Chicago Marathon Training – Week 17
The last long run is done. The taper is almost complete. One week from today, I will be in Chicago, fighting the crowd at the expo. I can’t wait.
In some ways, race week is the hardest week of the training cycle. You have to some much going on and one miss-step can mess up everything. But it is a great feeling getting to this point. Knowing that I have followed the training plan and am as ready as I can get.
Slept in an extra hour this morning, after all it is the taper, and headed out the door around 5:30. It was a cool 51 degrees with a bright waning moon. It was so bright, I cast a shadow on the pavement.
I kept to my normal routine, warm up for 5 miles and then run the remaining miles keeping my heart rate in a zone. I could tell that I had taken Friday as a rest day. I felt relaxed and rested. It was a great feeling to start my last long run.
Here are the stats….
| Route: | – | Elev. Avg: | 705 ft |
| Location: | Brentwood, TN | Elev. Gain: | -6 ft |
| Date: | 09/29/07 | Up/Downhill: | [+515/-521] |
| Time: | 05:29 AM | Difficulty: | 3.3 / 5.0 |
| Weather: | A Few Clouds | ||
| 51F temp; 92% humidity | |||
| 51F heat index; winds Calm | |||
Performance
| Distance: | 12.00 miles | ||
| Time: | 1:51:17 | ||
| Speed: | 6.5 mph | ||
| Pace: | 9′ 16 /mi | Heart Rate: | 137 bpm (Avg) |
| Calories: | 1514 | 154 bpm (Peak) |
Splits
| Mile | Pace (min/mile) | Speed (mph) | Heart Rate |
Elev Gain |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| actual | +/- avg | actual | +/- avg | |||
| 1 | 10′ 06 | +0′ 50 | 5.9 | -0.5 | 121 | -27 ft |
| 2 | 9′ 54 | +0′ 38 | 6.1 | -0.4 | 127 | +10 ft |
| 3 | 10′ 04 | +0′ 48 | 6.0 | -0.5 | 129 | +40 ft |
| 4 | 9′ 48 | +0′ 32 | 6.1 | -0.4 | 134 | -10 ft |
| 5 | 9′ 10 | -0′ 06 | 6.5 | +0.1 | 133 | -69 ft |
| 6 | 9′ 11 | -0′ 05 | 6.5 | +0.1 | 141 | +4 ft |
| 7 | 8′ 44 | -0′ 32 | 6.9 | +0.4 | 145 | +27 ft |
| 8 | 9′ 02 | -0′ 14 | 6.6 | +0.2 | 143 | +42 ft |
| 9 | 8′ 39 | -0′ 37 | 6.9 | +0.5 | 142 | -69 ft |
| 10 | 8′ 42 | -0′ 34 | 6.9 | +0.4 | 143 | -7 ft |
| 11 | 9′ 07 | -0′ 09 | 6.6 | +0.1 | 143 | +30 ft |
| end | 8′ 51 | -0′ 25 | 6.8 | +0.3 | 145 | +23 ft |
| Versus average of 9′ 16 min/mi: Slower Faster | ||||||
Training for the week
Sun: Rest
Mon: 7 miles – 1:07:31, w/ 8 x 100m strides
Tues: 8 miles – 1:12:21, w/ 3 x 1600m intervals
Wed: Rest
Thur: 5.15 miles – 48:53, w/ 6 x 100m strides
Fri: Rest
Sat: 12 miles – 1:51:17, pace 9:16
Total for the week: 32 miles
September 29th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Yeah, wasn’t that moon GREAT this morning??? I was out early too and it was a fantastic morning to run.
Wow, this is a super run a week out. You have prepared well. I’m really excited for you and looking forward to how it will go next week. You’ve worked hard and prepared marvelously. Enjoy the week!!!
September 29th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
There’s nothing like running under a full moon in the cool pre-dawn air. It’s so hard to describe the zen like experience of simply living in the moment as you glide along under the bright moon light. Actually, the only thing that tops this is to do it in the snow. The bright white moon reflecting on the soft white snow turns everything mono-chrome. Each footfall creates a distinctive crunch .. crunch … crunch. Each breath creates a little cload that swirls past your ears … simply beautiful. This is why we run.
Have fun your last week.
September 30th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
You are going to do great at the marathon. I can’t wait for the report.
You have trained hard and it will pay off.
October 1st, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Yikes! Less than a week!
Are you attending any of the blogger meetups? I know of one Friday and one Sunday night.