week of 22 June

MPW 51

52 miles

Monday, June 22

Rest

Swapped with Tuesday. 7.0 w/ drills.

Tuesday, June 23

5-7 mile easy to moderate including 5 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill

Rest (swapped with Mon). Of course they cancelled the meeting I was working around. Oh, well.

Wednesday, June 24

9-11 mile easy run including 3 strides then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

8x 10 sec's w/75 sec rests

4 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests. Full recovery then 3 sets of 3,2,1 min hills @ 5k effort w/1:1 recoveries or easy jog down rests

11.45 miles. Did everything, but forgot the strides before the sprints. My hill was 2:47 -- not quite 3 minutes. Some people walking their dogs might have thought I was a little crazy.

Thursday, June 25

5-6 mile jog

6.0 in 56:40 on the treadmill. Watched Episode 3 of The Wire. Stopped my Garmin mid-run and forgot to turn it back on.

PCC

yep

Friday, June 26

6-8 mile moderate run including 10 increasing effort strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and progress your effort every stride so that the last stride is mile effort. Full recovery between strides.

Nice moderate run around the lake. 8.42 miles @ 8:45. 1:13:XX. I think the 75' moderate run is probably the perfect Friday morning run. It's a good addition to the medium/long run workouts on Wed and Sun.

Saturday, June 27

6 mile easy run

6.0 @ 9:17 on treadmill

Sunday, June 28

11-13 mile total run including Antelope Circuit. Full recovery then 15 min out and 15 min turn around beat your time run. Run the initial 15 min @ HM effort (note where you started) then turn around and run the next 15 min @ LT effort. Your goal is to finish further compared to where you started the first 15 min.

Finish w/3 x 150m cutdowns

Did 13.0 + about 0.5 (stopped my garmin when giving a guy directions and forgot to turn it back on). I probably dogged it a little on the first 15' as I made it back to my starting point in 13:53 and I definitely wasn't above LT.

PCC

Did 1x thru. Was running late and had to drive to Norfolk Sunday night and planned to do the other time when I got there, but it was almost 10pm when I got to my room

Forgot to do the core 100 this week

week of 15 June

Stamina/Power Phase

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights –Power Core Circuit (PCC) 2 x week

Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises

MPW 48

50.2

Monday, June 15

rest

Tuesday, June 16

4-5 mile easy to moderate including 5 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill

5.0 including knees and bounds.

PM: Core 100 and foam roller

Wednesday, June 17

8-10 mile easy run including Antelope Circuit 1x thru. Full recovery then 3 strides and sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

6x 10 sec’s w/75 sec rests

4 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests. Full recovery then 10 x 45 sec hills @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests. Finish run w/3 strides

12.6 in ~1:50. Oops. Totally mis-estimated the distance I'd cover and did 5.0 @ 8:43 before reaching the track and doing the antelope circuit. Tried the stadium bounds but the bleacher were pretty flat and only about 8 rows, so skipped that. Circuit, strides, and sprints covered 2.6 miles. It was ~1 mile to my hill and then the hills covered about 2 miles, getting me to 10.6 and leaving me 2 miles from home.

It was a much better day weather-wise. On the verge of raining the whole time but didn't do more than sprinkle. There was a breeze and it was 63 deg, dew pt 57.

Forgot to put on my HRM. Also forgot to pack my running socks, so I sacrificed my black dress socks. I was stylin'.

Very good workout.

Thursday, June 18

5-6 mile jog

PCC

AM: 5.6 @ 9:37. Last Wed. mentioned I was sore around my left hip. Still am! It got a little better but was exacerbated after the 10k.

PM: Did the PCC. I took a little more rest in between and we ate dinner between the first and 2nd time through. It was kind of nice because I didn't sweat and have to take a shower. I guess I lost some aerobic benefit though.

Friday, June 19

5-7 mile easy run including 10 increasing effort strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and progress your effort every stride so that the last stride is at 3k effort. Full recovery between strides.

7.0 @ 9:16 including 10x strides. I ran just a little faster. Still very easy. Avg HR 134. I think my easy days have been indistinguishable from jog days lately. Lazy in the heat, I suppose. Still have the hip thing.

Saturday, June 20

6 mile easy run

6.1 @ 9:27

Sunday, June 21

12-14 mile total moderate run including 1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2 min @ efforts below w/half jog rests (ie 30 sec rest after the 1 min). Finish run w/8 strides.

1 min @ 3k effort

4 and 3 min @ 10k effort

2 min @ 5k effort

14.0 miles @ 8:44. Did this on the treadmill. The thermometer in the room read 69 and 50% humidity which beat the 75 and 70% outside at 7am. The treadmill wasn't too bad. I got The Wire for my birthday and watched the first two episodes. It makes in so much easier to watch something like movie that goes somewhere. Endless loops on headline news or espn is the worst. Crime shows are perfect because they suck you in enough to want to see what happens. It was a little hard to follow the show during the intervals though!

The intervals were pretty tough. I did 6:44, 6:31, and 6:18 pace for 3k, 5k, and 10k effort. I messed up the first 3 min rep and did 5k pace. After the first 4/3/2/1, I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it, but I got used to it and it wasn't terrible. The 30 sec rest between 1 and 4 is tough! Unfortunately, I lost track and accidentally skipped the last 3, so I did 1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2,1,4,2. Did the 8 strides on the mills which was just "go faster for a little bit" x 8.

PCC

Yep.

week of 8 June

Posting a week late. Been sitting in draft the whole time.

MPW 39

37.2

Monday, June 8

Rest

Had a physical. Something unusual on the EKG. I pegged the meter on one of the waves. Doc said probably "athlete's heart" but I have to get an echocardiogram. Never happened before (he gives me an EKG yearly). Maybe it's the increased intensity? Or more likely, he needs to calibrate his machine.

Tuesday, June 9

4-5 mile easy run

Thunder outside. I did a test run of sorts on the treadmill. 1 at 6mph (10:00), 1 at 6.3 mph (9:31), and 3 at 6.6 (9:05). We keep our house very cold. The thermostat read 67, but it's much colder downstairs. I bought a temp/humidity gauge for this purpose but couldn't find it. (It had been stuck to the treadmill, but my son broke the magnetic clip.)

