Half-marathon training: Hanson’s week 16

Race day is not far away – received my confirmation sheet for the Dec. 7 San Antonio RnR Half. This is the last hard week before the taper (48 miles this week, then 40 and then 37 race week). Extended this week to 51 miles, most I’ve done in one week in many years.

This week the strength run is a 4 x 1.5 mile on Tuesday, tempo run on Thursday is 6 miles. It also has a 12 mile Long Run on Sunday. Total target mileage 48 miles.

The previous week’s log is here.

Week 16 schedule: 4 x 1.5 splits

  • Monday: Easy 5 mi – EASY run 5 mile, 45:32, 9:06 pace. Ran around the neighborhood because of the threat of rain. GPS always seems to track me faster here (home field advantage!) but 5 miles does feel easier after 15 weeks.
  • Tuesday: Strength 4 x 1.5 miles with 1.5 mile warm up and cool down – STRENGTH RUN  7.5 mi in 1:05:23, 8:43 pace. EASY RUN warm up 1.75 mi in 16:36, 9:28 pace; EASY RUN 1.5 mi in 15:34, 10:23 pace to cool down. The first three felt good; the last one had to really push on. That fact is easier to see in the splits chart to the right than in the elevation chart below.

4 x 1.5 miles

  • Wednesday: off day.tempo run splits
  • Thursday: Tempo Run 6 mi (with 1.5 easy warm up and cool down runs) – EASY RUN to warm up 1.5 mi in 15:12, 10:08 pace  TEMPO RUN 6 mi in 51:17, 8:32 pace, EASY RUN to cool down, 1.5 mi in 15:12, 10:08 pace. Much better than last week’s treadmill-boring run. The pace to run a 1:50 half (a sub 1:50 is my goal) is 8:46; the pace for a 1:48 is 8:35. I’ve been consistently doing my tempo runs in the 8:30s, and my long run last week was purposefully in the 8:46 range (just to see if I can do what I’m training to do). In this tempo run (and on Sunday’s long run) I’m focusing on negative splits. According to the splits chart, I did ok except for mile five.
  • Friday: easy 5 mi – EASY RUN 6 miles in the RAIN! in 58:57, 9:50 pace. According to my wife, my rain gear and hiking hat get-up would have caused people to stare if anyone else was dumb enough to be out in the rain. But the six was completed, and it stopped raining enough halfway through that I could ditch the water-logged hiking hat. I have a half-hearted goal to hit 50 miles this week, so I tacked on another mile.
  • Saturday: easy 6 mi – EASY RUN 7.26 miles 1:08:12 at 9:24 pace. From rain to warmish (60) and humid. No idea what the weather down the road in SA will be like in two weeks.
  • Sunday: LONG 12 mi – LONG RUN 13 mi in 1:55:13, 8:52 pace. Rained all night, but the morning was clear and a bit windy, temps in the 60s. Last long wrong, so I tacked on a mile to get close to the half-marathon distance.

Plan total: EASY (5+3+3+5+6+12) = 34 miles + TEMPO 6 + 4 x 1.5 miles  =  48 miles

Actual total: EASY (5+3.25+3.25+6+7.25+13) = 37.75 miles and TEMPO 6 miles + 4 x 1.5 mile (7.5 miles) =  51.25 miles

Next week, week number 17, has a 6 x 1 mile Strength run (the bottom of the ladder), goes down to five miles on the Tempo  and there is no Long run. Total is still 40 miles, the start of the TAPER!!!!

If you run in the Cypress Creek area, you may see these postings for the Cypress Creek Trails Master Plan. Survey is here, and their Facebook is here.

CCTMP

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