Not exactly a textbook marathon recovery week, but here’s how it went:
Monday:
Planned – AM: 35 minutes easy
Actual – no post-marathon issues to deal with, so straight back at it with an easy 5 miler at just under sub-7:00/mile pace. Foggy and calm made for an enjoyable pre-work run.
Tuesday
Planned – AM: 35 minutes easy, PM: 55 steady
Actual – same as yesterday’s morning run, but the pace was a little quicker and the temperature a crazy 62?! The afternoon run also went well – a little blustery, but no issues hitting the required heart rate. 6:30/mile pace for almost an hour = nice!
Wednesday
Planned – 90 minutes w/ 45 easy, 45 steady
Actual – the first 45 minutes went well, but I struggled a bit in the second half to get the heart rate up to the required zone. No issues, just felt a little flat after a few busy days. Nice to run slightly over half marathon distance in the 90 minutes – I still remember the days when 1:29:59 was my PR!
Thursday
Planned – 60 minutes w/ 15 warm up, 5×6 minutes at 10k pace (90 sec rests), 10 minutes easy to cool down
Actual – 9 more miles in the bank! Another blustery run which made for a few challenging 6 minute intervals, but as I keep reminding people – “If you don’t train in it, you can’t race in it…”
Friday
Planned – rest day
Actual – needed it. Enjoyed it. Bring on the weekend!
Saturday
Planned – 20 miles w/ 8 easy, 12 steady
Actual – not the easiest workout in the world, but the long runs never are. Took a few miles to mentally get into this one, as I think I was concerned the glute injury was going to rear its ugly head again. The 12 “steady” miles were a bit daunting too!
Struggled a bit in the first four miles, “got into it” for the next couple, but then the left turn into the wind slowed me down a bit for the last of the “easy” miles.
The first three “steady” miles were into a headwind (6:45, 6:44, 6:40). It felt like I was working hard, but the HR was only up to about 145bpm – a fair bit lower than the required 153. I stuck with it though and felt good at the turnaround point knowing that the next 9 miles would have a little bit of wind assistance.
The closing miles weren’t easy, but thoughts of last week’s Richmond Marathon and next month’s Cayman Marathon kept me focused and motivated. Really pleased with the splits for the last 9 miles – 6:29, 6:28, 6:24, 6:30, 6:33, 6:27, 6:31, 6:24, 6:15, especially as this was only my 8th run of 20 miles or more in the whole of 2012, compared with 32 and 33 in 2011 and 2010 respectively. Not sure where my endurance is coming from at the moment, but I’m not complaining!
One another thing to note; I [foolishly] completed this run with zero fuel. I carried a couple of gels “just in case”, but didn’t feel the need to take them or stop for water. Yeah, not very wise and probably lucky I didn’t bonk at some point on the way home. 20 miles at 6:44/mile pace one week after Richmond = one happy runner.
Sunday
Planned – 60 minutes easy
Actual – legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday’s 20 miler for this “easy” hour. The wind slowed me down a bit in the closing miles, but still managed to knock out 8.6 miles in the 60 minutes.
Summary
So, a 70 mile week following a marathon is not exactly recommended, but I think I got away with it. With the Cayman Islands Marathon just a couple of weeks away, there’s still time to do a bit of work before towing the line on December 2nd. Onwards and upwards!
Holy Cow! You’re ability to run a sub-3 marathon on the somewhat sparse training you did was unbelievable. But your ability to run 70 high quality miles the week after is completely mind boggling. I want whatever your drinking! 🙂
Thanks for posting. I’m more a leisurely runner, but a distance runner nonetheless. And this is nice to look over and consider different routines throughout the week. Continued success to you!