It has started and it feels so good. Last week was the first week of my 18 week KeyBank Vermont City Marathon training program. I described my marathon training program in detail two posts ago; this post will be a review of how I felt before, during and after each workout.
To recap, here’s the week 1 schedule:
- Mon – Rest
- Tues – 3 miles, easy pace
- Wed – 5 miles, race pace
- Thur – 3 miles, easy pace
- Fri – 4 miles (optional), easy pace
- Sat – 8 miles, slooow pace
- Sun – Cross training
Results:
- Mon – I can rest with the best of ‘em.
- Tues – It felt weird only running 3 miles and forcing myself to do it slowly. I had taken a week+ off leading up to the start of training, so my body was well rested and ready to be tested. But Hal knows more than I do, so I ran 3 slow miles outside around my neighborhood. Felt great during and after. NOTE – Without my Endomondo Sports Tracker App I would have no idea what my pace is. The app is GPS based and gives your average pace and is updated every five seconds. This is crucial for me; I’m not experienced enough to know my pace without that instant feedback.
- Wed – Now the fun starts. I asked Sarah to join me and act as my “rabbit.” She was more than up for the task and led me on a fast run through Burlington’s Old North End. My rust showed a bit here as I was not able to maintain the race pace for the full five miles. But at the end it was a great workout and I was better for it. I encourage, if possible, you run with someone who’s a bit faster (or in the case of Sarah/me, a lot faster) than you so they can push you through your pace runs.
- Thur – Due to real life commitments (re: parenting) I was unable to get outside so I headed down to the basement to pound out 3 boring miles on the treadmill. Meh. Was a very procedural run, but in the big picture equally important to the end goal. The good news is my legs weren’t too worse for the wear coming off Wednesday’s pace run. Three days of running in so far and feeling pretty good.
- Fri – For a couple of good reasons, at least to me, I optioned out of Friday’s run. Reason #1, it was pouring outside. Weak reason, I admit. Reason #2, by the time I got home from work it was almost 6:00pm and I was scheduled to be up before dawn Saturday for my 8 miles. I didn’t think it would be wise to run 4 miles and then within 10 hours be right back out there putting down another 8. So I skipped Friday’s run for this week. Hopefully this won’t become a habit.
- Sat – I picked up Sarah at 5:30am to head to the Burlington bike path for the 8 miler. Given both of our schedules for Saturday, running early was our only option. And early it was. The long runs in Higdon’s programs are designed to be a minute+ slower than your race pace. We took off from the ECHO Center and headed north for 4 miles, turned around and easily made the 4 mile run back to College Street. It was a great run and at no time did I ever feel I wasn’t going to make it. The only difficult parts of the run (made worse by the lack of sunlight) were navigating the slippery areas and avoiding the bike path’s Irene induced erosion. A good sign that the pace was appropriate and I was up for the task was the last three miles of the run had negative splits and the last mile was the fastest one we ran of the whole 8. Yes, I know heading south on the bike path toward the waterfront is downhill, but I’ll take whatever good news I can get.
- Sun – Cross training day meant taking the little one to the slopes for a day of skiing at Smuggler’s Notch. My legs were in good shape and not too beat up from Saturday’s 8 miles. Though I found myself looking forward to week 2′s Monday rest day.
All in all it was a successful week 1. Nineteen miles total and other than losing my wind a bit on Wednesday I was able to handle each run with little to no suffering. If only that could be the case for the next 17 weeks …
If you have started, how is your training going? Do you have a running partner or group to get you through your pace and long runs? If not, there are plenty of group runs in the area, or if you’re in need of running partners, leave a comment below and I’m sure you can find someone happy to join you.
- Justin
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Justin, remember how you felt on your last mile Sat., this same locatoin will be mile 25 in the marathon… week one done…don’t look back..
@Mike – Thanks, Mike. Great comment. That’s the exact reason why I want as many of my long runs as possible to be on the actual course, to get used to the good and bad of each location so come race day it will be 2nd nature.
Justin,
As a reader who is following the same Novice 2 (but without the added run, I have just added a mile here and there during the week runs) I wanted to say Thank you! My problem is I haven’t signed up for the marathon yet, with fear of the unknown being the only thing stopping me. But by reading someone else’s training, which is essentially the same as mine,is making me feel a lot more “familiar” with the whole beast of 26.2 concept (if that makes any sense!!) Maybe I just need a few glasses of wine and my iPad in hand to just sign up!! Either way, thanks…your writing is inspiring!
Justin,
I am following the same Novice 2 plan, but instead of the Friday runs, I substitute a pool run at the ReHab gym in Colchester. I am prone to injuries due to constant tight hamstrings (Yoga helps, but it seems to be a chronic problem that I have to watch carefully), so the pool run seems to be a good substitution. However, this week, my legs were dead dog tired on Thursday, leading me to believe that perhaps my goal pace that I ran on Wednesday may be a bit too optimistic. I am taking the Marathon 101 program that starts on Thursday, so I will be asking the instructor if my theory is right. I hate to back down on my goal pace, but I want to get to the starting line uninjured!
I am still looking for any runners who want to run on Sundays a bit later in the morning. I am coming to realize that although I want to get my run done early so that I have the rest of the day, early morning runs exhaust me, which ultimately is not good for my health or my training. 10am seems to be a great time for me to run, on the weekends. Anyone else?
It’s so nice to follow your blog. I find it supportive and encouraging!
I am glad you had a successful first week! Here’s to 17 more (perhaps without the need to use the dreadmill
!
@Linda – Glad you also were able to format Novice 2 to your needs by adding in a mile here or there. And trust me, if I signed up for and am doing this, you can. So, if you haven’t already done so, grab your iPad and a bottle or red (personal preference!) and sign up tonight. You won’t be sorry.
@Lisa M – I’ve been reading a lot about the benefits of a pool run. What does that workout consist of? How far/fast do you go to make it equivalent to dry land training? I wouldn’t worry about your goal pace. Focus first on finishing and trust in your training to take you there. If you’re able to run a little faster than you thought, the more the better. There is a group that runs Sundays out of the Farrell Street Twin Oaks, here’s a link (http://www.gmaa.net/training.php). I’ve run with them before, very supportive and experienced group welcoming to those of all abilities.
Best of luck and thanks for following along.
Justin
My pool run workout: I use an Aqua Jogger around my waist and have the jets on medium (endless pool at ReHab Gym in Colchester). I do a 5min. warm up of jogging. Then I do 4x 4 mins, 4x 3mins, 4x 2 mins, & 4x 1mins., then a 5 min. cool down I take a 30 sec. break between each interval. Basically, you adjust your pace to the amount of minutes your interval is. My 4 minute intervals are at a moderate pace, but by the time I get down to my 1 minute intervals, I am going all out. It is about a 60 min workout plus or minus. Somedays I get into the warm salt water pool in the same room and stretch.
If you haven’t tried it yet, it may be worth trying! Ask for Anthea at the ReHab gym. She will get you started!