Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 3x2000m progression (8:10, 8:09, 8:13)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 7-miles (3-mile tempo + 2-mile tempo)
Fri: 4-miles
Sat: 12-miles
Sun: 7-miles (w/ some single track)
Total: 48-miles
Highest mileage week since the first week in October... wahooo! I hit my goal of upper-40's, but most of it was pretty slow. It was disgusting on Monday. Only Newt, Matt, and I showed up, and we decided to take it easy and run with Big Mike (or Tall Mike really, he's not proportionately that big). The easy part was nice, the cold and rain was not. Plus, I think we hit every freaking light possible. Needless to say, I felt pretty miserable by the end of the run. Wednesday's run felt good, but I didn't realize we were going that slow! Oh well, I guess if I'm trying to build a base, then I should worry about miles and not pace. Since I didn't get a double in Monday or Wednesday (like I was hoping to), I decided to "make up" the miles on Friday. Plus, I was experimenting with Dydula's observation that running everyday made him feel looser, and his runs were going better... and Friday's run felt fine.
Tuesday's track workout went... eh. At least it wasn't raining, but it was kind of cold and windy. I didn't feel well all day either (well, really for a few days); my throat hurt and I had a slight bit of a cough. That did not make the longer repeats easy, especially since we were supposed to be getting faster throughout. The goal of the workout was to start at half-marathon pace (for me, 6:50) and drop 10sec/mile every 500m. So, aside from the wonky math that works out to (which I did figure out in excel ahead of time), trying to hit paces in the dark is kind of hard. The first one was probably the only one I did right. The second one was way too fast through the mile, and the last lap was definitely slower than the fourth. I was pretty dead by the last repeat, and my breathing wasn't great. Also, I realized after the first 200m that I forgot to reset my watch. I was a few seconds fast through 1200m, but I have no clue about the mile split. I pushed with everything I had the last 400m, and hit 8:13, which was the right total time. I'm pretty sure though that I ran pretty much the same pace for the whole repeat. I was definitely dead after that one, and it took a while for me to get my breathing back. The longer repeats are definitely harder for me. But, Allison was there! It was nice to run/talk with her again.
I have no idea what was up with my watch on Thursday. The first four miles look right (1E + 3T). Then we did an easy few minutes. I thought I stated my watch when we started tempo-ing again, but when I looked down when we turned from Glenwood to Peace St., my watch was reading the actual time of day, so I figured I must not have hit start hard enough. So, I didn't worry about my watch for the rest of the run and deiced to go off of what Matt had. Oddly though, my watch was reading something, although my tempo splits are off. Matt had himself at ~7:10 pace for the last 2-mile tempo section. I'm guessing I was at ~7:20 pace (I didn't finish too far behind him, but he was definitely waiting at the top of Cameron Village for a bit longer). All and all, I am pretty happy with that run. Although the first 3-mile tempo was mostly downhill to flat, my pace was pretty good, and we did have to head up some hills on Boylan. A 7:20 pace from Glenwood to the intersection of Clark and Brooks is pretty good considering all of the freaking hills. And, I didn't feel like I was dying on either of those tempo sections.
Saturday's run felt ok. I was just tired (and coughing a lot at the end... Broll and Jim said I looked really pale when I got back inside... not sure if I was just cold or what). The Galloway run was from the store, so that meant we had to get our run in early. The original workout that Broll had come up with was 100min w/ last 20min at tempo. Then, he didn't show up. Dydula wanted to run long and easy, so we headed out with him. Brandon and I (and Matt in spirit... he had stopped at Crabtree to use the bathroom) turned at 6-miles, and Dydula kept going. I tried to pick it up a little on the way back, and looking at the splits, it looks like I did. Matt apparently tempo-ed back to Longstreet to catch us... poor Matt!
Sunday's run was ok too. There was a free trail run in Umstead, and coach thought it would be a good idea for us to "mingle" with other runners. Well, the majority of our group dropped Newt, Dave, and I (none of us are good trail runners) after ~0.25-miles. Then, the three of us took a wrong turn. After ~3.5miles of trail running, we had popped back out and said screw it and took the bridle path back. Although I know trail running is good "cross training", I can only take so much of it before my injury risk goes up. It also makes me appreciate roads. I would be dead if I had to get everywhere on single track trails!
So, this week went pretty good. Lots of slow miles, which I'm not sure how I feel about, but my legs are feeling better. I didn't get a double in (maybe next week), but I ran everyday. I also added an ab workout to my routine 3 days a week, except I do one set in the morning and one set at night (honestly, one set takes me close to 15min!). If my abs hurting means I'm getting stronger, then I'm getting stronger.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
12/2 - 12/8
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 4x1000m (3:56-4:00), 4x400m (87-89)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 7-miles (North Hills, but not hard)
Fri: 6-miles
Sat: 11-miles (90min)
Sun: Swim (1300yd ladder w/ 100yd pull, 5x50yd hard, 200yd cooldown, 150yd aquajog)
Total: 41.5 miles
Time to start re-building a base! Monday's and Wednesday's runs both felt good. However, I was up late both Tuesday and Wednesday night, and that started to take a toll by Thursday. Also, I've felt like I was on the brink of getting a head cold all week, and it was freaking hot and humid on Thursday and Friday. So, neither of those runs were that awesome.
Tuesday's track workout was ok. I really didn't have anyone to run with on the 1000's, so that was a little challenging. They were still a little fast (they were supposed to be at 10k, so I was aiming 4:05-4:10), but not as fast as I've been able to do them before. The 400's were a slight shock to the system, I haven't run that fast in a while. Again, they were fast for what they were supposed to be (aka 5k pace, which would be ~1:35), but not as fast as I was doing them over the summer. So, I don't know where that leaves me.
I had intended to do more of a tempo run on Thursday, but I felt like crap after the first mile so that didn't really happen. I also cut it "short"... 7 instead of 8. I was tired, my breathing was off, and my shins and feet hurt. This usually happens if my legs are a little swollen, and they did feel heavy. I'm guessing this might have been due to the sudden return of spring, because it was pretty hot and humid. Anyways, I'm supposed to be working on re-building a base, so slowing down isn't the worst thing in the world. Plus, I still was running on North Hills, which is difficult regardless of the pace owing to the hills. And, I have to remember, I didn't run a whole lot the last 1.5+ weeks, especially at any intensity, so...
I decided to run Friday morning since it was supposed to be disgusting this weekend. Matt and I did an easy run from the house. By Saturday morning, it was already getting disgusting. It was raining when we started, and it was cold. Once we got moving, it was ok, but it was still kind of raw outside. We ended up doing 90min (45min out-and-back... the two halves were surprisingly even split) versus gate-to-gate. That put us at 11-miles, which was 1-mile short of what I ideally wanted to run. But, it was gross out, so at least I did something.
Sunday's swim felt good. It was again miserable outside (even colder and more steady drizzle than the day before), so I'm not too upset I didn't run. Plus, I probably swam for an hour, and it was at least as good a workout as running easy for that length of time. I'm guessing my heart rate was even a bit higher, and it was definitely a better core workout. I need to convince myself that cross training really does make me a better runner.
Maybe I'll try a short double next week (although the first half of the week looks pretty miserable). Or, maybe start working on core strength more. Or, maybe both. I would like to be at 45+ miles by next week. My goal is to start the year in the 50-mile range again. But, that's going to be hard with traveling!
Tues: 4x1000m (3:56-4:00), 4x400m (87-89)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 7-miles (North Hills, but not hard)
Fri: 6-miles
Sat: 11-miles (90min)
Sun: Swim (1300yd ladder w/ 100yd pull, 5x50yd hard, 200yd cooldown, 150yd aquajog)
Total: 41.5 miles
Time to start re-building a base! Monday's and Wednesday's runs both felt good. However, I was up late both Tuesday and Wednesday night, and that started to take a toll by Thursday. Also, I've felt like I was on the brink of getting a head cold all week, and it was freaking hot and humid on Thursday and Friday. So, neither of those runs were that awesome.
Tuesday's track workout was ok. I really didn't have anyone to run with on the 1000's, so that was a little challenging. They were still a little fast (they were supposed to be at 10k, so I was aiming 4:05-4:10), but not as fast as I've been able to do them before. The 400's were a slight shock to the system, I haven't run that fast in a while. Again, they were fast for what they were supposed to be (aka 5k pace, which would be ~1:35), but not as fast as I was doing them over the summer. So, I don't know where that leaves me.
I had intended to do more of a tempo run on Thursday, but I felt like crap after the first mile so that didn't really happen. I also cut it "short"... 7 instead of 8. I was tired, my breathing was off, and my shins and feet hurt. This usually happens if my legs are a little swollen, and they did feel heavy. I'm guessing this might have been due to the sudden return of spring, because it was pretty hot and humid. Anyways, I'm supposed to be working on re-building a base, so slowing down isn't the worst thing in the world. Plus, I still was running on North Hills, which is difficult regardless of the pace owing to the hills. And, I have to remember, I didn't run a whole lot the last 1.5+ weeks, especially at any intensity, so...
I decided to run Friday morning since it was supposed to be disgusting this weekend. Matt and I did an easy run from the house. By Saturday morning, it was already getting disgusting. It was raining when we started, and it was cold. Once we got moving, it was ok, but it was still kind of raw outside. We ended up doing 90min (45min out-and-back... the two halves were surprisingly even split) versus gate-to-gate. That put us at 11-miles, which was 1-mile short of what I ideally wanted to run. But, it was gross out, so at least I did something.
Sunday's swim felt good. It was again miserable outside (even colder and more steady drizzle than the day before), so I'm not too upset I didn't run. Plus, I probably swam for an hour, and it was at least as good a workout as running easy for that length of time. I'm guessing my heart rate was even a bit higher, and it was definitely a better core workout. I need to convince myself that cross training really does make me a better runner.
