45:00 :: 6.1 miles

Recovery run. Very relaxing, would have kept going if I had the time. Legs felt great, everything felt great.

1:42:00 :: 16.3 miles

Medium long run. Part three. Felt good from the start, and had plenty left for a strong, progressive finish. Another windy and cooler day, which is great practice for Fargo, which is usually cold and windy.

6:33(133) | 6:22(138) | 6:25(141) | 6:29(142)
6:27(143) | 6:29(142) | 6:24(143) | 6:24(141)
6:24(144) | 6:27(145) | 6:15(143) | 6:16(143)
6:03(144) | 5:59(151) | 5:58(153) | 5:35(161)
1:30(167)-.30mi
Recovery :40(130) :50(120) 1:01(110)

2:21:00 :: 22.5 miles

Long run. Another good one. Weather was fine, a bit on the cool side at 25F, with a gusting 15mph wind. Took a gel around 13 miles. Felt fatigue starting to creep in at 17-18 miles, but never overcooked, which is different than normal. Break it down...

6:13(136) | 6:14(144) | 6:10(144) | 6:15(143)
6:16(145) | 6:17(144) | 6:23(146) | 6:19(146)
6:14(145) | 6:19(146) | 6:14(146) | 6:11(148)
6:23(148) | 6:17(150) | 6:15(149) | 6:16(149)
6:16(149) | 6:20(148) | 6:20(147) | 6:16(149)
6:09(152) | 6:06(155) | 3:17(156)-.54mi
Recovery: :33(130) :50(120) 1:16(110)

Excellent run.

1:06:00 :: 11 miles

MP workout. A bit cool (26F), but very light winds made it nice workout weather. Two mile warmup in 13:12, then:

5:35(154) | 5:34(157) | 5:36(159)
5:35(159) | 5:39(160) | 5:38(159)
5:37(160) | 5:37(159)

:36(130) :48(120) 1:04(110)

Built up a very good rhythm and held it steady. Felt easy and strong all the way through. Good run.

45:00 :: 6 miles

Easy run on treadmill.

1:49:00 :: 16 miles

Easy run. Very windy and cold-ish. Temp dropped from 33F to 23F while I was out. Weird. Felt flat the first 8-9 miles. HR was low (130-133), and I just felt tired like my legs didn't want to go. After the first hour, the pace picked up and the tired feeling faded away, then felt very energetic for the last 50 minutes. Glad I stuck it out.

1:22:00 :: 12 miles

Easy run with speed. On the treadmill, added 600-400-400-200/200, one segment every 15 minutes, 5:00 pace with varying incline up to 6%, and easy running around 6:45 pace average. Felt really good today. Speed was smooth, stride was powerful--everything seemed to click.

31:00 :: 4 miles

Recovery run. Felt great, but didn't have much time to run this morning (my own fault), so I stopped at about half an hour. Caught up on some paperwork and took it easy instead.

1:42:00 :: 16.1 miles

Medium long run. Feeling very good today, with decent temps (22F) and clear (enough) roads. Averaged 142HR for the first 12 miles, about 6:25 pace, then dropped the pace a bit as I was still feeling good after two days of MP runs. Last four miles:

6:16(148) | 6:04(154)
5:46(160) | 5:37(165)
:47(130) :57(120) 1:40(110)

Felt fine after the run, but did a cold bath anyway--it always helps. Everything feeling really good the last few days. Recovery day tomorrow, then the first volume speed work on Tuesday, maybe. The schedule got a bit messed up due to a missed week of workouts due to minor injury.

1:45:40 :: 17 miles

Long Run with MP. Ran on the treadmill due to bad road conditions outside (more snow). First ten miles in 1:04:39 (avg 139HR), then seven miles at current MP:

5:53(154) | 5:51(152) | 5:52(153)
5:53(154) | 5:53(154) | 5:50(156)
5:48(156) :50(130) 1:11(120) 2:41(110)

First ten went off without a hitch. Took a gel and water at nine miles--did the same thing during last week's long run and it really seemed to help. The first two of the seven felt a bit heavy and tired, but that gradually lifted, and by 13.5 miles, I started feeling really strong. Resisted the urge to crank up the pace, but when I was still feeling good with 1.5 miles to go, I decided to pick it up just a bit.

