Running On Empty

@DopeyBadger ,

I am starting week 12 tomorrow and have reached the last interval recommended for my Tuesday speed work ... 08-3x1600m@5k-3m RI.

I can probably repeat this run for another week or two, but am looking for thoughts on what I should introduce next for speed/hard work. I have attached what I have planned from this week until Marathon Weekend. I have just put 08-3x1600m@5k-3m RI in the remaining Tuesdays as a filler right now.

I have the Tuesday and Thursday runs change the Warm up time and the length of the M Tempo run based on what I select for the Tuesday hard work. I used the explanation you created in another post to figure out the values. Basically they are all based on the 30% of the time for the week is the LR, 80% of the total time is for Easy (LR+EA+EB) and 20% of the total time for Hard (Tuesday & M Tempo Thursday). If I hit the max of WU + MTempo = 2 hours, the remainder of the time moves to The Tuesday Warmup.

Here is what it looks like from this point forward if I do not change the Tuesday speed run.

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You can see I have the Wine and Dine runs marked in two weeks, I will be running them at my normal workout speeds; not racing. It is just a reminder that I will be supporting those who are signed up for the virtual. It has also made me realise I could potentially do the 2021 W&D as it lines up perfectly in my plan!

Any thoughts from all reading are welcome. I am really looking forward to moving away from the @5k speed work. :crutches:
 
Some suggestions:

-I'd drop the weekends of 11/9 and 11/23 from 90/90 to 60/60 and 60/90. Just to induce some recovery weeks. Alternating 90/90 every "off" weekend will probably catch up to you eventually. So sometimes you have to take the foot off the gas a little bit.
-What's with the M Tempo runs on the "off" weeks? Only around 30 min?
-As for new speed work:
11/3 - Repeat 3 x1600
11/10 - WU + 10 x 0.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
11/17 - WU + 5 x 1 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
11/24 - WU + 3 x 1.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.35 mile resting interval + CD
12/1 - WU + 3 x 2 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.5 mile resting interval + CD
12/8 - WU + 3 x 2 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.5 mile resting interval + CD
12/15 - WU + 3 x 1.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.35 mile resting interval + CD
12/22 - WU + 5 x 1 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
12/29 - WU + 10 x 0.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
 
danke schoen

-I'd drop the weekends of 11/9 and 11/23 from 90/90 to 60/60 and 60/90. Just to induce some recovery weeks. Alternating 90/90 every "off" weekend will probably catch up to you eventually. So sometimes you have to take the foot off the gas a little bit.
Done. I was following the suggestion that you start two weeks back from the race with 90/150, 90/90, 90/140, 90/90, 90/130, 90/90, 90/120, ...etc.. for the Saturday/Sunday EB/LR runs. I just keep decrementing the LR by ten minutes every other week until I get back to week one.

-What's with the M Tempo runs on the "off" weeks? Only around 30 min?
I am using formulas to get the numbers. Here is an example for the week of Oct 26 (down week) and how the numbers shake out.

The LR on Sunday is 1:30:00 minutes. I take the 90 minutes and divide it by 30% to come up with the total amount of time I should run for the week; 5:00:00. "The long run should be 30% of the total load for the week."

I take 80% of the total load for the week to come up with the amount that should be Easy; 4:00:00.

I take 20% of the total load for the week to come up with the amount that should be Hard; 1:00:00.

So I put the 90 minutes in for the LR on Sunday. I put 90 minutes in for the EB run on Saturday. I take the 4:00:00 of Easy and subtract both of these 90 minutes to see what I have left; 4:00:00 - 1:30:00 - 1:30:00 = 1:00:00.

I put in up to one hour on Friday for the EA run (max of one hour). I subtract that from the total amount of Easy left; 1:00:00 - 1:00:00 = 0. All the Easy time is done in this example. If there was more time left, I would put it as WU for the M Tempo run on Thursday.

We then move on to the Hard runs.

I put in a Tuesday Interval run. Based on the run type, I estimate how long it will take me. For this example, I used the 08-3x1600m@5k-3m RI. That should take me around 0:31:32.

For the Thursday M Tempo run, I take the total hard time allotted (1:00:00) and subtract the time used for the Interval on Tuesday (0:31:32) to get the time for the M Tempo run. For this example it is 0:28:28.

