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.
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