2015 Phoenix Half Marathon (and February Done!)

When people ask me what my goals are for running, I tell them without hesitation that in 2015, my goal is a) qualify for the 2016 Boston Marathon and b) run a sub 1:30 half and (only half jokingly) c) PR everything.

The origin of my 1:30 half marathon goal goes back to a dinner I shared in the South End with my friend Ricky in late-April 2013, two days after the he ran his first Boston marathon.  This was also his first ever marathon, and I remember asking him if he thought he would run more marathons?  At the time, I was still very out of shape, and had not made much effort during the winter months of 2013 towards improving my physical health.  So, I honestly didn't know what to make of his response when he said that he thought he would focus more on half marathons, and that he thought he could probably get down to under 1:30.  I was impressed, and jealous.  At the time, I couldn't have told you what pace that amounted to, but I knew my one and only half marathon race, run 2 years earlier in the fall of 2011, had come in at 2:03, which was at nearly 9.5 min miles, and I wasn't in any better shape at that moment in 2013.

Since then, the half marathon has been my barometer.  6 months after that dinner with Ricky--6 months of gradually increasing my weekly mileage and some weight loss--I was pleased with myself to run the Baltimore half in under 8 min miles (1:43.)  By February of 2014, near the beginning of my Boston 2014 training, and not quite a year into my "comeback," I ran the SF half 1:36 and followed that up shortly after with a 1:35 at Ashland.   Both those efforts left me tapped out of energy for a 7-10 days afterwards though.  Following Boston, I put my best effort into the Brooklyn half and dropped my PR to 1:32, a pace of 7:02.   The half marathon has been my training buddy over the past 2 years.  Some have ended well (I KICKED at Ashland) and some have been a struggle (a windy SF, but more likely due to having norovirus earlier that week.)  But, I've been pleased and fortunate to set a PR at each half I've run to date.

Coming into the Phoenix half, I was not riding high.  The winter here, and poor performance in my long run the weekend prior left me with legitimate doubt about hitting a 6:50 pace for a sub 1:30.   I thought I would have a good chance at a PR due to my lower weight, additional 8 months of training since Brooklyn, as well as the downhill course.  But my confidence was waning...I was questioning the mid to high 7 min/mile paces I had been trying to train at for the last month, wondering if my body was perhaps more suited to training in the low 8's. 

The morning of the race, there was a surprising (ha, not really) lack of interest from certain members of my family in a 5am wake-up call to go watch me run in the dark!  My father was game though!  It was a 45 minute drive from our hotel to the starting line, which was east of the finish line in Mesa.  He dropped me off about a mile from the start with about 45 minutes to spare.  Perfect timing.   My first warmup mile was a jog...nearly 10 min mile pace.  My second warmup mile a touch faster, closer to an 8 min mile.  I was feeling a little tense and a little sluggish.  I checked out the starting line and witnessed a few thousand people who actually appeared to be cold in the pre-dawn 57 degree weather...they were huddled around propane heat lamps, wearing excessive amounts of throw-away clothes, with a number of them wearing the heat blankets that they hand out post-marathon in early spring and late fall.   I had brought a throw-away NB tshirt over my FHR singlet, and some old Sport Hill cloth tights I haven't worn in 15 years.  I did my drills, I did my strides, I found a nice desert spot to relieve myself out past the lines of people waiting at the port-o-potties, a spot where I could drop my t-shirt and pants (I would return later that afternoon after a round of golf to recollect them) and then I did my leg swings, and moved to the starting line, slotting in between 1:30 pace group and the 1:35 pace group.  A few minutes before the start, I downed my first powergel and finished the bottle of water I had brought with me.  I listened to the conversations around me...the guy who is 3 states away from running marathons in 50 states....the girl running her first half and hoping to hang with the 1:45 group.  I love the awkward friendliness of the pre-race starting corrals.  I felt prepared and relaxed.

Then we go.

It was a small enough race, and I was close enough to the front that I was only 15 seconds off the gun time and immediately I was able to move into my target pace, which, for the first mile was to be a shade under 7. 

After that, my plan was just to run comfortably hard for as long as I can.  Here's how it went




The gradual elevation loss certainly is evident in my pace.  There was very little wind, but when I did have a headwind, it was for most of miles 8-10.

