End of Week Six - Move to Endurance Phase (12-14-07)

Based on my original plan, this was to be the last week in my Base building phase. After six weeks of running four times per week and gradually increasing the length of the runs, I thought I would be ready for the transition to the Endurance Phase. In last week’s report, I hinted that I might extend the Base Phase another week. I have decided to stick with the plan and move into the Endurance Phase next week.

Week six called for 22 total miles. Two 5 milers and two 6 milers was the plan and I was able to put in all four runs and complete all the miles as planned.

My first run of the week was outdoors at Ridley Creek State Park. It was a good 6 mile run. My overall pace for the run was 9:24, but the final 3 miles were run at a pace slightly faster that 9:00. I was happy with this run. Since I wasn’t able to get out for this run until Monday, my remaining three runs would have be done with little rest.

I ran three consecutive days (Wed-Thu-Fri) at the Y. These were all slow runs ranging from 9:34 to 9:58. This caused my weekly pace to the slowest since Week Two. I am finding that my outdoor running pace is faster than the electronic paces on the treadmill. I’m a little surprised that the hills and cold weather are not slowing me down more. So these slow treadmill workouts are not as much of a concern as they were before.

When I started this plan, one of my goals was to lose some weight. At the start of my training I weighed in at 203 lbs. I am unfortunately one of those people with fluctuating body weight. At 6’1”, 203 is on the heavy side for me. At the end of this week, I weighed in at 198; a five pound loss. I had hoped to lose more, but I never seem to lose much weight when I am running higher mileage than usual. I’m confident that by the time of the Ocean Drive Marathon (3/30/08), I’ll be at 190 or below without any problem.

Next week I am going to start the 8 week Endurance Phase of my plan. After some hesitance I am ready to start the weekly long runs. These weekly long runs are the basis for all marathon plans, and now they will take center stage in my training for the next couple months.

I will start with a 9 miler this weekend and then bump it up by 2 miles each week. The plan has me doing a 23 miler on 2/2/08. During the Endurance Phase I am rewarded with the cut back to just three days of running. I will start off with two 6 milers for my mid-week runs. Every other week I will bump that up by 1 mile. So by the time I am doing the 23 miler, my mid-week runs will be at 9 miles. The week of 2/2/08 will be my highest mileage week (41 miles). While I have confidence in the plan, I will need to take each week as it comes and adjust if necessary.
For those who are thinking how I could have my last long run 7 weeks before the race, don’t worry. I also have two more 20+ mile runs placed in the final 5 weeks of the plan.

After doing the 6 milers at the Y this past week, I have come to the opinion that 6 miles is about my limit for indoor running. If I stick with that opinion, it means that I will be doing most of my running outdoors in late December and January. With the short days, I will also need to be running in the dark. Maybe I won’t stick with that opinion,,, we shall see.

One last thought of my move to the Endurance Phase. In earlier reports, I brought up my desire to run lots of miles at Marathon Pace. That has just not materialized and I don’t know how it will during the next phase when I will either be running long miles or recovering from running long miles. Don’t be surprised if I adjust the plan to fit in some tempo running at race pace.

For the Base Phase, I get an A for doing the miles and perfect attendance, but a C for my pace. I’ll take a solid B average for the phase.