Glad to hear that ROWC and her nose are out there running (couldn't resist). I am also indebted to Ginifer for volunteering to ride her bike and keep me company on my 12 miler. It is amazing how fast time passes when you have someone to chat with and to keep you on pace! Unfortunately, Ginifer was not available yesterday for my 14 miler (the dreaded run that sidelined me with "a body" for three weeks the last time I ran it). The extra weight of 2 lbs. of water on your waist doesn't sound like a lot, but it can be enough to temporarily f*ck with your head and your normal stride/gait. It took me about 7 miles to really forget it was there (and by then, I had already consumed half of it)! Needless to say, having a water-girl (or boy) is a priceless thing. Hats off and glasses raised to you Tessa, for all those runs you accompanied Deetschei on your bicycle - I just hope you had a really well-padded seat. I realized after the 12 with Gin that more than 2 hours on a bike probably isn't too comfortable for the untrained bum!
Anywho, nothing clever to say about the last two weeks of training. I have been doing them and staying on pace. At the moment, I am not running with anything (which sounds like I have joined the NakedRunners instead of the DrunkRunners) too serious: just your usual aches and pains. A trip to FleetFeet in Houston next weekend for a proper shoe fitting should clear up those issues.
I do have one quick question for you tried and true marathon alumni. Regarding a comment by Deetschei, I believe in response to one of Scooter's posts, that speed work wasn't of the utmost importance, if one wasn't looking to break a particular record and if one was simply looking to finish the marathon the first time out; does this mean that I can skip speed work? And by "skip" what I really mean is can I put in the miles and do them at a faster pace than my long runs, but slower than the sprint speeds? I am concerned that my body (read: knees and ankles) are already being pushed to the limit right now with the long runs and last week's speed work seemed impossible. (E.g., last week's speed work called for 7 mi. (3 x 8.30 pace). Instead, I ran all 7 x 9.16 pace). Is this going to adversely affect me when it comes to marathon time? As long as I am staying on pace (or slightly faster than pace) for my long runs, should I be concerned about speed work? Thanks for any advice you all might have - and by thanks, I mean, I really hope you tell me that I don't have to do the dreaded, evil, torturous speed work ;)
Anywho, nothing clever to say about the last two weeks of training. I have been doing them and staying on pace. At the moment, I am not running with anything (which sounds like I have joined the NakedRunners instead of the DrunkRunners) too serious: just your usual aches and pains. A trip to FleetFeet in Houston next weekend for a proper shoe fitting should clear up those issues.
I do have one quick question for you tried and true marathon alumni. Regarding a comment by Deetschei, I believe in response to one of Scooter's posts, that speed work wasn't of the utmost importance, if one wasn't looking to break a particular record and if one was simply looking to finish the marathon the first time out; does this mean that I can skip speed work? And by "skip" what I really mean is can I put in the miles and do them at a faster pace than my long runs, but slower than the sprint speeds? I am concerned that my body (read: knees and ankles) are already being pushed to the limit right now with the long runs and last week's speed work seemed impossible. (E.g., last week's speed work called for 7 mi. (3 x 8.30 pace). Instead, I ran all 7 x 9.16 pace). Is this going to adversely affect me when it comes to marathon time? As long as I am staying on pace (or slightly faster than pace) for my long runs, should I be concerned about speed work? Thanks for any advice you all might have - and by thanks, I mean, I really hope you tell me that I don't have to do the dreaded, evil, torturous speed work ;)
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2 comments:
Dr. PP-- Deetschei is the real speedwork expert around these parts, but here is my take on the situation.
Speedwork is meant to ensure that you are increasing your speed throughout your training. By doing those nasty speedwork workouts, you ALMOST without noticing, will increase your overall pace. Staying on track with those will help you stay ahead of pace on long runs, and to maintain your pace on your tempo runs.
In short, without speedwork you won't get faster, and, unfortunately, without speedwork it will be tougher to maintain your pace on those longer runs. Yes, keeping pace at 14 miles is doable. Doing that at 20 is another question.
Given those two semi-contradictory responses, I'd say speedwork is your choice. If you don't at least do some of it, you will definitely have some issues come race day, but you probably don't have to do ALL of it.
Hi Dr. PP,
I have a different take on the speed work. If your goal is to just finish, then don't worry about the speed work. Right now you don't have a PR to shoot for, you just have a time in your head you'd like to hit. I didn't do a lick of speed work for my marathon last year, all I cared was to finish with my back in tact. Speed work is a good idea but it's not the end of the world if you don't do it. A great way to do speed work and not think of it is to run a local fun run in the area. Your competetive side will pick your pace up but you won't dwell on a specific time. Hope this helps.
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