PCC

Did right after the run, so I'd only have to take one shower today.

Wednesday, June 10

6-8 mile easy run including 3 strides then 4 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill. Full recovery then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form:

4-6x 10 sec's w/75 sec rests. Full recovery then 7-10 x 60 sec hills @ 3k effort w/60 sec jog rests. Finish run w/3 strides

Very nice out this morning. I did 3+, 4x knees and bounds, 3 strides (out of order), 6x10'' sprints, and 7 x 60'' hill, jogging back down. Forgot the last three strides. Hard to memorize this thing!

Total was 7.8. Wicked t-storms rolled through and the skies cleared and the temps went down. 62 degrees. Felt pretty good except I was sore around my left hip from the beginning. Forecast hasn't changed for Sat 8am -- 70 degrees, 59 dew pt. I'm hoping the storm blowing through hasn't been factored in the forecast yet and things will improve. Doubtful though I guess. As nice as it was at 6am it warmed to 67/65(!) by 8am.

Got the echocardiogram. Video of your heart is kinda creepy. Preliminary results next mon or tuesday.

Thursday, June 11

4-5 mile jog

5.0. Unreal humidity. I was basically running in a cloud. I actually heard it raining (rain drops hitting leaves), but didn't feel them hitting my skin. Probably just the wind, but this was strange.

The forecast for Sat got considerably worse! 72 with a dew pt of 65. This is in the "why even bother showing up" territory for me.

Friday, June 12

3 mile easy run including 6 strides @ 5k effort

dew pt of 69. I needed gills. Considerably worse than yesterday even. I certainly didn't feel like running a 10k afterward! Tomorrow is going to be fun.

Got a call from the cardiology tech. Normal. Shocking.

Saturday, June 13

10-12 mile total run including 2 min @ LT effort, 6-8 strides @ 5k effort then 10k race

2 mile wup incl. 2' @ LT and 6 strides. 10k in 43:36. 1.9 @ 10:34 cdn. 10.1 miles total. Blech. 74 deg and 70% humidity. I wilt with anything over 60.

Sunday, June 14

4-6 mile jog

6.2 miles @ 9:35. Did core 100 and foam roller.

10k results - 43:36???

Well, I have to fess up to a real klunker. 43:36! Can you believe that? I split 41:15 at Cherry Blossom. I did manage to just hold off the F55-59 winner though :-) (I looked at CB and she finished 9 minutes behind me there.) I think I actually ran a good race (21:55/21:41), but I'm just not in shape (at least for these conditions).

In terms of heart rate at least, I've never run a 10k harder (the motivation of holding off F55-59 I suppose). My average HRs were 176, 185, 187, 187, 187, 190, 195 (last .2). By comparison my avg's in the 31:55 8k I ran mid-march were 177, 185, 186, 187, and 187. I hit 197 on the sprint. And I misjudged the sprint, too! I got away from Betty (it's OK to laugh) and thought I'd really sprint it in. Then I realized the finish was ~200m farther than I thought. I slowed a little and Betty almost caught me before I surged again. Oh the drama!

Anyway, this happens to me every summer. I run a marathon, the mileage goes down some, it gets hot, and I run one too many races. Last year I went from a 19:49 5k mid-May to a 35:57 5 miler in mid-June. Time to rebuild!

I wonder whether there is there any way I'm running sub-40 this fall? I haven't run this little mileage in a long time and it has me a little nervous. My usual reaction to a klunker like this is to do a lot of long slow distance and build the miles.

week of 1 June

Best week in a while. Finally up over 50 mpw again. This was 50 the hard way though.

Stamina/Power Phase

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights –Power Core Circuit (PCC) 2 x week

Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises

MPW 51
51.2

Monday, June 1

Rest

No problem :-)

Tuesday, June 2

5-6 mile easy run including 4 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 3 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill

6.1 total. Found a very nice hill for high knees and bounds at the lake. Very steep and parallels some concrete steps that would be good for stadium bounds. Unfortunately it's only a 10 sec hill for speed bounds. 9:10-9:25 pace except bounds and first mile. 2nd and 3rd miles were 9:12 at 128 and 130 bpm? 3rd was downhill, but still pretty good.

Wednesday, June 3

8-10 mile total moderate run including 10 x90 sec's @ 5k effort w/2 min jog rests. Finish run w/6 strides and 3 x150m cutdowns

9.7 total. Out and around the lake. Swung by home after 8.3 to get my son who wanted to run with me. He (sorta) did the strides with me. (I forgot and did 5 instead of 6.) Then he jogged around the 10 laps per mile (161m/lap) elementary school crushed gravel track while I did the cutdowns. 36, 35, and 35 secs (6:00, 5:50, and 5:50 pace) with 1 laps jog in between.

PCC

Did it in my hotel room in St. Louis. (Yep, back again.)

Thursday, June 4

4-6 mile easy run

6.0 on the hotel treadmill @ 9:20. It was actually nice outside, but rather than run by the pawn shops and check cashers, I stayed indoors. My HR was quite good. I never saw above 130 and was at 9:13 pace after the first couple of miles. Am I breaking through? Or was the treadmill mis-calibrated?! HR avg was 129, but HRM was messed up for first 5', reading >160. Rest was in the 125-130 range with a max(!) of 132. Strange.

This made me think that maybe I should do one of my easy runs on the home treadmill at a fixed (low) heart rate to see how I'm progressing during the summer since it's so hard to tell outside in the heat.

Friday, June 5

6-8 mile easy moderate run including 4 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill. Full recovery then 3 strides then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

3 x 10 sec's w/75 sec rests

3 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests

Full recovery then 10 min @ LT effort up a hill

7.9 total @ 8:57 (incl drills). Light rain and 60(!) degrees outside. Felt nice. 3+ miles to to the hill. My HR seemed pretty good on the warmup. Did dirlls on grass hills then strides and sprints on 1/4-mile crushed gravel loop at the middle school. My 10-minute hill was only ~6:30 and the rest was downhill (with a steep last 50m up). First LT mile 7:14, last 2:49 @ 6:29 pace. Jog home.

