Anyway, onto the workout:

Moderate warm up, 5x400m each one with 2:30 recovery, 400m recovery, 5x400m each with a 2:30 recovery, cool down

I took advantage of the warm up to measure out a couple of quarter mile sections of Sportsplex parking lot. The local high school track was busy, the grassy soccer fields recently aerated, so parking lot it was to be.

The first couple of quarters were all about finding my pace. A stray dog didn’t help the first one (83 seconds) – thanks lady in the Subaru! The second quarter was a bit quicker, but still too slow – 78 seconds. Finally, on the third one, I found my Newton groove! 75 seconds and it felt comfortable. I followed up with a 74 and 73 and then “enjoyed” a 400m jog recovery.

I was determined to run quicker in the second set (after all, I didn’t want to let the dailymilers down, did I?) and clicked out some quick quarters – 73, 73, 73, 72 and a 71 to finish. I won’t say they were easy, but I’m confident I can run a little quicker next time, especially if the 400s are on a track.

I finished off with an easy couple of miles and used The Stick for about 10 minutes to help roll out a few knots. The Newton Gravitas and Newton Racer both performed very well, and the new Newton socks were surprisingly comfortable too. Good workout! What’s up for tomorrow?

Going into today’s workout I was a bit concerned the plan called for 6 x 400m repeats. Track work usually takes a lot out of me, and with the marathon only 5 days away I didn’t want to risk anything. What’s more, the 400m repeats had to be completed in 78 seconds, which is a pretty quick 5:12 pace for a mile.

Despite being windy and warm (15mph and 85°F respectively), it felt great to be outside on another pleasant fall day. I chose not to run on the track tonight, but instead marked out a 400m section of a parking lot. I had this strange notion that the track was too formal a workout and wanted something low key for my final “speed session” before the marathon.

My 2 mile warm up went well and my legs felt ready to run. I even changed my running shoes to the pair I plan to wear on race day — Brooks ST3 — which at 8.4oz are lightweight and should give me some sort of advantage over 26.2 miles. Just lacing them up makes you feel fast to be honest! The first 400m went well – very well actually. 76 seconds instead of the suggested 78 seconds in the plan. Question was, could I maintain it?

400m #2: another extremely quick one – this time 72 seconds! It felt fairly easy and although I had a slight tailwind, my legs felt light and speedy.

400m #3: slightly slower at 75 seconds, but still under the target. By now my breathing is becoming labored, but my legs still feel good.

400m #4: a change in wind direction meant I was fighting it for most of the 400m, but I managed to duck under the goal and record a 77 seconds. Foolishly I’d forgotten to bring a drink with me, and by now by mouth was dry and thirst had kicked in. Still, just 2 more repeats and I would be done.

400m #5: I tried really hard on this one and ended up sprinting the last 100m to finish in 73 seconds – breathing heavy, but legs still feeling good.

Final 400m: all or nothing as always is the case! I wanted this one to be the fastest of the afternoon, but it wasn’t to be. However, I matched the last 400m and recorded another 73 seconds.

All in all a great “track” workout (even though it wasn’t on a track!). 6 x 400m repeats all considerably under the goal and most pleasing of all, no injuries and no real soreness.

One more shortish tempo run on Sunday and that’s me done. At this stage in the game, there’s not much else I can do except watch what I eat and drink and take care to get enough sleep. Tomorrow I start my 4 day loading cycle of Race Day Boost, which I’ve used successfully in several previous marathons. According to the Hammer Nutrition folks it “aids increased cellular energy production and buffers performance-robbing lactic acid”. Read more about this great product here.

The training plan called for the usual 10-20 minute warm up, followed by 10x400m repeats @ 77seconds, with a 400m rest interval. The cool down was the usual 10 minutes of easy running.

I actually warmed up for close to 30 minutes. I ran too far in one direction before I realized where I was and then had to turn back to where I planned on running the 400m repeats. Oh well, it gave me a chance to stretch my legs out and run some “striders” to prepare myself for the faster pace required.

The first 5x400m were all completed under the 77 seconds goal time – 74, 75, 76, 75, 76. I must say having 400m to recover definitely helped compared to previous weeks where the recovery period was shorter.

At this point in the workout I was pursued by 4 dogs that were running loose. Their owner was fairly close by but didn’t seem to have much control over them at all. Luckily they appeared to be quite friendly and just wanted to chase me, but after slowing to a walk they seemed to lose interest and ran back to their owner.

The dog episode must have upset my concentration as the next 400m was a slower 81 seconds, but I managed to regroup and finished with 4 x 77′s to finish the workout in good style. By no means was it easy, but tonight was the first time in ages I’ve achieved what was required in a Tuesday workout. Now I have to prepare myself for Thursday’s 8 mile tempo run….