Twelve to Wrap up the Week

So I wrapped up this week with a twelve mile run. Many of the folks in my running club are in the middle of a marathon training cycle (either the OC Marathon or San Diego Rock n Roll). They had an 18 miler on the schedule today, so we all headed out the San Diego Creek trail.

I had a 12 mile 3/1 on the plan. The 3/1 format is supposed to be run so that the first 3/4s of the run is at long run pace and the last 1/4 at race pace. My issue today was that I ran the first 3/4s at long run pace (as determined by my heart rate), and stepped it up to half marathon race pace as I started the last quarter. One of the problems is our starting point is at a High School on top of a hill. While the hill itself isn't really that big (about 150 feet over a mile), having to climb it to end a run can sometimes present a challenge. Today I just ran out of gas on the way back up. Grrr... But, I still was *very* pleased with the end results. 12 miles in 2:01.52. That's a full five minutes faster than I've ever run this distance. My heart rate was well within aerobic range - average over the entire run was 79% of max. Whew.

This wraps us week 6. Half way through this training cycle. The gory details - 32.5 miles total. Two speed days, one recovery/junk day, one pace day and one long run day. I'm feeling some fatigue though. So I'm glad that I'm climbing on a plane tomorrow. I'm taking tomorrow and Monday off, and am also going to step back next week to 20 miles for one week. That should allow me to perform well at next Saturday's 10K *and* give me some rest. Tomorrow I'll write from my hotel room in Grand Rapids Michigan!