You must be swift as the coursing river (as long as it's the Lazy River) - comments welcome

[avondale]

Sorry to hear you were sick this week! Hopefully you are over it now. One week of lighter activity won't derail your training.

 

[LSUlakes]

I went to bed feeling perfectly normal and woke up with a stomach bug. I spent most of the day sleeping when not communing with my toilet.

My buddy had the same thing last week. Must be something going around on a large scale. Typically stomach bugs are more of a local / reginal level. It was 2-3 days for him. Hope your back to 100% soon and good luck with the rest of your training for the MCM!!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

August 18 - 24, 2025
Marathon training week 7 | 63 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which I never really liked those quads anyway

Monday
off

Since I didn't do any exercise, I have no notes and therefore no idea what happened.

Tuesday
Easy/hill strides: 6.3 miles (9:51), avg. HR 150, max 181, 90% Z1-2, T+D~130
Upper body strength

Not a bad run. The temperature cooled off quite a bit Monday evening, so it was a lot more pleasant than last week. I was feeling a little tired still but pretty much normal.

Wednesday
Workout: 6 x 5 min M/3 min T/1 min CV/2 min + 6 x 30s hard/90s
12 miles, avg. HR 165, max 186, T+D~140
Lower body strength




I decided to move things around a bit and do some progression intervals instead of my planned workout. I wanted to feel a little more prepared going into a time trial. This one seemed like a similar amount of work without any particular performance pressure.

Because I moved the workout from week 10 to week 7, I figured I could just do 5 reps if necessary. But when I finished rep 5, I felt like 6 would be tough but doable. I decided it was a good time for a little supercompensation, so I went for it. And it was fine.

Looking back at the lap splits, the M efforts are pretty consistent, T is a little less consistent but okay, and then CV is all over the place. I think this last might just be measurement error; I'm pretty sure I was at least faster than the T portions.

Thursday
Recovery: 6.4 miles (10:28), avg. HR 141, max 154, 100% Z1-2, T+D~125

My legs were tired. Go figure. The weather was pretty decent, though.

Friday
Easy/strides: 6.8 miles (9:36), avg. HR 155, max 186, 75% Z1-2, T+D~135
Core

I was pokey getting out and then ran a little too hard once I got there. Also I did the strides kind of in the middle of the run, which did not help with keeping my HR down.

Saturday
No downhill left behind: 12.1 miles (9:56), avg. HR 159, max 180, T+D~130-135
PT exercises

No Downhill Left Behind is like No Uphill Left Behind but backwards. You would think that would make it more fun, but it mostly just makes it harder. Running uphill is kind of hard no matter what pace you're going, and then you're also working on the downhills, so it's basically all kind of hard.

Why do it if it's so much harder? I think one reason my legs got tired so early at MCM last year was because of the early downhills. In theory, it only takes a few hard downhill workouts to build up resilience in your muscles, so that's what I'm trying to do here. I plan to do a couple more of these before the race. They have to be in weeks where I don't have a long run workout, though, because that would definitely be too much "hard" for one week.

Anyway, I ended up with an average pace of about 10 min/mile, but the spread was ridiculous. I was going about 6-7 min/mile on the downhills and 12-13 on the uphills. It didn't help that I started out not feeling great - even those 12-13 min miles were pushing over the edge of Z2 at times. I was thinking I might do some hill strides at the end, but my legs were dead.


See what I mean?

I did manage to struggle through my PT exercises later, but I did a little less than usual and mostly bodyweight.

Sunday
Long: 18.1 miles (10:04), avg. HR 152, max 161, 98% Z1-2, T+D~135-140

I actually think that went pretty well considering I trashed my legs on Saturday. Did it feel good? No. I definitely struggled the last few miles in particular. But I did it, and it even stayed mostly easy (at least aerobically) except for a couple of hills.

This run brought to you by lots of carbs (261g) and a couple of stops to refill my soft flasks.

Totals
Running: 10h 3m, 61.9 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 42m
Total: 11h 45m


I think this is my highest-mileage week yet? (Not counting the week I ran Monday to Sunday because of a tune-up race.) I ran 30 miles in the last two days. It's good that the weather was cooler or I would not have made it.

Coming up


I have a lighter mid-week workout (hills are never easy, but we're talking like 15 minutes of hard work here) and then a monster long run workout. I am not actually sure this is possible - I might end up shortening the last rep out of necessity. But we'll see how it goes. At least the weather should still be pretty good!

 

[avondale]

Gotta love this cooler bout of weather we've been getting!

In theory, it only takes a few hard downhill workouts to build up resilience in your muscles, so that's what I'm trying to do here.

I know that this is something to work on. I did some downhill speed work a couple years ago...it was REALLY hard on my knees, especially on pavement, and I pulled the plug on doing them sooner than planned. Maybe my grade was too much. Just a thought.


