Going Long (again) in 2024

10 easy miles; 8:55/mile pace.  Beautiful, clear morning - just 12C/54F.  Heavy down pour yesterday afternoon, so everything is fresh.  No issues - all is going well.

8 weeks down ... 10 to go until Chicago!

8 easy miles; 9:19/mile pace.

Speedwork at the track this morning.  6 x Yasso 800's with a 400 recovery in between.  Aimed for at 3:25 split.  Came in just a little faster, with the splits being:

3:22  3:21  3:19  3:22  3:21  and  3:20.

So, I'm happy with the results and how it felt running it.  The weather was perfect - clear, sunny, virtually no wind, and just 17C/62F.

8 miles at tempo pace; 7:47/mile.  Again felt strong throughout and was able to nail every split to within a couple of seconds either way.

7 easy miles; 8:55/mile pace.  Cool morning - just 9C/48F.  But great for running.

8 miles easy run; 9:10/mile pace.  

15 mile long run.  The Hanson Program calls for a pace 40 seconds slower than race pace.  For me in Chicago, that is 8:29/mile.  I ran the 1st 12 miles at a pace of 8:27/mile, so pretty much bang on my goal pace.

The final three miles, I picked it up and ran those mile splits at:  7:22  7:04  and  6:50, so I smoked the final three.  

There were no challenges of note in this run.  I felt great throughout and had no pain issues.  I ate just one GU and drank Gatorade with some water.

The temperature was only 15C/59F and humidity was in the mid 80's, so just a perfect running day.

So, I'm officially half way through my Chicago Marathon training program.  9 weeks down; 9 weeks to go.

Super easy slow miles; 9:17/mile pace.  My legs are a little heavy after yesterday's workout, but all systems are still good to go.

I'm going on my annual retreat this week, and so won't have access to a computer.  I'll still be running every day, and so will catch up with all my entries next weekend when I get home.

Speedwork at the track.  My final session.  Hurray!

I'm on retreat this week, and so went to the University track, which was only a 10 minute drive from my retreat house.  It was a humid 17C/63F with a light rain to start, which became a steady rain and then a downpour.  I was soaked through by the half way point.  Oh well.

This track was just refurbished, so I got to run on a nice rubberized track instead of the gravel one I have been using.  No weeds growing in it!  And all nicely painted lines - even color coded.  Nice.

Anyway, it was too dark to see my watch at the beginning, so I just ran according to how I felt.  I guess I felt too good, since my splits should have come in around 6:50, and I ran the 3 x 1 mile splits at:  6:36  6:30  and 6:31.

So, a great effort for my final speed work session.  And no black bears to be seen (there have been a LOT of them around this year).

I was supposed to run a tempo workout today, but after my 2 mile warm up, I realized that was not going to happen out here in the lakes region of Sudbury.  WAY too many hills - and steep!  I mean, I could hardly run up them, my legs felt like rubber at the top, and then it was just too steep to run down them without braking all the way.  Not good for a tempo run.  There were virtually no flats.

So, I decided to make this an unscheduled hill workout, and to run my tempo run at the track on Friday.  I can get away with that, since I don't have a long run to do this week.

The morning itself was great - just 12C/53F and dry.  I ended up running an average pace of 9:02/mile, but that was hardly consistent throughout.  So, I guess I got in my hill work, even though I'm training for the pancake flat Chicago course.

6 easy miles on that hilly route again.  At least this time I knew what to expect.  Kept a pace of 9:20/mile.  Just 11C/52F.  Getting hot this weekend, however.

Okay, back at the track for my tempo workout that I switched from Wednesday.  I figured I should be able to keep my pace a lot easier on the track, and I did a decent enough job of it, running an average pace of 7:43/mile.

44 laps around the track did not appeal to me, but it ended up not being that bad.  It was 17C/63F, but with 100% humidity, so I was soaked by the end.  Very foggy/hazy too.

Anyway, this was a smart move coming to the track - it was nice to avoid those hills.

10 miles easy pace - 9:07/mile.  It's not too bad yet, but will get pretty hot (for us) later today and tomorrow.  So good to get the miles in early.

I got back from my retreat yesterday, and right into work - wedding rehearsal last night and an emergency trip to the hospital to see a dying parishioner.  So, I just now got caught up with all my blog entries from the last week.

It's nice to be back on my familiar running route.  10 weeks of training is now complete - just 8 weeks to go until the Chicago Marathon.  And all systems are firing on 'go'!

