On Saturday I hit the gym for my 3rd session of the week and ran an easy 5.5-miler after Friday's hill session. That set me up for the long Sunday run. Last Sunday was the race, and the Sunday before was just an 8-miler due to residual soreness from that week's hill session, so I haven't done a longer run in a few weeks.
The target was 11-miles at about 7:15 - 7:20 pace, but things felt smooth from the start - when I finished the first 3.3 miles (with the last 2.3 at a 3.5% grade) at about 7:15 pace I knew it was going to be a good one. By the halfway point the overall pace was down to 7:08, and after another uphill portion the pace started to pick up. The last 3-miles came in at about 19:40 and I finished the 11-miler in the trails w/ an average pace of 6:58. Nice run to finish out the week.
But this week (my first after the down week) was a milestone week for several reasons:
1. Total mileage was 47-miles which is a new record for me.
2. EVERY run this week averaged under 7:30 pace - even the very easy ones. That's a first for sure.
3. Average pace for the week was 7:04, certainly a record.
4. Three quality sessions this week w/ the 800m reps, hills, and the good long run.
5. Three sessions at the gym this week. (this should always be the case, but it's only been 2 per for the last couple of weeks)
So this was my longest week ever and also my fastest. On top of that I managed to get to the gym 3 times - a really good week of work for me. Fourty-seven miles @ 7:04 average pace is certainly something I wouldn't have predicted a few weeks ago, but I seem to be feeling much better after that down week.
I've got Monday off from running as usual, but I'll be at the gym. Tuesday's an easy day ahead of the Threshold day Wednesday, and coach has a good one lined up there!
Training:
9/18: 5.5 easy miles @ 7:11 pace, HR-149: lifting (upper-A, abs) stretching, rolling
9/19: 11-miles in 1:16:41 (6:58 pace) HR-153
2 comments:
nice weeks work! You are getting some good times on 'relatively' low mileage. I'm sure the interval and strength work you do is the reason for this. I think I'll take your previous advice that I should introduce some strength training into my programme. I agree with you about its benefits but I've tended to shy away from it recently primarily because when I was younger I 'over did it' which I found negatively impacted on my times over the longer distances.
Mike, firstly I too am no training expert (who is??) but I think you've got a point about the medium volume threshold runs in lieu of low volume easy runs. To date I think 95% of my runs would be considered to be >75%max bpm. It has been said to me in the past that I never seem to run 'easy'. Typically such comments have been made by marathon runners!! But like you the 'speedier' regime seems to be working for me. Consistency is my problem!!
However now that I can get to 45+ miles per week relatively easily I think that I may need to introduce something extra into my programme in order to take the next step. A regular longer long run >15miles together with the elements that are currently missing (i.e. hills and weights) will probably form part of my training over the next few months. Who knows, there may or maynot be any benefit...
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