Saturday, June 6

5-7 mile easy run

7.0 @ 9:30. Out and back to the lake. Didn't get out until almost 11am, but it was overcast and only 69 (dew pt 59). I've worn the Frees every day except Wed. I really think they have an effect. My turnover is higher and I feel more over my feet.

Did the Core 100 in the afternoon.

Sunday, June 7

12-14 miles total including Antelope circuit 1 x thru. Full recovery then 10 min @ marathon effort and without rest run 10 min @ HM effort, 5 min recovery then 10 increasing effort strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and the last stride @3k effort . 5 min recovery then 5 x 2 min hills @ 3k effort w/2-3 min jog rests

I felt sick to my stomach overnight and didn't sleep well. (A whole bag of vinegar and salt potato chips will do that to you.) Then I slept in and got running at 10am when it was 72 and 77% humidity. By the time I finished a little after noon it was 77. I've got to reckon with the fact that it's summer and I need to get out early on the weekends and that an entire bag of potato chips isn't good for you.

I did this on my lake lollipop course. 2.25 to the lake, 2 x 3.8 per lap, 2.25 back, plus all the up and down of the hills on the quite-steep hill coming up from the lake made for a very hard 14.26 @ 9:33. That's one of the hardest runs I've ever done, especially for 9:33 pace! (That *did* include the antelope circuit where I'm not really running.)

Did ~2.5 mile warmup and then antelope circuit 1x thru. Ran 2.4 easy then 10 min @ 7:35/162 (about 168 at end). This was predominantly downhill, but it was hot. I think this was a good pace. Next 10 min was @ 7:23/176. Rolling uphill on the trail. Good HM effort I think based on the HR. I did some math and decided to do the 10 strides on 75'' intervals and that should leave me 5 min rest before the hill. Well, I was pretty gassed and the 10 not-so-great strides kept my HR in the mid-160s. I probably only had 3 min or so before the hill. I dutifully did the 5 x 2min up the steep hill w/ 2 min jog down each time. I was certainly giving it what I had, but this is definitely not how I envision hill repeats @ 3k effort. It was more like going up the last hill of my marathon last fall -- slow, but hard. Jogged home with a 9:49 @ 162 (mostly uphill) and 9:12 @ 159 bpm mile. Wow, was I gassed.

PCC

4 pm: Did the PCC.

week of 25 May

MPW 45

45.6

Monday, May 25

Rest

Yep.

Tuesday, May 26

4-6 mile easy run then Power Core Circuit (PCC)

5.3 @ 9:33 then PCC (2x thru). Skipping rows and squat thrusts like last week.

Wednesday, May 27

8-10 mile total moderate run including 10 min @ LT effort then 20 min fartlek @ 5k effort w/1-3 min recoveries (fartlek means you choose the time that =s 20 min..ie 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 = 20 min @ 5k)

Finish w/3 x 150m cutdowns

Ran on hotel treadmill in St. Louis. 2 miles wup. 10' at 7:03. 90'' at 10:00, then 31:20 fartlek w/ 5k segement (6:31 on treadmill) and 1:30-2:00 rests at 10:00. 21:37 cdn including 3x40' @ 6:00, 5:52, and 5:42. Total 10.0 miles. 1h23'.

Thursday, May 28

4-5 mile easy run

5.0 on the hotel treadmill in 47:30. 9:30 pace.

Friday, May 29

6-7 mile easy run including 5 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 3 sets of 3 x 100m cutdowns and later PCC

Out and back on the shoulder of a road running by the airport. Not exactly scenic but relatively flat and it did the job. There was a very nice grass hill for the high knees and I got in the cutdowns. 6.0 miles @ 9:01.

Got home from St Louis and did the PCC at about 8pm. Skipped the rows (still haven't figured this out) and the squat thrusts (being cautious).

Saturday, May 30

5-6 mile easy run

6.1 miles @ 9:31. I must have been exhausted because I slept until 9am! By the time I got out is was pretty warm, but very dry and pretty decent in the shade.

Sunday, May 31

11-13 mile moderate run including Antelope Circuit 1 x thru. Full recovery then 25 min @ progression run. Start @ marathon effort and increase your effort every 5 min so that the last 5 min is at 10k feel. 15 min recovery then 4 x 75 sec hills @ mile to 3k effort w/very easy jog down rests. Finish run w/5 strides

Ended up staying up past midnight (That's what sleeping in does to you!) and woke up at 8am. Got out at 9am when it was 64 deg, but it warmed to 70 by 11am. The humidity wasn't bad at all, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

This run is pretty complicated logistically (stadium bounds?) and after plan A went by the wayside, I headed to the highschool track. 5+ miles to the track and my legs (especially quads) could still feel Friday's PCC.

Except for some funny looks, the Antelope circuit went fine. I even made it through the squat thrusts. I think I was bringing my feet to far forward before and my stomach sagged, straining up near my ribs. The bleachers weren't great for bounds though. The stairs aren't steep enough or long enough. I did the circuit on the turf which was nice because it was measured out (just did 25 yds instead of meters). It was HOT on the turf and just as hot on the track.

For the 25' progression, I thought I'd do 5 1200m increments since each would be about 5 minutes. The plan was to hit the first 200 in 55'' (7:20 per 1600) and then take a second or two off that in the next 1200 block. Unfortunately, I hit the first in 50''! I tried to slow down, but the first 1200 was 5:20/168 bpm (7:09 pace). The second was 5:15 (7:02) and the third was 5:05/182 (6:49). Well, that's as fast it got. I was breathing really hard and the next was 5:10/184 (6:56). I struggled through the last in 5:20/183 (7:09). I guess that was a (slow) 6k race? The heart rates weren't crazy high, but I didn't have anything else.

Anyway, I jogged home and dutifully did the 4x75'' hills. Turns out the hill next to my house is a perfect 75'' hill. Did a half-decent job at the 5 strides and headed home. 13.2 total. 8:33 avg.