The half marathon course is the last half of the full marathon course, so there was plenty of aid stations for us, including a powergel stop.  I carried a powergel with me from the start and took that just before the mile 6 aid station, where I could consume it with water (never gu with gatorade...too much sugar) and then grabbed another gu handout at that point.  I took that Gu before the mile 10 aid station.  So, in total I took 3 gels: pre-race, mile 6 and mile 10.  I more or less alternated water and gatorade at the stations, but I wasn't really worried about dehydration.  The temps were perfect and the sun wasn't even up until 7 or so.   That timing of nutrition worked well for me.

I was moving well enough in miles 2-5 that I had my sights on the 1:30 group, which was always a quarter of a mile ahead of me even though I was running low 6:40 miles!  Soon, the only people I had left to pass were the folks being dropped from the 1:30 group.  I felt bad for them...their pacer was moving 10 seconds a mile too fast!  I never did catch them, and overheard the pacer at the finish line say they finished at 1:28.  At around the 10k pt, a small older guy caught up to me, and as in past races, this was a nice wakeup call for me...that and the second Gu was about to kick in.  I leaned forward and hung with him, that worked well for us (and another young guy) for the next 2-3 miles, but then the older guy slowed up significantly, and while I also slowed a bit with the wind and lack of decline, the younger guy (I think he was wearing basketball shorts?) moved away from me.  So, for a long while, I was sort of out there by myself.  Then I was passed towards the end by two guys who were running separately, but must have gotten a late start, because they were moving at low 6 pace and looked great out there.  I got a kick out of the second of the two.  He was well over 6 feet tall and was really striding, but he would say to every person he passed (including folks walking the 10k that had started at the same time as our race, 6.2 miles from the same finish line) "good job, looking good."  That guy had a great attitude, and I was happy have him pass me out there.

After drifting up towards 7 min miles, I was getting a little concerned about my overall pace, which had moved back to high 6:40 range.  Every mile that I had put down at 6:40, I knew was a 10-12 second cushion against a 1:30 time, but the 7's were becoming a trend and I was knew I had to dig for the last few miles if I was going to keep it below 6:52.   The last Gu kicked in around mile 11, and with that low 6:50 split I knew at that point I had enough left in me to hold my time below 1:30.  At that point in the race (and I felt this with Philly too) I had a mile or two to look forward to my goal.  It gave me strength to kick at the finish.  The shout-out to Boston and to my winter beard from the guy on the PA to the crowd lining the finish was welcome also!

 I was braking at this point, so that doesn't count as a heal strike! :)

The feeling of coming down that shoot, looking up at a gun time that was still in the 1:29's, knowing that I was 30 or so seconds below my goal, was a moment (or maybe a minute or two, when you take into account the smile on my face) of great satisfaction for me.   See what I'm talking about?

post-race can be a goofy time.

Anyway, post race I put in a lazy mile cool-down.  Downed a cocowater, banana, cliff bar, bagel sandwhich and coffee from Einsteins, and then enjoyed a chocolate milk back in the hotel room.  I had a few hours to unwind, and then it was back to Mesa for a GREAT round of golf at Las Sendas.  Post golf, back to the hotel for a soak and then out to dinner with the family for a burrito and beer dinner.

It was a great day!

And upon returning to Boston, it was March.

So here's the Garmin-to-date graph with February updated.

Based on the Feb number, big things hopefully coming in March and April

and also the trailing 12 month volume totals, with month-over-month % increases. 

Approaching 2,000 miles and steady growth.

12 Weeks to Sugarloaf-Arizona Half prep week.

Travel, run, work, family.  Not a lot of time for blogging.  But, this week is a down week and I've got 30-40 minutes before I need to leave to squeeze in an easy run this AM, so maybe I can capture what has been a nice recent few weeks for me.

Week 12-Arizona Half week.
My go-in plan 55 to 60 miles, 1/2 marathon on Saturday
Coach Alan's plan: 48 with an offday on Sunday
Workouts: Tuesday put in a good effort of 7 miles in the mid 7's and
Wednesday: 3x800 in 3:00 with 2:30 jog rest, 3x600 in 2:09 with 2:00 rest, 3x400 in 82 with 1:30 rest

Actual: 51 miles with no days (completely) off.  
Pace for the week: 7:36

I had hoped to maybe do a shake-out when I landed Sunday night, but that didn't happen.  A 3 hour delay on the ground before our non-stop flight followed by a 6+ hour flight meant 9 hours of sitting in a window seat, during which time I stood up once.  Ouch.  A shake out would have been welcome, but I landed after midnight AZ time and didn't get the car rental and checked in until close to 2am (AZ time.)   I was there a week before the marathon for 2 reasons: 1 a conference on forecasting and 2. my father and brother joined me on Wed night for four rounds of golf at the tail-end of the week.  I had suggested this weekend originally to them because of the timing around the half marathon race, and then the golf fell into place and then later on I realized there was also a conference I could attend.

