5 m at 8.57 pace w/ avg HR of 166
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 - 9.10/155 - (8.18/167)
2 - 8.43/166 - (8.43/172)
3 - 8.50/169 - (9.03/176)
4 - 8.43/166 - (8.43/180)
5 - 8.38/177 - (9.22/185)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The parentheticals are the times/HR from the past Saturday's run which was on the same course (just about - the last mile was a little different, I ran up the hill to my house in this run whereas I looped the flat clubhouse driveway this past saturday).
This is pretty interesting on a few points:
* The difference that about 10-15 degrees in heat can make.
* Miles 2 and 4 were at the exact same pace, but with wildly different HR.
* I was running much faster over the last 4 miles on average, but with much lower HR.
I think it was also helped by that slow first mile warmup. Lesson learned there.
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
2009 Bridge Run - The quest for the sub 50 minute race
Okay, so it's finally here. All the training, all the bad luck with injuries and illness, all the good luck (with weather and time/sheduling issues)...all that's behind and it's time for the race.
The sub 50 minute 10K goal is met: 6.2 miles in 47.88 (47:53) w/ an avg HR of 181.
Woo!
Here's how it went down:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 8.03 @ 169 - Okay, I'm feeling okay about this time. It's the first mile, I'm not perfectly warmed up because of all the waiting around, and there's lots of jockeying around for position this early in the race. This is only a little bit off of target pace.
2nd mile in 8.62 @ 180 - This time completely deflates me. I can't believe my eyes when I see it, because I feel like I'm running pretty good. HR is elevated, I'm not dealing with jackrabbits in the way, and my running form is stretched out and about where I want it. The only thing that's difficult is the last quarter of this mile is actually going up the bridge, so there's a good stretch uphill (with a headwind). Still, at this point, given my perceived level-of-effort, I'm sure my 50 min goal is just plain shot as I am clearly not feeling it today for whatever reason (cold, etc).
3rd mile in 7.18 @ 185 - What's this? A 7.18 min/mile? Most of that UP the bridge hill? What? I guess we're back on again! 50 min goal is once again achievable! Seriously, this mile did wonders for my confidence after that 2nd mile #. (In hindsight, I think that the mile markers must have been a little off - i.e. Mile 2 was probably carrying about 5-10% of mile 3's distance - there's just no way that there would be this much of a disparity between my splits). Note - On the bridge, I spotted an older (50's) guy wearing a tshirt saying "Oxygen is overrated - Run the blah-blah-blah Mountain race." Well, I guess O2 isn't quite *that* overrated, since I passed him at some point and didn't see him again.
4th mile in 7.22 @ 182 - A large part of this was the downhill of the bridge, but that's still a solid split that's giving more continued confidence. Suddenly, having made up all the deficit I incurred on the 1st & 2nd miles on the 3rd, and gaining 38 seconds on this 4th mile...the 50 min goal is readily in hand and I'm considering 49 minutes? 48 minutes?? Note - Coming down the long downhill stretch of the hill, I noticed the combover guy from my neighborhood running along the left hand side. Either he jumped out ahead at the beginning, or he was just way in front of me in line, but I only now caught up to him. As I steadily reeled him in, I had every intention of looking for his bib number as I passed, but before I knew it he was gone and I was down off the bridge and into Charleston proper.
5th mile in 7.70 @ 183 - After I hit the 4 mile marker, I made a conscious effort to back off a little and conserve a little energy. This mile was the result of that. I usually have trouble in the downtown sections, mostly because you're coming off that long downhill section where it's fast and breezy and nice...into the muggy and flat and enclosed streets of downtown. So, I backed off a little bit to save for that last mile and 2/10ths. My mantra at this point was "you can tolerate anything for 15 minutes," which was about the time I estimated I had left in the race. 50 minutes was a given, now I was definitely shooting for 49 and beyond.
6th mile in 7.43 @ 184 - This was a tough mile, but the break was over and it was time to buckle down and get to work. At one point, I tried my mind-trick of counting every right step, but I only did that for 30 seconds or so before I got bored and stopped. My mantra switched to "you can survive anything for 10 minutes." I don't remember any runners or spectators around me, they were all just a vague image in the fog of my pounding head. I do remember thinking "I could slow down to a 9 minute pace on this one and still hit 50 minutes." Good thing I didn't. At one point, I noticed a camera guy on a cat walk above Meeting St and I pointed at him to see if he'd take my picture.
