I’m recovering from the marathon nicely, I’m out of the energy drain and feeling faster overall, despite the weather being much hotter and more humid than it has been. The plan for this week is:
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form drills + 4 miles | 3 x 1 mile @ 10k pace | Form drills + 4 miles | 35 min tempo | Long Run - 75 min |
Monday: Ran up the hill, but did an older ‘variant’ where insead of going to the overlook (following the Flying Pig M/HM route), I went towards the Cincinnati Art Museum and passed on. Major problem with this route is that the trash day for people on Mt. Adams is Monday and the trash truck drivers were leaving cans in the middle of the sidewalk. I decided to run into a parking lot (I’ve usually run past it) to see the view of the city, which was nice. 4.28 miles in 37:19 (8:43 pace).
Tuesday: Three intervals, so I kept it in the flat areas. I had my watch set correctly (unlike last week). Checked on another runner that was squatted (not like ‘taking a 💩’ but more like ‘potentially in pain’), she claimed she was okay, and then I saw her running on the return trip from the far loop. I also got a badge from Garmin Connect, but it’s not a badge I want! 5.5 miles in 44:54 (8:10 overall pace, intervals of 7:39, 7:33, 7:38).
Sidenote: I’ve been using the heck out of the AfterShokz that I won via #bibchat a few months ago, and I fully believe the bone conduction technology is the right thing for runners to be using. Case in point in the image below – I could hear this squirrel getting the styrofoam container out of the trash can while listening to the Running, Beer, and BS podcast.
Wednesday: Easy run up the Purple People Bridge and then back across the Roebling Suspension Bridge. I wasn’t pushing it, but ended up with a progressive pace (8:49, 8:34, 8:31, 8:19). 4.16 mles in 35:41 (8:35 pace overall).
Thursday: Had to get up a half hour earlier to run a tempo run and be cleaned up and ready to ride to a meeting 2 hours away by 6:45. Got it done, though. Since it was a tempo run, I ran out Friendship Park and back, along the river, out around the big loop around the Bengals practice field and then a short loop around the practice field. Ended the run with my normal stretches and 2×15 squats in front of some new planters that are apparently a target for vandalism. Ran 6.12 miles in 50 minutes, 8:10 pace (the 35 minute tempo portion was a 7:59 pace).
Friday: Today was a 75 minute run. I didn’t have much of a plan in place, so I ran across the Purple People Bridge, then the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, then the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, then the Roebling Suspension Bridge, then the Taylor Southgate Bridge. My pace for miles 2 – 8 were all clustered around 8:37, which was nice (it would have been nicer if the first two miles were closer to it, but mile 1 was 9:02 and mile 2 was 8:22). I did bring some Gatorade Endurance with me, because it was hot and sticky. 8.72 in 1:15:01 (8:36 pace).
On Wednesday (payday!), I decided I’d go ahead and register for the Honor Run Half Marathon in Florence, KY. I’ve run this twice before, the first time was a then-PR and my return to a half marathon after an injury. The second time was with a back strain and I didn’t PR. This time, I feel like I’m going to crush it because of the marathon AND because I’m going to do a harder training program (Hal Higdon Advanced!) that will include an additional running day. However, my next races will be the Bulldog Blast 5k and the NKU XC Series, once I register for them!
The week concluded with just under 29 miles ran and just over 4 hours spent running. Next week kicks up the mileage a little bit more to continue the post-marathon rebuild.
Cheers!