I've been well enough the last three days to start running again but just barely. I've been wiped out by all my runs and usually need to take a nap during the day to make up for them. This cold/illness is lingering I'm sure, because I am running but I guess I just can't bear not to run even if it is sloooooooow and tiring. Just muddling through it I guess.
Another tidbit that I've noticed is that our treadmill is way off from the ones at the club, which I believe are correct. When I run at home my pace is 20-40 seconds slower. Also I have to convert from metric since we brought the treadmill home with us from Japan. That is why I sometimes run 12.4 miles which = 20k. Maybe our treadmill has a slight slope to it which makes it harder. I'll have to check that out.
Okay, end of boring post but just wanted to let you know that I'm slowly coming around.
All in: Friday 5 at 10:03
Saturday 10 at 9:18
Sunday 12.4 at 9:41
Jan 17, 2010
Jan 11, 2010
More Marathon Thoughts
This picture must have been towards the end because that is the only time I took my hat off.My final placing was 93 out of 559 runners, top 17%; 19 out of 58 in my age group, top 33% and 80 out of 361 men, 22%. I passed 29 people after the halfway point and was passed by 5.
I forgot to mention on my original post that I was on a plane at the airport less than 2 hours after finishing the marathon. That includes time to walk back to the hotel, take an ice bath and shower. Quick trip!
This is a picture of the medal they gave. They also gave a harmonica emblazened with "MS Blues Marathon". Kind of cool. The kids like playing with it anyway.Recovery seemed to go pretty well, for a few days anyway. On Monday I ran 12.4 miles albeit at a slow pace, 9:14, and it wasn't easy. Then Tuesday I was stricken by a nasty stomach virus that had me coming and going if you know what I mean. So I didn't run on Wednesday although I really, really, really, really, really wanted to and was sorely tempted. Today seems to be worse than yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow and Saturday? If so I still might be able to salvage something for January.
All in Monday 12.4 miles at 9:14
Jan 9, 2010
MS Blues Marathon
First of all I must say that the MS Blues marathon is a nice little marathon. The fan support was a little lacking but I think there would have been more if it wasn't 20 degrees out. The volunteers were great though, very enthusiastic. I was warm enough but I was running. I imagine they had to be freezing just standing there. A couple nice touches at the start was the national anthem being played in a bluesy way on an electric guitar and a simultaneous start with a race by military personnel in Iraq that was played on a big screen.
I stayed at one of the recommended hotels and that made the logistics of the weekend very easy. They provided a shuttle to and from the airport, were just a few blocks from the expo and start/finish line and provided runners 20% off their pasta bar the night before the race. I met other runners that stayed there too and everybody was very friendly.
The cold created a few problems during the race. The aid stations became slippery as people spilled water around the tables and it froze. Almost all the cups of water that were handed to me had a thin layer of ice on top. A few spots on the road that normally had standing water were also frozen over. None of this was a big issue, just had to be a little more aware than normal sometimes.
I decided to wear running tights, stocking hat instead of headband and three layers on top. One tight non sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt and a tight-fitting pullover. The pullover has a small pocket in the back that I realized was stretchy enough to hold 6 gels. It was a bit floppy but didn't matter too much. I left my hotel room about 15 minutes before the start of the race and in spite of my cold I felt pretty good. I was there in plenty of time to let my Garmin acquire its satellites and stood by the portable heaters. As the race started I easily settled into an 8:30 pace but as I was feeling good that kept creeping faster. I did my best to try to hold back the pace though as I kept thinking that I wanted to be able to continue training next week. Five miles came in at 41:41, 8:20 pace.
During mile six I stopped to take a potty break. Probably a result of the belated attempt to sufficiently hydrate the night before. I think I ended up drinking too much too fast. Anyway, after relieving myself and walking through water stops I was still keeping up a satisfactory pace. The first 8-9 miles were fairly rolling but after that there was a long flat section. Around mile 9 for some reason I hit a mental low point. Not sure exactly why but the thought of running for almost 4 hours seemed to get to me. This has happened before during marathons but I just run through it because, what else am I going to do? Second five miles were 42:34, 8:30 pace.
From the elevation map on the website I expected the hills to hit at about the halfway point. I later found out that although they changed the course this year, they didn't update the elevation map. So I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't overly hilly. I hit the halfway point at about 1:50 and after another potty break and a gel, I had a nice positive mental surge. I realized I was halfway done and all I had to do was a two hour half marathon to meet my goal. Even if I totally fell apart and did a 2:10 half I would be in my goal range. Feeling good. Third five miles was 42:35, 8:31 pace.
During the second half of the race I generally passed more people than passed me although there were a few people that I played cat and mouse with. The miles through the teens seemed to fly by and soon there were only single digits to go and it was easy to start counting them down. For quite a few miles we ran through a nice wooded neighborhood. Occasionally people would be out to cheer on the runners and quite often they'd have a firepit in the front yard to keep warm. Mostly I kept thinking that I was glad I didn't have to rake their leaves in the fall. Fourth five miles was 43:03, 8:36 pace.
The last part of the race was where the hills hit, and they hit pretty hard. Although I knew my overall pace would slow because of the hills I still felt pretty strong and was happy to be able to push the pace a bit in a few places so as not to totally fall apart. Miles 21-24 were tough and I really had to mentally stay focused to keep running and keep pace. I was never really hit with the time-sucking walking/jogging that can plague me towards the end of some marathons though. I kept calculating my time and kept coming up with 3:48-3:50 which I would have been very happy with. For the last 4-5 miles I didn't even walk through any of the aid stations as I wasn't sweating very much and wasn't thirsty. At mile 24 somebody said there was only one big hill left. He missed it by 3 though. Fifth 5 miles was 43:54, 8:47 pace.
The only sign I remember was from a guy playing a cowbell that I saw three times on the course. It said "Doubters can suck it." Oh yeah, for some reason I remember one for somebody named Melissa.
Somebody passed me towards the end and I praised their finishing strength. Then it occurred to me that instead I should have praised their conservative start. I think I'll do that in future marathons, when somebody passes me towards the end, instead of saying "way to finish strong" I'll say "way to start smart."
Just before mile 26 I came upon a young guy running slowly. Here's our dialogue:
"Who puts a @#$%^ hill like this at the end of a marathon?"
"Dude, don't let it get to you."
"C'mon..."
"No, you c'mon, lets beat this hill."
But it was too late; the hill had already beaten him mentally and I never saw him again.
Shortly after that I passed the 26 mile mark at 3:43 and realized I could beat 3:45 if I picked it up a bit. So I did and finished in 3:44:50.
I'm quite happy with my time since I was was shooting for 3:50 but expecting closer to 4:00. My cold didn't seem to hinder me too much although there were a few times when I had to cough quite a bit. Just happy that I felt strong throughout and I think it was at a pace that will allow me to continue training next week.