Maybe I'll try a short double next week (although the first half of the week looks pretty miserable). Or, maybe start working on core strength more. Or, maybe both. I would like to be at 45+ miles by next week. My goal is to start the year in the 50-mile range again. But, that's going to be hard with traveling!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
November Recap
November was supposed to be a recovery month, and I guess you could say it was. After running City of Oaks on November 3rd, I decided to cross train more to let my hamstring get better. I tried to maintain the "quality" workouts each week, but cut back on quantity. I pretty much did that for the first 3 weeks. The end of the month didn't see much in the way of training due to travel. My cousin got married in Las Vegas the Sunday before Thanksgiving, then we went back to Boston for Thanksgiving, and then visited Matt's parents for a day. It was good to spend time with our families, so I'm not as upset as I normally would be about missing that much training. However, I would have hoped that my hamstring would have felt a lot better after all of this! [training log]
Total: 141 miles
Total: 141 miles
11/25 - 12/1
Mon: Eliptical (35min)
Tues: 6-miles
Wed: Treadmill Progression Workout
Thurs: 6-miles
Fri: off
Sat: off
Sun: 8-miles
Total: 26 miles
Training this week was pretty abysmal due to traveling. Matt and I woke up early on Monday and were pretty much packed, so we went down to the hotel gym for a little bit before breakfast. I didn't much feel like running on a treadmill, so I did the eliptical instead. I was still pretty tight from traveling on Tuesday when we did our 6-mile run. Thursday's run was cold and windy, and Sunday's run was just cold. My hamstring/hip/back felt tight both days. I don't know if it was from traveling, or shopping (in the case of Sunday), or what. But, I would have hoped that after all of this time of not running I would have felt better.
Wednesday's "treadmill progression workout" happened. I was somewhat relieved that I made it through because it means that I'm not in awful shape. Basically, this workout involves a warm-up mile, then a tempo section, then a half mile cooldown. The tempo section starts at marathon pace (for me, 7:30), and I increase the pace by 0.1mph every 1/2-mile until I reach half marathon pace (for me, 6:53). This takes about 4-miles. And, although it doesn't sound that hard written out, it's psychologically challenging to know you increased the pace when you're tired. I have always found this workout challenging, more so if I'm tired or not in shape. The first half of the workout isn't bad, but the last mile isn't fun. Then, for kicks, I did a half mile more (for a total of 4.5-miles), finishing the last 200yds at 10k pace (for me, 6:40; this involved increasing the pace by 0.3mph over the course of 1/2-mile). I have done this workout before where the tempo has lasted 4.5-miles, with a "for kicks" 1/2-mile to follow down to 10k pace (i.e., increasing by 0.2mph over the last 1/2-mile for a total distance of 5-miles).
Tues: 6-miles
Wed: Treadmill Progression Workout
Thurs: 6-miles
Fri: off
Sat: off
Sun: 8-miles
Total: 26 miles
Training this week was pretty abysmal due to traveling. Matt and I woke up early on Monday and were pretty much packed, so we went down to the hotel gym for a little bit before breakfast. I didn't much feel like running on a treadmill, so I did the eliptical instead. I was still pretty tight from traveling on Tuesday when we did our 6-mile run. Thursday's run was cold and windy, and Sunday's run was just cold. My hamstring/hip/back felt tight both days. I don't know if it was from traveling, or shopping (in the case of Sunday), or what. But, I would have hoped that after all of this time of not running I would have felt better.
Wednesday's "treadmill progression workout" happened. I was somewhat relieved that I made it through because it means that I'm not in awful shape. Basically, this workout involves a warm-up mile, then a tempo section, then a half mile cooldown. The tempo section starts at marathon pace (for me, 7:30), and I increase the pace by 0.1mph every 1/2-mile until I reach half marathon pace (for me, 6:53). This takes about 4-miles. And, although it doesn't sound that hard written out, it's psychologically challenging to know you increased the pace when you're tired. I have always found this workout challenging, more so if I'm tired or not in shape. The first half of the workout isn't bad, but the last mile isn't fun. Then, for kicks, I did a half mile more (for a total of 4.5-miles), finishing the last 200yds at 10k pace (for me, 6:40; this involved increasing the pace by 0.3mph over the course of 1/2-mile). I have done this workout before where the tempo has lasted 4.5-miles, with a "for kicks" 1/2-mile to follow down to 10k pace (i.e., increasing by 0.2mph over the last 1/2-mile for a total distance of 5-miles).
11/18 - 11/24
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 4x1-mile (6:29, 24, 21, 28)
Wed: 6.5-miles
Thurs: 8-miles (North Hills w/ some tempo)
Fri: 8-miles
Sat: off
Sun: off
Total: 34.5 miles
Since I knew that I probably wouldn't be running a lot from Saturday to Saturday, I said screw it and ran Monday and Wednesday. I know, crazy. I had intended to maybe try and do yoga or swimming and running on one of those days, but I really didn't feel like waking up a the crack of dawn. Oh well.
Monday's run felt pretty good. It was like the old days with Dave and Sean, except Matt ran with us too this time. Wednesday's run felt ok, maybe a little quick at points. Thursday's run was eh. It actually felt slower than what we averaged, so I guess that's good. I didn't want to push it too much because I wanted to run on Friday and my hamstring hurts more on the hills. Friday's run was relaxing. I didn't get to run Saturday or Sunday because of traveling, the wedding, etc.
Tuesday's track workout surprised me. We were supposed to be doing the miles at 10k pace, which is supposed to be 6:35 for me in training. I have relaxed this momentarily to 6:35-6:40 because 6:40 was my former training 10k pace (and 6:35 seems fast to me). Four miles at this pace seemed a bit daunting when I saw the workout because we haven't done a whole lot of longer repeats. The 3x2000's a couple weeks ago were hard, and a mile is only one lap short of a 2000m... and we had 4 to do. The group went out slow for the first one, which was nice because I got to tag along through the 1200m. I was surprised when I stopped my watch and it read 6:29 because we had come through the 800m in 3:20. Rita took off on the second mile and stayed with the first group (who was now on pace for a 6:15) at least through the 1200m mark. I was pacing mostly by myself, but trying to see if I could reel Rita in. I was surprised at the 6:24, but that was mostly because the first two laps of that repeat were faster than the first. The 6:21 on the third repeat was definitely a surprise. Rita and I started a little ahead of the group, but the caught us by the 500m mark. I think we must have got sucked in or something. The last repeat we tried to hit closer to 6:35 because we were all over the place on the previous three (Dave was too and we were all trying to hit the same time). We were on pace for 6:35 or slightly faster through the 1200m mark, and then pushed it a little bit the last lap because it was the last lap.
Tues: 4x1-mile (6:29, 24, 21, 28)
Wed: 6.5-miles
Thurs: 8-miles (North Hills w/ some tempo)
Fri: 8-miles
Sat: off
Sun: off
Total: 34.5 miles
Since I knew that I probably wouldn't be running a lot from Saturday to Saturday, I said screw it and ran Monday and Wednesday. I know, crazy. I had intended to maybe try and do yoga or swimming and running on one of those days, but I really didn't feel like waking up a the crack of dawn. Oh well.
Monday's run felt pretty good. It was like the old days with Dave and Sean, except Matt ran with us too this time. Wednesday's run felt ok, maybe a little quick at points. Thursday's run was eh. It actually felt slower than what we averaged, so I guess that's good. I didn't want to push it too much because I wanted to run on Friday and my hamstring hurts more on the hills. Friday's run was relaxing. I didn't get to run Saturday or Sunday because of traveling, the wedding, etc.
Tuesday's track workout surprised me. We were supposed to be doing the miles at 10k pace, which is supposed to be 6:35 for me in training. I have relaxed this momentarily to 6:35-6:40 because 6:40 was my former training 10k pace (and 6:35 seems fast to me). Four miles at this pace seemed a bit daunting when I saw the workout because we haven't done a whole lot of longer repeats. The 3x2000's a couple weeks ago were hard, and a mile is only one lap short of a 2000m... and we had 4 to do. The group went out slow for the first one, which was nice because I got to tag along through the 1200m. I was surprised when I stopped my watch and it read 6:29 because we had come through the 800m in 3:20. Rita took off on the second mile and stayed with the first group (who was now on pace for a 6:15) at least through the 1200m mark. I was pacing mostly by myself, but trying to see if I could reel Rita in. I was surprised at the 6:24, but that was mostly because the first two laps of that repeat were faster than the first. The 6:21 on the third repeat was definitely a surprise. Rita and I started a little ahead of the group, but the caught us by the 500m mark. I think we must have got sucked in or something. The last repeat we tried to hit closer to 6:35 because we were all over the place on the previous three (Dave was too and we were all trying to hit the same time). We were on pace for 6:35 or slightly faster through the 1200m mark, and then pushed it a little bit the last lap because it was the last lap.
Monday, November 18, 2013
11/11 - 11/17
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 4x400m (98,3,2,2); 6x800m (3:17,15,16,11,16,19); 4x200m strides
Wed: 6 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull, 100yd cooldown, 100yd aqua jog
Thurs: 8-miles (North Hills Drive)
Fri: 90min Hot Yoga
Sat: 12-miles
Sun: 8-miles
Total: 40.5 miles
Decided to add one day back of running this week. That and I wasn't sure how bad Tuesday's weather was going to be. So, I added back Monday, and it felt ok. Wednesday's swim workout was nothing to write home about, although it felt pretty good. Friday's yoga went well too, although she had us lay on our back and straighten our leg up in the air and I heard something creaking, cracking, and/or popping in my right leg. It was weird. Like the front of my leg... kind of my knee... but not really. I'm not sure what that was about, but it started doing that when my knee was bugging me in the spring.
