Training for Philly with a Hansons

This week I enter into my marathon specific phase. Two weeks ago I ran the Philadelphia Rock n Roll half marathon in 1:41:00. That’s pretty much the exact time I should have run to set me up to train for a an 8:00 marathon pace. I always seem to slow down a bit near the end of the marathon, so if I actually averaged that pace during the whole marathon, that would be a huge success for me. However, anything under 3:35 would be fantastic.

The week after the half I had just a week of normal runs. This is the first week of the Hanson-style Strength runs (6×1 mi, 4 x 1.5 mi, 3 x 2 mi, 2 x 3 mi, etc, at half marathon pace) and then the classic marathon pace runs. My mileage this week will end up being 53 miles. Next week it jumps to 58, then it goes up to 62 for several weeks in a row. I LOVE this part. I really, really do. Sometimes I think I love the training more than the actual race. The race is just my excuse to train.

Philly’s perfect timing, though, because right after the race is Thanksgiving week. I’ll be able to take the full week off and relax with my family. That will be nice, although I’m sure I’ll actually be itching to get back out on the roads.

Hansons training method: 5K plan

I ran Boston in April. I ran the Rock n Roll half in Philly in September. Now what? I decided to go into a cycle of training for the 5K distance.

I went back to the Hansons Coaching Services page and I bought their Advanced 5K Training Plan. The plan has you running seven days a week with mileage between 50 and 60 miles a week. Obviously, I’m not at that level, but the plan below that started at 30 miles per week, and I wanted to run in the 40 miles per week range. So what I’m doing is simply cutting the day after the long run out so that I have Sundays off for family time. That keeps me at the same mileage as I was doing for the half, maybe slightly lower. I also allow myself to run a shorter long run if that’s how I’m feeling, so perhaps 12 miles instead of 14.

Why so much mileage for a 5k? Because I enjoy it. And because if you want to run your best 5K time, you can’t do it off of 20 miles a week after you’ve been averaging mileage in the upper 40s per week.

The plan has a similar rhythm as the Half Plan I did. I’m running six days a week. I have a speed session on Mondays and a tempo run on Wednesdays, a “long” run on Saturdays and easier runs the other days. The difference is that the speed and tempo days are targeting for the 5k distance. They’re faster, shorter, ect. For the half, I was running strength sessions on my speed days. Those were long intervals, such as 6 x 1 mile repeats, at around my 10k pace, or slightly slower. The tempo runs were at my half marathon pace. For the 5k plan, the speed days are shorter repeats, such as 6 x 800, at my goal 5k pace. Tempo runs are 3 miles at half marathon pace. But then it switches up. Some tempo days are longer runs, such as 8 to 10 miles, at a pace on the faster side, so maybe slightly slower than your marathon pace. For me, that’s about 8:20 pace. My goal 5k pace in this cycle is a 7:00/mile pace. Other weeks, you do hill repeats on Monday instead of the speed sessions. And then another week, you do your normal speed session on Monday, but then hill repeats on the Wednesday instead of the tempo run.

You also do three targeted 5K races, with the final one being your goal 5K. They’re two weeks apart during the last month and a half of the plan.

Before starting the plan, I ran a 5k to see where I was. It was kind of hilly (not outrageous hills, but still!). My time was 22:07. I really felt the strength in my legs that had been built up from my half marathon training. It was kind of cool. Somehow, the really fast women didn’t show up so I won first female overall and nabbed $50 for a prize. That was nice! I felt like a rock star. It was a really small race, but I’ll take my wins where I can get them!

I think for the first two 5k’s of the training, I’ll try to practice running negative splits to see if I’m able to even do that. I usually go out too fast and run a slower pace each mile. I’m hoping to run at least a 21:50 for my goal 5K. I’d love to say I ran a “21” something 5K. We’ll see!!

Hanson Half Marathon Plan: Week 10

So I’m more than half way through my training cycle, and things are going well. I missed my 8-miler due to a late night out at a concert during week 9, which is fine. We all need some respite. This week, however, I ran all but one mile, hitting 46 miles for the week.

The week’s workouts

Along the trail by my sister’s in Virginia

Sunday: Easy 5 miles, which I ran on a trail by my sister’s house in Virginia. I have no idea what the pace was since I forgot my Garmin. I used my iPhone’s timer and kept stopping it by mistake. I’m guestimating I ran around 53 minutes. Not sure. How liberating is that!

At one point a small white dog ran by with a doggy smile on her doggy tongue. She acknowledged no one on the trail. I assumed her owners were the two people walking a little bit behind her. I was wondering why they were letting her run leash-free like that. I thought, “They must really trust her! She must be a really well-trained dog!” A few minutes later down the trail, a guy on a bike was looking frantic. He stopped and asked me, “Did you see a white dog run by?”

Monday: 9 miles with 3×1.5 miles at 10k pace and a 800 jog rest interval in between. I ran this on the treadmill in the afternoon with my music blasting through my headphones. Despite the “dreadmill’s” reputation, I actually enjoy these workouts.

Tuesday: This is my day off. I did a strength session during lunch at the gym. Hot salsa’s. Ouch.

