Week 9

Well, I did it. The 'base' training is done, now we move onto the real work...!

I achieved my goal. This week I ran 24 miles in total which culminated in a good 9 mile run today. My 18 week 'Hal Higdon' plan begins tomorrow with cross training but the goal was to be able to run 10 miles on (next Sunday) July 6th, and that will not be a problem after building my base up to 9 miles already.

It's still hot in Phoenix. Regularly we reach 110f in the daytime which means outdoor running is restricted to early morning (before the sun rises and when the previous days heat has left the pavement). I am still running the loop of our condo complex but no more than 3 miles at a time. The short runs of Tuesday/Thursday start increasing gradually now to 6 miles but over several weeks, I will continue to do those runs outdoors.

I need to hit the pavement more as I progress and plan to train the next 8 weeks largely indoor, then take the training outside for September/October when it starts getting cooler. It's clearly always going to be a challenge to train in the summer months but, it is what it is. Running after the marathon will be great! 60/70f during the day, cooler in the mornings of course, you may even see the running tights come out again :)

So, tomorrow is another 'day 1' of sorts. 126 days to go!

Week 8

A good week but, as expected Wednesday's run suffered. Despite waking at 5am I was unable to fit my 4.5 mile run in before leaving for California and only returned at 9pm. Suffice to say I was too tired to do the run after that!

Otherwise, it was a good week. I ran Tuesday and Thursday morning, 3 miles outside both times and then a strong 8 miler on Saturday followed by a 4 mile tempo run on Sunday.

It's funny that, despite missing just one run I felt like I had not run much at all this week, until the 12 miles in the last 2 days anyway! I guess that is a good sign and it will ensure that I stay on schedule as the weeks progress.

Next week is my last 'building' week before I start my 18 week training program. I am progressing as planned. I wanted to be comfortable with a 10 mile long run that first week and, whilst 8 miles in the longest I have run yet I felt very strong and am sure I could have run 2 more already.

The new shoes are working out great. I ran in them 3 times this week for 10 miles total and have no aches and pains! It's amazing how a new pair of shoes makes a difference to my joints, my knees start to ache when my shoes are on the way out...

My good friend Tim in NY suggested a great web site to track my shoe 'usage'. http://www.runnersworld.com/ provides a training log so I am able to track my runs. After every run I update the time, the route, the temperature and, importantly, the shoes I ran in! This then keeps a running (pun) total of how far I have run so I can ensure to switch out my shoes at the right times.

I am really pleased with how strong I am feeling, our lifestyle is hectic to say the least at the moment and will only be getting more so in the coming weeks. If I can continue to maintain my schedule and strength through the summer we should be looking good for November.

Week 7

My best week yet! 22.5 miles covered including a solid 7m run on Saturday and 3 runs at 3miles + outside. Things are definitely going well, I am feeling strong and aside from a few aches and pains in my legs I am injury free.

My mileage increases another 1.5 miles this week and will continue that way for the next 3 weeks until I start my formal training on June 30th.

The 'heat is on' in Arizona... We hit 110f for the first time today and the lows are now over 80f. My outdoor runs are of course in the mornings, it is way too hot in the evening and I can take advantage of the shade in the complex we are living in right now.

I am a little concerned that I will let my training slip this week, on Wednesday in particular. I am travelling to California with work for the day, leaving at 6.30am and not returning until after 8pm. Not sure when I will fit that days run in, it's 4.5 miles so will take around 35 minutes, either an early morning or a late night!

I got my new shoes today, my wifey tells me they look like a lizard, she's kind of got a point. You'll definitely see me coming :)

Week 6

Definitely back on track!

A great week! I met my goals for the week, 19 miles in total. Included in that I ran 9 miles outdoors which was very pleasing.

I had a light bulb moment on Wednesday when I was out around 6am walking our puppy Violet. It occurred to me that the condo complex we live in provides near complete shade until around 7am so I can run loops of the complex in both shade and also without needing to watch for traffic. The loop is .3 of a mile so, I run a lot of loops but it's better than the stop/start running on the street!

Of course we move in around 1 months time so, this is a short term solution to beating the sun/heat but it will really help my outdoors running in the short term.

Next weeks schedule calls for an extra 1.5 mile to run. Over the next 4 weeks the mileage continues to increase steadily, by June 30th which is the 'official' start date of my 18 week training I will be running 26 miles and still increasing!

As another incentive (like I need one!) to maintain the schedule, I have added my routine into Nike + and this is tracking my mileage and times. By doing this I am able to track my process better than simply jotting down mileage...

This weekend I will be visiting the Runners Den and buying the Brooks 'Defyance' shoes I posted. I will also be picking up some additional shorts/socks and shirts. I often run in my old New York Road Runner race shirts, these however are cotton which is not ideal to run in, I need to get some more specialised running shirts...