Tuesday's track workout was somewhat miserable. It was cold, windy, and raining/sleeting/snowing. And the wind was on the "finishing straightaway". We were supposed to do 6x800m at half marathon pace and 4x400m at 10k pace. Matt and I started a little early and did the 400's first so that we could to the 800's with the group. The first one was at goal 10k pace, then I sped up a bit because who really does 400's at 10k pace?! I'm guessing the first one was a little bit slower too because we were finishing into the wind/sleet and probably still getting warmed up. The rest were still a bit slower than usual (although significantly faster than the first), but it was gross and we were technically supposed to be going slower than usual. The 800's were more consistent, although again slower than usual. But, again, they were supposed to be. We did 4x200m strides to finish the workout (there was some grumbling about the number of 800's, but I figured they were more important than the 400's, so I decided that's where we would cut the workout, although Matt and I had actually already done them).
Thursday's run didn't feel that great. I felt like I was struggling to keep up, then I just let myself get dropped once we got to North Hills. Matt stayed with me, which was good. I tried to "comfortably push" the run. My hamstring kind of hurt though... and I didn't have my inhaler... and I was kind of tired. We took it a little easier on the way back and stayed with a guy who had fallen off the pack (he's coming back from an injury). We got beeped at when we were running on the sidewalk. That's a new one!
Saturday's and Sunday's runs both felt pretty good. I wasn't sure how far I was going to run on Saturday, but I felt pretty good and decided to turn it around at 6-miles before I started not feeling good. Running flatter on the greenway definitely helped, but I still didn't want to push it too much above what I did last week. I ran a new section of the greenway (for me) on Sunday with the group. It was nice to run with them again, and we semi-pushed Centennial Campus Parkway and it didn't feel awful. My right leg seems to get tired quicker than my left though. Oh well. My hamstring still hurts sometimes, but more when I'm sitting versus running.
We're leaving this Friday for my cousin's wedding and Thanksgiving, so I'm not sure how much training I'm going to get in. It will be a good break, even if I don't thing that at the time. I'll see how I feel Wednesday about adding in that day of running. I might try and squeeze yoga in some morning and run "long" on Friday morning. We'll see. I'm not sure what the schedule in the lab is this week. We seem to be having a lot of meetings!
Tues: 4x400m (98,3,2,2); 6x800m (3:17,15,16,11,16,19); 4x200m strides
Wed: 6 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull, 100yd cooldown, 100yd aqua jog
Thurs: 8-miles (North Hills Drive)
Fri: 90min Hot Yoga
Sat: 12-miles
Sun: 8-miles
Total: 40.5 miles
Decided to add one day back of running this week. That and I wasn't sure how bad Tuesday's weather was going to be. So, I added back Monday, and it felt ok. Wednesday's swim workout was nothing to write home about, although it felt pretty good. Friday's yoga went well too, although she had us lay on our back and straighten our leg up in the air and I heard something creaking, cracking, and/or popping in my right leg. It was weird. Like the front of my leg... kind of my knee... but not really. I'm not sure what that was about, but it started doing that when my knee was bugging me in the spring.
Tuesday's track workout was somewhat miserable. It was cold, windy, and raining/sleeting/snowing. And the wind was on the "finishing straightaway". We were supposed to do 6x800m at half marathon pace and 4x400m at 10k pace. Matt and I started a little early and did the 400's first so that we could to the 800's with the group. The first one was at goal 10k pace, then I sped up a bit because who really does 400's at 10k pace?! I'm guessing the first one was a little bit slower too because we were finishing into the wind/sleet and probably still getting warmed up. The rest were still a bit slower than usual (although significantly faster than the first), but it was gross and we were technically supposed to be going slower than usual. The 800's were more consistent, although again slower than usual. But, again, they were supposed to be. We did 4x200m strides to finish the workout (there was some grumbling about the number of 800's, but I figured they were more important than the 400's, so I decided that's where we would cut the workout, although Matt and I had actually already done them).
Thursday's run didn't feel that great. I felt like I was struggling to keep up, then I just let myself get dropped once we got to North Hills. Matt stayed with me, which was good. I tried to "comfortably push" the run. My hamstring kind of hurt though... and I didn't have my inhaler... and I was kind of tired. We took it a little easier on the way back and stayed with a guy who had fallen off the pack (he's coming back from an injury). We got beeped at when we were running on the sidewalk. That's a new one!
Saturday's and Sunday's runs both felt pretty good. I wasn't sure how far I was going to run on Saturday, but I felt pretty good and decided to turn it around at 6-miles before I started not feeling good. Running flatter on the greenway definitely helped, but I still didn't want to push it too much above what I did last week. I ran a new section of the greenway (for me) on Sunday with the group. It was nice to run with them again, and we semi-pushed Centennial Campus Parkway and it didn't feel awful. My right leg seems to get tired quicker than my left though. Oh well. My hamstring still hurts sometimes, but more when I'm sitting versus running.
We're leaving this Friday for my cousin's wedding and Thanksgiving, so I'm not sure how much training I'm going to get in. It will be a good break, even if I don't thing that at the time. I'll see how I feel Wednesday about adding in that day of running. I might try and squeeze yoga in some morning and run "long" on Friday morning. We'll see. I'm not sure what the schedule in the lab is this week. We seem to be having a lot of meetings!
Monday, November 11, 2013
11/4 - 11/10
Mon: 5 (or 6) sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull, 100yd aqua jog
Tues: 3x2000m (8:12, 8:10, 8:13)
Wed: 5 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull, 100yd cooldown, 100yd aqua jog
Thurs: 7.5-miles (w/ 4-miles at a "good effort")
Fri: 90min Hot Yoga
Sat: 7-miles
Sun: 10.5-miles
Total: 30.5-miles
It is hard for me to look at that weekly mileage total and feel like I did anything. But, my hamstring is starting to feel better and Sunday's run was one of my better "long" runs for a bit. I think I'm going to try adding back "Monday's run".
On Monday, I lost track of how many sets I did between 2 and 3, hence why I don't know if I did 5 or 6 sets total. The first set felt awful. For some reason, swimming in the deep end felt really hard. Wednesday's swimming went much better, and I'm actually starting to feel slightly stronger in terms of upper body strength. Aqua jogging actually felt pretty good. Hot yoga seemed to help a lot. I think I need to go to the 90min session vs. the 60min session, it seemed like it helped a lot more. I guess that means I'll have to get to the lab early on Fridays!
Tuesday's track workout went ok. I ran with Dave, which was nice. I want to start training with him again. We're in the same boat for the half marathon (both wanting to break 1:30, although his PR is ~15sec faster than mine). We hit the 2000's closer to my current 5k ability (came through the mile in the low 6:30's), but that wasn't too far off of my 10k goal pace of 6:40 (which is what we were supposed to be hitting them in). 6:40 pace would have given us an 8:20 overall, so we weren't too far off. I felt ok. My hamstring is still a little tight. And maybe something in my glute too. I don't know. Anyways, the last 2 laps of each repeat were challenging. I'm guessing Dave and I were pretty much at our limits too. During the first repeat, the "A team" was a little slow, so we could pace off of them. Geck pushed us from behind on the second repeat. But, for the third repeat, we were all alone. We did ok through the 1200m, but we were both pushing equally as hard. But, a 3 second spread isn't bad, and all were below our goal pace.
Thursday's tempo workout was... ehhh. I didn't feel that great, although my hamstring felt ok. Don't know if it was the flu shot or what. That and traffic was stupid. People can't drive. My favorite was two guys trying to pull into the same spot from opposite directions outside of Cup-a-Joe. I still put in a "good effort" (lower 7's) for 4 consecutive miles, so that's not bad.
Consulted with "coach" about what my workout paces should be to run sub-1:30 in the half. I have to knock 5sec of my "10k pace" for the last few years (down to a 6:35 for track workouts), 6:45 for tempo runs in the 1-4 mile range, and HM-tempo should be in the low 6:50's. That sounds tough to me, but do-able I guess. I just need people to run with.
Tues: 3x2000m (8:12, 8:10, 8:13)
Wed: 5 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull, 100yd cooldown, 100yd aqua jog
Thurs: 7.5-miles (w/ 4-miles at a "good effort")
Fri: 90min Hot Yoga
Sat: 7-miles
Sun: 10.5-miles
Total: 30.5-miles
It is hard for me to look at that weekly mileage total and feel like I did anything. But, my hamstring is starting to feel better and Sunday's run was one of my better "long" runs for a bit. I think I'm going to try adding back "Monday's run".
On Monday, I lost track of how many sets I did between 2 and 3, hence why I don't know if I did 5 or 6 sets total. The first set felt awful. For some reason, swimming in the deep end felt really hard. Wednesday's swimming went much better, and I'm actually starting to feel slightly stronger in terms of upper body strength. Aqua jogging actually felt pretty good. Hot yoga seemed to help a lot. I think I need to go to the 90min session vs. the 60min session, it seemed like it helped a lot more. I guess that means I'll have to get to the lab early on Fridays!
Tuesday's track workout went ok. I ran with Dave, which was nice. I want to start training with him again. We're in the same boat for the half marathon (both wanting to break 1:30, although his PR is ~15sec faster than mine). We hit the 2000's closer to my current 5k ability (came through the mile in the low 6:30's), but that wasn't too far off of my 10k goal pace of 6:40 (which is what we were supposed to be hitting them in). 6:40 pace would have given us an 8:20 overall, so we weren't too far off. I felt ok. My hamstring is still a little tight. And maybe something in my glute too. I don't know. Anyways, the last 2 laps of each repeat were challenging. I'm guessing Dave and I were pretty much at our limits too. During the first repeat, the "A team" was a little slow, so we could pace off of them. Geck pushed us from behind on the second repeat. But, for the third repeat, we were all alone. We did ok through the 1200m, but we were both pushing equally as hard. But, a 3 second spread isn't bad, and all were below our goal pace.
