This is my training journal. I'm bad at titles. (Comments welcome!)

Thank you everyone for the well-wishes and kind words. As far as running, I did still manage to get in 35 miles last week so it wasn't a total loss - I missed my Sunday long run. Mostly back on track this week.

August 7 - August 13: 11 Weeks until Marine Corps Marathon

Total mileage: 44.8mi
Total time: 7h 21 min

Bit of a cut-back this week, insomuch as 45 miles is a cut-back week. The heat is on again though!

Monday: 4.5 Miles Easy; T+D 76+71=147
  • Splits: 10:03, 9:48, 9:49, 10:11, 9:47
Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Endurance + Speed Workout: 2 Mi WU + 3x 1 Mi T (8:03) w/ 1:00 jog + 6x 200m R (7:03) w/ 200m jog + 2 Mi CD

If I'm not mistaken, I've done this exact workout before. R reps after LT isn't too bad since it's stressing a different system. Moved this from Thursday due to some schedule weirdness during the week. As a bonus, the TD was "only" 134 Wednesday morning.
  • T+D: 74+60=134
  • WU: 9:59, 10:00; CD: 9:57, 9:54
  • 3x 1 Mi T (8:03)
    • Mile1: 8:00
    • Mile 2: 7:57
    • Mile 3: 7:55
  • 6x 200m R (7:03, or 0:53/rep)
    • Rep 1: 6:34 (0:49)
    • Rep 2: 6:50 (0:51)
    • Rep 3: 6:58 (0:52)
    • Rep 4: 7:23 (0:55)
    • Rep 5: 6:58 (0:52)
    • Rep 6: 7:15 (0:54)
This was all fine and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Thursday: 5.5 Miles Easy; T+D 76+70=146
  • Splits: 9:55, 9:43, 9:41, 9:41, 9:42, 9:40
Woof at that TD - glad I did my tempo workout the day before!

Friday: 6 Miles Easy; T+D 73+64=137
  • Splits: 10:01, 9:49, 9:39, 9:47, 9:41, 9:44
Saturday: 6.25 Miles Easy; T+D 78+70=148 (run club)
  • Splits: 9:36, 9:51, 11:04, 12:25, 9:28, 9:11, 9:22
Sunday: 15 Miles Easy Actually completed 14 Miles Easy

This one started off fine but with the heat I had goosebumps by the time I got to mile 14 and I knew I was in the danger zone. Bailed to the metro for a one-stop ride back home. At least I was close.
  • Starting T+D: 78+70=148
  • Ending T+D: 85+72=157... that explains the goosebumps!
  • Pre-run: Maurten 302 drink mix
  • In-run: every 30 min: SiS snot gel, 2 scoops concentrated Tailwind, Maurten gel, Egel
  • 14 Miles Easy
    • Mile 1: 10:12
    • Mile 2: 10:16
    • Mile 3: 10:17
    • Mile 4: 10:38
    • Mile 5: 9:29
    • Mile 6: 9:34
    • Mile 7: 10:10
    • Mile 8: 9:54
    • Mile 9: 10:03
    • Mile 10: 10:03
    • Mile 11: 9:51
    • Mile 12: 10:13
    • Mile 13: 10:58
    • Mile 14: 9:51
Despite the heat I did manage to keep up a decent pace, but that mile 13 is the indicator things were going poorly. I also passed @WillRunForPizza on the Rock Creek Trail. I totally called your name and waved but you didn't notice or recognize me! It's cool, we're still buds. I'm bearded now so it's a reasonable mistake.

Next week: I'm traveling to visit my family in Mississippi. I like to think this miserable DC summer has actually been training for running there - guess we'll find out. V.O2 has me running about 51 miles but I already know it's not going to be fully done because of travel wonkiness, so I'll do my best!
 
striker1064 said:
I also passed @WillRunForPizza on the Rock Creek Trail. I totally called your name and waved but you didn't notice or recognize me! It's cool, we're still buds. I'm bearded now so it's a reasonable mistake.
Click to expand...
Sorry I missed you! I spent a lot of this morning's run lost in thought and paying not a lot of attention to what was happening around me lol. Honestly probably for the best, because it was gross out.
 
Mississippi heat is miserable right now. Actual temperatures have reached 100+ degrees every day for three days straight. Unfortunately, I don't think next week is predicted to be any cooler. We desperately need some rain.
 
striker1064 said:
This one started off fine but with the heat I had goosebumps by the time I got to mile 14 and I knew I was in the danger zone.
Click to expand...
In my run yesterday late afternoon (same day as you), I ended up cutting it short with similar reasons: the breeze started to feel COLD (which was nice, but unbelievable) and was possibly getting a bit of tunnel vision. And I hadn't even been out for as long. Grrr.
 