.20 mile in 1.52 (7.60 pace) @ 186 - When I crossed the 6th mile marker and saw my split, I was convinced I could do 48 minutes. I couldn't even remember the specific reward Jen had promised for that time goal (and completely forgot a key part of it when I relayed it to Dawn later), but I am soooo glad I had that additional goal specified as otherwise I might have just been satisfied with 50 minutes and given into the pain a mile and a half ago. On the final left turn, a pack of runners that were cutting the corner collided and a man practically ran over a kid and cursed at him in the process. Nice move, jackass. After I rounded the corner and could read the time board way down at the finish line, I estimated I had about 30 seconds to get there and beat 48 minutes. I turned it on as best I could. I thought I was moving pretty fast until this 20 year old kid flew past me on the right in a dead out sprint. I don't know if I could run that fast at the beginning of a run...dude must've been saving some serious energy for the end. I crossed the line in 23 of the 30 seconds I had and immediately slowed to a walk. A guy on the right was bent over at the sidewalk and (I think) hurling. Wasn't the 20 year old kid though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post Race - I walked down the finish chute and by the time I reached the stop light I was pretty much recovered. I even jogged a little towards the sweat shuttles since I wanted to hurry and start gathering freebies. I stopped on the way and grabbed a couple of Vitamin Waters that were being handed out and guzzled one immediately. Made it up to the sweat shuttles and noticed that the normal freebie fair area was empty so I figured they must have moved that into the regular expo area. Gathered my bag up and got things sort of situated, estimated I had about 20 minutes til Dawn showed up so I headed over to get some freebies.
There was a 30 yard line waiting for the Clif bar tent, so I got into that and got some of those and the oreos and graham crackers they were giving away. I saw a Red Bull tent in the distance and headed that way. Grabbed a banana and some water and choked both down.
Waited for Dawn for a while but we apparently missed each other because she said she was waiting for me for at least 15 minutes. Ate a free lara bar while I waited for her and drank a water a girl next to me offered because it was extra. Was worried a little about Dawn and called Jen to see if maybe she had heard from her, she hadn't but was about 20 minutes out of Chas so there was no need to hurry.
Finally spotted Dawn and she was excited because she met her goal of running the whole race. Didn't know what her time was though (she ended up doing great and running a sub 11-min-mile).
We hung around for a little while and then made the long walk down to Waterfront park to meet up with everyone. (Note - Rent one of those bike rickshaw things next year to carry us instead of walking.)
We had absolutely gorgeous weather (temp around 60 at the start of the race and a perfectly clear sky) and I wore a short sleeved running tee, shorts, my Brooks shoes, and the Halo headband. The headband worked pretty well as I don't remember wiping sweat out of my eyes but maybe one time.
The sub 50 minute 10K goal is met: 6.2 miles in 47.88 (47:53) w/ an avg HR of 181.
Woo!
Here's how it went down:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 8.03 @ 169 - Okay, I'm feeling okay about this time. It's the first mile, I'm not perfectly warmed up because of all the waiting around, and there's lots of jockeying around for position this early in the race. This is only a little bit off of target pace.
2nd mile in 8.62 @ 180 - This time completely deflates me. I can't believe my eyes when I see it, because I feel like I'm running pretty good. HR is elevated, I'm not dealing with jackrabbits in the way, and my running form is stretched out and about where I want it. The only thing that's difficult is the last quarter of this mile is actually going up the bridge, so there's a good stretch uphill (with a headwind). Still, at this point, given my perceived level-of-effort, I'm sure my 50 min goal is just plain shot as I am clearly not feeling it today for whatever reason (cold, etc).
3rd mile in 7.18 @ 185 - What's this? A 7.18 min/mile? Most of that UP the bridge hill? What? I guess we're back on again! 50 min goal is once again achievable! Seriously, this mile did wonders for my confidence after that 2nd mile #. (In hindsight, I think that the mile markers must have been a little off - i.e. Mile 2 was probably carrying about 5-10% of mile 3's distance - there's just no way that there would be this much of a disparity between my splits). Note - On the bridge, I spotted an older (50's) guy wearing a tshirt saying "Oxygen is overrated - Run the blah-blah-blah Mountain race." Well, I guess O2 isn't quite *that* overrated, since I passed him at some point and didn't see him again.
4th mile in 7.22 @ 182 - A large part of this was the downhill of the bridge, but that's still a solid split that's giving more continued confidence. Suddenly, having made up all the deficit I incurred on the 1st & 2nd miles on the 3rd, and gaining 38 seconds on this 4th mile...the 50 min goal is readily in hand and I'm considering 49 minutes? 48 minutes?? Note - Coming down the long downhill stretch of the hill, I noticed the combover guy from my neighborhood running along the left hand side. Either he jumped out ahead at the beginning, or he was just way in front of me in line, but I only now caught up to him. As I steadily reeled him in, I had every intention of looking for his bib number as I passed, but before I knew it he was gone and I was down off the bridge and into Charleston proper.