Thursday's tempo workout was... ehhh. I didn't feel that great, although my hamstring felt ok. Don't know if it was the flu shot or what. That and traffic was stupid. People can't drive. My favorite was two guys trying to pull into the same spot from opposite directions outside of Cup-a-Joe. I still put in a "good effort" (lower 7's) for 4 consecutive miles, so that's not bad.
Consulted with "coach" about what my workout paces should be to run sub-1:30 in the half. I have to knock 5sec of my "10k pace" for the last few years (down to a 6:35 for track workouts), 6:45 for tempo runs in the 1-4 mile range, and HM-tempo should be in the low 6:50's. That sounds tough to me, but do-able I guess. I just need people to run with.
Monday, November 4, 2013
10/28 - 11/3
Mon: 6.5-miles
Tues: 4x800m (3:09-3:13), 4x400m (89-91)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 6-miles + strides
Fri: Hot Yoga (60min)
Sat: 4-miles + strides
Sun: City of Oaks Half Marathon
Total: 42-miles
Matt and I might have got a little turned around on Monday's run, making it 6.5 miles instead of 6 miles. I felt ok, but still a little tight. Wednesday's run felt ok too. And Thursday's run did as well (we ran part of the course). I actually felt the best on Thursday (and I got to run with Rita!), but we were going pretty slow. The strides felt... eh, tight. I did yoga for the first time in 2 months on Friday. I should probably do yoga more, but it's the most expensive of my cross-training activities. Saturday's shake-out run felt like Thursday's shake-out run (and I got to run with Rita again!).
Tuesday's track workout went ok. We were supposed to keep the 800's at half marathon pace and the 400's at 10k pace. I wanted to stretch my legs out a bit. The 800's were more around 5k-ish pace, and the 400's were 3k-ish pace... actual paces, not "track" paces. My legs felt kind of tight, but ok. They were no tighter than they are after a long and/or fast track workout, but that workout wasn't really either of those. In any event, I foam rolled the crap out of my legs that night.
City of Oaks went ok. I would have preferred to run under 1:35 (official chip time was 1:36:27), but that didn't happen. My legs/back tightened up on the uphills, and fighting that probably made my breathing a little worse than it should have been at that pace. It hurt. If I had any doubt in my mind that I needed to use November as a recovery month, that race pretty much sealed the deal. However, no one that I train with on a regular basis had the "best race of their life" owing to the fact that the course is pretty difficult. Everyone did reasonably well... happy with their race, but just not thrilled. That's about where I'm at. I know that I couldn't really have done much more, I couldn't even bend over after to get my clothes out of the bag because my back/hip/hamstrings were that tight. But I have run that (well, a similar) about 5 minutes faster. In fact, my half split at the marathon last year was only a little over a minute slower. I was in better shape then, but I think the main thing was that I wasn't injured.
Having said all this, I do enjoy the City of Oaks races. A lot of local runners run one of the three, or volunteer/cheer, so I get to see a lot of people. A few of my friends did do well (as in placing overall), so I am happy for them. It was a nice day. And, I DIDN'T THROW UP AFTER! Wahooo! Seriously, this is the first race over 10-miles since last year at this time that I haven't. Now, I didn't feel great, but I didn't throw up. One step at a time. I do want to figure this out though. Matt said my face was covered in salt after. I do notice that this tends to happen to me more than other people. Maybe it is something to do with electrolytes.
Ok, time to swim and cross train. I want to go into marathon training relatively healthy. I'm thinking of cutting running to 3-4 days a week for a while. We'll see. I'm sick of being injured. Running just to run isn't getting me anywhere.
Tues: 4x800m (3:09-3:13), 4x400m (89-91)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 6-miles + strides
Fri: Hot Yoga (60min)
Sat: 4-miles + strides
Sun: City of Oaks Half Marathon
Total: 42-miles
Matt and I might have got a little turned around on Monday's run, making it 6.5 miles instead of 6 miles. I felt ok, but still a little tight. Wednesday's run felt ok too. And Thursday's run did as well (we ran part of the course). I actually felt the best on Thursday (and I got to run with Rita!), but we were going pretty slow. The strides felt... eh, tight. I did yoga for the first time in 2 months on Friday. I should probably do yoga more, but it's the most expensive of my cross-training activities. Saturday's shake-out run felt like Thursday's shake-out run (and I got to run with Rita again!).
Tuesday's track workout went ok. We were supposed to keep the 800's at half marathon pace and the 400's at 10k pace. I wanted to stretch my legs out a bit. The 800's were more around 5k-ish pace, and the 400's were 3k-ish pace... actual paces, not "track" paces. My legs felt kind of tight, but ok. They were no tighter than they are after a long and/or fast track workout, but that workout wasn't really either of those. In any event, I foam rolled the crap out of my legs that night.
City of Oaks went ok. I would have preferred to run under 1:35 (official chip time was 1:36:27), but that didn't happen. My legs/back tightened up on the uphills, and fighting that probably made my breathing a little worse than it should have been at that pace. It hurt. If I had any doubt in my mind that I needed to use November as a recovery month, that race pretty much sealed the deal. However, no one that I train with on a regular basis had the "best race of their life" owing to the fact that the course is pretty difficult. Everyone did reasonably well... happy with their race, but just not thrilled. That's about where I'm at. I know that I couldn't really have done much more, I couldn't even bend over after to get my clothes out of the bag because my back/hip/hamstrings were that tight. But I have run that (well, a similar) about 5 minutes faster. In fact, my half split at the marathon last year was only a little over a minute slower. I was in better shape then, but I think the main thing was that I wasn't injured.
Having said all this, I do enjoy the City of Oaks races. A lot of local runners run one of the three, or volunteer/cheer, so I get to see a lot of people. A few of my friends did do well (as in placing overall), so I am happy for them. It was a nice day. And, I DIDN'T THROW UP AFTER! Wahooo! Seriously, this is the first race over 10-miles since last year at this time that I haven't. Now, I didn't feel great, but I didn't throw up. One step at a time. I do want to figure this out though. Matt said my face was covered in salt after. I do notice that this tends to happen to me more than other people. Maybe it is something to do with electrolytes.
Ok, time to swim and cross train. I want to go into marathon training relatively healthy. I'm thinking of cutting running to 3-4 days a week for a while. We'll see. I'm sick of being injured. Running just to run isn't getting me anywhere.
Friday, November 1, 2013
October Recap
Training sucked this month. Two weeks worth of barely running, then 1.5 weeks of not trying to hurt anything have not been friendly. I want to run the City of Oaks Half Marathon respectably. We'll see. I'm not holding out much hope. My legs are still pretty tight. Two of my friends are pacing the 1:45 group. That's looking better and better. [training log]
Total: 160
December it is!
Total: 160
December it is!
Monday, October 28, 2013
10/21 - 10/27
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 200-400-600-800-1000-800-600-400-200
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 7.5-miles (tried to do the middle 5-miles at a "good effort")
Fri: 4-miles (stupid swimming and yoga... I'll just run even though I really need to cross train)
Sat: 10-miles (Turkey Creek)
Sun: 5-miles (6 x 2min pickups)
Total: 44.5 miles
Monday's run felt reasonable. The Mizuno rep was at the Hibernian Harriers run, so I got to try out the Sayonaras, and I actually liked them. I took it a little bit easier on Wednesday. I wanted to swim Friday, but the pool was closed for a meet and I was too late for yoga (grrrrrr...). I managed to get in 40+ miles, which is much better than the last 2 weeks. This had been about my mileage goal for this week before I got injured. So, I guess I'm ok with it, but not really. I wanted to get in a longer run over the weekend, but my leg still hurts.
Tuesday's track workout went pretty well. The shorter stuff was a little bit slower than it has been, but my hamstring (mostly my right leg) is still a wee bit tight, and I didn't want to set myself back. I ran with Dave mostly, it was nice to have him back for track workouts! Newt kept us honest in the longer repeats. I ran 43 (200), 91 (400), 2:15 (600), 3:05 (800), 3:56 (1000), 3:06 (800), 2:14 (600), 90 (400), and 43 (200). So, pretty consistent up and down the ladder, or pyramid, or whatever you want to call that workout. The 600's are always the hardest for me, probably because I run them at the same pace as the 400's. Oh well. The workout was supposed to be done at 5k pace, but I was a little bit faster, not too unreasonable though on the longer stuff.
Thursday's workout went ok as well. We ran out on the greenway and back on North Hills. I forgot how hilly North Hills is! Anyways, my right hamstring was still pretty tight, so I didn't want to push it too much, but I still wanted to get a good effort in. Sadly, now, "good effort" is marathon pace. I need to work on that. But, for now, at least I'm running.
Friday's run and Saturday's run both hurt. It was also 30 degrees on Saturday. This sucked both in terms of my hamstring/hip hurting and breathing. I kept having to stop. It was frustrating. Plus, I think I was half asleep still when I was running. I had intended to run 12+ miles (or 100min), but my leg really hurt. I kind of want to run the City of Oaks Half Marathon. So, I decided not to go past 10-miles. I ran 5 miles on Sunday and mixed in 5x2min repeats with 1min recovery. Then, I took a little break, and threw in a 6th one on the way back to kind of simulate pushing at the end of a race. My hamstring felt ok, but my legs fatigued quicker. I think stuff is still tight and I'm relying on smaller muscles more than I should.
I'm just frustrated. I want to train again. I'm not sure what this means for November. I know I'm going to be traveling a lot the last two weeks, so that will help curtail my training. I need to fix this problem. I have spent most of the last year not training because of some nagging problem. And, my hamstring/back/hip has been a problem since last spring. When I'm running, I'm sick of it because stuff hurts. When I don't run, all I want to do is run. I want to start building a base in December, and start training for Boston in January.
