38% Training Block Completed

“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.”

6/26: Recovery Run

The thunderstorms of the morning sent me to the dread tready. It meant that I could sleep-in, which was very welcomed! I took my 6mi workout and made it in into an easy progression, ramping up one extra notch on the speed but still maintaining my easy window. Not a single ounce of Z4/5 HR and this is how it should be. I did have 3 fans blowing on me which helped to keep the air moving.

To keep myself entertained to survive, I watched my upcoming marathon replay from last year, to really soak in the commentators notes and embrace visualizing my day of success. Visualization is such an important drill for mental prep. Your brain already knows how to execute on race day and the chances of success increase exponentially. With my race being international, I’m not able to run a course preview but I can check it out on video replays. It’s really helpful, when I consider all the other elements that need to come together: travel, jet lag, sleep, fuel, hydration, packing, weather adjustments, and a foreign language too! Luckily, I know my downfalls of my last international race and I’m bound to fix them. So, any help or tips I can acquire from video replays of past years of the marathon, I will gladly watch and take notes. Visualize success now will make me much more successful to execute a race day that I want to experience.

• What went well today: survived the mundane dready tready; let the legs recover; staying within target HR zones
• What could have gone better: fueling – messed up one gel
• Shoes for the run: NB FC Rv4

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6/27: Speedwork – Threshy Freshy

After a busy work day, it was time for the park to get after my first threshold workout in over a year.

Today’s workout was 1mi @ RPE 3-4, recover 1min, then 4 x 0.5mi @ RPE 6 w 1min recovery, finish with 1mi @ RPE 3-4.  I pushed the upper limits of RPE 4 for the easy sections.  And for the hard segments, I just let it rip and exceeded my targets a bit.  That could explain why I felt like trash after the 4th repeat on the uphill at the end.  Since I’ve been respecting my easy efforts most of the time, I wanted to make the hard efforts sting.  Next time, though, I should hold it back just a tad.  Nonetheless, it was fun and the skeleton played nicely.

Threshold magic will take some getting used to, but it is such a valuable key once I start hammering away at these workouts to come.  Nothing better than burning rubber and leaving every ounce of sweat out there with the lungs clamoring for air.  Threshold will make everything else easier, though it will be a battle for awhile to get “used to” threshold paces again.

• What went well:  I was surprised at the pace of my speedwork.  It really shows that easy runs help build the base for faster running.
• What could have gone better:  I was a bit too far on my RPE up to 7, instead of 6, so I need to scale it back and survive.
• Shoes for the run: NB FC Rv4

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6/28: Easy Run

This run should have been on Saturday, but I really wanted to sleep-in and not have to stagger my workout times to allow for bone regeneration time, with a run and strength workout on the agenda for Saturday.  I was tired from the incredibly long work week, but I decided to hop over to the park for a relaxing stroll and check off the easy run on Friday.  I got caught in some drizzle, but it actually was refreshing and kept the park fairly empty on a Friday night.  I purposely held back on my effort and kept it closer to an RPE 3 than 4, which my HR liked that and my legs did too.  I was feeling extra tight in the hips this week and my lack of mobility drills probably didn’t help.  I had to take a quick pitstop before 1mi because I had drank too much fluid before the park.  Nonetheless, the body was glad to have it done to allow for more rest into Saturday morning.

One thing I did for this run was to trial out a pair of New Balance 880v14.  I really have liked my FuelCell Rebel v4 shoes, so I thought to give the 880s a try.  By about 3 miles into this 5 mile run, my left toes were numb.  I also didn’t love how they felt on the hills, as they seemed to limit my toe push off.  The drop of 8mm and weight of 7.4oz just did not work for me.  The fresh foam didn’t support my midfoot either.  I’ll have to wipe them clean and send them back.  I tried them, but I need something more firm than that junky fresh foam.  (In fact, the next morning, my left foot’s plantar fascia agreed that those were not the best shoes, as it was very tender at first to walk the next morning but it loosened up.)  I’ll keep working on a shoe rotation that works for me.  So far, Saucony Ride are out and New Balance 880s are out.  My go-to remain: Brooks Ghost 15 and New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4.

• What went well:  Kept it easy and relaxed; Got it done despite 4:30am work day (fatigue at it’s finest)
• What could have gone better: Could have packed a spare pair of shoes to swap into
• Shoes for the run: NB 880v14 (dislike!)

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6/30: Long Run

Yesterday’s extra sleep felt wonderful (the body keeps the score, so listen to it).  I did push off my strength session until late afternoon yesterday, so that meant I felt those fatigued legs on today’s long run of 10miles with a plethora of hills.  Anytime I wanted to stop after climbing some hills, I decided to “grind it out” and keep going.  The weather was fantastic: 56-60F with RH 65-75% and a side of gusty winds up to 25mph from the NW.

I chose a route for today’s run that was a little spicy on the hills, but it’s a familiar route from past marathon seasons that allows me to have no traffic crossings.  It also keeps the hills coming, which I need all the practice for.  Every time I hit a hill, I just feel like a slug on the back car of a roller coaster.  The only way to attack my weaknesses is to practice getting after them more and more.  A nice 80ft climb over 4 min at about half way was a crazy way to make things interesting.  I may have gotten passed a few times later on, but I did not stop.

For running on fatigued tired legs, this run went good.  I’m not sure I had much more in the tank today, but I survived and advanced.  I’ll keep searching for the best recipe to my long runs, since I just haven’t found it yet.

• What went well:  Survived a hefty dose of hills and no stops today!
• What could have gone better: Legs felt every weight of yesterday’s strength (16hrs ago); Need to consider some adjustments to offset the fatigued legs
• Shoes for the run: Brooks Ghost 15 (trustworthy!)