Speed. I Am Speed. (FIRST Weeks #9 & #8)

Tue Mar 6th

A great speed workout! The FIRST plan called for specific distances at a specific pace, so I chose to use the treadmill, even though the Dr. has given me the thumbs up for running outdoors once again.

I started out with a 10 min warmup and covered just a little more than 1 mile at a 9.40 pace.

I then started the speed work:
1 mile @ 7.24 followed by 400m RI
2 miles @ 7.35 (should've been 7.24 but after the first mile, I didn't think I would be able to hold out) followed by 800m RI
800 meters @ 3.50 followed by 400m RI (plan called for 800m RI but I was ready to go after 400)
800 meters @ 3.50

Finishing up with a 10 min cool-down.

I covered 6.77 miles and I felt great!

~~~

Sun Mar 4th

Long Run - FIRST Plan Goal: 10 miles

My first day running outdoors since my fall on Jan 28th and I could not have asked for better weather. It was beautiful! Sunny, upper 60s with just a slight breeze. DH elected to accompany me with the kids in tow behind his bike. He wanted to avoid hills (hard to pull the kids uphill) so I mapped out a 2+ loop around our neighborhood.

I started out with the goal of 10-12 miles, but I just felt fatigued and sluggish. I decided to stop at 8 miles... 1:11.30. A pace of 8.56. My planned/goal marathon pace is 8.30. As I haven't re-built my endurance, my long run pace this week should've been about 30 sec slower. Oh well.

~~~

Fri Mar 2nd

Tempo Run - FIRST Plan Goal: 2 miles easy, 3 miles @ 8.0 pace, and 1 mile easy

I did the first 2 at an easy 10.0 pace. I did the 3rd mile (first of 3 at Short Tempo pace) at 8.0. However, I couldn't quite hold the 8.0 pace for next 2 miles... so the 4th mile was actually 9.0 and the 5th was 8.0 for 1/3, 8.5 for 1/3, and 8.0 for 1/3. My last mile (cool-down) was at 9.2.

697 calories burned (I love this feature of treadmills).

~~~

I'm not even certain a 8.30 marathon pace will be attainable for me. I know I want to run a BQ time and so according to pace charts, 8.30 is the pace I need to accomplish that.

Using the FIRST training paces worksheet, I've plugged in my 5K race pace (albeit I used my time at the 3 mile mark of a 15K race). My pace for that race (with a month off following the Portland Marathon) was 8.40. My goal is basically just one minute faster. So, I then plugged in my goal pace to calculate the paces for my training runs. I figure, if I can do all the training runs at that pace, I should be able to achieve a marathon pace at 8.30 - 8.40. Right?

Granted, I was injured and I've had to change my plan a bit. Before my fall, I was doing very well. I was maintaining an average 8.0 pace for 5 miles. However, I have had to take a month off from running and tried to maintain cardio fitness by cycling. When I was given the okay to begin running again, I jumped back into the FIRST training plan right where I would've been had I not stopped. The only change I made was to the long runs .... which I've shortened as noted below:

March 4th ~ Long Run Distance: 18 miles 11
March 11th ~ Long Run Distance: 20 miles 14
March 18th ~ Long Run Distance: 15 miles 17
March 25th ~ Long Run Distance: 20 miles 14
April 1st ~ Long Run Distance: 15 miles 17
April 8th ~ Long Run Distance: 20 miles 20
April 15th ~ Long Run Distance: 13 miles same
April 22nd ~ Long Run Distance: 8-10 miles same
April 29th ~ EUGENE MARATHON Half Marathon

The workouts are enjoyable. I listen to my body and don't overdo it if fatigued, etc. So far, I think all is going well and that I should be able to proceed forth. I'm looking to a fall marathon to strive for a BQ (Portland again? Haulin' Aspen? Seattle?). Any thoughts or words of wisdom ??