Tues: 200-400-600-800-1000-800-600-400-200
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 7.5-miles (tried to do the middle 5-miles at a "good effort")
Fri: 4-miles (stupid swimming and yoga... I'll just run even though I really need to cross train)
Sat: 10-miles (Turkey Creek)
Sun: 5-miles (6 x 2min pickups)
Total: 44.5 miles
Monday's run felt reasonable. The Mizuno rep was at the Hibernian Harriers run, so I got to try out the Sayonaras, and I actually liked them. I took it a little bit easier on Wednesday. I wanted to swim Friday, but the pool was closed for a meet and I was too late for yoga (grrrrrr...). I managed to get in 40+ miles, which is much better than the last 2 weeks. This had been about my mileage goal for this week before I got injured. So, I guess I'm ok with it, but not really. I wanted to get in a longer run over the weekend, but my leg still hurts.
Tuesday's track workout went pretty well. The shorter stuff was a little bit slower than it has been, but my hamstring (mostly my right leg) is still a wee bit tight, and I didn't want to set myself back. I ran with Dave mostly, it was nice to have him back for track workouts! Newt kept us honest in the longer repeats. I ran 43 (200), 91 (400), 2:15 (600), 3:05 (800), 3:56 (1000), 3:06 (800), 2:14 (600), 90 (400), and 43 (200). So, pretty consistent up and down the ladder, or pyramid, or whatever you want to call that workout. The 600's are always the hardest for me, probably because I run them at the same pace as the 400's. Oh well. The workout was supposed to be done at 5k pace, but I was a little bit faster, not too unreasonable though on the longer stuff.
Thursday's workout went ok as well. We ran out on the greenway and back on North Hills. I forgot how hilly North Hills is! Anyways, my right hamstring was still pretty tight, so I didn't want to push it too much, but I still wanted to get a good effort in. Sadly, now, "good effort" is marathon pace. I need to work on that. But, for now, at least I'm running.
Friday's run and Saturday's run both hurt. It was also 30 degrees on Saturday. This sucked both in terms of my hamstring/hip hurting and breathing. I kept having to stop. It was frustrating. Plus, I think I was half asleep still when I was running. I had intended to run 12+ miles (or 100min), but my leg really hurt. I kind of want to run the City of Oaks Half Marathon. So, I decided not to go past 10-miles. I ran 5 miles on Sunday and mixed in 5x2min repeats with 1min recovery. Then, I took a little break, and threw in a 6th one on the way back to kind of simulate pushing at the end of a race. My hamstring felt ok, but my legs fatigued quicker. I think stuff is still tight and I'm relying on smaller muscles more than I should.
I'm just frustrated. I want to train again. I'm not sure what this means for November. I know I'm going to be traveling a lot the last two weeks, so that will help curtail my training. I need to fix this problem. I have spent most of the last year not training because of some nagging problem. And, my hamstring/back/hip has been a problem since last spring. When I'm running, I'm sick of it because stuff hurts. When I don't run, all I want to do is run. I want to start building a base in December, and start training for Boston in January.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
10/14 - 10/20
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 50-100-200-300-400-300-200-100-50 ladder w/ 100yd pull in between; 100yd cooldown
Wed: 6 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull; 100yd cooldown
Thurs: 50-100-200-300-400-300-200-100-50 ladder w/ 100yd pull in between; 100yd cooldown
Fri: 5 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull; 100yd cooldown
Sat: 9-miles
Sun: 8-miles (1E + 3T + 2E + 1T +1E)
Total: 23 miles
My intention was to make this week a "higher mileage" week (>50miles) after a "rest" week last week. My back/hamstrings/hips have been rather tight. Four days worth of standing between career fairs and the BME seminar (two weeks ago), two days of standing at the wake and funeral last week, and two plane rides have not been great for that. None of last week's runs were great, and my everything kind of hurt. Monday's run wasn't great either, and then my back immediately locked up after. Awesome. I had already made an appointment with Dr. Staker since the "easy" week did not fix anything. Oh well. Swim, swim, swim.
Swimming is boring, especially when you don't have anyone to swim with. Plus, I'm not even a marginally good swimmer, and I don't do it often enough, so everything is basically at the same pace. The only variation is the distance that I swim before I stop or using a pull-buoy. I actually picture running laps around a track because that is less boring than swimming laps (50yds swimming = 200m running). Come to think of it, I must picture running around an indoor track because I consider 50yds/200m to be one lap. That's bad. At least I've figured out a whopping one other workout besides sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull... for a long time, that was my only workout. For "variation", I'd try and swim the swim faster, but that only happened after a solid week or so of swimming. And, on those occasions, my back wasn't the problem (when I try to swim faster, I'm not as careful, and my back starts to twinge more).
There is just nothing to look at when you swim. I try and talk to myself, but then I lose track of what lap I'm on, and I really don't want to prolong the workout. That and I get cold as soon as I stop, and sometimes towards the end of the workout when I can no longer swim fast enough. And I finally broke down and wore my new goggles (mostly because I can't find my old ones), and it took me until Friday to get them adjusted so that either my right eye doesn't feel like it's going to pop out of its socket or the goggles don't fill with water. And...
Ok, enough complaining. I really only mind swimming when I know I can't run. If I choose to swim, it's a whole different story. I saw Dr. Staker again on Friday and he said I could start running, just not to push it. I promised not to run a marathon this weekend, but didn't say more than that. I don't know what his definition of push is, and I didn't want to find out. I did 9-miles easy on Saturday morning. My back/hips/hamstrings were still rather tight. I started to feel better mid-run, but coming out of Umstead hurt. I wasn't quite back to Schenck by 9-miles, and tried to convince myself that I needed to run all the way back. But, that only lasted a wee bit more before I gave up and decided not to push it because I wanted to run on Sunday.
Sunday's run was actually better than any run for the previous 2 weeks. I stretched and foam rolled a crap-ton on Saturday, and felt reasonable by Sunday. I was able to throw in some low-mid 7ish pace miles. I was tight after the run, but it's a step in the right direction.
Tues: 50-100-200-300-400-300-200-100-50 ladder w/ 100yd pull in between; 100yd cooldown
Wed: 6 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull; 100yd cooldown
Thurs: 50-100-200-300-400-300-200-100-50 ladder w/ 100yd pull in between; 100yd cooldown
Fri: 5 sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull; 100yd cooldown
Sat: 9-miles
Sun: 8-miles (1E + 3T + 2E + 1T +1E)
Total: 23 miles
My intention was to make this week a "higher mileage" week (>50miles) after a "rest" week last week. My back/hamstrings/hips have been rather tight. Four days worth of standing between career fairs and the BME seminar (two weeks ago), two days of standing at the wake and funeral last week, and two plane rides have not been great for that. None of last week's runs were great, and my everything kind of hurt. Monday's run wasn't great either, and then my back immediately locked up after. Awesome. I had already made an appointment with Dr. Staker since the "easy" week did not fix anything. Oh well. Swim, swim, swim.
Swimming is boring, especially when you don't have anyone to swim with. Plus, I'm not even a marginally good swimmer, and I don't do it often enough, so everything is basically at the same pace. The only variation is the distance that I swim before I stop or using a pull-buoy. I actually picture running laps around a track because that is less boring than swimming laps (50yds swimming = 200m running). Come to think of it, I must picture running around an indoor track because I consider 50yds/200m to be one lap. That's bad. At least I've figured out a whopping one other workout besides sets of 200yd swim / 200yd pull... for a long time, that was my only workout. For "variation", I'd try and swim the swim faster, but that only happened after a solid week or so of swimming. And, on those occasions, my back wasn't the problem (when I try to swim faster, I'm not as careful, and my back starts to twinge more).
There is just nothing to look at when you swim. I try and talk to myself, but then I lose track of what lap I'm on, and I really don't want to prolong the workout. That and I get cold as soon as I stop, and sometimes towards the end of the workout when I can no longer swim fast enough. And I finally broke down and wore my new goggles (mostly because I can't find my old ones), and it took me until Friday to get them adjusted so that either my right eye doesn't feel like it's going to pop out of its socket or the goggles don't fill with water. And...
Ok, enough complaining. I really only mind swimming when I know I can't run. If I choose to swim, it's a whole different story. I saw Dr. Staker again on Friday and he said I could start running, just not to push it. I promised not to run a marathon this weekend, but didn't say more than that. I don't know what his definition of push is, and I didn't want to find out. I did 9-miles easy on Saturday morning. My back/hips/hamstrings were still rather tight. I started to feel better mid-run, but coming out of Umstead hurt. I wasn't quite back to Schenck by 9-miles, and tried to convince myself that I needed to run all the way back. But, that only lasted a wee bit more before I gave up and decided not to push it because I wanted to run on Sunday.
Sunday's run was actually better than any run for the previous 2 weeks. I stretched and foam rolled a crap-ton on Saturday, and felt reasonable by Sunday. I was able to throw in some low-mid 7ish pace miles. I was tight after the run, but it's a step in the right direction.
Monday, October 14, 2013
10/7 - 10/13
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 6-miles
Wed: Off
Thurs: Off
Fri: 6-miles
Sat: Off
Sun: 6-miles
Total: 24-miles
My grandmother passed away on Monday, so that about summarizes this week of training.
Tues: 6-miles
Wed: Off
Thurs: Off
Fri: 6-miles
Sat: Off
Sun: 6-miles
Total: 24-miles
My grandmother passed away on Monday, so that about summarizes this week of training.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Choose Your Own Adventure
Remember those books? They were some of my favorites. I think I probably read most of the possible "adventures" because I would inevitably make a decision that resulted in some disastrous outcome, and then "cheat" and decide that's really not what I wanted to do. Today's run was similar to that. Except the penalty for choosing the wrong adventure was extra miles and not a few flips of a page.
