Baltimore Marathon Training Week 5

Tuesday: 6 Miles (49:27)

Gotta catch the rabbit!!! Starting off week 5 I began with a 6 miler at Little Blue Trail with Stephanie, Stephen, and Derek.  The rabbit, is Derek. He was late this morning, but caught up with us just before mile 1, which as you can tell changed the pace substantially.  I always enjoy running behind Derek as he rides because I act as if he is a runner that I trying to catch.  Running with Stephanie and Stephen, we didn't even notice our pace increasing because we were busy chatting it up as the sun came up.  The run was definitely what I needed after last week and my issues on Wednesday.  I also know that at the end of this week I will be running a substantial amount of miles, so to get in this run early in the week, it was a confidence booster for what lay ahead.

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:44

Mile 2: 8:02

Mile 3: 8:21

Mile 4: 8:08

Mile 5: 7:59

Mile 6: 8:08

Overall Time: 47:00 & 8:32 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”

Wednesday: 5 Miles  (42:01)

Humid, hot, and refreshing.  All words that could describe this run at some point.  We had the opportunity to run from Randy’s house for our Wednesday night group run.  Though the temperature and humidity were not favorable at all, the finish line for the run tonight was Randy’s pool, which makes any run worth it if you can cool off afterwards.  The route was similar in some regards which made motivation difficult knowing where some of the major landmarks are located, but Stephanie and I did well, let’s be honest, she did well, at holding us accountable and keeping our pace relatively even, even with the ridiculous weather.  Afterwards, having the opportunity to cool off in Randy’s pool was amazing. The majority of runners stayed afterwards and we discussed all of the different runs that we had done in the past including talks about future runs.  The conversations along with beverages and pool made for a relaxing end to hump day!     

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:23

Mile 2: 8:25

Mile 3: 8:28

Mile 4: 8:33

Mile 5: 8:08

Overall Time: 42:01 & 8:23 Pace  

Quote of the Day:

“Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived.”

Thursday: 6 Miles (46:20)

Rather than running in the morning, I decided to hold off until the evening, TERRIBLE IDEA! Stephanie and I did a tempo run, which was really just a normal run for her speediness.  Usually I begin at a 7:40ish pace and consistently increase the pace throughout, tonight however was much different.  I struggled at times to catch my breath and struggled with staying focused on the right things.  Needless to say I regret running in the evening and do not plan on doing this again anytime soon!!

Quote of the Day:

“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”

Friday: 3.0 Miles (29:33 w/ Jennifer)

With a ISD Wellness 5k a week away, Jennifer and I decided to run the course and get a feel for what to expect next Sunday. The course is, well, interesting.  While I did learn new things about Independence, the turnaround of the course is located in the Sister’s of St. Francis roundabout which I didn't even know existed, the course is relatively uneventful.  Next Sunday, I will be running to break my PR, I feel like the course will provide an opportunity for me to get into the low 21’s, but only time will tell.  

Lastly, as you can tell by the pacing, Jennifer is getting quicker, though she still manages to find ways to mentally block herself, the seconds are coming off and she continues to impress me.    

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 9:19

Mile 2: 10:22

Mile 3: 9:48

Overall Time: 29:33 & 9:50 Pace

 

Quote of the Day:

“The human spirit is indomitable. No one can ever say you must not run faster than this or jump higher than that. There will never be a time when the human spirit will not be able to better existing records.” Sir Roger Bannister

 

Saturday: 15 Miles (2:09:08) Crossroads 5k (32:19)

As I had said last week, my goal was to try to make sure I was fueling my body to allow myself the chance to make it 16 miles this week.  As stubborn as I am, that failed me.  I again noticed while reflecting over my paces, I hit a wall, not mental, but physical wall around mile 13 and it reflected in my pacing.  Though the temperatures were steadily increasing, I could tell my body was running on empty and had been for a mile or two prior to that.  I will be eating next weekend prior to see if this helps.

With the temperatures and humidity adding to the degree of difficulty I found it fitting to find something funny about this run and to share it out.  During my run, I found myself laughing at myself as I could hear my feet squishing in my shoes due to the sweat and sprinklers that I ran through on the route.  At one point, as I was squishing away, I looked down to see that all of this had resulted in foam forming on the top of my shoe, my own personal foam machine, as I squished away mile after mile.          

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 9:36

Mile 2: 8:45

Mile 3: 8:27

Mile 4: 8:44

Mile 5: 8:19

Mile 6: 8:28

Mile 7: 8:27

Mile 8: 8:25

Mile 9: 8:15

Mile 10: 8:03

Mile 11: 8:15

Mile 12: 8:23

Mile 13: 8:30

Mile 14: 9:18

Mile 15: 9:04

Overall Time: 2:09:08 & 8:36 Pace

If 15 miles wasn’t enough, Jennifer, Trish, Stephanie, and I also decided to run in the Rock the Crossroads 5k sponsored by KC Running Company and Torn Label Brewing.  The race was hot, the course was less than glamorous but we still managed to have a lot of fun.  Stephanie, Trish, and I motivated Jennifer for the first mile and half before Stephanie and I got the itch.  We decided to push ourselves and see how quickly we could get to the finish line after running at a leisurely pace prior.  Though I forgot my watch, Stephanie was able to track on her watch that we crossed the finished line in the mid 5’s, yes, you read it correctly, in the 5’s for the last half mile of the race.  After running 15 miles this morning and enduring the heat for the beginning of the race, I was quite pleased with our finish, though the final result, resulted in losing to Stephanie by a step, yes we are that competitive even in a fun race. SMH :)

Quote of the Day:

“Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance-you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin beneath your feet.” ~ Doris Brown Heritage

Sunday: 8 Miles (1:09:31)

I was skeptical about this run due to the number of miles that we logged throughout the week and Saturday. We had initially said we would run 6, but as Stephanie would have it, we went 8.  We had also said we take it easy, but Stephanie’s easy and my easy are two completely different things.  Sarah and Stephanie looked unphased for the entire route, myself on the other hand not so much.  I was just happy to see Egg & I afterwards. :)    

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:55

Mile 2: 8:43

Mile 3: 8:33

Mile 4: 8:29

Mile 5: 8:37

Mile 6: 8:43

Mile 7: 8:54

Mile 8: 8:32

Overall Time: 1:09:31 & 8:40 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“If you train your mind for running, everything else will be easy.” Amby Burfoot

Final Thoughts:

After 5 weeks I have increased my total mileage to 174.2.  So after accumulating 28 miles last week, this week, I was able to log 45 miles this week.  I am trying my best to stay consistent with the plan that I am using for training, but with the most miles recorded in any week, I am tempted to push my mileage to see if I can continue to build my base to ensure my long weekends runs are more successful. With no major pains to speak of as of now, knock on wood, I feel like my body is responding well to the training and I can push myself a little harder in regards to distance.

I am also fortunate to be surrounded by amazing runners in their own regard.  I am continually impressed by the knowledge they possess and like a sponge, I am trying to soak it all in and apply it immediately.  With 11 weeks left until Baltimore, I am tempted more and more to run Omaha as a tune-up for Baltimore.  In the next two weeks I will make that decision, which would mean 2 marathons in just under a month.