Eugene right around the corner
The Eugene marathon is under two months away now and this has me thinking about what to do in this last window leading up to the big day. My training schedule calls for the following on my long weekends: 20 miles (this weekend), 17, 23, 20, 20, and then the taper starts with 15, 12, 10 and then it’s go time.
A couple other things intersect, though. The 17 miler in a week is the day before the St. Paddy’s Dash which I’m registered for. And I thought about doing this (the 17 mile weekend) as my long hard run where I’d aim for about a 7 minute pace and go uninterrupted. This should be a good training exercise as well as a good confidence run so I’ll probably do it and then just do run the following day at St. Pats however I feel, but not really race it.
However, the following weekend (which is the 23 mile day) is also the Mercer Island Half. That’s a race I’m not yet registered for and if I do it, it’s $60 which honestly seems like way too much. But I could do that and just aim to PR which would also be a good training pace/distance for the marathon.
The only obvious mistake would be trying to race all three (or to do the LHR + race the next day). But however I slice it, there’s not much time left for the marathon. I’m really feeling a lot better going into this one than Portland two years ago now, though (jeez - was that really that long ago?) and even than when I was aiming for Victoria last fall. I’ve done 20 mile long runs for probably the past three Sundays and every time have been at or very close to an 8 minute pace and managed to finish every one feeling strong and last fall I was definitely struggling with just finishing the 20 miles at a (ballpark) same pace.
The other thing on my mind is the ultra I’m doing the following month. I think as long as I just take that nice and slow, it’ll all be fine (but very long and still hard). I asked Joe about last year’s course, though, and was pretty surprised. He said that the course does something the following: two 5K loops, then out on a big loop for the remaining 40k. How fast should somebody run it? He indicated that he did those 5k’s in ~58 minutes (which comes out to something like a 10 minute pace) and that in hindsight, that might have been going a little fast. Oooookkaaaayyy. It’s certainly helpful to have that perspective!
I’m not sure what’s going to be in store for me, running-wise, after this. If I don’t qualify for Boston in Eugene, I’m probably going to feel like I absolutely have to run another marathon because the rest of my running and pacing definitely indicates that that should be in the cards for me. At the same time, I’d much rather feel some flexibility to not follow the marathon training schedule to the letter so much - to be able to take my dog on more runs, to not worry if it’s late on a Wednesday and be thinking “great - I still gotta get 90 minutes in…” and to be able to do different sorts of races or types of exercise without worrying about it screwing up my schedule and volume or other goals.
Joe said,
March 5, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
I propose this:
Instead of a 17 mile LHR, allow yourself a 2 mile warmup window at typical 8:00 pace or so, and then slowly climb to 7:00 pace and do the remaining 15 miles at that pace. Maybe even stretch a bit after the 2 mile warmup. I’d also look at the Eugene course (which I hear is flat as a pancake) and try to match that elevation profile in the route you do. Or at least be relatively close. In other words, don’t do it on Cougar Mtn. But jumping out the store and doing 17 hard miles might be asking too much and might lead to not good times down the road, leg wise.
After this, STRETCH. It will be a hard run, take care of yourself afterwards. Maybe even do the ol’ ice bath….if for nothing else than the psychological benefits. The next day, enjoy yourself at the 5k but don’t do anything stupid like me at the time trial the other night. Maybe pick it up for certain periods just to stretch the legs out, but I would not recommend racing it since it’s such an arbitrary distance. Stretch again. Youg legs might feel tight and tired. In fact they should.
As for the half…hmm, I want to recommend eschewing it, even though that’s not the company line, and you’re right, $60 is a little steep for a race you probably will not be at 100% for and can probably only run as a tempo workout. I think the 23 miler is more important, confidence-wise, than the half. Plus it’s free.
One final idea is to add one more LHR in there…though not for the whole run. I’m thinking either the last 20 or the 15 after that, do a chunk of it (preferably ending the run with it) at LHR pace. Maybe like 10 miles worth. So if it’s the 20 mile day, do 10 at normal pace, then ramp it up in the final 10 to the end, and if you’re feeling up for it, maybe going even *faster* in the mile 2-3 miles. Maybe another 12-15 minute ice bath following it just for precaution.
To sum up:
1. I fully endorse LHRs…in fact I could use one myself, so I’d be happy to join you.
2. A 17 mile LHR might be a little crazy, especially w/out proper warmup.
2. Doing that and a hard half marathon on back-to-back weekends might not be a hot idea and your legs might hate you and take it out on your at mile 19 of the big day.
4. On top of that, I find the 23 miler more important than the half marathon race anyway.
5. On top of that, it’s free.
Joe said,
March 5, 2009 @ 12:38 pm
edit:
maybe going even *faster* in the FINAL 2-3 miles.
Chris Bender said,
March 10, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
Yes, I also think you should skip, or “eschew” (?) the half. I also second Joe’s 17 mile work out. You guys doing the Cougar Mountain series to get ready for the 50k? I also think that if you injure your ankle you don’t run a meaningless time trial.
Patrick said,
March 10, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
i’m hoping to not eschew the CMTR series! no idea how fast i’ll do them, though. but yeah, i think i’m on for a hard run this weekend and then an easy St Pat’s on Sunday morning. i’m glad this week was the end of the 60-90 Wednesdays. it’ll be really nice to get that time back.