Training with the big boys

Well, week 3 of cycle 1 of Rochester marathon training is here. I am very fortunate to be able to train with a few great guys while I am at home. These are my triathlete buds: Manuel (the one who looks like a superhero), Adam (with the sweet sunglasses), and Mark. Mark lives closest to me, which means we are able to get more runs in together. He is amazing - he has 5 kids under the age of 8 and is training for his first Ironman. We've been doing speedwork together on Tuesdays, and it is really helpful to have a partner there. First of all, if you do it alone (as I've been doing for the past 16 months), it is a long time (10-14 miles) to be training alone and running around the track. Second, it is really helpful to have someone pace you/push you. I am really good at reigning in Mark on the longer intervals, like mile repeats, and he can push me on shorter intervals. Yesterday's track workout was long - 3 parts - a 2 mile cutdown, a moderate 3 mile run off the track, and then a 1200, 800, and 400. So good to have a buddy for that., and we hit our splits very well.

Week 3 is a big week - my mileage goes up to 56, which is just about where I peaked when training for Boston. Not sure how high mileage will go (Sarah keeps me in suspense, and I only see one cycle of training at a time), but it is good to stretch my limits and keep slowly upping the mileage.

Monday, June 14: Weight training

Tuesday, June 15: 2.5 mile warm-up; 2 mile cut-down on track, start at 7:20 pace minutes for first mile and then drop to 7:00 minute pace for the second mile. 3 mile run; 3 lap (1200), 2 lap (800), 1 lap (400). Jog 1 lap between each rep and aim for 5:10, 3:28, and 1:39. 2.5 mile cool-down. Total mileage: 12.25 miles

Wednesday, June 16: 4 miles easy, swim

Thursday, June 17: 6 miles easy

Friday, June 18: Tempo Run; Run first 2 miles at very comfortable easy run pace; 8 mile tempo run; start at 8:25 pace then try to work down the last few miles to about 8:10 pace. Run 2 miles easy for cool-down: Total Mileage: 12 miles

Saturday, June 19: 6 miles easy

Sunday, June 20: 16 miles easy

Total Mileage: 56 miles

And that sort of training gets 2 thumbs up...