Classic New England

I wrote all about my frigid long run on Sunday, and the main thing to take away from the experience is that it really wasn't too bad at all (and way easier than a long run in summertime heat and humidity).

But in classic New England weather fashion, I was out on the road for my 8-mile tempo run just two days later, wearing SHORTS!  It was cool enough that I needed long sleeves, but not too cold for shorts - two days after wearing double layers of everything, including hats and gloves. Craziness!

The tempo run was, as all my tempos on this training plan have been, incredible. I can't get over how great they make me feel. There's some suffering, sure, and there are definitely several times during the run where I feel like I wish I could stop, or slow down considerably. But then I'll hit a nice flat stretch, or even better, a downhill, and the happy thoughts return.

The plan I'm using this time is generally working out really well for me. It's not quite as rigid as the plan I used last time, and I feel like it's also not wearing me down so much. Obviously, I still have twelve more weeks to go, so there's plenty of time for me to get worn down and burned out. And I know some of that will occur.

But overall, it seems like a better fit. The speedwork is about the same - insane track workouts that always scare me when I first look at them, and that hurt while I'm doing them, but that are definitely paying off.

The long runs are definitely different. They're all run at a slightly slower pace than I did my long runs last time, and I think that's a good thing. It's obviously important to get in those 14-, 16-, 18-, and 20-mile runs, but the last plan had me running them pretty darn close to race pace, and it was really tough on me, both mentally and physically, to do that week after week after week.

On this plan, the tempo runs are where I'm really building up both my speed and my endurance. Every week is an 8-mile tempo, except for a few weeks where I'll do a 10-mile tempo. Obviously 8- and 10-mile runs don't even come close to comparing to a marathon, but if I can hold a 7:30 pace for runs of that distance, I feel pretty confident that I can hold between an 8:15 and 8:20 pace for the marathon - especially if I'm doing it once a week. The obvious benefit is that I'm running long enough that I'm buildling some endurance, but not so long that I'm completely trashing my body. 

Also different is that I'm only doing three 20-milers instead of five. You have no idea how much of a relief that is to me. Not to mention how insane it seems that I'm relieved to "only" have to run 20 miles three times. But mentally, not having those two additional 20-milers feels so freeing.

And frankly, I don't know that running five 20-milers had that big an impact on my performance in Hartford anyway. I don't know that it was really necessary, and I even wonder if it affected me negatively, making me feel more beat up and burned out than I should have been.

I'm not knocking the plan I used last time, because it worked - I got my qualifier, and I didn't get injured. But to say it was intense is a huge understatement. And this time around, I feel like I'm training really well and I feel like I'm definitely going to be prepared for race day, and will probably even be able to PR, but I don't feel as mentally and physically drained as I did while training this summer.

Part of that is the slightly more flexible training plan, and part of it is that I'm cutting myself a little slack. I only had two months of downtime before picking up with training again, and it was a battle at first to get my head back into training mode.

But now that I'm here, I'm focused, but I'm also not obsessing. I spend so much less time looking at my Garmin during my runs, and almost no time at all poring over my plan to see what workouts are coming up next. In fact, there have been a few mornings where I almost forgot to check to see what was on the schedule.

It's an approach that's working much better for me. I love having goals, and I have goals for this race, and I am driven to do my best to reach those goals. But I also don't want it to consume my every waking moment. I have my qualifier, and if 3:43 stands as my PR for a while longer, so be it. It's a PR I can be very proud of, and if I can beat it, it'll be great, but if I can't, that'll be ok, too.

What I'm most looking forward to in Gansett is running on my home turf - running a race on the roads that I know like the back of my hand, and passing all the familiar sites along the way; and seeing Scott and the boys, and hopefully at least a few of my friends, out on the course as I run.

It's going to be a great experience, and I'm making sure that the training is just as great. It's not going to be without its ups and downs (already had some of those downs, in fact), but I'm determined to make sure the prevailing mood is one of fun. After all, running is FUN, and that's why I do it, right?  : )

So far, so good. Let's see if I can keep it up for twelve and a half more weeks.....

Comments

[Jessica M]

We have had the most insane weather lately! Sounds like you have a great mind-set for your training. We'll have to meet up for a Rhody run some time! :-)

[Wes]

yea, I need to get inside the Box of Pain. It's time to quit farting around. Speaking of farting, this no red meat diet has me up in gas! but I digress.

You can accomplish much by focusing on quality! busy busy! Quality over junk and quantity!