Monday, September 23, 2013

Chicago Marathon Training: Week #6

Rainy Start
Running in hot, humid weather is never fun, but on Sunday I finally caught a break and ran in the rain and it was fantastic. It was a tremendous feeling to be able to run and get the cooling effect from the rain. It reminded me of the conditions I ran my marathon PR in. On my way back from Oak Street Beach, I stopped off at Fleet Feet in Old Town to pick up my race packet for my 5k on Thursday. Also, on my way back my Garmin battery gave out at mile 10 and I decided that I needed to order a new GPS when I got home. It will take me longer than one hour to run a marathon, which is how long a charge it holds.

At my turnaround near Oak Street Beach in the rain
Total Miles: 13.58 @ 7:45 + 5 mile recovery later that afternoon

Tuesday: My profile was in the Chicago Tribune's marathon section:



Track Work Thursday:
Oktoberfest 5k.  This was my track work for the week. It isn't the typical six miles, but the effort was greater, and I ran faster, so I'll take it.
Near the finish of the Oktoberfest 5k (src)
3.14 miles @ 6:20/mile.

Friday: New Garmin 310xt arrived. I like that it can upolad data to my computer wirelessly, has a longer battery life and seems to acquire satellites much faster. Oh yeah, and it's slightly smaller.

Left: My old Garmin 305 with a white eraser for a button
Right: My new Garmin 310xt
Summary
This was likely my highest training mileage of this cycle as my taper starts in just 1.5 weeks and the marathon is 1.5 weeks after that. I am feeling really good right now. Just have to keep this going for a little bit longer!

Week #6 Total: 60.3 miles
Average Pace: 7:43
Other Training: 4 strength workouts and 1 yoga session

Six weeks down, three to go!

10 comments:

  1. I know you're on a shorter training cycle because of your leg woes this summer, but still, it feels like you just started! And you're already about to taper?

    Glad you're still feeling good! And wow, awesome mileage this week!

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    1. Yeah, that's the one thing that's got me slightly rattled: It feels like I've just started and I'm about to taper. I have that feeling like if I only had two extra weeks, I would have a better base and would have more confidence. However, Meb Keflezighi came in fourth in London Olympics on about six weeks of training and his two teammates who trained full cycles dropped out because of injuries. So there's that. Thanks, and I'm happy to be in the higher mileage weeks now!

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  2. Taper taper taper. But one more hard ass week to go. Praying nothing breaks. I'm a little jealous of the longer tapers just due to that!
    Keep rocking man

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    1. You could start your taper now that the 16 miler is done, but you are hardcore Hanson until the end! So stick with the plan and we'll ride our fatigued legs all the way from 20 to 26.2 like we're floating on air!

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  3. How do the two-a-days feel? I've always thought that would be a good way to sneak in extra mileage without causing the body additional stress. Especially if one of the runs was at recovery pace. Nice long run! I'm sad I didn't see you guys but I think I finished right around when you started.

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    1. To be honest I've been doing almost all two-a-days for the last two weeks. I even threw in a couple of three-a-days! At my age, I love the mileage, but need more recovery time. So far so good, as I feel as close to 100% as I ever had running such high weekly mileage. Yes, would recommend two short fast runs spaced at least few hours apart, or a longer run with a short recovery later in the same day. Yes, too bad we missed you. You are an early bird on Sunday! :)

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  4. I swear Garmins go at the worst times. I had to buy a new one just days before my first Chicago Marathon. Sounds like your new one is a good one. Congrats on the feature!

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    1. Yeah. Sorry to hear about yours dying, but at least it didn't die during the marathon. Thanks!

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  5. Ahhh, taper time coming up soon! I have never understood those folks that don't like to taper because I am a huge fan of it. =D Boo for Garmins that don't live up to their estimated lifespans. Considering how expensive they are, you would think they would be much more durable than they are. But on the optimistic side, it's good that your Garmin died now instead of on race day, right?!!?

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    1. Yes, I am looking forward to my taper, even if it's short! The extra sleep, the laying around eating food, what's not to like? Yeah, my Garmin's battery was not only dying, but the buttons were popping off and I had replaced them with pencil erasers (very fashionable)! Yes, I would rather have it die now than on race day! :)

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