Marathon Training: Week 5

If you're following along, here is the fifth 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, documented on my Training page.

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Last Week in Review:

Here is the original schedule from last week and my comments/modifications. I printed out my schedule and put it at my work desk to keep me motivated. I love crossing stuff off! (Yes, I know the calendar is a bit cryptic, but Google calendar does waaayy too much auto-filling in my entries!)

This week went well, with mileage totaling 25, the most in a while. My knee, which I may have mentioned bothers me sometimes, has its good moments and slightly worse ones, but overall, I think I've learned to control it by warming up properly.

The long run was slower than it has been, even though I didn't *feel* that I was going slow. Since I'm still going a bit faster than the recommended pace, I am not overly concerned. However, I have a half-marathon in a month and am curious to see if these slow long runs will translate into a slow race time.

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) most repeats I've done in training

Thursday - jog 40 minutes or rest did 38 minutes with a little walking up the trails

Friday - cross-train 30 minutes

Saturday - 13 mi 10:40-11:20 pace (about 5.2-5.5 mph) 10:09 pace

And thus, one MONTH of training is done... three months to go. :)

This Week:

This week's is a step-back week, as Thursday is once again a cross-training day, and the long run is 8 miles. The 400m repeats on Wednesday have also scaled back in favor of speed. I've been doing the intervals at 2:00 pace already, so I'm thinking maybe I will aim for 1:55, but we'll see.

I'll accept this "easy" week, as I know what's up ahead!!! =/

Week of Aug 15 (Week 5)

Monday - jog 40 minutes

Tuesday - cross-train 30 minutes

Wednesday - 6 x 400 m (.25 mi), 2:00-2:10 pace (about 7.3-7.5 mph)

Thursday - cross-train 30 minutes or rest

Friday - cycle or swim 30 min

Saturday - 8 mi 10:40-11:20 pace (about 5.2-5.5 mph)

Any swimmers out there? Friday's workout asks for cycling or swimming (I'm cycling because I'm swimming challenged!)...

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/track

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? It comes with these Sport Chews, a neat

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

Paige @ Running Around NormalAugust 14, 2011 at 7:09 PM
Hope you don't have any more knee pain. You're doing great!
AlexAugust 14, 2011 at 10:10 PM
So that's a a hell of a workout schedule...what do you do for your cross-training days?
And I'm a fan of the old-school calendar. There's something really satisfying about crossing off goals on a piece of paper.
AnonymousAugust 15, 2011 at 12:06 PM
What an insight review, I love your article.

Zojirushi Bread Machine
Abby @ Have Dental Floss, Will TravelAugust 16, 2011 at 11:13 PM
Sounds like a solid first month! These early weeks of training always seem to go slowly for me, but it sounds like you're right on track and that the schedule's working out well for you.

A Case of the Runs

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