Training logs are great tools. They're helpful for keeping track of workouts (times and mileage), how you felt (which may point to sources of injury), etc. Since July of 2009, I have kept track of my workouts in Excel workbooks (although I can't find 2010). Over the years, I have gotten a bit more detailed in terms of actually adding up weekly miles (and graphing it), noting times, and color coding run, swim, bike, and "other" workouts (yes, I actually do that so I can visually check up on my cross training "progress", which is currently abysmal). Truth be told, I started this blog as a training log so that I'd actually keep track of more than just metrics (i.e., distance and pace).
So, why am I writing this post? I've found another use for training logs. As I said, I have logs dating back to 2009ish, which includes every marathon that I've run except for my first. And, I've made it through each of these marathons.
Boston is 1 month away (well, less now). I am not a calm person, so this is cause for me to start flipping out and doubting my training. I've already been anxious this winter owing to the crappy weather and the fact that I feel that I haven't done the workouts I should be doing. However, it hasn't snowed in like a week, and I actually have been managing to get workouts in. In fact, I had three pretty good runs in just 7 days. Good, right?
I was all excited this Saturday that I had finished my last long run... until I looked at Facebook on Sunday. Everyone else had run 22 miles. I had only run 20 miles. Crap. I had wanted to do a workout next weekend that would mutually exclude doing a 22 mile run. So, what did I do... immediately start looking on the Internet for reasons why I shouldn't do a 22 mile run next weekend. The great thing about the Internet is that you can almost always find what you are looking for. Which I did... some people suggest that there is limited benefit to running much over 2.5hrs, and I am not fast enough to cover 22 miles in this time. Perfect. However, I also realized that this search was rather limited, and Googling the opposite of my hypothesis also produced a fair number of hits with equally as compelling evidence.
Aggghhh. I went back to flipping out and trying to rework my training schedule to fit everything in. I could not race two weeks from now, but I really wanted to. I could try and do both workouts next weekend, but that would probably be disastrous. As I was moving Excel cells around and trying to get the numbers to work out right, I thought of something... have I ever run 22 miles in preparation for a marathon? As far as I can tell, twice. And one of them was the Frosty 50k. For the last three marathons that I've run, which includes my PR, 20-miles has been my longest.
So, training logs keep you from freaking out close to races. Afterall, training is an experiment of one... what works for other people might not work for you!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
3/17 - 3/23
Mon: 5-miles
Tues: 10 x 800m (3:07,07,06,07,08,06,08,07,08,09)
Wed: 4-miles, 6-miles
Thurs: 8-miles (w/ some "good effort" miles)
Fri: 3-miles
Sat: 20-miles
Sun: 7-miles
Total: 60 miles
I managed to get three "marathon" workouts in between last Sunday and this Saturday. I was getting nervous because I was running out of time to do them. I'm considering last Sunday's pacing to be 13.1-miles at marathon pace, Tuesday brought 10 yasso 800's, and I did my last long run on Saturday. So, while that's good, I am getting nervous. Boston is one month away, which is a little close. I wish I had two months!
Monday's recovery run was probably a little slower than it needed to be, but it didn't feel bad. Plus, it was early in the morning, dark, and misting. We met friends for dinner that night, so I didn't run.
Tuesday's track workout went well. I made a deal with myself that I'd try and get through all ten of the 800's (as Mr. Yasso would have it), but would stop as soon as I got above 3:15. That is the workout afterall, and I'm running out of time to get to ten (I've been hovering at eight for a while now). I started a bit early and got two in before the rest of the group got there. My intention was to make these slower and let the rest of the group pull me through the remaining eight. That didn't exactly happen, although it definitely helped having the rest of the group there for the later part of the workout. We stayed consistent despite the pretty good headwind on the finishing straightaway. I was happy to finish all ten in under 3:10. The drizzle started to pick up towards the end of the workout, and I couldn't feel my hands by the time I got back to the car.
It finally stopped raining around noon on Wednesday, and I managed to sneak out for 4-miles around 3PM. I needed it. Work is getting frustrating and I couldn't think. That night, we ran from Lululemon with the run club that my friend Kaitlin started. It was good to see her again, even if it did mean that I had to run up Lassiter Mill. I forgot about how long that hill was!
Thursday's run went decently. We finally got to run on the greenway and not North Hills (I love daylight savings time), and it was actually nice out! I randomly added some pickup sections and they felt ok even though I'm not sure how fast I was going because they did not fall evenly on mile marks and I didn't lap my watch. Oh well.
Friday was a shakeout / make-up mile day, so nothing to write home about. It was beautiful out though!
Saturday was my last long run.. wahooo! We also had a group run from the store, which meant that we had to start extra early (as in 6AM) to get miles in. The run didn't seem like 20 miles because it was broken up a bit. Plus, I was half asleep in the beginning, and couldn't see my watch because it was dark. So, I mentally tried to trick myself that I didn't actually do those miles. I pretty much had no clue where I was going for the first 6 miles and was chasing Jim, Chris, and Brandon for most of it, which was a good distraction. They stopped the first part of the run at 8ish miles, but I kept going for another 2ish so I wouldn't tighten up too much. Then, back to RRO for a bit before the Galloway run started, and then back out again after getting some water. I was definitely starting to get tired around mile 4 of the second run. By this point, I had passed all of the Galloway groups and had run out of people to say hello to. The lack of caffeine and starting at 6AM was starting to manifest itself as a headache, and I was maybe a little dehydrated too. Anyways, I turned around at 5 miles and headed back, so I got to see everyone again! When I hit the water fountain, I was pretty dead. Half of an Espresso Love Gu and some water helped, but those last 2.5 miles seemed to take forever. Running up Longstreet didn't help either, although it was good for me... my one goal was to keep it under a 9min/mile for this stretch, which I managed to eek out in the last 0.15. Anyways, I made it.
Sunday's run ended up better than it started. My back/hip feel twingey. I also had a weird feeling in my calf for the first half of the run on Saturday. All of these things seemed to dissipated by the end of the run. All the same, it has me cautious. As my dad said to me Saturday afternoon, "don't get hurt."