One of the reasons I decided to attend this conference is because a demand planning manager from Nike would be presenting, and I was looking forward to meeting someone else who works closely in the same environment that I do.  During his presentation, he mentioned that he is an avid marathoner, and after his session I introduced myself to him.  We sat through a few other presentations together, and later that Monday morning, I had myself a running date for 6am Tuesday.    I excused myself from the conference around 4 that day to get in an easy run before dinner.  It was pretty wonderful.  After putting in a month or so of heavy treadmill running, or running in 8lbs of sweaty wet layers when I did get outdoors, it was fantastic to throw on shorts and a short sleeve shirt and head out nice easy run in the fresh air.  And I got to make use of my birthday present to myself, a new pair of Julbo sunglasses.  It was refreshing, and after too many boring hours on a treadmill, and a challenging long run (that should NOT have been challenging for me) it was exactly what I needed.  I followed that by a to-be-expensed sushi dinner and a 9pm bedtime.

At 6am, I was feeling good.  In talking with my new friend Alan (from Nike, not my coach) the day before, I quickly realized he was a strong runner.  I love love love running with stronger runners.  When I first started running with FHR folks, I was quite intimidated by their paces.  I realized quickly that even if I can't hang with them for their full work out at low 7 paces, I can certainly hang around for a long time, and it pushes me like I can't seem to push myself.  Alan is a strong (2:40's) marathoner currently in an ultra training cycle.  We agreed on a 7 miles at 7:30 pace (exactly what Alan the coach prescribed for me.)   It was basically pitch black when we started, but this gave me a good sense of what my 6:30 am marathon start time would be like.  We set off on a paved bike trail that was uninterrupted by traffic, and like my run the previous day, very flat.   While the day before we had chatted about mostly work-related things, this AM we progressed through the 7min range chatting about running, running communities, and family.  It was great!  As we approached what should have been a turn-around at 3.5, we quickly talked each other into stretching it out to an 8 mile run, and on the return trip, we pushed pace just a touch, down to what I hoped would be my 1/2 marathon target pace in the high 6's.  What I didn't realize at the time is that this was a great prep run for my 1/2, both in pace and also in elevation, as we dropped about 20 feet per mile on the return, which was a similar grade to my race.  This run was EXACTLY what I needed that week.  Back at my room afterwards, I felt great.  The confidence was back.

The following day, after the conference had ended I made an attempt to do the track workout that Coach Alan gave me for the week.  I couldn't find an open track, so I just did it on a perfectly flat piece of trail next to the canal behind my hotel.  It went pretty well...I missed plenty of splits in the shorter items, and my effort wasn't as high as it would have been on a track.  I had set up the entire workout in my watch (I love my Garmin 620!) but there is still the challenge of not having a set finish line to focus on wiht each interval.  Anyway, it went well and afterwards I treated (maybe not the right word...) myself to an ice bath back at the hotel.  Ice baths haven't been proven to do anything, but I will say that from my own personal experience, I get out of them feeling incredible, and that was the case this Wed AM.

The rest of the week shifted to family and golf, whcih meant early AM departures to great golf courses that just happened to be an hour or so drive from our hotel, so that meant 5:30-6am treadmill easy/recovery runs, which is a bit of a shame since the hotel we stay at is adjacent to some amazing desert trail running.  However, even if I had time after sunrise to run, I was glad to keep running close to the start of my 1/2 start time, and I would not have wanted to risk turning an ankle on a trail run 2 days before a b race.  And since this post is plenty long already, I think I'll go for that easy run now and dedicate an entire post to my race.

14 & 13 weeks to Sugarloaf

Week 13 plan: 50-58 miles
Week 13 actual: 55.5
Key planned work: Two track workouts and a 15 mile long run


Week 14plan: Recovery week, 39 miles
Week 13 actual: 39
Key planned work: 8x400 m repeats and a 12 mile run with 6 miles at tempo/6:45 pace.

