Some Things One more WordPress weblog

I did not take today as a complete rest day; I did a Credit Card workout and registered for the Pasadena Marathon. It is $10 cheaper today than it will be tomorrow.

This was our biggest test so far. Run a half-marathon distance (13.1 miles) at our targeted marathon paces. About 20 of us met at Kersting Ct. this morning at 7:00am to run the course that Murray plotted for us. The devilish thing about the route was the hundreds of feet of elevation gain from 1.3 miles in until the five-mile mark. Nadir volunteered to carry our supplies to the high point of our run, and each one of us was relieved finally to see him, crunching out his sit-ups, when we crested the last hill on the way to him.

My target was 7:37 per mile, which gave me a goal of completion in 1:40:00. I fell behind my pace on some of the uphill stints, but the long descent down El Molino Ave. let me make up all of it. I even got far enough ahead of pace that I was able to finish on schedule despite a seeming wall that we had to climb 11.5 miles in.

A scary sign: Kary was our second helper, and she was stationed at the 10-mile point. I knew she was going to be there, I was looking for her, and no crowds were around… but I would have missed her if she had not yelled out to me as I zipped by. Fatigue, of course, was the main factor, but I am going to blame this one on the fact that I did not wear contact lenses for the run.

Final result: I finished in 1:38:00, two minutes ahead of schedule. While I am so happy with that result, I know I could not have kept it up any longer than these 13.1 miles. On marathon day, in two and a half months, I will have to do what I did today… and then do it all over again right away. I tell myself that I can trust the training because I could not have come anywhere close to today’s performance two and a half months ago.

Note on upcoming training: Next week seems to be a lighter week, perhaps as a follow-up to this more intense week of running. Our mid-tempo day is only four miles long, and only two of those miles are faster than “easy tempo” pace. And I can’t believe I am saying this, but… Saturday’s long-tempo run is “only” ten miles. (And we do get to run it at marathon-pace +30 seconds.)

…but there is a double-5K stuck in there for Wednesday.

Speed Work. 800m X 6, max two minutes of recovery between each. Target time: 3:03 apiece. There were about eight of us at the middle school at 6:00am for this one.

1. 2:57
2. 2:56
3. 2:59
4. 2:58
5. 2:59
6. 2:57

Compare with Week 2, Day 2. The times this go-round were comparable, but there was not nearly the level of anguish coming in.

CrossFit “Broomstick Mile“:

• 400m Run
• 25 Each of: Back Squat, Front Squat, Overhead Squat
• 400m Run
• 25 Each of: Shoulder Press, Push Press, Push Jerk
• 400m Run
• 25 Each of: Snatch Pull, Power Snatch, Squat Snatch
• 400m Run

…while carrying one of the following: PVC pipe, 15-lb barbell, 30-lb barbell, or 45-lb barbell.

Completed in 28:57 with the 45-pounder.

Five miles at mid-tempo pace (7:10 per mile for me). Jeff, Jim, Ted and I met at 6:00am for this one.

Target time for completion… 35:50.

Actual time… 35:01 on a course Murray has used a couple of times. All of us were a minute or two behind schedule coming to the top of the uphill portion (about 2.75 miles in), but most of us made that up on the two miles of descent back to our starting point.

The reason for the lack of posts over the last week and a half: on Tuesday (Week 6, Day 2) following the 5k/5k run that went so well for Tommie and me, I strained a muscle in the back of my left leg, possibly the distal end of the semitendinosus. After nearly two weeks of rest, icing, and massage, during which time I was able to continue with CrossFit and O-lift workouts, I gave my legs their first running test today in a 1-3-1 workout of one mile at “easy” pace, three miles at “mid tempo” and one final mile at the easy pace again. Jeff planned a course for us that went from the middle school, around Arcadia County Park, and back to the middle school.

My targeted time for the mid-tempo part was 21:30. I was able to complete it in about 20:50, and my legs felt well enough for that entire section. In a surprise, some spots in my leg started to twinge on the final mile of easy-pace running. Patient stretching at the finish line and icing at home have the legs feeling pretty good right now, so I think I will try the 10 X 400m speed work coming up on Wednesday.