Weekly Summary – 113 miles in 12 runs. End of a monster block with a fantastic workout on Wednesday (36km at 2h17 marathon/2h43 50k pace) and then mini recovery block. Feeling fantastic and happy to have this biggest mileage block in the rear-view. Oh and I paced Mariana in her (grown-up) 5K debut on Saturday and we each won the men’s and women’s races – keeping the undefeated season alive for another week… Less than 6 weeks to Worlds!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter (@TylerCAndrews). And, of course, don’t forget to check out STRIVE’s 2017 Programs! You can come do service work and train with me in Peru or Kenya and for 2017, we’ll once again have programs for High School and College students, and even a 10-day trip for adults and families, so be sure to take a look if you’re interested in an amazing summer experience! Finally, I have a few spots open for athletes looking for custom training plans and online coaching. Check out my site and email me if you’re interested!

Lunes, 26 de Septiembre, 2016 – Sparknotes: 7M easy, drills, 10x short hills with full recovery, 1M easy to track, 3200m prog in 9’08 gear change every 800m (2’23, 2’21, 2’16, 2’08).

9am: Very light workout today with one last big one for this block on Wednesday. Cooler again this morning, mid 60s. Ran easy out/back on MVS for the first time in a while thanks to wind changing directions. 10km easy in 44’ and finished at hill by the track. Stopped and did drills and a few accelerations on the grass and then 10x short hills (in flats). Felt quite good on these. Used HR (120) for sign as to when to start the next one (1’30-2’30 rest but all by feel/HR). Muscularly a bit tired on the back half but maintained form well, just needed more rest.

After, jogged easy to track and did 3200m (8 laps) in flats. Wanted a very short but intense blow-out today. Done this one way back in college as a good 2-day-out light workout from a less important race. A nice way to run fast and work hard but not leave the legs too shot as it’s so short. Start around tempo pace for 800m, then 10k pace for 800m, then 5k pace for 800m, then close hard for 800m.

This was fun and very good challenge for me mentally and physically. The first two laps did not feel good and I was thinking about just canning it, but I just stuck with “one step at a time” and didn’t think too far ahead. Each 800m the second lap actually felt better than the first – makes a bit of sense as my body does better in stasis than right after a surge/gear change. The last 1600m was very good, running 2’16/2’08 for 4’24 (fastest 1600m I’ve run in a while) and last 1km around 2’42.

Very out of breath by the end but not bad after a minute or so. Just what I was looking for.

Finished with jog home and then leg circuit at the gym. Long morning and very hungry and ready for breakfast by the end!

Total run 13M+

3200m Splits

800m 2’22.7 (2’22.7) 164
1600m 4’43.5 (2’20.8) 173
2400m 6’59.9 (2’16.4) 175
3200m 9’08.1 (2’08.2) 181 (4’24.6) – last 1km ~2’42

XT: Legs at the gym. 3 sets of [15x each leg step up, 20x overhead lunge, 24x dynamic lunge, 12x squat (bar)]. 10 pounds on everything.

4pm: Nice relaxing afternoon and nap. Easy run out/back on MVS again to edge of Alexandria. Sluggish on the way out and quite good on the way back, split 31/28. Total run 8M in 59’.

XT: OFF.

Martes, 27 de Septiembre, 2016 – 10am: Slept late and so ran a bit later. Cooler again this morning, around 65F and cloudy. Wore tights, 2x long sleeve, light jacket, hat, gloves. Did not feel hot. Kept it short and easy today with the last big effort of the block coming up tomorrow. 29 out, 27 back. Total run 8M in 56’.

XT: Back/hips (1x weighted, 1x unweighted)

4:30pm: Nice afternoon again. Finally getting into a relaxing rhythm. Very easy shakeout around CC to grass/fields. Much warmer this afternoon with the sun out, around 75F. Ran in trackies, long sleeve, light jacket. Felt good and kept pace very comfy with the last big one tomorrow. Did 5x strides on grass which felt good and jogged home. Total run 4M+ in 32’.

XT: Hips.

Miercoles, 28 de Septiembre, 2016 – Sparknotes: 36km (22.4M) in 1’57’34 (3’15.9/km, 5’15/M). This is 2’43’17 50km or 2’17’47 marathon pace. Steady to 30km and then last 6km faster in 18’51 (3’08.5/km, 5’03/M). Fantastic.

8am: Woke up at 5am, slept all right. A bit groggy and stiff in the morning but went away quickly. Had coffee and NV bar around 5:30am and then drank 20oz of nuun between 6am and when I started the workout at 8am.

Goal today was 32-36km steady at around 50K race pace for the first 30km and then quicker the last 2-6km if I felt good. This was the last workout of a VERY big block of mileage (20 days at 22+ miles per day, 155 MPW), but I have been on fire in workouts this whole block and I was quite confident going into this one that it would go well. After the 2x25km workout, I thought this workout actually looked a bit easier on paper and that made the mental aspect much easier, knowing that I’d already done something harder.