All in 26.2 at 8:35.
I stayed at one of the recommended hotels and that made the logistics of the weekend very easy. They provided a shuttle to and from the airport, were just a few blocks from the expo and start/finish line and provided runners 20% off their pasta bar the night before the race. I met other runners that stayed there too and everybody was very friendly.
The cold created a few problems during the race. The aid stations became slippery as people spilled water around the tables and it froze. Almost all the cups of water that were handed to me had a thin layer of ice on top. A few spots on the road that normally had standing water were also frozen over. None of this was a big issue, just had to be a little more aware than normal sometimes.
I decided to wear running tights, stocking hat instead of headband and three layers on top. One tight non sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt and a tight-fitting pullover. The pullover has a small pocket in the back that I realized was stretchy enough to hold 6 gels. It was a bit floppy but didn't matter too much. I left my hotel room about 15 minutes before the start of the race and in spite of my cold I felt pretty good. I was there in plenty of time to let my Garmin acquire its satellites and stood by the portable heaters. As the race started I easily settled into an 8:30 pace but as I was feeling good that kept creeping faster. I did my best to try to hold back the pace though as I kept thinking that I wanted to be able to continue training next week. Five miles came in at 41:41, 8:20 pace.
During mile six I stopped to take a potty break. Probably a result of the belated attempt to sufficiently hydrate the night before. I think I ended up drinking too much too fast. Anyway, after relieving myself and walking through water stops I was still keeping up a satisfactory pace. The first 8-9 miles were fairly rolling but after that there was a long flat section. Around mile 9 for some reason I hit a mental low point. Not sure exactly why but the thought of running for almost 4 hours seemed to get to me. This has happened before during marathons but I just run through it because, what else am I going to do? Second five miles were 42:34, 8:30 pace.
From the elevation map on the website I expected the hills to hit at about the halfway point. I later found out that although they changed the course this year, they didn't update the elevation map. So I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't overly hilly. I hit the halfway point at about 1:50 and after another potty break and a gel, I had a nice positive mental surge. I realized I was halfway done and all I had to do was a two hour half marathon to meet my goal. Even if I totally fell apart and did a 2:10 half I would be in my goal range. Feeling good. Third five miles was 42:35, 8:31 pace.
During the second half of the race I generally passed more people than passed me although there were a few people that I played cat and mouse with. The miles through the teens seemed to fly by and soon there were only single digits to go and it was easy to start counting them down. For quite a few miles we ran through a nice wooded neighborhood. Occasionally people would be out to cheer on the runners and quite often they'd have a firepit in the front yard to keep warm. Mostly I kept thinking that I was glad I didn't have to rake their leaves in the fall. Fourth five miles was 43:03, 8:36 pace.
The last part of the race was where the hills hit, and they hit pretty hard. Although I knew my overall pace would slow because of the hills I still felt pretty strong and was happy to be able to push the pace a bit in a few places so as not to totally fall apart. Miles 21-24 were tough and I really had to mentally stay focused to keep running and keep pace. I was never really hit with the time-sucking walking/jogging that can plague me towards the end of some marathons though. I kept calculating my time and kept coming up with 3:48-3:50 which I would have been very happy with. For the last 4-5 miles I didn't even walk through any of the aid stations as I wasn't sweating very much and wasn't thirsty. At mile 24 somebody said there was only one big hill left. He missed it by 3 though. Fifth 5 miles was 43:54, 8:47 pace.
The only sign I remember was from a guy playing a cowbell that I saw three times on the course. It said "Doubters can suck it." Oh yeah, for some reason I remember one for somebody named Melissa.
Somebody passed me towards the end and I praised their finishing strength. Then it occurred to me that instead I should have praised their conservative start. I think I'll do that in future marathons, when somebody passes me towards the end, instead of saying "way to finish strong" I'll say "way to start smart."
Just before mile 26 I came upon a young guy running slowly. Here's our dialogue:
"Who puts a @#$%^ hill like this at the end of a marathon?"
"Dude, don't let it get to you."
"C'mon..."
"No, you c'mon, lets beat this hill."
But it was too late; the hill had already beaten him mentally and I never saw him again.
Shortly after that I passed the 26 mile mark at 3:43 and realized I could beat 3:45 if I picked it up a bit. So I did and finished in 3:44:50.
I'm quite happy with my time since I was was shooting for 3:50 but expecting closer to 4:00. My cold didn't seem to hinder me too much although there were a few times when I had to cough quite a bit. Just happy that I felt strong throughout and I think it was at a pace that will allow me to continue training next week.
All in 26.2 at 8:35.
Jan 7, 2010
2010
As my first marathon of the year approaches I think it is time to blog about my goals for 2010 and my plan for this marathon. I'll list them in order of importance.
1) Run a marathon in every month of the year. Pretty self explanatory and well known since it has been on my blog for several months now. It is a stretch and I think my odds of doing it are less than 50% depending on my abilities/travel/family or other commitments. Something to shoot for though.
2) Get a marathon PB sometime during the year. When I got my current marathon PB I was running really well; in fact I got my 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon PB's within 2.5 weeks. Honestly I don't know if I'll be able to run that well again but if I can then it should be this year while I'm putting on all of these miles. My marathon time was really hindered by the half marathon that I ran two weeks prior and didn't fully recover from otherwise it would have been much faster. That is the only reason that I think I can improve on my current marathon PB.
3) Race well in several smaller, shorter races/triathlons throughout the year. If I don't have other things to look at I'm afraid the marathoning will get stale and I would get burnt out. I'd like to do 2-3 sprint triathlons.
4) Finish all the marathons in under 4 hours. This is not really a big deal, just something I'd like to do. Currently I have 3 marathons within a minute or so of 3:20, three from 3:50 to 4:00 and two slower than that (one I was running with a friend and one I ran about 70 miles in the previous 3 months). Not that I have to make excuses for running 4:00+ marathons but I guess I do.
5) Run a negative split marathon. Honestly, I don't think they make these. I'm supposed to run 20 miles and then get faster? I don't see it.
Finally I also really want to support my wife and son (9)and get them to do some more races/triathlons. My son has done 5k's and triathlons and I'd like him to do more. My wife has done 5k's, has her eyes on 10k's and just maybe, even further. If we all have enough fun even my daughter (6) could get into the picture. She has done one kid's triathlon.
