Sunday, January 18, 2009

Boston Marathon Training Update - Week 6

For those who didn’t catch the Millrose Games on TV, both Bernard Lagat and Kara Goucher won their respected mile events. Kara won her event pretty handedly while Bernard used his powerful late kick to win his race in the last lap. (You can read a short recap in Runners’ World.) Both of them looked so fast and majestic on TV that I could hardly believe they were the same people I was chatting with just a day ago. Wow. I would’ve thought that just by hanging with them for a little while on Thursday night, some of their speed, wisdom, and strength would have naturally passed onto me, propelling me to an awesome weekend of running. Ummm…apparently, not so much.

Week #6 (1/26-2/1)

What I Planned:

Interval Training: 6 total miles with 3 x 1 mile repeats at 6:04 pace
Recovery Run: 5 miles at easy pace
General Aerobic Run: 6 miles at 7:15 pace
Weekend Long Run: 16 miles at long run pace
Recovery Run: 4 miles at easy pace
Total week 6 distance: 37 miles

What I Ran:

Interval Training Run: 5.5 total miles with 3 x 1 miles (5:55/5:59/6:04)
General Aerobic Treadmill Run: 6.5 miles at 7:02 pace
Recovery Run: 2.2 miles at 7:07 pace
General Aerobic Run: 6.1 miles at 6:57 pace
Weekend Long Run: 14.1 miles at 7:31 pace
*Make-Up Short Run: 2.3 miles at 7:21 pace
Total week 6 distance: 36.9 miles; avg pace – 7:12 min/mi

How I Ran:

As you can see, my running this week was pretty haphazard and random. I ran shorter than expected on a number of runs and even had to put in a “makeup” run this weekend. In total I ran on five days for the past week which was a bit more than I’m used to. My mileage is up a bit, which didn’t have any discernable effects in the beginning of the week, but by the end of the week, I was sore and slowing down. My long run this weekend was also sataboged by the Flyers Awards Gala which had an open bar and lots of drinking and merrymaking. By the time I woke up this morning, I had a splitting heachache and thought about ditching the run. But then I thought about Bernard and Kara’s performance two days prior and make it a point to get as many miles done as possible. I ended the trip with 14 miles. Not only was it a couple miles short of my goal, but the pace was much slower too. In fact, the average pace this week was the slowest of this marathon training season for me. That’s alright. I know I must take one step back in order to move two steps ahead. We’ll try to do better next week.

16 comments:

Andrew is getting fit said...

I'd rather blame it on the boogie!

Aron said...

awesome job on the week!! new running gear always makes me very excited to get out there :)

Anonymous said...

Great job on the shopping :-D.
Good luck on the half marathon next week.

Running and living said...

Awsome job! For me winter running is all about gear. I have thermal tights that keep me warm even in the coldest days, 2 pairs of gloves and 2 hats. Not the most attractive outfit but it keeps me warm.
Ana-Maria

Anonymous said...

I think new running gear is one of the best motivators around :)

joyRuN said...

I'm the same way - I'd rather haunt the sporting goods section than anything else when it's shopping time. I guess that explains my pathetic wardrobe ;)

Meg said...

Yay for new running gear! Great job squeezing out the extra miles.

J said...

I have a hard time with the slow runs too but they definitely help. Good luck with those and enjoy the new clothes!

nwgdc said...

Mehhh--If you feel good running fast, run fast! Perhaps you're simply in better shape now and your recovery runs can be clipped off at a better pace. I'd be interested to see what your HR is on the recovery runs now.

C said...

If only I had one tenth your enthusiasm for running in this weather. And my weather is not as bad as yours. So sad...

Julianne said...

Yay for week 3!! I love shopping for running gear. I get all excited to wear it out and stuff. :-)

Anonymous said...

Winter gear rocks! It's good to hear that you found some new stuff that will help you battle the elements. Also, good job on the extra miles. It's always a good sign when you find yourself wanting to run more than the training schedule...

audgepodge said...

Wow - good job with fighting the cold weather! You guys are so hard core out there. And I also love getting new running gear - definitely makes me more excited to get out there.

Anonymous said...

Awesome week. Adding new gear always helps in the motivation department.

Nitmos said...

You picked a nice harsh winter to train for your first Boston, didn't you? You should be well prepared once the warmer days hit.

sRod said...

I don't understand the running longer bit--especially on the treadmill. I mean during a treadmill tempo run I just can't convince myself to do an extra mile.

 
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