Philly Training: Week 3

I can’t believe I’m already one-sixth of the way through training! It simultaneously feels like this training cycle is going by so fast…and yet so slow. 15 weeks is still a very long time.

And, to be honest, I’m already starting to feel it a little bit. I’ve been so tired for the past week. I think I need to do two things: up my iron intake and sleep more.

Sleep is such an important factor in any serious marathon training program, but it is so easy to overlook. Ever since the bachelorette party, I haven’t been getting quite as much sleep as I should, and I need to work on that.

So here is what the week looked like:

It felt good to get back to my normal training schedule after last week. My easy run on Monday went well. I’ve been doing these runs based on heart rate, and this run averaged about 62% of my heart-rate reserve, which is right where it should be.

Tuesday, I ran a solid marathon-pace workout, averaging 7:14 per mile for my six MP miles, and my HR was pretty solid. It got a little higher than I would have liked for the final two miles, but I think part of that is because mile four was faster than it should have been. Plus, I’m hoping that when the weather cools, it will help my HR stay a little lower.

Wednesday, I had spin class. And Thursday, I ran a solid interval workout (despite a slow first two intervals thanks to some shoddy math).

The goal was 8 x 1000 @ 10k pace with 400 recovery, which should have been about 4:06 per interval. My first two were 4:19 and 4:14, though, because while I calculated the 200 and 800 splits right, I somehow messed up the 400 split. What ended up happening is I would hit my 200 split, get to 400 and think, “Man, I’m too fast! I can cruise in!” But then I’d get to 800 and realize I was slow and I wasn’t going to make it.

Luckily, I realized my mistake during my second recovery lap, and was able to hit my mark for the final six intervals. For those, I ran: 4:09 – 4:03 – 4:06 – 4:05 – 4:06 – 4: 05.

After a well-deserved rest day, I had a better than expected long run on Saturday. I was running with a group from my running team, and we ended up going faster than I was planning on. All in, I ran 16.35 miles at an average of a 7:40 pace with six or so of those miles accidentally at goal pace!

It’s still early, but it made me wonder whether I should be a little bit more ambitious in my fall goal. I’m wondering if I should consider 3:10 v. 3:13. That would be a 7:15 v. a7:21 pace. It’s too soon to make this decision, I think, so I’m going to wait and see how the half I have slated for mid-October goes before I decide.

Total: 43.9 mi.

All in, this was my second-highest mileage week…ever. Which seems crazy so early in the training cycle, but I’m feeling good. I’m being diligent about my cross training, which is a big change from the past, and I’m taking my easy runs far easier, which I think are both doing a lot for my overall well-being.

I’m really looking forward to November!