decided to run a time trial instead on Saturday to see how I may have faired in the race.  I am very happy with my performance as I ran a 1:34, which would have met both my sub-1:40 and sub-1:35 goals!  I have never run that fast for that long before and towards the end it was starting to get pretty painful as I started getting cramps and side stitches, but I got through it.  I realize I do have quite a bit of work to do in order to get to the sub-1:30 mark but it is possible.  The race predictors now say I would be on pace to run a 3:20 marathon which I think I would be ecstatic about for my first ever as it would put me within 20 minutes of qualifying for Boston.

Since this was my down week I figured I would try and start doing some trail miles as it is supposed to ease up some of the pounding your legs take.  I ran two of my 6M runs over in the Assabett Valley Wildlife Refuge which was a nice change of scenario and it shaded me from some of the harsh sun and heat. I am going to try and continue running some more on the trails because it also saves me from the stupidity that are Mass-hole drivers.  I have had far too many encounters with the hoods and bumpers of cars as of recent as people can't seem to understand that they need to look both ways when making right turns as people can be on the side walk. And to the 80+ year old, douche bag driving the Aqua 1980s Toyota Corrolla, if I wanted to try the hurdles I'd do it on the track not over your f***ing hood.

As for the training week, it was a nice down week, my legs were very heavy most of the week and only really started to recuperate towards the end of the week. Here is to hoping my legs got enough rest for next weeks return to a real training load otherwise I might be nearing the edge of over-training.

Weekly Total: 51 miles.

Monday:		50 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		Intervals 2x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 7 miles.
Wednesday:		42 minutes @ 7:00 pace. 6 miles.
Thursday:		76 minutes easy. 10 miles.
Friday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday:		HM Time Trial 1:34:07 + C/D. 16 miles
Sunday:		Rest

Marathon - Week 8

If you had told me in May when I was working hard to get ready for my first half marathon struggling to make it to 30+ miles a week, that in 3 months I would run a 70+ mile week I would have told you that you were crazy.  Now instead my wife is the one that is telling me I am crazy!...Unfortunately she may be right because I think you have to be just a little off to want to run a marathon.

I have read on forums about 70 miles being the magic number where your body truly starts to respond to the stimulus of distance running and I can say for sure that it certainly does.  My legs are completely wiped this week and I am just thankful that it is a rest week.  In terms of adding mileage, I added an extra speed interval on Tuesday which really did a number on my legs and left me looking like I jumped in a pool when I got off the treadmill.  I also added an extra 2 miles to a recovery run so now I don't run less than 6 miles in any one run.  I definitely noticed some heaviness in my legs on my tempo run and it was humid so I had to pull back to 7:15 minute/miles but I continued that pace in the afternoon recovery run to make up for it.

I am really looking forward to the rest this week and my half marathon in Springfield this weekend.  Colin and Tina will be joining me and it will be Colin's first night sleeping away from home so hopefully all goes well!  As usual I have multiple goals going into the race, in this case the most feasible is breaking the sub-1:40 mark, the other two, sub-1:30 & sub-1:35, are going to be entire dependent on how much I can recover from this hard week of running.  I am hoping that after a little rest this week and the use of my trusty energy Gu that I'll be able to match my sub-7:00 minute/miles from my training tempo runs and break the 1:30 mark. If I do it will be a pretty big milestone on my way to my ultimate goal of qualifying for the Boston marathon, something I still wonder if I am physically capable of.

Weekly Total: 70.5 miles.

Monday:		47 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 10 miles. PM: 47 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		49 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 65 minutes threshold @ 7:14 pace. 9 miles. PM: 45 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:50 pace. 21.5 miles.

Marathon - Week 7

Another 60+ mile week and my legs are holding up pretty well.  I have 1 more week after this one before my step back week so hopefully my legs will hold up and I won't get injured as I have really jumped the mileage up quickly.  After my stepback I am jumping up to 70 miles a week for 4 weeks before tapering for my marathon. I have re-evaluated my goal for the marathon though as qualifying for Boston my first time out is pretty much out of the question.  I can hold a really great pace in the 7:30-7:40 range on my longs up until about mile 18 or 19 when I hit a wall. It may be because I don't take another Gu (only taking one at mile 7 and 14) but there is no way I could run the 6:55 pace even with a taper.  I do still plan on trying to get close but if I had to guess its unrealistic for me to finish in under 3:20:00, but I will give it my best shot. I would just have to shave 20 minutes off my time.

So one of the ways I have been staying healthy is with some new recovery compression socks from SmartWool.  They make it much easier to get those 2nd runs in on the double days because my legs recover much quicker.  The only drawback was the initial backlash from Tina asking why the hell I spent $30 on a pair of socks from Socks.com.  All I have to say is that if you are running a lot I highly recommend them. The only word of advice though, is don't wear them during the day to work with dress pants as it looks pretty funny when you look down in a meeting and can see grey and blue socks with black dress pants.

I ended up moving my long run to Friday this week because of plans we had this weekend and we ended up going to the Southwick zoo with Colin, Elliott and Casey.  My legs were pretty wiped from the run and I wished I was the one in the stroller for half the trip but I made it through it and Colin seemed to have a great time and even wanted to go into the cage with the tigers.