5th mile in 7.70 @ 183 - After I hit the 4 mile marker, I made a conscious effort to back off a little and conserve a little energy. This mile was the result of that. I usually have trouble in the downtown sections, mostly because you're coming off that long downhill section where it's fast and breezy and nice...into the muggy and flat and enclosed streets of downtown. So, I backed off a little bit to save for that last mile and 2/10ths. My mantra at this point was "you can tolerate anything for 15 minutes," which was about the time I estimated I had left in the race. 50 minutes was a given, now I was definitely shooting for 49 and beyond.
6th mile in 7.43 @ 184 - This was a tough mile, but the break was over and it was time to buckle down and get to work. At one point, I tried my mind-trick of counting every right step, but I only did that for 30 seconds or so before I got bored and stopped. My mantra switched to "you can survive anything for 10 minutes." I don't remember any runners or spectators around me, they were all just a vague image in the fog of my pounding head. I do remember thinking "I could slow down to a 9 minute pace on this one and still hit 50 minutes." Good thing I didn't. At one point, I noticed a camera guy on a cat walk above Meeting St and I pointed at him to see if he'd take my picture.
.20 mile in 1.52 (7.60 pace) @ 186 - When I crossed the 6th mile marker and saw my split, I was convinced I could do 48 minutes. I couldn't even remember the specific reward Jen had promised for that time goal (and completely forgot a key part of it when I relayed it to Dawn later), but I am soooo glad I had that additional goal specified as otherwise I might have just been satisfied with 50 minutes and given into the pain a mile and a half ago. On the final left turn, a pack of runners that were cutting the corner collided and a man practically ran over a kid and cursed at him in the process. Nice move, jackass. After I rounded the corner and could read the time board way down at the finish line, I estimated I had about 30 seconds to get there and beat 48 minutes. I turned it on as best I could. I thought I was moving pretty fast until this 20 year old kid flew past me on the right in a dead out sprint. I don't know if I could run that fast at the beginning of a run...dude must've been saving some serious energy for the end. I crossed the line in 23 of the 30 seconds I had and immediately slowed to a walk. A guy on the right was bent over at the sidewalk and (I think) hurling. Wasn't the 20 year old kid though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post Race - I walked down the finish chute and by the time I reached the stop light I was pretty much recovered. I even jogged a little towards the sweat shuttles since I wanted to hurry and start gathering freebies. I stopped on the way and grabbed a couple of Vitamin Waters that were being handed out and guzzled one immediately. Made it up to the sweat shuttles and noticed that the normal freebie fair area was empty so I figured they must have moved that into the regular expo area. Gathered my bag up and got things sort of situated, estimated I had about 20 minutes til Dawn showed up so I headed over to get some freebies.
There was a 30 yard line waiting for the Clif bar tent, so I got into that and got some of those and the oreos and graham crackers they were giving away. I saw a Red Bull tent in the distance and headed that way. Grabbed a banana and some water and choked both down.
Waited for Dawn for a while but we apparently missed each other because she said she was waiting for me for at least 15 minutes. Ate a free lara bar while I waited for her and drank a water a girl next to me offered because it was extra. Was worried a little about Dawn and called Jen to see if maybe she had heard from her, she hadn't but was about 20 minutes out of Chas so there was no need to hurry.
Finally spotted Dawn and she was excited because she met her goal of running the whole race. Didn't know what her time was though (she ended up doing great and running a sub 11-min-mile).
We hung around for a little while and then made the long walk down to Waterfront park to meet up with everyone. (Note - Rent one of those bike rickshaw things next year to carry us instead of walking.)
We had absolutely gorgeous weather (temp around 60 at the start of the race and a perfectly clear sky) and I wore a short sleeved running tee, shorts, my Brooks shoes, and the Halo headband. The headband worked pretty well as I don't remember wiping sweat out of my eyes but maybe one time.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
7.56m @ Riverfront
7.56m at 8.32 pace w/ avg HR of 171
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 8.73 @ 150 - Warmup mile.
2nd mile in 8.62 @ 169 - Having a hard time finding my pace obviously.
3rd mile in 8.20 @ 173 - This is more like it.
4th mile in 8.15 @ 174 - Steadily dialing that pace in...
5th mile in 8.20 @ 176 - More of the same.
6th mile in 8.08 @ 177 - Feeling stronger and it's showing.
7th mile in 8.02 @ 179 - Probably overdoing it now.
remaining in 4.87 (8.70 min/mile) @ 177 - Not that great of a cooldown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was a 1/6/1 "tempo" run where I was supposed to do a warmup mile, then six miles at "MT" pace (i.e. 10k pace plus 15-20sec), then a cooldown mile. I pretty much skipped the true "cool down" and just did a half mile slow pace and then a half mile walk to the car (not counted in the total!) to cool down.
