Sunday, June 1, 2008

22 Weeks

Well things are starting to ratchet up, and I am starting to feel fit/tired.

Last week went well except that today I had to cut my long run at 14 miles instead of going the 16 as planned. I planned an exceedingly hilly course for the run and completely bonked at 13 miles. Luckily, I was close to home and didn't have to walk. My total for last week was 62 miles.

Here is next weeks schedule:

Mon: Recovery, 6 mi.
Tues: Lactate Threshold Run: 9 mi, w/ 4 mi. @ 15K-1/2 Marathon Pace
Wed: Medium Long Run, 12 mi.
Th: Recovery, 6 mi.
Fri: Medium Long Run, 11 mi.
Sat: Recovery, 6 mi
Sun: Long Run, 17 miles

Total: 67 miles

As you can see, this week contains my first lactate threshold run. Lactate threshold is the intensity where lactate is just starting to accumulate in your blood and usually correlates closely with your 15k to 1/2 marathon pace. My best 1/2 is 1:19:06, or 6:02 pace. It will be interesting to see how dropping a couple 6:00's will feel in the middle of a 9 miler . I have a measured course and I will let you guys know how it goes.

As a side note, several sources-Jack Daniels etc.-say that successful marathoners run at 2-4% slower than their LT pace for the marathon. If that holds true, than an LT of 6:02 per mile (the slow end of my LT range, at least in theory) translates to a predicted marathon pace of 6:10-618, or roughly 2:42:00 - 2:45:00. While I wouldn't put to much stock in those numbers, I think it is kind of interesting and I would be pretty stoked to crank out a performance like that. I guess it would make me a "successful marathoner" for my ability level. Shit, that is a lot of pressure!

Jake

3 comments:

RM said...

Fortunately for you, Jake, you have me in your life, and I won't let you be satisfied with anything less than your best. Our friend Eric in San Diego ran a 2:53 today, negative splitting the race. Now, while I realize that 10 minutes is a LOT of time, especially at that level, he is not half the runner you are right now. With that in mind, I'm pretty sure you are going to run under 2:40.

Jake Marren said...

Thanks for the confidence. Maybe I will re-evaluate my goals in the early fall after I run some races and get a better gauge on how my fitness is progressing. Still, I can only vaguely imagine what running 26.2 miles is like so....it is anyone's guess how the debut will go.

RM said...

That's always true, it's kind of like this weekend's impending death march of a half-Ironman. I'd like to think I'm in shape to do xx:xx:xx but based on last year's results that would have me as the top 5 overall amateur. I think that would be overstating my skills.

Also, I have recently developed a major foot problem that is more than a concern at this point, it is a race-negator. Gotta get it worked out before Wednesday/Thursday. Keep up the good work Jake and think about Philly Distance Run 9/21 as a good race tuneup.