August 14 - August 20: 10 Weeks until Marine Corps Marathon

Total mileage: 44.5mi
Total time: 6h 58 min

Well... my plans got slightly disrupted - again! I was supposed to head to Mississippi this week, but I got pretty sick Monday night and my travel went kaput. Rested Wednesday and picked back up again Thursday.

Monday: 5 Miles Easy; T+D 75+68=143
  • Splits: 10:01, 9:54, 9:58, 9:58, 9:55
Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Endurance Run: 8 Mi Easy + 3 Mi LT (8:03) + 2 Mi Easy

Well then. I totally forgot about the mid-week long run ramp-up that comes along with marathon training.
  • Starting T+D: 73+67=140
  • Ending T+D: 78+69=147
  • Pre-run: Maurten 320 drink miz
  • In-run: at 30/60/90 min: SiS snot gel, EGel, SiS snot gel
  • 3 Mi LT (8:03)
    • Mile 1: 8:15
    • Mile 2: 8:13
    • Mile 3: 8:02
Not too concerned about the easy miles here but they were all well within range. To this point I've been doing 3 LT miles, but separated by a 1-minute jog. This is the first time I strung together 3 in a row, and after 8 miles/80 min of running. Between that and the heat, they were quite difficult! I feel pretty good where this ended up, though. They were a little slow, but I got faster as the LT miles went on, and I was able to finish.

Friday: 7.5 Miles Easy; T+D 76+60=136
  • Splits: 9:43, 9:45, 10:01, 10:02, 10:00, 9:47, 10:06, 9:36
A dew point of SIXTY?? What is this, fall?

Saturday: 7 Miles Easy; T+D 71+52=123 (run club)
  • Splits: 9:15, 8:52, 9:20, 9:11, 9:05, 9:06, 9:05
Dew point in the 50s?!? Be still my beating heart!

Sunday: Race Pace: 2 Mi Easy + 10 Mi M Tempo (8:40)
  • Starting T+D: 69+61=130
  • Ending T+D: 72+62=134
  • Pre-run: SiS Beta Orange Drink Mix
  • In-run: at each 40 min: SiS snot gel, SiS Orange Beta gel
  • 2 Mi Easy: 10:07, 9:51
  • 10 Mi M Tempo (8:40)
    • Mile 1: 8:43
    • Mile 2: 8:41
    • Mile 3: 8:40
    • Mile 4: 8:39
    • Mile 5: 8:36
    • Mile 6: 8:41
    • Mile 7: 8:47
    • Mile 8: 8:41
    • Mile 9: 8:45
    • Mile 10: 8:38
First things first - a new drink mix to try! I'm not sure when SiS released their own drink mix, but this was the first time I had seen it, so I picked up a packet to try. It contains 82g carbs, and much like Maurten you mix it with water and that's all the water you need. Only difference is it requires 600 ml water as compared to 500 ml for a Maurten 320 drink mix, but all in all an extra 100 ml isn't that bad. And it's flavored orange!

Bro, this stuff is disgusting. Somehow the orange flavor made it even worse, and to add insult to injury despite vigorous shaking I still had clumps of the stuff floating around. Sticking to Maurten, I guess.

This run went well! I was kinda nervous to string together 10 fast M tempo miles, but it wasn't that bad. The SiS Beta gels continue to be quite tasty, so I'll be mixing those in regularly.

Coming up:

Long runs! So many long runs:

1 week: 11 mi easy
2 weeks: 13 mi easy
3 weeks: 19 (!!!) mi easy

I'm pretty shocked to see that 19 miles easy in 3 weeks. That's going to take me over 3 hours, which typically is very anti-Jack Daniels.

The mid-week long runs are also ramping up, as in about 4 weeks I'll be facing 1 Ea + 6 M Tempo + 1 LT + 7 M Tempo + 1 Ea, for a total of 16 miles over 2h 20min during the week. So much running.
 
striker1064 said:
First things first - a new drink mix to try! I'm not sure when SiS released their own drink mix, but this was the first time I had seen it, so I picked up a packet to try. It contains 82g carbs, and much like Maurten you mix it with water and that's all the water you need. Only difference is it requires 600 ml water as compared to 500 ml for a Maurten 320 drink mix, but all in all an extra 100 ml isn't that bad. And it's flavored orange!

