Success in the mile

I am in the process of training a friend for her first marathon. I've been fortunate enough to be running alongside of her for the past 6 weeks, and 3 weeks ago, we officially kicked off her Marine Corps Marathon training. I set her schedule (I'm using the Runner's World "Rookie Plan" which was what I used when I ran my first marathon) and e-mail her the schedule for the week. At the end of the week, I total everything up and send her a summary. When July ended, I totaled up her month, and she set a new mileage PR. It is exciting to be alongside as she sets these new milestones, and it will be even more thrilling to run alongside her as we run the Marine Corps Marathon together.
Last Thursday, I put Jenny through a timed mile trial. She had never done one before, and I was able to predict based on some of her 5k performances that she could run about a 7:20, maybe a 7:15. We toed the starting line, and then we were off. I always take the outside lane, so I can pace her and be alongside her. First lap, we came in 1:42. Whoa. Second lap, 3:29. Hmm...this is definitely going to be a big PR for her. Third lap, 5:18. When there was about 200 meters to go, I started yelling, "Dig in, dig in!" and she came through and finished in 7:02! Victory, victory! Was so excited for her at this point, and she said she grew more excited based on my reaction. She's still on the newer side to running, so she doesn't always know what a good time is. But I do, and it was phenomenal. Not only was it a big PR, it superseded my expectations by a lot. This was an excellent way to start the day.

She may be new to running, but as a former competitive swimmer, she understands the nature of a grueling training schedule, and all of the other components of a distance athlete. I also set a mileage PR in July (235 - a PR by 30 miles). At lunch the other day, I sat down with her and was talking about my own goal for a mile trial. The last time I did a successful mile trial, it was this time last summer, and it was a 6:13. It was my goal to get into the single digits. We had a track activity with the kids, so it was my plan to participate and hope that a few of the kids would run similar times. Nerves were high - the shorter the "race," the bigger the nerves for me. Went through the first lap in 1:26 (a 400 PR), and I was hanging on with the boys. Second lap in 3:01, which seemed much more realistic. Can't even remember what the third lap was, was just trying to hang on. Someone just kept yelling PR, and I hauled, and hauled...

6:07. A 6 second PR! Victory! Victory! I was so excited about this: not only did I PR, but in 90 degree weather, and the day after a hard workout. And speaking of hard workouts...

Monday, August 2: Easy 4 miles

Tuesday, August 3: 2.5 mile warm-up; 5 lap cut-down run; start at 7:15 pace and cut down about 2-3 seconds per lap; jog 2 laps; 10x800 meters, 1 lap jog between each rep, start at 3:40, aim to cut down 3-5 seconds per rep. 3 mile cool-down: Total mileage—14.25 miles + aqua jogging

Wednesday, August 4: 6 miles easy + mile trial (1 mile w/u)

Thursday, August 5: 9 miles easy

Friday, August 6: Aqua jogging

Saturday, August 7: 18 miles; First 8 miles easy, 10 mile tempo, start at 8:25 pace and work down to 8:10.

Sunday, August 8: 7 miles easy

Total Mileage: 60 miles

It has been a hard week. Made it through the cutdown in 8:59. Then for the 800s: 3:40, 3:37, 3:33, 3:30, 3:27, 3:24, 3:21, 3:19, (this was when I really started to feel tired), 3:17, 3:16. So, doing all of this under little sleep, was still a victory, even if I didn't hit my splits. Sarah (my coach) said it was still a "solid workout," so I can sign off on that!

I got a note from Danny 331, who asked how I was doing without getting my Deena Kastor sleep. It has been challenging, and I know that the lack of sleep has hindered my performance a bit. However, I am going home to Rochester on Sunday, and plan on making up for lost time! No, I know, you cannot really play catch up, but I will step it up and hit the hay earlier.

Anyways, we both achieved track victories. And for a former swimmer and a former musician, not too shabby...