Sep 8-22: Big Week, and Into the Taper

Sep 8, Sunday:
1 hr Bike session.  This was the day after the 17.7 miler.  I could've possibly tried running, but my left Tibialis Anterior was a little bit inflamed, so I stuck with a safe, get-blood-flowing alternative.

Sep 10, Tuesday:
I went back to doing my standard speed workout.  The one in the Hansons plan goes a lot slower.  This workout worked out well for me in past marathon cycles, so I wanted to do it at least once during this cycle. 

The workout: 1/2 mi warmup in 4:06, 4x[1/2mi @ 9mph (3:20), 1/4mi @ 7.5mph (2:00)], 1/2 mi cooldown in 3:20.  Tough, but I did it!

Sep 11, Wednesday:
Another good workout.  A 3.5 mi hill session.

The workout: 3x[1/2 mi @ 3 degrees, 1/4 mi @ 5 degrees, 1/4 @ 7 degrees] @ 7mph (8:32 ave).

Sep 14, Saturday:
The third big session of the week... 20.4 mi LR @ 9:16 pace.  Ate 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through.  Bathroom break 1/2 way through.  Cool temps at the start, where I even wanted to pull my shades down over my eyes, for added warmth.  It quickly grew warm, though, as body heat built up.  My left inner knee had superficial pain 3x, but after treading carefully for a while, it would go away.  I still felt decent after 20.4 mi.  Immediately after finishing, my left plantar felt a sharp pain.  That was the start of my plantar fasciitis, which I'm still dealing with now, over a week later.

The 20 miler marked the completion of the training buildup.  Now begins the taper!  Not that even the taper is that easy.  Technically, the money is in the bank at this point, but there are still big workouts.  You wonder if you've done enough, and you may, like me, be struggling with some minor injuries.

Some Falafel that I made, out of a boxed mix:

Sep 16, Monday:
1 hr body weight strength session.

Sep 17, Tuesday:
After a huge training week last week, I was in no mood for any kind of speed today, so I stuck with 4.0 easy, at 3 degrees of incline.  Splits> 8:38, 8:20, 8:13, 7:56 (8:17 ave).  With the incline, it was at 7:39 effort.  It was a tough run, maybe due to accumulated fatigue from the big week.  Also, I worked 11.25 hours that day.  My plantar was tight, and I was limping after the run from it.  The run boosted my mood, though, after the long day.

Sep 19, Thursday:
Managed a marathon pace run for 6 mi (7:58 pace).  Went better than I expected.  Plantar still has issues, but it's runnable.

Sep 21, Saturday:
I was supposed to do 12 miles, but I could only manage 10.5 miles safely.  My plantar fascia was angry yesterday, but it was runnable today.  I did a consistent positive split throughout the run.   Eh... I'm recovering from the previous week.

Sep 22, Sunday:
1 hr bike session.

2 more weeks until race day!!!!!

Aug 26-Sep 7 : Labor Day Lollygagging

Aug 26, Monday: 1 hr strength session, for the first time in nearly 2 weeks, due to the Shanghai trip.  Strength not affected (I normally detrain a bit after 2 full weeks)

Aug 28, Wednesday: 6.0 @ 7:50 pace.  I did 5/6 of a planned 3x 2 miles.  I did a 0.5 mi warmup, followed by 2x[2 mi @ 7.8 mph, then 1/4 mi @ 7mph], followed by 1 mi in 7:27.  It was better than expected, so I was happy.

Aug 30, Friday: 5.0 @ 8:05, a marathon pace "tempo" run... a bit progressive, though. Splits> 8:17, 08, 7:59, 51.

Went to my parents' house for Labor Day weekend.  Meant to do an 18 miler over the weekend.  Didn't happen.  It's tough to get big runs in, when you're in a different environment with a different tempo. 

I did, however, try my hand at acrylic painting, which has recently become a hobby for my mom.  She taught me how to do clouds and trees.  I really like the cities that I've visited, so I wanted to paint Amsterdam.

 

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My boat was too small.  I was going to put in the bigger one, but the angle, and getting the proportions right, was proving to be difficult.  I would've liked to have added people and bikes, but that's tricky, too.

Sep 1, Sunday: Got in a 4.4 miler @ 8:45 pace as the sun set.  It was hotter than I was used to.

Sep 2, Monday: The following morning, I did another 6.6 @ 9:15 pace.  I went slow, to accommodate the possibility that I'd somehow pull off the 18er, but that didn't happen, since it was going to be a full-on sunny day, and I prefer to run in the shade.  Drove back home afterwards, with my mom visiting again.

Sep 5, Thursday:  I didn't run the past 2 days, on day 1 because I was still tired from back-to-back run days and due to a meeting at night.  I didn't run yesterday because of a dinner meeting for work.  I got in a marathon pace 6.0 today @ 8:03 pace, though.  I felt like it was hard to get enough air, and that might've been because it was too soon after dinner, and bloodflow and oxygen was being diverted for digestion.  It felt good to run again, though... my body had craved it.

Sep 6, Friday: 1 hr strength session.

Sep 7, Saturday: A successful 17.7 miler on the Swamp Rabbit spongy trail, at 9:11 pace.  Properly fueled with 1 granola bar and a sweet & salty-style nut bar during the run.  I do gels during races, but I like solids on training runs.  It's an excuse to eat sugary foods.