Tues: 10 x 800m (3:07,07,06,07,08,06,08,07,08,09)
Wed: 4-miles, 6-miles
Thurs: 8-miles (w/ some "good effort" miles)
Fri: 3-miles
Sat: 20-miles
Sun: 7-miles
Total: 60 miles
I managed to get three "marathon" workouts in between last Sunday and this Saturday. I was getting nervous because I was running out of time to do them. I'm considering last Sunday's pacing to be 13.1-miles at marathon pace, Tuesday brought 10 yasso 800's, and I did my last long run on Saturday. So, while that's good, I am getting nervous. Boston is one month away, which is a little close. I wish I had two months!
Monday's recovery run was probably a little slower than it needed to be, but it didn't feel bad. Plus, it was early in the morning, dark, and misting. We met friends for dinner that night, so I didn't run.
Tuesday's track workout went well. I made a deal with myself that I'd try and get through all ten of the 800's (as Mr. Yasso would have it), but would stop as soon as I got above 3:15. That is the workout afterall, and I'm running out of time to get to ten (I've been hovering at eight for a while now). I started a bit early and got two in before the rest of the group got there. My intention was to make these slower and let the rest of the group pull me through the remaining eight. That didn't exactly happen, although it definitely helped having the rest of the group there for the later part of the workout. We stayed consistent despite the pretty good headwind on the finishing straightaway. I was happy to finish all ten in under 3:10. The drizzle started to pick up towards the end of the workout, and I couldn't feel my hands by the time I got back to the car.
It finally stopped raining around noon on Wednesday, and I managed to sneak out for 4-miles around 3PM. I needed it. Work is getting frustrating and I couldn't think. That night, we ran from Lululemon with the run club that my friend Kaitlin started. It was good to see her again, even if it did mean that I had to run up Lassiter Mill. I forgot about how long that hill was!
Thursday's run went decently. We finally got to run on the greenway and not North Hills (I love daylight savings time), and it was actually nice out! I randomly added some pickup sections and they felt ok even though I'm not sure how fast I was going because they did not fall evenly on mile marks and I didn't lap my watch. Oh well.
Friday was a shakeout / make-up mile day, so nothing to write home about. It was beautiful out though!
Saturday was my last long run.. wahooo! We also had a group run from the store, which meant that we had to start extra early (as in 6AM) to get miles in. The run didn't seem like 20 miles because it was broken up a bit. Plus, I was half asleep in the beginning, and couldn't see my watch because it was dark. So, I mentally tried to trick myself that I didn't actually do those miles. I pretty much had no clue where I was going for the first 6 miles and was chasing Jim, Chris, and Brandon for most of it, which was a good distraction. They stopped the first part of the run at 8ish miles, but I kept going for another 2ish so I wouldn't tighten up too much. Then, back to RRO for a bit before the Galloway run started, and then back out again after getting some water. I was definitely starting to get tired around mile 4 of the second run. By this point, I had passed all of the Galloway groups and had run out of people to say hello to. The lack of caffeine and starting at 6AM was starting to manifest itself as a headache, and I was maybe a little dehydrated too. Anyways, I turned around at 5 miles and headed back, so I got to see everyone again! When I hit the water fountain, I was pretty dead. Half of an Espresso Love Gu and some water helped, but those last 2.5 miles seemed to take forever. Running up Longstreet didn't help either, although it was good for me... my one goal was to keep it under a 9min/mile for this stretch, which I managed to eek out in the last 0.15. Anyways, I made it.
Sunday's run ended up better than it started. My back/hip feel twingey. I also had a weird feeling in my calf for the first half of the run on Saturday. All of these things seemed to dissipated by the end of the run. All the same, it has me cautious. As my dad said to me Saturday afternoon, "don't get hurt."
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Pacing...
Let me start off by saying that pacing was a blast! If you ever get the opportunity to pace a race, you should totally take it. I had a great experience... my co-pacer was a friend of mine who has paced before, and running with him is always fun... and the runners in the 1:40 group at the Tobacco Road Half Marathon were a fantastic bunch. Having said this, pacing is not easy. Well, maybe it is for some, but I am not by nature a calm individual... The Tobacco Road Half Marathon is both my PR (2011) and one of the worst half's I've run (2012), so I have very mixed feelings about the race. I had toyed around with the idea of using it as a tuneup for Boston, but decided against it. However, about 2 weeks out from the race, I agreed to pace the 1:40 group (one of my friends couldn't owing to injury). I had always kind of wanted to volunteer as a pacer for a local half marathon, but usually ended up racing them out of convenience. So, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. And, to make it even better, the other 1:40 pace was one of my friends. And, I had planned a "fake taper" week. And, if everything came together perfectly in Boston, 3:20 would be wahooo x3 (I ran a 3:20:04 at City of Oaks in 2012, which is a similar in terms of where the hills hit). So, pacing the 1:40 half group seemed like a win-win-win situation.
Monday - Saturday: I predictably started to kind of freak out on Monday. What was I thinking? I haven't run a long "tempo" workout in some time. All of my long runs have been at an easy pace thus far. The last two halfs that I ran were in the mid-1:36's, and they weren't exactly a walks in the park.
Then, Tuesday's track workout went well... why was I freaking out anyways? I could totally do a 1:40 half. I had done basically that for a not-so-easy full marathon not too long ago. And, in that race, I had come through the half in the mid-1:37's. I am in better shape now than I was this past fall, so I'd be fine. Plus, I knew my co-pacer could easily run a 1:40 half.
I was back to freaking out by Wednesday. My hamstring felt tight, and our recovery run felt a lot faster than it was. Same with Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday. When I had run the 1:36's in the fall, I had gone out faster and slowed down in the second half. I was going to have to CONSISTENTLY run a 7:38 pace, and the second half of Tobacco Road is uphill.
Then, Saturday night, I saw my co-pacer post a picture of the 1:50 sign. So, I really began freaking out... until Matt pointed out that no one had their signs yet.
Sunday: It was actually great weather for racing (they had been calling for upper 30's and rain all week, and it was in the upper 40's and not raining). This meant that I could wear shorts and compression socks, and I even had orange compression socks that matched my orange pacer shirt! My pacer shirt was also too big for me and required an 80's style side tie up, which amused me. So, I stopped freaking out.
