Richmond Marathon Training: Week 17 – My Intimidating Tempo

Congratulations to everyone who ran the NYC Marathon on Sunday! From all your experiences, it sounds like it was a perfect day to run through the boroughs of New York City.

I also did some running this past weekend – I had my final (very) long run in my Richmond Marathon training cycle. That 18 miler was supposed to end my peak week, though that term isn’t exactly accurate.

I saw this on the ground during my 18 miler. MY DOG’S NAME IS LARRY! Good omen for the marathon?

Last week was not my highest mileage week and it was actually .1 miles shorter than the week before. I would have ended my week at around 43 miles if I didn’t skip one run because my knee hurt. I told my coach Steph and she made some changes to my plan, including cutting my final long run from 18 to 16 miles.

“You don’t need to run long at this point,” she explained. “We already know you can run 26.2 miles. Long runs now are more for your mental confidence than anything else. Feel free to adjust or skip runs in the next few weeks.”

But I felt fine by then and really needed that last two miles of confidence, so I ran that 18 and felt awesome. But that wasn’t the highlight of my running week.

Croissant French toast. Has nothing to do with this post but OMG.

The highlight of my running week was the tempo run that’s terrified me for the last month and a half, ever since Fiona told me about it:

15 minute warm up, 3×3 miles at marathon pace effort with 3 minute jog between, 15 minute cool down. 

When I did the math I realized this run would be about 12 miles. Before work. Before daylight savings. With nine of those miles being at a challenging pace. And can I even maintain my pace for that long? Sure, at a race. But race day is very different from a regular day, much less 5:15 am on a Monday.

As much as I feared this run, I looked forward to it for two reasons:

(1) Once I got past it, the hardest part of training would be over
(2) If I conquered this tempo I would feel incredibly badass, and therefore on top of the world, after

I should also note that my plan had the option to run 3×2 miles, but what fun is that?

And so last Monday, on a chilly morning, I set out at 5:15 to run for two hours.

Any nerves I had about being alone in the dark that early dissipated quickly, because I saw other runners almost from the beginning. Not many, but more than I expected, especially since I usually start my runs a little later than that and often don’t see any other runners at first. I knew right from my warm up that this would be a good run. I did regret my choice of long sleeve top because it is made out of that shinier wicking material that always stays cold to the touch. Other than that, I felt great.

My first interval went well. It was pitch black and the backlight on my Nike watch has actually never worked, ever, so I couldn’t keep a close watch on my pace but that didn’t matter. I was supposed to run at marathon pace EFFORT, and that’s what I did.

When I use the interval setting on my Nike watch, I can review the splits of the entire interval, rather than view individual miles. And I can’t see the splits until I am back at a computer, so I actually didn’t know how I was doing doing the run. I ran solely by feel.

Interval 1
3 miles – 9’28” avg pace

KILLED IT. As I said last week, my goal for Richmond is 4:05-4:10 and this split is right on target for that goal.

By this time I was also pretty far from my Jersey City home, almost at the end of Hoboken. I added on piers to add distance without having to leave the Hoboken city limits which worked out well.

My second interval felt tougher, but it was also during this set of three miles that I smiled a lot about how awesome this all was. I couldn’t believe I was running THREE sets of three miles, plus warm up and cool down, all before work — and feeling great doing so. It was amazing. Marathon training is amazing. Moments like these are amazing.

I also started seeing more runners, which of course made me feel a lot safer out there in the dark so early in the morning. Of course by this time I was running for a long time already and it wasn’t quite so early anymore!

I was thrilled to finish this interval, knowing I had only one interval left to have dominated this run!

Interval 2
3 miles – 9’19” avg pace

I relished each three minute jog between intervals, using them as my time to hydrate and prepare myself for another three miles of hard work. Those three minutes went by so quickly!

On my third set I enjoyed some entertainment. It was a few days before Halloween, and I ran past a couple photographing their dog, dressed in FULL Batman costume, in the pitch black with the NYC skyline behind him. It looked so cool and I would love to see how that photo turned out!

Does anyone know this Hoboken-based dog??

My other entertainment was a police academy training type thing I ran past and alongside (which looked a lot like the bootcamp classes I’ve taken!).

My left knee, which started hurting during the Portland Marathon and hasn’t felt 100% since, bothered me at the start of this interval but felt better midway through (though the next morning’s run is a different story).

I finished my final three mile interval feeling strong, but ready for a cool down. And I was still so cold!

Interval 3
3 miles – 9’22” avg pace

As you can see, I totally conquered this tempo! I ran 11.96 miles, about two hours of running, before work on a Monday morning. Every single three-mile interval was right on target for my marathon pace (9:32 to begin, bringing it down if I feel good in the second half).

It’s runs like this — the ones I fear, the ones that seem so out of reach when I hear about them — that make me LOVE marathon training. I’d never do a run like this if I wasn’t training and it feels so amazing to know I am putting in the effort to run a strong marathon in Richmond.

When I trained for my first marathon, I did the runs easy and that was it. And I didn’t love training; in fact, I said I’d never run another marathon again. But I said that because my training plan was meh. Now that I am training in a much more structured, focused way with a clear goal in mind I can easily say I love marathon training. I love having a goal. I am already excited to do this again for Eugene this spring.

But I am getting ahead of myself! Here’s how the rest of last week’s training went:

Week 17: October 28 – November 3

• Monday –15 min w.u. 3 x 3 mile @MP effort with 3 mins rest 10 min c.d. (11.93 mi)
  
• Tuesday – 49:07 easy + 4x100m strides (4.76 mi)
  
• Wednesday – OFF
• Thursday – Refine Method
• Friday – 50 mins easy (4.81 mi)
  
• Saturday – 18 miles easy (3:07:41)
  
• Sunday – OFF

Total: 39.5 miles

Now I am in my first week of taper, which doesn’t feel like taper at all. Someone told me I’d feel “bored and our of shape” by race day, but my training plan has me running just slightly less than previous weeks. For example, instead of 50 minutes today I had 40 minutes. Next week it will be 30 minutes — but otherwise, no major differences. I still have a long-ish interval/tempo in each of these two weeks.

Steph said I should feel free to skip or modify any run as needed, but so far I’ve been sticking to the plan. Which means, no taper crazies for me — not that I would get them anyway, I thoroughly enjoy a good rest.

What’s the most intimidating workout you’ve ever conquered and come out feeling incredible after?