9/11/12: Training Update

So contrary to what you might believe, I haven’t just been blogging about the Dolomites and have actually been doing some running from time to time.


I decided not to run the 71 mile Ring on Labor Day and focus more on trying to get into reasonable shape for the Marine Corp Marathon and run a respectable time there. Training feels a bit like the montage in Rocky IV where Stallone trains to beat Ivan Drago in Siberia. Well I suppose the overheated DC swamp is not quite Siberia. I also do not plan on fighting Dolph Lundren (let’s hope). But I have a similar feeling where I know what needs to be done at this point to get in shape for a marathon. Like with Rocky though, it will all come down to whether my heart is on fire and whether I can get fired up to do what needs to be done.

I have started to make some progress recently. On August 30th, I ran a charity 5K at Abercrombie and Fitch, one of the clients I work with. Despite downing a beer right before the race and starting several hundred people back in the pack (which I figure cost me a good 10-15 second), I ran 18:14. This coming weekend I am running the Navy Federal 5K with Jen, and I am hopeful that I can break my PR of 17:48. Stay tuned!

Here is the summary of last week’s training week, which was by far my best week of training in a long time.
  • Saturday – 15 miles
  • Sunday – 17 miles
  • Monday – 15 miles with the last 6 in 6:58
  • Tuesday – 11.5 miles
  • Wednesday – 13.5 miles. 8x800 track workout. It was absurdly hot and humid. I pushed really hard and averaged 2:48s, which I was happy with given the conditions.
  • Thursday – 8 miles 
  • Friday – 4 miles
  • Total – 84 miles
This past Saturday I had one of the best tempo runs I have done in a really long time. I ran 5 miles easy, 6 miles hard, and then a 1 mile cool down.

I started the 6 miles at 6:30 pace, which I intended to be the pace for the whole 6 miles. I felt absolutely fantastic though and kept ratcheting the pace up faster. I ended up averaging 6:12s for the 6 miles, and I ran 5:40 for the last mile.

I have definitely been doing fewer long runs and fewer miles overall than I typically would for marathon training, but I am probably faster than I have ever been before. I’m hoping this is a good training strategy, as I am usually more lacking in speed than endurance.

More to come this weekend on the Navy Federal 5K!

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