The Race: We were a little slow the first mile. It's hard to navigate around people with a group, especially with turns and medians. I was trying to hit a 7:38 pace, which was difficult because it was downhill, so I bounced back and forth between over/under. My Garmin had us a bit under pace (I never saw the mile marker), and Matt's and my co-pacer's had us a bit slow. We picked it up through the second, downhill mile, and more than made up the time. My watch was also lapping way too early. Luckily, my co-pacer had printed out the actual times we were supposed to hit on the sign, so we checked up at Mile 3. We were only 5sec off, but my watch had gained 0.1-miles. Grrrrrr. I spent the next couple of miles cursing Garmin and trying to figure out what the real pace was based off of the pace my watch was reading. That turned out to be a lot of math. By Mile 5 we had kind of settled into a pace, and I stopped looking at my watch every 1/4 mile.
We were ~15sec up at the halfway point. I was actually pretty psyched about that. The second half of the race was a net uphill, whereas the first half was a net downhill (amazing how out-and-back courses work like that). I had wanted a little bit of a cushion so that we could maintain the same effort level on the hills without having to maintain the same pace (the two are mutually exclusive). However, I didn't want too much of a cushion because that would have meant risking being too tired by the hills (aka what I had done in 2012). Our goal was to run a steady pace, and we had done that!
It was definitely harder to keep track of Matt and my co-pacer after the turnaround. We had pretty much run together for the first half. However, the course was not the wide, and there were still people going out. The pacers took the more center lane to run interference (which was kind of comical because I'm not exactly a bouncer or anything). I felt like I was back running the 800m... elbows up! We stayed kind-of-ish together. However, in order to pass people, you had to speed up and make a move whenever there was a break in the oncoming "traffic", so the group got spread out a little. From mile 8-10, a sub-group had basically formed that was able to hold the pace we had settled into, even though this section was slightly uphill. My co-pacer was holding the sign, and stayed with the group that was maintaining effort level. We were probably no more than 50yrds apart.
Coming off of the Tobacco Trail at a little over 10 miles was a nice change of scenery for about a minute. I think everyone struggles at this point in the race. It gets hillier, you can see for way too long on the road, and there really is nothing that great to look at. Even though we were ahead now by probably 25-30sec, I didn't want to leave the group I was with. I pretty much figure that when you run with a pace group, you want to break that time and not run it exactly. So, I told them we were going to stay steady and work on picking off people. We did that, and suddenly we started gaining speed even though we were definitely going uphill. I know that the harder surface of the road was returning more energy than the softer surface of the trail, but... crazy people! I tried to hold the pace steady, and keep them distracted (we were discussing past races... one guy had run a 1:44, another guy had missed 1:40 by 16sec, the other woman was staying pretty quiet, as was anyone else who was still with us).
Mile 12 came, and I told them I'd stay with them for the next uphill, and then they had it once we made the turn into the baseball stadium. I'm guessing they were tired (I've been dead at this point both times that I've run the race), but I'm guessing that they also knew that unless something catastrophic happened, they had their goal. I know that feeling, but I also know the panic of cutting it close. We made it up the hill, and they kept going. I pulled back a little bit to run in with some of the people between my co-pacer and I, as well as not be too under pace.
We finished in the lower half of the 1:39's with most of the people that had started with us! After the race, everyone seemed really appreciative of the fact that we ran pretty steady and that they had met their goals. It was a PR for some, and at least close to it for most.
I'll definitely think of this group in Boston... they gave me the confidence that I actually can run a 3:20 pace, at least for the first 13.1!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
3/10 - 3/16
Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 8x400m (88-90)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 6-miles, strides
Fri: 4-miles
Sat: 6-miles, strides
Sun: 1E + Tobacco Road Half Marathon + 1E
Total: 49 miles
I signed up to pace the 1:40 group for Tobacco Road, and it was a "taper" week, so I intentionally cut my mileage this week. I needed it. I could tell last week that my legs were getting tired, and I was beginning to enter into "slogging through workouts to get them over with" mode. That's not good for anyone. I like running, and I intend to keep it that way.
Monday's 6-miler was a little quicker than usual... yay for spring and daylight. It felt ok though, and gave me some confidence for holding that pace for the half this weekend. Tuesday's track workout also went well. For some reason, everyone was dead set on a 90sec pace, except for Allison and I who kept pushing from behind around the 200m mark. It felt good to stretch out my legs, and I was happy we didn't have to do a longer workout because it was a lot warmer than it has been. I did a 2-mile warmup and cooldown to get 6 miles in for the day. Matt and I kept the pace a lot slower on Wednesday, and managed to finish a few minutes before the monsoon hit. I saw Elaine on Thursday, and my hamstring/calf/ankle felt a lot better after. We ran at Centennial Thursday night, and it definitely felt longer/faster than it was. Oh well, my hamstring felt good on the strides (which use a greater range of motion), and I usually feel like crap on taper weeks anyways. On Friday, I tried to get a sense of what a 1:40 half pace was (~7:38 min/mile)... although my average was right, I was kind of all over the place. Saturday's shakeout run felt fine.
The Tobacco Road Half Marathon starts at 7AM. Parking/shuttles are usually a mess, so they recommended getting there around 4:30-5AM. Luckily, Keith new of a spot about a mile away that we could park, so we left the house at 5AM... I was thankful for the extra hour of sleep! A lot of my friends were either running the half or full marathon or pacing. Matt tagged along too to help unofficially pace the 1:40 group with Jerry and I. Pacing the half was a lot of fun, but a lot of pressure. We had a good group with us though. The first bit of the course is downhill, so it's hard not to go out a little under pace. We were trying to stay as consistent as possible. However, we were a little slow the first mile owing to the start of any larger race being a cluster !@#$. Then, we overshot the "makeup" pace on the second, very downhill mile. It was also hard for me to judge pace because my stupid watch had gained 0.1 miles by the 3-mile mark. We were about 15sec under at the turnaround (halfway), which wasn't a bad spot to be since the second half is definitely more up. We continued to gain a little bit each mile (we were probably 3-4sec under pace), but consistent. Oddly, the pace didn't seem too hard to maintain on the uphill sections. We finished up in the lower 1:39's, which I judged as an accurate enough pace.
