Day 3 of the 18 week countdown to Boston. Thus far it has been entirely from the book of Pfitzinger instead of the plan of Andrew. You see he's recommended that 18 weeks was far too long to train for a marathon and that I should continue with aerobic running for the next 10 weeks, followed by 8 weeks of marathon specific training. Being an old stick in the mud who finds it hard to change his ways I've been resisting, so far.
Day 1 - love that Pfitz guy starting you off with a day of rest and I'm proud of the 0's in my log. Of course I'd just run 20 miles the day before and so it was well deserved I think. Oh, and we had a big storm with lots of snow and ice and the roads are now a mess.
Day 2 - Tues - 8.1 miles at 8:54 pace, say what? Did I say the roads were a mess? It was like running on a frozen pond even with the Yaktrax's. I was sliding around and could only take a 1/2 or at most 3/4 stride. It was also cold and windy, so a slow slog of a run to start the program off. I also said hello to a policeman with his cruiser in the ditch where he missed the turn on the slick roads. He didn't look too happy but agreed we need more salt on the streets. I didn't offer to push because the tow truck had just arrived.
Day 3 - Weds - 11 miles at 8:38 pace, avg hr 133. This is one of the bread and butter runs in the Pfitz programs and I've found these mid-week medium long runs of 11 to 16 miles can be a real challenge. After a certain amount of nervous trepidation because of the roads and weather I was off. By heading out of town the footing was actually better because of the wide edges that get plowed. The 1st few miles were a struggle to get rolling but soon I was able to settle into a nice rhythm though slow. At least it was more of a 3/4 stride day and at -10C (15F) with no wind it almost felt balmy. Before I knew it the deed was done and I was glad to have survived without falling down (that almost happened later in my street boots but no damage done).
Looking ahead I see a couple of easy days with 5 milers sandwiched around a 9 mile run. This is to be followed by the weekly long run of 'only' 15 miles which I'm positive Andrew simply won't allow. I guess we'll just have to be flexible, especially with the holiday season upon us.
Seasons greetings and happy holidays to all!
The ACT Masters' 5000m Championships
1 week ago
3 comments:
Love that title! ha ha!
Well, my one complaint with Pfitz is that you've done it too many times now to expect improvement from the same mileage / workout regimen. The good thing about Pfitz is it is a program which means, when followed, it should get to the end in fine shape.
Glad to see the mid week post! Been missing your updates. I haven't been able to run in town since the first snow. Highway only with some small exceptions to add a little mileage.
Its a long program alright, good luck with. I have nothing but admiration for how you guys stick to your training through your winter. Happy xmas.
I'm somewhat in agreement with Andrew in that 18 weeks is a long regime, but that is what I am doing for Arizona, so delete that!
Lots of long slow miles doesn't get me too excited. Still like lots of tempo runs and the occassional long one (never longer than 18 in my case). Anyway that's my two cents on the subject.
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