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!

Marathon Training Log: Week 3

Week 3 mileage: 63.1
Current marathon pace: 6:55 (3:01 marathon)

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jan 16, 2017 thru Sunday, Jan 22, 2017

Day	Miles	Pace	Description	Link
Tue	11.0	8:14	MLR - easy	strava
Wed	14.0	7:36	MLR FF w/ 2 mi cd	strava
Thu	6.1	8:29	Recovery miles	strava
Fri	10.1	7:21	Asheville trails w/ 5 tempo	strava
Sat	5.9	9:02	Asheville trails - recovery miles	strava
Sun	16.0	7:50	SLR	strava
	63.1	7:57

Mon 1/16/17
Workout: Rest day
Notes: Felt slightly fatigued after a second straight week of 60+ miles. Really looked forward to this rest day.

Tue 1/17/17
Workout: 11 mile MLR
Notes: Seasonable. Rocking new tights! Easy miles. 1 mile into east Potomac park, was told to turn around by park police. Didn't realize random yellow tape at entrance was "do not cross"??? Inauguration messing up all the running routes. Moved the tempo run originally scheduled for today to Friday as legs were still tired from the SLR FF.

Wed 1/18/17
Workout: 14 mile MLR FF
Notes: Warm. Foggy. Dodging barriers then mt vernon trail south out and back. Need head lamp! First 4 easy, then 4 @ MP + 10% (7:41, 7:40, 7:32, 7:23), 3 @ MP (6:47, 6:52, 6:52), 1 mile fast (6:14), 2 mile cool down.

Thu 1/19/17
Workout: 6.1 recovery miles
Notes: Got miles in before driving down to Asheville for a long weekend. National mall loop. Inauguration craziness. Tourists touristing.

Fri 1/20/17
Workout: 10 miles with 5 tempo
Notes: Warm in Asheville, mid 60's. French broad creek trail - paved. 4 easy, 5 tempo (6:42, 6:42, 6:46, 6:40, 6:32), 1 cool down. Difficult tempo - didn't feel my best. Slower miles than I wanted. Took a 60 second rest after 3.7 miles. May need more than 1 day recovery between workouts.

Sat 1/21/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Cool. Rainy. Still in asheville - Warren Wilson College trail - not paved; relatively flat. Easy trails miles. Really cool bamboo forest on the trail.

Sun 1/22/17
Workout: 16 mile SLR
Notes: I dreaded this one all week because it was either do the miles really early or late due to travel day. Decided to do it back in DC. Drove 8 hours home then immediately headed outside to get run in before Patriots game. Cold & rainy. Legs were tired from past week of mileage plus hiking in Asheville. Decided not to incorporate MP paces today. Did 8 easy then 8 aerobic (7:34, 7:30, 7:26, 7:28, 7:26, 7:25, 7:46, 7:27).

Marathon Training Log: Week 2

Week 2 Mileage: 61.7
Current marathon pace: 6:55 (3:01 marathon)

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jan 09, 2017 thru Sunday, Jan 15, 2017

Day	Miles	Pace	Description	Link
Tue	8.8	8:04	Easy miles + 10 strides	strava
Wed	13.0	7:37	Medium long run - fast finish	strava
Thu	5.8	8:16	Recovery miles	strava
Fri	11.1	7:41	MLR	strava
Sat	6.0	8:29	Easy recovery miles	strava
Sun	17.0	7:24	SLR w/ 8 @ MP	strava
	61.7	7:48

Monday 1/9/17
Workout: Rest day
Notes: Felt pretty good coming out of week one and the long run fast finish from the day before.

Tuesday 1/10/17
Workout: 8 miles + 10 strides (8.7 total)
Notes: Cold. Easy miles via Lincoln monument loop. Finished with a set of 10 strides; standing rest in between each one. Goal for strides is roughly 20 meter acceleration to mile race pace, hold for 60 meters, then 20 meter deceleration. Effort should be controlled. Enough rest time in between each rep to allow heart rate to return to normal.

Wednesday 1/11/17
Workout: 13 mile MLR
Notes: Warmer. Mt vernon trail north out and back. 1st 4 @ MP + 20%, next 4 @ MP + 10% (7:44, 7:32, 7:32, 7:32), next 4 @ MP (6:57, 6:53, 6:51, 6:55), last mile easy. Legs were tired. Felt sluggish. Not sure if it's because still recovering from the SLR or just one of those days.

Thursday 1/12/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Warm. Windy. Easy recovery miles.

Friday 1/13/17
Workout: 11.1 mile MLR
Notes: Still warm. Breezy. First 5 easy (8:24, 8:09, 7:59, 8:03, 7:55) then 6 aerobic (7:25, 7:25, 7:30, 7:22, 7:18, 7:15). Felt refreshed, relaxed. Had to keep myself from pushing pace. Elected to leave out MP miles for this workout with a planned SLR including 8 miles at MP.

Saturday 1/14/17
Workout: 6 recovery miles
Notes: Colder. Easy recovery miles.

Sunday 1/15/17
Workout: 17 mile SLR w/ 8 @ MP
Notes: Seasonable temps. SLR on Mt Vernon Trail south out and back. Slight headwind on the return. First 8 easy effort (8:18, 7:57, 7:51, 7:55, 7:49, 7:50, 7:41, 7:40) then 8 at marathon pace (6:57, 6:58, 6:57, 6:52, 6:56, 6:58, 6:52, 7:03), and last mile cool down (7:29). Marathon pace miles felt harder than I thought they would based on how I felt the first half of the run. Had to push myself and fight some mental fatigue. Really wanted to open up the last mile, but had a pretty substantial hill that threw me off. Overall, covered 17 miles with an average pace of 7:25. Best quality long run I've had, proud of the effort.