The highlight of my training week definitely was the sick threshold run I threw down on Sunday.  I nearly ran in the 6s for it but came in right at 7:00s flat.  My fastest miles in it were the first 3 and the last one at 6:30, 6:42, 6:50, 6:50, respectively.  I need to keep improving my speed especially if I want to run some fast times in the 5Ks and 10Ks I have scheduled for this Fall.

Weekly Total: 65.5 miles.

Monday:		51 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 2x[800@6:50; 400@6:30; 400@6:00; 1200@7:00]. 7 miles. PM: 46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		Rest
Friday:		Long Run @ 7:50 pace. 21.5 miles.
Saturday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Sunday:		AM: 63 minutes threshold @ 7:00 pace. 9 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.

Marathon - Week 6

This weeks training update comes from San Francisco, CA, which is where I was away on business all week.

Coming off a hard week last week I was a little concerned about how my body would respond but go figure, I pumped out my first 60+ mile week and another 20+ mile long.

The highlight of the week was running with my boss in the Presidio of San Francisco which is a park that encompasses the Golden Gate Bridge.  We ran a 7 mile easy run that included a small section of dodging cars on Rt. 101 (oops, I think we took a wrong turn at Alburqurque). I have never run with anyone else before so it was an interesting experience but I found it great to have someone to force me to run my recovery slower than usual as it left my legs feeling refreshed.  Also, we both had a chuckle when we passed a lady on a bike, seriously I am not sure how she was able to even stay upright on the bike at that speed.

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful other than the freezing cold mornings, which I wasn't prepared for. However, the cooler temperature and flat terrain made the training runs much easier on the legs than my normal hilly routes in humid conditions.

I had been planning on bumping up my mileage consistently for 3-4 weeks then cutting back before I make my second push but I am already at the next plateau so instead I am going to try and hold steady in the 60-65 range for a few weeks.

I am still trying to decide if I am going to run the Springfield Half Marathon as a tune-up race for my fall marathon so stay tuned for more info.

Weekly Total: 62 miles.

Monday:		56 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 2x[800@7:00; 400@6:30; 400@6:00; 1200@7:13]. 7 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Wednesday:		32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 64 minutes threshold @ 7:02 pace. 9 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Friday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:55 pace. 21 miles.

Marathon - Week 5

This has been an interesting week of running as it included everything from running in the pouring rain (twice) to running in 80 degree/80% humidity to running in 60 degree cold weather.  You have to love New England!

After my down week I was really looking forward to getting back to a hard week of workouts. This week was full of firsts for me, my first 20+ mile run and my first 50+ mile week.  I actually didn't find the afternoon run too bad actually, it was the run the next morning that was rough!

I do have to say thanks to the folks on Heritage Lane for the use of their sprinklers every weekend. It serves as a nice way for me to cool down at the 10 mile mark. I am just glad I can count on them to water their lawns rain or shine and regardless of the current town water ban.

Stay tuned for my update next week on my adventures in San Francisco.

Weekly Total: 52.25 miles.

Monday:		45 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 2x[800@7:00; 400@6:30; 400@6:00; 1200@7:13]. 7 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4.25 miles.
Wednesday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		Rest
Friday:		64 minutes threshold @ 7:13 pace. 9 miles.
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:50 pace. 20 miles.

Marathon - Week 4

This was a nice little rest week for me after bumping my mileage up to 45 mpw for the last 3 weeks. Unfortunately the heat wave forced me onto the treadmill for all but one run this week. It was starting to remind me of my training this winter where I basically ran all of my runs except my long inside.

The treadmill has its perks and drawbacks; from a training perspective its great because I can force a pace and my body can't slow down or slip as easily out of that pace. It is also good for learning to run even pace which is how most coaches recommend you run these days.  The drawback, its boring as boring gets. There is nothing like staring at a blank, brown wall for an hour. At least when I run outside I can sight-see and watch all kinds of different things from the local goat man to other runners to the scenery. I'll be very happy when the heat wave is over so I can get back outdoors.

The only interesting thing I saw all week was a guy who was probably close to 250 pounds hanging with me for nearly an hour run which I found extremely impressive.  He kind of remind me from those guys from World's Strongest Man, but this guy was running at a decent pace. Also, I found out that there are like 3 woman who come in reeking of cigarettes and booze and walk on the treadmill at literally 1 mph pace which is just plain pathetic because I don't even think they break a sweat.

Next week starts the ramp towards 60 mpw and hopefully some pretty significant gains in performance.  I am also starting to run doubles for the first time so my body is going to have to adjust to running twice a day.

Weekly Total: 40 miles.

Monday: 49 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday: 1M w/u & c/d, 10 x hill repeats @ 7.5% grade . 6 miles.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 64 minutes threshold @ 7:13 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 7:49 pace. 13 miles.

1000 Miles!

In case you missed it, I have broken the 1000 miles run mark! I didn't start tracking my miles until October so it probably happened sooner but in just under a year of running I've racked up 1000 miles on these legs.

My goal for 2011 is to run 2000+ miles which should be doable given I have been running between 30 and 50 miles a week and it is only going up.

See you at 2000!