NYC Marathon Training Week #9: Sunday 12-miler

Sixty one days until race day! This training is happening waaaay too fast--closing the books on Week #9.   This week was an easy week with the mileage for the long run pulled back by 30% and ending with 33 miles total. I still have to learn to accept the easy pull back weeks and not make it any harder. I should enjoy the low miles to get ready for the next two weeks which will be challenging.

That said, a third of the way through my long run this morning, I convinced myself to cut my road run into 8 miles and finish off the rest on the trails. I had this bright idea since I've been missing running on trails and it will give me a bonus hill workout. As I was mindlessly climbing my second hill today at mile 6, I felt a slight twinge on my left Achilles. Yes, that's the body telling me, not so fast, no hills today.  It was good that I paid attention and realized that my Achilles are probably tired from the race yesterday so it wouldn't be a good idea to push through a harder workout.  With that, I continued on with my normal road running through my neighborhood.  I had a chance to see the course in daylight where the running divas took me on our usual dark morning runs. The eucalyptus grove is so pretty and hard to appreciate when you can't see them. It's so peaceful running through it now that I can see it in its glory. It is unnerving running when it's dark and you have no idea what could be lurking in the darkness behind the trees.

I am still feeling good about my PR from yesterday that today I set out with no particular pace in mind.  I wanted to do the run as easy as possible so I started it very relaxed. I noticed that when I run relaxed, paying no mind to whatever pace, I end up with a better performance. I end up doing the first half slower and am able to dial into a faster pace at the second half, thereby allowing myself to run another negative split. That is exactly what happened today, another negative split. I completed the 12 miles in one hour and fifty-three minutes at a 9:34 minute/mile pace. The pace for the first half was 9:58 and the second half at 9:10. That's 48 seconds faster. Not only that, the second half is almost my marathon pace! How sweet is that?


Week #10 from Hal Higdon's Advance I Marathon Training Program looks like this:

Mon~ 3 easy
Tues~ 9
Wed~ 6 x hills
Thurs~ 4
Fri~  R-E-S-T
Sat~ 9 pace
Sun~ 19 long run

The 9 mile pace run on Saturday and the 19 miles on Sunday will be quite the challenge. The longest back to back hard days will be a first for me--I've never ran long two days in a row like that. I haven't decided yet where I would run the 19.  I've got this week to decide.

So far the training is going well.  Happy running!