Wednesday: 7 miles with 4 miles at my goal half marathon pace (7:41). I did this on the treadmill again. I do both my speed and tempo workouts on the treadmill. If it sounds wimpy, it’s easy on my injury-prone ligaments. And the bathroom is right there. During the whole workout. Just in case.

Thursday: Easy 5 miles around the hilly route from my house. See that picture over there on the right? Isn’t that pretty? I run there.

Friday: “Easy” 8, except I cut this run to 7 since I went too late in the morning and ended up running in 90-degree weather. It started to feel dangerous. I began to have a mild anxiety attack so headed straight home, hoping I wouldn’t pass out on the side road where no one would find me. Not one of my better ideas.

When I got back to my house, my dad was there picking up my son.  When he saw me approaching, dripping excessively with sweat, he yelled at me for running in the heat like that. “What did you do that for? It’s stupid to run in this!” Despite the “stupid”, I was smiling inside from the affection of his fatherly worry. And I was smiling because I remember him running in the same weather when he was my age and I was a teenager.

Saturday: 12 miles. I ran this with the local running club on the trails by a river at a local national park. It was nice, but the danger of going on a group run is you can end up pacing with someone who’s either too slow or too fast for you. I ended up running with neither. The person I ran with thought he was trying to run my pace, and I thought I was trying to run his pace. We both ended up running too fast. True, 8:30-minute miles may not seem terribly fast to many, but with my tired legs, it made TODAY’s workout that much harder for me. I need to learn to run my own pace regardless. It’s so easy to get caught up in a run and it can be great fun when you’re running with other people. So, okay, I guess it was worth it to run too fast.

Today’s workout: The start of a new week

Yesterday was my Sunday easy recovery 5-miler, which was very enjoyable. It was a very cool 80 degrees (compared to 90, it felt down right indulgent) and I took my time, even taking pictures here and there to post on this page.

This morning, however, I ran my strength workout on the treadmill at the gym at  my work. When I walked into the gym, it was like a wave of warm air hit me. Yes, it was warmer inside the gym than outside. It was around 75 degrees outside at 6 a.m. when I arrived.

The trainer said she called facilities to get the air fixed. In the meantime, I had my workout to do and I wasn’t going to let a bit of warm and stuffy air stop me. I hastily claimed a treadmill in front of one of the big fans. Pfew. I did 10 miles with 3×2 miles at 10k pace. My legs were killing me.

Near the end I was focusing on one spot above the tallest tree outside, one tiny cluster of leaves that blurred into a dark blob in front of the blue sky. It reminded me of when I was focusing on one tiny red light on the ceiling when I was 10 cm dilated in labor with my fourth child. I was too far dilated to get an epidural (that’s what they give you if you want to stop the pain during childbirth!), so I was going all natural, baby! Granted, this treadmill workout was nowhere near as painful as being 10 cm dilated with a small human being being pushed out of a very small part of you, but it was still pretty darn painful.

The only thing that kept me going was my mantra: “Suck it up baby!” Everytime I wanted to stop, I’d say this to myself. (Luckily for those working out near me, I only said this quietly  in my own head. Because how creepy would that have been to hear someone on the treadmill next to you screaming: “Suck it up baby! C’mon! Stop your crying, you wuss!” *grunt*grunt* )

For my battle scars, I get to sport chafe abrasions under my armpits and around my sport bra area. How I love running! Seriously, I really do.

Hansons Half Marathon Plan: 8 weeks down, 10 weeks to go

So now I’m 8 weeks in. The last three weeks have been 40 miles weeks, each with a 10 mile run, a 3 mile tempo (6 miles total), and a speed workout, along with the regular easy runs. I’m loving it. It’s very balanced and my body has definitely gotten used to running 6 days a week. In fact, I really don’t like the day I don’t run, but my legs need it. My mind may not, but my legs do!

If you start to feel grumpy during your training, like you don’t see the point of why you’re running, if you start feeling depressed and just overall burnt out, take a week of slow easy runs and less mileage. This is probably a sign that you’re  starting to overtrain. This happened to me, and a week of pulling back did the trick. Just tell yourself you’re doing a “reset”. Better to get to the starting line in one piece by taking an easy week than to get totally sidelined down the road.

This week the mileage gets bumped up to 46 miles and the long run to 12 miles. I forced myself out of bed this morning and ran on the treadmill at the gym: 8 miles with 4 x 1 mile repeats at a 10k pace. I actually took it “easy” and set it to a 0% incline and ran I think according to the treadmill like a 7:25 pace. My legs were tired. Have you heard that before? I’ll be saying that until race day.

And how about my running injuries?

I still see the chiropractor who practices Active Release Technique for follow ups. My toe’s really almost all better. My inner left ankle? It flares up. I ice it and stretch it. I bought a pair of Saucony Hurricane 15s to help with overpronating. So far so good, but I’m still in the trial period of the shoes. They’re definitely comfortable and my toe actually started to feel much better after running in them. My left inner ankle still gets tired, though, around mile 7.

I run in the Saucony Hurricanes for my easy and long runs and in Nike LunarGlide 4s for my faster workouts.