That's a lot of miles this week!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I know that this is something to work on. I did some downhill speed work a couple years ago...it was REALLY hard on my knees, especially on pavement, and I pulled the plug on doing them sooner than planned. Maybe my grade was too much. Just a thought.

Oh yeah, downhill work would be really rough on any joint issues.

These hills are probably about a 4-6% grade, so nothing too crazy.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

August 25 - 31, 2025
Marathon training week 8 | 56 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which the continued perfect weather in August seems suspicious

Monday
Yoga

I'm sure it was fine.

Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.1 miles (9:39), avg. HR 152, max 186, 84% Z1-2, T+D~120
Upper body strength

The weather was nice, but my legs felt heavy. Actually I just felt heavy generally. Probably leftover fatigue from a big week last week and especially last weekend.

Wednesday
Workout: 12 11? x hill repeats + 1.9 miles steady
7.9 miles, avg. HR 154, max 185, T+D~115
Lower body strength




Hill repeats are the worst.

Sandbags: While the weather was still nice, my legs, and the rest of me, were also still tired. My problem tendons were also quite cranky when I started, though they did loosen up.

I put 12 reps in the schedule because apparently I hate myself. I wanted to quit after 6. (Well, I wanted to quit 10 seconds into the first one, but by 6, my legs were also dying.) I forced myself to do four more, which turned out to be five more because apparently I had trouble pushing the lap button. After 10 (which was actually 11 but I didn't know that at the time), I was done. I did a pathetic steady run most of the way back and then jogged it in once I got to the narrow sidewalks. Fun, fun times.

Thursday
Recovery: 6.1 miles (10:28), avg. HR 143, max 160, 99% Z1-2, T+D~120

My tendons were okay. My right quad was a bit sore, but my left quad was not, which seemed a little odd, but whatever. Overall, the run went fine, but my legs were feeling heavy starting about halfway through. Someday I am going to get my iron tested...

Friday
Easy/strides: 6.7 miles (9:43), avg. HR 148, max 177, 92% Z1-2, T+D~120
Core

Consistently nice weather in August feels like a trap somehow. Does this mean September is going to be really hot again?

Saturday
No uphill left behind: 11.9 miles (9:39 | 9:21 GAP), avg. HR 150, max 174, T+D~120-130
PT exercises

I was originally thinking I'd do a progression for my medium-long adventure, but then I remembered that Sunday's workout was going to be really hard, so I decided to do No Uphill Left Behind instead. It's not really easier in the moment, but it probably does less muscle damage.

I actually felt pretty good for the most part. Possibly this was just in comparison with No Downhill Left Behind last week. I did a few hill strides at the end.

Sunday
Long: 3 x 3 miles HM/2 min
14.4 miles, avg. HR 162, max 180, T+D~110-120



Still weirdly nice out, and despite my earlier trepidation, this workout actually felt doable. Not easy, but I also didn't feel like I was dying. My guess is that when I was running at HM pace previously, the effort was higher, so at HM effort, even with more volume, it's feasible. And the reps got faster throughout the workout, so that's good. Though I'm kind of hoping this is more like M pace when race day comes around, so...you win some, you lose some.

Also possible that the caffeine from my first gel kicked in during rep 2/3 and that's why I got faster. That and 185g of carbs in two hours will get you places.

Totals
Running: 8h 33m, 54.2 miles
Strength/mobility: 2h 18m
Total: 10h 52m


Halfway through the program, I feel like it's finally starting to come together. (This may also be the improved conditions, though.) Let's hope things continue to gel. And no further injuries/illnesses, universe!

Coming up

More hills! Yay....

All this hill work better be accomplishing something. Lord knows I'm not doing it for fun.

 

[avondale]

In which the continued perfect weather in August seems suspicious

Agreed...I'm waiting for the other weather-related shoe to drop because this has seemed too good to be true.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

September 1 - 7, 2025
Marathon training week 9 | 49 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which there's one day of hot weather again and I'm a mess

Monday
off

I was going to do yoga. But then. I didn't.

Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.2 miles (9:36), avg. HR 156, max 183, T+D~125
Upper body strength

I don't know why that was so hard. It was weird.

Wednesday
Workout: 3 x M/T/M hills + 4 x 30s hills
13.5 miles, avg. HR 162, max 183, T+D~120-130
Lower body strength



I felt okay, but I was kind of hoping that my paces would have improved, and it doesn't really seem like they did.

I did hill strides at the end but forgot to lap my watch (because I don't normally track strides unless it's part of a workout). But you can see them - they're the little teeth in the cooldown.

Thursday
Recovery: 5.8 miles (10:46), avg. HR 141, max 159, 99% Z1-2, T+D~130

Recovery runs kind of suck.

Friday
Easy/strides: 7.1 miles (9:29), avg. HR 151, max 185, 84% Z1-2, T+D~135
Core

I felt better. Except for my ankle, which was rather stiff, and my knee, which decided to start cracking itself every other step from about mile 4-5. It was not exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. And it felt really weird.

