Speed Work

Thursday, April 10, 2014:

Well, not really, but I did run the five-mile snow-free route in the park faster than I have before.  The temperature was 60 today, which sounds delightful, but the wind was 18, gusting to 23.  Running into the wind felt like running uphill, and with the wind felt like downhill.

Nevertheless, I did pretty well.  I didn't feel strong, especially at first, but I ran pretty well anyway, ramping the run/walk ratio from 1/1 up to 3/2 in the last mile or so, and sprinting the last few hundred yards.  That felt very good.

Whining: Zero.

Splits: 26:45, 26:08, total 52:53, distance 4.84 miles, pace 10:56.   If maintained for another 21 miles, that would be a 4:47 marathon, but of course that's not going to happen.  I'll probably try to run the next marathon with the ratio reversed, run 2, walk 3.

Tuesday, April 8:

I needed a longish run after the last marathon and before the next, and I guess this was it, just ten miles.  Again the park’s paved trails were beckoning, somewhat hilly, somewhat tilted (both ways), and now entirely dry.  I did the 4.84-mile out-and-back route twice, for 9.68 miles, taking water about every 24 minutes and taking Clif Shot gels (with caffeine) twice.

Though the temperature got up to 50, the northwest wind was pretty strong today, and I wore tights, with two technical shirts above.  That ensemble was just fine going into the wind, plenty warm going with it.  Maybe next time I would forego the tights, as I did yesterday in similar weather.

Whining:  The right knee with PFS mumbled just a little, but never very much.  I was careful not to aggravate it though, staying on the least-tilted part of the trail, and taking it easy both up and down hills.  I do that in marathons too.

Splits: 55:19 (4.84 mi), 27:27 (2.42 mi), 27:30 (2.42 mi), total 1:50:16, pace 11:23.  If sustained for 16 more miles, this pace would result in a marathon of just under five hours.  I was still quite strong at the end of this run, but I’m pretty sure that I would cramp up before reaching 26 miles, and of course I always seem to need an extra 10 minutes or so for nature breaks.  Therefore I’ll slow down a bit and try for 5:30 in the upcoming marathon, not 5:00.

Monday, April 7:

Five more miles on the park’s paved trails.  The grass trails are still under a snow pack, as are most of the paved trails.  But the park has kept a nice 1.92-mile stretch of paved trails clear of snow, and that route is now entirely clear of snow and water.  I do that twice, out and back,  and add another half-mile loop of paved roads twice, for a total of 4.84 miles.  It will be fine until more of the paved trails are clear and safe for running.

Today I didn’t bring my watch, but I did Saturday’s one to one run / walk, 20 triplets (60 footfalls) running and 20 walking.  I assume that the resulting pace was about 11:30 minutes per mile.

Whining:  None to speak of.