Definitely Into Taper Now

I'm in full taper mode for the Philadelphia Marathon in two weeks. This week will be, only (yeah I know) 29 miles. I'm looking forward for the 5K at the end of the week and hoping for a time that begins with 19.

Tuesday
Mileage: 6.00 (treadmill)
Time/Pace: 49:00/8:10
Avg HR/Max HR: 147/165

Today
Mileage: 14.00
Time/Pace: 2:12:43/9:28
Avg HR/Max HR: 145/164
Elevation: 923 ft
T/W: low 40's, felt really cold as the sun went down, brrr.

Check out my elevation chart from today's long run. Like Tony Horton from P90X, "Hills, I hate them, but I love them!"

What's Wrong With My Body?!?

From the first step this morning, I was just off. I set out about 5am to attempt a 20 mile long run. I was never able to get my legs under me, my body ached the whole time, and I just plain gave up. I was able to manage almost 14 miles, run/walking the last 1.5 miles, but overall disappointing. I don't get it. The humidity was intense, my running shoes were very soggy, sweat running down my leg. I guess it has just been one of those weeks.

Mileage: 13.62
Time/Pace: 2:21:05/10:21
Avg HR: 143
T/W: 75, humid, steamy, sun

Long Run and Hills Together

Another beautiful day to enjoy. I set out for a 14 mile long run and decided to throw in some hill work while I was at it. I don't think, I've done hills like this before, I usually just stick to rolling hills, but I was just "feeling it", so I went with it.

Hill 1 (Baby): 42ft over .23, just a little warm up hill
Hill 2 (Big Brother) 245ft over .97, pretty intense
Hill 3 (Little Sis): 86 over .33
Hill 4 (Never Ending Hill): 600ft over 3.11

All of this in the 1st 6.5 miles.

Ah but the downhills, we nice, a bit tough on the knees though

As far as my long runs I followed my negative split approach

Miles 1-3 (10:21): 10:02, 10:05, 10:17 (kind of erratic here, just getting warmed up and hills)
Miles 4-10 (10:11): 10:08, 10:09, 10:13, 10:11, 10:07, 10:12, 10:09
Miles 11-14 (10:01): 10:00, 9:57, 9:43, 9:09

Totals
Mileage: 14.01
Time/Pace: 2:20:48/10:03
Elevation Gain: 1229ft
Avg HR: 141
T/W: 63/sunny, cool

Slow and Steady

With a long run scheduled today and uncertainty about how my body may perform, I turned to the running experts for guidance. I have been listening to Pure Fit Radio, a weekly podcast hosted by Bart Yasso. Last week he talked about the "proper" way to do a long run, with an emphasis on negative splits.

The basic strategy is to do the first 25% of the run 1:15 slower than your marathon pace, the next 50% at 1:00 slower than marathon pace and the last 25% at marathon pace. I figured what the heck and gave it a go.

My marathon pace in March was 10:39, but my first goal to achieve is a 10:00 pace. I used this number as a base.

Miles 1-4: Goal 11:15. 11:15 is REALLY SLOW...I had a very hard time getting close to this, even with some hills. 11:00, 10:55, 10:56, 11:08

Miles 5-10: Goal 11:00. Got in some trail work with a bit of extra hills and also incorporated a few laps on a synthetic track at the local college. 11:10, 10:45, 10:55, 10:53, 10:54, 10:55.

Miles 11-14: Goal 10:00. Quicker turn over with my feet. Definitely tired here, but the slower pace for the first 10 allowed me to complete this section with success. 9:52, 9:52, 10:11, 9:57.

My legs started aching in all of the usual places somewhere around mile 10, but I was able to work through it and finish. I had a nice ice bath (my new favorite treatment) when I was done.

Totals:
Mileage: 14.00
Time/Pace: 2:29:30/10:40
Avg HR: 148

A Minor Victory!

With another 14 miler scheduled and my recent failure at this distance, I was pretty anxious to get back out there and prove to myself that I can do it. Not only did I complete the distance, I was able to keep the pace that I was targeting.

Splits (9:35 goal): 9:22, 9:33, 9:34, 9:35, 9:34, 9:32, 9:29, 9:34, 9:34, 9:34, 9:32, 9:32, 9:29, 9:22

Now, I'm not saying it didn't hurt, because it did, but I was able to push through and stay strong throughout. I'll take it!

Mileage: 14.00
Time/Pace: 2:13:24/9:31
Avg HR: 155
Temp: 32 (WC 24), Sunny