Ran my long run today after an easy 4.6 yesterday Todays run : 18.25 miles AHR= 156/170 pace=8:48 What a difference between this run and my last 20 miler. Last time I felt so beat up, this time I just felt a bit sore and without the huge fatigue . I drank 32 oz. of water this time and took gu at 8 & 13 miles to see how It effected my stomach. (Gross but ok) They did give me a bit of a boost, possibly psychological ,but who cares. All I know is I felt solid the whole way. My slowest mile was a 9:30 which included a pee break. Hope this keeps up! Good Runs all , Greg DATA : http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5277636

Thanks Jimmy, Taking a rest day today. #1. It's cold #2. It's rainy #3. I'm sore #4. Had a liquid lunch with a couple of guys from work See ya ta marra, Greg

One of the last big work outs before Boston. This was all done on a track and continuous (no stopping) (yes it comes out to 50 laps but at least its accurate). The workout was 2x (20min E + 20minT) + 2miles. 20minE: 3.7k @ AHR 135, 8:44/mile 20minT: 4.7k @ AHR 166, 6:52/mile 20minE: 3.7k @ AHR 146, 8:39/mile 20minT: 4.8k @ AHR 168, 6:46/mile 2mi E: 3.1k @ AHR 144, 8:26/mile Overall 20k @ AHR 152 (MAF+7), 7:46/mile It was a good workout, except that it was freezing for an April morning (20F is cold). Still waiting for spring to show up one of these days. Hopefully, I'll be able to run in shorts outside one day before Boston. It tough to compare these workouts to my previous marathon training as I didn't use a HRM for that training, but I think this workout puts me on course with being able to go sub-3:10.

Impressive dcv2002. I'm jealous of your heart rate at 6:50 pace. We are the same age and I've got some work to do before I can hang with you.

Your max is way higher than mine though so you can't look at it that way. My max is 185-188. Yours is 197-202 right? Thats a big difference. Running at 180+ for me is basically all out sprint. Thats probably mile-3k pace for me. You ran that for multiple miles at the end of your M-Pace run.

Nice speed Greg!!! My calf seems to be drying up and there is no swelling, as in no new fluid leaking from my knee into my calf this week. I had no issue doing some 7:30 pace pickups Tuesday, so I decided to try to take on the farily steep (about 4% grade) 1.5 mile hill by my house yesterday faster than last week. I have not uploaded my Garmin data, but I did something like this: 1 mile warmup - flat 5 miles (down/up hill and 2 flatter miles) - 8:22 pace, 190 HRavg (about 87% of my max). 1 mile cool down - flat Since i feel good and really have not done any races, this was basically my race as I probably could not run much faster on this hill. My legs could have gone faster, but my heart rate was definitely the thing that kept me from going faster. I did not feel like I had done much after running and no soreness/stiffness today. I'm not happy at all about my speed, but it's nice to feel healthy. I am going to take today off (maybe do some core/resistance), long elliptical on Saturday and a 7 mile run on Sunday. If all is well, I'll try for a 20-ish miler the following weekend (doing Jimmy's 20-13-7-20 pattern)

Ace , I'm glad to see you are doing so well . You are kiickin' ass and I admire your determination on not giving in to that injury. Are you still thinking of doing the PIG ? I did a nice easy MAF run today AHR= 129/138 MAF=(137) 7 miles. The only reason I tried running that fast was I was getting bored and needed something to kick me in the butt. Good Luck & good runs , Greg

Thanks. It's hard not to run when there is no pain. Of course, the doctor told me I had a calf strain and not to run. My whole calf has been one big ugly bruise for a month, so it certainly looks like I should not be running. The intense pain (when I think my cyst ruptured versus the doctor's opinion that I tore my calf muscle) and the huge bruise scared me a bit. I probably could have been back running a week sooner than I did. Another thing---before the injury, I had a weird shin pain for many months in my first mile- it would go away after I warmed up. Since I took the time off, the first-mile shin pain has disappeared. So, at least the time off helped that- whatever it was. I don't know about the Pig. I wanted to get through my tests this week (faster pickups, hill run), which I passed. If everything stays pain free the next week, I'll do a 20 miler. If I am healthy after the 20 miler, I will likely be considering a marathon. If I have a minor setback- maybe I can still finish the half. In any event, I will sign up the day before. I don't feel like I am in great marathon shape- I think I can finish if I run slow & steady. Maybe the 2 harder runs this week will spark something and I can get a little more aerobic speed going.

Hi Greg and all, When I saw your post, I just had to reply. The other day, I did the same thing. I ran a mile about as hard as I could, and boy did it feel good. I had been patiently doing MAF for over 3 months, never once letting my HR go above MAF (except for occasional blip). I have really bought into MAF and will continue with it. But, after consulting this site for advice about when it would be ok to race, I got the OK. So, last week I did a higher HR run for about a mile (HR of about 150), and then the other day I ran that hard mile. I honestly ran it about as fast as I could. What really interested me was what my HR did. It immediately shot to the 160s and settled at about 175. I really redlined it, I think. I ran the mile in about 6:40, which is the fastest mile I have done in many years. Considering this is the first time I have attempted anythng like that, this year, I was pleased with the speed. So, I had my fun, and now it is back to MAF. Two days later, I ran a long MAF run of 7 miles ( my longest this year) and I swear my legs just moved themselves. I really think the fast run improved the speed I ran MAF and improved my stride. I ran the 7 mile coarse at an avg HR of 123 at an 11:03 min pace. That was by far my best run of the year. And this was a hilly coarse. I have finally found an ideal coarse with some steep uphills and long gradual downhilss. For the first time, after much patience I am seeing the benefits of MAF and will continue on with it. But, from day one, I can say I have felt the benefits of running MAF, and now I am finally seeing some positive results from it. I still intend to run the majority of my miles under MAF. Good luck Ace, with that injury. It does not take much to stop us in our tracks. Because of that, I definitely will continue to run most miles under MAF and follow the miles increase recommendations.

Boston training is winding down. Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day on Long Island. Good morning for a run (overcast, 50F, no wind) and the day had brilliant sun. Ran 7 miles @ 8:45/mile with no mile > MAF-5... Today was last really long run/workout before Boston. Consisted of running to the local HS track (4.92 miles). Running 2 x 3.2k with 3 min rest between each. Then after the 2nd rest running back home (4.91 miles). So a total of about 13.8 miles for the day. It was a lot chillier this AM 43F and very, very windy. So to the track was 4.92 miles @ 8:20/mile AHR 133 (MAF-12) The track was 1st 3.2k @ 6:41/mile AHR 164 AHR during 3min rest was 124, ended at 108 2nd 3.2k @ 6:40/mile AHR 165 AHR during 2nd 3min rest was 123, ended at 100 Run back was 4.91 miles @ 8:13/mile AHR 142 (MAF-3) This are rounding into shape, just gotta avoid injury and illness.