Detroit Marathon Training - Week 8 - Run #2

After taking a few days off, I was back with a vengence today. I don't start in anticipation of going all out, it just sort of happened that way. I showed that treadmill who was boss today.

I started off strong with a 7:30/mi pace, and bumped it up to 7:24 after the first mile. At the 3 mile mark, I bumped it up to 7:18, and did a few more increases after that. It was a struggle at times, because when I set a longer target (like 7 miles today), I just seem to dread the time. But I kept going, and kept speeding up. The last mile I went all out even though I was afraid I'd have to stop before my 7 miles were up.

My finishing time for the 7 miles was 51:13, a very strong 7:19/mi average pace. In fact, that is 13 seconds faster than the pace of my 10K PR! So needless to say, I'm very happy with today's results.

Weekly Total: 12 miles
Yearly Total: 574.2 miles

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 8 - Run #1

Got an early start on this week since I missed the long run last week, and I'm also going to be unable to run over the coming holiday weekend. Headed downstairs to the gym after work and hopped on the treadmill for a quick run. I started at a 7:53/mi pace, and increased 6-7 seconds per mile. Finished the 5 mile run in 38:05, which is an average pace of 7:37 per mile.

I felt pretty good afterwards, despite doing the whole run at a 1% incline (I've been cheating lately and only doing 1% for half the run before going flat). Legs feel fine, which is good because I plan to run again tomorrow.

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 7 - Run #3

Today's planned long run was disrupted by mother nature. I awoke early this morning to the sound of thunderstorms outside my bedroom window. I knew from then that my plans of a long run today were not going to pan out.

Fortunately, late in the day I was able to break out of my lazy trance and head out the door for a run around town. I followed the same route from my apartment, heading south on Route 91 towards Solon. Except I kept going, much further than before. I had no idea where I was going to stop, I was just going on and on. Finally I turned around and made it back to the apartment in just over an hour. An hour and 47 seconds to be exact.

I'm not quite sure of the distance, but a rough draft on the Gmaps Pedometer site told me abour 7.3 miles. That would put me at about a 8:19/mi average pace, which seems about right. So while I'm disappointed that I didn't get my long run in today, I'm glad that I was able to improvise and find a new little route to take.

Weekly Total: 19.5 miles
Yearly Total: 562.2 miles

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 7 - Run #2

Did a rare back-to-back run today, having just run yesterday. But since I missed a few days, I had to compact this week's schedule. Fortunately, things seem to have turned out just fine.

I managed to get in 6.2 miles today on the treadmill at work. Just as I started my run today, the fire alarm went off. After some confusion, it turns out we didn't have to evacuate because a kid had pulled a nearby alarm. I kept the elevation flat today and followed this routine:

Miles 1 & 2: 7:47/mi pace
Miles 3 & 4: 7:41/mi pace
Miles 5 & 6: 7:35/mi pace (w/ increases during mile 6)

Things went well. A 10K in 47:15, which averages out to a 7:36/mi average pace. The biggest issue I'm having these days is boredom. Time just seems to drag during my runs anymore. There is nothing good on TV at that time of the day (crappy local news, Oprah, or Judge Judy). All the music in my old mp3 player is getting stale. I'm thinking about getting a new iPod nano, especially since I'm dying to try out that Nike + iPod thing they have going on. Even though I don't care to get Nike shoes, lots of people have reported being able to use it with any brand of shoes. Sounds good to me.

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 7 - Run #1

Had my first run of the week today. I had planned on Tuesday, but just wasn't feeling it then. On Wednesday, I ended up staying late at work and did not feel like staying any later. So today it was.

I did 6 miles today. Started at a flat 8:00/mi pace at a 1% incline on the treadmill at work. For mile 3, I increased to a 7:53/mi pace. At the 3.5 mile mark, I dropped the incline (I was sort of struggling at that point). For mile 4 & 5 I ran at a 7:47/mi pace. The last mile I kept increasing, as usual.

I ended up finishing the 6 miles in a time of 46:45, which averages out to a 7:47/mi pace. Not my best time, but decent I suppose. I was pretty wiped out afterwards, having sweated a lot and really booking by the end.

So my current state of running is not so great. I'm still 9 weeks away from the marathon, which seems like an eternity, and I feel like I'm just stuck in a rut. Worse yet, running lately feels more like an obligation than something I actually look forward to. When I first started my training, it was exciting to have a goal again. And I'm sure as I get closer to the marathon, like in October, I'll be excited again. But for now, stuck in the middle of my training program, it's just rough. I felt pretty similar during the last marathon training program, which is when I was questioning if it would be my last marathon. But after doing the actual event, it's hard not to get excited about doing another one.

So the next month or so, I just need to grind out these runs and get through them. I have a dual goal of running the marathon in 3:40, and reaching the 1,000 mile mark by year's end. Hopefully I can get both, though I'd be excited about just one (preferably the 3:40 marathon). :)

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 6 - Run #3

This week's run went about the same as last week's long run. 14 miles. Good conditions. Today it was pretty cool (upper 60s) and overcast. I headed north this time from Brecksville along the towpath. Not very much traffic today. Seems like people prefer riding in the sun.

First mile was 7:55, but I think that was the only sub-8 mile of the 14. During mile 2, I realized that today was not a running day. But I kept going because I needed the miles. I thought about going for 15, but by the end I was just happy to have made it to 14 again. I ended up finishing in 2:00:50, for an average pace of 8:38.