Weather was nice, sunny and in the 60's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commentary:
Had some pretty bad stomach cramps for a good 12+ hours afterwards. Maybe it was because I delayed getting some food in my stomach for awhile (had to pick up the kid from the parents and drive home to eat). So despite what I said about my OJ/water concoction below, I'm gonna experiment with having gatorade on these long (60min+) runs going forward.
Also, the Mizuno is still giving me blisters, but only on my right foot, on the inside of the ball and on the tips of my #2 and #3 toes. The nylon dress sock trick didn't help this time, so I'm going to have to figure something else out soon. I did loosen the laces a little so maybe that will help next time around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 8.73 @ 150 - Warmup mile.
2nd mile in 8.62 @ 169 - Having a hard time finding my pace obviously.
3rd mile in 8.20 @ 173 - This is more like it.
4th mile in 8.15 @ 174 - Steadily dialing that pace in...
5th mile in 8.20 @ 176 - More of the same.
6th mile in 8.08 @ 177 - Feeling stronger and it's showing.
7th mile in 8.02 @ 179 - Probably overdoing it now.
remaining in 4.87 (8.70 min/mile) @ 177 - Not that great of a cooldown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was a 1/6/1 "tempo" run where I was supposed to do a warmup mile, then six miles at "MT" pace (i.e. 10k pace plus 15-20sec), then a cooldown mile. I pretty much skipped the true "cool down" and just did a half mile slow pace and then a half mile walk to the car (not counted in the total!) to cool down.
Weather was nice, sunny and in the 60's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commentary:
Had some pretty bad stomach cramps for a good 12+ hours afterwards. Maybe it was because I delayed getting some food in my stomach for awhile (had to pick up the kid from the parents and drive home to eat). So despite what I said about my OJ/water concoction below, I'm gonna experiment with having gatorade on these long (60min+) runs going forward.
Also, the Mizuno is still giving me blisters, but only on my right foot, on the inside of the ball and on the tips of my #2 and #3 toes. The nylon dress sock trick didn't help this time, so I'm going to have to figure something else out soon. I did loosen the laces a little so maybe that will help next time around.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Recovery Routine
After my long and/or strenuous runs, I have a routine that seems to work pretty well for me.
Cooldown - I don't always include a true cooldown as part of my "recorded" run, but I do always include 5-15 minutes of walking at the end. This is usually as easy as just ending my run a half to full mile from home or the finish line. My HR usually gets down to between 100-120 at the end of this cooldown.
Nourishment - Sports drinks are great, but they're expensive, not always around, and loaded with sugar (i.e. empty calories). I've found that some watered-down OJ works well for me. I always have it in the fridge, it's nutritious, and loaded with the stuff my body needs after running (potassium, vitamins, good carbs, etc). I usually take a multi-vitamin along with it to help replace all those vitamins/minerals that my body flushed out in the run.
Anti-inflammatories - With the OJ and multi-vitamin above, I usually pop 2 Ibuprofen in too.
Stretching - I wish I could say I do this *every* time, but in truth, unlike the above, I only stretch when I have time and/or the inclination.
I experimented this past weekend with an "ice bath" after my long LT run and that was quite the experience. I figured as much heat as my body was producing after running that I'd be able to handle the cold water just fine but it was really really uncomfortable there for awhile. Basically, I just got in our big tub and laid down and started the cold water. Once it filled up, I had my wife dump in the whole ice-maker tray in over me. She said I scream like our baby. :-) It was chilly enough that I was wearing a sweatshirt and a big towel over my head. I stayed in for 10 minutes and got out, walked around a bit to let my legs acclimate, then took a hot shower (probably not a good idea).
Cooldown - I don't always include a true cooldown as part of my "recorded" run, but I do always include 5-15 minutes of walking at the end. This is usually as easy as just ending my run a half to full mile from home or the finish line. My HR usually gets down to between 100-120 at the end of this cooldown.
Nourishment - Sports drinks are great, but they're expensive, not always around, and loaded with sugar (i.e. empty calories). I've found that some watered-down OJ works well for me. I always have it in the fridge, it's nutritious, and loaded with the stuff my body needs after running (potassium, vitamins, good carbs, etc). I usually take a multi-vitamin along with it to help replace all those vitamins/minerals that my body flushed out in the run.
Anti-inflammatories - With the OJ and multi-vitamin above, I usually pop 2 Ibuprofen in too.
Stretching - I wish I could say I do this *every* time, but in truth, unlike the above, I only stretch when I have time and/or the inclination.
I experimented this past weekend with an "ice bath" after my long LT run and that was quite the experience. I figured as much heat as my body was producing after running that I'd be able to handle the cold water just fine but it was really really uncomfortable there for awhile. Basically, I just got in our big tub and laid down and started the cold water. Once it filled up, I had my wife dump in the whole ice-maker tray in over me. She said I scream like our baby. :-) It was chilly enough that I was wearing a sweatshirt and a big towel over my head. I stayed in for 10 minutes and got out, walked around a bit to let my legs acclimate, then took a hot shower (probably not a good idea).
