Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: Endurance + Tempo ...  A Daniels workout, modified for a few extra miles in the easy section:  2 mi w.u. + (4 x 6 min @ LT w/ 1 min rest b/t) +  ~9 mi easy + (4 x 6 min @ LT w/ 1 min rest b/t) +  2-3 mi easy.

Weather 50's F w/ loads of gorgeous, cool,  performance-inspiring FOG.  Ah...

It's a good thing I got my favorite weather today because parts of this workout were torture!  My second set of tempo intervals were so hard, and I did slow down about 15 seconds, but I gave it my all.  It was so discouraging to have the slowdown, but this is the first time I've ever tried to do this very difficult workout: LT pace after so many miles and after putting in one set of intervals already.   I don't know if I'm a sucker for punishment or if I just had to prove something to myself, but I decided to do my last couple of easy paced miles running up and down some nasty hills (Bandera and Palisades, for you locals).   I'm wiped out but I also feel a bit redeemed after the LT interval slowdown.  

I just read through my old running log to see what kind of training I was doing the 2 months before last year's Portland Marathon, and to read my race report from that race.  I was training well, but not as well as I have this summer, hehehe.  I have to keep looking at stuff like that to reassure myself.   When training,  everything feels so hard and I can't remember how fresh the taper makes me, or how the excitement of race day and the presence of competitors (even at my slow pace) energize me.  It just all seems impossible. 26.2 miles at a steady, moderately fast pace.  Nope, impossible.  Do you get that?  So I have to read old race reports in order to believe. 

Objective: recovery, easy pace.

Weather 50 F Clear and calm.

15 min. abs & weights

Pretty morning. Uneventful, easy run.

Objective: General aerobic pace at first (MP + 1 min) but switched to Easy/Recovery pace (MP + 2 min.) after first 4 miles. Legs are not yet recovered from Sunday's workout.

Weather: 50F Clear and calm.  Starry skies, weird pockets of cooler and warmer air in the neighborhood. 

15 min. abs & weights

Not quite enough sleep last night due to a combination of unavoidable circumstances, but the thing that really slowed me down was "dead legs."  They just haven't quite bounced back from Sunday's difficult workout.  I guess that  is good, since it means I'm building strength.

Just for fun...

Dear  Dog Walker,

I regret to inform you that, as incredible as it may seem, there is not a leash law exemption for Labrador Retrievers.  I know, it's absurd.  After all, when I think of the trouble it would take for you to actually hold a leash in your hand... you might even have to follow the dog over to each tree he wants to sniff! Absurd. I totally sympathize.  All those pesky tax payers who built the sidewalks and parks in this neighborhood are such whiners. So what if your off leash dog inflicts anxiety on every child, runner, and leashed-dog owner who passes?  They can get therapy! The important thing is that you not be inconvenienced in any way.  But alas, until that happy day when the leash law exemption you so richly deserve is magically delivered, you will have to exert yourself. 

Sincerely...

Objective: General aerobic

Weather: High 40s F, Clear, breezy.

20 min. abs & weights

Much better legs today, though still not 100%.  I put new batteries in my headlamp this morning -- what a difference!  The old batteries were not dead, but they dim so gradually that I always forget how bright the headlamp can/should be.  Some parts of my neighborhood have no streetlights and it was great to be carrying my own, so to speak.  I must remember to change the batteries sooner next time, otherwise I find my eyes filling with water because I'm straining to not blink to see in the dark.

Random thought of the day: The other night while watching  my daughter's gymnastics class, I struck up a conversation with another mom who said, "It's  not like they're going to the Olympics. My husband can't even stand to bring her because he hates to watch such amateur gymnastics."  It's not like they're going to the Olympics.  I've heard similar comments before and I've seen parents encourage their kids to drop it when it's clear "they won't ever be really good at it. "

I'll bet you can guess what my thoughts are about this.  Why should I spend so many hours running when I'm never going to be "really good?"  This attitude misses the whole point.  My daughter enjoys her sport as much as I enjoy mine.  We enjoyed it even when we were rank beginners.  She did a lop-sided cartwheel; I ran all the way to that tree down there. It was fun from the first. 

When choosing to pursue and work hard at a sport, amateur ability is irrelevant.  The stronger I get from training hard, the more pleasure I feel when I'm running.  I'm sure my 11 y.o. has the same pleasure.   Here's to our right to excel and enjoy -- even far below the level of the elites!  :)

Objective: Tempo Thursday :)    w.u. + 15 min @ LT + 30 min easy + 15 min @ LT + c.d.

Weather: 50's F and clear.

