Second Wind

Rest.

Took it easy today in preparation for 6 x 800 tomorrow.  Thought about going an extra mile or two but changed my mind due to the fact that this a cut back week and the two weeks following this week are going to be fairly demanding with long runs of 19 and 20 miles.  So I will make this a true cutback week in order to hopefully benefit from a bit of recovery, although the mileage difference is only 3 miles less with a 12 mile long run on Saturday.  Added a few strides today during the last mile just for fun.  Hot and muggy again today.

Time:  8:33/mile

Speed workout today!  6 x 800 meter intervals with 3 minute breaks.  Splits for 800s were as follows:  3:15, 3:07, 3:13, 3:16, 3:18, 3:18.  Gave a little too much on the second and third intervals and paid for it on the final three, which were tough.  This was my third 800 meter workout during this training cycle which has been building from 4x800 and each one has become progressively harder.  There will be two more of these workouts before the marathon 7x800 and 8x800.  Ran slow for 3 minutes between each interval and ran 2 mile warm-up and 2 mile cool down at a very slow pace.  Nice cloud cover today but it was still hot and muggy.  I guess that will be the theme for then next few weeks during the monsoon season.  This also concludes a huge record mileage month for me at 193.5 (previous record was 153).

Time:  8:36/mile

Easy 9 today.  Took it easy today ran at a comfortable pace the whole way.  Added a couple of strides but they didn't feel right so only did the two.  Back problem continues to cause me some problems, depending on how this week goes I may end up cutting out the speed work in the future runs and just focus on base miles.  Have thought about getting an inversion table several times but have never done it.  Maybe now is the time to get serious about getting one due to the nagging back issues.  Another hot and muggy day today 86 with fairly heavy cloud cover.

Time:  8:39/mile

Decided to pick it up on my 4 miler today to see if I would be able to run my marathon pace miles tomorrow.  Ran middle two miles today at 7:25 pace and felt really good.  The back and related leg issues only bothered me for the first half mile or so and things got better as I went along.  Weather continues to be hot and muggy although this morning was a bit cooler than yesterday.

Time:  7:58/mile

Ran 9 miles at marathon pace today.....well "close" to marathon pace.  After a mile warm up I started out hitting about 7:30 miles for the first five miles, then faded off for a couple of miles but still kept the pace under 7:50 then finished off the last two closer to 7:35. for an average pace of 7:37 per mile.  Not too bad, but not where I want to be.  Part of my problem relates to the back issues I have been having lately and part of the problem (besides lack of fitness) is not refeuling at mile 6 or 7.  I usually take in some gel on my long runs at about mile 7 but for some reason (lack of planning and laziness) on my pace runs I never take anything, not even water.  I still have three more 9+ mile marathon pace runs so I think for each one of those I will plan on taking a gel and water at about mile 7 to see if that makes any difference.  Started earlier than usual today in order to get done at a decent hour and the temps seemed a bit cooler.  81 degrees at the end and still quite a bit of humidity in the air.  Since this is a cut back week, only 12 tomorrow for the long run, then two huge weeks follow that.  The true test of my fitness will come in the next six weeks as the miles and intensity to beyond anything I've done before.

Time:  7:50/mile

Long run today of 12 miles.  First few miles were very slow, about 9:00/mile due to pain in my left hip area due to the back issues.  After several miles the pain tends to subside and I am able to pick up the pace.  Picked up the last few miles to a sub 8:30/mile pace and felt pretty natural and good.  These shorter "long" runs just aren't as challenging as they used to be.  I still remember my first 10 miler last year like it was yesterday, what a struggle that was at the time.  Since this is a cut back week the shorter run will help me recover more for the upcoming huge week.  I have been contemplating taking a few days off next week to see if the hip and back feel any better with less running.  We'll see how it's doing Sunday and then see how it feels on Monday morning and go from there.  I hate to miss any days with the last six big weeks staring me in the face before the taper but if I'm going to have a chance to be completely healthy for the marathon, rest sooner rather than later is probably a better choice.

Time:  8:35/mile