I ran an easy 8 miles this morning. I usually run with Scott on Fridays, but he never returned my e-mail this week. I suppose I could call him, but I’m more of an e-mail guy. 7 miles tonight will give me 77 miles for the first 6 days of the week (and a 7-day stretch of 91). That means that 18 miles tomorrow would give me 95 for the week. I know I’m counting my chickens a little early, but it’s a little weird because it doesn’t feel like I’ve run that much.
This morning I was wondering why I've been feeling so good with my current mileage. One of the things that comes to mind is the adjustment I had in early December. After getting my head in-line with my spine, the doctor said I’d have more energy because my body wouldn’t have to fight gravity to keep my head up. Plus, having my hips aligned has to help with preventing injuries. Who knows? Maybe I’m just lucky or smarter this time around.
I’ve been trying to cut down on junk food by yesterday I went ahead and grabbed a Dove chocolate. You know, the ones with the message on the inside. My message was “Hey, why not?” Of course I immediately related that to my running. Lots of people run high mileage – why not me? Lots of people have break-through seasons – why not me? It reminded me of my second favorite quote.
You see things; and you say ‘Why’? But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not’? – George Bernard Shaw
Of course since that’s my second favorite quote, I have to post my favorite too;
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
One final note, I got my entry form for Grandma’s Marathon yesterday and sent it in today. June, 17th. 21 weeks from tomorrow.
3 comments:
Zeke,
Good luck at Grandma's. Don't be to eager, rather continue down your current path, visualizing yourself cruising along at 20 miles. I wouldn't set a goal yet. Wait to you begin to crunch it down and see how the workouts are going. You will be tired and training times will not be the best indicator early on. With 6-8 weeks out you should be capable of coming up with your best goal time. So, in essence, 3-5 weeks before the taper your races and time trials will tell you were your at. On a good day, I see you going out at 6:35-6:40 pace and be able to cruise. My opinion is aim for an even split option. Get through in 1:27 flat at the half stay relaxed. High mileage, speedwork, a few races and a good taper should find you in position to cruise well. Developing cruising speed (fast races) is huge for your best marathon time. Add some 20k to 30k pace runs on the track will help you dial in the percieved effort. Spend a fair amount of time at race pace each week, so your body and mind adjust to the pace.
I can tell from how fast I run a 5k or 8k time trial or race how fast I should be able to go. In 2002 before Boston (51 miles a week) I was capable of doing a 1:15 half (race) and a 17:05 5k time trial myself and knew (or felt) 6:10 or 6:15 was possible if I remained on my own race plan. It was tough and I had some bad spots, but I was able to perform my best with splits of 1:20:34 and 1:20:22. It ended up being 6:08-6:09 pace, far ahead of expectations.
You know how to do this. I feel one must let the training and taper take over. When your starting to hurt don't push. Usually your running near pace, but the tendency is to feel tired and increase the effort. This leaves you short the last 5 miles. Why? Because in training you tend to HAVE to work harder to maintain pace because of the load your under. It is a trained response. You have to let the training take hold, trust it, but you should be rested and capable of running faster on THAT day.
I'll have to add those quotes to my list of favorite quotes as well. They are both excellent.
Double, nice to see you posting again. No, I'm not too eager, heck the race is 5 months away still.
Yeah, I won't set a goal for awhile. Obviously, I "need" to break 3 again some day. Last year I thought 2:55 was possible. Seeing how Mike dropped from 2:47 to 2:40 has me thinking about 2:50. I have a 30K on the schedule for early May, so that will be a good benchmark for me.
As always, thanks for your thoughts. Hope all is well.
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