I started off with the intention of running 10 miles out-and-back on the bridle path, coming back to the car, and then heading out for another out-and-back of some distance on the greenway. I wanted to do 14 miles (to bring my weekly total to 50 miles), but my back and hanstrings were pretty tight so I didn't want to push it. Matt considered possibly running to Graylan and back (about 7 miles round trip) since his knee/calf was still bothering him. I had been toying with the idea of adding Turkey Creek to the mix since it was supposed to be an easy run and I figured some hills would be good for me. That sealed the deal, and I figured I'd head down Graylan when Matt left me and run Turkey Creek in the "good" direction. Then Matt's calf started bothering him, so he turned at the water fountain instead.
I didn't want to bail on my new training plan for the day. I caught up to my friend and talked to her for a bit, then headed down Graylan. And here's the problem. I've run this loop before. However, I have run Turkey Creek more in the other direction. And I have never run it alone. I know it connects to Graylan, so I was confident I could figure it out. So down the hill I went. And up a small hill, which I didn't really remember. However, I saw some people on bikes, and I know Turkey Creek is a popular route. And then I saw either some high school or college teams. I considered that a good sign too because if I were a coach, I would have my team run Turkey Creek as a "good" long run towards the end of the season. Then I stopped seeing anything I recognized. And I felt like I had been on this road forever. Way longer than I should have been. So I figured that I really didn't turn down Graylan, but some other path. It looked like whatever road I was on was continuing towards the back of the park. I don't know the back of the park really well. Then I saw a trailhead up on my right. It looked like it went in the direction I wanted. So I had a decision to make. My thought process went something like this:
So, right or wrong I decided to do something (as Sean would say). I took the trail. This, as it turns out, was wrong. It was a little while before I saw someone heading in the opposite direction. I counted this as a good sign because it meant that the trail must have another outlet; also, because I hadn't seen this runner before, I figured that the outlet must be different than the inlet. Then I saw three women a little bit ahead of me. They weren't running too much slower. And I hadn't seen then before either. So I figured that the trail must have multiple inlets and outlets. However, I am an engineer and not a detective. Good thing. I asked them where the trail ended up, and they told me it was a loop. It started and ended on Graylan. Huh. About 2min later I saw another, larger trail ahead of me, and a wooden bridge that looked familiar. I heard a shout behind me, "we think that might be Turkey Creek." I told them it was and thanked them.
Wahooo! I made it. However, although it looked familiar, it apparently didn't look that familiar because I thought I was about mid Turkey Creek. I was not. Also, I had another decision to make. Right or left. I forget which way I went, but I got to Graylan about half a mile later. Dang it, wrong again! I wanted to be going in the other direction. Oh well, at least I knew where I was and miles are miles.
The rest of the run was uneventful. I made it back in a little over 14.5 miles total, which was my goal. I also learned that I should always do the exact opposite of what I think. When I downloaded the run, I realized that if I had run less than a quarter mile further on Graylan (I had turned down the right path), I would have hit the Turkey Creek trailhead as intended.
I started off with the intention of running 10 miles out-and-back on the bridle path, coming back to the car, and then heading out for another out-and-back of some distance on the greenway. I wanted to do 14 miles (to bring my weekly total to 50 miles), but my back and hanstrings were pretty tight so I didn't want to push it. Matt considered possibly running to Graylan and back (about 7 miles round trip) since his knee/calf was still bothering him. I had been toying with the idea of adding Turkey Creek to the mix since it was supposed to be an easy run and I figured some hills would be good for me. That sealed the deal, and I figured I'd head down Graylan when Matt left me and run Turkey Creek in the "good" direction. Then Matt's calf started bothering him, so he turned at the water fountain instead.
I didn't want to bail on my new training plan for the day. I caught up to my friend and talked to her for a bit, then headed down Graylan. And here's the problem. I've run this loop before. However, I have run Turkey Creek more in the other direction. And I have never run it alone. I know it connects to Graylan, so I was confident I could figure it out. So down the hill I went. And up a small hill, which I didn't really remember. However, I saw some people on bikes, and I know Turkey Creek is a popular route. And then I saw either some high school or college teams. I considered that a good sign too because if I were a coach, I would have my team run Turkey Creek as a "good" long run towards the end of the season. Then I stopped seeing anything I recognized. And I felt like I had been on this road forever. Way longer than I should have been. So I figured that I really didn't turn down Graylan, but some other path. It looked like whatever road I was on was continuing towards the back of the park. I don't know the back of the park really well. Then I saw a trailhead up on my right. It looked like it went in the direction I wanted. So I had a decision to make. My thought process went something like this:
- I don't know the back of the park. If I get back there, I don't know if I'd be able to find my way back to the bridle trail.
- There was one time that we did a long run and jumped on some single track that paralleled Turkey Creek for a bit and finished up on Turkey Creek. This trail kind of looked like it.
- Either way, the trail must lead somewhere. It is marked, so if I follow the markers, I will get somewhere new. Since the trail looks like it heads in the direction I want, this unknown option is probably better than the other unknown option (aka continuing on the road towards the back of the park). Unfortunately, I didn't have contacts in, and this significantly hinders my ability to run single-track. I can't differentiate between a rock, a stick, a snake, a shadow, or nothing...
So, right or wrong I decided to do something (as Sean would say). I took the trail. This, as it turns out, was wrong. It was a little while before I saw someone heading in the opposite direction. I counted this as a good sign because it meant that the trail must have another outlet; also, because I hadn't seen this runner before, I figured that the outlet must be different than the inlet. Then I saw three women a little bit ahead of me. They weren't running too much slower. And I hadn't seen then before either. So I figured that the trail must have multiple inlets and outlets. However, I am an engineer and not a detective. Good thing. I asked them where the trail ended up, and they told me it was a loop. It started and ended on Graylan. Huh. About 2min later I saw another, larger trail ahead of me, and a wooden bridge that looked familiar. I heard a shout behind me, "we think that might be Turkey Creek." I told them it was and thanked them.
Wahooo! I made it. However, although it looked familiar, it apparently didn't look that familiar because I thought I was about mid Turkey Creek. I was not. Also, I had another decision to make. Right or left. I forget which way I went, but I got to Graylan about half a mile later. Dang it, wrong again! I wanted to be going in the other direction. Oh well, at least I knew where I was and miles are miles.
The rest of the run was uneventful. I made it back in a little over 14.5 miles total, which was my goal. I also learned that I should always do the exact opposite of what I think. When I downloaded the run, I realized that if I had run less than a quarter mile further on Graylan (I had turned down the right path), I would have hit the Turkey Creek trailhead as intended.
9/30 - 10/6
Mon: 6.5-miles (got to Tir na nOg a bit early)
Tues: 6 x 1000yd Lake Johnson Chip Trail (3:49-3:54)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 6-miles
Fri: 3miles (shakeout run from the house... didn't bother with a watch)
Sat: Run for Athletes 5k, 4-miles before dinner
Sun:14.5-miles
Total: 50.5 miles (not sure how much I really warmed up / cooled down for the 5k)
Sean decided to switch up the track workout this week, so we met at our "favorite" alternate location, the "chip trail" at Lake Johnson. The chip trail is like a 1000yd dirt path. My times compare to about 1000m on the track. I did 6 repeats (first 4 were approximately on the 5min). It's an interesting workout. More mental really. I really don't have reference for where I am on the path (it's not marked), and I am hesitant to look down at my watch because the trail isn't exactly obstacle-free. Anyways, I ran pretty consistently and felt ok. The first one was my slowest (3:54). I ran the last one alone because I wanted to do 6 but most people wanted to do 5. I managed to run a 3:51 solo, so I was happy I was able to pace myself. It was a pretty good workout all and all, but I still find running on the track more satisfying.
I ran by myself on Wed. That was pretty boring. I made myself not stop on Glen Eden, which I find difficult to do when no one there. My IT band / hamstring started bugging me a bit when I got back on the greenway. And my knee. So I stretched a lot when I got back. We kept it easy on Thursday too because Jennifer is racing and Katie and Melissa are coming back from injury. We saw two snakes and a dead cat. I don't think we can come back on the greenway anymore because it gets dark too quickly. I also saw a dead cat on my shakeout run on Friday. Treadmills are looking better and better. Not really, but I don't like snakes and dead cats.
Melissa told me about the Run for Athletes 5k in Morrisville on Sat. It stared the same time as Railroad Days and was closer. And it's also flat. So I signed up for that instead. It went ok. I haven't run a 5k in a year, so it's hard for me to figure out what a 5k should feel like. I knew it should feel harder than a half marathon, but I'm not a good judge of pace. Melissa, I, and this other guy went out pretty fast. Too fast for me. I looked at my mile split. 6 minutes. Awesome. It didn't feel that bad though. I was trying to not be negative and psych myself out. Actually, I had no idea I could still run a mile on the road that fast (without looking at my splits every 400m; the course was marked every 0.5miles, but I only checked my mile splits), especially when I knew I had more than a mile to run. I chased Melissa and the other guy as much as I could, and wasn't too far behind at the turnaround. I think I was around 12:30 at mile 2, which is more on target. However, my back and hamstring were pretty tight by this point (4 days of standing this week was not good), and that made the third mile rough despite Matt's best attempts to get me to run faster. My main motivation was actually not letting my friend Bri, who was pushing her almost 2-year-old son in a stroller, pass me. I finished up in 20:20, which was good enough for 2nd women and 3rd overall (it was a really small race despite the fact that runs on that course usually draw a decent crowd). Actually, I crossed the wrong finish line, then went back around, and Jim Young was nice enough to knock 3sec off my time (20:20 was actually the time I saw on the clock when I crossed the wrong line). I did manage not to get passed by Bri, who finished in just over 21 minutes, and 3rd women overall. I had hoped that I could break 20 minutes, but 20:20 is not a bad time for me, so I can co-exist with it. And I did get to see my friends Bri and Karri, as well as Crit and Donna, so that was nice.
I ran 4 miles from the house after work to try and loosen up my legs and back. I kept it slow, so it didn't feel bad, but it was dark by the end (I miss summer for that!). On Sunday I ran 14.5-miles easy. That was an adventure. I think I'll dedicate a whole blog post to that one. I ran mostly by myself though. This week has been a lot of that.