PM: Did the core 100.

week of 18 May

Monday, May 18

rest

Tuesday, May 19

4-5 mile easy run including 4 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill

Wednesday, May 20

8-10 mile total moderate run including run up a hill for 25-30 min @ half marathon effort. Jog easy down Finish run w/6 strides and 3 x150m cutdowns. If you are not able to run up a hill try to run on rolling hills.

10.6 @ 8:02/mile. 5 miles easy-to-moderate. 4 miles mostly uphill -- 7:26/169 bpm avg, 7:16/174, 7:06/179, 7:19/177. 6 half-hearted strides, followed by a pretty good job at the cutdowns. By the way, the first part of this course is a pretty fair Boston simulator.

PCC

Did PCC in the evening. Skipped row again, since I can't do at home. I pulled something in my abs in the top center (around my "xiphoid process" -- that thingy that stick below your sternum) doing the squat thrusts.

I also starting coughing in the evening having finally succumbed to the virus spewing from the woman at work whose been hacking up a lung since Monday. The worst part is feeling my ab strain every time I cough.

Thursday, May 21

4-5 mile easy run

Emphasis on the easy. 4.0 @ 10:00 and that's all I really wanted. My heart rate was high, too. Think I'm sick. This is the 4th day of incredible weather. It was in the 40s. Mon-Th have been ~50 deg or less. Two bad I didn't have these conditions for the 5k.

Friday, May 22

5-6 mile easy run including 3 strides then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

4 x 15 sec’s w/75 sec rests

3 x 20 sec's w/75 sec rests

Humidty was back and I'm still sick. My HR was off the charts for my pace. Other than that it went fine. 2.25 wup, sprints w/75 sec rests, and 2.25 cdn. Nice to be back at the track.

I was planning to do the core 100 tonight, but I'm still feeling the ab strain when I cough.

Saturday, May 23

5-6 mile easy run

Terrible night. Sick and couldn't sleep more than 45 minutes at a time. Aborted after 2 miles. Had to sit outside from 9:30am to 7pm volunteering and watching my daughter's soccer tournament. Actually felt better from sitting in the heat all day. Maybe tomorrow will be OK. The ab strain is still there. Think I'll do PCC tomorrow but avoid the squat thrusts.

Sunday, May 24

12-13 mile moderate run including 15-18 x 1 min @ 5k effort w/1-2 min jog rests over rolling hills

Had to leave the house at 7:45am for another fun-filled day of soccer. Alarm went off at 4:45. I actually only woke up two or three times during the night. Anyway, I was off at 5:10. Can't say I'm not committed! Looks like yesterday was rock bottom. My Garmin was out of juice, so I went old school. 9 minutes past the rec center porta-johns should have put me at about 6 miles. Turned around and did 16 x 1' @5k w/90sec jog rests. The hills were definitely rolling. More fun on the way down than up! I think this was close to 5k effort. I might have slacked a little, but no worse than 10k. Hard to tell. I'm actually glad I got out before the games and didn't try to squeeze it in between as I beat the sun. We're going to call this one a win.

PCC

Finally got home from the soccer extravaganza at 7:45 (we did also get to be home between 11 and 1). Did the PCC 2x thru. I skipped the squat thrust b/c of my strain and the rows b/c I can't figure out how to do them at home. (No Smith machine at this house.)

Total: 40.3 miles (scheduled 45)

week of 11 May

Stamina/Power Phase/Race Week
Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week
Weights –Power Core Circuit (PCC) 1 x week
Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises

MPW 32
32.5

Monday, May 11
rest

Tuesday, May 12
5 mile easy run including 4 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill

In Atlanta for work. 5.10 @ 9:37 including drill. I did the drills on the sidewalk because I didn't have any other choice.

Wednesday, May 13
6-7 mile easy to moderate run including 15 min @ LT effort. 10 min recovery then 15 x 30 sec’s @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests

Still in Atlanta.

This is really hard to squeeze into 6-7 miles. Did 1.64 mile warmup, 15 min tempo was 7:00, 6:50, 1:12 (6:38 pace). Turned around. 10 min jog. Fit in 13 x 30 sec @ 5k before I was back where I started. 7.40 miles total.

PM: Did the Core 100. I did 15 crunches, 15 rt oblique crunches, 15 lt oblique, 15 reverse, 10 prone double arm raise, 10 prone straight leg lift, 10 australian crawl, and 10 opposite arm/opposite leg.

Thursday, May 14

4 mile easy run w/4 strides

Still(!) in Atlanta. 4.00 @ 9:15 including 4 strides.

Friday, May 15
3 mile easy run w/6-8 strides @ 5k effort

3.24 @ 9:22/137 including 8 strides.

Resurrected my Nike Free 5.0v1s. After giving up on them, I found that with the 4.5 insoles they feel fine. (I put 1100 miles on a pair of 5.0v2s. Then I horded 4 pairs of v1s when they were on sale and found the arch didn't feel right. The "4.5" insole is lower than the "5.0" insole.)

Saturday, May 16
8-10 mile total run including 2 min @ LT effort, 5-8 strides @ 5k effort then 5k race

3 mile wup w/2' tempo and ~6 strides. 5k in 20:21. 2.6 mile cooldown. race report here

Sunday, May 17
4 mile easy run

PCC

4 miles @9:17. It rained overnight and was nice this morning. Did the PCC 2x thru afterwards. I skipped the reverse row b/c I don't have a bar or weight machine at home to use.

PM: Did foam roller.

5k report

warm and very humid. I couldn't see out the windows because of the water condensed on them. Looking at wunderground it was 68.2 deg with a dew point of 66.9 (96% rel humidity) at 8:55am (race started at 8:30). A very light drizzle off and on. We're supposed get thunderstorms today and you could feel it in the air.

For the warmup, I ran most of the course -- call it 3 miles -- in 26'49'' including 2' @ LT and ~6 strides @5k.

I went out relaxed in the first mile and repassed a lot of people in the second half mile as the usual sprinters fell back. I hit the first mile at 6'19'' (which I was very happy with) and found myself alone. There was a pack maybe 200m ahead and I just decided to track them and pick off the stragglers. At the half point I heard 9'55'. Slowing down I guess.