So those are my goals and now my plan for this weekend. I originally thought I'd go out at 8:30-8:40, a comfortable pace, walk through the water stops to keep hydrated and then finish around 3:50, 8:46 per mile. But now the weather forecast is for 20 degrees and a breeze at the start and warming up to mid 20's by the time I finish. Even coming from MN that is not optimal. So now I'll have to wear gloves (and get gel over them), tights, long sleeves and jacket and a hat/headband. I usually carry all my gels in the pockets of my Soark shorts. But with tights I won't be able to do that. I do have pockets in my jacket but they would flop around a lot more right in my stomach area. I could wear my shorts over my tights but I have always thought that looks goofy. Add to all of that the fact that I still have my cold and it seems to have moved from my head down to my lungs. We all know that isn't good. Today it took me about half an hour to clear out all of the nasty green stuff. So I guess things don't look promising and I'll definitely not get goal #5 and could very seriously lose #4 for the entire year. Good thing those aren't the important ones.
I'll have a race report next week.
All in: Wednesday 10 at 8:32 (and it felt good, kept wanting to go faster)
1) Run a marathon in every month of the year. Pretty self explanatory and well known since it has been on my blog for several months now. It is a stretch and I think my odds of doing it are less than 50% depending on my abilities/travel/family or other commitments. Something to shoot for though.
2) Get a marathon PB sometime during the year. When I got my current marathon PB I was running really well; in fact I got my 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon PB's within 2.5 weeks. Honestly I don't know if I'll be able to run that well again but if I can then it should be this year while I'm putting on all of these miles. My marathon time was really hindered by the half marathon that I ran two weeks prior and didn't fully recover from otherwise it would have been much faster. That is the only reason that I think I can improve on my current marathon PB.
3) Race well in several smaller, shorter races/triathlons throughout the year. If I don't have other things to look at I'm afraid the marathoning will get stale and I would get burnt out. I'd like to do 2-3 sprint triathlons.
4) Finish all the marathons in under 4 hours. This is not really a big deal, just something I'd like to do. Currently I have 3 marathons within a minute or so of 3:20, three from 3:50 to 4:00 and two slower than that (one I was running with a friend and one I ran about 70 miles in the previous 3 months). Not that I have to make excuses for running 4:00+ marathons but I guess I do.
5) Run a negative split marathon. Honestly, I don't think they make these. I'm supposed to run 20 miles and then get faster? I don't see it.
Finally I also really want to support my wife and son (9)and get them to do some more races/triathlons. My son has done 5k's and triathlons and I'd like him to do more. My wife has done 5k's, has her eyes on 10k's and just maybe, even further. If we all have enough fun even my daughter (6) could get into the picture. She has done one kid's triathlon.
So those are my goals and now my plan for this weekend. I originally thought I'd go out at 8:30-8:40, a comfortable pace, walk through the water stops to keep hydrated and then finish around 3:50, 8:46 per mile. But now the weather forecast is for 20 degrees and a breeze at the start and warming up to mid 20's by the time I finish. Even coming from MN that is not optimal. So now I'll have to wear gloves (and get gel over them), tights, long sleeves and jacket and a hat/headband. I usually carry all my gels in the pockets of my Soark shorts. But with tights I won't be able to do that. I do have pockets in my jacket but they would flop around a lot more right in my stomach area. I could wear my shorts over my tights but I have always thought that looks goofy. Add to all of that the fact that I still have my cold and it seems to have moved from my head down to my lungs. We all know that isn't good. Today it took me about half an hour to clear out all of the nasty green stuff. So I guess things don't look promising and I'll definitely not get goal #5 and could very seriously lose #4 for the entire year. Good thing those aren't the important ones.
I'll have a race report next week.
All in: Wednesday 10 at 8:32 (and it felt good, kept wanting to go faster)
Jan 4, 2010
Off and running...
Finally I felt good enough today to get out and run. Not actually out since it is 0 degrees but I did put 15 miles on the treadmill. Legs felt great as you would expect with three days off. They kept wanting to go faster but my lungs and head said no. I still need to take it easy and get 100% over this cold after all.
I don't really feel like I can taper going into this marathon or have a rest week coming out of it. I'm hoping I can train right through it actually. It will just be like a well supported long run. Usually I take 1 or no gels during my long runs but I'll take several during the marathon so hopefully my recovery won't take too long. If I need to have a taper and recovery week surrounding each marathon I do then I'll only be able to train for 2 weeks out of each month. So this first marathon will be an interesting test of how well I'll be able to train in the days before and after it.
All in 15 miles at 8:42
I don't really feel like I can taper going into this marathon or have a rest week coming out of it. I'm hoping I can train right through it actually. It will just be like a well supported long run. Usually I take 1 or no gels during my long runs but I'll take several during the marathon so hopefully my recovery won't take too long. If I need to have a taper and recovery week surrounding each marathon I do then I'll only be able to train for 2 weeks out of each month. So this first marathon will be an interesting test of how well I'll be able to train in the days before and after it.
All in 15 miles at 8:42
Jan 3, 2010
2009
2009 was a pretty good year of running for me. I finished off December with 204 miles which is my highest monthly total since December of 2007. For the year I had 1,500 miles which is pretty good considering I was doing a lot of biking and swimming from March through June as I was training for a half iron triathlon. I did two marathons, qualified for Boston, one half marathon and 3 5k's although only one was run seriously. For 2010 I have new goals but I'll address them in a later post.
I am getting off to a rather slow start to this year though. I haven't run yet! Unfortunately I still have a wicked head cold that I am trying to get over but I am feeling a little better now. I'm hoping to run 15 tomorrow on my way to 50 for the week which shouldn't be too hard to get to since I'll be running over half of that on Saturday.
Happy new year everybody!
I am getting off to a rather slow start to this year though. I haven't run yet! Unfortunately I still have a wicked head cold that I am trying to get over but I am feeling a little better now. I'm hoping to run 15 tomorrow on my way to 50 for the week which shouldn't be too hard to get to since I'll be running over half of that on Saturday.
Happy new year everybody!
Dec 29, 2009
Weekend Update
I'm getting behind in my blogging and blog reading. I'll just chalk that up to the holiday season and busy-ness that goes along with it. Trying to get caught up now.
Last week ended up being a decent week of running, better than I had expected. Fifty-two total miles after I added a 15 miler on Wednesday, 9 miles of speedwork on Thursday and 8 miles on Saturday. Since we travelled towards the end of the week I thought my mileage would taper off a bit more but my wife and I were able to get out in warm Las Vegas for some running. We went to Sunset Park. For those unfamiliar it is a big park with a pond, ball fields, playground, swimming pool, frisbee golf course and a 1 mile packed dirt running path. Very nice. We got out there Saturday and Sunday morning with my wife doing 5 on Saturday, the furthest she's run in decades.
This week won't be quite as high mileage-wise for several reasons. First, the kids are home from school and I can't just leave them home and head out. Second, after 3 50 mile weeks in a row I should have a low mileage week. Finally I've got a nasty cold since last night. Sinus headache, sneezing, runny nose and sore throat. I think it'll just last a few days.
Looks like I'll top 200 miles this month for the first time in a couple years which coincides with me taking up triathloning. So I don't mind if the mileage is low when I'm swimming and biking too. I'll update final month and year totals after the new year.
