Jaysoffian-- Great job. Those good long runs are awesome-- I wish I had a few more of those. :12 off MP sounds pretty darn good especially if you were feeling great. Sounds like your training is really producing great improvements.

AndyHass- Hope the hip doesn't blossom into anything more serious. I had a similar thing crop up last fall three weeks out from my goal marathon after a hard half marathon up a steep canyon and down a steeper one the other side, followed two days later by a 22 miler, then a set of intervals at the track. Anyway, it started as a nagging hip/buttock pain that brewed at a low level for a couple weeks then suddenly hit me on a long run and was so bad it throbbed all night keeping me awake. I literally couldn't run for about 3-4 days and thought the marathon was out the window. I got an MRI and ruled out a stress fracture and a herniated disc as the cause and with that negative, came to the conclusion it was piriformis syndrome. (Actually, kudzu runner had some very helpful tips about it). I did pool interval sessions in a jog belt at the local YMCA (hard 3 on/1 off for 30 min. sessions or 5 on/2.5 off for 40-45 min. sessions) and was able to maintain fitness and get to the starting line okay and still in good shape. Anyway, point is, whatever it is, don't let it sneak up on you and put you out. Good luck.

Kudzu-- yeah!! Nice. Sounds like that marathon didn't take too much out of you physically to bounce right back and be running that type of mileage so soon afterwords. I think you'll crush 3:30!

M-5.7 AM (7:27), 4.3 PM (7:24)- recovery runs)

T- 8. with 5 x 1000 (3:26, 3:31, 3:26, 3:25, 3:30) planned six, late for work but probably couldn't have done sixth anyway.

W- 13.6 (avg. pace 6:51)-- good solid effort just below MP

Th- AM 8.6 (7:13), PM 4.4 (very easy, slow on treadmill-- like 8:30)

F- 8.2 (7:30) with 6 x 100 strides (really almost full sprints)

S- 20.5 (7:27)- ran first 8 mod. effort steady climb uphill with group. Then flew down-- literally half MP effort or better for about 7 miles. Then relatively easy last 5.5. Hit "wall" about 1 mile to go, dizzy, low blood sugar I believe-- 12 hours of manual labor the day before doing a backyard landscaping project, didn't eat a lot-- trying to shed 4-5 lbs., water only. Felt really, really bad, and it came on very suddenly. Recovered fine today (Sun.)

Sun- off (planned)

Total- 73.3

Summary-- trying to pick up pace in all runs this week. Fairly successful. Need to do more intervals next couple weeks. Starting taper more or less. Plan 16-17 next weekend, lower mileage and more intervals. Need to find a 10-15k race next Sat. If not, will be a boring solo time trial 10k to get some idea of planned pace.

This week, I strayed from the Pfitzinger plan more than usual - more intensity and lower mileage, but next week I'll be back to following the plan more closely.

Mo - AM - 6mi @ 9:21 / PM - 4mi @ 8:27

Tu - 9mi inc. 5x600m : 2:14, 2:12, 2:11, 2:14, 2:15

We - AM - 14.2mi @ 8:58 / PM - 6mi @ 8:06

Th - AM - 6mi inc. 10x100m strides @ 9:11 / PM - 5K race - 5th place - 18:20 (5:54) - my first time below 6 minute mile pace for anything longer than one mile.

Fr - 6mi @ 9:13

Sa - AM - 3.5mi race in 21:54 (6:13), 2nd place /
PM - 6.1mi @ 9:05

Su - AM - 10K race - 39:23 (6:21), 11th place /
PM - 6mi @ 8:43

Total mileage: 77.8
Avg. weight: steady at 186 lbs

5 weeks until Mystic...

