6-12 March workouts

First of all, I’d like to talk a moment of my next race: the Rome Marathon. Until a year ago I felt totally unprepared for such a long distance. Then I increased mileage by lowering the rhythms and slowly I began thinking I could participate just to do experience. I postponed the decision at the last moment, and so near the due date for registration, the day before the Roma-Ostia I gave the application form to my club. The day before, to avoid having doubts the due date for registration week when the post-race could have left some injury. 

Since I began thinking about the way to run the race as an experience things have changed. The equivalence tables of the racing times in different distances would report a finish time well under 3 hours, and then I began to hear a little voice inside me saying, " Well, do it in 3 hours would mean still going slower than your level, why couldn’t you try? ". The answer is simple: because respect of half marathon or 10km, efforts are different,  energy processes  are different, etc., so marathon requires preparation muuuuch more solid than I have today. That's why!
 

But the little voice keeps talking ... and I know myself: at the end, if there will be good running conditions (ie not hot or wet or windy), I will try to finish one second less than the 3 hours.

Now let’s go to training:

3 consecutive workouts from Friday to Sunday. Usually at the end of the week I do the most of mileage.

Friday, planned a slow run, a little more cheerful, staying on target of around136 bpm for 1h20’. I feel good and the pace is not bad, a little over 8'/mile. I continue to be surprised by the fact that I’ve not been affected by the Roma-Ostia, that was run just few days ago. About 11 miles (heating included).

Saturday, planned a slow easy run, about 128 bpm. Finally it arrived! Here comes the hit, that is big trouble keeping the beat down. To do this I have to go really slow, almost at 9' and half per mile! I often do not go well on Saturday, perhaps for different daytime (I run a little later, around 7:30 a.m.) or I don’t know why. It is actually one thing that I still have to understand. However, about 9 miles done.

Sunday I had a 3 hours long slow run at 132 bpm. The hit is there, now it's official! The Roma-Ostia finally weakened me, exactly as I expected, although the first workouts had deceived me. I run slower than usual, although for the first 20 km I keep a decent average, about 8'30''/mile. After the second hour of the race, however, I go into cardiac drift: if I went at the same pace, the beats would go up a lot. Not a good sign, generally it indicates poor training. The most likely explanation, however (I hope) is that I am still tired after the last Sunday race. The day is beautiful, the sun is shining, and so I decide to listen to my body and to enjoy the landscape: I slow down, until running the last mile 9’ and half per mile. I’m backing home after 22 miles.

The week after the race I bring home 58 miles, heating included. All slow miles, some might think too slowly, but later I will explain why I train in this way.

This week.

Monday, rest.

Tuesday, planned a medium run, I decide to test the marathon pace. It's not exactly the work that I usually do, but it is good anyway. So at 5 am I’m ready to do 7 laps of a 2.15 km measured loop trail at 6'48''. The first few laps I feel good and my heart rate is also relatively low. Then I go a bit in cardiac drift and in the end running am not exactly easy. If I had not raced just 10 days ago, I would have said it will be impossible keeping that pace for 3 hours. But the race could have still influence on my muscles, so I will see in the next few days.

Wednesday, planned a slow run, about 136 bpm. Again 5 in the morning, I run pretty well, more or less in line with the times of the week before the race. Running comes easy to the end. Very good workout. At 6.35 a.m. I stop for a moment, I press the stop button: in front of me the sun rises in a clear sky without any cloud,  so beautiful!