Before I do a recap of the Spang Marathon I will do a quick runthrough of last weeks training.
Tuesday/ 4.5 miles/ unknown time/ unkown elevation.
Felt some tightness in my calves today so I decided to cut the run short. It is always better to cut a run short or even miss it rather than get injured and miss weeks or months of training. This has happened with my calves before and it sucks. I started having ace bandages around them as much as possible and rolling them out with a plastic stick.
Wednesday/ 5 miles/ 50-55min/ 0 elevation (track)
Today was a great speed session. Definitly put myself to the test here. 1 mile warm up then 6 quarter mile sprints with a quarter mile cool down in between each sprint then a mile cool down. The real challenge today was the weather though. 17 degress, high wind, and heavy snow. Each sprint stayed at between 1:30min to 1:50min a quarter mile.
Thursday/ 7 miles/ 1:15/ unknown elevation
First off I am having trouble moving the data from my watch to my computer wich explains why I have no idea what elevation I am climbing. Anyway though tonight was a good, night run out on snow covered trails. I used a headlamp but there is still a bit of darkness to deal with, which keeps you completely focused. As does the snow and poor traction. Despite focusing I did manage to catch my foot on a ledge and fall down and bang my hip pretty good no harm done though.
Saturday/ 6-8 miles/ unknown time/ unkown elevation
I took an early run out to to some new farm roads today and learned very quickly snow is sapping my energy. Despite very steep climbs and steps the effort level for this run was far above what I felt it should have been. This made me worry alot about tomorrow.
Sunday/ Spangdahlem Winter Marathon/ 26.2 miles/ 4:27/
One lap around Spangdahlem is 6.5 miles. It has been a goal to do a marathon on base for a long time know and I felt it was time.
Lap One/ miles 0-6.5
This lap was uncomfortable. My legs felt tired and heavy. It was cold, early, and I was tired. The thoughts what am I doing out here and maybe people are righ, maybe I am crazy were running through my head alot. I kept between a 10-11 min mile pace here and there was a lot of effort. Once I reached back to my car from the other direction I was tempted to hop back in and climb back in bed.
Lap Two/ miles 6.5-13
I regrouped myself at the car got some more GU and took off like a rocket to get away before I got in and drove home. I looked at my watch and was running a 9:30 mile. I was going way too fast but it felt good so I decided to see what I could do with it. I watched the miles tick away and I felt completely renewed. All the bad thoughts went away and my legs felt light and fast. This lap was awesome and was over as soon as it felt like it started.
Lap Three/ miles 13-19.5
I managed to keep the pace and also steadily sped up since mile 7. I got my pace down to 9 mins a mile and was holding strong there. I did start feeling soreness in my upper body though just from general fatigue. I also started dodging snow on the ground when I could as it takes a lot more energy to run thorugh (I contibute snow running and sprints to my new fast pace). The wind also picked up on the back part of this loop and by the time it broke I could definitly feel stiffness in my back and drooping shoulders. This was the begining of the end.
Lap Four/ miles 19.5-26.25
I started this lap ok. Tired sore and ready to stop running around inside a fence. I did get a kick though at the four sets of footprints on the snow. After I got to mile 22 I "hit the wall" and it hurt. I got light headed and felt weak. I began walking when I had to and pushing a 10:30 min mile pace when I could. I finally saw my car but ran to .25 instead of .2 because im not sure if theres anything after that. I looked at my watch and saw a final time of 4:27. Over two hours off my previous marathon time of 6:39 in august. I ate 8 Gus four fun sized packs of Haribo gummy bears and about half a coke plus two Nuun tabs and a LOT of water. It hurt and seemed tedious after a while but I felt great mentally through the middle and almost the end. Definitly need to get more used to toying with the wall. Im thinking I might intentionally hit it earlier to get practice. I drove away considering a Spangdahlem Summer Marathon. Thanks for reading guys, and remember visit livestrong.com or livestrong.org for info and help or visit http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=443028&supid=307621557
to donate.
Sean
No comments:
Post a Comment