Week 2 Training

I was able to complete the workouts on schedule this week. Cross trained on Monday and completed my runs according to schedule.

I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked this week (weather alerts and thunderstroms at 2am and a 3 year old getting new molars) so I was pretty tired all week. I took both the Tuesday and Wednesday runs easy as I was focused on running a ‘Magic Mile’ as part of my 3 mile run on Thursday.

The Magic Mile Time Trial is part of Jeff Galloway’s training method and is used as a predictor for determining your training and race pace. I headed to the track at Council Rock High School South early Thursday before work and did a mile warm up, a mile flat out and a mile cool down. I ran a 6:34 split for my time trial. Although it was 20 seconds slower than the same time last year I am completely okay with that. I’d be more concerned if I was closer to 7 minutes. Here is the link to the workout.

Using Jeff’s time trail tool these are my results.

Magic Mile Time Trial Results – July 2013

I don’t have any PR goals for the marathon this year. I had aimed for a PR in the New Jersey Marathon but that didn’t pan out. I’m trying to run Philadelphia with my wife and bring us in under 4:30 which I think is doable as we are both sub 2 hour half marathoners and I just want to maintain endurance and health for completing Dopey. Once I have recovered from Dopey next year I can think about another PR race later in the year. I did the time trial to see where my fitness and pace levels were so I am happy with the results.

Also this week in addition to the running I am also working on nutrition and gear as part of my training. I have run four of five of my marathons using Clif Shot Bloks and know they work for me. I ran the New Jersey Marathon with Clif Shot gels but seriously over caffienated and elevated my heart rate. I’ll probably use the bloks again but in the meantime I’m experimenting with sample packs. I know GU has worked for me in the past but I got to a point where they were making me a little nauseous. They are thicker than other gels and are harder for me to get down. I tried the Accel gels and they seemed to work okay. I just purchased a 24 sample pack of the PowerBar gels. I used them today and while they tasted good (Kona Punch…Yum!) I didn’t feel they did that much for me. I have another 22 left in the pack so I can see if this was just today 🙂

I’m pretty much set on my running gear. I love my Nike UV Miler shirts and also the Road Runner Sports Velocity/Runner’s High shirts and I’m pretty steady with my multiple pairs of Nike shorts. For the long runs I typically go with a compression sleeve (I use Zensah compressions sleeves). I recently saw a discount on Pro Compression Marathon Socks and have seen this brand talked about on plenty of blogs. I purchased a pair this week (in Neon Orange) and decided to take them out for a spin. They were much harder to put on than I expected. They felt a little thinner than my usual sock (I use a medium thickness sock typically) but they felt fine. I ran okay and there was no discomfort from them and my legs were not tired the rest of the day. Interested that I felt the compression around the feet. That is why I tried the full sock over just the sleeve. I want to see how they wash and wear a couple more times before I decide whether to take the plunge and buy a couple of pairs. Anything to help my feet feel less tired during the Dopey will be helpful.

Pro Compression Marathon Socks –
Orange enough?

Overall, it was a good week. Next week is a little shorter. A step back week where my longest run is 6 miles. Will again aim to cross train on the bike on Monday. Due to a trip I will not be able to run on Sunday so I will run Friday and Saturday and use Sunday as my rest day this week. Not a big deal and it probably will get me used to running all the back to back races at Dopey.

See you next week.