Training Log Archive: ernst

Last "serious" training before Boston. 1.5 m warmup, then 3 m (fast) marathon pace (6:55) then 4 min rest, 1k 10k pace (6:20 ish), then 1.5 m cool down. this felt pretty good. Cool morning around 35 F.
Looks like Monday will be around 50 - 65F, with rain and side wind, and perhaps some thunder. Should be dramatic!

C • Marathon 2

Easy run to work. Trails are finally ice-free. Some muddy spots in the low areas, but these should dry out in the next two days.

Running home. Nice evening (45 F). Taking it easy as per training manual.

Intervals and tempo drills. First out and back on Main Street: 3 x 1200m at 6:30 - 6:40 pace with 2 min recovery breaks. Then to the track for a 4 x 400m tempo with 2 min recovery (85, 85, 83, 85). 3.5 miles total warmup / down. This felt good in this cold weather (34 F !, misty).

Running to the Car Rental - very raw outside . Was going to run home but this is fine - may as well be an almost rest-day.

Great Bay Half. I would usually not want to race a week before Boston, but I had signed up for this in August assuming it was 2 weeks before Boston. But due to the calendar, Boston is early this year. Therefore my goal was to use this as a warm-up and go slow.

I met up as usual at Drew's and Cristine's house in Newmarket for pre-race gabbing. Smaller group this year. Drew mentioned 7:45 - 8:00 target pace, which seemed like a good jog pace for me - roughly a minute slower than my race pace. So we ran together the first 4 miles, but then Drew fell back, and I just continued at around 7:30, which was very comfortable. I maintained a 'slow cadence' breathing throughout, except on the 5 or 6 short but steep hills where I increased the cadence and shortened my steps to keep pressure off the legs. That all worked fine and I never got out of breadth. I had time and plenty of energy to thank the spectators and the race volunteers, had fun dancing with the belly dancers and grooving to the road side musicians, high-fived many people except Dave, the roller bladeing, hula-hooping fiddler whom I distracted a bit right near mile 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uibupxvy5Pg

That was a lot of fun, not having to suffer for once in this race. Turnout was lower than usual, and it was pathetically low in my age class. So I won again with quite the margin, which was not my intention, but I take it anyway.

Then hopping, jogging, high-fiving around the finish, and then back up the hill to the library, where I looked out for Drew and ran with him to the finish.