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.