A lot of my friends either an PR's and/or placed well, and the rain held off, so it was a good day. Surprisingly, the 1:40 pace didn't seem that bad. I had to hold back at some points (the more downhill sections), which will be important to keep in mind for Boston since the first half of the race is downhill. This was the first test of a longer "marathon pace" workout that I've done for a long time. Maybe I'm in better shape than I thought. One more long run, and two more semi-long runs with some pace miles...
Tues: 8x400m (88-90)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 6-miles, strides
Fri: 4-miles
Sat: 6-miles, strides
Sun: 1E + Tobacco Road Half Marathon + 1E
Total: 49 miles
I signed up to pace the 1:40 group for Tobacco Road, and it was a "taper" week, so I intentionally cut my mileage this week. I needed it. I could tell last week that my legs were getting tired, and I was beginning to enter into "slogging through workouts to get them over with" mode. That's not good for anyone. I like running, and I intend to keep it that way.
Monday's 6-miler was a little quicker than usual... yay for spring and daylight. It felt ok though, and gave me some confidence for holding that pace for the half this weekend. Tuesday's track workout also went well. For some reason, everyone was dead set on a 90sec pace, except for Allison and I who kept pushing from behind around the 200m mark. It felt good to stretch out my legs, and I was happy we didn't have to do a longer workout because it was a lot warmer than it has been. I did a 2-mile warmup and cooldown to get 6 miles in for the day. Matt and I kept the pace a lot slower on Wednesday, and managed to finish a few minutes before the monsoon hit. I saw Elaine on Thursday, and my hamstring/calf/ankle felt a lot better after. We ran at Centennial Thursday night, and it definitely felt longer/faster than it was. Oh well, my hamstring felt good on the strides (which use a greater range of motion), and I usually feel like crap on taper weeks anyways. On Friday, I tried to get a sense of what a 1:40 half pace was (~7:38 min/mile)... although my average was right, I was kind of all over the place. Saturday's shakeout run felt fine.
The Tobacco Road Half Marathon starts at 7AM. Parking/shuttles are usually a mess, so they recommended getting there around 4:30-5AM. Luckily, Keith new of a spot about a mile away that we could park, so we left the house at 5AM... I was thankful for the extra hour of sleep! A lot of my friends were either running the half or full marathon or pacing. Matt tagged along too to help unofficially pace the 1:40 group with Jerry and I. Pacing the half was a lot of fun, but a lot of pressure. We had a good group with us though. The first bit of the course is downhill, so it's hard not to go out a little under pace. We were trying to stay as consistent as possible. However, we were a little slow the first mile owing to the start of any larger race being a cluster !@#$. Then, we overshot the "makeup" pace on the second, very downhill mile. It was also hard for me to judge pace because my stupid watch had gained 0.1 miles by the 3-mile mark. We were about 15sec under at the turnaround (halfway), which wasn't a bad spot to be since the second half is definitely more up. We continued to gain a little bit each mile (we were probably 3-4sec under pace), but consistent. Oddly, the pace didn't seem too hard to maintain on the uphill sections. We finished up in the lower 1:39's, which I judged as an accurate enough pace.
A lot of my friends either an PR's and/or placed well, and the rain held off, so it was a good day. Surprisingly, the 1:40 pace didn't seem that bad. I had to hold back at some points (the more downhill sections), which will be important to keep in mind for Boston since the first half of the race is downhill. This was the first test of a longer "marathon pace" workout that I've done for a long time. Maybe I'm in better shape than I thought. One more long run, and two more semi-long runs with some pace miles...
Monday, March 10, 2014
The Gym...
So I recently started going to the gym again. It's been a while. Usually it's nice enough in NC to run outside, but this winter has sucked. That, and I decided that I needed to stop talking about lifting weights and actually do it if I was going to get stronger.
With that in mind, Monday brought a nice mix of sleet and freezing rain, which wasn't exactly motivating me to lace up my shoes and head out the door. Being that I no longer had to convince myself that "it would get better once I got going" (which is complete bs when it comes to freezing rain), Matt and I went to the gym. 3.5 miles into the run, I was thinking that running outside in the "wintery mix" might have been the better option.
Seriously. What I want to know is why people are under the disillusion that running on a treadmill is not real running?! I have heard this sentiment echoed frequently, along with the general misconception that running on a treadmill does not rack up miles on shoes. Well, let me tell you, running on the treadmill certainly felt pretty real, and I most definitely logged it as the 6-miles that it said I covered... and it was way more difficult than "for real" running the same distance outside. I was literally getting nowhere, but sweating like I was running a marathon through a rain forest.
I looked around, and everyone else seemed fine. Most had been working out at least as long as I had, and most were wearing way more clothing than I was. Capris (or, for the one guy who was rocking them, "3/4 tights"), full pants, half zips... there was even a guy wearing a knit hat. What the heck? How were these people doing it? And, it's not like this indoor winter attire was unique to the outdoor winter weather. I observed this same manner of dress the day before when it was 70 degrees outside, which I found equally as perplexing. And why would you run on a treadmill when it was beautiful outside? The ground was still too muddy for circuit training, or I would have been out there!
This lead me to the conclusion that the reason why a lot of people hate running is that they get nowhere and are dressed like a wrestler trying to make weight. I would hate running too. On a side note, weight machines are a lot more complicated than I remember. I'm working on a way to look at the pictures on the machine while not making it obvious...
With that in mind, Monday brought a nice mix of sleet and freezing rain, which wasn't exactly motivating me to lace up my shoes and head out the door. Being that I no longer had to convince myself that "it would get better once I got going" (which is complete bs when it comes to freezing rain), Matt and I went to the gym. 3.5 miles into the run, I was thinking that running outside in the "wintery mix" might have been the better option.
