Winter Marathon Training
Marathon training starts today!!!
It’s not off to the greatest start, in terms of my long run, but I have had a great 2 weeks of base building. I didn’t wake up until 11 this morning!! Oops. I went to bed at midnight, but clearly I was needing some sleep. It was interrupted a few times by waking up for the bathroom and the alarm going off, but I could NOT pull myself out of bed. It’s even harder when Derek doesn’t come to bed until 7:30am (he works night shift).
Anyway, so I’m up now and I will run my 12 miles a little later to kick off training. I’m excited to be back to the track! It’s seriously my favorite workout. I started back 2 weeks ago and did 8 x 800s with the Hellgate Road Runners.
8 x 800
- 3:58
- 3:40
- 3:55
- 3:54
- 3:52
- 3:56
- 3:55
- 3:49
Right back where I was (or even a little better) during marathon training in the fall! It was nice to know I could still bust these out, and 8 of them, for that fact. My 800 pace for this training cycle is a little faster at 3:34 – 3:44, so I’m looking forward to progressing and hoping to nail these new paces.
This past week, I did 1200s. I’ve never done 1200s before and they were hard! It’s not short enough to not worry about the future and how much you left, but not long enough to get into a groove. Three times around the track, I didn’t enjoy these as much, but I was happy with my effort. I was literally coming in last, which was quite humbling, but also inspiring. The Hellgate Road Runners are a group of fast runners! We did 6 x 1200, but by the the last 2, I wasn’t coming in last anymore! There were 2 or 3 people behind me, so it made me feel good to know I kept my energy steady and didn’t go out too fast on the first few laps.
6 x 1200
- 5:54
- 5:57
- 5:49
- 5:59
- 5:58
- 5:58
Some of these came in a little long and were past the 1200 mark, but I was happy to come in under 6:00 for all the laps. My mile repeat pace is faster than this, so I’ve got some work to do. They scare me a little because they begin with 7:xx! Now that training has officially started, I will be following my plan to a ‘T’. I may switch a few days around, but in terms of mileage and pace, I plan to nail every workout.
I did a great job during fall training with getting my mileage in and just following my plan in general and I think it really paid off. I know sometimes shit happens, but I like to pride myself on following a schedule and getting it done.
I have a few races coming up in the Spring and they are races I really want to do well at. I discussed my times here, so I will definitely be aiming for a 1:50 (or below) half at the NYC Half Marathon. I’ve also recently added another half marathon to my spring calendar, and if you follow me on Twitter, I’m sure you already know, but I will be running the Eugene Half Marathon on April 28th.
I’m really excited for it! Sooo many blogger/running friends will be there and I knew I would regret not going, so I am pumped to spend a long weekend on the west coast with some great running buddies, who I haven’t seen in a while. This will also be my 2nd opportunity for a sub 1:50 half, you know, in case it doesn’t happen at NYC.
I can already say that marathon training is HARD IN THE WINTER! I hate getting up. I wish I was a bear and could hibernate all winter, seriously, best life ever! At least we are halfway through January, then it’s just February we have to get through and once March is here, we can at least start dreaming of the warmer weather because it will be right around the corner.
I don’t mind actually running in the cold weather, but my bed is impossibly hard to get out of in the morning. This is my first time marathon training in the winter, so it’s a whole new experience for me. I’ve been doing all of my running at night after work, so the only time I have to literally wake up early to run is on the weekend and I’m already having a hard time doing that. Uh oh. Winter, please hurry up and be over, thanks.
Happy marathon training! How is your training going? Ever trained in the winter, do you think it’s harder than starting in the summer?
Hi there. I have been training all winter for the Austin Marathon in a month. I have actually really enjoyed all the winter training, but the holidays and travelling made it harder than the weather. Good luck!
I love running in cold weather, and I like half-marathon training in the winter, but I have tried and failed to train for a full in the winter. It’s just too hard to run enjoyable long-run routes if the roads are snowy/icy, because I feel like I’m trying so hard to not fall and break something that I’m not actually getting any faster. 20 miles of park loops are not a good solution for me (yawn). I realize that this winter and last year’s were pretty mild, but I just know that if I decide to train for one at this time again, the weather gods will turn against me, haha. If I ever qualify for Boston, then it’ll be worth it.
SO excited you’re coming now! training is at a standstill- and not even sure what will happen with the marathon now. hoping i will be okay to run it, and should have news tomorrow! i’m still debating on Vermont too
I think training in the winter is easier, but that’s because I don’t live where it snows. Winter here is maaaaybe 50 degrees. Though on the chilly days, I always curse the fact that I don’t own more cold weather gear or read the “how to train in the cold” articles.
Great splits on those 800s and 1200s! I agree that winter training seems a lot harder. Along with facing the cold, I find it’s harder to get motivated to run in the dark.
ugh. 1200′s are SO HARD. I am actually really loving the cold weather lately…I have never trained through the winter, but lately the colder it is, the better my runs have been. I am a little scared of it warming up now!!!
Wow look at those splits, awesome!
I just ran my first marathon last weekend and have to say training during winter for it…I am not sure if I would do it again. On one hand kept me totally focused on the other I thankfully lucked out and some long runs turned into abnormally warm days but those NYC frigid temps can be daunting!