Felt very good today. Dare I say, this back-to-back was easy. Tomorrow--the third half of the back-to-back.

1:07:00 :: 11 miles

MP-10 Run. Decent day--30F, very light winds--but fair to poor traction conditions. Only about a quarter-inch of snow, but it was more ice than snow, and melting as it hit the road, then freezing as it accumulated and driven over by cars. I could feel the difference each time I hit a 'sticky' spot that hadn't yet frozen over. So much for spring.

Anyway, the workout today was seven miles at MP-10, with a five point set of guidelines, in order of priority, as follows:

1. Relaxed rhythm
2. Relaxed rhythm
3. Relaxed rhythm
4. ~5:40 pace
5. ~158 HR

Two mile warmup in 13:25, then seven miles like so...

5:35(156) | 5:38(157) | 5:37(158)
5:42(159) | 5:39(159) | 5:40(160)
5:38(161) | :36(130) :51(120) 1:04(110)

Two mile cooldown in 13:12. Fell in to a really good rhythm within half a mile, and held it to the end. I did notice the HR ticking up, but since I had a solid breathing and turnover rhythm in place, and I was still in range of the pace, I didn't get too worried about it. Everything felt good today, looking forward to tomorrow for the second half of the back-to-back--17 with the last seven at MP. Should be fun!

1:00:00 :: 9.5 miles

Evaluation run. Nice morning--35F with a breeze. I was able to shed the jacket and wear just a thin pair of tights.

Mystery Coach changed this one up a bit. The last six or so evals have been at 152HR, but this one was moved up to 158HR to check in on marathon pace effort and recovery. Today's run had a calming effect on me after the 'MP' run from a few days ago. My fitness is better than I had thought (not that Mystery Coach hasn't been trying to convince me of that for weeks).

3 mile warmup (20:05)
5:32(158) | 5:40(158)
5:39(159) | 5:41(158)
:36(130) :47(120) 1:08(110)
2.5 mile cooldown

Legs felt good, turned over really well, but felt a bit tired during the warmup.

1:00:00 :: 8.7 miles

Easy run. Legs felt a bit 'loose' today, so I went very easy on the preliminary speed and cut the distance by a couple of miles. Energy was good, but mechanically just felt a bit off--a kind of odd soreness and looseness in the hips. This happened last year in the build up to speedwork, so it's not unexpected. Just have to be cautious!

1:45:00 :: 15 miles

Recovery/Easy run. Felt really good through about 1:20, then started to get a little fatigued and depleted. Had a recovery drink and plenty of carbs in the afternoon.

Sixty days to the marathon.

2:26:00 :: 23.1 miles

Scratch all that crap about the bad run yesterday. Long run today was good beyond expectations. Weather could have been better (7F, 10mph wind--c'mon it's MARCH!), but at least it was sunny. Averaged 145 HR for the first 13, then HR gradually crept up to ~150 until mile 21. The last two miles I went a bit faster because I wasn't tired at all yet, and I pretty much knew I was stopping at 23 miles, not wanting to chance overdoing it mechanically and having to take extra recovery.

Recovered to 130HR in :35, 120 in :48, and 110 in 1:06. Max HR of 155. It's Miller Time. Actually chocolate milk time. Question for Thomas...what do they say in Ireland that would be comparable to "It's Miller Time"? A wild guess says it has something to do with Guinness. Cheers!

1:00:00 :: 9.6 miles

MP run. 25F and windy (15mph). Seven miles at current marathon pace, based on a heart rate of 152-154. Very disappointing result as far as pace. I expected to be a good 5 to 7 seconds ahead of last year at this time, not behind.

Two mile warmup in 13:36

5:49(153) | 5:50(153) | 5:52(154)
5:59(154) | 6:01(155) | 5:58(153)
6:02(154) | :27(130) :36(120) :51(110)

Not sure what to think about this. It's so bad, I'm wondering if I'm coming down with a cold or something.

1:07:00 :: 10 miles

Easy run. Everything feeling good, ready for tomorrow's MP run.

2:00:00 :: 18 miles

Easy run. Almost cracked the freezing point this morning (30F)!