Saturday, April 13, 2013

Not exactly a taper...

My overall volume has been pretty low, as are my expectations for Boston, so despite the upcoming marathon I've been sticking to my half ironman plan.  I'm just not sure that you need a long taper when you're only running 35 miles/week!  I may regret this come Heartbreak Hill, but for now I'm feeling good and hoping for the best...


Monday: 5M (41:47) and 2M walk
I had planned to take the day off after the 50 mile ride on Saturday and 18 mile race-pace run on Sunday, but it was just too nice to stay inside!  Thankfully some friends agreed to join me, and I enjoyed the beautiful (though fleeting) spring weather with a run on the ATT with Jen D, Moonberries fro-yo, and a walk around Woodcroft with Jeannelle and Nicole.  

Tuesday: 
  AM - 1500 yard pull swim (35:00)
  PM - 3M run/walk around campus with Nicole

Wednesday:
  AM - 45 minutes moderate on the trainer
  PM - 8M (59:19) including 4 x 1M.   
I decided to run later in the day (when it was in the 50s instead of the 30s, which meant running the prescribed BCTC workout on my own.  I generally have a tough time with workouts and tempo runs if left to my own devices, because it is just so easy to say "well 3 mile repeats is good enough" or "maybe I can break the last 2 into 800s," so I was happy to just get this one done!  The repeats were supposed to be at 10k pace, which according to various calculators should be in the 6:45-6:55 range.  I went out a little fast (downhill from Scott King) and swallowed a bug during the second repeat (the downside of warmer weather, I guess), but otherwise stuck to the plan (6:32, 6:55, 6:45, 6:50).

Thursday: 1600 yard swim (38:00) including drills and a few 100s

Friday: 8M (60:57)
Ellen has agreed to train with me for a 1:30 fall half marathon, and looking at the schedule it looks like we'll be doing a lot of miles in the 7:10-7:20 range, so for today's run we decided to throw in a few tempo-ish miles in the middle of our Rise run (7:16-7:18-7:17). This pace is not particularly challenging for Ellen, so she is able to chat and distract me the entire time, which is awesome, and I am really excited that she is going to help me through fall half training!  

Saturday: MS Spring Fling 50M & transition run
This was my first organized ride, and it was awesome!  Breakfast, supported aid stations, a well-marked course, police holding traffic at intersections, and lunch, plus the proceeds went to a good cause... undoubtedly well worth the $30!  I started out with the BD team, and stayed with them until the first rest stop.  As a group, we were averaging about 15 mph, but I wanted to push myself a bit more in preparation for the upcoming half iron, so I headed out on my own and reconvened with the team at the turnaround and then again at the finish. I averaged about 18 mph riding solo for the second half of the ride and felt pretty good, so I am feeling optimistic about my goal of finishing the 56 miles of the triathlon in under 3 hours, which requires a pace around 18.7 mph.  With the ride complete (48.3M, 2:54:25), I changed into my running shoes and did a quick mile just to start re-acclimating my legs to the bike-run transition (7:20).  8 weeks to go!

Sunday: Pacing at Umstead (12.6M, 3:58:28)
I left the house around 11:30 to make it to Umstead for the midnight gate opening and started my pacer duties right on schedule at 1:45am.  This is my second year pacing at the 100, and this year Val asked me to accompany her on lap 7 (miles 75-87.5!).  We chatted, walked up the hills, jogged on the flat and downhill stretches, and made it through the lap without incident. I was exhausted by the end (not surprisingly considering I'd normally be sleeping during those hours), so I couldn't even imagine how Val was feeling after having completed 87+ miles.  She did awesome though, and rocked her last lap to PR in her 3rd Umstead 100.  I will never ever do something that crazy, but it's nice to be a part of it and support my nutso friends :)  

After spending a good bit of the day lazing around, I met Jen & Jenn on the ATT for a little shake out run.  We'd all had rough weekends, and I was relieved that there was consensus on taking it easy.  So it wasn't far or fast (4.6M, 40:13) but at least I got my butt off the couch and ran off some of the mornings' Bojangles.


Monday: 5M (38:58) and 2M walk
Did the usual Monday Rise recovery run with Ellen, and for the first time this year it was warm enough for shorts at 6:30am!  After work, I met up with Nicole for a little walk on the ATT and it was actually hot outside... Hurray for spring!  

Tuesday: 
  AM - 1800 yard pull swim (37:00)
  PM - Speedwork with Jen D (6M, including 4 x 2 minute and 2 x 1 minute intervals)
I realized that a Wednesday workout would mean running every day this week, which isn't really ideal with Boston less than a week out, so Jen agreed to a last minute change of plans and instead of just easy miles we added in some 2 minute and 1 minute intervals.  I think I was supposed to run the intervals between 10K and half marathon pace and I tried to run at what felt like a challenging but sustainable pace, but somehow they ended up around 0.3M/2 minutes (6:40 pace).  Despite the odd time of day for a workout and the heat (82 degrees - I think we just skipped right over spring), I felt great.  And we ended the run with Moonberries fro-yo, so I really have no complaints!

Wednesday:  45 minutes moderate effort on the trainer

Thursday: 45 minutes easy on the trainer

Saturday:  Quick 3 mile shake out with mile 2 at goal marathon pace, and off to Boston!!

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