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Still feeling a little worn out...
Had a long night of sleep last night (almost 9 hours) but I'm still feeling a little worn out...like a wrung out sponge.
Can't seem to "catch" my breath and it feels like (and I know this is just perception) that my heart is "tired." I've also been having some dizzy spells when I stand up too suddenly...haven't passed out or anything but just get a serious "head rush" when I stand up and I have to catch myself until it passes. Blood pressure seems to be fine though.
I know I'm in uncharted territory as far as training goes (weekly mileage, distance PRs, running frequency) and I'm losing weight faster than I ever have previously (I'm 5lbs less than I was last year at this time of training and almost 10lbs lighter than the year before that) so maybe that has something to do with it. I am eating well though...lots of healthy food (greens, veggies, fruits, along with some lean proteins and nuts)...I'm just limiting my calories to around 1600-1800 per day other than splurges on the weekend.
I'm just going to try to push through it and hope it passes at some point in the next week or so. I do have a mild taper planned the week before the race so I'm sure that will help.
Can't seem to "catch" my breath and it feels like (and I know this is just perception) that my heart is "tired." I've also been having some dizzy spells when I stand up too suddenly...haven't passed out or anything but just get a serious "head rush" when I stand up and I have to catch myself until it passes. Blood pressure seems to be fine though.
I know I'm in uncharted territory as far as training goes (weekly mileage, distance PRs, running frequency) and I'm losing weight faster than I ever have previously (I'm 5lbs less than I was last year at this time of training and almost 10lbs lighter than the year before that) so maybe that has something to do with it. I am eating well though...lots of healthy food (greens, veggies, fruits, along with some lean proteins and nuts)...I'm just limiting my calories to around 1600-1800 per day other than splurges on the weekend.
I'm just going to try to push through it and hope it passes at some point in the next week or so. I do have a mild taper planned the week before the race so I'm sure that will help.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
5.50 on the treadmill (speedwork)
5.50 miles at 8.21 pace w/ avg HR of 169.
This was a speedwork session where I ran 1.50 miles warmup, then 1 mile at 7.42 pace, .75 m at 7.33 pace, .50 m at 7.25 pace, then .25 m at 7.08 pace...with .25 mile intervals of EZ (9min pace) in between. I wrapped up with a 1m cooldown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 9.00 @ 150 - That HR is probably not accurate, but my HRM was not reading correctly and actually showed 103 for the first mile. I know that's not right so I just subbed 150 instead.
2nd mile in 7.85 @ 170 - This included part of the beginning of the repeats/intervals.
3rd mile in 7.70 @ 173
4th mile in 7.63 @ 177
5th mile in 8.50 @ 175
remaining .50 at 8.94 pace w/ HR of 171
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because I wasn't ready for Speedwork on Sunday, I did it here on Tuesday instead (when I normally just do a gym/crosstraining day). Plus, I stole this particular session from the Furman "First" program I wrote about in my previous entry.
Also, I don't normally do speedwork anywhere but outside, but thought I'd try it on the treadmill instead since I have so much trouble gauging my pace (and usually overdo it as a result). And, I usually avoid the treadmill partly because it's boring but I'm also skeptical of the "easiness" of it, but I have to admit I really liked the aspect of being able to precisely control my pace. I was surprised I could adequately hold a 7.42 (7:25min) pace for a whole mile without being overly tired afterwards. I also liked this particular speed session as it gets faster and faster but gets shorter and shorter at the same time. I don't see this anywhere else on my remaining schedule though unfortunately.
The only disappointing thing about this session is that my "HR Efficiency" score (a factor of speed and avg HR) was not as high as I had hoped/wanted it to be. It was good, no doubt...but I figured it would be higher with me running on the "easy" treadmill and all. Ah well.
This was a speedwork session where I ran 1.50 miles warmup, then 1 mile at 7.42 pace, .75 m at 7.33 pace, .50 m at 7.25 pace, then .25 m at 7.08 pace...with .25 mile intervals of EZ (9min pace) in between. I wrapped up with a 1m cooldown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 9.00 @ 150 - That HR is probably not accurate, but my HRM was not reading correctly and actually showed 103 for the first mile. I know that's not right so I just subbed 150 instead.
2nd mile in 7.85 @ 170 - This included part of the beginning of the repeats/intervals.
3rd mile in 7.70 @ 173
4th mile in 7.63 @ 177
5th mile in 8.50 @ 175
remaining .50 at 8.94 pace w/ HR of 171
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because I wasn't ready for Speedwork on Sunday, I did it here on Tuesday instead (when I normally just do a gym/crosstraining day). Plus, I stole this particular session from the Furman "First" program I wrote about in my previous entry.