Weekly Total: 25 miles
Yearly Total: 542.7 miles

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 6 - Run #2

Back to training today with a solid tempo run on the treadmill at work. Here is the breakdown:

Mile 1 & 2: 7:35/mi pace
Mile 3 & 4: 7:30/mi pace
Mile 5: 7:24/mi pace
Mile 6: 7:18/mi pace
Mile 7: Under 7:00/mi average

Overall, I finished the 7 mile run in 52:08 which averages out to a 7:27/mi pace. Not bad. I was a big sweaty mess afterwards, but I'm glad I did it. Resting up on Saturday for a long run on Sunday.

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 6 - Run #1

My legs are still a bit sore for Sunday's 14 miler, so I took it kind of easy today. Didn't really do any speed work, just upped my speed with each mile:

Mile 1 - 8:27
Mile 2 - 8:13
Mile 3 - 7:53
Mile 4 - 7:13 (with increases every .1 after 3.6)

I finished the 4 miles in 31:44, for a 7:56/mi average pace. Hopefully this run does not set my legs back any further. I wasn't even sure if I was going to run today, but I'm glad I did. And my legs aren't hurting...yet.

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 5 - Run #3

Today was the long run for a week. I did not feel bad at first from having just run the day before, but I think in the end it hurt me. I headed out to Brecksville to run on the towpath, and started running south since I went north last week.

The weather was very nice, so the towpath was crowded, even though it was only 9am. Most of it was bikers, but there were more runners than I usually see. Not to mention the trail is more crowded to the south anyways.

I felt pretty good and was keeping a fairly consistent 8:00/mile pace. I hit the 7 mile turnaround point at 57:11 (8:10/mi pace), but I think that was inflated because one of the miles seems to be measured incorrectly which adds about 45 seconds.

I started to get pretty tired on the way back, which reflected in my time. The 7 mile run back took me 1:02:45 (8:57/mi pace). I was pretty exhaused by the finish, mostly in my legs which are still sore now, 5 hours later.

So overall, I ran the 14 miles in 1:59:56, which equals out to an 8:34/mi pace.

Weekly Total: 24.1 miles
Yearly Total: 517.7 miles

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 5 - Run #2

I was busy on Thursday & Friday evenings, so the second run of the week was pushed back to Saturday. Since it was just the day before my next long run, I took it pretty easy and ended up doing about a 5K. For the first time, I ran outside near my apartment. I took off from the front door of my building, out of the complex street and onto the sidewalk of the main street.

I looked at the Gmaps Pedometer site to try to figure out the distance, and it's roughly a 5K. The only bad part about it is that there are a number of intersections to run through, and also a hill that is nice on the way out, but not so nice on the way back.

I ended up finishing the 3.1 miles in 24:10. It was hot and I'm still not 100% sure on the actual distance, but 3.1 is a pretty safe guess.

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 5 - Run #1

Been busy this past two evenings, so I was not able to run until today. I headed down to the gym after work to hit up the treadmill. Should have went outside since the weather is amazing, but I did not. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get another run in this week besides my long run, so today was a bit of a speed/tempo hybrid. I started off at a good pace, 7:53/mi, and kept speeding up with each mile.

Mile 1 - 7:53/mi
Mile 2 - 7:47/mi
Mile 3 - 7:41/mi
Mile 4 - 7:35/mi
Mile 5 - 7:30/mi (first half)
Mile 6 - 7:24/mi (first half), 7:17/mi (second half)
Mile 7 - 7:11/mi (first half) + stedily increasing

Overall, I finished the 7 miles in 52:59, which averages out to a 7:34/mi pace. Not too shabby for such a long run. I actually felt best during the 6th mile, which is good to know.

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 4 - Run #3

This week's long run went much, much better than last weeks. What a difference six days (and more importantly, about 25 degrees) makes. I headed out to my usual long run spot, the towpath in Brecksville, and set off to run 6 miles north and then turn around. I started off well, with an exactly 8:00 first mile. I then slipped to about 8:20 for the next two, before clocking another flat 8:00 one. After that I sort of lost track. I know I hit the turnaround point at 49:06, which put me at an average of an 8:11/mile pace.

The 6 miles back where definetely not one of my best running experiences. In fact, it was pretty close near the top of the bad ones. It was kind of the first time that I found myself having to really go to the bathroom on a run. And I really had to go. The last 3 miles, I was pretty much preoccupied with debating whether or not to make a run into the woods, because it was bad. But I made it. And of course, by that time the need had magically passed for the time being. The second half of my run ended up taking 52:27, which averages out to an 8:44/mile pace. Part of that was the bad feeling, and part of it was just being tired.

So overall, I ended up running 12 miles in 1:41:33, which averages out to 8:28 per mile.

Weekly Total: 23.5 miles
Yearly Total: 493.6 miles

Detroit Marathon Training - Week 4 - Run #2

Today was my speed workout for the week. Started with 1/4 mi @ 8:49 pace, then up to a 6:58 pace for 3/4 mi. I then did two more segments like that, except with a 1/2 mi in between at the slower pace. Then for the last mile of my four mile run, I ran 3/4 mi @ 6:58 pace, before speeding it up for the last quarter. The first half of the run was at a 1% incline on the treadmill, and the second half was flat.

So overall, I ran 5 miles in 37:55 for a 7:35/mi pace.