I found this training program on the BAA site. I'll probably use it as a reference for mileage and for some tempo workout ideas.
Tues: 6 x 1000yd Lake Johnson Chip Trail (3:49-3:54)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 6-miles
Fri: 3miles (shakeout run from the house... didn't bother with a watch)
Sat: Run for Athletes 5k, 4-miles before dinner
Sun:14.5-miles
Total: 50.5 miles (not sure how much I really warmed up / cooled down for the 5k)
Sean decided to switch up the track workout this week, so we met at our "favorite" alternate location, the "chip trail" at Lake Johnson. The chip trail is like a 1000yd dirt path. My times compare to about 1000m on the track. I did 6 repeats (first 4 were approximately on the 5min). It's an interesting workout. More mental really. I really don't have reference for where I am on the path (it's not marked), and I am hesitant to look down at my watch because the trail isn't exactly obstacle-free. Anyways, I ran pretty consistently and felt ok. The first one was my slowest (3:54). I ran the last one alone because I wanted to do 6 but most people wanted to do 5. I managed to run a 3:51 solo, so I was happy I was able to pace myself. It was a pretty good workout all and all, but I still find running on the track more satisfying.
I ran by myself on Wed. That was pretty boring. I made myself not stop on Glen Eden, which I find difficult to do when no one there. My IT band / hamstring started bugging me a bit when I got back on the greenway. And my knee. So I stretched a lot when I got back. We kept it easy on Thursday too because Jennifer is racing and Katie and Melissa are coming back from injury. We saw two snakes and a dead cat. I don't think we can come back on the greenway anymore because it gets dark too quickly. I also saw a dead cat on my shakeout run on Friday. Treadmills are looking better and better. Not really, but I don't like snakes and dead cats.
Melissa told me about the Run for Athletes 5k in Morrisville on Sat. It stared the same time as Railroad Days and was closer. And it's also flat. So I signed up for that instead. It went ok. I haven't run a 5k in a year, so it's hard for me to figure out what a 5k should feel like. I knew it should feel harder than a half marathon, but I'm not a good judge of pace. Melissa, I, and this other guy went out pretty fast. Too fast for me. I looked at my mile split. 6 minutes. Awesome. It didn't feel that bad though. I was trying to not be negative and psych myself out. Actually, I had no idea I could still run a mile on the road that fast (without looking at my splits every 400m; the course was marked every 0.5miles, but I only checked my mile splits), especially when I knew I had more than a mile to run. I chased Melissa and the other guy as much as I could, and wasn't too far behind at the turnaround. I think I was around 12:30 at mile 2, which is more on target. However, my back and hamstring were pretty tight by this point (4 days of standing this week was not good), and that made the third mile rough despite Matt's best attempts to get me to run faster. My main motivation was actually not letting my friend Bri, who was pushing her almost 2-year-old son in a stroller, pass me. I finished up in 20:20, which was good enough for 2nd women and 3rd overall (it was a really small race despite the fact that runs on that course usually draw a decent crowd). Actually, I crossed the wrong finish line, then went back around, and Jim Young was nice enough to knock 3sec off my time (20:20 was actually the time I saw on the clock when I crossed the wrong line). I did manage not to get passed by Bri, who finished in just over 21 minutes, and 3rd women overall. I had hoped that I could break 20 minutes, but 20:20 is not a bad time for me, so I can co-exist with it. And I did get to see my friends Bri and Karri, as well as Crit and Donna, so that was nice.
I ran 4 miles from the house after work to try and loosen up my legs and back. I kept it slow, so it didn't feel bad, but it was dark by the end (I miss summer for that!). On Sunday I ran 14.5-miles easy. That was an adventure. I think I'll dedicate a whole blog post to that one. I ran mostly by myself though. This week has been a lot of that.
I found this training program on the BAA site. I'll probably use it as a reference for mileage and for some tempo workout ideas.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
September Recap
Slow start to the month (stupid tight calf), but a stronger finish. Raced for the first time since May. Hopefully training is back on track. [training log]
Total: 200 miles
Total: 200 miles
Sunday, September 29, 2013
9/23 - 9/29
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 8 x 800m (3:07, 3:07, 3:05, 3:06, 3:05, 3:06, 2:59)
Wed: 6.5-miles
Thurs: 8.5-miles (10 x 2min on / 2min off)
Fri: Swim! (50-100-200-300-300-200-100-50 w/ 100yd pull in between)
Sat: 15-miles (5-miles, 10-miles w/ break for Galloway kickoff)
Sun: 10-miles (with some "good effort" miles in the beginning)
Total: 52 miles
Tuesday's track workout went better than usual. And I am completely satisfied with my decision not to do a fall marathon, because that would have meant 11 800's, and that sucks. Also, as I am training for a half marathon now, I decided that I should run them a wee bit faster than I had for the rest of the summer (although I guess it's officially fall now), and I did! All summer long, I have been hitting 3:07-3:10-ish with maybe one or two a few seconds slower. Now, the awesome weather we've been having as of late definitely helped, but I don't care I still ran faster. Plus, I didn't really have anyone to really consistently run with. Oyler ran with me for 3 and 4 (which helped pull those a bit faster), and Scott started off slower and then pulled ahead of me somewhere around 500-600m on the last half of the workout, and chasing him helped a bit.
Since Matt's calf/achilles is still bugging him, he decided not to run on Thurs. Plus, we had to be at the lab semi-early because we had meetings all day. So, by 4 o'clock-ish, I was pretty tired and really didn't feel the need to drive anywhere to run. That and I wanted to do somewhat of a tempo workout, and I find that hard to do in a group run if they don't have the same plan. So, I decided to run from the lab, with a detour by Lake Johnson since I haven't run there in a bit. I settled on running 10x 2min on / 2min off, although I'm not sure how "on" I was since I was running by myself. Oh well, it was still better than nothing.
I ran 15-miles on Saturday. It went much better than the last time I ran this distance. However, I did have ~25min break in between the 5-mile and 10-mile run that I did to get to 15-miles (Galloway Run from store). Oh well, it's still a long run I guess. And I did 10-miles on Sunday with some "good effort" miles in the beginning. We ran part of the City of Oak's course, which was good. Other than that, nothing really eventful. I've been feeling a little better lately, which gives me hope for the 5k I'm planning on doing next Saturday. Unfortunately, I don't think that Matt is going to be able to run with me because he twisted his knee on Saturday.
In other news, I turned 30 on Wed. I'm old!
Tues: 8 x 800m (3:07, 3:07, 3:05, 3:06, 3:05, 3:06, 2:59)
Wed: 6.5-miles
Thurs: 8.5-miles (10 x 2min on / 2min off)
Fri: Swim! (50-100-200-300-300-200-100-50 w/ 100yd pull in between)
Sat: 15-miles (5-miles, 10-miles w/ break for Galloway kickoff)
Sun: 10-miles (with some "good effort" miles in the beginning)
Total: 52 miles
Tuesday's track workout went better than usual. And I am completely satisfied with my decision not to do a fall marathon, because that would have meant 11 800's, and that sucks. Also, as I am training for a half marathon now, I decided that I should run them a wee bit faster than I had for the rest of the summer (although I guess it's officially fall now), and I did! All summer long, I have been hitting 3:07-3:10-ish with maybe one or two a few seconds slower. Now, the awesome weather we've been having as of late definitely helped, but I don't care I still ran faster. Plus, I didn't really have anyone to really consistently run with. Oyler ran with me for 3 and 4 (which helped pull those a bit faster), and Scott started off slower and then pulled ahead of me somewhere around 500-600m on the last half of the workout, and chasing him helped a bit.
Since Matt's calf/achilles is still bugging him, he decided not to run on Thurs. Plus, we had to be at the lab semi-early because we had meetings all day. So, by 4 o'clock-ish, I was pretty tired and really didn't feel the need to drive anywhere to run. That and I wanted to do somewhat of a tempo workout, and I find that hard to do in a group run if they don't have the same plan. So, I decided to run from the lab, with a detour by Lake Johnson since I haven't run there in a bit. I settled on running 10x 2min on / 2min off, although I'm not sure how "on" I was since I was running by myself. Oh well, it was still better than nothing.
I ran 15-miles on Saturday. It went much better than the last time I ran this distance. However, I did have ~25min break in between the 5-mile and 10-mile run that I did to get to 15-miles (Galloway Run from store). Oh well, it's still a long run I guess. And I did 10-miles on Sunday with some "good effort" miles in the beginning. We ran part of the City of Oak's course, which was good. Other than that, nothing really eventful. I've been feeling a little better lately, which gives me hope for the 5k I'm planning on doing next Saturday. Unfortunately, I don't think that Matt is going to be able to run with me because he twisted his knee on Saturday.
In other news, I turned 30 on Wed. I'm old!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Race plans for 2013
Okie dokie.
I haven't run a 5k yet this year. I like to run at least one a year. Matt wants to PR. Selma Railroad Days 5k it is!
Raleigh Running Outfitters (the team I run for and store I work part-time at) sponsors City of Oaks. The race starts a few miles from my house, making it convenient. I know a ton of people running it. And, although not an un-challenging course, it's not bad and I know it. So, City of Oaks Half Marathon it is!
I would like to throw in a few other races between now and Christmas. If they change the start time of the E3 XC women's race, that's a possibility (there's no way I'm making it to work by 10 if the race starts at 9:45). Or, there's the Hallowed 10k the next day (although I think that's the day after the Halloween Party, so that might not happen). The Monster Dash could happen though because it starts a lot later. I am not looking at anything in November, because I want to make sure I'm recovered from the half marathon and have to travel a lot around Thanksgiving. The Get Fit 5k/10k looks like it might start a little too late for getting to work on time (I would want to do the 10k). The Reindeer Dash for Cash 10-miler is a Sunday race (score!), but I'm not sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving / Matt's birthday with the Cravers nor if I'm working this day. This leaves the Jolly Elf 5k or the Reindeer Romp 5k (and the Reindeer Romp looks like it starts too late).