Week 13:
MORE EFFING SNOW.  All easy runs were on a treadmill.    My 1000m repeat workout was on the treadmill.  This actually went much better than I was expecting.  I would say the biggest issue was not being able to go through my pre-workout routine of a/b skips, strides, etc.   Really no place for that in the gym.  Was not supposed to have any off-days this week, but a) I had banked some miles earlier in the week (7 miles vs scheduled 5, for example) and b) we got lots of snow Saturday night so Sunday was a shovel day, with no access to a treadmill (YMCA was closed.)    This winter has been incredibly bad.  We're on the verge of setting the season snow fall record in boston, and it isn't even the end of February yet...and as for February, we're on pace for the second coldest Feb in Boston history.  Every single day this month has been blow average temp...I was shocked to see that the average temp this time of year is close to 40 degrees!  At this point, when it gets into the 20s, it feels like the 40s.

I had to take PTO time off from work Friday afternoon to get in my track session at Reggie.  Thanks to state track and field championships every single night that week, I had a window of about 2 hours on Friday I could get my run in.  It was rushed, but I hit my 800 and 400 paces...I was feeling it the next morning though on the long run.

The long run for Week 13 was done with the FHR group of 5-6 folks, doing 2 eight mile loops from JP Licks down to MFA area and back up the SW corridor.  The night prior hit negative temps, and when we started running it was around 5 or 6 degrees...I carried my new handy water bottle with gatorade and 4-5 miles into the run, the nozzle froze over.  Marc from FHR weighed his clothes afterwards and they weighed 8 lbs!   We started off sub 7:20 the first two miles and I was feeling clunky (I guess from the previous days track sesh.)  So, I let the other 4-5 runners get ahead of me...I would catch them at some stoplights, but not on the second loop.  It was fine, I ended up at 7:51 pace for the 16.  Not great, but better than where I was at in the Philly training (see image below.)

Oh, I almost forgot, I got a massage from  Nicole on Wednesday.  This turned the conversation to the groin pain that has been lingering since the Philly taper.  She suggested pubic bone irritation, which caused her tons of problems, and eventually a surgery related to the issue.  Like every other injury I've ever researched online, that sufficiently freaked me out.  Coach Alan suggested that or possibly a sports hernia...either way, I'm hoping this is just "the one thing I'm going to worry about at any given time."  Nicole (who ran at the Athens and Beijing Olympics!) talked to me a bit about my pre-track workout and suggested a) a series of lunge movements: forward/backwards/side w/ pivot and b) walking over low hurdles to open up my hips.  Good input, I think.

Week 14:
Still doing all my easy runs on the treadmill.  Which is a wonderful convenience, but even with the incline at 1% to replicate wind resistance, it still feels like cheating.  Also, this week's track workout was 8x400 and without anyone to pace me, my track speed inexperience was on full-display.  Was shooing for low-mid 80 seconds times, and my first one out was 77 seconds.   Everything else was fine, but I'm sure I put in more effort than I should have, and my runs the rest of the week (that was Tuesday) were harder than they should have been as a result.  Glutes and Hamstrings definitely still feeling the track session--not injured, just sore.

Long run this AM by myself...i settled in on a 1.5 mile out&back in JP that has minimal traffic.  I woke up this AM feeling great, but I struggled wiht my first up-tempo session (shooting for 6:45) and couldn't keep it below 7min pace.  The second 3 mile up-tempo was clear from the downhill start (7:15 range) that I was toast.  Soon after I changed the view on my watch to show my the total runs average pace, not the current lap pace...so was a bit surprised after the run ended to see the drift end up so close to 8 min/miles.

I would say that I'm as worn down mentally as I am physically.  Not broken....just drained.  After 2 really good long runs with Maartje, the last two weeks have been disappointing since I haven't been able to maintain the target pace.

And, one week from my first B race in Arizona, I'll hopefully (weather permitting) be on a plane tomorrow and I'm obviously looking forward to the week in the desert.  A few weeks ago I was very confident I would crack 1:30 at this race, but now I'm not sure.  My legs just aren't feeling strong right now.  We'll see how the next few days go, but I may only be able to aim for low 7 min pace in the race. 

But, when I'm feeling down about the current state of my body, it is nice to look at the progress I've made over the last year.   Through the first 4 weeks...40 more miles, 8 lbs less than Philly (18 less than Boston!) and stronger paces across both the week total and the long run pace.  All good.

Edit: and oh yeah...I turned 37 this week and it did NOT snow that day!  But, I still ran inside on a treadmill.

15 weeks to Sugarloaf

Plan: 50-55 miles, 6 days of running, option for 7, 3 key workouts: track, hills, long run. 

Actual: 50.9 miles @ a total pace of 7:38.

