Marathon Training Log: Week 4

Week 4 mileage: 68.3
Current marathon pace: 6:55 (3:01 marathon)

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jan 23, 2017 thru Sunday, Jan 29, 2017

Day	Miles	Pace	Description	Link
Tue	10.6	8:07	Week 4 - easy 10 + 10 strides	strava
Wed	14.0	7:30	MLR FF	strava
Thu	5.8	8:32	Recovery miles	strava
Fri	12.0	7:55	MLR	strava
Sat	5.8	8:16	Recovery miles	strava
Sun	20.1	7:39	SLR FF w 6 @ MP	strava
	68.3	7:53

Mon 1/23/17
Workout: Rest day
Notes: Feel good after taking it "easy" on the 16 miler yesterday. Big mileage week ahead.

Tue 1/24/17
Workout: 10 miles + 10 strides
Notes: Cool. Seasonal. "Easy" miles plus 10 strides. Felt awful. Heavy, sluggish. Didn't really get comfortable until 7 miles in.

Wed 1/25/17
Workout: 14 mile medium long run fast finish
Notes: Warm. Breezy. 4 miles easy, 4 aerobic (7:34, 7:39, 7:23, 7:18), 4 MP/HMP (6:45, 6:53, 6:38, 6:27), 2 mile cool down. Felt great today. Was worried about getting the FF in based on how I felt yesterday, but felt really strong. I was just going to do 4 @ MP as the FF, but took it a bit faster. Confidence boosting workout. Feeling good about the NOLA Half next weekend.

Thu 1/26/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Warm. Probably last day above 50 for several weeks. Easy recovery miles. Lot of miles coming up next 3 days; 12 MLR tomorrow, 6 recovery Sat, 20 miler Sunday. Still trying to decide how I want to tackle the 20 miler. 10 easy, 4 aerobic, 4 MP, 2 cool? 6/6/6/2? Probably will go by feel.

Fri 1/27/17
Workout: 12 mile medium long run
Notes: Cold. Windy. Mt vernon north out and back. Firsy 6 easy, then 6 aerobic (7:40, 7:39, 7:36, 7:32, 7:41, 7:29)

Sat 1/28/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Cool. Easy recovery miles. Plus hike with Poe & C.

Sun 1/29/17
Workout: 20.1 mile long run fast finish
Notes: Cold. Mt vernon trail south to alexandria out and back. Felt great heading out so decided to go with 6/6/6/2 (easy/aerobic/marathon pace/easy). No alcohol on Saturday, so felt hydrated and refreshed. Also, saw Patriots Day last night, powerful movie and provided some additional motivation. Run itself: First 6 easy, 6 aerobic (7:48, 7:45, 7:46, 7:46, 7:46, 7:24), 6 marathon pace (7:00, 6:57, 6:49, 6:56, 6:54, 6:51), last 2 easy. First 20 mile long run fast finish I've completed. Last few miles of marathon pace were tough, but still felt pretty strong. Nutrition: kind bar 60 minutes before run. None during run. Hydration: None during run (155 minutes is probably the most I can go without fluids, and only on a cold day).

Wrapping up week 4, feeling pretty good overall, though legs are a little beat up. Will likely adjust marathon pace based on my half results next weekend. Realistically I think I'm in ~1:27 half shape now, which would translate to a ~3:04 full. To break 3 hours, I'll need to go sub 1:25 in NYC. Lots of time to get there!