Six weeks to the Milwaukee Marathon!

Yes, Sunday, actually marked the 'six weeks to go' milestone. Yeah, six weeks is NOT a lot of time to get my training in. It makes me want to run everyday, because I know, like everything else we highly anticipate (or we dread), I will be waking up one morning soon and it will be Mary Day!

Marathon Training update;

Training is progressing good to above average, IMO. No injuries to speak of (knocking on wood desk as I type this), standard aches and pains, shoes feel decent, my average HR has been progressively getting lower, even on longer runs. My weight, well, still about the same, I've lost about 3-4 lbs this month, I wanted to knock off another 10 lbs, but that will be easier said than done. I would really like to come in around 186 (OK, I want 185 on race day), but I just don't have enough time to get long, long distance slow calorie burning workouts in at this point. I mean, I could hit the bike on my 'rest day', and do a 3 hr ride, burn of like 1,500-2,000 kilo calories. Or I could schedule some trainer time, ride at night late before bed, or do some bricks and burn the legs up with a one hour ride after a run. But, I feel like I really have to get maximum run miles in at this point in my training.

That is one thing I've noticed, in the running vs. bicycle training topic again, I seem to burn more calories during a long bike ride than on a long run. Now it might be a little like comparing apples to Coors Lite, because for me, a long slow base ride might last anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hrs. My longer runs, well, even my longest to date was only about 55 min and 57 min, back to back, only about a 5 minute rest, respectively. And on longer runs, I'm running a much higher average HR than when I am biking for 40-100 miles. For a run, after training as much as I have, the avg HR is 150-155 bpm. For the bike, I might avg only 143-147 bpm, not a huge difference, but when you are looking are fat calories burned, the low range I hit in the bike rides takes more of these calories, instead of heading towards the slippery 'red zone' and anaerobic territory. On that note, I'd like to hop on the bike and do my out and back test route to I94 now, and compare the HR I hit versus earlier in the year when I was training for FLETC PUT. I'd be willing to bet my HR on the bike would be lower now too, even though I haven't been on my bike in almost one month! That in of itself, is astounding to me, that I'd even want to run more than be out on my bike riding the western Racine CO roads, in search of the ever elusive hills. But marathon is calling, it is close...must concentrate...

So it's late, I'll post my updated workouts, the post reunion celebration made me take THREE days off, that was bad:

8/18: 4.5 miler, 37:16 at 8:19 pace
8/19: 10k, 53:09 at 8:01 pace (fast for me right now)
8/20: 10k, 54:15
8/21: rest day!
8/22: 10k #1, 55:13 at 8:43 pace; 10k #2, 57:54 at 9:07 pace
8/23: 10k, 52:52
8/24: 10k, 53:00

So, not bad mileage in the past 7 days, 42.73 miles and 4,673 kcals burned up. I will run tomorrow, and then I need to plan the rest of the week and weekend carefully. I'm off Fri and Sat, but we're going to Chicago to see John Ondrasik on Friday night and Say afternoon is Ab's four year birthday party. Hmmm, going to have to juggle some things by Friday to run, as I'll be busy!