Tomorrow is a day of rest, eventually it will be a cross training day which is swimming or cycling but, I am easing into that as 6 days a week training is too much right now.

Cookie out.

Week 5

Back on track! Kind of...

A relatively good week, 14 miles under the belt, 3x3 milers and a 5 miler on Sunday. That's ok but 5 miles off what I should have done (I missed my midweek long run). In order to hit a comfortable 10 mile level by July 5th I need to focus and meet my goals each week from now on.

Easier said than done of course, I have lots going on in my personal life; a new puppy, closing on a new house in a month, and a new baby in 2 months! Work fortunately has settled down from craziness in April and May so, that is a nice relief.

To reach the base goals by June 30th I am going to run 5 times weekly from now on; 3 miles both Tuesday/Thursdays morning (outside), 4 miles building to 5 miles on Wednesday night and then 3 building to 5 miles on Sunday and of course my long run on Saturday.

My long run of 5 miles last weekend was good, over the next 5 weeks I need to increase that distance by 1 mile a week. That's extremely doable and I used to train that way before, I am being modest with the other two long runs (Wed/Sun) however so that the mileage builds slowly.

I am having some problems with aching legs, my calves are a little tight and my shins a little sore. The knees feel as they always so but, the ironic thing is they feel best when I run (although I doubt I will say that at 26.1 miles this November!)

My trainers are likely to do with the injuries and one pair is on its way out. I have the replacements lined up already and will be buying these cheeky numbers next weekend :)
http://www.brooksrunning.com/prod.php?p=41221&k=82126

I am on a 6 month rotation with two sets of shoes so, I buy a new pair every 3 months, and run in them on alternate nights with the other pair. I haven't decided on my marathon shoes yet but I do like the Adidas Supernova I am using at the moment, I will likely decide between those and the Brooks shoes about to be bought over the next few months.

Week 4

Well, it was a disappointing week unfortunately. I ran just the 3 times although I did clock 13 miles in that time, including a good 3 miles outdoors on Saturday. It's been significantly cooler in Phoenix the last few days which of course made things easier.

I have now decided to work on the Hal Higdon schedule immediately, I am scheduled to start the 18 week course on the week of June 30th.

To be ready for that I need to be able to run 10 miles on Saturday July 5th. The remainder of the training for that week is comfortable; 3 miles on Tue/Thu night, 5 miles on Wednesday night and 5 miles on Sunday. My plan therefore is to run the 3/5/3/5 miles on Tue/Wed/Thu/Sun respectively and then build my long run mileage up week by week to hit the 10 miles that weekend.

My outdoor running will be switched to Tue/Thu nights (3 miles both) to start and then in a couple of weeks I will also add the Sunday 5 mile run. I of course need to increase my outdoor stamina quickly and will use a local running teams meet in Scottsdale, AZ on a Saturday to do that. Linked to a store called the Runners Den they run between 10 and 20 miles at 8-8.20 min pace on a Saturday which is perfect for my training.

I want to get my stamina up to that level quickly and may use the 'B' running team for this course who run at 10min pace to do this. This is significantly slower than my intended Marathon pace but will help me with outdoor runs.

So, I have 6 weeks to increase my long run mileage from 6 miles to 10 miles which is very doable. I intend to run 6 miles this weekend then increase by .5 to 1 mile each week dependant on how strong I feel to hit a comfortable 10 mile long run by the end of June.

Missing my long run this week will likely hurt me, I can't afford to do that again especially when I start in my 18 week training schedule.

Week 3

The big news this week is that I have decided on a 'formal' training program for the marathon. Right now I am running 4-5 times a week with 2 long runs and 3 shorter runs. I'll keep this up for another 6 weeks before switching to Hal Higdon's Intermediate Marathon Guide; http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/inter2.html

Hal is a Runners World contributor and experienced runner, he 'coached' me through my 2 NYC Half Marathons, of which for the 2007 race I came in at an average pace of 7m46s per mile, which is a little quicker than what I hope to achieve for the marathon.

My base training will set me up to be more than comfortable running at the levels set in the guide, my main goal in the next 6 weeks will be gaining outdoor stamina; right now I am dehydrating too quickly and struggle to run more than 1 mile without needing a break. I found a running Club that meets on Saturday's so I will use them for my long run training once more into the rhythm. They run between 10-20 miles at 8.20 pace so that is perfect for my long run training.

Last week was good, I ran 5 miles on treadmills Tue/Thu night, and another 6m on Saturday. I also ran a 5km on Wednesday outside but, struggled (see above!).

This week has started well, for cross training I today swam 16 length's in the YMCA pool. Tomorrow and Thursday I will run 5 miles again, and again a 5km run outdoors on Wednesday. Saturday will likely be a 7 mile run, with another 5km outside on Sunday.

We have record highs in Phoenix right now so outdoors running is a challenge but, I need to do it. My hope is that, if I can get into the groove of running distance in zero humidity, NYC will be a breeze!!!