Disclaimer: I am running Grandma's Marathon in June as a BibRave Pro, which means my entry fee was covered for me. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!
I had a killer week last week, proving to myself that I can do hard things.
I returned from vacation with a cold and behind in work as I am currently in the midst of a large project. I got up EVERY.SINGLE. morning and got it done. Two high fives for me.
Yes, I am celebrating.
I am now in the one speed workout, one tempo run, and one long run portion of the plan which is how life will go until I actually run the race. It is more intense, but I really like having more variation in my workouts which is motivating.
I also have to pay more attention to pace. Last spring, my avg pace per mile was 7:17.4, after using a 7:15 avg pace for my tempo runs. (In the Hanson's plan, your weekly tempo run is meant to be run at your goal marathon pace.) My half marathon last fall was a 6:45 avg pace.
My big goal for 2018 is to run a sub 3 hour marathon, which equates out to a 6:51 avg pace (or faster) per mile. While I felt amazing at the end of my marathon last spring and have more confidence in the Hanson's process, having now done it two times, I still think that is a pretty big jump to go from a 7:17 to a 6:51. I landed on a 7:00 per mile which is a 3:03:32 marathon as a goal for my spring marathon, and then if I clear that, use 6:51 for my fall marathon attempt.
I don't know if I am taking the easy way out by doing this - part of me wants to just try to do the tempos around a 6:51 and see where that gets me in spring, particularly after last week's tempo (see Thursday's workout recap below).
I had a killer week last week, proving to myself that I can do hard things.
I returned from vacation with a cold and behind in work as I am currently in the midst of a large project. I got up EVERY.SINGLE. morning and got it done. Two high fives for me.
Yes, I am celebrating.
I am now in the one speed workout, one tempo run, and one long run portion of the plan which is how life will go until I actually run the race. It is more intense, but I really like having more variation in my workouts which is motivating.
I also have to pay more attention to pace. Last spring, my avg pace per mile was 7:17.4, after using a 7:15 avg pace for my tempo runs. (In the Hanson's plan, your weekly tempo run is meant to be run at your goal marathon pace.) My half marathon last fall was a 6:45 avg pace.
My big goal for 2018 is to run a sub 3 hour marathon, which equates out to a 6:51 avg pace (or faster) per mile. While I felt amazing at the end of my marathon last spring and have more confidence in the Hanson's process, having now done it two times, I still think that is a pretty big jump to go from a 7:17 to a 6:51. I landed on a 7:00 per mile which is a 3:03:32 marathon as a goal for my spring marathon, and then if I clear that, use 6:51 for my fall marathon attempt.
I don't know if I am taking the easy way out by doing this - part of me wants to just try to do the tempos around a 6:51 and see where that gets me in spring, particularly after last week's tempo (see Thursday's workout recap below).
Sunday, March 18
Plan Says: Easy 4 miles
What I did: This was our last full day in Florida so I took the opportunity to get a run in. I could not remember how many miles I was supposed to run so I went for 5 miles.
5 miles, 43:07 (8:37 avg pace)
5 miles, 43:07 (8:37 avg pace)
Monday, March 19
Plan Says: 12 x 400, with 400 meter recovery in between and 1 mile warm up and cool down
What I did: Off.
I had big plans of getting this done in the afternoon once we were back home in WI. However, after a day of traveling, and then having to log into work for the afternoon, I was so so tired. I opted to switch my schedule around and am glad I did. Sometimes switching my schedule around adds stress to my week, but in this case it was absolutely the right decision.
I had big plans of getting this done in the afternoon once we were back home in WI. However, after a day of traveling, and then having to log into work for the afternoon, I was so so tired. I opted to switch my schedule around and am glad I did. Sometimes switching my schedule around adds stress to my week, but in this case it was absolutely the right decision.
Tuesday, March 20
Plan Says: Off
What I did: 12 x 400, with 400 meter recovery in between and 1 mile warm up and cool down.
I had to be up and at 'em at 4:45 to get my 400s done. I was really nervous about this workout, even though I typically really enjoy 400s. After MONTHS of easy runs, with maybe a hard workout in once in a blue moon, I was worried that I had lost a lot of speed. I was happy to report that I felt good during all of these.
My goal was to run them in 1:33 (6:12 pace). This is the same that I used for this workout during my marathon training last spring. I did these in my neighborhood using 400 meters = 0.25 miles. My goal was to keep it in check and not do them too hard because I knew I had other hard workouts ahead in the week. I adjusted my pace slightly after going out too hard for the first one and was able to finish them all feeling good.
