Marathon Training: Week 4

If you're following along, here is the fourth week of training according to the 4 Months to a 4-Hour Marathon book. The paces below are specifically for the 4-hour goal. If anyone would like the paces for 4:15, 4:30, 4:45, or 5:00, I can start posting them alongside my plan if you let me know.

I am also posting on DailyMile, but everything (and more!) will be posted here as well. This "Marathon Training" series is an experiment for me both in fitness and in blogging, as I am going to go into more detail than in previous training cycles, now documented on my NEW Training page.

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Last Week in Review:

Here is the original schedule from last week and my comments/modifications.

Overall, it's going okay. I still have not missed any workouts. 13 more weeks to keep that streak as best I can, though! The long run part still isn't easy, but what I've been noticing is that the last few miles have been my strong points, and maybe that's a good thing for races. I am convinced that the Vega Optimizer is helping me on my runs, as I have been carrying my water bottle with me, which slows me down. Still, I am coming in at a pace that is nearly a minute faster than prescribed... though I feel like I am running soooo slow as it is (especially in the early miles).

Week of Aug 1 (Week 3)

Monday - jog 40 minutes (followed by pushups and abs work that left me sore for 2 days)

Tuesday - cross-train 30 minutes (elliptical and then added upper body strength)

Wednesday - 10 x 400 m (.25 mi), 2:05-2:15 pace (about 7.2-7.4 mph) (did 10 at 2:00 pace)

Thursday - cross-train 30 minutes or rest (cycled for half an hour with some squats after)

Friday - cross-train 30 minutes (just did 30 min elliptical and rushed to work)

Saturday - 11 mi 10:40-11:20 pace (about 5.2-5.5 mph) (9:56 pace... )

This Week:

This week's schedule is very similar to last week's, except a couple more speed repeats on Wednesday and a couple more miles on Saturday (I said the same thing last week :/). The weekend long run is half-marathon length! Aggggh! I'm not sure if I can say that I am more confident about this or not. I STILL feel slow and STILL find the workouts harder than they probably are supposed to be. Plus, I looked ahead at the schedule (tsk, tsk!) and got intimidated by the second phase of training (Stamina phase).

Week of Aug 8 (Week 4)
Monday - jog 40 minutes
Tuesday - cross-train 30 minutes
Wednesday - 12 x 400 m (.25 mi), 2:05-2:15 pace (about 7.2-7.4 mph)
Thursday - cross-train 40 minutes or rest
Friday - cross-train 30 minutes
Saturday - 13 mi 10:40-11:20 pace (about 5.2-5.5 mph)

How is everyone's Fall race training coming along? What Fall races are you doing/thinking of doing?

To be continued...

Giveaway Winner! -- Sony W Series MP3 Player (Update)

Updated Post: 3/20/11 As promised, here are the Sony W Series giveaway winners: -- both have been contacted and prizes sent -- Please e-mail me at (Gmail) Nobel4Lit2 with your addresses, and I'll ship out the units soon! Thanks to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for another giveaway soon (maybe later this week)! (Note: I ended up putting everyone's retweets starting after the comments when it came to numbering the entries.) Original Post: 3/10/11 Sunday, March 20 2011, the day I will run LA Marathon for the 4th time (and embark on my 8th 26.2 journey overall), will also be very special because it will mark the 5th year since I did my FIRST training run with the intention of running a marathon. (Check out that life-changing post HERE ). Yep, on March 20, 2006, I went to the track and ran my first 3.25 miles with the dreams of marathon glory (or even half-marathon glory). I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was a sprint/tra...

Rebecca Michaels Performance Clothing (Giveaway)

UPDATE: 6/21/12 -- This giveaway is closed, and the winner is #43, Jacqueline!! I will contact you, but if you miss it, please e-mail me! ------ I'd like to credit in advance "The Ukrainian" who helped me stage some photos for this post. =) Perhaps because I don't dress well when working out, I was offered the opportunity to try some fun pieces from the Rebecca Michaels summer collection. Since I complained about my issues with headbands staying on my head, I also got to try their Violet Love headbands. "The Ukrainian" didn't hesitate in throwing one on, and I think he said he looks like Rambo in it. Anyway, I'll start with my experience with the headbands . They are very soft and actually look SUPER cute on! They also cover a large portion of the top of your head, so those little fly-aways don't come drooping down. Or is that just me? My hair is normally cut in layers, so I do experience this quite a bit. Unfortun...

Sharkies Prize Pack (giveaway)

It's giveaway time! On a long run recently, I took a couple packs of Sharkies Organic Sports Chews with me to keep me going on a hot day. I got through those 15 miles eating these, versus normal gels. I've been opting to eat chews over gels in my running nowadays because I just find them more palatable and easier on my stomach for some reason. Plus, they do pack a few more calories, which is a good thing in this case. I normally associate cute little chews with candy, but these actually contain natural electrolytes. Plus, they were light to carry and very tasty, too! Each pack is about 140 calories. The only downside I found to the sport chews is that they stuck to my teeth a tiny bit more than my normal choices, and the packaging gave me a fight at times. This could easily be solved by conslidating them into a baggie pre-run, or eating them BEFORE running would be much easier than during. Want to win the prize pack below?...

A Case of the Runs

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