Marathon Training Update III

Total Distance Ran/Planned: 19.6 miles/18 miles

Reflections from the week

-This heat is no freaking joke. It’s like you know the heat is coming, but you never fully realize it until it hits you.

-I guess that I should have completed at least one run while I was in Cancun, because I felt like I was starting from scratch. Well . . . I did take another week off, after Cancun.

-I do not know if I can maintain my intermittent fasting program during this training, especially if I do morning workouts.

Monday:

3 mile run (easy)

This was my first run, after my vacation, and it felt great to be back. I had planned to complete this run in Central Park, but it was far too hot/humid at 6:00 pm, so I decided to do this run on the treadmill. At the gym, I lucked out because I was able to use the best treadmill in the entire gym. Why is it the best? This treadmill is located under a super, high-powered, industrial fan. 

Tuesday:

Planned: 6-mile marathon pace

Completed: ~3 miles

 

This run was a complete mess. I woke up pretty early and did a warm-up run from my apartment to Central Park, which is about 0.75 miles. During the warm up, it seemed to be kinda hot at 6:45 am, but it did not seem THAT bad. While warming up, I already knew that there would be no way that I could run this at marathon pace (9:09 min/mi), so I figured that I would make it an easy pace.

Since this was a 6-mile run, I knew that I just needed to do one outer loop in Central Park, which is a little over 6 miles with a few rolling hills. Damnit, by the end of the first mile into the run, I pretty much was done. Once I hit the southern part of the Park, I started to see black dots and circles and to experience some dizziness, which is never good. I jumped on to the lawn, so I could cool off by one of the sprinklers (something that is a no-no in Central Park), and sat my ass on a bench for a few minutes. Fortunately, I took my metro card with me, so was able to take bus back home. Boy did that ice-cold M7 bus feel divine. 

Going forward

• I’m gonna need more time to acclimate to the summer heat
• I need to wake up even earlier to complete these runs, especially the weekend long runs

Wednesday:

Rest day

Thursday:

Yasso’s Intervals

I wanted to do this 800 m interval workout outside; but after what happened on Tuesday, I figure that it would be better do another workout on the treadmill.

 

For these intervals, I aimed to run 800 meters in 4 min with a 400 meter cool down between each interval. Obviously, I did not meet this goal. Unfortunately, my speed has gotten worse, since my Marathon Training Update II post. Two weeks ago, I could run these intervals in 4 minutes. I will chalk this week’s pace to the fact that I took an entire week off from training.

Friday:

Cross Train

Since I keep complaining about the heat, I am really going to try to make an effort to go to sleep earlier, so I can wake up earlier and complete my training activities. This was my first effort. I started this workout with 20 min on an indoor bike, followed by a few minutes on a stair climber.

 

This effort worked, because I was at the gym and on a bike by 6:38 am. Just a little bit about me, I normally arrive to work around 10:00 am, so this is a MAJOR accomplishment for me. Also, I HATE waking up early. Actually, I would have arrived to the gym even earlier, but I walked to the bus stop; realized that I left my wallet at home; walked back home to get my wallet; and walked back to the bus stop.

Cross Train II

 

I cannot remember the last time that I lifted, and boy, did it feel good. While training for this marathon, I really want to lift at least twice a week. According to my current marathon training plan, I have three days dedicated to cross training or resting, so this could be a possibility. We will see how this plays out once I get into distances that are in the double digits.

Saturday:

Rest Day

Sunday:

Planned: 6 miles

Completed: 8 miles

According to my training plan, I was supposed to run 6 miles, but I figured that I should increase the mileage, because next week’s long run is supposed to be 11 miles. It would be easier/better jumping from 8 miles (rather than 6 miles) to 11 miles in a week’s time.

Once again, I was very proud of myself, because I was out of the apt by 6:30 am for the run. Sunday’s weather was perfect for this run. I aimed to do this “long” run at marathon pace (9’09”) + 30 seconds per mile. For the most part, I was in that range . . . according to my Strava app. I honestly have to say that I really enjoyed this run, because most of the conditions were perfect for me.

 

I was kind of surprised that I ran the second half faster than the first half, because of the multiple inclines that are located on the westside of Central Park.

Goal(s) for the week.

• Heat acclimation
• Do well on my first double-digit long run, which means that I have to get to bed super early on Friday, so I can be in Central Park by 5:45 am.