September 4 - 10, 2023
Marathon training week 5 | 7 days until DC Half. 77 days until Space Coast Marathon
In which it is hot
Scheduled
ID: This week's schedule
Actual
Monday
Easy: 5 miles, 56:07 (11:12), max HR 157, avg. 144, 100% Z1-2
I had almost forgotten that it was Labor Day, but the weirdly quiet Monday morning definitely clued me in. It took about a mile to work the fatigue out of my legs, and I still took it super easy for the rest of the run. I think I might adjust my schedule so that Mondays are just 3-4 mile recovery runs, because the last couple of weeks make it seem like that's what I need after my long run (at least while it's this hot out. Recovery might be easier when the weather cools off).
I did do the drills before I started, but I skipped the strides (see above re: fatigue).
Pilates
Tuesday
Fartlek: 8.28 miles, 1:23:59, max HR 185, avg. 161
UGH. So gross. At least past me gave present me a flexible workout. I just did short, fast intervals with fairly long breaks for the most part. It still sucked.
IDs: Workout analysis graph and lap chart
lower body strength
So, so drenched
Wednesday
Easy: 6.28 miles, 1:08:31 (10:54), max HR 166, avg. 151, 99% Z1-2
This heat wave is very unpleasant. I'm always tired. I did okay keeping it easy but should have slowed down more going uphill.
core
mini upper body strength
Somehow I missed adding a mini upper body routine for this week, so I just did one set of ten each for some basics: bicep curl, tricep kickback, overhead press, pullover, chest fly, close row, lateral raise, ventral raise, push-ups.
Thursday
off
I was not mad. It was still hot. I did some yoga in the evening.
Friday
Medium-long: 10.06 miles, 1:50:56 (11:02), max HR 164, avg. 152, 100% Z1-2
It was sunny and steamy and the first few miles were a real struggle for whatever reason. After that I felt a bit better - still slower than normal, but it's been a very hot and humid week so that's not unexpected.
mini lower body strength
Saturday
Easy + strides: 6.27 miles, 1:07:23 (10:43), max HR 172 bpm, avg. 172, 96% Z1-2
I was expecting a nice, quiet Saturday morning run. What I got was a massive running group all around me and a biking event on the road. The running group, in particular, was kind of overwhelming because there were probably 200 of them doing not a very good job sharing a fairly narrow path. I'm all for running groups, but I do wish they would be more considerate in planning and sharing their routes sometimes. I am fine with crowds at races because I am prepared for them, but as I was not at all prepared for these people, I was starting to feel pretty claustrophobic.
Anyway, on the bright side, I happened to see
@striker1064 (or more accurately, he saw me, since I never look closely at people when I'm running), and we said a quick hello. He did know about the cyclists, who were apparently participating in an annual event, but neither of us had a clue about the runners. I peeled off a little after that to try to escape the crowds, which worked until it didn't, and eventually
@striker1064 passed me again as I turned to head back home. So that was kind of a weird run, but at least there were some positives!
upper body strength
The one-side-at-a-time format is interesting and different, but the timed intervals weren't really working for me so I just did 10-12 per set and then stopped.
Sunday
Long: 15.12 miles, 2:38:46 (10:30), max HR 167, avg. 152, 99% Z1-2
It was nice to have some cloud cover, even if it was still moderately warm and humid. There were even some sprinkles, which I appreciated. I felt okay on this run, but my legs got pretty tired, especially around mile 9-13. I kind of just wanted to be done then but all my long runs are straight out and back so I would not have gotten home any faster if I'd stopped. Hopefully I have sufficient endurance for next week's HM.
I have been trying different, non-gel types of fuel lately. For this run I did a GU first, then some Honey Stinger chews. I don't hate them, but I do find the ones I've tried so far a little sickly sweet. Then I tried a Lara bar, which was almost bland after the Honey Stingers. It was a nice change and I didn't have any issues, so I will keep trying those. I think they would be good marathon fuel because they're less sweet and they have some protein as well as carbs.
Fueling question: (most) gels require water to metabolize. Is that a gels-only thing, or do you need plain water for actual food too? Trying to figure out what liquid I should carry at races, water or Skratch.
Totals
Running distance: 51.04 miles
Running time: 9h 5m
Strength/mobility: 1h 58m
Total time: 11h 4m
ID: Strava weekly training log
AKA what happens when you're running a lot of miles extra slowly because it's ridiculously hot.
Coming up
ID: Next week's schedule
Race week! I've got a bit of a taper, and I did adjust to give myself an easier Monday, but it's not as much of a taper as I would have given myself for an A race. I've done some HM-pace work in the early weeks of this block, but again, it hasn't been the focus, and we're only 5 weeks in. So I definitely won't be at my peak HM fitness. Still, my fitness in general is a lot better than last year, and the preliminary forecast is looking pretty decent. So I feel pretty certain that I can beat my PR from the same race last year (1:52:51) and reasonably confident about a sub-1:50. Beyond that, we'll see what happens.
More than time, though, I'm treating this event as racing practice for the marathon. I really want to go out conservatively on purpose (not just because the start is crowded) as I have a tendency to start off too fast. So I plan to start out around 8:25-8:30 for the first couple of miles and gradually bring it down from there. My HM pace for training purposes has been 8:11, so I feel like that's a decent starting point. I guess I'll find out on Sunday.
Thanks!
, it was a good run despite the humidity.
hope the weather stays cooler for your race
