"Tell him to train smart!"
"Ken you are going to either have one fast Boston or the blowup will be spectacular. . ."
"In Boston you are gonna blow up so bad!"
Now I don't want to name names, so let's just refer to him by a code name - maybe "Scotty", or just Scott.
This week Scott and I ran a portion of the Boston Marathon course along with several other members of the Greater Lowell Road Runners. We ran more than 20 miles from Natick, up Heartbreak Hill to Boston College, and back. As is typical during this peak training period, the long runs are actually specific workouts - broken down into shorter intervals done at paces a bit above and below your goal race pace, and designed to induce a training stimulus that will prepare the body (and mind!) for the specific event. Think of it as triggering the kind of fatigue you'll encounter late in a marathon, and learning to run through it. Before the run Scott cautioned me again on the risks to my Boston performance by doing so many faster paced workouts - to which I could only respond, "I guess that's just how I roll!".
The substance of the workout was a set of intervals at progressively increasing paces, with a 1K recovery at about 7:20/mi after each interval: 6k at 6:58/mi , 5k at 6:54/mi , 4k at 6:46/mi, 3k at 6:38/mi, 2k at 6:34/mi, 1k max effort. During the warmup, I tried to draw in Scott and another speedy runner Jill Trotter to join in the workout - no takers! So, I started on the first interval, pulling ahead from the group. Since there were no bathroom facilities where we started, I took a quick break at the Wellesley Community Center. My club mates were surprised to see me again when I caught them from behind a little bit later on the course. But it provided a great opportunity to run and chat with them for a little bit more. It seemed like the first 10.5 miles to the top of Heartbreak Hill passed by very quickly, feeling like a much shorter run. I also was meeting and exceeding the pre-planned paces. My Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch was beeping frequently, indicating I should slow down. Sure enough things got tougher (yet faster) as I returned back toward Wellesley and Natick where I had to climb those hills that on the real course are all downhill. But I managed to stick to the pacing plan throughout. 20.4 miles in 2:20 for a 6:53/mi average pace (by the way 6:52/mi is a magic number, needed to run a 3 hour marathon!).
I do want to say that my experience with the Greater Lowell Road Runners club has been great! I am a relatively new member, and in fact it is the first time I've joined a running club. I chose GLRR because it has a wonderful youth running program that my daughter joined this past year. Also, GLRR organizes the Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon (I ran my first 13.1 race here in October 2011). For club members there are tons of group training opportunities, and some nice perks for those that like to run races in the USA Track and Field New England "Grand Prix" series.
50.6 miles for the week:
M: 0 (was to be a short 3 mile run, but things came up and I skipped it - perturbed, but it happens)
T: 8.2 miles; with Matt Story
16 x 400m with 200m jog in sets of four at half marathon, 10K, 5K and 3K race pace.
W: 12.2 miles, with Joe Loureiro
T: 4.5 miles + 6x 150m strides after run
F: Off
S: 20.4 miles in 2:20:25
S: 4.7 miles - with Joe, increasing paces along the way got the legs moving and feeling better after saturday's tough workout. Some additional hip flexor, calf and hamstring stretching later in the morning really helped.
Summary after 17 weeks of training for Boston, and only 5 weeks to go!
This week Scott and I ran a portion of the Boston Marathon course along with several other members of the Greater Lowell Road Runners. We ran more than 20 miles from Natick, up Heartbreak Hill to Boston College, and back. As is typical during this peak training period, the long runs are actually specific workouts - broken down into shorter intervals done at paces a bit above and below your goal race pace, and designed to induce a training stimulus that will prepare the body (and mind!) for the specific event. Think of it as triggering the kind of fatigue you'll encounter late in a marathon, and learning to run through it. Before the run Scott cautioned me again on the risks to my Boston performance by doing so many faster paced workouts - to which I could only respond, "I guess that's just how I roll!".
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| Look at how these guys roll - impressive, no? That's what I thought. |
The substance of the workout was a set of intervals at progressively increasing paces, with a 1K recovery at about 7:20/mi after each interval: 6k at 6:58/mi , 5k at 6:54/mi , 4k at 6:46/mi, 3k at 6:38/mi, 2k at 6:34/mi, 1k max effort. During the warmup, I tried to draw in Scott and another speedy runner Jill Trotter to join in the workout - no takers! So, I started on the first interval, pulling ahead from the group. Since there were no bathroom facilities where we started, I took a quick break at the Wellesley Community Center. My club mates were surprised to see me again when I caught them from behind a little bit later on the course. But it provided a great opportunity to run and chat with them for a little bit more. It seemed like the first 10.5 miles to the top of Heartbreak Hill passed by very quickly, feeling like a much shorter run. I also was meeting and exceeding the pre-planned paces. My Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch was beeping frequently, indicating I should slow down. Sure enough things got tougher (yet faster) as I returned back toward Wellesley and Natick where I had to climb those hills that on the real course are all downhill. But I managed to stick to the pacing plan throughout. 20.4 miles in 2:20 for a 6:53/mi average pace (by the way 6:52/mi is a magic number, needed to run a 3 hour marathon!).
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| Matt Story, club member and my "Accountability Tuesday" training partner |
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| Jill Trotter (front), John Kleschinsky (back) |
I do want to say that my experience with the Greater Lowell Road Runners club has been great! I am a relatively new member, and in fact it is the first time I've joined a running club. I chose GLRR because it has a wonderful youth running program that my daughter joined this past year. Also, GLRR organizes the Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon (I ran my first 13.1 race here in October 2011). For club members there are tons of group training opportunities, and some nice perks for those that like to run races in the USA Track and Field New England "Grand Prix" series.
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| GLRR runners and supporting volunteers before the run |
50.6 miles for the week:
M: 0 (was to be a short 3 mile run, but things came up and I skipped it - perturbed, but it happens)
T: 8.2 miles; with Matt Story
16 x 400m with 200m jog in sets of four at half marathon, 10K, 5K and 3K race pace.
W: 12.2 miles, with Joe Loureiro
T: 4.5 miles + 6x 150m strides after run
F: Off
S: 20.4 miles in 2:20:25
S: 4.7 miles - with Joe, increasing paces along the way got the legs moving and feeling better after saturday's tough workout. Some additional hip flexor, calf and hamstring stretching later in the morning really helped.
Summary after 17 weeks of training for Boston, and only 5 weeks to go!
Ken, you killed that workout. When you came by me in the Newton hills you were just gliding along. You are going to kill it at Boston, or blow up!! LOL. Hope you'll be joining us for the next 3 weeks of long runs on the course. There's nothing like knowing every turn and hill on the course. That way on race day there are no surprises.
ReplyDeleteKeep it rolling. Oh BTW I got in 65 miles last week, not the minuscale 50 you put in.