August in the Rearview...
This past Saturday was my second of five 20 milers in the marathon plan (out of 5) and also marked the last day of August. Random thoughts and observations:
1) August finished with just under 183 miles - my highest count ever - a full 8% more miles than July, my previous high.
2) However, August was also a month w/ 5 weekends and if you're doing a long run on the weekend, that helps. I actually missed four workouts during August: 2 due to UK travels and 2 due to small injuries I wanted to heal. Which they did.
3) However, none of the 4 missed workouts were KEY workouts - they were all recovery runs.
4) August of 2007 - on the FIRST plan - I ran just over 130 miles, so this year I ran nearly 40% more miles.
5) More importantly, my key workouts are better than I did last year. My tempo runs and 1 interval workout were better than my FIRST results in 07 and while my long run paces are slower than last year, they're only a tiny bit slower.
6) Still finding the right magic dose of insulin, though... On previous long runs, I struggled with low blood sugars. Last weekend, I was 260 at the 5 mile check. While I nailed the 10 and 15's (around 130 both times), that was only because I'd fixed the 260, which I won't have the opportunity to do if I stop during the actual marathon.
7) On the most recent 20 miler, Dave and I did a progression run... first 10 miles at 8:20 pace, and then we dropped four seconds per mile for each of the next 9. Then, on the final one, we let it all out and finished around 7:20. This was my first true long progression run and it was definitely a challenge.
Goals for September:
* PR at half marathon this weekend (subject to how hurricane Gustav tracks up the coast)
* Keep missed workouts to a minimum
* Either one interval or tempo workout per week (subject mainly to half marathon and recovery thereafter)
* Do a better job of getting to the trails on recovery days. I only did 2 trail runs in August and should've done at least 8.
* Stay healthy and continue to take rest days at times when my legs feel funky.
1) August finished with just under 183 miles - my highest count ever - a full 8% more miles than July, my previous high.
2) However, August was also a month w/ 5 weekends and if you're doing a long run on the weekend, that helps. I actually missed four workouts during August: 2 due to UK travels and 2 due to small injuries I wanted to heal. Which they did.
3) However, none of the 4 missed workouts were KEY workouts - they were all recovery runs.
4) August of 2007 - on the FIRST plan - I ran just over 130 miles, so this year I ran nearly 40% more miles.
5) More importantly, my key workouts are better than I did last year. My tempo runs and 1 interval workout were better than my FIRST results in 07 and while my long run paces are slower than last year, they're only a tiny bit slower.
6) Still finding the right magic dose of insulin, though... On previous long runs, I struggled with low blood sugars. Last weekend, I was 260 at the 5 mile check. While I nailed the 10 and 15's (around 130 both times), that was only because I'd fixed the 260, which I won't have the opportunity to do if I stop during the actual marathon.
7) On the most recent 20 miler, Dave and I did a progression run... first 10 miles at 8:20 pace, and then we dropped four seconds per mile for each of the next 9. Then, on the final one, we let it all out and finished around 7:20. This was my first true long progression run and it was definitely a challenge.
Goals for September:
* PR at half marathon this weekend (subject to how hurricane Gustav tracks up the coast)
* Keep missed workouts to a minimum
* Either one interval or tempo workout per week (subject mainly to half marathon and recovery thereafter)
* Do a better job of getting to the trails on recovery days. I only did 2 trail runs in August and should've done at least 8.
* Stay healthy and continue to take rest days at times when my legs feel funky.
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