Be safe!
All in: Wednesday 15.01 at 8:30
Thursday 9 at 7:58 with 5 mile repeats from 6:26 to 6:06
Saturday 8 at 7:27
Sunday 6 at 7:38
Last week ended up being a decent week of running, better than I had expected. Fifty-two total miles after I added a 15 miler on Wednesday, 9 miles of speedwork on Thursday and 8 miles on Saturday. Since we travelled towards the end of the week I thought my mileage would taper off a bit more but my wife and I were able to get out in warm Las Vegas for some running. We went to Sunset Park. For those unfamiliar it is a big park with a pond, ball fields, playground, swimming pool, frisbee golf course and a 1 mile packed dirt running path. Very nice. We got out there Saturday and Sunday morning with my wife doing 5 on Saturday, the furthest she's run in decades.
This week won't be quite as high mileage-wise for several reasons. First, the kids are home from school and I can't just leave them home and head out. Second, after 3 50 mile weeks in a row I should have a low mileage week. Finally I've got a nasty cold since last night. Sinus headache, sneezing, runny nose and sore throat. I think it'll just last a few days.
Looks like I'll top 200 miles this month for the first time in a couple years which coincides with me taking up triathloning. So I don't mind if the mileage is low when I'm swimming and biking too. I'll update final month and year totals after the new year.
Be safe!
All in: Wednesday 15.01 at 8:30
Thursday 9 at 7:58 with 5 mile repeats from 6:26 to 6:06
Saturday 8 at 7:27
Sunday 6 at 7:38
Dec 21, 2009
More Bells
Okay, I promise this won't become a woodworking blog but just wanted to show off a few more bells that I've made. These are for my sisters and are about 3 inches in height versus the 6-7 inch one I made for my wife. I'll put a little hangar thing on these so they can be used as ornaments. I only have four sisters so likely my wife will be getting one of these too. The white bells are Corian, the counter top material while the handles are various woods.
Okay, back to running. Had a decent week last week, getting in about 53 miles in 4 runs. Fortunately not all of it was on treadmills as Saturday morning was about 20 degrees. Since my son had a basketball game I couldn't run with my normal group and got out alone at 6:30 AM. A lot earlier than I'm used to! This week I'm hoping to get close to 50 miles but since we'll be traveling for Christmas and the kids will be out of school starting Wednesday, it might be difficult. Started out right though as I got off the treadmill less than an hour ago after 20 miles and almost 3 hours. My entry in my training log was "Ugh". Unfortunately I foresee a lot more of that in the future.
All in: Wednesday 13.19 at 8:50
Thursday 8 at 7:58 (speedwork with 4 mile repeats in the 6:20's)
Saturday 13.67 at 8:52 (honestly each mile felt about 20 seconds faster per mile)
Monday (today) 20.06 at 8:49
Dec 14, 2009
Another Hobby
My other hobby (is running a hobby? Maybe more of an obsession or passion?) is woodworking. I haven't done too much of it in the last year but I enjoy it when I do. I always make my wife two things for Christmas. One is a nativity scene and the other is something from the stump of our Christmas tree from the previous year. This year I decided to make her a bell. What do you think? I'm no artisan but I'm happy with how it turned out. The nativity scene might be a last minute thing though...Running and woodworking have something in common and that is patience. You just can't be in a hurry to run 10, 12 or more miles and you have to slowly shape the wood and fit it together. Any big mistakes on measuring or cutting and you have to start all over again. Unfortunately in both arenas I am in all too much of a hurry to get things done. I think one day I'll learn the lesson I'm trying to teach myself.
I found some treadmills a the club that don't have to be reset after 60 minutes. So my big motivation today was to put up a big number on the display, at least 18 miles. Unfortunately I found out that they do reset at 100 minutes. D'oh. So the only big number I put up was just over 11 miles and then I had to start over again.
All in: 18.35 at 8:43
Dec 12, 2009
Another Title Deficient Post
Two things struck me as I sat down at the computer at 6:30 this morning. The first was that there is only 28 days until my next marathon. How did this happen? Can I really do 12 of those things next year? With the holidays in there I think the time will go fast before I toe the line again. I better get ready.
The second thing was that I was happy to see that it was 7 degrees out. 7 degrees = happy. I guess it's all relative and when you are expecting 0 degrees 7 turns out to be a blessing. I mean, I had done 12 degrees last week so how much worse could 7 be? Didn't really matter that the wind chill was below zero because, heck, I'd be going with the wind at least half the time. Zero just seems a lot worse somehow. I know it's coming, and I'll probably get out and run in it, but it just seems a lot worse.
I was planning on 12-13 but the group I was running with did 8. Since I ran to and from the running store where we met up that put me closer to 14 for the day and that put me at 50.01 for the whole week. Not a huge achievement, I've been there before and will be there again but not bad for 4 runs either. The pace was a little slow today as it is hard to run when you are slipping on packed snow, trudging through an unshoveled path or dodging large lumps thrown up onto the sidewalk by the snowplow.
I was supposed to do speedwork on Thursday. Wasn't really up for that. I could tell my legs were tired from the day before so I decided to do a tempo run instead. Aaaaactually it was too slow to really be termed a tempo run so it was kind of a marathon paced run. A short marathon paced run. After a two mile warm up I finished with 5 miles at 7:13. Not bad, especially considering that my HR was lower than the first five miles of MP runs that I was doing for the Marine Corps and Myrtle Beach marathons. My legs were tired though so I didn't run anymore than that.
All in: Thursday 7 at 7:40
Saturday 13.87 at 8:28
The second thing was that I was happy to see that it was 7 degrees out. 7 degrees = happy. I guess it's all relative and when you are expecting 0 degrees 7 turns out to be a blessing. I mean, I had done 12 degrees last week so how much worse could 7 be? Didn't really matter that the wind chill was below zero because, heck, I'd be going with the wind at least half the time. Zero just seems a lot worse somehow. I know it's coming, and I'll probably get out and run in it, but it just seems a lot worse.
I was planning on 12-13 but the group I was running with did 8. Since I ran to and from the running store where we met up that put me closer to 14 for the day and that put me at 50.01 for the whole week. Not a huge achievement, I've been there before and will be there again but not bad for 4 runs either. The pace was a little slow today as it is hard to run when you are slipping on packed snow, trudging through an unshoveled path or dodging large lumps thrown up onto the sidewalk by the snowplow.
I was supposed to do speedwork on Thursday. Wasn't really up for that. I could tell my legs were tired from the day before so I decided to do a tempo run instead. Aaaaactually it was too slow to really be termed a tempo run so it was kind of a marathon paced run. A short marathon paced run. After a two mile warm up I finished with 5 miles at 7:13. Not bad, especially considering that my HR was lower than the first five miles of MP runs that I was doing for the Marine Corps and Myrtle Beach marathons. My legs were tired though so I didn't run anymore than that.