Also, I don't normally do speedwork anywhere but outside, but thought I'd try it on the treadmill instead since I have so much trouble gauging my pace (and usually overdo it as a result). And, I usually avoid the treadmill partly because it's boring but I'm also skeptical of the "easiness" of it, but I have to admit I really liked the aspect of being able to precisely control my pace. I was surprised I could adequately hold a 7.42 (7:25min) pace for a whole mile without being overly tired afterwards. I also liked this particular speed session as it gets faster and faster but gets shorter and shorter at the same time. I don't see this anywhere else on my remaining schedule though unfortunately.
The only disappointing thing about this session is that my "HR Efficiency" score (a factor of speed and avg HR) was not as high as I had hoped/wanted it to be. It was good, no doubt...but I figured it would be higher with me running on the "easy" treadmill and all. Ah well.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
7.83 miles on LostCreek (LT run)
7.83 miles at 8.47 pace w/ avg HR of 170
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 8.27 @ 150
2nd mile in 8.50 @ 171
3rd mile in 8.68 @ 173
4th mile in 8.68 @ 174 - Nice consistency here!
5th mile in 8.38 @ 172
6th mile in 8.15 @ 173
7th and remaining distance in 8.57 avg pace @ 174
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been reading about the Furman "FIRST" training method which claims you can improve your race time with only 3 "key" running workouts per week. Here's the link:
http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm
One of those "Key" workouts is a long run at an "LT" pace. This LT pace translates into about your 10k pace + 30 to 35 seconds. For me, that's about 830 to 835 (or 8.50 to 8.58 since I used decimal) pace at what I plan to run my next 10k at. Since I run my "long" run of the week at about 8.50 anyway, I figured I'd call this my "LT" run of the week.
(The other 2 "Key" workouts include a hard speedwork day and a medium speedwork day and I'll talk about those later.)
Despite this being my normal pace for this run, it seemed to take more out of me this time. I was more tired and sore afterwards than I normally am. This is either psychological, or maybe I just wasn't "feeling it" and pushed myself beyond what I would normally run comfortably otherwise. This was also a longer distance so that may have had something to do with it.
Anyway, I'm going to continue to do "LT" runs on these saturdays the rest of the way in my training.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st mile in 8.27 @ 150
2nd mile in 8.50 @ 171
3rd mile in 8.68 @ 173
4th mile in 8.68 @ 174 - Nice consistency here!
5th mile in 8.38 @ 172
6th mile in 8.15 @ 173
7th and remaining distance in 8.57 avg pace @ 174
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been reading about the Furman "FIRST" training method which claims you can improve your race time with only 3 "key" running workouts per week. Here's the link:
http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm
One of those "Key" workouts is a long run at an "LT" pace. This LT pace translates into about your 10k pace + 30 to 35 seconds. For me, that's about 830 to 835 (or 8.50 to 8.58 since I used decimal) pace at what I plan to run my next 10k at. Since I run my "long" run of the week at about 8.50 anyway, I figured I'd call this my "LT" run of the week.
(The other 2 "Key" workouts include a hard speedwork day and a medium speedwork day and I'll talk about those later.)
Despite this being my normal pace for this run, it seemed to take more out of me this time. I was more tired and sore afterwards than I normally am. This is either psychological, or maybe I just wasn't "feeling it" and pushed myself beyond what I would normally run comfortably otherwise. This was also a longer distance so that may have had something to do with it.
Anyway, I'm going to continue to do "LT" runs on these saturdays the rest of the way in my training.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Taking Today Off - Doing the "Easy" runs
I normally take Mondays off as a rest day but I had planned to do the gym instead as the rest of my week's schedule is screwed up (big event on Wednesday will preclude me from running that day so was moving my gym up from Tuesday to Monday and my run from Wednesday to Tuesday).
Anyway, I'm still a little sore and tired from the weekend so I think it's a good sign that I need some rest.
One of the big things I learned in training last year is that you have to take those "easy" runs as just that, "easy." I have this bad habit of getting out there and watching my GPS and thinking I can run harder, that I need to run harder every time out in order to meet my goals. Not only does that make it where you dread the run beforehand, but it doesn't give your cardio system the proper workout. You don't need to "redline" your cardio system every time out...it's actually better to give it a mild workout most of the time, saving the "redline" for speed sessions.
I had been ignoring this advice for years and would wind up completely burned out on running by the time the event had come. Then I wouldn't want ANYthing to do with running afterwards. Last year, I changed my strategy and in the last month of training started doing true "easy" runs when I was supposed to and I was much fresher for the 10k event, setting a PR as a result. Probably more importantly, I continued to run afterwards and even did another 10k 2 weeks later.
