8/15-8/21: 100 Miles/Week

Mileage was done in 8 runs this week(double on monday)...so mostly singles. The track workout on Wednesday was fantastic. I looked through my log of previous workouts and there was a 5x1000m I did before I ran 15:13 for the 5K, averaging 3:00 a piece. The workout this week was 6x1200m and I averaged those in 3:36-3:37 each(meaning I went through the 1000s in 3:00...plus another 200m and an additional rep at the same pace. Something tells me I can break 15:00 for the 5K right now.

On Saturday I did a 13 miler mostly in the low 6's with the last 3 miles at about Marathon Pace-about 5:30 per mile. Starting to get into the zone of LT pace and Marathon Pace stuff. I did a 20 miler Sunday with the first half slow and the second half steady.

I have decided to do the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K as a tune-up for Philly. It is 2 weeks + a day before Philly so it works out nicely. It would be nice to claim sub 15:00 there.

8/17: 6x1200

Today I did a solid trackworkout: 6x1200 meters with more rest than last week but faster interval pace. It was more of a 5k-10k workout vs a half marathon workout...BUT it will help my half marathon time in hindsight. I feel myself getting fitter and fitter each week.

3:36, 3:36, 3:37, 3:39, 3:39, 3:33

averaged out to 3:36-3:37(4:48-4:49 pace)

Since I was averaging about 4:48-4:49 pace, a workout like this makes 5:00 pace seem not as fast. Training is going well this week. Looking foward to a good long run this Saturday.

Less is More: 8/8-8/14: 85 miles/week

Ahhh. I relaxed this week a bit, and recovered my body from the brutal buildups of mileage I have been doing since June. It felt good. I even took a day off on Saturday(AND I went out and had a steak for Beth's Birthday). First day off since...(digging through my running log)...July 7. The day before I raced the MidSummer Night's Mile. Over 5 weeks ago. So hitting 85 miles this week seemed like cake(35 miles less than last week).

I also added speedwork back into my training this week. It was a nice 1st workout back at the track which I will be continuing over the next several weeks building towards the Philly RocknRoll Half Marathon. The workout was 8x800 meters with 1-2 minutes rest between each, at slightly faster than half marathon race pace...so it wasn't supposed to be anything really fast. My goal was to average 5:00 pace, maybe slightly faster, which is sub 2:30 800s, and hopefully feel relatively comfortable doing them(meaning aerobic vs. anaerobic)...but it also was VERY important NOT to run them too fast! I hit all of them in 2:28-2:30 and I felt like I could do 8 more when I was done. 4:59 pace average. That was my goal. To get familiar with what used to be a hard pace seems almost a tempo pace that I will be able to maintain for a longer duration. What used to be 5k race pace for me is starting to feel more aerobic and towards a longer distance I could maintain. It is incredible how the body adapts.

This week I will up the mileage again to 100+ and will continue the workouts and some tempo/marathon pace runs as well. Quality workouts are certainly being added now, and I will be definitely focusing on them from here on. The mileage base I've been building since June is big and strong enough that I can now add the next layer to the cake.

Over the Mountain...August 1-7: 120 Miles/Week

I feel like I just got over a huge mountain and am going downhill. Last week was my highest mileage week to date and it was fantastic...really I am handling this mileage very well. I am in the shape of my life. A good amount of self massage and stretching are essential at least one day/week. I am becoming wiser, stronger, and I have learned so much about my body and mind. The key to doing more distance is to make sure you get in your slower runs, so I have made sure to get in a few 7:30 pace runs...I even did 8:00 pace average for a run this week. For those of you who want to run more mileage, I advise you to make sure you don't run too fast all the time when raising it...your body needs the easy days. The Kenyans do this. Mileage has its limits among runners, yes, but you'd be surprised at how much you can raise the bar as long as you do it right. I am confident to say I know how to do it, and if any of you reading this have questions, do not hesitate to ask me. Not that I have mastered it or know everything about it either...there is always more for me to learn and I appreciate all of the advice from everyone who reads my blog.

I am 6 weeks out from the Philly RocknRoll Half Marathon, and 12 weeks out from the Marine Corps Marathon. I have gotten a closer perspective on my miles and workouts over the next several weeks, including how much mileage I should run before it becomes detrimental to my training. But first, here is this week's sum:

8/1: PM: 12.5 miles
8/2: AM: 13.5 miles, PM: 5.5 miles
8/3: AM: 15 miles, PM: 5 miles
8/4: AM: 12.5 miles, PM: 5 miles
8/5: AM: 11 miles
8/6: AM: 21 miles, 1st 10 miles: 70 min(7:00 pace), 2nd 10 miles: 60 min(6:00 pace), + 1 mile
8/7: AM: 19 miles SLOW(8:00 pace), stretching, massage

TOTAL: 120 miles

Saturday I drove out to Edward's Ferry to do a Duel Ferries Run. The Duel Ferries run starts from Edwards Ferry(mile post 31 on the C and O Canal) and goes 5 miles on the canal to Whites Ferry before looping back on a lonely gravel road called River Road for another 5 miles on a rolling hills course that looks a lot like Kansas. It loops back to Edwards Ferry, which is just over 10 miles. Repeat the loop again and you got Duel Ferries. I met with Lucinda who happily joined me for the first of my two 10 mile loops. We started at 7:30 pace and worked down to 6:20 pace. The 2nd loop I ran harder while she did an out and back. I got down to 5:38 pace during the middle of the second loop...which felt rather comfortable...this may be close to my marathon pace...but I brought it back up to 6:00 for the rest of the run. Wasn't quite yet ready to tackle race pace effort...especially during the highest week of mileage ever.

