Marathon Training Journal: Day 4
Marathon Training Journal, Day 4 Carries More Pain!
I am in so much agony today.
Between the core session on Monday, the cross training yesterday and the runs on top of it all, I feel like I've been beaten up in a brawl. I even tried rolling out my shoulders and upper arms with a lacrosse ball last night. I will not take the time to tell you how much that hurt. I've been through this training program before so either I am working harder or I'm nowhere near in the same condition as I was last time around.
Today was my last hard workout for the week. The rest is easy effort running.I am very thankful for that.
Enter The Hot Mess
The weather is hot and the humidity stifling pretty much all the way through the summer and well into early Fall here. Humidity levels tend to hang around the high 90's pretty consistently and it's worse early in the morning, but I can't deal with the extra heat that comes after sunrise. Today was particularly bad. It was like trying to breathe under water.
I seem to be taking a really long time to find my rhythm in my runs lately. Part of this is very likely due to the laid back do-what-I-like approach I've had since returning from injury. Perhaps it's my body's way of rebelling against trading in my coffee first thing in the morning for a run instead.
I don't mind that much. I do better with speed work later in a run anyway. It's just a matter of timing myself to the hill I want to use. It also helps to pay attention to how far I have to run back afterwards!
Hey, Hill! Race You To The Top.
There was a 10 minute warm-up which included some running and dynamic stretches among other things most of us don't particularly feel like doing at 5 am. But they do help; they also make hard workouts feel easier. Seriously, they do.
I started with 6 miles at an easy pace. It gave me time to stop focusing on the soupy air and let my thoughts wander as my brain started to wake up.
The 7th mile was a moderately hard effort, but not all out.
Ready or Not, Here I Come
I knew which hill I wanted to use today. There is a reason we don't have many hills in Florida. For clarification, please refer to my comments about the weather. This one was perfect. Perhaps a little longer than what I need for 60 second sprints, but close enough.
I dutifully performed my six repeats with a jog or walk back down. I did jog down very slowly after the first two but found it really hard to hold the same pace on the third one so I started walking down. For the fifth and sixth, I stopped at the top and then jogged back down. You can see how slight differences in recovery can make or break the concept behind a workout like this.
So here are the 60 second split paces (no, these are NOT miles)!
6:00/mile
6:15/mile
6:10 /mile
6:00/mile
5:55/mile
5:50/mile
Success
Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I took an easy run back. It was just over a mile and a half and I could let me heart rate settle to a normal running pace.
Have you ever noticed how after some speed work or drills, what you think is an easy pace is so much faster? I think these workouts are to remind us to enjoy the other runs we do!
I was a hot mess when I got back, absolutely pouring with sweat, but happy that I'd given my best.
I don't know if I'm tired or just sore from all the strength work, but either way, I'm looking forward to my easy run tomorrow. The effects of my heavily loaded training week are starting to be felt.
Another run completed for my marathon training journal. If it doesn't break you, it will make you stronger.
Thank you for following my journey. I'll be back with more tomorrow.
