Weekly Training Update: Sep 8 - 14

“Two out of three ain’t bad” - Meatloaf

Monday – Ten Under Ten – 10.1 miles, 1:33:19
I began my run at a very comfortable 10:25 pace for the first 2.5 miles. Then I began thinking how all my training runs of late have been at a 10+ minute pace. I wondered if I could even run sub-10s on the trails anymore. I decided to push the pace from here to see what I could do while still running comfortably. I was pleased to hit 5 miles at a 9:30 pace. This pace felt easy so I figured I would now try for a negative split. I turned up the heat the last two miles and finished up the last 5 miles with a 9:00 pace. It felt great to run 10 miles at a 9:15 pace with not a whole lot of effort. Maybe all the long, slow runs have improved my strength if not my leg speed.

Wednesday – XC Surprise – 5.75 miles, 46:13
Bill Mullen hosts weekly cross-country races at Lynn Woods from May through September. It’s a fun way to get in a faster paced workout (or race) with fellow trail runners. This week was an out-and-back course on fire roads. I ran the first half in 24:30 and the second half in 21:43. Another fairly easy effort and another negative split run! My overall pace was 8:03. I haven’t run anywhere near that pace all summer. A good sign that I still have some speed.

Saturday – Long Run Letdown – 16.2 miles, 2:54:54
All good things come to an end and so too did my days of running with ease. I set out to do anywhere from 16-20 today but my real goal was closer to 18-20. Knowing it would be a long effort I started out very easy and covered the first 2.5 miles at a pedestrian 10:45 pace. Everything was going fine until about 1:45 into the run. My legs started to feel heavy and climbing hills was getting more and more difficult. I knew then that 20 miles were not happening today. Another 30 minutes of running and I started thinking 16 miles was in jeopardy. I really struggled the last hour of running and took several walking breaks. A 10:48 pace for 16.2 miles is not very encouraging considering I have a marathon coming up in less than two months. I still have some work to do.

Now for the numbers:

Miles Run: 40
Long Run: 16
# of runs: 5
Avg miles: 8.0
Trail Miles: 80%