Week 12 Review

This was a rest week for me with only a 12 mile long run on the weekend, and against my better judgment I decided to enter a sprint triathlon in Gulf Shores in addition to the run. More on that later.

The weekday treadmill runs were once again easy, despite my relatively high mileage. The pace I'm training at is getting easier and easier to complete, so I'm taking this as a sign that my endurance is improving. Since I no longer feel like I'm dying on the treadmill, I have plenty of time to think about the direction of my training. Of course my plan is to stay the course until the marathon is over, but I've decided that there's some opportunity for speed work in my future and I'm starting to think about time goals for the half marathon distance next season. This is a topic for a future post, but essentially what keeps those long treadmill runs interesting is planning my racing schedule and goals for next year.

On Saturday, I competed in the Coastal tri-it-on in Gulf Shores, AL. It was a super-sprint triathlon with a 300 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and 2 mile run. It was Haley's first triathlon and I wanted to be there to do it with her; plus, it's simply not that hard to convince me to sign up for a tri.

The swim leg was tough. I managed to finish in 8:46, which makes my pace a slow 2:55 per 100 yards. I can blame nature since the waves were fairly rough that morning, but the bottom line is that I'm simply not a strong swimmer. There's a ton of room for improvement here.

The bike leg was better. I finished the 10 miles in 38:42, which puts my average speed at a little over 15 mph. I don't think that's terrible considering that I've barely ridden my bike since marathon training started and I ride a heavy mountain bike. One of my goals for next season is to work on my cycling, and of course get a proper road bike so I don't get completely hosed on the bike leg of every multi-sport event I enter.

I was pleased with my run performance. I left a lot on the course since I didn't want to undermine my long run the next day, but at 20:24 I was throwing down slightly slower than 10 minute miles--after biking 10 miles! I credit that to the running base I've managed to build over the past several weeks, and I'm looking forward to carrying that strength into next season when I don't have a marathon looming over my head to hold me back.

I had a great time Saturday morning, and a short tri was a great diversion from the monotony of marathon training. I love running, and I consider it my strongest sport, but it was nice to branch out for a change. 

I ran my 12 miles in Daphne, AL on Sunday morning. This was by far my easiest 10+ mile run. I started out slow, but by mile 4 I really hit my stride and I went on to finish the final 6 miles over 10 minutes faster than the first 6 miles. That was the first time I finished a long run with negative splits! I was on pace to finish the half marathon distance in around 2:30:00, which would've been over 20 minutes faster than the best 13.1 mile split on previous long runs. I really feel like I had a breakthrough with that run; it was the best I've felt while running, actually.

It'll be back to the grind next week. My weekday mileage is going up again, and I'll have my second longest run of the training program next Saturday, so it's time to focus on the goal after this week's vacation.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

Week 11 Review

I'm surprised at how easy this week was. My weekday treadmill runs went well despite the higher mileage. I remember when 8 miles was a struggle during the early weeks of training, but I cruised through Wednesday's run. The 4 milers on Tuesday and Thursday were over before I knew it and were easier than some 3 milers from 2 months ago. It's hard to see results day to day, but when I look at where I am now compared to when I started, I'm happy with my progress.

My Saturday 16 miler was a morning run in my home town of Port St. Joe. I started out strong and finished my half marathon split a few minutes quicker than my half split from Week 10. As it heated up, I slowed down a fair bit but still managed to finish the run without stopping. For training runs longer than 16 miles I'm planning to execute my race plan of walking for a few seconds at the aid stations, so this was the longest I intend to run in a single stretch during this training cycle.

On a side note, my iPod shuffle decided to quit on me at mile 12. I've found that it's a great mp3 player for running, except that it doesn't respond well to sweat. It's working now, but I need to find a way to keep it dry during my long runs. Any ideas? I'm thinking of picking up an armband for the nano. Whatever I do, I'm not thrilled with the idea of running 26.2 miles without my tunes, so I have to figure out something in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

Week 10 Review

This week was much better than last. I took my weekday runs a bit easier and wasn't quite as sore as last time. I had the last of my 3 mile runs on Tuesday for awhile, so I definitely enjoyed a bit of a rest before pushing into September.