This year, I've found myself slipping into those old habits, especially on Saturday LSDs, and I need to nip this in the bud from here on out. I'm wearing a HR monitor for a reason, I need to listen to it.
Anyway, I'm still a little sore and tired from the weekend so I think it's a good sign that I need some rest.
One of the big things I learned in training last year is that you have to take those "easy" runs as just that, "easy." I have this bad habit of getting out there and watching my GPS and thinking I can run harder, that I need to run harder every time out in order to meet my goals. Not only does that make it where you dread the run beforehand, but it doesn't give your cardio system the proper workout. You don't need to "redline" your cardio system every time out...it's actually better to give it a mild workout most of the time, saving the "redline" for speed sessions.
I had been ignoring this advice for years and would wind up completely burned out on running by the time the event had come. Then I wouldn't want ANYthing to do with running afterwards. Last year, I changed my strategy and in the last month of training started doing true "easy" runs when I was supposed to and I was much fresher for the 10k event, setting a PR as a result. Probably more importantly, I continued to run afterwards and even did another 10k 2 weeks later.
This year, I've found myself slipping into those old habits, especially on Saturday LSDs, and I need to nip this in the bud from here on out. I'm wearing a HR monitor for a reason, I need to listen to it.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
6.5 LSD on Lost Creek
6.50 at 8.25 min/pace @ 170 avg HR
1st mile in 8.30 @ 156 HR - My first mile I was making a conscious effort to hold my pace down. Felt fine, even though it was chilly out and all I was wearing was a long-sleeved T and shorts with Bike shorts underneath.
2nd mile in 8.50 @ 172 HR - HR jumps a little here as I go through a series of uphills. Still felt fine.
3rd mile in 8.43 @ 171 HR - Pace and HR held steady as I approached the turn around spot.
4th mile in 8.20 @ 173 HR - I turned around at about 3.4 miles so roughly half of this mile was before and after. Still, this is a little faster than I'd like on an LSD.
5th mile in 7.90 @ 172 HR - This is aLOT faster than I should be doing an LSD but in fairness, most of this mile was downhill. HR is holding steady. I really should try to keep the pace down to around 8.50 so my HR could take a break.
6th mile in 8.15 @ 170 HR - Still going too fast, but being mostly downhill, my HR is coming down a little bit.
.50 mile in 4.23 @ 177 HR - Going uphill now, so pace and HR suffers.
This was a good run overall. I specifically remember that my breathing was nice and slow and "conversational" so I knew I wasn't working my heart all that much. It's a good sign that I can run this somewhat hilly course this fast without working too hard. At the end I really felt like I could turn around and do it over again, which would be a half-marathon. May have to try that sometime. :-D
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Tips - My new Mizunos were giving me a blister on the inside of my right foot right where the "ball" is, so I tried an extra layer of sock on that foot to alleviate. I just grabbed a worn "dress" (i.e. nylon) sock out of the hamper and put that on my right foot, then my running sock on top of that. That did the trick: no blister and not even a sign of sensitivity on that particular spot. But, the long run popped up a blister on my left foot so maybe I'll do the sock thing on both next time.
1st mile in 8.30 @ 156 HR - My first mile I was making a conscious effort to hold my pace down. Felt fine, even though it was chilly out and all I was wearing was a long-sleeved T and shorts with Bike shorts underneath.
2nd mile in 8.50 @ 172 HR - HR jumps a little here as I go through a series of uphills. Still felt fine.
3rd mile in 8.43 @ 171 HR - Pace and HR held steady as I approached the turn around spot.
4th mile in 8.20 @ 173 HR - I turned around at about 3.4 miles so roughly half of this mile was before and after. Still, this is a little faster than I'd like on an LSD.
5th mile in 7.90 @ 172 HR - This is aLOT faster than I should be doing an LSD but in fairness, most of this mile was downhill. HR is holding steady. I really should try to keep the pace down to around 8.50 so my HR could take a break.
6th mile in 8.15 @ 170 HR - Still going too fast, but being mostly downhill, my HR is coming down a little bit.
.50 mile in 4.23 @ 177 HR - Going uphill now, so pace and HR suffers.
This was a good run overall. I specifically remember that my breathing was nice and slow and "conversational" so I knew I wasn't working my heart all that much. It's a good sign that I can run this somewhat hilly course this fast without working too hard. At the end I really felt like I could turn around and do it over again, which would be a half-marathon. May have to try that sometime. :-D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tips - My new Mizunos were giving me a blister on the inside of my right foot right where the "ball" is, so I tried an extra layer of sock on that foot to alleviate. I just grabbed a worn "dress" (i.e. nylon) sock out of the hamper and put that on my right foot, then my running sock on top of that. That did the trick: no blister and not even a sign of sensitivity on that particular spot. But, the long run popped up a blister on my left foot so maybe I'll do the sock thing on both next time.
