Training Log - Week Ending October 27 - 20 Days Till Richmond!

Hello Runners.



I'm back putting together weekly training blogs....



Okay, as of today, 20 days till Richmond Marathon.  My weekly mileage the last 5 weeks has been over 60.  Last week was my highest mileage week at 64, with a 23 miler on Saturday to cap it off.

That 23 miler took a little extra something out of my legs.  Monday's run was shorter than normal and I turned Tuesday's workout into an Easy run with some extended strides.

By Wednesday I was pretty much back on track, running 11 miles for my MLR.  Thursday and Friday were Easy days, then Saturday was my Long Run with 12 miles at MP.



Saturday's long run felt pretty good and manageable.  It was also my first run in Nike Next %, which I will wear for the race.  I'm not going to do a 'shoe review' - but I can say they seem to 'work'.  Not sure how much faster I am, but my calves (in particular) feel less beat up wearing them.  We'll see what this means for miles 22 - 26.2 in Richmond.


Looking back at my training log, I've run at least 18 miles the last 9 Saturday's.  Three of three of those runs were over 20 miles (longest 23) and most had MP miles in them.


The last two LR's were the hardest.  23 miles at 7:22 pace last weekend, and 12 MP miles yesterday.  Both of these runs have also been 'race replication'.  Clothes I plan to wear, hand held water bottle, fueling, etc.  Last week I wore different shoes, but yesterday also included my planned race shoes.



Summary

• Workout:  None.
• Long Run:  18 miles with 12 @ MP.  MP average was 6:45.  I had planned 17 miles with 10 @ MP, but I extended the MP miles since I was feeling so good.  My breathing was completely under control until the last mile or so, and never felt under 'stress'.  The route I take has quite a bit of 'rolling hills', I think that will help plan for the Richmond course.  As of now (Sunday afternoon), I can still 'feel' yesterday LR in my legs, but it's not too bad.
• Mileage Total: 57

Daily Detail: 

• Monday:  6 miles Easy / Recovery.  Legs TIRED
• Tuesday: 8 miles Easy - Extended strides. (Normally "Workout Day")  Legs coming around.
• Wednesday:  11 miles Easy - "Medium Long Run"
• Thursday: 4 miles Recovery.
• Friday: 8 miles Easy / Strides.
• Saturday: 18 miles with 12 @ MP.
• Sunday:  2 mile walk to shake out some of yesterday's LR.

Starting to taper next week (although you could say this week is the start since my mileage dipped below 60).  Mileage will come down some. I'll put a Tuesday workout back in, but lower mileage than prior weeks.  The LR will be about 15 miles.



Onward....

Long Overdue Update

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted here.  I’ve had a number of injuries that kept coming back, and I haven't been able to get a consistent training block for a couple years.

Finally in April I figured out (I think) pre and post run routines (foam rolling / "the stick" calf massage tool / lacross ball rolling / strength work / stretching / etc).  So far, they are working.

On July 4th - after a few consistent months of running and a couple interval sessions I tried a 5k.  Our course, July 4th in the DC area is not the weather to set PR's, but I was able to get within 10 seconds of the same race a few years prior.  So far, so good.

After a month or so of adding weekend long runs to the schedule and I ran the Leesburg 20k in mid-August.  This time I was able to bring down my finish time from three years prior by 2:00.  Feeling good about that one.

And so - I continued on, keeping consistent mileage with Tuesday workouts and Saturday Long Runs.  Overall mileage hovering around 50mpw.  In mid-September I ran the Dulles Airport 10k, run on the runway (so perfectly flat).  This time I ran a PR by around 45 seconds (38:39).  To be fair, this was my first 10k on a decently fast course.  But still, a PR at 52 years old is exciting.

So now - I took a  big leap - I signed up for the Richmond Marathon.  I put together a 12 week plan and starting getting after it.  Four weeks to go, training has been going well.  I've been diligently feeling for a niggles or those "wrong" kind of pains that spell potential trouble.  I've had a few along the way, but I've been able to manage them before they became an issue.

Last weekend I completed my longest run of the build - 23 miles - and I've done quite a bit of work at MP.   I've had 5 or 6 weeks above 60mpw, and pretty soon I'll start the taper.

I plan to start updating here regularly again.  So, check back soon.

Thx for reading - opinions welcome.