My husband had the morning off so I got to sleep a little later (8 hrs -- woohoo!) and run in the light of day.   Oddly, it had its drawbacks.  I've always thought that when he retires I would stop getting up so early and have a "normal" sleep schedule of 10 to 6 or some such.  But I found myself becoming very annoyed by all the cars and their fumes, having to zig zag around groups of children waiting for their buses,  etc.  Now I think maybe I'm destined to be an early bird.  I actually like the quite pre-dawn runs. What to look forward to in the retirement years?  Naps! Long, refreshing naps every afternoon at the time of day I like the least...  mmmm

Now, I've got to start obsessing about what is left to be done before Portland.  This Sunday I will attempt my last really long run, 23 miles (closer to 24 if I can make it) at a slow pace but with all the hills in the neighborhood -- to build strength & confidence, and to avoid repeating terrain for that long distance.  Then I start a bit of tapering  for my week day runs, though I'll still have Tempo Thursday next week.  The following Sunday is a marathon pace run of about 14 miles plus w.u. & c.d.  That will bring me up to my final 2 weeks: lower mileage with a little bit of tempo and marathon pacing to keep sharp.   Don't be surprised if I mention this schedule one or two more times in the coming week.  Or three...

Objective: Easy day

Weather: 50's, clear w/ a few cirrus clouds; pretty sunrise.

15 min. abs & wts.

Running in my sleep this morning, zzzzz.  Actually, I love that feeling of knowing there is no reason to push myself on easy days, and every reason to relax and let myself be slow.  RESToration.

Dale's comment yesterday about my long run got me thinking that I would like to put my reasoning in black and white for posterity, commentary and just a sense of clarity for myself.  

Most training programs cap the long run around 20  miles, but I have never been comfortable with that number.  In my early marathons, when I was training with the Galloway method, I actually ran up to 27 miles,  but my goal back then was just "to finish," and I could afford to give up quality weekday runs for the sake of distance.

When I started aiming for time goals,  I had to make sure that my long runs were not so long that I needed 3 or 4 days recovery.  Weekdays were needed for some speed work.  But the 20 mile cap was too frightening; at my slow pace it means almost an hour of extra running on marathon day (compared to my longest long run).  I settled on 23-24 miles as a comfortable but still demanding distance.   As long as the pace is slow enough, this is the distance that will fill up approximately the same amount of time as my marathon goal time.  Who knows, when I get faster I may be able to shorten it! :)

And now the "posterity" part... I want to go through my paper log and list all the weekend long runs I've done since April.  I was very ill during the winter, and April is about when my training became somewhat normal again (despite continued bad weather -- snowfall even in that late month!).  Some of these runs were "fast finish" or had MP sections in them, but I'll just list distances.  Hopefully this will be a confidence builder for me...

April: 16.32,  10.12,  12.32,  17.85.  May: 0 (vacation),  18.2,  19.54,  18.17. June: 18.25,  20.2,  16.37, 0 (vacation),  20.1.  July:  20,  19.92,  21.3,  20.52. August: 13.5,   22.05,  15.15,  19.86 (b/t 2 runs),  21.15.  Sept: 19.55, TO DO: 23, then taper.

Rest day for me.  Good luck to all of you doing your last long run today. Mine is tomorrow.  

After yesterday's overview of my long run history for this upcoming race, I thought of another little statistical survey that I wanted to make.  Since I didn't run today, perhaps this is the perfect time to lay it out. My marathon history... 

I'm going to compile a review of my 14 marathons to date (beginning in 2004) and the miles per month  for the 4 months preceding each one.  Of course, many other factors play into a race performance.  For example, at my Personal Worst marathon, #10, we stood in a raging rain & ice storm for 15 minutes before the gun went off and I shivered intermittently during at least half of the race (on top of the low mileage preparation). 

There were some marathons (such as # 3) that were intentionally slow (used as training for another race), and others (such as #1) where I pushed as hard as I could and nearly made myself sick. The mileage for #3-8 will show repeated numbers because I was running a marathon every month for one insane season. I used to use some marathons as training runs, since I was on the Galloway method back then, which dictates long runs up to 26-27 miles anyway -- it was actually a nice way to be motivated and get fed along the way! :)

Still, I'm interested in seeing how much of a mileage pattern exists.  All of the marathon training included some kind of speed work as well, but it was not until #12 that I had a well structured speed plan.  Also, from #12 on, I decided to "graduate" from Galloway, to pursue time goals and to eliminate the walk breaks, though  I still believe I do best walking through the aid stations. 

I'll list the mileage for the ~4 months previous / marathon finish time ...

#1: 87.8  90.1, 94.2, 90.5 / 4:59    #2:  94, 115.3, 125.5, 105.6 / 4:37   #3: 69, 127.9, 105.7, 145 / 4:58   #4: 127.9, 105.7, 145, 118.5 / 4:47   #5: 105.7, 145, 118.5, 117.2  / 4:55   #6: 105.7, 145, 118.5, 117.2  / 5:09   #7: 145, 118.5, 117.2, 106.6 /  4:47   #8: 117.2, 106.6, 120.3, 125.9  /  4:57  #9:  106.6, 120.3, 125.9, 101.4  /  4:50   #10: 69, 95.7, 99.8, 93.5  /  5:16   #11: 93.5, 134.8, 145.8, 145.4  /  4:55   #12  88, 166.4, 176.9, 174.3 /  4:27  #13: 131.3, 165, 153.3, 162.45  /  4:28  #14: 116.6, 244.48, 210.57, 190.14 /  4:17

And my past 4 months for this upcoming race: (Sept excluded) 137.19, 159.2, 230.87, 252.78.