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Friday run report
I’m finishing week 6 of my marathon training program, so I felt it was time for a
Friday run report
This week I managed to get to 30.28 miles.
We are on week 6 of our 15 week training program, and this is my high mileage point. I know it’s not a lot of miles but they felt pretty good. My knee is still bothering me, so I need to be careful pushing up the miles.
My goal for the marathon is 8 minute miles; my goal is to get to the starting line uninjured. I’m finding it easier to get below 8 minute miles consistently on these shorter training runs, and I find that encouraging. A few years ago I never would have dreamed about consistent 8 minute or better miles, even for a 5K.
It feels like I am running stronger than last year. I haven’t done a hard-core analysis to confirm this. I just feel stronger. As I’ve mentioned before, the gym work is paying off.
Thoughts on marathon strategy
I’ve spoken with a lot of people over the past few months who advocate walking the water stops, even the early ones. We’re not talking Fartlek, just walking the water stops. No timing, just a very simple plan.
Many times I’ve thought about this strategy, but I always wait until later in the race. Usually when I walk it’s because I have to. For years my goal was to run an entire marathon and not stop for anything. I’ve been able to do this a few times successfully, but to improve my finish time, I need to work on my endurance. In my mind I know that walking early will allow me to run strong later into the race.
It’s the last 5 to 6 miles that will make or break a marathon. I know this. If I can walk all of the water stops I might be able to keep from having 10 minute miles near the end of the race. Being off by 2 minutes per mile for the last six miles is pretty much the difference between qualifying for Boston and not.
I need to take this advice to heart and trust it. It has been proven, I just need to trust that it will work for me. I’ve always banked time early in the race and then used it up late in the race. This walking strategy should allow me to run more consistent splits and not have the major drop off late in the race.
Those are my thoughts on strategy so far.
- Do you walk water stops during a marathon?
- Do you Fartlek?
- Do you bank time early in the race and then try not so use it all up at the end?
Run well my friends!
Andy
ยฉ 2014 anagelin
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2 responses to “Friday run report”
I’ve only employed walking early as part of my ace plan once, my first half marathon. And I managed to far outdo what my A goal was for that race. I believe it was because I used the Galloway method that race.
Since then, I’ve gotten into the mentality that “real” runners don’t take walk breaks, but I inevitably end up taking them in a lot of my longer races. I probably should use the walk early method, but I think my ego is getting in the way. I also worry about not being able to get back up to pace again, but I guess if I practiced walking when aid stations come, I might not worry about it.
Judith,
I have the same thoughts. I worked all those years to run an entire marathon like a real runner. Why would I want to change that now?
I’ll never run like Meb or Kara. But if I continue to adjust my running plans and continue to experiment, I can still improve.
The tough part is trusting that you will be able to keep starting up again after each walk. We only remember how hard it is to start back up late in the race when we are walking because we have to. It hurts!
I’ll never forget seeing a couple fartlek at my 2nd marathon. When I saw them walking within the first 5k or so, I thought they were in for a world of hurt that day. Why else would they be walking so soon in a race. All day we kept passing each other, until I couldn’t keep up with them anymore.
That was over 10 years ago. You’d think I would have learned something and given it a try.
Just like you, I remember the pain, and fear that I wont be able to keep mile splits low enough near the end to make up for the walking.
Andy