- - -

11/3 - Repeat 3 x1600
11/10 - WU + 10 x 0.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
11/17 - WU + 5 x 1 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
11/24 - WU + 3 x 1.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.35 mile resting interval + CD
12/1 - WU + 3 x 2 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.5 mile resting interval + CD
12/8 - WU + 3 x 2 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.5 mile resting interval + CD
12/15 - WU + 3 x 1.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.35 mile resting interval + CD
12/22 - WU + 5 x 1 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD
12/29 - WU + 10 x 0.5 mile at HM Tempo w/ 0.25 mile resting interval + CD

Thank you for the new intervals! I will adjust my schedule to put them in it. I can see I may be spending a lot of time on Tuesdays on the treadmill now that the snow is on the ground. I do not want to slip with a higher effort and injure myself.
 
The LR on Sunday is 1:30:00 minutes. I take the 90 minutes and divide it by 30% to come up with the total amount of time I should run for the week; 5:00:00. "The long run should be 30% of the total load for the week."

This is where you are hitting the hiccup. The long run does not have to equal 30% exactly every week. But in the general sense should be less than 30% of the weekly mileage. So if it ends up being 10% or 29% that's ok. The true purpose of a "rule" like this is just to make sure that you don't become overly reliant on the weekend long run. Balance amongst the week rather than one giant run and several smaller ones. So there's no reason the M Tempo couldn't be 60-75-90 min as well. You could even make a case that even 120 min is fine as well depending on the balance of the week. Thereby, making the M Tempo run the "long" run of the week and not the weekend run. What you don't want to see is multiple weeks of >30% in a row. Then, you might need to re-evaluate the plan or availability.

I take 80% of the total load for the week to come up with the amount that should be Easy; 4:00:00.

I take 20% of the total load for the week to come up with the amount that should be Hard; 1:00:00.

Again, these are not rigid rules. 80/20 does not mean it needs to be 80/20 exactly every week. Again, it's meant to reinforce against a behavior where you see 25/75. Where someone is doing 25% easy stuff and 75% hard stuff. Or even more common, I see people doing 0/100. Where there is nothing that I would define as easy and everything is defined as hard.

I've attached a single example of a marathon training plan (not all plans are like this as it's written specific to each person, so merely an example). You can see the ebb and flow in both the LR % and the %Easy/Hard. Sometimes the %LR is lower than 30%, and sometimes a smidge higher. As well you can see the %Hard is under/over 20%. Sometimes there is less than 5% hard and other times as much as 25-30% hard. It flows through the plan and is something I manipulate based on each person as to what I think they can tolerate and see the most gains from.
 

Attachments

  • Keith B 2019_09_29.pdf
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Thank you again for the wisdom. I have updated the Intervals to the new ones above and brought down the EB/LRs for weeks 14 and 16. I have not made an adjustment yet for the M Tempo runs on Thursdays. Here is what it now looks like.

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The anomaly for M Tempo Thursdays shows up on weeks 12/14/18/20.

I could take some time from the LR and put it on the M Tempo run for these weeks.

If you look at the weeks shaded in white, you can see I add time on the front of the M Tempo that balances out the Thursday for the week. The weeks shaded in grey are the lower volume weeks in the ebb and flow of the plan.
 
Looks like HM Tempo is still at 5k pace and you're counting recovery intervals in the duration calculations for pace work (over inflates amount of hard work). Some balancing will occur between making these two mathematical changes.

So maybe something like:

10/28 - 1.5 mi WU + 5 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:16
11/5 - 1.5 mi WU + 5 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:16
11/12 - 1.5 mi WU + 6 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:25
11/19 - 1.5 mi WU + 6 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:25
11/26 - 1.5 mi WU + 7 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:33
12/3 - 1.5 mi WU + 7 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:33
12/10 - 1.5 mi WU + 8 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:42
12/17 - 1.5 mi WU + 8 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:42
12/24 - 1.5 mi WU + 9 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:51
12/31 - 1.5 mi WU + 9 mi M Tempo + 1.5 mi CD = 1:51

You want the workload to be progressive. This makes it progressive in volume and intensity. So bouncing from 6.5 miles of M Tempo the week of 11/2 to 4 miles to 5.8 miles doesn't make sense. Your most challenging M Tempo workout occurs in early November when the race is in January.

How would this look in the plan?
 
Here, I typed it up and made some edits to flow it better when combining the HM and M Tempo work. I pulled back on the HM Tempo work (and added extra resting intervals length) and cleaned up the taper a bit.
 