Bro, this stuff is disgusting. Somehow the orange flavor made it even worse, and to add insult to injury despite vigorous shaking I still had clumps of the stuff floating around. Sticking to Maurten, I guess.
Click to expand...

Same experience with SIS Beta Fuel powder. I could get it cheaper than Maurten 320, and used it in training, but that stuff just refuses to go into solution. So I tolerated it for a bit, but Maurten 320 remains the go to.
 
August 21 - August 27: 9 Weeks until Marine Corps Marathon

Total mileage: 46.3mi
Total time: 7h 27 min
How am I already halfway through this thing?

Monday: 5.75 Miles Easy; T+D 89+69=158 (run club)
  • Splits: 9:37, 10:00, 10:28. 11:55, 10:05, 9:19
Look at that TD. Awful. Just awful.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Speed: 2 Mi WU + 3x 400m R (1:45/rep) w/ 400m jog + 8x 200m R (0:53/rep) w/ 200m jog + 2 Mi CD

I've been having a tough time sticking to the quality session on Thursday, so in an effort to be more consistent I'm moving them to Wednesdays for now.
  • T+D: 68+60=128
  • WU 9:57, 9:42; CD 9:47, 9:28
  • 3x 400m R (7:03, or 1:45/rep)
    • Rep 1: 7:03 (1:46)
    • Rep 2: 6:54 (1:43)
    • Rep 3: 6:54 (1:43)
  • 8x 200m R (7:03, or 0:53/rep)
    • Rep 1: 6:50 (0:51)
    • Rep 2: 6:50 (0:51)
    • Rep 3: 6:42 (0:50)
    • Rep 4: 6:26 (0:48)
    • Rep 5: 6:42 (0:50)
    • Rep 6: 6:42 (0:50)
    • Rep 7: 6:34 (0:49)
    • Rep 8: 6:34 (0:49)
The lower TD almost certainly helped, but this was pretty easy and didn't give me any issues at all.

Thursday: 8 Miles Easy; T+D 72+59=131
  • Splits: 9:55, 9:39, 9:33, 9:37, 9:36, 9:29, 9:39, 9:27
Friday: 7 Miles Easy; T+D 76+69=145, humid
  • Splits: 9:50, 10:02, 9:57, 9:36, 9:37, 9:35, 9:36
Saturday: 7 Miles Easy; T+D 77+72=149 uuuuugghghhhghgh
  • Splits: 9:39, 9:32, 9:38, 9:37, 9:34, 9:30, 9:34
Skipped run club this Saturday and went out early because it was just so hot outside.

Sunday: 11.25 Miles Easy
  • T+D: 79+65=144
  • Pre-run: 3 scoops concentrated Tailwind (raspberry)
  • In-run at 5.5 Miles: 3 scoops concentrated Tailwind (berry)
  • 11.25 Miles Easy (9:42-10:40)
    • Mile 1: 10:02
    • Mile 2: 10:10
    • Mile 3: 10:37
    • Mile 4: 9:57
    • Mile 5: 10:03
    • Mile 6: 9:56
    • Mile 7: 10:02
    • Mile 8: 10:18
    • Mile 9: 10:15
    • Mile 10: 10:22
    • Mile 11: 9:21
    • Mile 0.25: 9:13
No issues at all here. First time trying Tailwind at 3 scoops at once instead of 2 and it was all fine. I mix the Tailwind in a 5oz bottle with as much water as will fit and take it all at once for a cool 75g carbs per shot.

Next week: Back up to 50.1 miles for the week, with a very tough quality session Wednesday (4x 1km LT + 3x 800m I + 6x 200m R), plus a 13 mile long run. Barreling toward that 19-miler in a couple of weeks.
 
August 28 - September 3: 8 Weeks until Marine Corps Marathon

Total mileage: 49.9mi
Total time: 7h 55 min

Strength training continues to be just fine, as I've done mostly 3 days of kettlebell work each week, for about an hour to an hour and 10 minutes of strength training weekly. This is plenty, especially considering I'm doing daily PT exercises plus, y'know, running 7-8 hours.

I also was thinking this week that I never did raise my VDOT back up 1 point to where I was coming into this training cycle. With the heat it's been nice not to push too much, but with only 8 weeks to go I'm running out of time. I went ahead and made the change for NEXT week (so this week is still the old VDOT). If it feels like too much I can always drop back down.