Seriously. What I want to know is why people are under the disillusion that running on a treadmill is not real running?! I have heard this sentiment echoed frequently, along with the general misconception that running on a treadmill does not rack up miles on shoes. Well, let me tell you, running on the treadmill certainly felt pretty real, and I most definitely logged it as the 6-miles that it said I covered... and it was way more difficult than "for real" running the same distance outside. I was literally getting nowhere, but sweating like I was running a marathon through a rain forest.
I looked around, and everyone else seemed fine. Most had been working out at least as long as I had, and most were wearing way more clothing than I was. Capris (or, for the one guy who was rocking them, "3/4 tights"), full pants, half zips... there was even a guy wearing a knit hat. What the heck? How were these people doing it? And, it's not like this indoor winter attire was unique to the outdoor winter weather. I observed this same manner of dress the day before when it was 70 degrees outside, which I found equally as perplexing. And why would you run on a treadmill when it was beautiful outside? The ground was still too muddy for circuit training, or I would have been out there!
This lead me to the conclusion that the reason why a lot of people hate running is that they get nowhere and are dressed like a wrestler trying to make weight. I would hate running too. On a side note, weight machines are a lot more complicated than I remember. I'm working on a way to look at the pictures on the machine while not making it obvious...
3/3 - 3/9
Mon: 3.5-miles, 6-miles (treadmill) + core workout
Tues: 2x1000m (4:01, 4:00), 6x600m (2:20,19,17,20,13,17)
Wed: 9.5-miles
Thurs: 3-miles, 5-miles treadmill (1E + 2MP + 0.5E + 1MP + 0.5E)
Fri: off
Sat: 19-miles
Sun: 6-miles + weights
Total: 58.5 miles
Pretty good week of training. I didn't feel quite as great as I have the past two weeks, but I'll take it. I signed up to pace the 1:40 group at Tobacco Road with my friend Jerry, so I didn't want to overdo anything this week. I had been planning to head out there anyways and run with some of my friends who were racing/pacing, so I was happy to learn that they still could use a 1:40 pacer (although I would have preferred it not to be because my friend Mike is still hurt!). If I were having an awesome day at Boston, I would Sketcher's GoRun dog dance across the finish line at 3:20, so time to "practice".
I managed to get 3.5 miles in before work when it was still nice outside. The afternoon hours brought a mix of sleet and freezing rain, so Matt and I headed to the gym. In an effort to see how I would do running Tuesday's track workout on semi-tired legs, and because I really hate running on the treadmill, I eeked the pace up a bit faster than Monday's usual recovery run. I started at 8:00 (7.5mph), and increased the pace by 0.1mph until I hit about 7:20 (8.2mph; 4 miles). Then, I went back to 7:30 (8.0mph) and decreased by 0.1mph back to 7:50 or so (7.7mph). I was pretty tired when we started doing our core exercises, so mission accomplished!
I was definitely feeling Monday's treadmill run on Tuesday. That and Tuesday's track workout featured "annoying" distances. I suppose it's good for me mentally, but 1000's and 600's are both 200m too long. Basically, I check-up the pace on the 800m/400m and pray that I hang on, which is less than satisfying. I can figure out what my 1000's map to in terms of a 5k time (multiplying by 5 isn't too hard), but in terms of my mile pace, I don't know. As for the 600's, I know a 2:15 is a 6min/mile, and I suppose I could extrapolate if I really felt like it. Anyways, our 1000's were supposed to be at half marathon pace, but I'm not racing this weekend, so I did them at "normal pace". They felt pretty good, although I would have preferred to hit slightly under 4min. The 600's were supposed to be at 5k/10k pace. Again, I did them at "normal pace", and would have preferred more of them to be closer to 2:15 than 2:20. The last 300m of each just "lactic acid hurt". The 2:13 on fifth one... holy crap. I heard footsteps behind me at ~300m mark, but didn't know whose they were. I didn't want to screw up someone else's repeat, so I tried to hang on. Apparently, Walt was trying to keep up with me, so he also picked it up. Then, Andrew came up beside us, which further pushed the pace. One of us should have just slowed down!
I didn't get up early Wednesday. And, I didn't have time to go out for a run at lunch. So, I had to run all of the miles at once. The run wasn't half bad, but I was pretty tired by the end.
Thursday brought another bought of cold rain. I managed to sneak in a little over 3-miles at lunch, which meant I didn't have to run on the treadmill for quite as long later. This turned out to be a good thing because Thursday night's workout did not go so well. I had intended to do 2x2-miles on the treadmill at marathon pace. I even managed to secure one of the treadmills with a TV, but every station just had the weather on (which was pretty obvious... cold and rain). I settled on PBS because they weren't talking about the weather. The warmup went well, and the first marathon-pace mile was ok. I was learning about the latest in AIDS research and how to interpret the unemployment numbers released at the beginning of each month. It was pretty interesting. I wasn't feeling that great by the end of the second tempo mile though. I was pretty tired, and it was hot in the gym. They also switched to an ad for their pledge drive, which was less than interesting. A quarter mile into the next tempo mile, I wanted to hit stop. I just was not having a good workout. Luckily, they switched to talking about Alzheimer disease about half a mile in, which kept me going for the next half mile. I decided to call the workout there, especially because I wanted to do a 20ish miler on Saturday, and that requires me not to be in a funk. I finished up with a half mile cooldown, and then lifted weights with Matt. Keith, Brian, and Lisa had also showed up at this point... great minds think alike!
Friday was off. Saturday was up again early. I felt awful for like the first 5 or 6 miles, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it to 19+. Everything kind of hurt, I was tired, and it was still kind of cold and icy. We got home late on Friday, and waking up at 5:15 for a long run wasn't super fun. Eventually, I settled down, and started talking to a new girl that showed up after seeing RRO's post online. She was cool, and I was glad she was there so that I didn't have to try and keep up with Jim and Jerry. My watch read 15-miles when we got back to the Art Museum (I had done a mile ahead of time). Jim and I headed back down the hill so we could run back up it. I think I forgot to restart my watch once we crossed Blue Ridge until we hit Edwards Mill, but I'm not sure. Anyways, the run down the hill was nicer than the run up. I was happy to be running with Jim this time for the last bit of a long run because it distracted me and I didn't throw in mini walk breaks (like on the last 17+ miler)! I also felt a lot better on this long run than the last... probably because I was more conservative in the middle miles. Anyways, I wound up running somewhere between 19 and 20, so good enough!