All in: Thursday 7 at 7:40
Saturday 13.87 at 8:28
Dec 9, 2009
(Don't) Let It Snow
Ugh, the snow is here and I think it's going to stay. It came down all night and I awoke to a nice drift on the driveway to shovel. I must admit that ever since I lived in the warm-weather city of Tokyo that I am a weather-wimp. Minnesota is not a good place for me to live. But here I am and now I have to make the best of it which, more times than not, means the treadmill. Especially on days like today when it is snowing, blowing 30 mph gusts and has temperatures in the single digits.
So after relocating the snow from my driveway to our lawn and unstucking my wife's car from the driveway, a process that took 90 minutes by the way, I headed to the health club to run. I got to come up with a way to count the shoveling as a workout. Like say, each shovel throw equals a step and they all add up to miles somehow. Too bad Mr. Garmin won't count shovel loads for me. Anyway, I started out on the treadmill at a nice and easy 8:57 pace and didn't expect it to feel as good as it did. I sped up and still felt good. And then I did it again. I was feeling so good that I decided to turn it into somewhat of a progression run with each mile faster than the last. I ended up with the last one at 7:35 and the whole run at an 8:11 average. Not incredibly fast overall but at least the last few were at a decent pace and with a good amount of miles too.
Monday, which might have been one of the last outside runs of the year, was 17.14 miles. Usually my long runs are a little slower than I ran but I wanted to get out of the cold and wind so the pace was a little faster.
Okay, I'll try to stop complaining about the weather so much but don't count on it.
All in: Today 12 at 8:11
Monday: 17.14 at 8:32
So after relocating the snow from my driveway to our lawn and unstucking my wife's car from the driveway, a process that took 90 minutes by the way, I headed to the health club to run. I got to come up with a way to count the shoveling as a workout. Like say, each shovel throw equals a step and they all add up to miles somehow. Too bad Mr. Garmin won't count shovel loads for me. Anyway, I started out on the treadmill at a nice and easy 8:57 pace and didn't expect it to feel as good as it did. I sped up and still felt good. And then I did it again. I was feeling so good that I decided to turn it into somewhat of a progression run with each mile faster than the last. I ended up with the last one at 7:35 and the whole run at an 8:11 average. Not incredibly fast overall but at least the last few were at a decent pace and with a good amount of miles too.
Monday, which might have been one of the last outside runs of the year, was 17.14 miles. Usually my long runs are a little slower than I ran but I wanted to get out of the cold and wind so the pace was a little faster.
Okay, I'll try to stop complaining about the weather so much but don't count on it.
All in: Today 12 at 8:11
Monday: 17.14 at 8:32
Dec 5, 2009
Week In Review
What a good week of running it has been. I did have one bad day but overall it has been good so I'm focusing on that. It all started off with me officially signing up for the Mississippi Blues marathon on Monday. Glad to get that on the schedule so I can firm up my training plan. After that I did about 16.5 miles at a casual pace.
Tuesday was some weightlifting and stretching; which, by the way, I'm crediting with getting rid of my lingering upper hamstring/lower buttocks pain. It never really slowed my running (I don't think anyway) but it was a pain. I rarely feel it at all these days.
Tuesday I got in an odd run because it was 12 nonstop miles. I ran outside but traffic, shoelaces, stoplights, nothing stopped me. I can't remember when or if I've ever been able to do that before. Usually I'll try to stop to catch my breath or just because I'm lazy or pain averse but after going a few miles with good breaks on the traffic lights I set a goal in my head and met it. On top of that was that I originally set out for only 10 miles.
Thursday's run was the bad day. Since it has suddenly turned cold and I didn't want to run outside I went to the health club to hit the treadmills for some speedwork. Unfortunately my left knee decided to give me some excuses not to run. Earlier in the week it was a little sore but loosened up nicely after a little running. After I warmed up for two miles it really didn't like the change of pace to a 6:27 mile. I was a bit disappointed in that but still wanted to get some work in so I switched to half mile repeats in 3:11, 3:11 and 3:06. In total I got in 6 miles but was a bit concerned. One minor positive is that I felt like I wimped out after "only" getting 6 miles in.
Friday was more lifting and stretching.
Then today I ran with my running group and...no knee pain! I don't know where it went but I didn't even have to warm up into the run, it was gone from the beginning. Maybe the icing and pain killers are just what the doctors ordered. So we did 10 miles at just over 8 minutes per mile and it felt very easy. Nice run all the way around. Of course then I came home and got Hiroo out for a few miles too. Oh, did I mention it was 12 degrees out?
All in: Monday 16.54 at 8:40 (quite windy)
Wednesday 12.02 at 8:47
Thursday 6.02 at 7:51
Saturday 12.28 at 8:07
Tuesday was some weightlifting and stretching; which, by the way, I'm crediting with getting rid of my lingering upper hamstring/lower buttocks pain. It never really slowed my running (I don't think anyway) but it was a pain. I rarely feel it at all these days.
Tuesday I got in an odd run because it was 12 nonstop miles. I ran outside but traffic, shoelaces, stoplights, nothing stopped me. I can't remember when or if I've ever been able to do that before. Usually I'll try to stop to catch my breath or just because I'm lazy or pain averse but after going a few miles with good breaks on the traffic lights I set a goal in my head and met it. On top of that was that I originally set out for only 10 miles.
Thursday's run was the bad day. Since it has suddenly turned cold and I didn't want to run outside I went to the health club to hit the treadmills for some speedwork. Unfortunately my left knee decided to give me some excuses not to run. Earlier in the week it was a little sore but loosened up nicely after a little running. After I warmed up for two miles it really didn't like the change of pace to a 6:27 mile. I was a bit disappointed in that but still wanted to get some work in so I switched to half mile repeats in 3:11, 3:11 and 3:06. In total I got in 6 miles but was a bit concerned. One minor positive is that I felt like I wimped out after "only" getting 6 miles in.
Friday was more lifting and stretching.
Then today I ran with my running group and...no knee pain! I don't know where it went but I didn't even have to warm up into the run, it was gone from the beginning. Maybe the icing and pain killers are just what the doctors ordered. So we did 10 miles at just over 8 minutes per mile and it felt very easy. Nice run all the way around. Of course then I came home and got Hiroo out for a few miles too. Oh, did I mention it was 12 degrees out?
All in: Monday 16.54 at 8:40 (quite windy)
Wednesday 12.02 at 8:47
Thursday 6.02 at 7:51
Saturday 12.28 at 8:07
Nov 30, 2009
Nov 28, 2009
Turkey Trot Race Report
Again I'm conflicted, should you really have a race report about a turkey trot? I'm going to I guess, for my own record keeping. First I must say stay away from Taco John's for any late night snacking; gave my son and me a gurgly stomach all week. Your experiences may vary.
