Marathon training – Week 9 – Monster month

I have survived the monster month of marathon training! I ran 153.0 miles (246.2 km) during the month of September plus another 26.0 miles in the first three days of October. This is a new all time high month beating out the 144.8 miles I did in November of 2008. September went out with a bang on Wednesday with the always challenging 4x1mi speedwork session. This workout is a mainstay of my SmartCoach training programs and it’s always an indication that race day is coming soon. My goal for the workout was to do all the miles in under 8 minutes. In other words there was to be no glory in going out too hard and then fading during the last repeat. All in all the session was pretty satisfying.

On Saturday I did my last long run of this training cycle. I did an out and back course predominately on asphalt trails. The first 10 miles were a breeze. Miles 11-15 were fine although my legs started to tighten up a bit. During miles 16-20 I was just trying to get it done. Needless to say I wish that the run had been a bit easier but I maintained a strong training pace for the entire run and I pushed through mentally so I’m happy with that. I’m going to attribute my leg fatigue to the monster month.

It’s now time for a two week taper. I’m going to do about 24 miles next week which is decrease of about 40%. The plan is to cut out the volume but not the intensity. That means maintaining my usual tempo and training paces. I’m also going to try to get lots of sleep (I got 9 hours last night!), eat well and not get sick!

28/09	-	Rest day
29/09	7.0 mi	Easy run: avg 10:15 min/mile
30/09	8.0 mi	Speedwork: 4×1 mi in 7:53/7:54/7:56/7:48 min
1/10	6.0 mi	Easy run: avg 10:14 min/mile
2/10	-	Rest day
3/10	20.0 mi	Long run: avg 10:22 min/mile
4/10	-	Rest day
Total	41.0 mi	YTD: 975.7 miles

Race Preparation

As I continue to develop my racing plan this week I spent some time thinking about race nutrition and hydration. Nutrition isn’t a problem: I’ll stick with my chocolate Clif Shot gels and take one every 5-6 miles. The big question is will I carry a water bottle? During the first half marathon I ever ran two water stops had no water or sports drink (the truck missed the delivery before the roads were closed). Luckily I was carrying my own water so I wasn’t affected but there were a lot of unhappy runners out on the road. Ever since that experience I’ve been reluctant to rely entirely on the race organization for hydration during half marathons and marathons. However, in June I got over my fears and ran the Rock n Roll Seattle half without my water bottle and I set a PB. I’m really tempted to leave the water bottle at home this time around too. One problem is I usually stuff 3-4 gels in the pouch attached to my water bottle so I’ll have to find some other way to store them. I’m thinking of carrying a plastic water bottle for the first few miles (I might make a duct tape handle for it, I think that would be classy) just so I can avoid the first few aid stations since they’re usually pretty busy. That being said if the race day temperatures are unseasonably warm I’ll probably cancel this plan and just carry my own water to be on the safe side.

Race day is just now showing up in the 14-day long range forecast. Right now The Weather Network is predicting a high of 11C with rain. That’s fine by me.