Attachments

  • Shellott.Hill Dopey 2020_10_27.pdf
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Thank you for putting all that together for me. I already did the Interval Run today as you were posting the modified plan, but will pickup the plan starting Thursday. I will review and see if there is anything I do not understand.

At first glance, I see everything is no written out in distance metrics. Do I change what I have been doing before to reach the distance or do I stick with time as the top priority? Previously it has always been time and pace as the two I measured my run with.

The 0.5mi WU + 3 x ( 1.0 mile@5k + 3min RI) today was very challenging... I almost didn't make it. I wanted to quit multiple times. However, it ended up netting me a couple of more PRs! The might have been even faster or had a more consistent pace if I did not have to deal with the strong winds/gusts.

New PRs:
  • 1km = 4:32.0
  • 1mi = 7:21.9
  • 5km = 25:00
 
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Time and effort are what matters. Pace is a surrogate for effort. The plan is written based on time, but the description shows mileage because that’s what 99% of people prefer it in.
 
Week 12 of 22
We are 65 days from the virtual starting line for Dopey 2021!
We are 424 days from the starting line for Dopey 2022!
We are 4 days away from the start of the Virtual Wine and Dine 2020 races!

Summary:
  • Running Distance = 38.42 miles
  • Running Time = 6:00:03
  • Weights: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Breakdown:

Monday
  • rest day
Tuesday
  • Intervals!
  • Started out by running 1 mile @WU on the treadmill to calibrate my watch. Ran at setting 5.4 for 0:11:16 and a distance of 1.01mi. I then did my ladder run.
  • 0.5 mi. WU + 3 x 1 mi. @ 5k w/ 3 x 0.27 mi. RI @ WU
  • Total time: 0:37:33 Total Distance 4.37 mi.
  • Ended up with a couple of new PRs because of this interval session: 1km (4:32.0), 1mi (721.9) and 5k (25:00)
  • No T+D corrected pace. It was nice enough that I could run outside for this one.
  • I am going to celebrate when I am done the intervals at 5k pace. These are killer...especially the ones that are up at the mile length. One more of these next week and I am on to HM pace!

Wednesday
  • Rest Day
Thursday
  • M Tempo day: 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 5 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Time = 1:17:12
  • Avg Pace = 9:32 overall (8:51 for the MTempo part)
  • Dist = 8.10 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (8:28 - 8:54) for Tempo and (10:50 - 11:23) for WU

Friday
  • Easy A: 1 x 6 mi. @ EA
  • Total Time = 1:05:03 ( I am taking the suggested time for the run and rounding it up to the next 5 minute interval. Today was scheduled for 1:02:28)
  • Pace = 10:00
  • Dist = 6.5 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (10:09 - 10:40)
  • Went a little too fast. We are having significant wind gusts these days. I am going to blame it on that!

Saturday
  • Easy B : 1 x 9 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Time = 1:30:08
  • Pace = 9:24
  • Dist = 9.59 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (9:28 - 9:58)
  • Just under the range. Again, I will blame it on the wind!
  • 536246 got my Halloween badge in Garmin!

Sunday
  • Long Run: 1 x 9.5 mi. @ LR
  • Time = 1:30:07
  • Pace = 9:08
  • Dist = 9.86 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (9:13 - 9:42)
  • We are having a Chinook, so I can run outside in shorts...but the wind is relentless! Went a little too fast.

This week's preview:
536245

I am going to be thinking about all of those who will be running your W&D races this weekend! I will be running those distances in support and thinking about all of you! Good luck!

I hope everyone's training is going well. Have a wonderful week and stay warm out there!
 
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Week 13 of 22
We are 58 days from the virtual starting line for Dopey 2021!
We are 417 days from the starting line for Dopey 2022!

Summary:
  • Running Distance = 41.5 miles
  • Running Time = 6:39:00
  • Weights: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Breakdown:

Monday
  • rest day
Tuesday
  • Intervals!
  • 0.5 mi. WU + 3 x 1 mi. @ 5k w/ 3 x 0.27 mi. RI @ WU
  • Total time: 0:34:14 Total Distance 3.96 mi.
  • Not sure what happened with my watch. It did not seem to record the second RI interval and documented me only running 5 minutes of the 3rd 5k interval at a pace of 4:58!
  • 537310
  • A couple of new PRs again: 1km (4:23.6), 1mi (7:15.9)
  • No T+D corrected pace.
  • I am super happy that I am done with these 1 mile @5k pace runs. They are really tough for me.