I passed a bunch of people in the 2nd mile, but my split was 6'45''. What the #@$#@? I wouldn't have guess I slowed that much, but I guess so. I think running without the HRM cost me a little. I usually try to keep the needle above 190bpm in the second mile when my mind tends to wander. It was especially hard without anyone running my pace.

Soon after the 2nd mile I saw group of 3 high school kids (it was a booster event) passing a straggler who I though might be in my AG. I passed the straggler too and tried to reel the 3 kids in. I passed one pretty quickly and then right when I'm going by the others, a spectating coach yells "don't let him pass you" and one kid takes off putting 15-20m on me in an instant. With about a half mile to go I came up even on him and to his credit he stuck with me, so we were running shoulder-to-shoulder. I should have gone harder by him. I realized I'd never outkick him so I surged with ~400m left and put a pretty good gap I think. The race finishes on a track and with about 200m left, still pretty well ahead of him, I went into my "sprint." Well, he just blew my doors off and I finished 2-3m back. I went to shake his hand a couple of steps after the race and he was bending over, holding his shorts and couldn't talk. I felt kinda wimpy! Anyway, my watch says 20'20.8'' So much for the negative split I'd planned. 7'17'' last 1.1 (~6:34 pace). My 5k split at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler was 20:29! Last year my watch time was 19:44.

Anyway, I did a 23' cooldown. I felt surprisingly good and probably ran about 9:00 pace or better, making me think I really didn't give it my all. My right hamstring was a little sore, like it always is after a race, but nothing else. We'll call this 2.6 miles. So, 8.7 for the
day.

I stuck around for the awards and actually won my age group (M35-39). It was a little embarrassing, but I'll take it -- $25 restaurant gift certificate and a little medal. Last year I was 35 secs faster and finished 3rd. You have to show up to win I guess! (It helped that 2nd overall was 39 and you can't double dip.)

week of 4 May

Stamina/Power Phase

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Did once

MPW 26

Did 26.5

Monday, May 4

rest

Tuesday, May 5

4-5 mile easy run including 2 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill and 2 x 10 sec high knees up a hill

5.26 @ xxx including bounds, high knees, and 10 single leg hops for distance (each leg, on flat). 5 miles is starting to seem like a long way!

Wednesday, May 6

10-15 min XT easy then Power Core Circuit but do 1 min hard XT between exercises

Thursday, May 7

3-5 mile easy run w/10 strides @ 5k effort

5.25 @ 9:27 including strides. The 4th mile was only 9:15 pace and 142 bpm. Man it was humid. 65 deg and 63 dew point (94% humidity). The "am I out of shape or is it just the weather?" question seems to be an annual rite of spring. Warning: Last year I ran 19:49 for 5k and then 35:57 for 5 miles 3 weeks later when it was about 80 and 100% humidity.

Friday, May 8

5-6 mile total run including 10 strides

6.00 @ 8:46 including strides. Intensity wasn't specified. Started easy and worked my way to moderate. avg 145 bpm.

Saturday, May 9

8-10 mile easy run w/10-20 x 30 sec’s @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests

10 miles @ 8:46/152 bpm. Very sticky outside. Did an out and back to the rec center porta-potties. 3 seconds short of 5 miles on the out. Nice. 5 easy. Pit stop. A couple of minutes then did a bunch of 30 sec @ 5k w/1 min jog rests on the way back before jogging the last mile or so. Counting the peaks in the HR graph, turns out a bunch was 22!

Sunday, May 10

10-15 min XT easy then Power Core Circuit but do 1-2 min hard XT between exercises

Did 15 min easy, 1 PCC w/ 2 min elliptical hard between and one PCC with no XT between. Took 67 minutes total. Avg 145 bpm. Was wimpy on the first 3 or 4 but was hitting ~170 bpm on the 6 or 7 XT intervals.

Circuit training will kick your butt

Today I did the somewhat benign sounding "10-15 min XT easy then Power Core Circuit but do 1 min hard XT between exercises."

15 min on the elliptical 2 x 14 exercises with 1 min hard elliptical between each and another 3 minutes easy on the elliptical. The circuit is 14 exercises, so that 27 minutes hard between them. Took about 75 minutes.

Holy. Crap. I was trailing puddles around the gym and counting down those last five intervals. It's tough when "pushups to fatigue" is your break. I can feel the endorphins though. If your goal is just good health, I think circuit training on the hard days with some kind of easy XT (like swimming) on the easy days is probably the way to go.

Here are the 14 exercises (not in order).

- pushups to fatigue
- step ups to fatigue
- squat thrusts to fatigue

http://insidenikerunning.nike.com/2008/09/30/general-strength-video-pedestal-routine/
- side pedestal

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/7353_bodyweight-exercises-dumbells-squat-press.htm
-Dumbbell squat press

http://insidenikerunning.nike.com/2008/09/30/general-strength-video-back-routine/
-Prone Double Arm Raise
-Sitting Bicycle
-Sitting Push Kicks

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/smith-machine-bodyweight-row.html
- body weight rows to fatigue (I don't have a smith machine at the gym, so I use the seating row weight machine)

http://insidenikerunning.nike.com/2008/09/30/general-strength-video-myrtl-routine/
-Lateral Leg Raise
-Donkey Kicks
-Lateral Leg Swing
-Linear Leg Swing, Bent Knee

week of 27 April

training - week of 2009.04.27

Active Recovery Week
Foam Roller Exercises 5-6 x this week
- manage to get this in 3 times. I'm awful about remembering the "do x times this week" stuff.

Monday, April 27
rest
-- done

Tuesday, April 28
XT 30-60 min easy
-- 60' on the elliptical. About 20' to get to 140 bpm and then stayed low 140s until 5' left and dropped down to 130s. Nice to sweat again! I had it set to level 4.0 when I think I was doing 3.5 when I used it about a year ago. Stronger now? My hips were a little sore afterwards.

Wednesday, April 29
XT 30-50 min easy w/ 10-15 x 45 sec hard /1 min XT easy rests
-- 50 mins elliptical. 15 min easy (~130bpm), 25.5 mins of 15x(45 sec hard/1 min easy), 9.5 minutes of very easy. My hips were pretty sore afterwards. Not used to the elliptical I guess.

