Phase: Base
Workout: Long, Steady Run: 14 to 16 miles
Purpose: Build Endurance and leg resistance to fatigue
Comments: Time on your feet is more important than pace in a long, steady run. Run easy and run long.
Everything was fine until about five and a half miles when my Garmin decided to stop recording distance and just display time of day and current heart rate instead. So, my 14 to 16 miler turned into a guess the distance affair.
After 1 hour 53 minutes I arrived back home, feeling pretty good having kept my heart rate in the low 140’s the whole time. I’m guessing the easy pace was around 7:25 per mile — a little quicker than the first 5 miles or so — which gives me a distance of just over 15 miles. Not a bad effort considering I haven’t been over 10 miles in a couple of months.
So Week 1 is behind me, and just 19 to go to until the Richmond Marathon. Also, somehow I managed to amass 58 miles this week which is actually my fourth highest training week in the last 12 months (maybe even longer). I think July could turn out to be a really good training month if I can keep the aches and pains at bay. Should be an interesting couple of weeks…
Update: It appears my Garmin stopped recording because the memory was full. I cleared out my history and as if by magic, everything seems fine again. I guess I’ll find out on tomorrow’s easy run.
58 miles in a week! That is mighty impressive!
Thanks. The good thing is, my legs feel great – must be the hard/easy combination that I’m not used to doing.
Maybe this McMillan guy knows what he’s talking about?!
Hey Steve,
Looks like the Mcmillian plan will fit your training better than the FIRST did. What is the peak miles/week with this plan? How many days a week do you run in this plan?
Happy Training,
Charlie
Hey Charlie,
Not sure on the peak miles; it’s more a time on your feet thing than a mileage thing, and to be honest I haven’t looked too far ahead!
Doesn’t look like there are many days off, but the easy days *should* feel like an easy day I guess. More on that in tonight’s post…
Hope you’re doing well!
–Steve
Wow… 58 huh? That’s monster numbers this early in the training. Gonna be a good marathon I think. Stay healthy!
Healthy is definitely one of the keys to success!
Like your comments about distance running (i.e., time spent on your feet being more important than pace). Very true. There’s a lot of wisdom in those observations.
Wow, you’ve certainly put on the miles this week. That’s awe-inspiring.
It’s been great to watch you progress on your new, customized McMillan plan. I can’t wait to see what you can accomplish with it! Hope it works even better than your FIRST training plan.
-C
P.S. My longest run to date has been 12 miles, but that was back in 1997. I’m almost half-way through the BOHR program (yes, for a second time!), & am really looking forward to the next phase — distance-building.
Those long, slow runs are wonderful on so many different levels!
Hey C,
Early days on the plan, but so far so good. I think my biggest hurdle over the course of the summer will be choosing the best time to train to avoid the worst of the heat and humidity. If I run early in the morning, I’m not at my best, but if I leave it until late afternoon/early evening, the heat can wear me down.
As you say, long runs are great on so many levels. Nothing like a nice long Sunday morning run to blow away the cobwebs of the week…
Good luck!
–Steve