Wednesday
  • Rest Day
Thursday
  • M Tempo day: 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 5 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Time = 1:16:47
  • Avg Pace = 9:26 overall (8:47 for the MTempo part)
  • Dist = 8.14 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (8:28 - 8:54) for Tempo and (10:50 - 11:23) for WU

Friday
  • Easy A: 1 x 6 mi. @ EA
  • Total Time = 1:07:29
  • Pace = 10:39
  • Dist = 6.34 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (10:09 - 10:40)
  • Kept this one on the edge of the pace range.
  • Congratulations to all those who ran their W&D 5k !

Saturday
  • I swapped my EB for the LR today. Life got in the way, so I moved the two runs around to make sure I got them in.
  • LR: 1 x 13.75 mi. @ LR (or 2:10:00)
  • Time = 2:10:25
  • Pace = 9:25
  • Dist = 13.85 miles
  • What a wacky day for a run. I had planned out my route to get in the 13.75 miles through a new neighbourhood where they have opened a new bridge over the river. I was excited to get some new things look at. Got outside and was immediately attacked by the gusting wind, dropping temperatures and snow. I immediately noticed it was affecting my exertion levels; there was no way I could keep this up for 130 minutes! I decided to switch to the treadmill after completing 5k of the run outside (27 minutes plus a few seconds). So I paused my watch and headed to the basement for the torture of the treadmill. I set the treadmill to 6.3 and proceeded to try and not look at the reading on the screen every 30 seconds. I finished the 2 hours and 10 minutes and found out my mistake. I continued the run on my watch instead of starting a new activity as a treadmill. The watch did not know how to interpret my bouncing up and down in the same spot for the next 100 plus minutes. The treadmill registered 10.75 miles at the end (plus the 3.1 outside = 13.85), but the watch calculated I had run 5.57 miles (only 2.47 on the treadmill!). Ugh.
  • Congratulations to those who ran their 10k/ 13.1 mile runs this weekend. I was thinking about you.
Sunday
  • Long Run: 1 x 9 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Time = 1:30:05
  • Pace = 9:47
  • Dist = 9.21 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace (9:13 - 9:42). Set the treadmill to 6.1.
  • The snow storm continued today and the temperatures were dropping like a rock! After My daughters hockey game in a neighbouring town and watching my recording of the Steelers vs. Cowboys game (8-0...woohoo!) I headed down to the treadmill for more torture. This time I made sure I set my watch to "Treadmill". I ran the majority of the activity at 6.1. I added 4 sections of 7.0 speed. The first 3 were 1 minute in length and the final was 1:30.
Overall thoughts of the week:
I wad a mild head cold for most of the week. Not sure if that is the cause for my fatigue this week or maybe it is my body trying to keep up with the increasing load. I only have 3 more bump-ups in LR times before the taper begins! I hope my body can cope.

This week's preview:
537337


I hope everyone's training is going well. Have a wonderful week and stay warm out there!
 
Week 14 of 22
We are 52 days from the virtual starting line for Dopey 2021!
We are 411 days from the starting line for Dopey 2022!

Summary:
  • Running Distance = 36.88 miles
  • Running Time = 5:51:20
  • Weights: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Breakdown:

Monday
  • rest day
Tuesday
  • Intervals!
  • 1 mi. WU + 6 x 0.5 mi. @ HM w/ 5 x 0.5 mi. RI @ WU + 1 mi. CD
  • Total time: 1:14:16 Total Distance 7.51 mi.
  • No T+D corrected pace.
  • 🎶Heaven...I'm in Heaven🎶 Not having to do the 5k pace intervals anymore is bliss!

Wednesday
  • Rest Day
Thursday
  • M Tempo day: 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 6 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Time = 1:26:24
  • Avg Pace = 9:00 overall (8:44 for the MTempo part)
  • Dist = 9.30 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
  • New PR for my 10k distance: 54:14; Average pace 8:44
Friday
  • Easy A: 1 x 6 mi. @ EA
  • Total Time = 1:05:09
  • Pace = 10:12
  • Dist = 6.39 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Saturday
  • 1 x 6 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Time = 1:00:06
  • Pace = 9:34
  • Dist = 6.28 miles
Sunday
  • 1 x 6.5 mi. @ LR
  • Time = 1:05:25
  • Pace = 9:13
  • Dist = 7.1 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Overall thoughts of the week:
What a pleasure to have a lower week. I needed it. All my runs were enjoyable with no aches and pains.

