Two weeks till TCM and I'm just gonna say it; I feel great. It seems like it's been forever since I had a decent training cycle for a marathon. I've really enjoyed this training cycle and I'm liking how things are coming together down the stretch.
Thursday called for 4 x 1200m, but there's this prairie loop at Hyland that is probably between 900 and 1000 meters. It's a great place to get back to my cross country roots, get in a fun workout that includes hills and leg speed.
I decided to head back to the trails for my last 20 miler. After the run I posted on Facebook that I don't know how fast I am, but I sure feel strong - especially considering that this training cycle has included an 18 miler and two 20 milers on the hilly trails of Lebanon Hills, plus a 22 miler on the TCM course.
WEEK #14
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles on the trails
Thursday: 10 miles with 5 x ~1K run on the Hyland trails
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: BIKED 12.5 miles
Sunday: 20 miles on Lebanon Hills trails
Total:47 miles plus 12.5 miles of biking
Nothing to fancy this last week. Wednesday I hit a dirt track at one of the local middle schools for some 600m repeats. I tried to focus on 5K race pace, rather than going all-out on every repeat. Then today's long run just called for 17 miles, but I added a little twist. During the run I stopped at a high school track and ran 2 x 3 miles at MP. The first set was at 7:15 pace and felt really comfortable. Then I dropped down to 7:01 pace for the last set. I could tell I was working harder than the first set, but it still felt comfortable. So now I'm pretty confident with my plan of going out in the 7:10 - 7:15 range.
WEEK #15
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles with 6 x 600m on track
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Day Off
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 17 miles with 2 x 3 miles at MP on track
Total: 40 miles
Chad, which Pfitz plan do you use? Advanced Marathoning? Have you used others? If so, can you briefly say why you prefer Pfitz?
ReplyDeleteThanks, and good luck on Sunday.
Kevin, yeah Advanced Marathoning. I don't know of any other Pfitz plan. I've used Daniels' a long time ago and had success with that too. I think I used Brad Hudson's plan once, but never made it to the start line.
ReplyDeleteI like Pfitz because he offers a wide variety of programs. I think there are 3 different programs with 3 different mileage levels. I like his mid-week long runs and I seem to respond to his hard workouts.
Maybe I should try something new, but I'm comfortable with his program.
Thanks. Pfitz has a marathon plan in the book Road Racing for Serious Runners -- the one he wrote with Scott Douglas. I just wasn't sure whether the plan was the same or not.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the race.