FortyP's 9 sets of Deadlift per week log

[FortyPlusRunner]

Pre-Marathon Training
Week 1
Body weight: 164 lbs
Age: very late 40s
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, TE = total elevation

xx:xx format is minutes:seconds / x:xx format is hours:minutes

Day 1 am: Recovery Run TM, 3.4 miles 30:20
Day 1 pm: Recovery Run, 470 ft TE, 6.2 miles 52:00
Day 2: Easy Run, 750 ft TE, 11.1 miles 1:34
Day 3: Med-Long Run, 690 ft TE, 15.0 miles 1:56
Day 4: Recovery Run TM 6.2 miles 53:20
Day 5: Med-Long Run, 13.1 miles 1:40
Day 6: Easy Run with 10 x 100-meter pickups, 8.1 miles 1:06
Day 7: Long Run, 20.1 miles 2:33

Mileage for the week: 83

--> DUDE! Where TF have you been?
Watching John Burk videos, of course. Those painting send-ups are hilarious.

--> So you're training for a marathon after all?
Not officially--not yet. I passed one benchmark this week--my first 20-miler--and that went fairly well. I'd like to do a lengthy marathon-pace workout (~12 miles at marathon pace) before I fully commit. I do have a family, after all, and marathon training takes a lot of time if you want to do well.

--> When's the last time you completed a 20-miler?
About 25 years ago.

--> When's the last time you logged 80+ miles in a week?
Only once before in my life have I done that, and it was 15 years ago. And back then I was running doubles (i.e., two runs per day) almost every day. I've said it before: kudos to J-Madd and his --> Ageless Athlete <-- book.

--> Your training plan looks like Pfitzinger/ Douglas.
That it is. --> Advanced Marathoning <-- is the book, and it's been working well for me. I'd supplement with --> Daniels Running Formula <--, though; the two work very well together.

--> What's with all the hills in the first three days?
Couldn't avoid them where I was. I just ran a little more slowly to make sure I didn't overdo it.

--> Speaking of which, since when do you run seven days a week? Aren't you scared of overtraining again?
Good point. And I have a long answer to that...but not now. I'll "circle back" to it.

--> Doing any strength work or SE?
Usually twice a week, but I'm just getting over Shingles, so my nervous system could use a break.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Pre-Marathon Training
Week 2
Body weight: 163 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, TE = total elevation

xx:xx format is minutes:seconds / x:xx format is hours:minutes

Day 1: Recovery TM 6.0 mil 52:00
Day 2: Easy 9.1 mil 1:13
Day 3: Easy+ 8.0 mil 1:02
Day 4: Easy with 5 x 20-second pickups 6.1 mil 48:00
Day 5 am: Recovery TM 3.0 mil 26:00
Day 5 pm: 6 x 400 @ 10K - 5K pace; 1.5 mil
Day 6: TIME TRIAL 10K 39:56; 10 mil total
Day 7: Long 16.1 mil 2:00

Many sets of push-ups, pull-ups, and air squats sprinkled in, usually on recovery days

Mileage for the week: ~60

This looks like a recovery / easy week. You're correct--especially after the 80+ last week. It got pretty hot here pretty fast, so I'm running at 05:30 or else on the TM.

That's a pretty good 10K for you, isn't it? It's the second-fastest 10K I've run in the past 15 years, and the fastest I've run one in the middle of a training week (i.e. no taper). And this recent one means more because it was run under much tougher conditions.

Yeah, as in, why did you do 6 x 400 the day before your time trial?! Couldn't avoid it: I had committed to volunteer at a bicycle camp for disabled kids, and this one kid--once she got started, which was the tricky part for her--just started ripping at 9-10mph around the track, which is pretty fast for those kids at that camp. So of course "the runner" in the group got to keep up with her. Which was fine. I may have even gotten a little emotional about it, but we won't talk about that.

So...marathon? I'll decide after next week: I still want to do a marathon-pace run as a final confirmation.

What shoes are you liking lately? Depends on the run. If I were you, though, I'd pick up a pair of Endorphin Shifts before they're gone. They're on sale everywhere now because version 2 is out, but version 2 is little more than a touchup. I'm usually happy to get 250 miles out of a pair of shoes (200 for a lightweight / racing shoe), but I got 350 out of my Endorphin Shifts. Some guys are reporting 600, even 700 miles out of them; they're just workhorses.

Any thoughts on the Shelby Houlihan fiasco? If she is innocent, I pray that the truth comes out. But there are several problems I have with everything I've read on the case that keep me skeptical at best. First, to be one of the best track stars in the world and say that you've never heard of nandrolone beggars belief. Even I've heard of it, and I'm just your average old-guy age-grouper (doesn't everybody who's lifted weights know someone who used Deca?). Second, check the details of the Bizec 2000 study: you'd have to eat 2/3rds of a pound of organ meat to trigger a positive test. That's probably more protein than she consumes in an entire day. Finally, almost all athletes who reach this level of competition are, to some extent, OCD. (KB makes this very point in one of the TB books.) Why would you *not* know every single banned substance backward and forward and *not* do everything possible to make sure you avoid them like the plague? Hasn't everyone read Tyler Hamilton's The Secret Race? Anyway, as I said, I pray that the truth comes out.

[FortyPlusRunner]

**Log change alert**

I'm going to keep a separate log to chronicle my marathon buildup. That way, anyone who's interested in seeing just my marathon prep will have a self-contained way to do it. Please see "FortyPlusRunner's Marathon Training log" if you're interested.

I won't update this log until after the marathon.