Marathon Training Update: April 8-14

After a great week of training last week, the current week started out well then fizzled a bit toward the end. I could feel fatigue starting to set in – hard training and an insane schedule for me and my wife were taking a toll. Opted to ease off a bit, and I think it was the right choice.

Workout Summary:

Monday: Planned off day.

Tuesday: 4.04 miles at 8:35 pace. Slow and easy was the intent. Nike Free 3.0 v5 on the feet.

Wednesday: 10.05 miles at 7:34 pace. Nailed this one! Two miles warmup, 5 miles at marathon PR pace, one mile at half marathon pace, then threw in a mile at just above 5K pace to finish strong. One mile easy to cool down at the end. Saucony Fastwitch 6 on the feet, impressed by them once again!

Thursday: 4.1 miles at 8:28 pace. Easy run before the track workout for my 5K Yes I Can! group. Probably added another 1.5 walk run miles, but didn’t track them. Nike Free 3.0 v5 on the feet.

Friday: Unplanned off day. Weather was awful (sleet), and I was feeling very fatigued. Decided to skip my 9 miler and sub an easy 5 the next day instead.

Saturday: 5.1 miles at 7:49 pace. Was feeling much better and this was a solid run. Nike Free 3.0 v5 on the feet – really liking the update.

Sunday: 16.51 miles at 8:01 pace, then 2.25 miles walk-jog. Was supposed to do 18 for the long run with a strong finish, but my left soleus started to knot up around mile 9 (in the midst of a dark and windy hail squall, very ominous…), so I cut it short a bit. Plus, I knew I had at least 2 more miles coming with my 5K group. I think I ticked my calf off during an intensive foam rolling session earlier in the week. Still happy with the pace, but once again the weather was miserable – nothing like running in hail! Nike Free 3.0 v5 on the feet, great shoe but not sure it was the best choice for a run of this length over hills. Track run with the 5K group was fantastic, I’m loving co-coaching this group!

Plan for Next Week

I think I’m going to try and move my long run day to Friday this week. My work/5K coaching/running schedule combined with my wife’s Yoga teaching schedule has led to a bit of a revolving door marriage of late – I come home, she goes out, and vice versa. Weekends in particular have been tough, and we are trying to find ways to set aside more family time until things settle down in in June. My goal is to get all of the workouts below in, just need to find the right schedule.

Here’s what Caleb sent along last night:

Step-back week! 40 miles total.

For next week (April  8-14):

• Easy Miles: 7 (would actually recommend 2 shorties instead of a single run, but you can take an extra rest day, too, if you want)

• Strength Routines: Taekwondo

• Workout 1 (Tuesday/Wednesday): 9 miles total. Progressive to ~PR HMP for the first 6 miles, then 3 very easy to cool down.

• Workout 2 (Thursday/Friday): 9 miles total. 2 easy with 5 x 20 seconds strides, then 6 miles @ PR MP, then 1 mile SLOW to cool down

• Long (Saturday/Sunday): 20, very steady easy effort the entire way with fueling on planned marathon schedule

Of all things this week, the long run is the most important. We’re getting down to the point where we want to be absolutely sure the long miles happen so that you will be strong over the final miles in the race 6 weeks from now.

You might also like:

Marathon Training: Final Prep, and a Tough Shoe Choice Marathon Training: Respect the Heat Marathon Training: DNF’ing a Long Run – Is It Sometimes Better To Cut It Short? Marathon Training: Long Run Hydration Marathon Training Update: March 25-31, Do No Harm