Last Two Weeks Looking Better

So far the outlook for a fall marathon is still muddy.  The shins and glutes are still a pain and a problem, but I've been able to continue training. My legs have felt dead though, and I have a feeling the Ultimate tourney really took its toll. Every run I've attempted since then has felt sluggish...but then again, almost every run this summer has felt like a struggle.  Whatever, I'll rest when I'm dead!

Here's the last two weeks:

Scheduled

Mileage

Actual

Day

Date

(min)

(max)

Description

Pace

Distance

Notes

Sunday

12-Aug

16.0

21.0

BUDA

0

3 Games - very good workout.

Monday

13-Aug

-

-

Rest

0

Rest

Tuesday

14-Aug

6.0

8.0

Intervals

10.3

800/1000/600/1000/800/(400x3) w/warm up, strides, and cooldown.  Still hurting from the tourney; took it a little easier up until the 400's.

Wednesday

15-Aug

5.0

5.0

Recovery

0:08:16

6.14

Recovery

Thursday

16-Aug

10.0

14.0

Hills/Fresh Pond/MLR

0:08:27

10.26

Hill repeats on Heartbreak.

Friday

17-Aug

11.0

11.0

w/6m at HM Pace

0:07:49

5

Saturday

18-Aug

6.0

6.0

Recovery

0:08:57

1.14

Easy jog to and from the gym.  Biked 10m at the gym.

Sunday

19-Aug

14.0

20.0

Long Run

0:07:55

10.34

A fairly uncomfortable run altogether.  I was hoping to run Battle Road, but I was a little bit groggy and just decided to get in some miles at home. Also biked 11 miles later in the day to make up for the shortfall.

Monday

20-Aug

-

-

Rest

0:06:52

4.5

Not sure why I decided to head out at a faster pace, but I did the 4m loop around the Charles, then did 5 barefoot strides on the BB&N field.  Also took iron supplements for the first time (before bed) to see if that brings up my energy level.

Tuesday

21-Aug

6.0

8.0

Intervals

0:07:42

8.11

1200/1000/800x2/600x2/magic 800 - I still don't feel like I have any pop in my legs.

Wednesday

22-Aug

12.0

15.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:33

10.09

I actually felt like I was plodding a little bit on this run. I wasn't trying to run hard, but the legs still feel worn out.  Still, I'm happy with the pace & distance.

Thursday

23-Aug

6.0

10.0

Hills/Fresh Pond/MLR

9.07

Hill repeats on Heartbreak.

Friday

24-Aug

-

5.0

Easy

0:08:19

2

Easy w/Raleigh

Saturday

25-Aug

7.0

7.0

Recovery + Speed (6x100m)

0:08:20

6.02

Easy miles - my legs are still feeling really beat up.

So the weekly totals have been 32.84, and 50.13...I'll take the 50! The only rest day I've taken was the Monday following the tourney, and I probably should have taken a few days after that, but hopefully pushing through will pay off in the long run. And speaking of long run - I really need to get on that.  Four days of 10+ is reasonable, but it's not nearly the same as a two hour run on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  Once I'm able to bang out a 14 miler at a 7:30 pace without feeling like death, I'll be a lot more confident about another marathon - so we'll see how that goes.

It's easy to see I'm not really adhering to the "scheduled mileage," but my legs just don't have it in them for that type of a pounding at the moment. Once I feel that they're back, I'll push the pace and the distance a little bit more.

Fall Marathon Maybe?

So if I'm going to run a fall marathon, I should be in the middle of some heavy mileage right now. And if I am in fact able - it will be the Cape Cod Marathon on October 28th.  That leaves me with about 11 weeks to continue training.

Shin splints and a busy summer schedule have limited my ability to pile on the miles, but I feel like I've made some progress as of late. Weekly mileage has been 33, 37, 40, 38 for the past four weeks, with five Ultimate games that don't have any mileage associated with them. I figure that's still a very good speed workout and I'm able to work some leg muscles that aren't strictly north/south - so it may not show up in the log, but it's still a productive day.

I've also self diagnosed the cause of my shin splints to weak glutes. My physiological version of connect the dots goes like this: weak glutes from sitting on my butt all day long cause my calves to work harder than necessary during my evening runs, which causes a lot of tightness in my calves which pulls on the tendons causing posterior tibial tendonitis. I could be wrong, but whatever - doing some additional single leg lunges won't hurt. Here's the past two weeks:

Scheduled

Mileage

Actual

Day

Date

(min)

(max)

Description

Pace

Distance

Notes

Sunday		29-Jul		-		4.0		Recover/CT/LR		0:08:07		5		An easy recovery 5.
Monday		30-Jul		8.0		11.0		w/10 100m strides		0:08:17		10.03		Three Hill route during lunch. Additional miles with Raleigh. All miles done slow - my calves and shins are hurting.
Tuesday		31-Jul		-		4.0		Easy Jog & Ultimate				0		Ultimate - when we were pulling I used that as an opportunity to basically do strides, and felt better than I have in a long time. Shins loosened up throughout the game as well.
Wednesday		1-Aug		2.0		6.0		Moderate		0:07:25		10.27		2m at lunch w/Raleigh, 8+ after work at a 7:15 pace. Enjoyable in the downpour.
Thursday		2-Aug		10.0		12.0		Medium Long Run				8		Fresh Pond race in 14:58 - new PR.  Warm up/cool down.
Friday		3-Aug		-		6.0		Recovery				4		Brutal weather.
Saturday		4-Aug		-		5.0		Easy				3		Brutal weather again.
Sunday		5-Aug		10.0		15.0		Long Run		0:07:40		11.4		5m in a.m., 6.4m in p.m.
Monday		6-Aug		-		10.0		Split Mileage		0:07:55		11.65		5.5m Three Hill route at lunch, 6.15m in p.m.
Tuesday		7-Aug		4.0		8.0		Intervals (No Ultimate)				10		800 (1000,600,400,200)x2 - Also ran during an easy 2m during lunch and had a good warm up/cool down. Found an extra gear in the last 200 that I haven't had in a while, which was surprising since my legs feel very beat up.
Wednesday		8-Aug		2.0		5.0		Recovery				5.12		2m at lunch, 3+ in the p.m.
Thursday		9-Aug		-		4.0		Easy Jog & Ultimate				0		Ultimate
Friday		10-Aug		-		6.0		Rest/Easy				0		Rest
Saturday		11-Aug		-		8.0		BUDA				0		4 Games - very good workout.

I'd say one or two more weeks and I'll make a final decision.