June 16th, 2008
Had a soakingly humid run yesterday, following ole Pfitz for a 12 miler done progression-wise. Supposed to start about 20% slower than goal marathon pace, ending with the last 5 at 10% slower. My goal pace is 8:23 so 20% would be 10:03, 10% would be 9:13 (how I love my time calculator!). I was a bit faster on the first half and worried that I wouldn’t be able to pick it up because I was so damned hot, but everything worked out fine, even a bit faster than prescribed despite the heat.
Hydration-wise, I had taken my 20oz. hand-held which I refilled at a fountain on the return 2.5 miles from home, scarfing the whole refill down in that last 2.5. So 40 oz total, more than if I’d had my 4-bottle belt on. I’m so glad the hand-held is working for me. Curious to see if the additional one I bought so I could take one in each hand during longer runs will be a pain or not, though seeing as how those runs will be in the thick of July and August, I’m guessing not.
I will admit now that yesterday’s 12 was the longest run I’ve done in 7 weeks due to my injury and vacation, so my main worry beyond reaching the proper pace was how my legs would feel during and after the run. Happily, felt completely comfortable, no twinges of any sort, so I’m back on old familiar ground.
Later in the afternoon, I bit the bullet and pulled out my dusty Pilates DVD. My nefarious plan is to mix Pilates and Yoga 2 or 3 times a week so I can get that core of mine strong for posture and improved running form. I figure that with 17 weeks till Steamtown, I can make an appreciable difference in my carriage as well as helping to injury-proof my legs, feet and ankles, which cracks me up because that was one of my excuses for not doing yoga, that I might hurt myself for running. Lame, huh?
Last night I started looking over the plan and figuring out where I could add in some miles. The 55 plan has three 20s, whereas the 70 plan has five, including a 21 and 22, so I added a 20, enlongated another to 22 and fattened up some other runs including the mid-week mid-longs. Love it!
And now, I must tend to the evil that exists for self-employed souls like myself; getting estimated taxes in for today’s deadline. Sometimes I just hate being a grownup.
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Love your posts! I ran Steamtown last year as my first marathon, so I’m curious to see how it goes this year for you. As for me, I’m running the NYC half in July, the Hamptons full in September, Denver half in October and Phillie full in November. Thanks for the interesting posts-would love to chat sometime-Have a great first week of marathon training!!! Lisa
Thanks for saying so, Lisa! Wow, your plate is full with running delights! How exciting. I read in MarathonGuide someone saying that they didn’t recommend Steamtown for their first, but what the hell, I’m already in with a handful of fab friends, so how bad can it be? What did you think of it as your first? Obviously it didn’t dissuade you from more marathons…
sorry to answer so late but I’ve been busy getting kids out of the house for thesummer…anyway…my Steamtown experience was difficult, to say the least. It was the same day as the horrible Chicago marathon meltdown and it was just as hot in Scranton. It was my first, I trained for it alone and ran it all alone-I now run with a group and what a difference that has made for me. I took 45 minutes off my time when I ran New Jersey (granted, it wasn’t 85 degrees), but just running and training with friends made a huge difference for me. You will do amazing in Steamtown this year and I cant wait to hear your report. You are inspiring me to train faster and harder! Thanks for such a great site!
Ugh, just doing training runs in 85 degrees is murder, so yeah, that would be miserable. Congrats on the giant PR! That’s huge. How wonderful that you found a great group – what a difference being in the right environment makes.
Best of luck with July’s race. Here’s hoping for a 45 degree day for you.