Monday: 5 Miles Easy; T+D 74+68=142
  • Splits: 9:43, 9:39, 9:39, 9:36, 9:31
Tuesday: Progression: 2.5 Mi WU + 4x 1km LT (8:03) w/ 1:00 jog + 3x 800m I (7:27) w/ 3:00 jog + 6x 200m R (7:03) w/ 200m jog + 2 Mi CD

Alright, fine. I know I said last week I was moving my tempo runs to Wednesday for consistency, and here I am doing them on Tuesday. It's gonna happen on Tuesdays for the next couple of weeks.

Also wow - I didn't even notice this workout until I looked at V.O2 last Monday and I was REALLY concerned about this one. This is a tough workout! In particular, 3x 800m I in the middle of a tempo run is rough.
  • T+D: 80+71=151
  • Pre-run: Egel
  • In-run at 35 min: Egel, SiS Beta
  • WU: 10:02, 10:08, 10:00; CD 9:55, 9:48
  • 4x 1km LT (8:05, or 5:02/rep)
    • Rep 1: 8:00 (4:58)
    • Rep 2: 7:55 (4:55)
    • Rep 3: 7:52 (4:53)
    • Rep 4: 7:47 (4:50)
  • 3x 800m I (7:27, or 3:42/rep)
    • Rep 1: 7:25 (3:41)
    • Rep 2: 7:29 (3:43)
    • Rep 3: 7:23 (3:40)
  • 6x 200m R (7:03, or 0:53/rep)
    • Rep 1: 6:34 (0:49)
    • Rep 2: 6:42 (0:50)
    • Rep 3: 6:42 (0:50)
    • Rep 4: 6:58 (0:52)
    • Rep 5: 6:50 (0:51)
    • Rep 6: 6:42 (0:50)
Those 800m I reps were indeed difficult as advertised, but er - everything else was pretty fine? I guess? It wasn't that bad, and every single rep was in range. A couple of the LT reps were a tad too fast and that could've cost me, but I suppose my fitness is better than I think.

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 8 Miles Easy; T+D 67+56=123
  • Splits: 10:24, 9:53, 9:48, 9:41, 10:15, 9:17, 9:40, 9:27
FINALLY some nicer weather! A dew point in the 50s is just fantastic.

Friday: 6 Miles Easy; T+D 66+50=116
  • Splits: 9:47, 9:31, 9:14, 9:13, 9:14, 9:20
Even better on Friday! Look at that TD - inching closer to under 110!

Saturday: 7 Miles Easy; 68+62=130 (run club)
  • Splits: 9:00, 8:45, 8:57, 9:25, 9:11, 9:27, 9:19
A bit fast this morning because run club was a very small group and I was with some faster runners, but this never felt hard at all.

Sunday: 13 Miles Easy
  • Starting T+D: 68+64=132
  • Ending T+D: 74+65=139
  • Pre-run: Maurten 320 drink mix
  • In-run at 30 min: SiS snot gel, EGel, SiS Beta gel
  • 13 Miles Easy (9:42-10:40)
    • Mile 1: 9:53
    • Mile 2: 10:11
    • Mile 3: 9:58
    • Mile 4: 10:12
    • Mile 5: 9:34
    • Mile 6: 9:41
    • Mile 7: 10:33
    • Mile 8: 10:18
    • Mile 9: 10:00
    • Mile 10: 10:53
    • Mile 11: 9:22
    • Mile 12: 9:13
    • Mile 13: 9:26
I actually don't remember all that much about this run despite doing it merely a few hours ago. Not sure what that says about me.

I was digging around Garmin Connect for a 13-miler because I figured I had done a few routes, and I found this one from early March. This would have been my final long run prior to the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, and was one of the workouts that propelled me to my best race ever. Hoping this workout has a similar effect for MCM!

That TD... may not look bad, but it felt humid, and the heat was on by the end. It's now in the 90s today! Fake fall is over.

NEXT WEEK: Summer reminds us it's not fall yet, as we are getting literally our hottest temperatures of the entire YEAR this week! Life isn't fair.

This coming week mostly looks like a cutback week, as it's "only" 48.7 miles with a fairly easy tempo run (3x 1 mile LT repeats), but I'm hitting one of the plan's peak workouts - 19 miles easy on Sunday. I can't believe a Daniels plan would ever have a 3 hour run, but I'm going to trust the process that has led me to great races so many times in the past and see how this goes. Most likely, due to some weekend logistics, I'm going to do the 19-miler on Saturday instead of Sunday - but if the weather on Sunday is significantly cooler or more favorable, that could change. I'm going to take it slow, even slower than my usual easy pace if necessary, and get through it.
 