10/5: Railroad Days 5k
10/26: E3 XC Race
10/27: Hallowed 10k / Monster Dash
11/3: City of Oaks Half Marathon
12/7: Get Fit 5k/10k
12/8: Reindeer Dash for Cash 10m
12/14: Jolly Elf 5k / Reindeer Romp 5k
(green = yes, yellow = maybe, red = probably not)
I haven't run a 5k yet this year. I like to run at least one a year. Matt wants to PR. Selma Railroad Days 5k it is!
Raleigh Running Outfitters (the team I run for and store I work part-time at) sponsors City of Oaks. The race starts a few miles from my house, making it convenient. I know a ton of people running it. And, although not an un-challenging course, it's not bad and I know it. So, City of Oaks Half Marathon it is!
I would like to throw in a few other races between now and Christmas. If they change the start time of the E3 XC women's race, that's a possibility (there's no way I'm making it to work by 10 if the race starts at 9:45). Or, there's the Hallowed 10k the next day (although I think that's the day after the Halloween Party, so that might not happen). The Monster Dash could happen though because it starts a lot later. I am not looking at anything in November, because I want to make sure I'm recovered from the half marathon and have to travel a lot around Thanksgiving. The Get Fit 5k/10k looks like it might start a little too late for getting to work on time (I would want to do the 10k). The Reindeer Dash for Cash 10-miler is a Sunday race (score!), but I'm not sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving / Matt's birthday with the Cravers nor if I'm working this day. This leaves the Jolly Elf 5k or the Reindeer Romp 5k (and the Reindeer Romp looks like it starts too late).
10/5: Railroad Days 5k
10/26: E3 XC Race
10/27: Hallowed 10k / Monster Dash
11/3: City of Oaks Half Marathon
12/7: Get Fit 5k/10k
12/8: Reindeer Dash for Cash 10m
12/14: Jolly Elf 5k / Reindeer Romp 5k
(green = yes, yellow = maybe, red = probably not)
Sunday, September 22, 2013
9/16 - 9/22
M: 6-miles
T: 4x1200m; "4min" (20sec hard / 10sec easy)
W: 6-miles (chased girl down on Ridge Rd.)
R: 6-miles (ran out with RRO peeps who were doing 8-miles), 5 strides
F: 2-miles, stretching
S: Midtown Half Marathon
S: Recovery Run
Total: 50 miles
We ran 15-miles for the first time in some bit last Sunday (I might have bonked the last 2.5-miles). This really should not have taken that much out of me (especially because it was a beautiful morning), but my legs have felt kind of dead all week. Tuesday's track workout went ok. I didn't really have anyone to run with, so I tried to keep people from pulling away too much. I was right around my ideal 5k pace for the 1200's, which is probably a little faster than they were intended to be at (the instructions were "5k tempo pace", whatever that means). My legs were still pretty tight though, so the "4min" thing was more of a stride on the 20sec hard sections.
Matt and I decided to jump in the Midtown Half Marathon on Wed. night. Literally. I need to start doing longer tempo runs, and what better way to make myself do one than to sign up for a race?! That and I wanted to do a longer, easier run on Sunday... and some of my friends were doing the race (one of whom had a discount code)... and I didn't want to run alone on Saturday. Ok, I know only one of those really makes sense, but I don't care, maybe I'll race myself into shape.
The race actually went a lot better than I was expecting. Matt ran with me, which was nice because it got kind of spread out. Especially in the beginning. It was weird. It was so quiet once we got on the greenway, and it was still kind of dark. Anyways, I fell on one of the bridges. One second I was running, the next second I was on the ground. I was fine though, just a little startled and one breath was knocked out of me (actually, my breathing was really really good this race). I felt strong for over half of the race (my intention had been to race the first half and jog it in, but since I was feeling good, I kept going). I only started to feel tired around 9 or 10, and probably didn't shut it down until 11 or so. I had psyched myself to run up Lassiter Mill, then we turned the wrong way first to make up distance, and then I said eh! There was no girl reasonably close to me in either direction, so I took the hill easy. I didn't want to get sick because I had to work after (and I've felt awful and barely been able to stand up an hour after any race over 10-miles for the past year). I finished up in 1:36:31, which was good enough for 5th female.
As for the whole not getting sick after the race. Well, I didn't get as sick as I did for the Umstead Marathon and NCRC Half Marathon. My stomach didn't feel so great from about 10:30 until noon. Then I threw up and was fine after. I have no idea why this keeps happening. I drank water at every aid station, and I'm pretty sure I was not dehydrated. I drank a protein drink within an hour of finishing (as not eating and eating solid food had not worked well in races past). I took 2 ibuprofen as soon as my stomach started hurting (which has helped in the past). So, I give up. At least I could keep working. This happened about a month or go after a long run with some MP effort miles (total: 14-miles), and again I was fine after I threw up. Weird.
In other news, I finally broke down and got a Sweaty Band because (1) I want to be able to personally tell people that they really do work when they ask, (2) they look cool, (3) RRO had one in multiple shades of neon that reminded me of Lisa Franks. And, I must say, they work and I like it.
My new purple Adios also came in, and I love them. The Adios really is my favorite running shoe and my pink pair had many more miles on them than they are rated for.
T: 4x1200m; "4min" (20sec hard / 10sec easy)
W: 6-miles (chased girl down on Ridge Rd.)
R: 6-miles (ran out with RRO peeps who were doing 8-miles), 5 strides
F: 2-miles, stretching
S: Midtown Half Marathon
S: Recovery Run
Total: 50 miles
We ran 15-miles for the first time in some bit last Sunday (I might have bonked the last 2.5-miles). This really should not have taken that much out of me (especially because it was a beautiful morning), but my legs have felt kind of dead all week. Tuesday's track workout went ok. I didn't really have anyone to run with, so I tried to keep people from pulling away too much. I was right around my ideal 5k pace for the 1200's, which is probably a little faster than they were intended to be at (the instructions were "5k tempo pace", whatever that means). My legs were still pretty tight though, so the "4min" thing was more of a stride on the 20sec hard sections.
Matt and I decided to jump in the Midtown Half Marathon on Wed. night. Literally. I need to start doing longer tempo runs, and what better way to make myself do one than to sign up for a race?! That and I wanted to do a longer, easier run on Sunday... and some of my friends were doing the race (one of whom had a discount code)... and I didn't want to run alone on Saturday. Ok, I know only one of those really makes sense, but I don't care, maybe I'll race myself into shape.
The race actually went a lot better than I was expecting. Matt ran with me, which was nice because it got kind of spread out. Especially in the beginning. It was weird. It was so quiet once we got on the greenway, and it was still kind of dark. Anyways, I fell on one of the bridges. One second I was running, the next second I was on the ground. I was fine though, just a little startled and one breath was knocked out of me (actually, my breathing was really really good this race). I felt strong for over half of the race (my intention had been to race the first half and jog it in, but since I was feeling good, I kept going). I only started to feel tired around 9 or 10, and probably didn't shut it down until 11 or so. I had psyched myself to run up Lassiter Mill, then we turned the wrong way first to make up distance, and then I said eh! There was no girl reasonably close to me in either direction, so I took the hill easy. I didn't want to get sick because I had to work after (and I've felt awful and barely been able to stand up an hour after any race over 10-miles for the past year). I finished up in 1:36:31, which was good enough for 5th female.
As for the whole not getting sick after the race. Well, I didn't get as sick as I did for the Umstead Marathon and NCRC Half Marathon. My stomach didn't feel so great from about 10:30 until noon. Then I threw up and was fine after. I have no idea why this keeps happening. I drank water at every aid station, and I'm pretty sure I was not dehydrated. I drank a protein drink within an hour of finishing (as not eating and eating solid food had not worked well in races past). I took 2 ibuprofen as soon as my stomach started hurting (which has helped in the past). So, I give up. At least I could keep working. This happened about a month or go after a long run with some MP effort miles (total: 14-miles), and again I was fine after I threw up. Weird.
In other news, I finally broke down and got a Sweaty Band because (1) I want to be able to personally tell people that they really do work when they ask, (2) they look cool, (3) RRO had one in multiple shades of neon that reminded me of Lisa Franks. And, I must say, they work and I like it.
My new purple Adios also came in, and I love them. The Adios really is my favorite running shoe and my pink pair had many more miles on them than they are rated for.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Time to start training
I have chalked most of this year up to a running wash. I really didn't pick out any races for the beginning of the year because I was trying to graduate, the whole getting married thing, etc. I jumped in things as they come along. Being that I wasn't training for them, and my back/hip/hamstring whatever-the-heck-is-wrong with my right leg wasn't not hurting, they didn't go that great (although I guess 8th woman in the Umstead Marathon isn't too shabby).
I intended to start training/racing for real in July (aka as soon as everything was over). That didn't so much happen. I've bonked on every semi-longish run I've tried to do. Any time I added miles to the week, I tweaked something. Needless to say, I've been in a training funk.
I also realized that this year might be the last time I can run the Boston Marathon for a while. I had a qualifying time, so I signed up.
This means I now have a goal. Complete the Boston Marathon and have fun. I've started to put together a bit of a training plan for the next couple of months. Or, at least I've picked out some races.
I intended to start training/racing for real in July (aka as soon as everything was over). That didn't so much happen. I've bonked on every semi-longish run I've tried to do. Any time I added miles to the week, I tweaked something. Needless to say, I've been in a training funk.
I also realized that this year might be the last time I can run the Boston Marathon for a while. I had a qualifying time, so I signed up.
This means I now have a goal. Complete the Boston Marathon and have fun. I've started to put together a bit of a training plan for the next couple of months. Or, at least I've picked out some races.
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