Monday: 3 miles (9:41). Easy start to the Chicago taper week.
Tuesday: 7 miles (8:53). 2@easy, 2@8:40, 2@8:20, 1@easy. All easy running until Chicago now.
Wednesday: 5 miles (9:31). Nice, easy miles.
Thursday: 5 miles (9:33).
Friday: 3 miles (9:31). Off to Chicago on Friday afternoon.
Saturday: 2 miles (9:31). Two miles on the hotel treadmill.
Sunday: 26.2 miles (10:10). The Chicago Marathon.
Total Miles: 51.2.
October 9 - 16
Monday: 2 miles (10:10). Hotel treadmill in Chicago.
Tuesday: 3 miles (9:49). Another easy treadmill recovery run.
Wednesday: 3 miles (9:28), 3.1 miles (9:28). The running streak finally reached 1000 days today and I added a second run at the Fleet Feet Run Sum.
Thursday: 6.22 miles (9:21). I ran a nice and easy 10K and it was actually 29 seconds faster than my recent 10K Franklin Classic Race, because I was stopping at the water stops during the race.
Friday: 5 miles (9:42). Easy run from the Library to DCP.
Saturday: 4 miles (9:36), 5 miles (9:12). Easy morning run around Station Camp and then an late afternoon run on the Station Camp Greenway.
Sunday: 5 miles (9:31). Easy treadmill miles while watching football.
Total Miles: 36.3 miles.
My analysis of my recent training and the Chicago Marathon.
My recent Chicago Marathon was my second slowest of all time at 4:24:18. But it was actually my lowest point for marathon running. When I ran the slower race at New York City last fall, I was injured most of the way, where I really had no excuses in Chicago.
I took a look at my training and I know exactly what happened. I simply just started taking too many breaks and stops during ALL my runs. Not just workouts, even short 3 mile easy runs were never done continuously.
I saw that one of my 17 mile outdoor long runs had 40 minutes of down time. So what looked like a solid 8:45 paced long run in reality was closer to 11 minutes per mile elapsed time.
I ran 3 long runs on the treadmill with distances of 19, 20, and 21 miles. By the second half of the run, I am getting off the treadmill every mile to wipe off with a towel and drinking water or using the bathroom. Easily 2-3 minutes of down time per mile. So even the 19 mile run which looked like a great progression down to 7:35 per mile wasn't as effective due to the stops between each mile.
You really can't expect to get to the start line of the marathon and think you are going to have race day magic and run a good pace for 26.2 mile without stopping when you didn't train that way. As my coach has said, there is no such thing as "race day magic". The race is just an extension of what took place in training. That was never so true as in Chicago.
So I have to change how I train. And this past week, I never stopped once during any run. They weren't long runs and were just easy runs, so I haven't really tested myself. But I feel like I was more focused on the run rather than wondering where I was going to stop next. After an easy recovery week, this week will be more focused and longer runs with some workouts.
My strategy will be to carry water on me when the workout or length of the run cannot easily be executed without taking any water during the run. So my plan is to start wearing my Camelbak with water and being able to get a drink while on the run and not having to stop.
This won't be easy, especially when I get to the tough workouts and longer runs. But if I can execute and keep focused and limit any stops to the very minimal, then I will regain that mental toughness, start to get faster on the long runs, and then race day won't be such a shock to the body.
The improved results won't happen over night, but if I can stay focused and execute, some good things are going to happen in 2018.
So stay tuned to see how many training moves forward in the following weeks and months ahead.
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