This week's preview:
538639

I hope everyone's training is going well. Have a wonderful week!
 
Week 15 of 22
We are 44 days from the virtual starting line for Dopey 2021!
We are 403 days from the starting line for Dopey 2022!

Summary:
  • Running Distance = 44.02 miles
  • Running Time = 6:59:36
  • Weights: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Breakdown:

Monday
  • rest day
Tuesday
  • Intervals!
  • 1 mi. WU + 4 x 1 mi. @ HM w/ 3 x 0.5 mi. RI @ WU + 1 mi. CD
  • Total time: 1:12:22 Total Distance 7.51 mi.
  • No T+D corrected pace.
  • Felt fine. My main concern these days is being able to get a good push off the snow and ice.

Wednesday
  • Rest Day
Thursday
  • M Tempo day: 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 6 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Time = 1:00:37
  • Avg Pace = 8:58
  • Dist = 6.76 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
  • Oops! Started my run off with the interval workout by mistake. Did not realise it until I was at the end of mile 2. Quickly tried to recover by switching to the correct workout and skipping the warm-up section (as I was pretty warm already). In my mind I was back calculating the times that I had already put into the workout, but failed to do that properly. Ended the run short on distance ( short 2+ miles) and time (25 min.). Lesson learned for next time.
Friday
  • Easy A: 1 x 5 mi. @ EA
  • Total Time = 0:55:37
  • Pace = 10:10
  • Dist = 5.47 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Saturday
  • 1 x 9 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Time = 1:30:38
  • Pace = 9:32
  • Dist = 9.5 miles
Sunday
  • 1 x 14.8 mi. @ LR
  • Time = 2:20:22
  • Pace = 9:30
  • Dist = 14.78 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
  • Today was a busy day with multiple activities on my plate. To fit it all in I decided to stack my run with another of my activities...the Pittsburgh Steelers football game. I did the long run in the basement on the treadmill. My calculations had me set the treadmill speed to 6.4. I brought down the big TV and placed right in front of the treadmill. Worked out well (for both me and the Steelers...10-0...still undefeated).
Overall thoughts of the week:
I am playing mental games with myself to get my motivation going. It was tough to keep on plan with the only real goal at the end is finishing the training plan. The weather also does not help. It is mainly overcast, cold and there is a lot of snow. I need the sun in my life and the temperature to be above 32F for my runs.

Looks like we are getting to the peak of these runs! In two weeks I hit the 2:30:00 mark and in 5 weeks the taper begins.

This week's preview:
539958

I hope everyone's training is going well. Have a wonderful week!
 
Week 16 of 22
We are 38 days from the virtual starting line for Dopey 2021!
We are 397 days from the starting line for Dopey 2022!

Summary:
  • Running Distance = 39.64 miles
  • Running Time = 6:17:57
  • Weights: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Breakdown:

Monday
  • rest day
Tuesday
  • Intervals!
  • 1 mi. WU + 3 x 1.5 mi. @ HM w/ 2 x 0.5 mi. RI @ WU + 1 mi. CD
  • Total time: 1:09:51 Total Distance 7.46 mi.
  • No T+D corrected pace.
  • Took my speed work indoors on the treadmill.

Wednesday
  • Rest Day
Thursday
  • M Tempo day: 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 7 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Time = 1:31:38
  • Avg Pace = 9:19
  • Dist = 6.76 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Friday
  • Easy A: 1 x 6 mi. @ EA
  • Total Time = 01:05:04
  • Pace = 10:16
  • Dist = 6.34 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Saturday
  • 1 x 6 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Time = 1:00:37
  • Pace = 9:27
  • Dist = 6.42 miles
Sunday
  • 1 x 9.5 mi. @ LR
  • Time = 1:30:47
  • Pace = 9:29
  • Dist = 9.48 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
I hope everyone's training is going well. Have a wonderful week!
 
Week 17 of 22
We are 30 days from the virtual starting line for Dopey 2021!
We are 389 days from the starting line for Dopey 2022!

