Workout was 3-5 x 2 mile reps in 11:05-11:15 with one mile recoveries in 6:15. About 45F, with a nasty 20+ mph gusting NNW wind. Standing around heart rate was 51-52, so recovery looked good after a couple of easy days. I ended up doing a two mile warmup (13:13), three reps, three recoveries, and a one mile cooldown (6:34).
11:06(5:33-157|5:33-160::6:13-152) |
11:07(5:35-158|5:32-162::6:13-153) |
11:07(5:34-159|5:33-164::6:12-154)
Mystery Coach made it very, very, very clear (inside joke) that my fitness is nearly maxed out, and that overdoing workouts now will do nothing but detract from race day. There is little to do now but maintain and taper effectively. After the second rep, I felt that three would be about all I could handle, but the third rep came and went, feeing the best of the three, and I had to make a decision. I'm sure I could have done four feeling just fine, but I thought back to Saturday's long run, and realized that you don't always realize how a workout fully affects you until the next day. On Saturday, I finished feeling like I could have gone another 4-5 miles, but by the next morning, I was tired and needed to run 7:15-7:30 pace to stay comfortable.
So today, even though from a physiological standpoint I was feeling good for another rep, physically my hips and legs were feeling a little bit 'loose' and beginning to get the first tingles of soreness. The last recovery mile passed, and with it the opportunity to start rep four. It was a decision I could live with regardless of the outcome of the upcoming race, so I was happy making it. Good run.
Run Two | Weather | Supplemental | Nutrition | Sleep | Injury
5 comments:
Any more hill repeats in your repertoire? Haven't seen any in 3-4 weeks.
Good luck with Fargo.
Nope. The time for hill reps is long gone in this build up. I did one session, and they appeared to cause some problems in my hip and down into my calf, so hills were taken out as quickly as they were added.
The inability of my body to absorb the hill work (i.e. lack of basic strength) is a definite weakness that will be worked on over the summer and into the next build(s).
Good question, and thanks for the luck!
Mystery Coach seems like a smart person, as do you for folllowing the suggestion, 3x2 miles at that pace is still a good w/o. They are correct, it's all about showing up fit, ready & with energy in the tank on raceday, not leaving it out on the road now. Good luck with the remaining time:)
Good approach. I disagree with the term "maxed out." As you pointed out, there are many things to improve upon in the next cycle. I agree, though, that there's little you can do to improve your fitness before the marathon. My rule of thumb has been 10 days (no meaningful aerobic fitness gains from workouts w/in 10 days of a race). It can't hurt to continue to find a few uptempo efforts (even strides) to continue to improve running economy.
Fatboy, I would clarify the 'maxed out' statement by adding 'for this cycle'. You're right, also, in pointing out that mechanical efficiency can continue to improve right up to (and through) race day.
I think Mystery Coach is a pretty smart person as well--and he's a good coach, too. =)
Thanks for the comments.
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