I also took an extra rest day on Saturday and did my 15 miles on Sunday morning. That run was largely uneventful. I ended up running around the Spanish Fort shopping center since Haley needed to study and Starbucks was open at 6:30 when I started. It was a nice run that didn't get too hot as the sun came up, so I was pleased. I probably won't repeat this run since there aren't many safe running roads once you get away from the shopping center, but it wasn't too bad for a single run.

Next week will have me pushing into September, the hardest month of training. I won't get much of a break until it's time to taper in early October before the race.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

Week 9 Review

This was a rest week fail. I was feeling good about running on Wednesday, so I slightly increased my pace over what I usually run. I finished the 7 miles in 1:17:49, which was one of my quicker paces at that distance. I felt fine after the run, but when coupled with my first Thursday 4 miler the next day I was more sore than usual.

On Saturday, I finished my most intense run yet in training. It was only a 10 mile run, but I did it on a hilly road; I'm accustomed to running on level ground. It was much harder than my longer runs the past two weekends. I remained sore until Tuesday, so just when I finally recovered I had to start running again.

I learned a lot from that run, though, and I'm glad I ran hills on a relatively short 10 miler. I found out that running up a steep hill for only a mile or so can take some time to recover from; it really seems to undermine the next few miles. Since the marathon will include two bridges, my race strategy will be to walk to the top and resume running on the downhill side. I think I can make up the time spent walking with fresher legs. 

I'm past the halfway point in training now with only 9 weeks to go! I'm planning to back off the pace a little on my weekday runs this week so as to recover a little more in preparation for 15 miles this coming weekend. I'm starting to flirt with hitting my wall, so it'll be interesting to see what it's like and what I should do to prepare for the race.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

Week 8 Review

My weekday runs were typical treadmill runs. It occurs to me that it's a good sign that I don't have much to say one way or the other about these runs. That tells me that it's now a routine to run during the week. It's just what I do now; I don't sit around thinking up excuses not to run, nor do I need to find new ways to motivate me to put in the miles.

Of course all this running comes at the expense of TV time. By the time I get done with running, dinner, and playing with the dogs, I don't have any time for watching the tube. I'd say it's a worthy tradeoff though. I don't miss it one bit. Of course football season will be different, but if I get my run in before noon I can have it all!

I ran my 13.1 mile long run in PSJ with my sister and her husband. It was our first half marathon, so we were all excited about it. We hit the road on Saturday afternoon, which made for a tough start. The heat was tough on everyone and we all ran slower than usual, finishing in a tick over 3 hours. Despite the difficult running conditions, though, I enjoyed running with them very much and am looking forward to our next long run together.

I'm looking forward to a rest week ahead and the halfway point of marathon training. Only 10 more weeks to go until the big day!

Thanks for reading!

Nick

Week 7 Review

Things started to settle down a little this week. My weekday runs were once again on the treadmill and once again uneventful. The mileage is starting to inch up, though; Wednesday's run was 6 miles. So far I'm having no issues with working these runs into my lifestyle. A 30-60 minute run after work just isn't a big deal anymore.

Saturday's run was my first long run on pavement since I injured myself back in Week 2, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I left the house bright and early to drive to Fairhope, AL, and was laced up and on the road by a little after 6:30. The run took around 2:27:00, so I was slower than I usually run but at least I wasn't too far off my usual pace.

It was nice to see some changing scenery and be around other people working out. There were tons of runners out that morning, and pretty much everyone waved at me. Fairhope has to be one of the friendliest towns I've been to.

I also saw some cyclists leaving about the same time I did, and they returned a few minutes after I finished my run. I figure they must've gone at least 40-50 miles in that time. My goal for next season is to get a road bike and work up to that level of fitness. Cycling just looks plain fun, plus you can see a lot more scenery than runners do.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

Week 6 Review

This was another busy week chock full of treadmill runs, but at least it was a rest week. The weekday runs were largely uneventful again, and at 7 miles my weekend long run isn't much to talk about either.

This was my last week with a sub-10 mile long run and sub-20 mile week for awhile, so I made the most of the down time. I've got a big push ahead with a 12 mile long run this weekend, and a half marathon the following weekend, so I don't want to burn out too early. Play time is over, though; training will have to be a lot more serious going forward.

Thanks for reading.

Nick