Summary:
  • Running Distance = 49.61 miles
  • Running Time = 7:49:16
  • Weights: none :P
Breakdown:

Monday
  • rest day
Tuesday
  • Intervals!
  • 1 mi. WU + 3 x 2 mi. @ HM w/ 2 x 0.5 mi. RI @ WU + 1 mi. CD
  • Total time: 1:22:11 Total Distance 9.00 mi.
  • No T+D corrected pace.
  • Speed work is now on the treadmill until spring.
Wednesday
  • Rest Day
Thursday
  • M Tempo day: 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 7 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Time = 1:31:31
  • Avg Pace = 9:09
  • Dist = 10.01 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Friday
  • Easy A: 1 x 5 mi. @ EA
  • Total Time = 0:55:14
  • Pace = 10:22
  • Dist = 5.33 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
Saturday
  • Easy B: 1 x 9 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Time = 1:30:15
  • Pace = 9:28
  • Dist = 9.53 miles
Sunday
  • Long Run: 1 x 15.9 mi. @ LR
  • Time = 2:30:05
  • Pace = 9:32
  • Dist = 15.74 miles
  • No T+D corrected pace
I was on the struggle bus this week. For some reason my legs felt extra tired and even sore. I will have to go back and figure out what happened to cause this. On the plus side, being so close to the end of the training plan is helping me keep moving forward.

On my long run yesterday, I noticed my ego was fighting me the whole way. I almost convinced myself that I would not be able to run a marathon.

I hope everyone's training is going well. Have a wonderful week!

 
I was on the struggle bus this week. For some reason my legs felt extra tired and even sore. I will have to go back and figure out what happened to cause this. On the plus side, being so close to the end of the training plan is helping me keep moving forward.

You're at a pivotal point and have to decide whether that tiredness is normal or something to be concerned about. Did the soreness prevent you from being able to execute the training plan as scheduled? Particularly, did you see a fade at the end of the runs? It's going to be harder to discern on a treadmill, but were there any "breaks" snuck in there to make the end of the workouts manageable? The week of 11/23 was a down/recovery week. But if you were feeling extra tired early in the week, then you may want to consider dropping this week down even further than the 11/23 week. With only 5 weeks of training remaining until race day, you're almost to the point of "you've got what you're going to have". From here until race day is a balancing act between enough and too much.

On my long run yesterday, I noticed my ego was fighting me the whole way. I almost convinced myself that I would not be able to run a marathon.

That's a very common thought. Thankfully what you're doing right now in the midst of not being fully tapered is going to feel that way. If you aim it right, you should feel like a million bucks post-taper. Just remember all the training you're doing now should feel like the end of the race, not the beginning.
 
Thank you for the words of encouragement and comments.

The tiredness:
- It did not prevent me from executing my training plan as designed.
- I am thinking part of it may be the use of different muscles on the treadmill during the Interval run
- It may have also been from all the stairs I climbed getting the Christmas decorations out of the basement and up to the second floor. The Christmas tree weighs about 100 lbs.
- I also had two nights of restless sleep. That may have also contributed to my recovery being less than normal.
- OR it may be me just trying to convince myself I can stop doing the training plan...LOL

Fades:
Here is a look at more detail for the runs last week.

Intervals:
  • 1 mi. WU + 3 x 2 mi. @ HM w/ 2 x 0.5 mi. RI @ WU + 1 mi. CD
  • Did this speed work on the treadmill. That makes it easier to keep pace while not worrying about slipping on the ice.
  • No fade.
  • Heart rate for the three intervals maxed out as follows: 155, 161, 162
  • No hydration during the run.

M Tempo:
  • 1.5 mi. WU + 1 x 7 mi. @ M Tempo+ 1.5 mi. CD
  • Pace of each mile was as follows: 1 (10:23), 2 (9:27), 3 (8:35), 4 (8:31), 5 (8:43), 6 (8:32), 7 (8:43), 8 (8:57), 9 (9:34), 10 (10:04)
  • The miles to look at are really 3-7. Mile 1, half of mile 2, half of mile 8 and mile 9 were at WU/CD pace. There dos not appear to be a fade.
  • My average HR over miles 3-7 were: 152, 154, 154, 158, 157
  • It is cold up here in Canada right now, so I am not outwardly sweating. This leads me to not bring anything to drink with me on my runs. Wondering if hydration may also be part of the reason I am sore.

