Week of 10.20.2014 to 10.26.2014

DAY	TYPE	DISTANCE	COMMENTS
Monday		10 miles
Tuesday	Track	12 miles	3 x 3200 m (10:41, 10:44, 10:42), 2 min rest
Wednesday	Medium	15 miles	1:45:00
Thursday		7 miles	Real easy
Friday	MP Pace	18 miles	11 miles @ MP (1:02:20)
Saturday		10 miles	2 miles AM/ 8 miles PM
Sunday		13 miles
Week Total		85 miles

Wasn't sure how I would rebound from the race. Pleasantly surprised on Tuesday when I actually had to slow down a couple times in the workout. I think Justin was a little more fatigued given that he had a stronger race effort on Sunday.

My parents arrived in town Tuesday night so I had taken the rest of the week off. The Friday workout seemed to weigh on me during the day after my parents left. Paul and Colin joined us for the workout and Justin and I ended up leading almost all of it since the pace felt reasonable. It was a much easier effort than the eight miles we ran weeks before (even with my keys coming loose on my shoe over the last 2-3 miles.) We ran the last mile a bit quick but everything else was right about 5:41 pace.

The weekend was wedding time for Skipper! Didn't get totally sloppy but I didn't really hold back either. Open bar both nights and the wedding was spectacular. I slept in Sunday and grabbed a slow thirteen in the wind. All and all I could have felt worse.

Seaside Half Marathon

Seaside Half Marathon

I met Justin at quarter of six. After picking up his girlfriend Lauren we made the ninety minute drive due East to Seaside, NJ. The race started and ended at a large bar on the boardwalk. It resembled Old Orchard Beach or Hampton Beach but much larger. Upon arrival we learned that the course had been changed and was now a two loop course. This put six miles of the race on the boardwalk. Days before the race the forecast predicted up to twenty-five mph winds. Despite this I felt very relaxed and calm before the race.

The first mile was close to five thirty and I could tell Justin was pressing the pace with the wind at our back. The pace felt fast to my legs but I wasn't breathing that hard once we got passed the first mile mark. Most of my body felt the pace was slow, except my legs, which were non-responsive. At about three miles I told Justin just to go ahead without me.

As we looped over the course we passed the slower runners coming the other way and the 5K runners. Running on the boardwalk we passed bars and amusement rides. The whole thing was like a dream I always have, running through crowds and through buildings. And then there were my legs that were stuck in slow motion, just like the dream.

Despite being alone for the next ten miles with long stretches of strong wind I stayed somewhat positive. The miles into the wind along the boardwalk were approaching mid five-fifties and in the back of mind I knew breaking 1:15 was probably out of reach. Over the back half of the second loop Justin was out of sight but I felt the runner in third slowly closing. I kept my legs moving and pushed on. Ironically I finished exactly at 1:15 in 2nd place. Justin had won and run 1:13 flat which I decided was a very good run given the conditions.

My first reaction was that I had to completely rethink the marathon. Justin immediately told me not to freak out. I realized that my warm up had not been sufficient and decided racing at the end of a recovery week was also a mistake. Excuses aside, it is still a huge blow to my confidence to know that in five weeks we will be trying to run twice the distance at this same pace.

Week of 10.13.2014 to 10.19.2014

DAY	TYPE	DISTANCE	COMMENTS
Monday		5 miles
Tuesday	Track	12.5 miles	5000m, 3200m, 1600m (16:57, 10:27, 5:01)
Wednesday		10 miles
Thursday		7 miles	Real easy
Friday		10 miles	strides
Saturday		7 miles
Sunday	Race	18.5 miles	Half Marathon (1:15:00, 2nd place)
Week Total		70 miles

I had my doubts about running a half marathon at the end of a recovery week. It was clear all week that my body needed some rest. Monday I felt slightly more tired than usual and then on Tuesday the first half of the workout felt much tougher than I had wanted. Felt stale for the rest of the week but went into the race very relaxed.

Race day was a rough run for me. Legs weren't tired but felt asleep and non-responsive. Even the very first half mile I could tell my legs had no zip. The course was extremely windy and half the run was on an uneven boardwalk. It is fair to say that the times may have been two minutes slow, which would put Justin at seventy-one flat which is reasonable. Regardless, running my marathon pace in a half marathon race is discouraging.

Week of 10.6.14 to 10.12.14

DAY	TYPE	DISTANCE	COMMENTS
Monday		10 miles	Recovery
Tuesday	Track	13 miles	2K, 1K, 2K, 1K, 2K (6:42.5, 3:13, 6:43, 3:12, 6:30), 90sec/400m rest after 2k, 200m rest after 1k
Wednesday	Medium	16 miles	1:52, medium long, some of it with Justin
Thursday		7 miles	Real easy
Friday	MP	15.5 miles	2 x 4 mile (22:12, 4 min jog, 22:10), 110% MP
Saturday		10 miles	Easy run, very slow
Sunday	Long Run	20 miles	2 hours 19 minutes, about
Week Total		91.5 miles	Highest weekly total since sometime in 2012?

The workouts were a bit easier this week, which is probably a good thing with it being the final week before a down/recovery week. The track workout had more of a fartleck feel to it because Justin thought 400 meter rest was way too much so we hammer the lap in 90 seconds after the 2Ks. The 2Ks were at about 1/2MP and the Ks were closer to 10K.

Friday night we were debating what to do. Justin had looked up some marathon workouts so we settled on the shorter one, two by four miles. It was another confidence builder, not too difficult given the rest in between. Second four miles actually seemed slightly easier than the first. Had something left this week for the long run and felt fairly strong throughout. I think miles 19 and 20 would have been quick but I had to keep stopping in the city for lights. Paul ran well in Hartford Half with a PR in 1:09:15. Justin and I race the half next weekend!

Week of 9.29.14 to 10.5.14

DAY	TYPE	DISTANCE	COMMENTS
Monday		10 miles	Recovery, untimed
Tuesday	Track	12.5 miles	6 x 1600m , 90 second rest (5:06.5, 5:08, 5:10, 5:11, 5:07.7, 4:59.6)
Wednesday		15 miles	1:43:40, medium long, most of it with Justin
Thursday		7 miles	Real easy
Friday	MP	15.5 miles	8 miles @ MP (6 miles at 34:06, mile 7 and 8 ??)
Saturday		10 miles	Easy run, very slow.
Sunday	Long Run	20 miles	2 hours 18 minutes, about.
Week Total		90 miles	Highest mileage since last year at about this time.

Tuesday workout went better than expected but I wasn't a fan of the 90 second rest, for me that is more of a race simulation recovery rate. By mile four I was feeling it but a funny thing happened. The fifth mile felt better and the last mile felt great. Paul ran 4:45 on the last mile and I finished second just under five minutes. I ended up paying the price for it one hour later with awful stomach pain that left me on the couch the rest of the night unable to eat.

Three miles into the Friday workout I said to Justin that the pace seemed a little harder than two weeks ago and he reminded me that we had both been on a down week. Things were going well until right before the end of mile 7 when there was a terrible accident blocking off the entire road. We had to stop for about a minute or two and run around it. We ran one more mile on pace and called it a day at somewhere between 7.9 and 7.95 miles.

For the Sunday long run it was under fifty degrees for the start of the run. I didn't feel nearly as tired as the week prior but my muscles began to tighten around fifteen miles. I asked Justin his opinion on running a twenty mile long run weekly and we both decided that the Tuesday workout was a good barometer. This week I noticed that I am pretty much hungry every couple hours during the day, every day.