We flew to the Black Hills of South Dakota to spend the holiday with my family. Had beautiful weather there all week, upper 50's to 60's. Very nice. Race morning was chilly but beautiful nonetheless. As we waited around at the end I was in shorts, no hat or gloves and not even the slightest bit chilled, even after 45 minutes. The event was very casual. Verrrrrry casual. There was a clock but no official timing. Didn't really seem to be an official finish line either as there was a sign with a turkey on it (like the starting line), the clock at the finish and a third spot with FINISH written on the walkway. By all accounts the course was .08-.1 miles long too.
Still, I enjoyed the race as it was the first 5k I've done in quite some time. I never really respected the distance before until I moved to Tokyo. There my running club did a 5k time trial every month. I definitely grew to respect and enjoy the distance. Well, three paragraphs in and I haven't really started the race report. Here goes:
The course was mostly flat and I started out a little quick. At one point Mr. Garmin read 6:16 per mile so I slowed a little from that. I was passed by a very tall guy in yellow, like 6'5" or so. I was surprised because shorter is usually better. Kept running and settled in behind a younger person, maybe a high school cross country runner, with a funny way of kicking his heels out when he ran. The one mile point (no mile markers, just Mr. Garmin) was at a turn around, 6:34. I counted maybe 20 people in front of me. Most looked like young runners in high school or college but I didn't really pay attention. On the way back we ran into the bulk of everybody else which made the sidewalk very crowded. Heavy breather came up behind me but had a hard time passing because of the oncoming people. Eventually she did though and I was surprised to see it was a young woman. Didn't fit with the heavy breathing.
Mile two came and went at 6:34 again, quite consistent anyway. I knew my pace was 7 seconds off of 20 minute pace but I didn't want to push harder and then really blow up. In mile 3 I was passed by a couple young guys running easy and chatting. At first I was impressed that the pace was so easy for them but then I was less impressed with their effort. I mean really, run hard why don't you? But then it hit me that this was a turkey trot after all so I cut them some slack (all this occurred in my mind though). My pace for the last mile slowed to 6:49 but part of that was climbing a 12-15 foot bank by a stream and then running about half a mile on the grass. Took me back to my own high school cross country days. I felt I was keeping a decent pace and passed heavy breather. I finished strong but was confused at the finish line fiasco. Oh well, it was just a turkey trot. Official time by Mr. Garmin was 21:08 but I'm reducing that to 20:36 for an actual 5k distance. With passing some people and getting passed I figured I was in the 20-25 range of finishers.
After a minute or two of rest I headed back out on the course in reverse to find my wife. We met up about a half mile from the finish and I paced her in to a PB of just over 35 minutes. She never thinks she can do those things by I always know she can. Funny how you can have so much more confidence for other people's running. Now she's all intimidated about the 10k I'm pushing her towards.
Other good news is that I won a cherry pie that they held a drawing to give away. They had 350 pies for 800-900 runners. After that, like many of you I'm sure, was much food and a nap. Nice.
Today was a nice sunny morning but cooler, maybe 30 degrees. Got in a good distance and paced run with a group. Oh, thanks for all the well wishes about the knee. A little bit of lingering pain but it is getting to be less and less every day. Not holding me back at all.
All in: Thursday 5.3 at 7:45
Saturday 11.21 at 8:14.
We flew to the Black Hills of South Dakota to spend the holiday with my family. Had beautiful weather there all week, upper 50's to 60's. Very nice. Race morning was chilly but beautiful nonetheless. As we waited around at the end I was in shorts, no hat or gloves and not even the slightest bit chilled, even after 45 minutes. The event was very casual. Verrrrrry casual. There was a clock but no official timing. Didn't really seem to be an official finish line either as there was a sign with a turkey on it (like the starting line), the clock at the finish and a third spot with FINISH written on the walkway. By all accounts the course was .08-.1 miles long too.
Still, I enjoyed the race as it was the first 5k I've done in quite some time. I never really respected the distance before until I moved to Tokyo. There my running club did a 5k time trial every month. I definitely grew to respect and enjoy the distance. Well, three paragraphs in and I haven't really started the race report. Here goes:
The course was mostly flat and I started out a little quick. At one point Mr. Garmin read 6:16 per mile so I slowed a little from that. I was passed by a very tall guy in yellow, like 6'5" or so. I was surprised because shorter is usually better. Kept running and settled in behind a younger person, maybe a high school cross country runner, with a funny way of kicking his heels out when he ran. The one mile point (no mile markers, just Mr. Garmin) was at a turn around, 6:34. I counted maybe 20 people in front of me. Most looked like young runners in high school or college but I didn't really pay attention. On the way back we ran into the bulk of everybody else which made the sidewalk very crowded. Heavy breather came up behind me but had a hard time passing because of the oncoming people. Eventually she did though and I was surprised to see it was a young woman. Didn't fit with the heavy breathing.
Mile two came and went at 6:34 again, quite consistent anyway. I knew my pace was 7 seconds off of 20 minute pace but I didn't want to push harder and then really blow up. In mile 3 I was passed by a couple young guys running easy and chatting. At first I was impressed that the pace was so easy for them but then I was less impressed with their effort. I mean really, run hard why don't you? But then it hit me that this was a turkey trot after all so I cut them some slack (all this occurred in my mind though). My pace for the last mile slowed to 6:49 but part of that was climbing a 12-15 foot bank by a stream and then running about half a mile on the grass. Took me back to my own high school cross country days. I felt I was keeping a decent pace and passed heavy breather. I finished strong but was confused at the finish line fiasco. Oh well, it was just a turkey trot. Official time by Mr. Garmin was 21:08 but I'm reducing that to 20:36 for an actual 5k distance. With passing some people and getting passed I figured I was in the 20-25 range of finishers.
After a minute or two of rest I headed back out on the course in reverse to find my wife. We met up about a half mile from the finish and I paced her in to a PB of just over 35 minutes. She never thinks she can do those things by I always know she can. Funny how you can have so much more confidence for other people's running. Now she's all intimidated about the 10k I'm pushing her towards.
Other good news is that I won a cherry pie that they held a drawing to give away. They had 350 pies for 800-900 runners. After that, like many of you I'm sure, was much food and a nap. Nice.
Today was a nice sunny morning but cooler, maybe 30 degrees. Got in a good distance and paced run with a group. Oh, thanks for all the well wishes about the knee. A little bit of lingering pain but it is getting to be less and less every day. Not holding me back at all.
All in: Thursday 5.3 at 7:45
Saturday 11.21 at 8:14.
Nov 24, 2009
Easy Come, Easy Go
Seems how well I was running last week was reserved for last week. I started this week off with a little bit of brand-spanking-new knee pain. Not worried because it isn't running related; it started after playing basketball with my son and some neighborhood kids Sunday afternoon. I guess running could aggravate it though but it already seems to be going away. I'm sure it is nothing to worry about.
