Crim/Rebuilding

My father's death was obviously a priority for me: helping him before he died, being there for my family after he died, etc. So I lost about 3 weeks of training. I ran during each of those weeks, but I didn't get my long runs or scheduled workouts in. My plan was to just keep my head above water until the Crim, run my marathon pace for that race, and re-assess the situation after the Crim.

Well, the Crim went very well. I set a goal of 90 minutes, and tried as hard as I could to get exactly that time. My thinking there was to finish with lots of gas in the tank--hopefully enough to feel like I could do it again right afterward. 10M is an important distance for me in how I perceive the marathon: I am going to approach the marathon as 3 races: 2 ten milers and a 10k. If I can do the first 2 ten milers at 9:00/M, I will be in striking distance for a 4:00 finish. That means my average speed could go down to nearly 10:00/M at the end and I would still finish in under 4 hours. So, I finished the crim in 89:54, which is about as close to 90 minutes as you can get. My splits were exactly 8:59/M the whole race. Very even pace, very consistent. Exactly what I was going for. I finished feeling strong; maybe I couldn't have done the same pace for another 10 miles, but I know I could have gone 5.

Another important thing is that my logistical stuff continues to work. The hydration/nutrition strategy I used for the half marathon worked perfectly in the Crim. The only downside was some nasty-tasting hose water in my handheld. I need to see if I can get better water. It wasn't so bad. It just had a nasty taste, and it was gone in 3 miles and I got some additional water. I didn't crash or bonk, so I must have done okay.

For the record, I've been doing 8oz of fluid every 3 miles, and one Gu Chomp every 12-15 minutes. My stomach handles this much better. For the Crim, I did 3 mile splits, mostly because the watch I was using is a piece of crap. I will have a replacement for my watch in a few days.

But one thing I need to remember: a time goal is probably not a good idea for me given my interruption in training.

Rebuilding

So the big fork in the road is what to do with the long runs on my schedule. I have no worries about going to the longer weekly runs. They only go up to 8, and I have been doing runs as long as 6 while out of town. But this coming weekend calls for an 18 mile run. Is this a good idea? My last long run of 14 miles was 4 weeks ago. It might not be advisable.

So one option I am considering is just using the schedule with modified long runs. Right now, I am scheduled to do two 20 mile long runs. Perhaps I revise that down to just one. Here are the remaining weeks (the one that starts tomorrow is Week 11):

11: 18
12: 13
13: 20
14: 12
15: 20
16: 12
17: 8
18: RACE

Here's an option that keeps the two 20s:

11: 13
12: 15
13: 20
14: 12
15: 20
16: 12
17: 8
18: RACE

The Monday of the following week is Memorial Day, so perhaps there is a creative way to use that to catch up.