Saturday
Easy/pickup: 12.9 miles, avg. HR 158, max 187, T+D~145-150
PT exercises



That could have gone better. I picked up the pace when I turned around, and I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles of that, but then I crashed straight through my lactate threshold (oops) and had to slow down early so I didn't do too much work going into my long run. Also it got hot again, which did not help with the effort level. The good news is, my knee got over whatever was going on the day before.

I had plenty of fuel but I think not enough hydration. I thought about stopping at the water fountain, but there was a line and I didn't want to wait. And then I felt mildly crappy for several hours afterwards, so waiting probably would have been worth it.

Sunday
Long: 18.6 miles (9:40), avg. HR 149, max 165, 97% Z1-2, T+D~120

The weather had improved greatly from Saturday, by which I mean it was like 60, overcast, and raining lightly for the first hour or so. As non-runners generally don't consider this ideal weather, I also got a bonus of less-crowded trails. Winning all around.

I'm noticing a pattern in my fatigued long runs. For the first 5 or 6 miles, my legs are like, "nope nope nope nope nope." Then they apparently realize that no, we are not stopping, at which point they go "FINE" and work normally again. (On reflection, this may also be when the caffeine starts to hit. )


Behold, the slowest miles are all at the beginning.

As on Saturday, I didn't really want to stop to refill my water (because I wasn't sure my legs would work when I started running again). But I decided to pretend I learned something yesterday and got my refill. And because I guess no good deed goes unpunished, I accidentally hit Stop instead of Pause on my watch. Fortunately I still remembered how to combine GPX files from the last time I did this, so here we are, still with one run in Strava.

Anyway, my legs were a little wobbly at first but did manage to figure out how to run again. In fact, even by the end, my legs felt only mostly dead. (And mostly dead is still slightly alive.)

I'm going to take this as a sign that I am ready to cover the marathon distance. Whether I can do it well is another question, but I still have seven more weeks to get there.

Totals
Running: 10h 25m, 65.1 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 56m
Total: 12h 22m


This is why I can only do one marathon a year at most. There's no way I could do this year-round.

Coming up

Oh look, it's race week.

I am running the DC Half for the...fourth time? I think. Since I am in the middle of marathon training, I have no idea what will happen. It could be great (lots of aerobic capacity!) or it could be a total disaster (lots of fatigue!). A PR seems unlikely. But I ran 13.1 miles in like 1:48 during my workout last Sunday, and you would think I'd be faster than that. So...somewhere between 1:33 and 1:48.

Since it's a mid-block race, I am doing a two-day taper leading up to it, meaning I'll take Friday off and do a shakeout on Saturday instead of a medium-long run. Hopefully this will counteract some of the fatigue, but again, you just never know with B races, especially in a marathon block. I have no expectations.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Re: iron testing.

We got DS2's iron tested last year to see if there was a medical cause behind his sluggish looking (and feeling) XC race times. We paid out of pocket for it (because his ped. didn't want to order the test the previous year when we asked about it so we could know what his .baseline was to be able to support it if he was low-normal) at a walk-in blood testing place. It took about 10min and we had the results the next day or the day after. If you even think that it might be low, just get it tested because a) you are running a ton of miles and b) I'm assuming you are a menstruating person. Which means you are at risk of having low iron/ferritin serum.

 

[avondale]

Good luck in the HM! Fortunately it looks like the cooler-than-normal weather is going to continue.

Agree with @Herding_Cats on the iron. Get the hemoglobin, iron serum, iron saturation, and ferritin levels checked because it's possible the hemoglobin is normal (what is usually checked, I think) and the others are low, which is still a problem. I've had anemia problems in the past - about a year after I started running, and I didn't put on nearly the miles you do.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Good luck in the HM! Fortunately it looks like the cooler-than-normal weather is going to continue.

Thanks! Happy about the forecast for sure.

Re: iron testing.

We got DS2's iron tested last year to see if there was a medical cause behind his sluggish looking (and feeling) XC race times. We paid out of pocket for it (because his ped. didn't want to order the test the previous year when we asked about it so we could know what his .baseline was to be able to support it if he was low-normal) at a walk-in blood testing place. It took about 10min and we had the results the next day or the day after. If you even think that it might be low, just get it tested because a) you are running a ton of miles and b) I'm assuming you are a menstruating person. Which means you are at risk of having low iron/ferritin serum.

Agree with @Herding_Cats on the iron. Get the hemoglobin, iron serum, iron saturation, and ferritin levels checked because it's possible the hemoglobin is normal (what is usually checked, I think) and the others are low, which is still a problem. I've had anemia problems in the past - about a year after I started running, and I didn't put on nearly the miles you do.

Yeah, I'm going to try to get it done this week I think. I wish doctors would just include this as a regular part of blood work for runners, but last year mine didn't do any kind of measure of iron, and I didn't know I had to ask for it.