Thursday, April 30
3-4 mile easy run including 10 strides @ 10k effort
-- 4.0 @ 9:30 including 10 strides

Friday, May 1
10-15 min XT easy then Power Core Circuit but do 1-2 min moderate XT between exercises and 1-2 x thru
-- Went really well. 15 min elliptical. 2 x thru with 1 min moderate elliptical in between. I had 3 minutes left on the timer, so added that at the end. Not sure if there was supposed to be a cool down. I didn't have anywhere to do the reverse row, so I used seated row weight machine. It's not quite the same though since your hands are close together (about 6'' apart). I only managed 30 pushups on the first go around (was doing 35 before marathon) and 23 on the second.

Saturday, May 2
5-6 mile easy jog
-- 5.95 @ 9:32. 64 deg and humid. I felt out of shape. A few sore places from the PCC, but not bad.

Sunday, May 3
10-15 min XT easy then Power Core Circuit but do 1-2 min hard XT between exercises and 1 x thru
-- I elected to do 2 minutes between and 15 min warmup. "hard" is the key word above and makes this workout pretty tough as you can see from the hr graph (average 149 bpm). I wasn't completely recovered from Friday so I only made 25 pushups. With 13 x 2 min intervals you end up with 26 minutes "hard." I had 4 minutes left on the timer (set to 30 minutes), so I did 4 minutes very easy on the elliptical as a short cooldown. Total time was only 61 minutes, but I got a lot in there. If you were just exercising for health, circuit training is probably a good way to go.

Total: 5h47'. Only 10 miles running. My inner mileage junkie is cringing.

I've pretty much made up my mind to run the B&A trail marathon on 7 March (not announced, but I believe it's the first Sunday of March). See this post for my handwringing/reasoning.

Spring marathons: the contenders

In this corner, weighing in at...

I'm looking toward a marathon as a goal race (read: run as fast as possible) in the late winter/early spring of next year. I'm leaning toward an early race because I'd like to be able to run a good Cherry Blossom and continue my streak of ever-improving April 10 milers. I'm also just itchy to get that 3:19 off the board and replace it with something faster. One option would be Boston (think I'm still qualified), which would be OK with CB, but to run really well there you have to be skilled at downhill running. That would require lots of race specific training and the race itself is expensive and a logistical hassle.

So, here are the contenders.


7 March 7:30AM - B&A Trail Marathon, Severna Park, MD
I'm assuming it's This "trail" marathon is mostly an asphalt bike path from what I understand. You do an out and back to the south and an out and back to the north for a 26.2-mile loop. Looks about as flat as you'll find. There's one 70 foot hill that you go over twice. It's a small race (~250) and 3:10 would be somewhere between 10 and 15 without much company. Temp/wind at 11am on 7 March:
- 2009, 47 deg, 11.5 mph
- 2008, 45 deg, 7 mph gusting to 16
- 2007, 25 deg, 8 mph
- 2006, 39 deg, 8 mph
- 2005, 49 deg, 14 mph
- 2004, 51 deg, 7 mph

20 March 7:00 AM - National Marathon, Washington D.C.
Convenient. Nice size. 2000 means not too crowded but some company at my pace. They have pacers from 3:10 - 4:00. It looks fairly hilly. There's a 200+ foot climb from 4-7 which isn't terrible I guess, but that almost 3 heart break hill miles if you think about it and it looks tough on the course tour video (4:00 - 6:00).
Temp/wind at 10am on 20 March:
-2009, 43 deg, 13.5 mph
- 2008, 46 deg, 23 mph gusting to 33
- 2007, 58 deg, 10 mph
- 2006, 44 deg, 18 mph
- 2005, 48 deg, 7 mph
- 2004, 47 deg, 16 mph gusting to 23

21 March 8:00AM - Shamrock marathon, Va Beach, VA
The course is absolutely pancake flat and I can drive there. I might even have a free place to crash since I know someone with a house there. The weather can be an issue though and especially the wind on the largely exposed course. Temp/Wind on 21 March 12:00PM:
- 2009, 46 deg, 12 mph gusting to 17
- 2008, 55 deg, 16 mph gusting to 24
- 2007, 51 deg, 10 mph
- 2006, 40 deg, 17 mph
- 2005, 54 deg, 11 mph
- 2004, 58 deg, 16 mph

Summary

The weather data seems to back up Shamrock's reputation as a windy race. We were just extraordinarily lucky this year. The course is also largely unsheltered (on the coast) which magnifies the effect of the wind. I was really surprised by all the wind in DC though. Six years is a pretty decent sample and half the years are above 15 mph. B&A has the least wind and I'm guessing it's pretty sheltered anyway. It's pretty unlikely to be hot on 7 March. Snow or ice is more of a concern.

Shamrock and the National Marathon are about the same size (2000 and 2500 respectively) and I'd have some company. 22 people between 7:00 and 7:15 pace at National and about 50 at Shamrock. With only 250 at B&A I'd be alone a lot. On the other hand, I don't mind that too much.

I've just about made up my mind to run the B&A marathon on 7 March.

Your age on race day

I registered for the Lawyers Have Heart 10K and wasn't happy that my "age on race day" is now 38! Running has a way of reminding you of your age even if it keeps you younger.

In other news, I've moved from walking to the elliptical. It was good to actually break a sweat.

already getting itchy

I don't know how I'm going to make it 10 days without a run, although this morning was my second day of walking and I did think, "You know, this is what healthy people do." See, but I timed my walk. Not with a stop watch, but I had to look at the time when I left and when I got back. 41 minutes. A new walking course PR! (I narrowly beat out yesterday's 42 minute effort.)

What did I think about while walking? I was jealous of the two guys I saw running and I already found myself plotting marathon revenge. I wonder if deep down I ran 3:19 just to leave a bad taste in my mouth, so I'd have to run one again. If I'd have run 3:09 say, I might have thought, "Well, I'll never break three, so that sounds like a pretty good lifetime PR." But I didn't even have a good day. To not run one again would be like leaving the basketball court without making your last basket. Maybe I did it to myself on purpose. Revenge. Yes, that's what I need.

