T-8 weeks to SFM

Marathon training takes a lot of time..If you train at 10:00min/mile and run 40 miles a week that's 400 minutes/week. If you have 2 rest days that means you are averaging 80 min on you runs. Add stretching and cooldown and your talkin' over 1 1/2 hrs a day on 5 days out of the week.

This week was Toni's birthday and we went up to the gold country around Sutter's Mill/Fairplay/Plymouth to enjoy a sunny Sunday and Monday (Finally!) and do some wine tasting.

So, need to rearrange some runs...no time for 3.5 hours of running in the morning on Sunday! I took my original stock 50 mile week:

Rest, 5, 10, 5 Rest, 10, 20+

and instead did:

Rest, 4.6, 12, Rest 9.5, 22.2, Rest

I cut out one of the mid-week 5 mile runs and upped a couple of the other runs for a total of 48.5 miles.

This was not an easy schedule, notice that there's a 4 day stretch (12, Rest, 9.5, 22.2) where I ran ~44 miles....to make it doable I canceled my plan to run at full pace (9:20-ish) on the Saturday run and instead did 4 miles at pace during the 12 mile run.

The long run (22.2 miler) went well considering . Problem #1: the previous evening we were attending a fun party and didn't get to bed until 11:30pm. Problem #2: The next day Toni and I were looking forward to a brunch with friends in Los Altos at 11am. Therefore, I had to get up very early to fit in 3:45 hrs of running + pre/post stretching, some breakfast, etc.

That was NOT enough sleep (not to mention the slight hangover from the wine at the party)..running 22 miles did not seem like such a bright idea as I bumbled my way to the bathroom at 5:30. But after an easy mile or two I was feeling a lot better. I did the first 10 miles or so by myself, and then meet up with my friend Jeff to run the last 12.

Jeff is a great running partner: he's in much better shape that I, but never forces the pace. I never feel like I'm running to keep up with him. Jeff also knows the entire Stanford area like the back of his hand ... I always learn a few new tricky routes from him. (It's not easy to think up long running routes on the fly, especially near the end of a long run when you are getting tired.) Jeff and I are both techie types so the conversation is always stimulating.

My plan to intake more cals that usual went well: I ate 5 gu-packs (usually I only do 3, and drank two 16oz bottles with Cytomax (equivalent to two more gu-packs)...burped once or twice but didn't feel upset in the tummy.

I ran at about a 11 min pace to start gradually speeding up to a 10:00 pace for an overall pace of 10:20. The temps were cool to start but about 70 for the last 45 min.

When I got back my weight was about my norm (169lb-ish), i.e. I was not dehydrated. I felt I could have easily continued 4 miles and run a full 26.2 without struggling. This was one of those long runs that makes you feel like you are making progress.

But, later that day I got a pretty bad case of hay fever. It's really REALLY the worst year I've ever seen for this. What with all the rain/sun/rain/sun the grasses and mustard plants are going crazy. I purposely avoided running in grassy areas, but it didn't help. Loaded up on meds and now just waiting for it to die down.

Next week is an easier week. Nominally:

Rest, 4, 9, 4, Rest, 9, 12 (38 miles)

Update Monday 6pm: Legs are feeling pretty recovered, ready for an easy 4 tomorrow.

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