We join our hero as he finally sees that two of the wicks on the candle that’s been burned from both ends and the middle have been extinguished and it’s back down to one. In the past two weeks, our hero has revised his entire training plan and approach. This new approach is built for speed and built on the foundation of the Hal Higdon Advanced Half Marathon plan.
Week 1 – Ending 3/29/20
Monday: 6 miles. Ran in the subdivision next to the park, almost running into a dog walker thanks to the fucking rain and wearing glasses. Got it done, though. 6.11 in 54:25 (8:54/mile pace).
Tuesday: 7 x hill. I drove to my normal campground hill, but there was an area closed. I probably could have driven around the closure, but I decided I wouldn’t since I really don’t know why it’s closed. So I used a different hill that was far taller – about 80 more feet of rise over the quarter mile. That being said, my splits started at 2:13 and went to 2:29 by the end (the other hill was 1:50 to 2:00 per split). Overall, 5.6 miles in 54:28 (9:44/mile pace… yeah, that hill was a killer!).
Wednesday: 5 mile recovery. Ran this entirely in the park because I got up late and didn’t want to ‘battle’ with the last few people in the subdivision that are essential. Instead I battled with my watch deciding to update with nothing to update. This was also the first time I’ve been in the park since the governor closed playgrounds. 5.16 miles in 45:55 (8:54/mile pace).
Thursday: 6.5 miles with 4.5 miles fast. I had really wanted to change this to a 35 minute tempo run, but forgot. Ran in the park and the subdivision next to it. That portion was 4.51 miles in 36:18 (8:01/mile pace). Overall, 6.52 miles in 55:24 (8:30/mile pace).
Friday: 12 miles. I was off work that day, so I should have gone downtown instead of the park and subdivision, but I didn’t think about that until after I ran. 12.03 miles in 1:48:53 (9:03/mile pace).
Week 2 – Ending 4/5/2020
Monday: 6 miles. Ran in the park and the subdivision next to it, not at all dissimilar in route from the prior Monday. 6.11 miles in 54:00 (8:50/mile pace).
Tuesday: 10 x 400. Ran these entirely in the park, and it’s the first time I’ve done 400s in a while. My splits were 1:42, 1:39, 1:45, 1:48, 1:37, 1:44, 1:48, 1:46, 1:43, and 1:42; the goal was 1:46 – 1:49, so seven were faster than the goal pace and none were slower than the goal pace. Overall, 6.75 miles in 56:29 (8:22/mile pace).
Wednesday: 5 miles recovery. Ran most of one lap around the park+subdivision and kept it easy. 5.13 miles in 44:11 (8:37/mile pace).
Thursday: 35 minute tempo run. Ran around the park and subdivision… again. 1 mile warm-up, 35 minute tempo at a goal pace of 7:17-7:33, which I did not make – my tempo pace was 7:42/mile. I blame my watch. Overall, 6.55 miles in 52:51 (8:04/mile pace).
Friday: 13 mile run.
Ran two full laps around the park and subdivision next to it. Hydrated with Gatorade Endurance, no fuel. The sun came out at the end. 13.14 miles in 1:55:48 (8:49/mile pace).
Week 1 was 35.4 miles, and week 2 was 37.7 miles. March ended during week 2, and it’s total mileage was 194 miles.