I will begin doing targeted race pace workouts this month, and hitting long intervals on the track or on the towpath. My schedule is a bit more refined now(this still may change a bit) and I think my highest mileage week will be about 130(again this may change...it may just stay at 120).....I probably don't see myself going any higher than 130 though. Outline below:

AUGUST:
8/8-8/14: 100-110 miles
8/15-8/21: 110-118 miles
8/22-8/28: 120-130 miles

SEPT:
8/29-9/4: 85 miles
9/5-9/11: 80 miles
9/12-9/18: 65-70 miles**1/2 MARATHON RACE WEEK**
9/19-9/25: 90-100 miles

OCT:
9/26-10/2: 100-110 miles
10/3-10/9: 120 miles
10/10-10/16: 80-90 miles
10/17-10/23: 70-80 miles
10/24-10/30: 65 miles**MARATHON RACE WEEK**

Climbing Higher: 7/25-7/31: 112 miles/week

I am climbing higher and higher. I was going to get in 120 miles this week, but I toned it down to 112 by skipping a second run I was going to do on Saturday. The reason being I want to climb in mileage gradually, starting from 103 last week to 112 this week, and then this next week I'll be at 120-125. July is over and I have averaged 90 miles/week for the month. Over the past 10 weeks I have averaged 95 miles/week. I am crushing this mileage and only getting better and stronger. This week I did a couple of faster runs incorporated into the mileage. During my long run for the week(19 miles), I threw in 5 miles at a brisk pace coming back up the Capital Crescent Trail, going UPHILL at 5:45 pace. This was just a small dose of bigger things to come in my training/fitness. My fitness is only improving and I imagine I will gradually be working down my pace over the next several weeks and doing tempo cruise intervals and some faster pacing overall. I do not know what my marathon pace is yet but I will know soon. I am also handling this brutal heat well, and once the cooler weather arrives I'm going to feel fantastic. I have high, high goals this fall.

The BIG training month is coming up: August...I will train farther and more than I ever have. The high week for that month is going to be 140+ miles.

July 18-24: 103 Miles/Week

Back to the mileage and working hard. The heat is tough some days. I get up early to beat the worst of it, running at 6:30 am most mornings. I ended up doing mostly singles this week with only one double. It feels good to run more again and not race for a while. I made a really smart decision to not run the Crystal City 5K race. Outline of the week below.

Mon: PM: 5 miles easy
Tues: AM: 14 miles
Wed: AM: 12.5 miles, PM: 4.5 miles
Thurs: AM: 14 miles
Fri: AM: 16.5 miles
Sat: AM: 20 miles, (started out 7:30 pace worked down to 6:00 pace), averaged 6:40 pace
Sun: AM: 16 miles easy

TOTAL: 103 miles

Next week would like to hit 120. I am in good shape and handling the heat well. Although, I've apparently lost weight according to many people who have seen me recently. I cannot help but make sure I am eating enough, since I actually used to have a eating disorder when I was younger-and as a result was not performing well in college. Being skinny can only take you so far. But now, with the way I train and coach myself, it is different, my body is changing in a good way this time, for the positive, and my fitness is improving a ton, and I am becoming more efficient. I feel great, I really do. I feel lighter but strong. People look at me and don't understand how I can eat so much. When running this kind of mileage, the calories are being constantly burned...the furnace is hot. The longer days I bring a 10 ounce water bottle that attaches to my hand. I have also been training myself to drink water while I run...something that I have needed to work on doing more, especially for the marathon. I think I am getting better at it though...I think I am getting stronger.

Schedule Change

As I observe the heat wave in the next couple of days, and look at my goals and race plans, I am making a slight change:

I WILL NOT RACE CRYSTAL CITY 5K THIS SATURDAY

It just makes no sense to do it in this kind of heat, but another reason is because I am back in full high mileage training mode(after 3 weeks in the 75-80 mile range). I will be at over 100 miles this week and have been running very early in the mornings to beat the heat. To throw in a 5k makes absolute no sense whatsoever right now and will just throw off my training. I need to remember what I am really training for this fall: the philly half, and the marine corps marathon. The twilight 8K and the Midsummer's mile were two very nice races for me. A PR in the mile and a competitive 8k finish is enough for my summer races.

For the fall, I have added a good tune-up race for the Philly Half Marathon. I am looking to do the competitive Kentlands 5K which is 2 weeks before Philly-perfect amount of prep time. But more on that later.

For now, I train.

-Sloane