NYC Marathon Training Weeks 6-7

Monday: Elliptical (Precor 100i) + Strength class
Tuesday: AM: 11.4 mile run easy
PM: Memorial Scholariship 5k (18:50) total miles 18.75
Wednesday: 5.5 mile run easy
Thursday 5.5 mile run easy
Friday: 15.5 mile long run (8:18 pace)
Saturday: 11 mile hilly run in Ct (and a Did not start swim race)
Sunday 17 on trails
Total: 72
Memorial scholarship 5k photo
Memorial scholarship 5k photo

Training thoughts:

Week 6 was all over the place.  Monday I decided to cross train instead of run.  My goal for August is to keep up with cross training and I haven’t been on the Precor 100i as much as I would like, so made it a priority. Really I am saying I didn’t feel like running in the slightest…so didn’t.   I also did the weekly strength class I do on Monday evenings.  Tuesday I had planned to use a tempo run.  Every year our local race club hosts a memorial scholarship race in the beautiful Botanical Gardens at the end of July.  It’s always a lot of fun even though it’s normally around 90 degrees.  I ended up surprising myself and running an 18:50 despite the 5k being sandwiched into miles 13.5-16.6.  Wednesday and Thursday I took easy.  Then on Friday before leaving for Long Island I ran 15.5 before traveling to New York City.  As I posted the other day, I ended up not swimming the 2 mile open water swim and just running instead.  Then Sunday I had a beautiful (hilly) trail run on Long Island.

Matt on our trail run
Matt on our trail run

 Week 7:

Monday: 5.66 mile shakeout (after driving home)
Tuesday: 12.5 miles around town
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday AM: 16 mile tempo at 7:04 pace
PM: 2 mile shakeout and p90x
Friday: 7.35 recovery run (8:32)
Saturday: Mud Fun Run with dad 14 miles total
Sunday 12-13 today before work
Total: 71ish

Training thoughts:

Week 7 was a really productive training week for me too and a big confidence booster.  My  training has changed in the last month (not good or bad) but different.  I didn’t intentionally change it, it is just what happened.

In the beginning of the summer I was doing between 10-13 miles daily and calling it a day.  Now I’m running further some days and a lot less other days.  Some days I run 16…some I run 5.  I’m still logging roughly the same miles as I was at the beginning of the summer, just in a different fashion.  (and an even more different fashion  from last year when I was running every day but less miles).

The heavy hitter of the week was my very solid tempo of 16 miles at a 7:04 pace.  I’m pleased with how it turned out because it felt smooth and gave me a good idea of how my legs would react to running a longer distance in my racing flats.  I have run all my half marathons and road races in my Nike lunar flats but never longer.  I don’t want to jump from a half marathon to full without testing it out.  Heck I don’t want to jump from 16 to a full yet so I’m going to do at least a 20 miler in them to check that out.

Training for next week:

I running the Tidewater Strider 1 mile race on the track on Saturday.  My mile PR comes from that track race last year and it is the only race (and only time) I visit the track.  I’m bummed because it is the same weekend as 4 5ks but since it is a big deal with my club team I will do it instead.  I’ll hopefully work a speed workout, rest day and easy miles.  As always going by the no plan methods.

Questions for you:

How has your training been?

Do you like tempo workouts, track workouts or fartleks the best?

Tempos make me feel powerful.  I’ve only done a handful of track workouts but being out of college I feel no need to go back.

18 Comments

  1. My training has been going well – I did 18.2 mile run along the lakefront yesterday at an 8:07 pace (good for me! especially as it was technically an ‘easy day)! I’m taking today off from any kind of exercise. I pushed my body to the limit, may have a fractured toe, and don’t want to risk further injury. This is the first Sunday in a long time where I can just enjoy the morning with my coffee!

    My favorite workout are tempo runs. I love the adrenaline rush of trying to keep up a hard pace for miles on end!

  2. I never did any kind of tempo/fartlek runs when I was training for my half which is probably why I got injured LOL I was the most uneducated runner ever, I swear. I would love to be able to run with someone in my family. The fact Matt runs with you makes me completely jealous!

    1. I would think (though I have no idea for sure) that not doing speed work would be more likely to keep you injury free? That’s interesting, maybe I’ll have to ask someone.

  3. Training = crap… I like windsprints the best which is fartlek pretty much. Although I change like the weather, one day I like intervals and speed work, next week I love hills so yeah you get the picture I always change what I love depending on how I feel if that makes sense. 😀 I’m sure you will do well in the track race as there is this girl here that stepped it up to marathon training and wasn’t really that fast but now since just simply doing more miles weirdly has improved in speed quite dramatically and yes I am jealous… So I make a bet you will do a track PB! 🙂

    1. Thank you! I haven’t raced a mile since last year so I would love a PR. Who knows though, I really don’t know how to run fast ahaha. I’m the same way about training…what I like really just depends on the day LOL.

  4. I’m glad I’m not the only one who just doesn’t feel like running somedays. 🙂 That is one awesome tempo run! Glad you had a good, confidence-boosting week!

  5. OMG, your mileage is SO freaking high! How do you do that? Have you always been training with high mileage? Do you find that you are less prone to injury? Sorry for the interrogation haha! xoxo!

    1. I’ve actually only been running 3.5 years but I don’t worry a lot about pace unless it’s a tempo run…all my other training runs I just go with it. Other then that I just run how I feel and usually not under 8 minute miles. (even though I race most of the time in the 6 range).

      I’ve found the less worrying I do about running, the better. I haven’t always run high mileage but I have been running consistently 70 mile weeks since around January and seen some nice PRs. For me adding anymore speed would probably result in an injury. If I feel something weird, then I take a day or two off and I think that has kept me injury free this training cycle (knock on wood!). I hope that answers everything Michelle and feel free to ask me anything else. 🙂

  6. Maybe not running double digits every day really helped you hit marathon pace? Idk – just spit balling haha. Don’t want you to get your panties in a bunch and become jaded. Regardless – awesome miles Hollie! You are getting so close to NYC! The fact that you can run 7 minute miles for 16 miles makes me tired just reading about it.

    Traning for life is going swell! Actually took this whole week off running to cross train on the bike. Can’t wait to hit the pavement tomorrow though 🙂

  7. Nice job Hollie! Tempos definitely make me feel like a boss because I never think I can do the x amount of miles at the pace my training schedule claims I should do but then when I finish I am like oh heck yes. hahah any who… great job!

  8. Kicking butt and taking names, as per usual–woohoo, Hollie! Speedwork and tempo runs feel awesome (and painful? Ha!) when you nail them. And they’re great confidence boosters for race day.

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