Jogged out to MNV loop (where I’ve done a bunch of my long faster runs this block) and stashed bottles, gels, warm-ups. Did drills and then two longish accelerations (not quite strides). Ended up standing around for a bit because I wanted to practice timing my warm-up (started jogging at 7:25am) for an 8am start. I had a few minutes (5-7) to spare, but in a real race where I might have to get into a corral, etc., it might be worthwhile to have that extra time.

Tried to work into the pace, so first km was like 3’20ish and then basically everything was between 3’13-3’19 for the next 25km or so. HR was very consistent this first big chunk around 160-164 (though it took the full first 5km to climb above 160. Still crazy that the whole first special block workout was in the 150s. Maybe the key there was the super gentle start (16’50 first 5k)? Or just a different day – who knows).

Definitely had some difficult moments in the first 20km, but did an excellent job again of staying in the moment, in the current km, in the current minute, and not thinking too far ahead. When I did think about how I was feeling in context of the whole run, I tried to imagine myself as running in a 50km with XX km to go. So, at 10km into this run, I had 26km to go, so I was 26km from the finish of the 50km, so almost halfway done! That made things seem much easier. Mostly, I just did very well with mental self talk and accepting the discomfort and the increase in suffering as the workout went on. I have become much stronger in this over the past few months and I think it makes an enormous difference.

I passed the HM point in 69’30ish and was feeling good and began to really focus at that point. There was a noticeable jump in HR at that point, though I think the pace was relatively constant. Perhaps this reflects some tipping point in fatigue/heat buildup around 70’?

I still felt good and was running just one loop, one step at a time at that point and before I knew it I was at 30k at 1’38’43 (3’17.4/km). I didn’t do the math at the time but I knew 1h40 was 3’20 pace, so I knew I was running very well.

At first, it felt quite hard to accelerate at that point, but I think it was just the initial change in gear. Once my body seemed to get accustomed to the higher turnover/pace, things actually felt pretty manageable. I was running around 3’07-10/km for the last 5km and then ran the last km just a bit harder (not kicking at all, no strain at all) for 3’04 to close the last 6km in 18’51. I had figured if I felt really, really good I might be able to run sub 19 for the last 6km (3’10/km), so this was fantastic.

Overall, this was a superb run at the end of an absolutely monstrous block of quality and quantity. The volume and pace of both regular runs and workouts is unprecedented. All of these workouts compare extremely favorably with previous seasons, which leaves me very excited for what lies ahead. I think that if I get a fair day in Albany, I could definitely run the full marathon at the same pace I ran today which would mean sub 2h18 with no taper and sub-optimal effort. Very exciting indeed.

Now, I will take 3 days of rest – just jogging – and then resume training at a slightly lighter load for 3 more weeks and then we’re 2.5 weeks out and it’s time to taper! Holy shit that happened fast!

Cooled down very short, 1km home. Not too bad.

Total run 24M++

Notes
Dinner ~6:15pm

5am Wake up
5:30am coffee, NV bar
6am: nuun 20 oz

Fueling: 2×20 oz bottles of nuun, gels at T-15min, 10km, 20km, 30km.

Avg 3’15.9/km

(Gel 0)
5 km 16’33.0 (3’17.0) 158
10 km 32’58.8 (16’25.8) 161 Gel 1
15 km 49’29.2 (16’30.4) 163
20 km 1’05’56.9 (16’27.7) 163 Gel 2 (HM ~69’34)
25 km 1’22’22.0 (16’25.1) 167
30 km 1’38’43.0 (16’21.0) 169 Gel 3
35 km 1’54’29.3 (15’46.3) 175
36 km 1’57’33.9 (3’04.6) 176

(Last HM 68’23, 51’55 last 10M, 32’00 last 10km, 15’42 last 5km)

4pm: Easy shakeout around CC finishing at costco. A bit sore but definitely not too bad, nowhere near as bad as some of my earlier long runs this block. Very promising. Walked home from costco with groceries. Total run 3M-.

XT: OFF.

Jueves, 29 de Septiembre, 2016 – 9am: Recovery block day 1 of 3! A bit achy last night and this morning but not too bad once I woke up and loosened up. Rainy and t-storms today, so ran 4km out on MVN and then out in the other direction in case something popped up. Ended up just rainy. Legs felt okay by the end, running in the 4’30s. Started out much slower. Total run 8M- in 61’.

XT: Back/hips

PM: OFF – no run. Walked to the airport to meet my mother who is visiting for the weekend.

Viernes, 30 de Septiembre, 2016 – AM: OFF, XT only and walked to VC hotel.

XT: P90x

4pm: Easy run out/back on MVN and then to fields. Leg felt surprisingly fresh and running 4’10-20 out the door, but felt a bit tired after 20-30 minutes which makes sense. Did 8x strides on the grass – a bit wet, but felt good. Jogged home. Total run 9M in 62’.

XT: Back/hips

Sabado, 2 de Octubre, 2016 – Sparknotes: WW Alexandria 5K – 1st, 18’20. (Paced Mariana through 2M in 13’00 and then 4’45 last mile).

