I Hate Cedar Snow!

This is my first entry on the blog.  I have finally decided to join the blog and know a number of the members already.  My only hang-up about joining was that I would not keep up with it everyday.

I reason I am writing today is that I am seeking advice from some of the experienced marathoners about mileage plans until St. George.  Last year was my best time and I ran 2:46.  The most I had trained consistently before then was about 50-55 mpw.  This year I have built up my mileage very slowly and have PRed a number of times.  I have been above 50 mpw since April, and have hit 71, 75, and 67 the last three weeks.  My goal is to go between 2:35-2:39 at St. George.  My plan was to top off at 80 mpw and then taper with 2-3 weeks before the race.  What advice do any of you have?  I would love to hear from anyone.

A.M. Woke up to thunderstorms this morning so decided to hit the treadmill.  7:40 Avg. Will run later this afternoon with the XC team.

P.M. Ran 8 miles with the team in 55 min.  Ran easy for the first five, then hit a 2 mile tempo before cooling down.  2 mile tempo in 11:45 with my top runner.

P.M. Only 1 run today.  Just ran at an easy 7:30 pace with the team.   This will be my first week where I am going to try to do at least 3 two-a-days.

A.M.  8 Easy miles this morning.  Nothing too special.  Just getting in the distance.  7:50 pace

P.M.  6 after school with the team.  This included 3 x 1 mile repeats.  I ran with the JV guys today and our course was pretty swampy, so I was only hitting 6:30-6:40 per mile.  Fairly easy effort.

P.M. 6 miles recovery with the team after their mile repeats yesterday.  Hot and windy.  Then I did 4 more miles after practice.  I need to get in quite a few miles the next couple of days to hit 80 for the week.

A.M. 6 easy miles this morning.  7:58 pace.  Will run later with the team.

P.M. 6.25 Ran to the park where the cross-country race is going to be tomorrow with the team.  Course is exactly 3 miles this year instead of 3.2 which is good.  7:45 pace.

A.M.  Finished off a good week of training with a great long run.  I ran 19 this morning with an 8 mile tempo towards the end of it.  My splits during the tempo were as follows:

Mile 1- 6:37

Mile 2- 6:18

Mile 3- 6:12

Mile 4- 6:10

Mile 5- 6:02

Mile 6- 5:53

Mile 7- 5:51

Mile 8- 5:45

A.M. Easy 10-miler this morning. Feels good to start off the week with a good run. I am going to try to hit 80-85 this week. 7:57 avg.

 P.M. 8.2 long run for the team this week.  A little bit cooler today which was nice. Ran the first 6 fairly easy then ran a 2 mile tempo.  I ran with the 6th and 7th guys on the team and we hit 6:23 then 6:15, so that was a good pace for them.  Short cool down back to school.
 

A.M. Slept in a little today so I was only able to get a 4 miler in before school.  I am kicking myself for sleeping in now though because I remembered that I am not going to be able to run with the team today after school.  I will have to try to get in a run late tonight because I cant handle only doing 4 today.  Its way too girly.

 P.M. Got in 6 on the treadmill late at night.  Felt good but just ran easy.  7:35 avg. 

P.M. Ran 10 at a fairly easy 7:35 pace before the cross-country meet. My boys did very well at the meet. Most ran PRs and we are right behind Cedar in region

A.M. This was a workout that I was not looking forward to.  I hate doing track workouts by myself.  I decided to do some Yasso-like 800s.  I ran a warmup to the SUU track.  Then I did 8 x 800 with a lap jog in between each.  I had to stay mentally tough to not call it quits early.  I wanted to start out conservative and then go for it.  Here are my times.

 1) 2:55- Way to slow

2) 2:47- Getting there

3) 2:45- Still feeling strong

4) 2:41- Starting to feel it

5) 2:39- I am hurting now but my splits are right on 

6) 2:39- Want to quit, but convince myself to keep going

7) 2:37- Hurting bad now

8) 2:35- Gave it all I had left

Then I did a cool down back home.  All in all I am happy with the workout.  I was happy to have decreasing splits the whole way. 

P.M. Ran easy 5.8 with the boys this afternoon.  They were recovering from the race last night and me from this morning.  Just under 8:00. 

A.M. This will be my only run today.  Just went easy at about 7:45 pace.  I am heading to CA later for the weekend.  I am going to run with my dad and his friends tomorrow about 22-24 miles.  It will be slow, but it will be good for me to run that long.  Hopefully it will teach my body to conserve fuel in the marathon.

A.M.  Traveled to CA last night to visit family and friends.  Did the long run with my dad's running group.  Left at 3:15 to do it.  Crazy!  It was a pretty hilly route and I ran most of it easy and controlled.  I ran ahead on a few parts because I got tired of 8:00+ miles.  Towards the end, they do a pick up of 2.4 miles to simulate Diagonal and the finish of St george.  I ran that at 5:47 average and felt strong.  It ended up taking 2:45:00 for a 7:27 average.