Anyway, because of the knee pain I took yesterday off and ran a little today. I was planning on having a low mileage/rest week so at least my training schedule isn't out of whack. I did a couple mile repeats to tune up for my 5k turkey trot this Thursday. (Are turkey trots supposed to be taken so seriously?) After working way too hard to get around in 6:16 and 6:30, I called it quits. Wasn't doing much good and thought I'd be more rested if I didn't push for any more. After last week's running I was pretty confidant I could go sub 20. Now not so much. Looking forward to it anyway, haven't done a hard 5k in quite some time now.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
All in: 5.5 at 7:47 (with Hiroo)
Anyway, because of the knee pain I took yesterday off and ran a little today. I was planning on having a low mileage/rest week so at least my training schedule isn't out of whack. I did a couple mile repeats to tune up for my 5k turkey trot this Thursday. (Are turkey trots supposed to be taken so seriously?) After working way too hard to get around in 6:16 and 6:30, I called it quits. Wasn't doing much good and thought I'd be more rested if I didn't push for any more. After last week's running I was pretty confidant I could go sub 20. Now not so much. Looking forward to it anyway, haven't done a hard 5k in quite some time now.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
All in: 5.5 at 7:47 (with Hiroo)
Nov 21, 2009
Running With The Dog
Well after Monday's 16 miler I've had some real good runs this week. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the weightlifting and stretching taking affect. The recent speedwork? Could be just a good few days. And, of course, there's always the bacon.Anyway, I already mentioned my 10 mile run on Wednesday and how that went. Thursday I ran with the family pet, Hiroo, to the local track and tied him up while I did a few mile repeats. The first one went by in 6:30; not bad, about what I figured. But the second one was feeling pretty good and I got around in 6:10. !!!??? That was a surprise. Especially since my half repeats last week were at about that pace. The last one I decided to take Hiroo and see how he'd do. Actually pretty well as he about dragged me around the track and wouldn't stop frolicking and playing with his leash. 6:12. Maybe next time I'll have him run with me the whole way.
This morning I got out with the running group again, like most recent Saturdays. We started out for 8 at about 8:00 but never really hit that pace. No, me and another guy just got going and wouldn't slow down. Don't know why. We were both wearing Garmins. We both knew we were going too fast and didn't really want/need to go that fast. Just kept going though, guess we were in a rhythm. We finished at just over 8 miles at a 7:39 pace. Kind of quick! I went home after that and added on a couple more miles with Hiroo but since they were a little slower they didn't do much for him. I need to get him back out and let him pull me on the rollerblades again.
One last note on the mile repeats. I'm planning on doing a 5k turkey trot on turkey day and was hoping to go under 20 minutes. There was a time about 18 months ago that would be a no brainer. Well, now it is somewhat of a brainer. Not sure if I can do it but I'm feeling better about it now since it requires keeping a 6:27 pace. We'll see how this week goes.
All in: Thursday 6.6 @ 7:47 (4.6 for Hiroo)
Saturday 10.6 @ 7:50.
Nov 18, 2009
What a difference a day makes (or two)
On Monday I got out for a 16 miler (okay, Mr. Garmin said 15.81 but since my goal was 15 I'm happy) which is what my long runs consist of these days and I don't mind saying it kicked my @$$. Don't know why. The first half was about 8:10's but the second half was closer to 8:40's; putting me at 8:23 for the whole thing which is okay. The real bad part was how tired and sore I felt later in the day and yesterday. I'm only a few weeks out from marathon training and already 16 miles puts me on my butt? How sad.
I did get in my lifting yesterday with some success but I was worried about running today. I just didn't want to get out and have it be a chore and not enjoyable. Maybe that's why I procrastinated an extra hour or so. Anyway, my run today turned out to be pretty good. It was only 10 so I didn't have to push those extra 6 (5.81) miles but I did it at an 8:09 pace and ran negative splits by over 30 seconds. That is especially noteworthy since the first half is significantly downhill and then uphill coming home. Not sure why I ran well but I think it has something to do with nutrition as I did eat a Baconator last night. I think bacon is the new spinach.
All in: Monday 16 (15.81) at 8:23
Wednesday 10 at 8:09
I did get in my lifting yesterday with some success but I was worried about running today. I just didn't want to get out and have it be a chore and not enjoyable. Maybe that's why I procrastinated an extra hour or so. Anyway, my run today turned out to be pretty good. It was only 10 so I didn't have to push those extra 6 (5.81) miles but I did it at an 8:09 pace and ran negative splits by over 30 seconds. That is especially noteworthy since the first half is significantly downhill and then uphill coming home. Not sure why I ran well but I think it has something to do with nutrition as I did eat a Baconator last night. I think bacon is the new spinach.
All in: Monday 16 (15.81) at 8:23
Wednesday 10 at 8:09
Nov 14, 2009
Return to Stretching
I'm kind of liking my new workout routine. The running is pretty much the same although I'm adding a weekly speed workout. Hopefully I can find some others to join me in that. Also I'm adding some weightlifting and...wait for it...stretching. Never really been much of a stretcher, mostly because I've always been pretty flexible anyway. Also I used the studies that say stretching lengthens ligaments, tendons and muscles and decreases their ability to spring back, therefore decreasing running speed as justification for not stretching. Now of course I'm reading about the injury prevention benefits and that the decrease in range of motion caused by inflexibility also causes a decrease in running speed. So a little bit of stretching for me. How little? Well I've read that as little as 30 seconds a day can increase your flexibility for up to six weeks. After that maybe I'll go wild and bump it up to 45 seconds a day.
The weightlifting is nice because it is such a short workout. I can get it all done in about 45 minutes which is easy compared to running for twice that long. I do have to watch myself a bit though because last Monday I pushed a little too hard and had to bag my run on Tuesday. Way too sore. Oh well, I'm gradually building it up.
Running? Oh yeah, I did a little bit of that this week too.
All in: Wednesday: 12.8 miles @ 8:20
Thursday: 6.55 @ 7:47; 4x800 in 3:12, 3:08, 3:04 and 2:58
Saturday: 10.71 @ 8:16
The weightlifting is nice because it is such a short workout. I can get it all done in about 45 minutes which is easy compared to running for twice that long. I do have to watch myself a bit though because last Monday I pushed a little too hard and had to bag my run on Tuesday. Way too sore. Oh well, I'm gradually building it up.
Running? Oh yeah, I did a little bit of that this week too.
All in: Wednesday: 12.8 miles @ 8:20
Thursday: 6.55 @ 7:47; 4x800 in 3:12, 3:08, 3:04 and 2:58
Saturday: 10.71 @ 8:16
Nov 7, 2009
Stretching? Nah...
