Log for September 21 to 23 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Wednesday
- 4.5-Mile Recovery Run – After several days of running at odd times due to business travel, I finally got back on schedule this morning. Paxton and I did a very easy recovery run on the Harpeth River Greenway and in Edwin Warner Park. We normally run 6 to 7 miles on Wednesday, but cut back a bit today to 4 1/2 since we are in our taper for Chicago. My legs could definitely feel the effects of my hard 10-mile tempo run last night, but they slowly loosened up as we progressed through the run.
Thursday
- 6.6-Mile Track Workout – I missed the last 2 track workouts with the JSRC due to business travel, so it was good to be back tonight. The weather was awesome at 6pm with temps in the low 70s, overcast skies, and a slight breeze. After a 1.25-mile warmup + 6 x 100m strides, we did a workout that was a variation of one of my favorites. It was three sets consisting of 3 x 400m, 5 x 250m, and 3 x 400m. While I felt absolutely fantastic during the workout, I did a really poor job of running consistently between intervals. I’m not very happy about being inconsistent, but am pleased with how good my legs felt, especially in the last set.
Friday
- 3-Mile “Barefoot” Run – Today was the first day of fall, and the weather made a big change in response. At 6:30am, the temps were around 50 degrees with a slight drizzle after very early morning rains. Paxton and I ran a modified version of our normal Friday loop through Bellevue, and it felt fantastic. I wish that I could bottle up the weather this morning and take it with me to Chicago. We kept the pace very easy, and it was an extremely enjoyable (but short) run. Just as we finished, the rain started coming down hard again. Crossed the 50-mile mark in my Saucony Hattoris, and I’m very glad that I added these “barefoot” type runs to my training for Chicago this year.
- Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Ab Ripper-X with Olivia, followed by P90X: Chest and Back.