1.07 mile warm up, 8:41.6 (8:06 avg pace)
1. 1:26.6 (5:44 avg pace) / recovery: 2:04.3 (8:07 avg pace)
2. 1:31.1 (6:00 avg) / 2:01.6 (8:00 avg)
3. 1:32.0 (6:07 avg) / 2:05.1 (8:10 avg)
4. 1:32.4 (6:07 avg) / 2:04.9 (8:22 avg)
5. 1:30.4 (6:01 avg) / 1:58.7 (7:53 avg)
6. 1:33.0 (6:12 avg) / 2:02.8 (7:54 avg)
7. 1:31.2 (6:01 avg) / 2:02.6 (8:01 avg)
8. 1:27.4 (5:49 avg) / 2:02.5 (8:07 avg)
9. 1:31.9 (6:03 avg) / 2:05.5 (8:13 avg)
10. 1:29.3 (5:54 avg) / 2:05.2 (8:17 avg)
11. 1:30.7 (5:57 avg) / 1:56.6 (7:38 avg)
1.25 mile cool down, 10:26 (8:21 avg pace)
I had to be up and at 'em at 4:45 to get my 400s done. I was really nervous about this workout, even though I typically really enjoy 400s. After MONTHS of easy runs, with maybe a hard workout in once in a blue moon, I was worried that I had lost a lot of speed. I was happy to report that I felt good during all of these.
My goal was to run them in 1:33 (6:12 pace). This is the same that I used for this workout during my marathon training last spring. I did these in my neighborhood using 400 meters = 0.25 miles. My goal was to keep it in check and not do them too hard because I knew I had other hard workouts ahead in the week. I adjusted my pace slightly after going out too hard for the first one and was able to finish them all feeling good.
1.07 mile warm up, 8:41.6 (8:06 avg pace)
1. 1:26.6 (5:44 avg pace) / recovery: 2:04.3 (8:07 avg pace)
2. 1:31.1 (6:00 avg) / 2:01.6 (8:00 avg)
3. 1:32.0 (6:07 avg) / 2:05.1 (8:10 avg)
4. 1:32.4 (6:07 avg) / 2:04.9 (8:22 avg)
5. 1:30.4 (6:01 avg) / 1:58.7 (7:53 avg)
6. 1:33.0 (6:12 avg) / 2:02.8 (7:54 avg)
7. 1:31.2 (6:01 avg) / 2:02.6 (8:01 avg)
8. 1:27.4 (5:49 avg) / 2:02.5 (8:07 avg)
9. 1:31.9 (6:03 avg) / 2:05.5 (8:13 avg)
10. 1:29.3 (5:54 avg) / 2:05.2 (8:17 avg)
11. 1:30.7 (5:57 avg) / 1:56.6 (7:38 avg)
1.25 mile cool down, 10:26 (8:21 avg pace)
These 400s are faster than my spring marathon 400s last year (also done on the road), but slower than my fall half marathon 400s (done on the track). All 3 workouts had the same goal pace of 1:33.
Wednesday, March 21
Plan Says: 5 mile tempo, 1 mile warm up and cool down
What I did: easy 4 miles.
I flip flopped Thursday and Wednesday to keep the day in between tempo and speed workouts. I did not have time to get 4 miles in after work before I had to get my daughter to swim lessons but managed to get 3.5 miles done.
3.5 miles, 28:16 (8:04 avg pace)
I flip flopped Thursday and Wednesday to keep the day in between tempo and speed workouts. I did not have time to get 4 miles in after work before I had to get my daughter to swim lessons but managed to get 3.5 miles done.
3.5 miles, 28:16 (8:04 avg pace)
Thursday, March 22
Plan Says: easy 4 miles
What I did: 5 mile tempo, 1 mile warm up and cool down.
True to form, I had some jitters about this workout, which translated into doing the tempo run too fast. I had set a goal of doing my tempo workouts at 7:00 per mile.
1 mile warm up, 8:43
5 mile tempo, 33:59 (6:47 avg pace) Mile splits: 6:47, 6:43, 6:55, 6:36, 6:56
1 mile cool down, 8:17
I felt good throughout this and afterwards, with the exception that I am still coughing up a lot of phlegm.
True to form, I had some jitters about this workout, which translated into doing the tempo run too fast. I had set a goal of doing my tempo workouts at 7:00 per mile.
1 mile warm up, 8:43
5 mile tempo, 33:59 (6:47 avg pace) Mile splits: 6:47, 6:43, 6:55, 6:36, 6:56
1 mile cool down, 8:17
I felt good throughout this and afterwards, with the exception that I am still coughing up a lot of phlegm.
Friday, March 23
Plan Says: easy 8 miles
What I did: Back on schedule. 8 miles easy before work. This was a hard workout. I was definitely pooped.
8.25 miles, 1:10:24 (8:32 avg pace)
8.25 miles, 1:10:24 (8:32 avg pace)
Saturday, March 24
Plan says: easy 8 miles
What I did: I knew from my mileage tracking spreadsheet that if I ran a little over 8 miles, I would have a nice even 40 miles for the week so that was my goal.
8.15 miles, 1:07:38 (8:18 avg pace)
8.15 miles, 1:07:38 (8:18 avg pace)
Weekly Total
Plan says: 39 miles
What I did: 40.03 miles! Two high fives!
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