Week 14 and 15: Uh-Oh

I was a little surprised the 30K race didn't hit me much harder than a normal Sunday long run. Of course I was disappointed by my performance in the 30K, but at least it shows I'm capable of sub-3 on a good day this year. I wanted to run the 30K in about 2 hours (6:30 pace) and was in a good group at that pace the first half, with RichF, the lead woman, and another guy. But I left them drift ahead of me a little on the second loop. The water stop at the turnaround for the third loop was crowded and I overran the last person with water. I had to turn around and run back to get to someone passing out water. I completely lost contact with the group running 6:30s. Not that I could see very far; I ran the race blind without my glasses because of the fog and mist. I tried to maintain pace, but I slowed into the upper 6:40s. Just after the end of the third loop I was blown away by DaleL, another 50+. He passed me so fast I couldn't try to keep up with him. I ended up fifth in the 50 to 54 age group. I can't believe I used to look forward to turning 50.

77 miles for the week (December 14th to 20th)
M AM - 5¾ miles recovery run at 8:40 pace, foggy 59°F at 4AM
M PM - missed
Tu - 6¾ miles at 7:25 pace, 66°F and foggy again at 4AM
W AM - 7¼ miles at 7:25 pace, 49°F and windy at 4AM
W PM - 5 miles with 6x600/200 at an average 7:11 pace, 600s in 2:09 to 2:01, 49°F and occasional light rain
Th - 6¾ miles recovery run at 8:14 pace, raining and 48°F at 4AM
F - 15¼ miles at 7:15 pace, 54°F at 10PM
Sa - 10¼ miles recovery run at 8:40 pace, some sun and 63°F at 1PM
Su - 20 miles LSD, average 7:36 pace, sunny and nice, 56 to 59°F from Noon



54¾ miles for the week (December 21st to 27th)
M - 10 miles recovery run at 8:46 pace, 65°F at 3PM
Tu - missed, traveled to Glen Rose to get furnace repaired (600+ mile round trip), 66°F morning low temperature
W - 11¾ miles with 4x1M, miles in 6:12, 6:02, 6:04, and 6:05, average pace 7:48, 74°F windy and humid at 11AM
Th - missed, just too busy, 71°F at midnight but a strong cold front came in and lowered temperature down to the 40s by the end of the day
F - missed, too busy again, 35°F morning low
Sa - 11 miles at 7:23 pace, 52°F at 5PM with continuous light rain
Su - 22 miles LSD with some sub-7 miles near the end, average 7:15 pace, sunny and nice, 55 to 58°F from Noon

I can usually find the time to keep up with marathon training through the holidays but it just didn't work out this year. Week 15 was supposed to be 91 miles, the last hard week before beginning a three-week taper. I was very discouraged Saturday. But Sunday's long run reminded me of why I enjoy distance running. I'll push as hard as I can this week and cut the taper to two weeks. This marathon won't be a PR, but I still hope for a strong race.

Week 13: Still Not Performing

82 miles for Week 13 (December 7th to December 13th)

On vacation all week
M - 9½ miles recovery run at 8:57 pace, 60°F raining with deep puddles at 5PM
Tu - 15 miles medium long run at 7:33 pace, 74°F windy and humid with deep puddles at 3PM
W - 10½ miles easy at 7:50 pace, 56°F at 11AM
Th - 11¾ miles with 4x1 mile hard, average 7:12 pace, miles in 6:18, 6:04, 5:57, and 6:01, 43°F and windy at 10AM
F - 8¼ miles easy at 7:54 pace in Glen Rose, my left knee bothered me on the hills, 46°F at 1PM
Sa - 7 miles recovery at 8:20 pace, 68°F at Noon
Su - 20 miles with a 30K race at an average 6:38 pace, 47°F from 7AM with fog and mist

The 30K time was a little better than the earlier races, but it's still not near where I want to be.

Here's a little copperhead I nearly ran over on Wednesday:

Houston Marathon Training Week12: Knee Again?

72½ miles for Week 12 (November 30th to December 6th)

M AM - 6¼ miles recovery run at 8:43 pace, 55°F windy and raining at 4AM
M PM - missed
Tu - 6¾ miles general aerobic at 7:09 pace, 51°F windy and raining at 4AM
W AM - 6¾ miles general aerobic at 7:28 pace, 47°F at 4AM
W PM - 6 miles on the track, 6x600 with 200 recoveries, my left knee started bothering me on the turns, 600s from 2:07 to 2:09, average pace 7:04, 48°F at 7PM
Th - 5¾ miles recovery run at 8:13 pace, 46°F at 4AM
F - 11 miles medium long run at 7:27 pace, my left knee started bothering me again, 35°F starting at 4:30PM (first 30s this Fall)
Sa - 10 miles easy at 8:41 pace, 47°F at 3PM
Su - 20 miles at an average 7:41 pace, left knee started complaining quite a bit the last couple of miles, 63°F from 1PM with continuous rain


The knee flair-up was a huge disappointment. I want to do the work, but dealing with this knee is just more frustration. I think I made a mistake by combining scheduled 6/4 recovery run doubles into one easy to get done run during my days off from work. Those ten mile recovery runs probably were too much of a stress. I still have hope for the Sugar Land 30K, but if the knee isn't back to 100% I won't be able to race.