September 4 - September 10: 7 Weeks until Marine Corps Marathon

Total mileage: 50.2mi
Total time: 7h 55 min

It is hot. Remember how last week I said I'd bring my VDOT back to what it was before I started this training cycle? I did that. I picked a dumb week to do that.

Monday: 4.5 Miles Easy; T+D 78+72=150
  • Splits: 9:41, 9:27, 9:24, 9:20, 9:24
Tuesday: Lactate Threshold: 2 Mi WU + 4x 1 Mi LT (7:56) w/ 1:00 jog + 1 Mi CD; T+D 80+69=149
  • WU 9:42, 9:40; CD 9:52
  • 4x 1 Mi LT (7:56)
    • Mile 1: 7:53
    • Mile 2: 7:54
    • Mile 3: 7:42
    • Mile 4: 7:45
This was supposed to be a 2-mile CD, but I just had to get out of the heat. Otherwise... those miles are pretty good! The 3rd mile was fast, especially for that TD. I was really happy with how well this one went.

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 7.5 Miles Easy; T+D 80+75=155
  • Splits: 10:04, 9:41, 9:35, 9:35, 10:33, 9:20, 9:28, 9:14
As bad as it gets here. A completely miserable morning.

Friday: 6 Miles Easy; T+D 73+67=140
  • Splits: 10:25, 9:32, 9:28, 9:21, 9:23, 9:27
Saturday: 19 Miles Easy

This is the big one! 3+ hours of running. Not since my full marathon in Philly have I run this much at once.
  • Starting T+D: 72+69=141
  • Ending T+D: 77+71=148
  • Pre-run: Maurten 320 drink mix
  • In-run at each 30 min: SiS snot gel, Maurten gel, 3 scoops concentrated Tailwind, SiS Beta gel, EGel
    • Target carbs: 270g
    • Actual carbs: 278g
Anyway, I'm not typing out every mile, but I averaged a 9:38/mi pace, and my slowest mile was the first mile - just like it's supposed to be! As mentioned in her journal, I ran briefly with @WillRunForPizza, which was a pleasant diversion from whatever madness was happening in DC that morning. Plus, it was disgustingly humid again.

This run took me 3:02:56 in total. I was thinking around mile 16ish that I had never run 19 miles continuously. In my full last year, I had to stop around mile 18 and start walking. This run was an accomplishment for me in more ways than one! I didn't feel all that bad by the end - which is good, because I'm repeating this 19-miler again in 4 weeks.

Sunday: 6 Miles Easy; T+D 72+69=141
  • Splits: 9:43, 9:39, 9:37, 9:31, 9:19, 9:17
Swapping Saturday and Sunday for logistics this week.

All in all, a wildly successful week. I was nervous about running 3+ hours, but I breathed, took my time, and I felt great by the end of it.

Next week: 55 miles, with a monster midweek run: 1 Mi Easy + 6 Mi M Tempo + 1 Mi LT + 7 Mi M Tempo + 1 Mi Easy. I can't quite see the plan fully out yet, but I am relatively certain this is the peak workout. 2h 20min midweek run... that's a lot!
 
striker1064 said:
Saturday: 19 Miles Easy
Click to expand...

I'm sorry you might have posted the full training plan before but I haven't seen it. You're 7 weeks out and you're already at 19 miles? Does the mileage increase even more over the next 3-4 weeks or does it have you doing more M tempo runs?
 
azrivest said:
I'm sorry you might have posted the full training plan before but I haven't seen it. You're 7 weeks out and you're already at 19 miles? Does the mileage increase even more over the next 3-4 weeks or does it have you doing more M tempo runs?
Click to expand...

So I'm using the V.O2 app - Daniels plan - and despite me paying for a year's subscription, it still only releases the plan on a 4-week rolling basis (because most people are on a monthly subscription). That's kinda annoying, and it's made it a little hard to plan life stuff.

Daniels is very up-back-back. This is the first time I've pushed to 19 miles after a previous high of I think 14 miles about a month ago. There's another 19-miler coming with 3 weeks until race day and I have to assume that's that. Everything else has been interspersed with a variety of mileage. Here's my next few Sundays:

09/10: 19 miles easy
09/17: 2 miles easy + 11 miles M Tempo
09/24: 11.5 miles easy + 2 miles LT + 1 mile easy
10/01: 16 miles easy
10/08: 19 miles easy

And that's all I can see, but I can't imagine given the pattern I'm hitting another 3-hour run before race day after October 8.
 
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