Links to Key workouts:  
Tuesday track - 3200 in 13:00, 4 mins rest, 8x400 in 1:35 with 15 seconds rest; 
Thurdsay hills...SKIPPED; 
 Sunday 15 with the last 4 progressive 7:20 down to 7:00

First off, when I read this years from now, all I'll need to remember is that this is the month I saw the most snow I have ever seen.  As I'm typing this (Monday night) we're in the middle of our 4th storm in 2 weeks, and have now exceeded 5 feet of snow.  There are no sidewalks.  There are no bike baths.  There are no shoulders to run in.  My attempt at this hill session: Friday hills: 5x (30 seconds up, 45 down recovery, 60 seconds up, 90 down, 90 up, 2 mins down recovery actually was attempted Thursday evening on Adams street in Milton...one trip up and I bagged it.  That still just meant I had only one rest day last week, it just meant I replaced a 5 mile hill workout with an easy day.

So for the last 2 weeks, I run at the Reggie Lewis Track or on either the treadmill at work or at the YMCA, and then I've done my long runs with my FHR friends early on Saturday AMs from Jamaica Plain...we run in the streets and haven't had too many issues with cars...just a few jerks here and there.  But since the big blizzard two weeks ago (it feels like a month) I've run outside just 3 times...and the first time I hurt my ankle.  The other two trips out have been for the long runs.  So, I feel like I'm cheating things a bit with all the treadmill running. 

The long runs the last two weeks 14 and 15 miles, both in the low 7:20 range have been a good test for me.  Two weeks ago, I had great energy and rolled through the first 10 miles before doing the hard/easy 2 min workout, which went fairly well.  This week we did two 5 mile loops in JP, and then did our progressive run on a flatter section.  It didn't end up as a true progression run, a hill came into play and my pace fell way below my expectations (down to 7:45.)

The other issue on the last two long runs has been my decision to forgo carrying fuel with me.  No fuel, no water.  And this past week, I paid for it.  Thankfully, a friend I was running with bailed me out with an extra PowerGel (also, he had a PowerGel that basically just tasted like chocolate frosting.  I liked that one.) So, I took fuel at around mile 12 or 13 (without any water) and I don't think it really kicked in until the last mile, but I was happy with the pace of that last mile (which was also downhill.)

Anyway, I'm nit-picking a bit...it was a strong 15 mile long run.  At some point in that training run, I had a 1:36 half marathon time, which a year ago was my 1/2 PR.    I also hit 51 miles this week, in terrible weather, and one of my stronger paces.   IF I had done the hill workout, I would have really been in rough shape for the long run though, so I'm a bit torn between whether or not it was good that I replaced the hill workout with the easy day. 

Looking ahead to week 3 of the 16 week plan...in the words of Coach Alan:

Monday easy 5 recovery, 5x15 second acceleration "strides" in the last mile Tuesday track 8x1000 w/ 400 jog rest in 2:30, first 4 in 3:52, last 4 in 3:48 Wednesday 8@7:40 progressive to 7:10 Thursday easy recovery 5-6, 7:45 pace, 5 strides in last mile Friday track 2000M in 7:42, 4min rest, 6x400 in 85 with 2:00 rest, 6x200 in 37-38 with 1:30 rest. Saturday long? 16@7:30 average Sunday easy 4-5 recovery
Total 58, no days off this week, easy recovery week next week

I'm confident about the track work, especially if I have company at the track.  I also don't see the 8@7:40 as a problem, since it will be on a treadmill.  The long run will be a challenge if it is my 3rd workout of the week.  

58 miles will be the second most miles I've ever run in a week behind the 64 I ran peak week for Philly.

16 weeks to Sugarloaf

Plan: 40-45 miles, 6 days of running, 2 key workouts, including the long run.
Actual: 45.7 miles @ a total pace of 7:38.

Links to Key workouts: 6 x 1200 @ Reggie Indoor and 14 mile long run w/ 6 x 2 min fast/2 min recovery

After last week's long-run failure, my coach suggested I needed to a) get some treatment for the knee issue that has been bothering me for the last 2 weeks and b) pick up the training pace a bit, since he didn't see me moving at the level of someone capable of running a 1:30 half or 3:10 full.  And, given the long-run pace--never much below 7:45--I understood his point.