Weather has been ideal in WI - low to mid 50sF

M 6 am // 4 pm
T 16am tm-4x.75mile 10MPH w/ 3% incline // 5pm
W 8am // 4 pm
TH 11am - track 4x1600(5:45-5:37-5:30-5:26) (T to I) // 4pm
FR 6am // 9pm (All day budget meeting s/b 4-blow off steam)
SA 10am - tm 2% - 7.5% incline + 4 striders
SU 16am (Depletion run)

73am // 26 pm = 99 total

Tuesday was I-Paced and TH was fun -- I felt I could have done 2 or 3 more even faster - but would not be wise on a taper week. SA-is actually a slow pace run (7.5 MPH) but with incline for fun.

The most miles I have run the week before a marathon, but relatively speaking the last 5 weeks have been 153-126-115-113-99 probably OK.

I do not plan on going for the 2:39 goal, I will have to save that for Las Vegas 12/10. I would like to start in the 6:10-6:15 range the 1st 10 miles and go by feel from there. I had hoped to weigh 180 by marathon and that will not happen.

Minimum goal = PR (2:47:14)

Realistic Goal 2:43:XX

High Goal 2:41:XX

Dreaming 2:39:XX

Of course these are based on good weather conditions - actual conditions will see a shift in goal times.

Good week everyone.

Southern Man:

When you get a chance, please update the marathon list to include me (along with BNAGamecock) in St. Jude, 12/2. Same 3:30 goal as for Tupelo. Thanks much. (I put this in CAPS within my earlier post but it may have snuck by.....)

joplus: I am going to try for a 3:10 in july, so Im always interested in what other people have done to get to 3:10. I was looking at your mileage and noticed that lots of it was at around 9:00 pace. Was this because of the 5k, or do you normally train most of your miles at that pace?

quote:<HR>Originally posted by eggnite:
joplus: I am going to try for a 3:10 in july, so Im always interested in what other people have done to get to 3:10. I was looking at your mileage and noticed that lots of it was at around 9:00 pace. Was this because of the 5k, or do you normally train most of your miles at that pace?<HR>

eggnite: the 9min+ avg training pace is not because of the 5K. I live in Florida, and extreme heat and humidity is unavoidable. I tend to run very slowly unless I'm doing a workout. If I go a long time between races I lose a lot of confidence in my training; it's hard to believe you can go 10min pace one day and 6:20 pace the next. But somehow the mileage makes up for the very slow pace.

Great job everyone.. I get pumped everytime I see how well your training is going! Good luck Dr. Wu.

Overall, I think I had my best week of training. 54 miles total. After coming off a mileage high of 67, I dropped it back a bit in preparation for Reach the Beach, which I had never done. To keep it short, it was an awesome experience, especially running at 1:30AM with nothing but other flashing vests to guide your way. I have never seen so many stars on a run before. One of the side effects of marathon training I noticed was how well I recovered from each relay leg, despite getting maybe an hour of sleep. I think I actually felt better after the relay than I normally feel after long runs.

M - 7.5m @ 8:08 pace, very comfortable especially now that the cooler weather has arrived.

T - 9m total. 3 miles w/u, than 2x800 (1:30 RI), and 4x1200 (2:30 RI): 2:49, 2:45, 4:11, 4:14, 4:19, 4:17. 2 miles c/d. 1st VO2max work in 6 weeks. Probably a bit aggressive on the 1st 1200, so back off a bit for the last three.

W - 7.5m @ 8:03 pace. Medium long midweek runs are becoming progressively easier, especially when temps are in the 60s.

Th - off. Travel day to Bretton woods.

F-Sa - Reach the Beach: 25 miles total, including warm-up runs before legs.
6.6m @ 6:44 pace, fairly flat leg, surprised I could hold that pace comfortably.
7.2m @ 7:24 pace. Tough leg with 700 ft elevation gain and a constant stream of steep hills. Overnight run, which probably made the hills easier to run since you couldn't see the top.
7.4m @ 6:54 pace. Uphill for the 1st 4 miles, than downhill and flat to the finish. Overall my best leg, which was surprising since it was my last leg and I hadn't slept. Hitched on to the back of a faster runner over the last mile and was probably doing about 6:00 pace by the end.

Su - 5m @ 8:00 pace. Legs felt surprisingly fresh after the relay.