Sorry I missed your question during the last post, parrot head.
5 weeks before marathon date we did a big downhill training run which really closely resembled the grade of the marathon course. We started on the slopes of Mount Shasta up at the trailhead that most climbers take on their way up the mountain. From there it was a 14 mile descent down the mountain and through the town of Mount Shasta, followed by 3 miles of flat to rolling hills terrain to the campground where we had planned to finish. Ended up with a net loss of about 3,500 feet.
The first 11 miles averaged about 6-7% downgrade, almost identical to the Mount Hood course. It leveled off a little from there, but not by much for the next few miles. The first 10 miles of the run went by so quickly with minimal effort, it was the most enjoyable 10 miles I think I've ever run. However, I started to feel something going on with one of my toe nails at this time, which got progressively worse as the run continued. I thought I was going to lose a toenail, but it turned out just be a long nail that was digging into the adjacent toe. I was also concerned about possible shin splint issues, given the steep downgrade, but this turned out to be a complete non-issue.
By the time we hit the flat section at mile 14 or 15 my quads were pretty shredded. Still felt pretty decent on the downhills, but it took a ton of effort to keep moving forward on the flats and uphills. And I could hardly get up from a low chair for about 3 days after. And just walking was so incredibly painful in both the quads and calves.
Marathon is this Saturday. I didn't have a good training cycle at all. I strained my hamstring while reffing a church bball tournament just as my 18 week program was scheduled to begin. So i ended up getting the miles in, but wasn't able to do any speed work whatsoever. Not a single interval workout or tempo run; just lots of slow miles.
I'm confident I'll finish this weekend, but it's not gonna be pretty. I started out hoping for a good PR, but now I'm sure I'll be lucky to break 4 hours. Oh well. I did it mainly to keep my buddy company on his long weekend runs. He is hoping for a sub 3:15 BQ time, which I'm certain he'll get.
5 weeks before marathon date we did a big downhill training run which really closely resembled the grade of the marathon course. We started on the slopes of Mount Shasta up at the trailhead that most climbers take on their way up the mountain. From there it was a 14 mile descent down the mountain and through the town of Mount Shasta, followed by 3 miles of flat to rolling hills terrain to the campground where we had planned to finish. Ended up with a net loss of about 3,500 feet.
The first 11 miles averaged about 6-7% downgrade, almost identical to the Mount Hood course. It leveled off a little from there, but not by much for the next few miles. The first 10 miles of the run went by so quickly with minimal effort, it was the most enjoyable 10 miles I think I've ever run. However, I started to feel something going on with one of my toe nails at this time, which got progressively worse as the run continued. I thought I was going to lose a toenail, but it turned out just be a long nail that was digging into the adjacent toe. I was also concerned about possible shin splint issues, given the steep downgrade, but this turned out to be a complete non-issue.
By the time we hit the flat section at mile 14 or 15 my quads were pretty shredded. Still felt pretty decent on the downhills, but it took a ton of effort to keep moving forward on the flats and uphills. And I could hardly get up from a low chair for about 3 days after. And just walking was so incredibly painful in both the quads and calves.
Marathon is this Saturday. I didn't have a good training cycle at all. I strained my hamstring while reffing a church bball tournament just as my 18 week program was scheduled to begin. So i ended up getting the miles in, but wasn't able to do any speed work whatsoever. Not a single interval workout or tempo run; just lots of slow miles.
I'm confident I'll finish this weekend, but it's not gonna be pretty. I started out hoping for a good PR, but now I'm sure I'll be lucky to break 4 hours. Oh well. I did it mainly to keep my buddy company on his long weekend runs. He is hoping for a sub 3:15 BQ time, which I'm certain he'll get.
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