NYCM 2013 Training: Week 4 Recap

Last week's mileage chart does not scream marathon training to me. I am not sure how I went from 46 miles the week before to 39 miles. Clearly this was a built in "relaxing" week, which means that the mileage will be picking up for week number 5.

Total Weekly Mileage: 39 Miles

Monday: 5 miles at 7:47 pace and arm workout
This was day two of a stomach problem that would end up lasting me all week. The first mile was a little worrisome, but I got better as my run went on. I ended up distracting myself by playing "beat the bus". The goal is to beat the bus to its next bus stop, and to see how many bus stops you can make before it passes you. I made 10 stops, which is probably a PR for me.

Tuesday: 8 mile track workout
Again, was worried about the stomach and looked for every excuse not to do this workout today. I even stopped 5 minutes into the run and stood there, contemplating whether to turn around. I talked myself out of it and kept going to the track. I knew I'd feel better once I was done.

The plan called for 6 x 800s at 3:15 minute pace. Actual Splits: 3:16, 3:16, 3:09, 3:09, 3:06, 3:05. I was happy with the negative splits and my consistency. I broke the workout up into 3 sections, trying to get faster for each one. And wouldn't you know, I felt great once it was finished. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and go for it, whether you want to or not.

Wednesday: rest day

Thursday: 6.3 mile tempo at 7:27 pace, followed by lunges, squats, and leg rehab exercises
Tempos are supposed to be run at marathon pace, and this was pretty much spot-on to last year's Philly splits. Somehow, DC started to feel like Vermont, and it was a refreshing 63 degrees when I started my run. I didn't bring the Garmin because it does not work where I live in DC. The hills and trees prevent it from getting good satellite signals. If I were to rely on it, I'd probably end up having to run sub-6:00 minute miles for it to calculate a 7:27 pace.... Not worth the headache.

Friday: 6 miles at 8:00 pace and core workout
An easy recovery run post Thursday's tempo. The legs were definitely feeling those squats and lunges! Another cooler morning to make for a relaxing run.

Saturday: 6 miles at 7:44 pace
The plan called for 8 miles today but I had a CPR class to get to and was running out of time. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast before running, and wouldn't you know, a side cramp that has bothered me on every run for a few weeks now wasn't there! The only problem was that I was thinking about food on the entire run.

Sunday: 8 miles at 7:52 pace
Due to the stomach concerns all week, I tried to experiment with my run time. I normally go at the morning but waited until 4:30 pm to head out on this run. Sunday runs are always relaxing around DC with much less traffic. Unfortunately, I did become witness to the death of a squirrel that was hit by a car. I couldn't contain my look of horror and hope that the driver saw my face.... Poor little squirrel. Took a while to recover and block out the images, but I did manage to enjoy the rest of the run. And the stomach held up quite nicely with no pains.

In just about a month those afternoon runs will be the norm, as I head back to school. I don't know how four weeks of training have already passed. November will be coming quickly (although it seems so far away now) and I have quite a lot of workouts to accomplish between now and then.