Friday, January 9, 2009
High Ankle Sprain
On 11/1/08, I rolled my left ankle coming down the stairs at Williams Brice. There was a double step following a series of single steps and I misjudged the distance and landing on the left foot and rolled the ankle outward. I felt a "pop" at the time and remember thinking "oh no, this could be bad. I've been keeping up with my running so well for awhile now and this is going to really set me back."
I was a little surpised as I walked on it right away that there wasn't that much tenderness, even though I still had that sick feeling that I had done something really wrong. I sort of limped around the rest of the game and came home afterwards and went to bed.
The next morning, the ankle had swollen up to the point there was no "definition" to the outer ankle at all and it was pretty stiff and sore. I could still walk fine though.
Using the "ICE" method, I elevated it a lot that day and applied ice (actually a frozen bag of lima beans) whenever possible.
Strangely, my walking was fine with only a small amount of tenderness. Only when I tried to roll the ankle out (as it was injured) did I encounter a LOT of pain.
I ran for the first time 8 days later on 1/9/08, 5 miles really easy-going in about 44 minutes (8.79 pace). Didn't really feel much pain at all while running, just a little stiffness in the shin and front of the ankle because I was probably favoring it. Still, I was encouraged that I could still run.
I ran fairly regularly from that point on...going 2-3 times a week at 4-7 miles each time. Pace seemed to be largely unaffected (8-8.75 min miles)/
I was discouraged that the ankle was still giving me soreness and pain when I attempted to roll it out though, and this endured until right around 2 months post injury. At that point, I saw great improvement for some reason that I can only attribute to my physical therapy that I performed whenever possible. Below is what I did:
Physical Therapy:
Heel lifts - I was doing these already for an injury to this same ankle (on the inside though). These strengthen the tendons but only really work the back (achilles and calf). I d0 20-25 of these at a time. Serves as a good warm up prior to running too.
Stretching - Ankle rolls, achilles stretch, pushing the ankle out/down to the point of mild pain. I started seeing big improvement in my flexibility at the 2 month part.
Ankle "pulls" - Using an elasto-band, position it such that you pull the front part of the ankle towards you and/or to the left/right. These are hard to pull off because it's difficult to anchor the esto-band away from your body, so I didn't do as many of these as I'd like.
Plain old running/walking - I'm pretty convinced that my regular running schedule helped with the healing too, by strengthening the overall ankle area.
It's still not 100%, but I'm okay with where I am now as it's not impeding me from doing anything active-related.
I was a little surpised as I walked on it right away that there wasn't that much tenderness, even though I still had that sick feeling that I had done something really wrong. I sort of limped around the rest of the game and came home afterwards and went to bed.
The next morning, the ankle had swollen up to the point there was no "definition" to the outer ankle at all and it was pretty stiff and sore. I could still walk fine though.
Using the "ICE" method, I elevated it a lot that day and applied ice (actually a frozen bag of lima beans) whenever possible.
Strangely, my walking was fine with only a small amount of tenderness. Only when I tried to roll the ankle out (as it was injured) did I encounter a LOT of pain.
I ran for the first time 8 days later on 1/9/08, 5 miles really easy-going in about 44 minutes (8.79 pace). Didn't really feel much pain at all while running, just a little stiffness in the shin and front of the ankle because I was probably favoring it. Still, I was encouraged that I could still run.
I ran fairly regularly from that point on...going 2-3 times a week at 4-7 miles each time. Pace seemed to be largely unaffected (8-8.75 min miles)/
I was discouraged that the ankle was still giving me soreness and pain when I attempted to roll it out though, and this endured until right around 2 months post injury. At that point, I saw great improvement for some reason that I can only attribute to my physical therapy that I performed whenever possible. Below is what I did:
Physical Therapy:
Heel lifts - I was doing these already for an injury to this same ankle (on the inside though). These strengthen the tendons but only really work the back (achilles and calf). I d0 20-25 of these at a time. Serves as a good warm up prior to running too.
Stretching - Ankle rolls, achilles stretch, pushing the ankle out/down to the point of mild pain. I started seeing big improvement in my flexibility at the 2 month part.
Ankle "pulls" - Using an elasto-band, position it such that you pull the front part of the ankle towards you and/or to the left/right. These are hard to pull off because it's difficult to anchor the esto-band away from your body, so I didn't do as many of these as I'd like.
Plain old running/walking - I'm pretty convinced that my regular running schedule helped with the healing too, by strengthening the overall ankle area.
It's still not 100%, but I'm okay with where I am now as it's not impeding me from doing anything active-related.
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