I've promised myself I won't run one this Fall although if I broke 40 in September.... No, no. Not enough time. Maybe I'll run a spring marathon. Yeah, I could do that. Could I wait? How about an early spring marathon? Or what about revenge on the same course? I think I'm qualified for 2010. No, too expensive. Too big a hassle. A local, early spring marathon. I'm not sure I'll be able to avoid it.

week of 13 April

MPW 65

-- 32.5 + marathon = 58.7

Monday, April 13

3-4 mile easy run w/5 strides

-- 3.51 @ 9:43

2-3 sets max push ups

-- forgot the push ups and I love doing push ups on Monday night. I'll do these Tuesday.

Tuesday, April 14

7-10 mile total moderate run including 3 x 1 mile @ GMP w/1 min jog recoveries then 2 x 800m @ 10k effort w/2 min recoveries. Finish run w/10 strides

- 7:14, 7:16, 7:12 w/200m rest, 200m rest then 2x800 w/400m rest in 3:18 (slow!) and 3:13 (nailed it from the beginning). Totally forgot the 10 strides. I need to tattoo these workouts on my arm or something. Total 8.70 @ 8:05

core plank

-- did the pushups tonight. 35 and 6. Left lower ab (if there is such a thing) was sore. My right hamstring is also tight tonight. I did the foam roaller.

Wednesday, April 15

6 mile easy run

-- 6.14 @ 9:35

-- did the core plank tonight. Figured the race is on Mon vs Sun, so this was OK

Thursday, April 16

6-7 mile easy run including 4 x 45 sec’s @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests

-- at St. Louis airport 6.00 @ 9:05 on treadmill. 5k effort was 6:30 on treadmill. I'm not yet used to faster than that on a treadmill -- kinda scary

Friday, April 17 – increase carbs to 70%

5 mile easy run w/6 strides

-- 5.16 @ 9:01 including strides

Saturday, April 18– increase carbs to 70%

3 mile easy run w/10 strides

-- 3.01 @ 9:02 including strides. It was 70 degrees outside. HR was *really* high. Nerves? Heat?

Sunday, April 19 – increase carbs to 70%

2 mile easy run w/5 strides

-- skipped to sleep before leaving at 630 for the airport. I was awake anyway though and probably could have run.

Week of 13 April: 32.5 miles.

Boston marathon report

Might as well get this outta my head...

Alarm went off at 5:10, but I was already awake with other marathoners out in the hall. I actually slept quite well considering. I figure I was asleep by 9:30ish and only woke up 2 or 3 times for a few minutes. Maybe it was the Tylenol PM I took.

I just made it on the hotel shuttle. Another 30+ souls weren't so lucky and had to wait for the next shuttle. Got right on the "T," stood in the line for the school buses, and boarded the next one to Hopkinton. Got there about 7:30 and hit the first porta-pottie I saw. I met up with a 1st corral speedy friend of mine. I wasn't feeling great, but I figured it was just nerves. It wasn't nearly as overcast as it was supposed to be and felt considerably warmer, so I was hoping they goofed the wind forecast, but the flag was flying pretty good and facing directly away from the sun, so I knew the east winds were going to materialize.

About 9:00 we decide to hit the porta-john and the line is at least 30 minutes. Pretty soon they call his bib #s to head to the starting line, then mine. Crap. Hopefully I'll be able to use a porta-john at the starting line. I head down to the start and get in another line. It's about 9:40. I get 4 from the front and they say there's 3'30'' to the start. I have to bail even though, by this time I have to go. Crap. I run down and can't squeeze in my corral, so I have to get in the 8th corral. Seconds after I get in they start walking us forward.


(elevation changes from http://www.boston.com/marathon/course/elevations.htm)

1.00, 7:34, 160bpm, -130ft, Hopkinton

I start the first mile and am trapped by where I ended up in the corral. I weave in and out, but try not to expend too much energy, ending up with a 7:34 mile on the precipitous drop.

2.02 7:28 168, -40ft, Ashland
Still trying to pass those thousand people, the next mile is 7:28. I'm surprised to see my HR so high at this slow a pace and on a downhill. I also feel warm and am sweating a lot more than I'd expect. I start to figure this isn't going to be such a good day. Still I had a similar beginning to my marathon last fall and managed to finish well.

3.03 7:25 169, -55, Ashland
Similar to the last two. Not running that fast, going downhill, and it's not particularly easy. I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm going to have to hit a port-a-john.

4.03 7:12 172, -85, Ashland
I pick up the effort and it's downhill. 7:12. Not bad, maybe I can keep this going and get on track like I did at NCR.

5.04 7:36 171, +25, Framington
Or maybe I won't. (a little uphill)

6.05 7:21 172, -25, Framington
This ended on a steep downhill and I can already feel my quads on 6 miles in. I'm thinking if I can miraculously even split that maybe I can run 3:15.

7.06 7:23 171, -25, Framington
Getting really uncomfortable and checking for porta-johns as I go.

8.07 7:53 170, +25, Natick
Include porta-john stop. With the

9.07 7:20 171, -30, Natick
10.08 7:25 171, +20, Natick
11.08 7:26 171, +10, Natick
12.08 7:17 169, -15, Wellesley
Kinda surprised by the low HR, fast split. This was a pretty smooth downhill.

14.10 14:54 172, -20 and -15 = -35, Wellesley
This was a lot of fun. Included the "scream zone" as you went through the campus. Has to be heard to be believed. Included a very brief stop to kiss a Wellesley girl (on the cheek if you're reading, honey). My HR hit 179 at one point. I was starting to wonder whether I'd finish and this was a huge boost.

15.10 7:33 171, +30, Wellesley
16.12 7:18 170, -100, Newton Lower falls
HUGE downhill.

17.13 7:48 172, +55, Newton (as in "Newton hills")
18.15 7:50 172, +30, West Newton
19.17 7:37 170, -15, Newton
20.18 7:54 172, +20, Newton (note these are net, there must be an up and down in here)
21.20 8:11 174, +80, Newton/Chestnut Hill -- aka Heartbreak hill

The famed Newton hills. I just ground it out. I didn't let my HR go nuts, but gave a little extra to get over heartbreak. The wind really picked up from here on in.