Easy A:
  • 1 x 5 mi. @ EA
  • Ended with 5.5 miles. I do my runs based on time rather than distance for Easy A. I went for 55 minutes.
  • Pace of each mile was as follows: 1 (10:08), 2 (10:16), 3 (10:20), 4 (10:31), 5 (10:28)
  • My Average HR lover the miles were: 126, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134
  • No hydration during run.

Easy B:
  • 1 x 9 mi. @ EB + strides
  • Ended the run with 9.5 miles. I went for 90 minutes.
  • Pace of each mile was as follows: 1 (9:22), 2 (9:10), 3 (9:19), 4 (9:21), 5 (9:14), 6 (9:19), 7 (9:50), 8 (9:56), 9 (9:45), 9-9.5 (9:26)
  • It looks like a fade on miles 7 - 8.5, but I can explain that away. That portion of the run was on a trail that had ice and snow. I had to change my pace and stride to not slip.
  • My average HR over miles were: 138, 142, 144, 145, 147, 147, 146, 146, 148
  • No hydration during run.

Long Run:
  • 1 x 15.9 mi. @ LR
  • Ended the run at 15.74 miles. I based it on going for 150 minutes, and not the 15.9 miles.
  • Pace for each mile was as follows: 1 (8:52), 2 (9:05), 3 (9:19), 4 (9:27), 5 (9:39), 6 (9:43), 7 (9:33), 8 (9:37), 9 (9:44), 10 (9:49), 11 (9:38), 12 (9:44), 13 (9:38), 14 (9:37), 15 (9:45), 15-15.74 (9:23)
  • My average HR over miles were: 137, 148, 150, 152, 152, 147, 148, 147, 146, 142, 147, 147, 152, 156, 154, 154, 152
  • An hour before the run I ate a Bengal with peanut butter. I drank 1.5 L of water over 4 hours before the run. I used Gatorade and some water for fuel during this run. I carry a total of 18 oz of Gatorade in two bottles on my waist and I brought a 16 oz bottle of water. Every 30 minutes I drink half of one of the bottles on my waist (4.5 oz). The drinking pattern I used was: +30 min. (4.0 oz of water), +45 min (4.5 oz of Gatorade), +60 min (4.0 oz water), +75 min (4.5 oz Gatorade), +90 min (4.0 oz water), +105 min (4.5 oz Gatorade), +120 min (4.0 oz water), and +135 min (4.5 oz Gatorade). When I got home I drank another full bottle of Gatorade.
  • I noticed I was starting to "feel" I was lacking fuel around mile 13. My pace did not seem to suffer very much, but I could "feel" it.

I employ time restricted eating in my life. I have been doing this for several years now. I do not eat anything from 8pm until some time after 12pm the next day. During the 8 hour period, I pack in a ton of calories. I am basically eating non-stop to get my nourishment.

How does that impact my runs? Basically I do not eat before my runs (except the LRs that are 13.x miles or longer). Some days I do not start my run until 11:30am-12:30pm. On those days the eating window shrinks.

I have expanded my hydration/fuel information as I am thinking it may be part of the reason I am feeling tired these days. I may have been able to handle it when the load was lower, but now that we are peaking in the training plan...I may be in deficit. Just a guess.
 
So, I'd agree I'm not seeing much of any fade. Careful with the pacing though because you may be just pushing a tad too hard on some of these runs. Be sure to pull back further when appropriate.

I employ time restricted eating in my life. I have been doing this for several years now. I do not eat anything from 8pm until some time after 12pm the next day. During the 8 hour period, I pack in a ton of calories. I am basically eating non-stop to get my nourishment.

How does that impact my runs? Basically I do not eat before my runs (except the LRs that are 13.x miles or longer). Some days I do not start my run until 11:30am-12:30pm. On those days the eating window shrinks.

I have expanded my hydration/fuel information as I am thinking it may be part of the reason I am feeling tired these days. I may have been able to handle it when the load was lower, but now that we are peaking in the training plan...I may be in deficit. Just a guess.

It's certainly possible. I know @canglim52 follows (or followed) an intermittent fasting diet. He's had good success in the past with that methodology and blending his training.

While I don't follow IF, I know that the days where I would burn 4000-5000 calories working out where always super tough in order to compensate for the calories lost. Because the time it took to do the workouts themselves ate into the time in order to replenish before my second workout of the day. And I would feel the effects on the long run the next day if I wasn't able to get in enough calories the day prior.
 

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