US Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifying Standard – 2:19:00 or under
Friday, November 19, 2010 – Was a bit tired from staying up Thursday night watching the Bears game and Illini vs Texas basketball game and then having to get up at 6am to accomplish some work related things. So, I only had a 6 mile run @ 6:30 pace for the day. I find days like this, the toughest part of training week-to-week because it’s a medium distance run still, the pace isn’t very fast, but it’s still a good effort and you have to get it in, you can’t just not run. Now, I was also sluggish from lack of sleep, which was the biggest culprit, so I didn’t run until 7:00pm. Once I got out there I warmed-up and got into a good rhythm after about a mile and a half. However, my total pace for this run was only 6:50/mile. I needed to recover more than I thought I would need to from yesterday’s quick 400m workout. Did not do weights, but will do them Saturday after my long run.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 – Goal =13 mile long run @ 6:20 pace. I got a good night sleep, about 8.5 hours, and since yesterday’s run was only 6 miles my legs were feeling refreshed. Got out on the LSD path heading north at about 10:00am and the first half of this run was into a fairly strong consistent head wind. To maintain a 6:20 mile pace I had to put in between a 6:00-6:10 a mile effort. Since it was a sunny day, there were quite a few people out running/walking which was nice to see. Lots of people start exercising inside when it starts to get even a little bit cold outside. One thing to remember is that when your running/jogging outside your body warms up and when you are fully warmed up it will feel 15 degrees warmer than the actual air temperature. So, if it’s 45 degrees outside, it’s going to feel like 60 degrees when you’re running. Something to keep in mind when you are trying to figure out how many layers you should wear. It was great to get a long run in again, I love the feeling afterwards. It’s like a tired, accomplished, stretched-out feeling that you just got in better shape instantly. You breath deeper and your heart is stronger. The long run makes you stronger for the next week and beyond training.
After the run my legs were pretty tired, but I did get in a a lighter session of weights, abs and a good stretch. Tomorrow I have another 6 mile run @ 6:20 pace and that will get me 70 miles for the week.
Have a great night.
Eric Wallor