Sunday was daylight savings. I didn't feel like waking up for an 8AM (which would have felt like 7AM) run, so Matt and I just ran from the house. My legs were definitely tired, and definitely felt a lot worse than when I went to bed the night before! Oh well. We briefly went to the gym before work and concentrated mostly on core and arm exercises.
I am excited to "taper" next week for Tobacco Road (at least I have a semi-real race to taper for this time). I've never paced before, but always wanted to, so hopefully it will be fun.
Tues: 2x1000m (4:01, 4:00), 6x600m (2:20,19,17,20,13,17)
Wed: 9.5-miles
Thurs: 3-miles, 5-miles treadmill (1E + 2MP + 0.5E + 1MP + 0.5E)
Fri: off
Sat: 19-miles
Sun: 6-miles + weights
Total: 58.5 miles
Pretty good week of training. I didn't feel quite as great as I have the past two weeks, but I'll take it. I signed up to pace the 1:40 group at Tobacco Road with my friend Jerry, so I didn't want to overdo anything this week. I had been planning to head out there anyways and run with some of my friends who were racing/pacing, so I was happy to learn that they still could use a 1:40 pacer (although I would have preferred it not to be because my friend Mike is still hurt!). If I were having an awesome day at Boston, I would Sketcher's GoRun dog dance across the finish line at 3:20, so time to "practice".
I managed to get 3.5 miles in before work when it was still nice outside. The afternoon hours brought a mix of sleet and freezing rain, so Matt and I headed to the gym. In an effort to see how I would do running Tuesday's track workout on semi-tired legs, and because I really hate running on the treadmill, I eeked the pace up a bit faster than Monday's usual recovery run. I started at 8:00 (7.5mph), and increased the pace by 0.1mph until I hit about 7:20 (8.2mph; 4 miles). Then, I went back to 7:30 (8.0mph) and decreased by 0.1mph back to 7:50 or so (7.7mph). I was pretty tired when we started doing our core exercises, so mission accomplished!
I was definitely feeling Monday's treadmill run on Tuesday. That and Tuesday's track workout featured "annoying" distances. I suppose it's good for me mentally, but 1000's and 600's are both 200m too long. Basically, I check-up the pace on the 800m/400m and pray that I hang on, which is less than satisfying. I can figure out what my 1000's map to in terms of a 5k time (multiplying by 5 isn't too hard), but in terms of my mile pace, I don't know. As for the 600's, I know a 2:15 is a 6min/mile, and I suppose I could extrapolate if I really felt like it. Anyways, our 1000's were supposed to be at half marathon pace, but I'm not racing this weekend, so I did them at "normal pace". They felt pretty good, although I would have preferred to hit slightly under 4min. The 600's were supposed to be at 5k/10k pace. Again, I did them at "normal pace", and would have preferred more of them to be closer to 2:15 than 2:20. The last 300m of each just "lactic acid hurt". The 2:13 on fifth one... holy crap. I heard footsteps behind me at ~300m mark, but didn't know whose they were. I didn't want to screw up someone else's repeat, so I tried to hang on. Apparently, Walt was trying to keep up with me, so he also picked it up. Then, Andrew came up beside us, which further pushed the pace. One of us should have just slowed down!
I didn't get up early Wednesday. And, I didn't have time to go out for a run at lunch. So, I had to run all of the miles at once. The run wasn't half bad, but I was pretty tired by the end.
Thursday brought another bought of cold rain. I managed to sneak in a little over 3-miles at lunch, which meant I didn't have to run on the treadmill for quite as long later. This turned out to be a good thing because Thursday night's workout did not go so well. I had intended to do 2x2-miles on the treadmill at marathon pace. I even managed to secure one of the treadmills with a TV, but every station just had the weather on (which was pretty obvious... cold and rain). I settled on PBS because they weren't talking about the weather. The warmup went well, and the first marathon-pace mile was ok. I was learning about the latest in AIDS research and how to interpret the unemployment numbers released at the beginning of each month. It was pretty interesting. I wasn't feeling that great by the end of the second tempo mile though. I was pretty tired, and it was hot in the gym. They also switched to an ad for their pledge drive, which was less than interesting. A quarter mile into the next tempo mile, I wanted to hit stop. I just was not having a good workout. Luckily, they switched to talking about Alzheimer disease about half a mile in, which kept me going for the next half mile. I decided to call the workout there, especially because I wanted to do a 20ish miler on Saturday, and that requires me not to be in a funk. I finished up with a half mile cooldown, and then lifted weights with Matt. Keith, Brian, and Lisa had also showed up at this point... great minds think alike!
Friday was off. Saturday was up again early. I felt awful for like the first 5 or 6 miles, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it to 19+. Everything kind of hurt, I was tired, and it was still kind of cold and icy. We got home late on Friday, and waking up at 5:15 for a long run wasn't super fun. Eventually, I settled down, and started talking to a new girl that showed up after seeing RRO's post online. She was cool, and I was glad she was there so that I didn't have to try and keep up with Jim and Jerry. My watch read 15-miles when we got back to the Art Museum (I had done a mile ahead of time). Jim and I headed back down the hill so we could run back up it. I think I forgot to restart my watch once we crossed Blue Ridge until we hit Edwards Mill, but I'm not sure. Anyways, the run down the hill was nicer than the run up. I was happy to be running with Jim this time for the last bit of a long run because it distracted me and I didn't throw in mini walk breaks (like on the last 17+ miler)! I also felt a lot better on this long run than the last... probably because I was more conservative in the middle miles. Anyways, I wound up running somewhere between 19 and 20, so good enough!
Sunday was daylight savings. I didn't feel like waking up for an 8AM (which would have felt like 7AM) run, so Matt and I just ran from the house. My legs were definitely tired, and definitely felt a lot worse than when I went to bed the night before! Oh well. We briefly went to the gym before work and concentrated mostly on core and arm exercises.