Next race planned is the New Orleans Rock and Roll half marathon on Sunday Feb 5. Likely will juggle some workouts the next two weeks to have a mini-taper. This half is a bit early on the schedule, but I wanted an early barometer of where my fitness is at. Other planned races this cycle include the NYC Half (March 19th), Cherry Blossom 10 miler (April 2nd), and TBD 10K (April 22nd). Also planning to run the DC Rock and Roll half (March 12th), but as part of a long run and not an all out effort.

Marathon Training Log: Week 1

Week 1 Mileage: 60.0
Current goal marathon pace: 6:55 (3:01 marathon)


Monday 1/2/17
Workout: Rest day.
Notes: Rest days with the Pfitz 18/70 plan are set for Mondays, which will be a shift from the past cycle of having Friday as the rest day.  Built up a solid base over the past few months, reaching 66 miles per week a few weeks ago. Have noticed an incredible difference in my fitness by logging 7 weeks with 50+ miles (comparably had only two weeks of 50+ miles in the marathon cycle last Fall). Was able to complete my first long run fast finish a few weeks ago, providing a big confidence booster. Starting out with a 6:55 goal marathon pace, which is in line with my most recent 39:25 10K.

Tuesday 1/3/17
Workout: 9 miles w/ 4 @ tempo
Notes: Rainy. Cold. Got in from Michigan late last night. Felt sluggish. Think the progressive run I did this past Sunday had a lingering effect, couldn’t get under 6:40 for tempo part. No pain in knee, but a still little discomfort.

Wednesday 1/4/17
Workout: 12 mile medium long run (MLR)
Notes: Warm. Foggy. Mt Vernon Trail north out and back. Pfitz advises not to run MLRs the day after a tempo workout as a fast finish (FF); so tried to ease off pace and not push it. Legs felt tired. No real knee discomfort. Typically, MLRs will be divided into thirds. First third @ MP + 20%, next third @ MP + 10%, last third @ MP.

Thursday 1/5/17
Workout: 6 recovery miles
Notes: Cold. Windy. Always seems to be a struggle to get comfortable doing recovery miles. Uneventful. Glimpse of a beautiful sunrise over the Capital. Feeling refreshed.

Friday 1/6/17
Workout: 10 aerobic (w/ 6 @ MP)
Notes: Cold. Breezy. 2 mile warm up followed by 6 miles at goal marathon pace (6:56-6:58), 2 mile cool down. Pretty relaxed first 5 of GMP, last mile was a little more of an effort. Overall felt great.

Saturday 1/7/17
Workout: 6 recovery miles
Notes: Snowy. Cold. First snow of the winter. Snow seemed to blow into me no matter which direction I faced. Overall relaxed, easy miles.

Sunday 1/8/17
Workout: 17 mile Sunday long run (SLR) FF
Notes: Brutally cold and windy. Coldest of the year. Did this SLR on the Mt Vernon trail heading toward Alexandria. Out and back. 1st 6 @ MP + 20%, next 6 @ MP + 10%, 4 @ MP (avg 6:56), last mile easy. Overall, run was great. Felt strong during MP, except right when I started picking it up for first mile @ MP, probably had a 20 mph headwind for quarter mile at the end of the trail.

The Pfitz Way

Our Spring marathon cycle has officially kicked off, and although I have been battling a bout of runner's knee off and on the past few weeks, we're excited to begin focusing on the next marathon.

This time around, I personally feel like a much more informed and seasoned marathon runner. While I have a lot of respect and admiration for what Hal Higdon has done for the marathon, I don't think his Advanced II plan (his most demanding) is appropriate for anyone other than a first time marathoner who has a fair amount of experience. To be fair, I don't think I would be where I am today knowledge-wise of the distance had I not followed his plan and analysis last year.

If I knew one thing for certain after my first marathon last September in Marquette, it was that I needed to ramp up mileage in my off-season, and select a plan that reflected putting in a ton of miles with a good deal of work done at marathon pace on tired legs during medium and long runs.

Doing research over the last few months, there were some solid options for the next training plan. I read Jack Daniels' Running Formula, perused various Let's Run threads, and even considered hiring a local coach. But after reading Advanced Marathoning - 2nd Edition by Pete Pfitzinger, I decided to go all in on the Pfitz plan.

The Pfitz Way

Pftiz takes an old school approach to the marathon by piling on mileage, focusing on longer midweek runs and stressing the importance of medium/long run fast finishes. Whereas Daniels' plans are very formulaic, Pfitz prescribes his non-tempo/lactate threshold workouts where you begin at marathon pace + 20%, progress to marathon pace +10%, and then finish at marathon pace. This includes everything from 12 mile midweek medium-long runs through the 22 mile weekend long run. So you are focusing on running at marathon pace at the end of longer sessions multiple times per week. In terms of addressing my greatest concern of being able to finish a marathon with strong legs, I think the Pfitz plan makes the most sense. 

Originally I was targeting the 18/85 (18 week duration, 85 miles per week at the peak) plan, however with the knee issue I'm modifying it by adding a rest day on Mondays following the weekend long run, as suggested by his 18/70 plan. Christine will be focusing on the 18/55 plan for this cycle, with the option to adjust for more mileage if her hips/legs respond well.

This time around for the blog, I plan on posting weekly logs that capture workout notes as I progress through training. Hope you enjoy!