Mother Nature threw a rest day at me early in the week when we received a fairly massive blizzard (around 2 feet of snow) on Tuesday.  That snowfall was so bad that it actually kept the indoor track closed Wednesday night.  The good news is that I had a training partner last week for the two key runs who is currently at the level I would like to be at in mid-May, so we were able to coordinate our week together to do a strong 1200 workout, coming in at and slightly below our targets for all 6 reps.

a peaceful and empty track

We also managed to meet up for the long run yesterday, which she claimed would be 10 miles at a 7:30 pace...which at the time daunted me a bit, but as is normally the case, if I'm running with other/stronger runners, I get moving pretty well.  I really really have trouble pushing myself to fast paces through long runs.  I can do my tempo workouts to my target times, but if I just venture out for a long run on my own, I just can't seem to get moving right away down at sub 7:30 pace...so having the company yesterday was tremendous.  Plus, she mapped out a route that had us in mostly empty streets and not running on the layer(s) of snow and ice.

Besides these two speedy/strong workouts, I kept three easy runs at sub 8 min mile, and substituted a hard elliptical session for one recovery run on Friday.  One of the easy runs came before the storm, and one came on a treadmill on Saturday AM (we received more snow that AM) and then one was on Wednesday, the day after the storm.  That run I was in the streets (people aren't keeping up with the shoveling) and I did turn my ankle very hard, and I've been icing and compressing since.  While the ankle is bothering me when I torque it around at home, it doesn't seem to be a major issue for me when I run, but it has been more sore after running than before.

HOWEVER, as is usually the case with me...I'm only feeling one pain at a time.  So, the ankle pain has supplanted the knee pain.  I am hopeful I can get treatment on my knee this week anyway, the next two weeks will have mileage at 50+ miles before I get a cut-back week the week of my birthday.

Of course, today we're getting another foot of snow.  I'll be on the treadmill today definitely, and maybe 1-2 more days this week as well for easy runs.

January Done....time for a new plan!

January went....um, so-so.  Mileage was a bit below expected thanks to a few (literally, three) more off days than I was expecting thanks to a nasty cold at the beginning of the month and some knee/hip/band discomfort a week or two ago.  Overall though, not bad for a down month, I suppose.

(click to enlarge all images)

Full Garmin History

Trailing 12 month total mileage and month-over-month increase to trailing 12s

So, as you can see from the future months in the graph, it's time to move towards another race.

This spring I'm targeting the Sugarloaf marathon in Maine, May 17th.  More on that later.

For now though, the plan: I have one!  Well, I kind of have one.  A few weeks ago, by chance, I was introduced to a proper training coach, and I'm going with it!  Honestly, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the information I was collecting.  I'm honestly looking forward to spending less time on the planning, and investing the energy into the actual training.  I scrapped the day-by-day detail I had planned out.  Well, sort of.  I let him know that I had two B races already targeted: the Phoenix Half and the Eastern States 20 miler, and I also felt like the total 16 week mileage range I had developed (800-865) was the right trajectory for me at this stage, one full year into continuous training.  I also felt as though the weekly ramp-up/down weeks was well researched, so, I sent just the weekly miles totals over to the coach, and after some small tweaks in response, we were off and running.

The way it works now (or through two weeks anyway) is that on Sunday afternoon, I get an email like the following, this week's (week 16) schedule:

Mon: easy recovery 4-5 @ 8:00-8:15 pace

Tue: maybe some shoveling, throw in a little core work if you have the time and energy.

Wed: track - 2 miles w/u, drills and strides, 6x1200 in 4:45 with 2 laps jog recovery, 2 miles jog cooldown (about 10 total)

Thursday: 5 miles recovery at 8:00 pace average, no slower!

Friday: 4-5 miles easy at 7:50-8:10 pace plus 5x15 second accelerations at some point in the last mile.

Saturday: long run: 14 miles with 6x2:00 at 7:00 pace with 2:00 at 8:00 pace recovery, starting at mile 10

Sunday: easy 5 at 8:00 pace

And then, I run.

My challenge through the first two weeks of the coaching has been maintaining a sub-8 pace in easy runs, and also last week's long run was kind of a mess, failing to hit low-ish 7 paces in the final 4-5 miles of the long run.

BUT, this week (above) is going somewhat better with just my long run left to do tomorrow.  (We had a massive blizzard on Tuesday that kept the track closed on Wednesday, so that pushed everything a day.

ANYWAY, now I think I'll start posting weekly a) the upcoming week's schedule, with my thoughts and comments, and then a recap of the prior week's results.

And, we're off, here's the plan (target, stretch, and the comparison vs Philly 2014 training)