I am excited to "taper" next week for Tobacco Road (at least I have a semi-real race to taper for this time). I've never paced before, but always wanted to, so hopefully it will be fun.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
February Recap
Although training this winter has been a bit challenging, February was a pretty good month all and all. I still got some workouts in, and the times for my repeats are getting a bit faster. I also managed my first 20-miler in about a year's time, and it didn't feel half bad. I've started incorporating some weight lifting into the mix (lighter weight with higher reps) after one of my training partners threw out his back. That scared the crap out of me (my back locks up from time to time, although not nearly as badly as his did), so I decided to stop talking about lifting weights and doing more core exercises and actually do it before I wound up like him! On to Daniel's "longer interval" phase... my least favorite of the four. [training log]
Total: 229 miles
Total: 229 miles
Monday, March 3, 2014
On Visualization...
Since I started running in high school, every coach I've ever had has recommended visualization. Now, I have a pretty good imagination, and a half decent memory. I have run the Boston Marathon twice now (2010 and 2011), and parts of the course are still pretty vivid.
I can clearly recall the "home stretch" after turning onto Boylston Street. By my estimate, it is somewhere between 600m and 800m to the finish line... definitely over 400m because I was pretty tired in 2011, told myself I'd be done in 2min once I made the turn, and I definitely was not even close.
So, for most of the workouts I've done in 2014, I've "practiced" this finish for the last 600m. Last week's 8x800m repeats was no exception. I was pretty good for the first 2/3 of the workout, but as I got tired, my ability to project the finish line of the Boston Marathon onto the track faded. This got me to thinking... mainly because I needed something to distract (sorry, "motivate") me for the last two repeats if I was going to stay on pace.
The problem with visualizing the same thing over and over again during the workout is, well, you don't often run through the finish line of the same race 8 times in one day... or even twice for that matter (note: in my mind, the finish line in a track race is just a line until the bell lap). So, while visualization is good, I needed visualization variety. Other things to visualize... obviously other parts of a 26.2-mile long race, or maybe even finish lines of other races.
However, what came to mind was an event that is permanently burned into my brain from Heartbreak Hill in 2011. I had gone out way too fast (first half of a marathon PR), and was dead by mile 18. So, this meant that I was really dead by mile 21+ and going up a hill. I must have looked pretty pathetic (photographic evidence would later prove this correct) because a man who looked old enough to be my grandfather ran past me, turned back around, and said:
This was probably the saddest, most motivating thing that anyone has ever shouted at me during a race. It did get me moving again, and it continues to get me moving again. First lap of the next repeat was a bit slow... out pops Grampa Ghost Runner telling me to pick it up... like Garmin's virtual training partner. He did a good job too for this workout, even when I got a cramp in my side on the last repeat... although I'm blaming the 5sec slowdown on the fact that I was wearing Under Armour tights.
I can clearly recall the "home stretch" after turning onto Boylston Street. By my estimate, it is somewhere between 600m and 800m to the finish line... definitely over 400m because I was pretty tired in 2011, told myself I'd be done in 2min once I made the turn, and I definitely was not even close.
So, for most of the workouts I've done in 2014, I've "practiced" this finish for the last 600m. Last week's 8x800m repeats was no exception. I was pretty good for the first 2/3 of the workout, but as I got tired, my ability to project the finish line of the Boston Marathon onto the track faded. This got me to thinking... mainly because I needed something to distract (sorry, "motivate") me for the last two repeats if I was going to stay on pace.
The problem with visualizing the same thing over and over again during the workout is, well, you don't often run through the finish line of the same race 8 times in one day... or even twice for that matter (note: in my mind, the finish line in a track race is just a line until the bell lap). So, while visualization is good, I needed visualization variety. Other things to visualize... obviously other parts of a 26.2-mile long race, or maybe even finish lines of other races.
However, what came to mind was an event that is permanently burned into my brain from Heartbreak Hill in 2011. I had gone out way too fast (first half of a marathon PR), and was dead by mile 18. So, this meant that I was really dead by mile 21+ and going up a hill. I must have looked pretty pathetic (photographic evidence would later prove this correct) because a man who looked old enough to be my grandfather ran past me, turned back around, and said:
"Come on, we'll both get our medals."
This was probably the saddest, most motivating thing that anyone has ever shouted at me during a race. It did get me moving again, and it continues to get me moving again. First lap of the next repeat was a bit slow... out pops Grampa Ghost Runner telling me to pick it up... like Garmin's virtual training partner. He did a good job too for this workout, even when I got a cramp in my side on the last repeat... although I'm blaming the 5sec slowdown on the fact that I was wearing Under Armour tights.
2/24 - 3/2
Mon: 3.5-miles, 6-miles
Tues: 8 x 800m (3:07, :05, :06, :05, :06, :06, :04, :09)
Wed: 3.5-miles, 6-miles
Thurs: 7-miles
Fri: 3-miles (treadmill) + weights
Sat: 17-miles
Sun: 10-miles
Total: 63 miles
100k week (because that sounds more bad a$$ than 63 miles)! Marathon+ on the weekend! Best yasso workout in some time!
BAZINGA!
Monday's runs were Monday's runs. As usual, I was asleep for the first mile of the morning segment. And, Newt and I got sucked into running with a kid who was had never run the route at Tir na nOg before. He had been a sprinter in high school and was training for his first 4-mile race. So, the pace was easy, but that probably wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Tuesday's track workout went well. I chased Allison and Andrew for the first 5 repeats. Anyone who wasn't racing this weekend stopped at 5, and as Allison joked, it might have been a good idea to decide to race this weekend. She was right, although the last 3 repeats went ok... well, the last 2 because I started to get a cramp in my side on the last one. Still, it was the best yasso workout that I've put together in a while.
Wednesday's runs were a bit quick. Typically, my "lunch junk miles" are faster than my "pre-breakfast junk miles" because I'm awake. So, that was to be expected. However, Matt and I started running with these two people which I semi-recognize (and who seem to semi-know us) at Centro. They are both pretty good runners, so it wasn't exactly an easy pace. I didn't want to get dropped, so I kept up. It didn't feel bad, so eh.