8am: Mariana was racing a 5K this morning, so I went with her to help with pacing and logistics. Warmed up with her easy 2M and then paced like a boss through about 13’00 at 2M. A bit rainy on the warmup but just misty and humid, no real rain, during the race. Felt very easy. Ran the last mile a bit quicker just to maintain the undefeated streak this season and get in some quicker running today, which felt nice. Mariana ran very well to just scoot under 20’ (19’57) and win the women’s race. Cooled down about 2M and got a nice haul of granola bars and bananas to take home. Total run 7M++.

XT: Back/hips

3:30pm: Easy shakeout down to fields and around. Finished with 8x diagonals and jogged home. Nice. Total run 5km+, 3M+ in 22’.

XT: Hips

Domingo, 2 de Octubre, 2016 – Sparknotes: Fartlek 16km in 49’19 (3’05/km avg) w/ 5x 2km ~5’50 (800m at 2’22, 800m @ 2’15-17, 400m @ 72) + 1km @ 2’52 (1km rec in 3’23-29).

9am: Slept through my alarm – oops! – or maybe just forgot to set it. Unclear. Black coffee and 1 NV bar around 7:30am.

Workout for today was last real effort before Hudson Mohawk this weekend with another longish fartlek. Goal was to continue practice sub-HM pace and pace-changes, so we decided on 2K reps with 1km recovery, but in the 2Ks, we would surge 800m from 800-1600. So, it would be 800 @ ~72/lap, 800 @ ~68/lap, 400 @ ~ 72/lap. 1km in between each of these around 3’30 and maybe 6-7 total which would be 17-20km.

Legs felt pretty fresh from the recovery block so was feeling good out the door, even on my warm up running quicker than usual. Ran to the track, nice weather, in the 60s and overcast. Stopped and changed shoes, drills, 4x long strides.

Started c-clockwise and switched after two reps (6km). Took nuun as needed on the rec Ks.

First rep felt pretty hard but I was probably running a bit too quick (2’22/2’16/71 for 5’50) as the legs were feeling good, but breathing was the challenge (usually it’s the opposite). The second one felt better but still hard, but by the third rep, I actually felt very good and thought I’d be able to do the whole workout.

Then, on rep 4, I started thinking – okay maybe I’ll do 6x. That will be really good. Because that one felt quite tough (it was the first rep where I’d struggled to maintain pace on the last 400m). And it was the next rep where I really felt myself butting up against the red line and again was slowing down on the last 400.

I tried to really relax on that rec interval but starting #6 felt really hard. Running 71-72 felt like I was running 67-68s already, so I decided I would just do a mini version and run through 500m and then run the last 500m harder. I ran 2’52 and finished very much gassed.

So, this one was just a bit too hard. Part of it was that the surges made things significantly more difficult. I think if I had run even 5’50s and 3’25s, it might have been manageable to run through 20km (I’ve done fartleks where the avg. has been 3’06 this block, so 3’05 doesn’t seem that crazy, as amazing as it is to write that), but with the surging the HR spike was super intense and the recovery was not sufficient. My HR didn’t drop below 175 after only 18’ of running, even running slower than 50K pace. Yikes!

But still, this was a very solid workout. 16km in 49’19 (49’36 for 10 miles), even on the track, is very good for a fartlek with a ton of pace changing (it’s 20 second faster than I ran at Broad St last year). The big takeaways for me are (1) I’m in very, very good shape and (2) big drastic changes in pace (especially to what are for me, very high end energy systems) are extremely costly. This might not be a big deal at the 50K (I don’t see anyone dropping sub 2’50/km pace at any point in the race), but if I want to continue to train and be competitive at HM and marathon (or even 10k) next year, it is important and relevant.

Cooled down very short and metro’d back as my legs were seriously jello. Had a granola bar and did ethio and legs once I got back to the gym.

Total run 15M.

XT: Legs at the gym. 3 sets of [15x each leg step up, 20x overhead lunge, 24x dynamic lunge, 12x squat (bar)]. 10 pounds on everything for 2nd set, 1st and 3rd no weight.

Unit HR
km 2’22.7 (2’22.7) 165
km 4’38.7 (2’16.0) 176
2 km 5’50.6 (1’11.9) 177 (5’50.6)
3 km 9’13.8 (3’23.2) 168
km 11’36.7 (2’22.9) 175
km 13’52.8 (2’16.1) 179
5 km 15’05.1 (1’12.3) 179 (5’51.3)
6 km 18’30.5 (3’25.4) 171
km 20’53.4 (2’22.9) 176
km 23’09.0 (2’15.6) 180
8 km 24’20.9 (1’11.9) 179 (5’50.4)
9 km 27’47.4 (3’26.5) 176
km 30’10.6 (2’23.2) 178
km 32’25.0 (2’14.4) 182
11 km 33’38.7 (1’13.7) 181 (5’51.3)
12 km 37’06.0 (3’27.3) 178
km 39’28.5 (2’22.5) 179
km 41’44.3 (2’15.8) 183
14 km 42’57.5 (1’13.2) 181 (5’51.5)
15 km 46’27.2 (3’29.7) 179
16 km 49’19.3 (2’52.1) 184

3:30pm: Easy shakeout on MVN out/back. Legs felt pretty good once I warmed up. Sunny out! (Finally!). Total run 4M++ in 30’.