Well, I was going to blog a little about stretching, but like stretching itself I'll put that off to another day. Since I've had some comments on my stated goal of a marathon a month for 2010, I'll talk about that instead.
So that's my goal, to do one marathon each month. I'm not optimistic about it getting done, in fact I put the odds at maybe 50%. There are two main areas that will cause problems: a) my abilities to avoid injury and burn out and b) logistics/expense. To avoid injuries I'm just going to try to build a large aerobic base and back off when I have to. To avoid burn out: ??? As for the logistics/expense, well, I'm lucky enough to be married to a woman who worked for Northwest Airlines long enough for us to have flight benefits. Free flights! But (there's always a but) they are standby only so if I'm signed up for a marathon and there are no open flights for me to get there, I'm SOL. That definitely can help with the expense but hotels, cars and race fees will add up. As far as logistics, well, the flights are a potential problem but being gone one weekend a month could be an issue too. Won't know about that until it happens.
Right now I have the first part of the year planned out although I haven't signed up for any races yet. Here is the plan:
January: Mississippi Blues Marathon, Jackson, MS or First Light Marathon, Mobile, AL
February: Mercedes Marathon, Birmingham, AL or Last Chance For Boston, Columbus, OH
(also possiblish: Sedona Marathon, Sedona, AZ and New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon, a Rock n Roll event)
March: Little Rock Marathon, Little Rock AR (all about the bling)
April: Oklahoma City Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK
May: Green Bay Marathon, Green Bay, WI
Summer: a marathon in Alaska
Fall and Winter: ???
Any input/insight/recommendation is welcome and appreciated.
This week I seem to be recovering pretty well. In addition to my 10 mile run on Tuesday I ran the same route on Thursday only a couple minutes faster thanks to pushing the hills the last 3 miles. Remind me not to do that again. This morning I ran with a new group of people that a friend recommended to me. We met at a local running store, a group of about 10-12 with various distances and abilities. One had qualified for Boston, a few more were trying, one was training for an iron distance triathlon and a couple were just getting back into it. I did 10 as I was planning but then the woman training for the IM wanted to do 10 more minutes so another guy and I jumped in. Ended up going 11.76 and yes, we went longer than 10 minutes. Ever notice when you run with a group the pace only gets faster? People always want to keep up but nobody ever wants to be the one to fall behind so the ebbs and flows of a run end up just getting faster and faster. Good training if that's what you are looking for.
All in: Thurs 10 @ 8:04 and Sat 11.76 @ 8:04.
So that's my goal, to do one marathon each month. I'm not optimistic about it getting done, in fact I put the odds at maybe 50%. There are two main areas that will cause problems: a) my abilities to avoid injury and burn out and b) logistics/expense. To avoid injuries I'm just going to try to build a large aerobic base and back off when I have to. To avoid burn out: ??? As for the logistics/expense, well, I'm lucky enough to be married to a woman who worked for Northwest Airlines long enough for us to have flight benefits. Free flights! But (there's always a but) they are standby only so if I'm signed up for a marathon and there are no open flights for me to get there, I'm SOL. That definitely can help with the expense but hotels, cars and race fees will add up. As far as logistics, well, the flights are a potential problem but being gone one weekend a month could be an issue too. Won't know about that until it happens.
Right now I have the first part of the year planned out although I haven't signed up for any races yet. Here is the plan:
January: Mississippi Blues Marathon, Jackson, MS or First Light Marathon, Mobile, AL
February: Mercedes Marathon, Birmingham, AL or Last Chance For Boston, Columbus, OH
(also possiblish: Sedona Marathon, Sedona, AZ and New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon, a Rock n Roll event)
March: Little Rock Marathon, Little Rock AR (all about the bling)
April: Oklahoma City Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK
May: Green Bay Marathon, Green Bay, WI
Summer: a marathon in Alaska
Fall and Winter: ???
Any input/insight/recommendation is welcome and appreciated.
This week I seem to be recovering pretty well. In addition to my 10 mile run on Tuesday I ran the same route on Thursday only a couple minutes faster thanks to pushing the hills the last 3 miles. Remind me not to do that again. This morning I ran with a new group of people that a friend recommended to me. We met at a local running store, a group of about 10-12 with various distances and abilities. One had qualified for Boston, a few more were trying, one was training for an iron distance triathlon and a couple were just getting back into it. I did 10 as I was planning but then the woman training for the IM wanted to do 10 more minutes so another guy and I jumped in. Ended up going 11.76 and yes, we went longer than 10 minutes. Ever notice when you run with a group the pace only gets faster? People always want to keep up but nobody ever wants to be the one to fall behind so the ebbs and flows of a run end up just getting faster and faster. Good training if that's what you are looking for.
All in: Thurs 10 @ 8:04 and Sat 11.76 @ 8:04.
Nov 3, 2009
Okay, now what?
I was all set to run yesterday but when the time came, well, it wasn't there. But no problem, I just decided to do a weightlifting workout instead. That is one thing I'm going to add to my workout regimen, weights. Didn't want to overdo it yesterday, just tried out some of the machines, did some light leg work and some for the core too. That's what is getting me today, the core.
So, in addition to the weights, what am I going to do? I was all set continue the long runs, MP runs and add in some speed work but now I'm second guessing that. My goal is to do a marathon a month next year and if I'm going to accomplish that I think I'll need a bigger aerobic base. That means miles and lots of them. So I think that's what I'll do; slow it down and pound them out. I'm going to pick up a couple workouts per week too, up to five or so. Perhaps I'll even get back to my all time high weekly mileage of 70-80 miles. Well, maybe not. But I do have lots of time to build up and peak for a couple key marathons next year so I'll start back at the beginning, laying the foundation.
I started that today with a nice 10 mile run. Felt good, laboring towards the end because of the hills and wind. I guess I didn't overdo it with the weights because my legs felt good. Still not 100% recovered but it's coming. And you know what? I don't need to be recovered yet, just need to get in the miles.
All in: 10 miles at 8:14 pace.
So, in addition to the weights, what am I going to do? I was all set continue the long runs, MP runs and add in some speed work but now I'm second guessing that. My goal is to do a marathon a month next year and if I'm going to accomplish that I think I'll need a bigger aerobic base. That means miles and lots of them. So I think that's what I'll do; slow it down and pound them out. I'm going to pick up a couple workouts per week too, up to five or so. Perhaps I'll even get back to my all time high weekly mileage of 70-80 miles. Well, maybe not. But I do have lots of time to build up and peak for a couple key marathons next year so I'll start back at the beginning, laying the foundation.
I started that today with a nice 10 mile run. Felt good, laboring towards the end because of the hills and wind. I guess I didn't overdo it with the weights because my legs felt good. Still not 100% recovered but it's coming. And you know what? I don't need to be recovered yet, just need to get in the miles.
All in: 10 miles at 8:14 pace.
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