Due to the fact that Wednesday's run was less than easy, and that most people were racing and/or semi-injured but still running, we kept the pace at "not crazy" on Thursday. No matter what, the North Hills run is never easy owing to the fact that it is hilly as crap.
Matt and I went to the gym on Friday. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill (descending every 1/2-mile from 8:00 to 7:30 min pace), and then we lifted weights. I don't know if lifting weights is helping at all, but I'm going to tell myself it is. Honestly, I probably need to lift weights more than once a week for a half hour and/or supplement it with plyometrics or something. And, I'm not sure if I'm lifting enough weight and/or doing enough reps. I've tried to keep the amount of weight semi-light and do 2 sets of 10 reps. Usually, by the end of each set, I'm starting to get tired. I try and get through most of the machines that I see (yes, a very technical approach), and alternate between arms, legs, and core. Oh well, maybe I'll have to do some more research.
I'm not going to lie, I am really happy with Saturday's 17 miler. I haven't run that long at that pace in I have no idea when. I felt pretty good too. I got to the Art Museum a bit ahead of time to get 2-miles in before the rest of the group got there. I had started at 6:30 for the last two 17 milers that I had done from there, and I seriously doubted my ability to cover the same distance in 30min less. Looking at my splits... I need to figure out how to not be asleep for the first couple miles of any run starting before 8AM! Good thing Boston starts late. And that I'd probably get trampled if I went out at a 9+ min pace. However, after the first couple of miles, the pace progressively got quicker (until I got dropped coming out of Umstead because I was running with people much faster than myself). I got back to the Art Museum at 16-miles, but I really wanted to get 17 in, so I turned back to see if I could find Jim (who had actually driven past work to run with us, and then decided to torture himself more by re-running the hill out of the park). I didn't see him... I wasn't wearing my glasses... so it took me a while to figure out if what I was seeing in the distance was a telephone pole or person. Anyways, I gave up after a few minutes and ran back.
Sunday's run went well too. The weather was great. Shorts and a long sleeve shirt, which could have been shorts and a t-shirt by the end. And, since I liked Saturday's pace so much, I ran the exact same pace on Sunday for nearly the exact same route. Matt and I also lifted weights, albeit briefly because I got out of work late.
I'm starting to feel like my old running self again. I'm going to try and put in another solid week of miles, and then I might pace the Tobacco Road Half. We'll see.
Tues: 8 x 800m (3:07, :05, :06, :05, :06, :06, :04, :09)
Wed: 3.5-miles, 6-miles
Thurs: 7-miles
Fri: 3-miles (treadmill) + weights
Sat: 17-miles
Sun: 10-miles
Total: 63 miles
100k week (because that sounds more bad a$$ than 63 miles)! Marathon+ on the weekend! Best yasso workout in some time!
BAZINGA!
Monday's runs were Monday's runs. As usual, I was asleep for the first mile of the morning segment. And, Newt and I got sucked into running with a kid who was had never run the route at Tir na nOg before. He had been a sprinter in high school and was training for his first 4-mile race. So, the pace was easy, but that probably wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Tuesday's track workout went well. I chased Allison and Andrew for the first 5 repeats. Anyone who wasn't racing this weekend stopped at 5, and as Allison joked, it might have been a good idea to decide to race this weekend. She was right, although the last 3 repeats went ok... well, the last 2 because I started to get a cramp in my side on the last one. Still, it was the best yasso workout that I've put together in a while.
Wednesday's runs were a bit quick. Typically, my "lunch junk miles" are faster than my "pre-breakfast junk miles" because I'm awake. So, that was to be expected. However, Matt and I started running with these two people which I semi-recognize (and who seem to semi-know us) at Centro. They are both pretty good runners, so it wasn't exactly an easy pace. I didn't want to get dropped, so I kept up. It didn't feel bad, so eh.
Due to the fact that Wednesday's run was less than easy, and that most people were racing and/or semi-injured but still running, we kept the pace at "not crazy" on Thursday. No matter what, the North Hills run is never easy owing to the fact that it is hilly as crap.
Matt and I went to the gym on Friday. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill (descending every 1/2-mile from 8:00 to 7:30 min pace), and then we lifted weights. I don't know if lifting weights is helping at all, but I'm going to tell myself it is. Honestly, I probably need to lift weights more than once a week for a half hour and/or supplement it with plyometrics or something. And, I'm not sure if I'm lifting enough weight and/or doing enough reps. I've tried to keep the amount of weight semi-light and do 2 sets of 10 reps. Usually, by the end of each set, I'm starting to get tired. I try and get through most of the machines that I see (yes, a very technical approach), and alternate between arms, legs, and core. Oh well, maybe I'll have to do some more research.
I'm not going to lie, I am really happy with Saturday's 17 miler. I haven't run that long at that pace in I have no idea when. I felt pretty good too. I got to the Art Museum a bit ahead of time to get 2-miles in before the rest of the group got there. I had started at 6:30 for the last two 17 milers that I had done from there, and I seriously doubted my ability to cover the same distance in 30min less. Looking at my splits... I need to figure out how to not be asleep for the first couple miles of any run starting before 8AM! Good thing Boston starts late. And that I'd probably get trampled if I went out at a 9+ min pace. However, after the first couple of miles, the pace progressively got quicker (until I got dropped coming out of Umstead because I was running with people much faster than myself). I got back to the Art Museum at 16-miles, but I really wanted to get 17 in, so I turned back to see if I could find Jim (who had actually driven past work to run with us, and then decided to torture himself more by re-running the hill out of the park). I didn't see him... I wasn't wearing my glasses... so it took me a while to figure out if what I was seeing in the distance was a telephone pole or person. Anyways, I gave up after a few minutes and ran back.
Sunday's run went well too. The weather was great. Shorts and a long sleeve shirt, which could have been shorts and a t-shirt by the end. And, since I liked Saturday's pace so much, I ran the exact same pace on Sunday for nearly the exact same route. Matt and I also lifted weights, albeit briefly because I got out of work late.
I'm starting to feel like my old running self again. I'm going to try and put in another solid week of miles, and then I might pace the Tobacco Road Half. We'll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)