Feb 15-19: Cutting it Close - p

13 hrs per day of work makes getting in runs reallly hard, mostly just because it sucks up almost all of the gym hours.  I don't mind working out late at night - just not out on roads, in the dark.

Feb 13:
I got in one weekday run - a speed session.  Haven't done one in a month!!!  But it's a good time now.  Hopefully, it'll let me peak speed-wise at the right time.

1 mi warmup in 8:19, 3 x [3/4 @ 9mph, 1/4 @ 7.5mph] (equivalent to 5 min hard, 2 min easy).  4.0 in 29:19, 7:20 ave.  Good results.  This was after 16 hours of work.  It felt hot in the gym.  I had finished dinner 45 minutes before but felt okay.  Probably some impact, but okay.

Feb 17:
Strength session at 6am.  I meant to run the previous night, but I didn't wake up after the catnap I tried to take. 

Feb 18:
I had 2 days to get in a 8er and a 12er.  It was sunny on the Saturday morning, and I didn't start until 9am, so I just did the 8er that day... it was really 7.5.  I thought the other run this week only called for 2 and that I was already 2 ahead, but I was really supposed to do 8.  It was a nice park run.  I felt like I may be getting out of shape, though, after only having one run during the week.  My heart didn't feel as strong. 

I had tart cherry juice before the run.  It was a needed pick-me-up, and it's supposed to help with recovery.  If I'm putting my body through back-to-back runs like this, I need to take extra care of it.  It's supposed to be the taper period, so I'm not supposed to be doing 19.5 in 2 days.   

My legs felt kind of banged up the rest of the day - felt it a bit during the last bit of the run, which is part of the reason I stopped at 7.5.  I massaged and stretched, and the massage felt good.

Feb 19:
It was rainy pretty much all day.  Rainy and cold.  I don't mind rain, but I don't want to get my car wet and dirty, and it's probably safer to not get sick at this time.  It took me a while to feel energetic enough for it, but I was going to wait for the evening, anyway, to get in max recovery time after yesterday morning's run.

I've watched many Brooks-Hansons videos on YouTube, and in their preparation for the Olympic Trials, they did workouts like 5x2, 3x3, 2x6.... something like that.  And specificity is supposed to be good as you get closer and closer to your marathon.  So, I decided to try that kind of long-run workout for the first time.  It might help me get some of that fit feeling back, and maybe it'll recharge my fitness one last time before I really start to back off.  In Desi Davilla's 5x2, she did 10s faster than race pace.

I mentally goofed, and instead of doing 7.7mph as my goal for the workout, I did 7.8.  But 10s out of like 6 min miles is probably equivalent to my 15s out of 8 min miles, so maybe it was good after all.  In any case, I could hit anywhere within a pretty wide range of marathon times.  A BQ requires 8:12, a better goal is 8:01, and my best-case scenario based on my HM times (which I've pretty consistently gotten for like 6 HMs) is 7:43.  So doing the 2 mi reps at 7:42 is fine. 

The workout: 1 mi warmup @ 7mph, 4 x [2 mi @ 7.8mph (7:42), 0.5 mi @ 7mph], 1 mi "cooldown" that was really just pushing what felt comfortable a bit.

To add to the whole specificity thing, besides the workout itself, I wore the shoes I'll be wearing - Saucony Kinvaras.  I've worn it for many HMs - super light, cushiony, comfortable.  I also drank every 2 mi, for a total of like 2.5 cups, made of 1:1.5 tart cherry juice:water+salt.  That's the drink interval I'll get on the race.  It went down well.  I noticed that I needed more and more fluid as the run went on.  The gym was 69 degrees but fine.  That'll also help - that'll probably be the temps during the end of my race.  Albany's race-day temps tend to range a lot, from upper 40s to mid 60s, maybe.  My body needs to be acclimated to it. 

My right knee had some alignment issues at about mile 11, and it got a little better. 

After the run, I did an ice bath in the pool.  Again, every bit of recovery I can get.  Last time, icing didn't seem to help and if anything brought kinks out even more, but I'm willing to try again.

After the icing in upper 30 temps outside (wearing a jacket while icing, by the way, makes the experience waaaay more comfortable - why haven't I done it before?),  had skim milke+instant decaf+cocoa+vanilla.  And a hot shower.  And then salad, some eggs+onions, goldfish and peanuts, oatmeal, and a few soy crisps.



I also massaged.  My right butt is off - maybe that's what caused the knee issues.  And I foam rolled. Okay, taper starts for real now.  I got in the miles this week - barely.  I think it's safe enough to do at this point.  Still 2 weeks to fully recover.

12 in 1:35:10, 7:56 ave.  Maybe that was a bit overdoing it.  Not as much as a race would've, though.