Tomorrow is the 2018 TCS NYC Marathon and we’ve got Kelsey Bruce, of the Greater Texas Track Club, racing her 4th marathon! Kelsey debuted in the marathon at the 2016 Olympic Trials and has run faster in each marathon she has raced leading into this year’s edition of the New York City Marathon!
I am hoping the trend continues tomorrow…and I believe with the training that Kelsey has put in that she’ll be able to run a new personal best and compete to be a top-5 American finisher in one of the deepest fields that she’s ever faced.
So, why do I have confidence in this marathon?
The first is simply the training that she’s put in. We did our usual and focused on the track season in the spring and came away with some nice personal best times in the 3000 meters, 5000 meters, and 10,000 meters…that was imperative to continue improving her times over the marathon. So, coming into the summer base training we looked to re-establish her base and then get into the serious marathon training…and that’s what we did.
Kelsey ran all of the major sessions that we’ve done in the past and did them well, in worst weather conditions than she did in any other previous build up. In fact, she was equal to or faster in every session that she did before last year’s CIM Marathon, where she finished in a PR of 2:34:03.
So, what were those sessions?
1 — 22 miles w/ miles 16-20 miles being at ~5:45/mile pace.
2 — The Virginia 10-miler race in 57:40 (extremely hill).
3 — 3 x 4 miles w/ a 1-mile float in 5:45/mile, 5:45/mile, 5:45/mile…averaging 5:52/mile pace for the entire 14 miles continuous.
4 — 4 miles tempo + 10 miles steady + 4 miles tempo in 5:44/mile, 6:20/mile, and 5:48/mile pace…or 6:00/mile pace for the 18 miles.
5 — 4 miles + 3 miles + 2 miles + 1 mile in 5:45/mile pace, 5:40/mile pace, 5:40/mile pace, and 5:27/mile pace.
6 — 10 miles easy + 10 miles at marathon pace in 5:52/mile.
7 — 10,000 meter tempo run in 35:30 (5:42/mile pace).
8 — 10 miles w/ last 3 miles tempo in 16:44 (5:25 last mile).
She’s done the training…there’s no doubt about that.
The second, and main reason that I am sure she’ll continue the trend of getting better in every marathon that she races is that she prepares so well. She’ll know exactly what she needs to do and she’ll race extremely smart. The marathon is like a checklist…each mile is something you are just checking off; and the way that we prepare…you know what you can do and you just go out and do that. You don’t get caught up in the surging and pace changes…you run YOUR RACE…and Kelsey does a great job of preparing to do that and executing that.
Tomorrow is race day…and the preparation is done!!!
LET’S GO!!!
Phillips Running 