8 easy miles; 9:13/mile pace.  Warm morning - 18C/65F with 98% humidity.  I felt a little sluggish, but overall was fine.  

Tomorrow will be my first 'strength workout' - mile repeats at 10 seconds/mile faster than race pace.  These will take the place of my speedwork for the remainder of my training program.

11 mile 'strength' workout, which will replace all my Monday speedwork sessions from here on in.  In the Hanson's program I'm using, the strength workouts are 1 - 3 mile repeats at a pace 10 seconds faster than race pace, with a short recovery in between.  The repeats will always add up to 6 miles distance, and the total distance will always be 11 miles.

I've set my race pace goal at 7:49/mile (going to join the 3:25 pace group and go for a PR).  So, I've been training at a slightly faster pace of 7:45/mile, meaning I was aiming today for around 7:35/mile pace.

So, I ran 6 x 1 mile repeats with 400 recovery.  My splits came in at:

7:35  7:34  7:27  7:27  7:24  and  7:23

So, overall I'm pleased, although I do have to watch it that I don't go too fast.  The benefits of this workout come at the prescribed pace.  I tend to speed up at the end of all my workouts.  Still, a good 1st effort.  Six of these Monday sessions to go!

Oh, and all that in our hottest morning of the year.  It was 21C/70F with 90% humidity.  I realize this is not 'hot' for a lot of runners further south, but for this Northern boy - it was downright steamy out there today!

11 mile Tempo Run at a pace of 7:46/mile.  It was hot for us:  19C/66F with 99% humidity.

7 easy miles at an 8:53/mile pace.

It was raining so hard this morning during my normal run time that it was hard to see.  With the crazy morning commuters around here, and knowing I was free a bit later, I decided to make today a late morning run.  It seemed to have worked well.

8 miles at an easy 9:02/mile pace.  The mini heat wave broke, so it was a pleasant 12C/53F.

16 mile long run today.  Paced it at 8:25/mile for the 1st 13 miles, and then let it go for the final three and ran them at 7:31  7:13  and  6:39.  I felt great throughout and have no aches or pains to speak of, other than the come and go arthritic pain in my hip which I'm quite used to by now anyway.

I did have to make one unscheduled stop around mile 9 to take care of some 'business'.  I didn't think I could make it home otherwise, and this was my only chance to stop before I hit a residential area.  Chalk it up to the fact my garden is producing really well, and so I've been loading up on fibre foods lately.  

6 super easy miles - 9:15/mile pace.  Legs a little heavy after yesterday's long run, but not too bad.  It was only 15C/59F, but the 97% humidity made it feel heavy.

The Chicago Marathon is 7 weeks from today.

Strength workout - 4 x 1.5 miles with 800m recovery.  I nailed every repeat at 7:33/mile, and felt strong throughout.  A light mist fell off and on between bouts of sunshine.  A good morning for running.

9 miles tempo (race pace) run, plus warm up and cool down miles.  Nailed my tempo pace of 7:45/mile.

6 easy miles run at a 9:00/mile pace.

First really chilly morning in a long time; just 7C/44F.  No wind, however.  I'm glad I went with the long sleeved shirt and the gloves today.

10 easy miles; 8:58/mile pace.  Warmer than yesterday's chilly run - 13C/55F with no wind.  Very nice.

10 easy miles; pace was 9:04/mile.  12 weeks down ... 6 more to Chicago.

8 easy miles; 9:01/mile pace.

Beautiful morning:  17C/63F.  That is the forecast low for every day this week, so great for running.

Had a close encounter with a black bear today on mile 7 of my run.  There are a LOT of bears in town this year because of the blueberry failure.  They are hungry.  I've not seen one this year, but sure have seen lots of scat on the trails.

Anyway, the one mile trail section I run nearly every day goes behind a row of houses on one side, and bush on the other.  I guess I startled this bear as I passed it as it was rooting through someone's garbage can.  It made a very loud racket with cans crashing which was loud enough to stop me to look back.  The bear ran out of the yard and onto the trail, just 90 feet behind me.  Not the biggest I've seen, but sure not a cub either.

Anyway, we both turned and ran in opposite directions, which was great news because not even Usain Bolt could outrun a black bear!

3 x 2 miles "strength pace" (about 10 seconds or so faster than race pace), with 800 recoveries.

My mile splits were:

7:34  7:31               7:31  7:26               and             7:31  7:27.

This felt easy enough, and I had to really watch that I kept the pace from picking up - forced myself to slow down a few times.  

And no bears today!