Bad Moon Rising
There's a full moon today, and it was rising just as I was shutting down the engines around mile four this morning. I went out feeling great in the first mile, but seeing that the time came out about 20 seconds slower than what it felt like, so I knew I was not recovered from my Sunday effort. Mile two and three confirmed it, and by mile four I knew I needed to make a conscious effort to slow down for one more day. 10.25 miles in 1:08:48.
The full moon was out, but no caveman antics for me today. Tomorrow maybe. I'm planning a seven mile tempo at 5:40 pace, which I'm hoping will feel easier than the last one I did.
The full moon was out, but no caveman antics for me today. Tomorrow maybe. I'm planning a seven mile tempo at 5:40 pace, which I'm hoping will feel easier than the last one I did.
posted at 6:54 AM [+]
5 Comments:
How are your calves holding up? The Sunday run was pretty impressive. It's good to see you back on track. With about 11 training weeks left to go, you're definitely in a good position for a solid marathon. If you think your legs can take it, it would be nice to see how a 1/2 marathon goes in the next couple of weeks, to let you fine-tune your training in the homestretch.
Calves? What calves? I excised them with a dull spoon about two weeks ago. Haven't felt a thing since.
I've been doing the stretching and calf raises religiously, and everything seems to be fine. I've been through three longer runs (15, 17, 22) at around 6:10 pace and an 8k at 5:25 pace with no problems. Knock on wood.
I'm debating racing a 1/2 now. I think my legs would be fine, I'm just concerned about recovering and getting on with the rest of training. At this point, I am short on long runs and LT work, and I haven't even touched on VO2 work yet. It seems like a lot to fit in the last 10-11 weeks. Also, it's tough to find a half anywhere around here. I might be stuck doing a time trial on the track (which I wouldn't mind, actually).
There is a competitive 10 miler in Stillwater, MN coming up on the 22nd. It's 6+ hours away though. I don't know...I'm interested in continuing this discussion.
6 1/2 hours is a long drive. It's a tough call. Your 22-miler indicates you could be in the 2:35 range. A competitive 1/2 marathon would be a better indicator, and a successful one could give you a lot of confidence (a bad one could hurt your confidence, too).
To me, it comes down to this, to run 2:35, you need to head out in about 6:00 pace. To run sub-2:30, you need to head out closer to 5:45/5:40. You'll need substantial 10k-like training (lots of AT work, some faster) to start to make that faster pace feel comfortable. A good 1/2 marathon is not only a good test, it is good AT training. Your baseline fitness is excellent, but also rather homogenous. You will undoubtedly run well on what you have, but you've got plenty of time to really sharpen and improve upon your current level of readiness. A race is just part of that piece.
The 10 miler is out now, and there are no races over 10k in ND, SD, or MN within a few hours drive. I'm inclined to do a half-marathon on the track. It sounds like a nutty thing to do, which is motivation in itself, and it would be a great indicator and very marathon specific training, like you mentioned.
I'm sort of concerned about being able to truly get a race effort out of myself, alone on the track. I think I could, but I wouldn't know for sure. I guess it wouldn't be all that different from the marathon, though, as there is a good chance I will be running alone for substantial parts of the race even at TCM.
I think I might be down for a 52.75 lap throwdown. I'll set up a card table and practice my drinking, too. Maybe I can figure out a way to webcast it...
Why not measure a road course 1/2 marathon? May not make for as interesting a story, but would probably replicate a true-to-life marathon prep a little better.
While you're at it, find a nice 10k loop, and then we can talk about your 3x10k workout.
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