Well, it was a little bit of a come-to-Jesus week for me.
We've been basing our workouts off paces that reflect our goal marathon times, which were picked by our group coach. But mine is too fast for me right now. I'm struggling with the paces, and I think I'm actually getting slower! So I emailed our coach to request an adjusted time. I haven't gotten one yet, but the marathon pace I was using for workouts - 6:52 - is too hard for me, and I have had to scale back.
Monday: Off due to stomach bug.
Tuesday: 7x1000m on the track with a nice 400m jog rest. These mostly felt good, although I was the ONLY person left on the track for my final rep and was clearly demotivated! I started in a group of four, but no one else was having a good night, and I ended up running alone. 3:52, 3:53, 3:52, 3:52, 3:55, 3:55, 3:57. Over nine for the night.
Wednesday: 5 easy on the dirt path around the park.
Thursday: One hour easy on the levee, plus 8 100m strides for 8.64 miles.
Friday: Here's the workout that made me wake up to my pace: 3x2 miles at tempo with 90 seconds jog. Not easy for me, and I TOTALLY TOTALLY crumbled on the last one. Keep in mind that my "tempo" should be around 6:30 - 6:35...Instead I ran 6:37, 6:32/6:32,6:38/6:39/6:50, and it felt more like 10k pace than tempo pace. After I finished I asked myself if 6:32 was really my tempo pace - could I hold that for about an hour? No, no way. Time to re-evaluate! And yeah, it's still super hot and humid (highs in the 90s this week, lows in the high 70s) but by now I should be used to that, enough that the paces don't surprise me.
Saturday: Race day! For some reason, I thought that a two mile noon race would be a good idea. Got in 5.4 for the day. I wore my Saucony type a flats, which were fine - this was their first foray onto the roads. They're way too tight and actually MELTED on the broiling tarmac, so maybe not my favorite shoe.
Sunday: 16 mile long run progression: five at conversational pace, eight at aerobic pace, three at marathon pace. Going by feel, I definitely didn't hit any 6:52 pace! 6:55, 7:02, 6:53. My marathon pace is most probably closest to that middle mile.
55.9 miles this week.
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That race sounds awful. I don’t think being used to the heat makes it any easier to deal with. Or at least not much easier
ReplyDeleteHope your adjusted plan works better for you!
I've been loving following your progress on Instagram and of course here on your blog. I'm super excited for you that things are going well and there are signs of the weather cooling.
ReplyDeleteOh man, you know it’s crazy hot when your shoes melt during a race!! Crazy. I hope the hot weather moves out soon so you have a better sense of what your MP is. I always struggled with my pace during the hot and humid months and then September would arrive, the temps would cool, and I would realize I could hit my paces when the weather cooperated. I hope that is the case for you!!
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