Trust The Process

Same workout as yesterday.  My avg pace was a few seconds faster today and felt very comfortable.

5 recovery miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  avg pace was 8:58.

10 total miles on the TM including yasso 800s (1.5 incline).

2 mile warm up

9 x .5 mile @ 6:00 pace with .25 mile recovery @ 8:57 pace

1 x .5 mile @ 5:18 pace with .25 mile recovery @ 8:57 pace

.5 mile cool down

It felt great to nail this workout especially since my speed workouts haven't been going well recently.  it definately helped slowing down the pace for the recovery portions.

I ran a similar workout leading up to my marathon in May.  for that workout, i still ran 9 sets @ 6:00 pace, but the recovery was at 10:00 pace.  the 10th set i believe was @ 5:35 pace.

16 easy miles this evening along the banks and out to manayunk and back.  avg pace was 7:39.  my legs felt really good today after a hard speedwork session yesterday. 

6 easy miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  Avg pace was 7:40. 

4 recovery miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  avg pace was 8:57.

5 recovery miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  avg pace was 8:43.

7 total miles on the TM (1.5 incline) with 3 VO2 max miles.

1.5 mile warm up

3x1 mile @ 6:00 pace with .5 mile recovery @ 8:27 pace

1 mile cool down

Although my legs have felt a little tight the last few days, this workout went really well.  I am looking forward to the marathon (9 days away!)

5 recovery miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  avg pace was 8:50

13 miles this afternoon outside at mercer county park in nj.  i ran the final two mile ap MP.  7:29 avg pace.

4 recovery miles on the TM (1.5 incline). Avg pace was 8:56.

5 miles on the TM after work including 3 miles @ MP (1.5 incline).  

Less than 4 days to go 

3 miles on the TM including strides at MP (1.5 incline).

It's official!  I got my BQ!!!  I will write a full post later, but I wanted to let everyone know.  This would not have been possible without discovering this Blog.  Thanks to everyone who has provided great advice and positive encouragement over the last 11 months.

In addition to thanking everyone on the FRB, I wanted thank all my family and friends supporting me to achieve this goal.  Special thanks to my wife Lauren for allowing me to put in all this training with a newborn at home, and thanks to my son Russell for sleeping through the night from two months on for the most part.  We have been blessed.

It was pretty chilly this morning (mid 30s) but there wasn't much wind so things were ok.  The first 16 miles felt very comfortable and I was positioned between the 3:00:00 and 3:05:00 pace groups.  I had to work really hard to try and maintain pace from miles 17-22 and my pace started slipping a bit.  Somewhere between miles 22 & 23, the 3:05 pace group caught me.  At first, I thought I was done for, but then told myself I have worked too hard to give up this close to the end.  I was able to find strength somewhere to hold on.  Shortly before mile 26, I was slipping a little behind the pace leader.  Thankfully, my wife and son were there to cheer me on and gave me a last bit of energy.  Right around mile 26, most of the pace group had either gone ahead or fell behind.  The pace leader turned back and saw me and encouraged me to push on.  I was able to kick a bit for the last .2 miles.  I checked my watch at this point and realized the pacer was a bit ahead of pace and I realized I was going to do it.  I sitll wanted to finish strong to get as much below 3:05 as possible to try and lock in a spot for Boston 2014.  I got really choked up just before the finish and threw my arms up screaming in celebration at the finish line.  Got choked up a few more times shortly after the finish.  What an amazing feeling!

My mile splits were as follows:

7:03, 6:54, 6:51, 7:02, 7:01, 6:53, 6:46, 6:59, 6:44, 6:58, 6:42, 6:49, 6:56, 6:52, 6:53, 6:56, 6:59, 7:05, 7:01, 7:02, 7:11, 7:13, 7:14, 7:01, 6:59, 7:01, (6:40 pace estimate for final .2 miles, my garmin didn't turn off right at the finish).

I was able to shave another 22+ minutes off my previous PR from May.  This was definately due to the approx 40% increase in my mileage base since the last marathon.

This was my first run since the Marathon.  3 easy miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  Avg pace was 9:15.  My legs and feet felt good during the run.  I was concnerned the first week after the race since my left foot had been really sore post race.  I worked today on increasing my stride rate up to around 180/min (from 160/min).  It felt awkward at first but the felt ok after a few minutes.

I am somewhat upset at myself after my weigh in this morning.  I let myself pig out for Thanksgiving and while at the all inclusive resort for the 5 days following, but I have gained about 7 pounds in 10 days! 

4 recovery miles on the TM (1.5 incline).  Avg pace was 8:50 and everything felt good.  The faster stride rate felt better than yesterday.