22.21 7:30 175, Boston/Brighton, -80
Glad to be over the hump. This wasn't too hard.

23.23 7:41 176, -55, Brookline
24.23 7:31 177, -35, Brookline
I've been passing people since the hills (even though I'm slowing) and finally found a guy to run with/behind here. It was really odd. This felt like jogging. I couldn't go any faster, mind you, but I ran with short, choppy, jogging strides.

25.23 7:49 178, -45, Boston/Back Bay
I'm really running on fumes here. I'm losing power from the pounding and I think I'm running low on gas as well.

26.25 8:05 180 (90%)
26.47 1:46 179 (90%)
Just trying to finish as best I can. Man, you can see that finish line from forever on Boylston.

Total: 3:19:01 172 bpm average

Once we crossed the finish line, it was COLD! The wind was blowing the space blankets over our heads and it was about 45 degrees. It's funny because in the last mile, it felt so warm I thought they must have missed the forecast. I grabbed my goodies and started eating. I instantly felt much better. This isn't an ad (note: my coach is sponsored by powerbar), but that Powerbar recovery bar was like the best thing I've ever eaten.

The volunteers were amazing and the crowds were amazing and all the people congratulating me as I got on the subway were amazing, too. If you want to be a rockstar for a day this is the race for you.

List of excuses/rationale in rough order of importance:

• I didn't train specifically for this. My goal was a sub-1:30 half, which I did, and then shifted to a sub-67 10-miler, which I also did. Since Cherry Blossom was two weeks ago and I tapered for it, my last real long run was 4 weeks ago. I also didn't do the volume that I probably would have if Boston were my target. Last fall I did a significant number of 70+ mile weeks and loads of long runs. That was the first time I felt prepared to race the full distance.
  
• It was an off day. I was a little congested starting Saturday and today (Tuesday) I have a full-on can't-breathe-through-my-nose, foggy-headed cold. I was sweating a lot early in the race and my heart rate was high. I just didn't ever feel right. I definitely have a cold today. I must have had the virus yesterday. Maybe the race killed my immunity or maybe I'd have got the cold anyway. I think people underestimate how much whether you're having an on or off day can affect you and I often wonder if the way to optimize your marathon PR isn't just to run a bunch of them and hope for that magical day.
  
• I wasn't motivated to really give it my all. I averaged 172 bpm versus 174 in my PR race. In that race I was 172 or higher from mile 4 on and the last 8 were 176, 177, 177, 177, 178, 180, and 183, which you can compare to the above. That was probably worth a couple of minutes at least.
  
• There was a headwind. I don't want to overstate it. It was 10+ for the first half and was manageable with the other runners and the terrain. It was definitely a factor in the second half though and at the end it was 18 mph per wunderground. If you look at the graph of wind direction, it was basically east, so not quite a completely direct headwind but close. Macho guys will discount this and say "hey, Fred ran a PR," but come on, a headwind can't be helping you. It was worth at least a minute, if not more.
  
• The porta-a-john snafu cost me 30 seconds and considerable discomfort, plus something for wasting energy (and nice downhills) in those first couple of miles trying to get up with my corral mates.
  

Anyway, I'm in a rebuilding stage now. I'm going to work on being a better 10K runner. I think improving my efficiency will help me be a better runner in the long run. It's a different kind of base training, if you will.

Goal: run fast

Well, I'm at the hotel and the wind forecasts haven't subsided, so I don't think they're going to. I saw the finish line today when I went to the expo and felt that wind coming straight down Boylston St. Hopefully a few thousand people in front of me should break it up.

The goal my coach gave me was 3:10-3:12 and I thought that sounded about right. Given the conditions, however, I'll just have to play it by ear. Fortunately, I've done this enough that I think I'm pretty good at that.

Wish me luck.

Too few miles and too much food

I weighed 166 today. Yikes! I saw that once last summer, but this time I don' think it's a blip as I've seen a trend lately. I haven't weighed 166 in 3 years when I was running 40-50 mpw, which is, not coincidentally, what I've been doing lately. Ugh. Since I won't be running more than that for quite a while, I guess I need to figure out how to eat less. My diet is atrocious anyway, so maybe this will inspire me to eat healthier.

week of 7 April

MPW 48

-- 44.7

Monday, April 6

rest

-- check. It's the weirdest thing. My lower abs are sore. This is new.

2-3 sets max push ups

-- 30 and 6 again. I felt strong then before in my arms/shoulders and probably could have squeezed a few more in, but my lower abs are sore from yesterday

Tuesday, April 7

4-5 mile easy jog

-- 4.4 @ 9:43. Legs good. lower abs sore at first, but felt OK after a mile. I progressed from an opening 10+ minute mile to a wicked fast 9:32.

core plank

-- check

Wednesday, April 8

5-7 mile easy run

-- 6.06. Ran to the lake and back. I stopped going when it was too dark and snowy. I only ran about a mile at the lake, but it was nice. I saw a fox twice (same guy - once out and once back) and what I think was an egret. The steep hill up from the lake yielded a 10:32 mile. Abs still a little sore.

step-ups
-- forgot what I was doing and did the one-leg squats instead, planned to switch with Friday

Thursday, April 9

8-10 mile easy run including 10 x 30 sec's @ 5k effort w/30 sec jog rests
-- 9.3 @ 8:27. Still feeling the abs a little

Forearm Plank w/Alternating Leg Lifts
-- I did these but was cautious because of my lower abdomen

Friday, April 10

5-6 mile easy run
-- 5.2 @ 8:39. Right calf a little tight from the 10x30''. Abs still there.

step-ups
- forgot

Saturday, April 11

6-7 mile easy run
-- 6.6 on the treadmill (steady rain outside) @ 9:06 pace (60 min). Abs still there. I can feel it when I cough. It's getting better day-by-day though. Nothing painful. Just there. Calf was OK.

100 ab exercises
-- B/c of my ab soreness, I skipped this and did the step ups I forgot yesterday. 2 sets of 40.

Sunday, April 12

11-13 mile moderate run including 20 min progression run beginning at moderate effort and running the last few minutes @ marathon effort. 2-5 min recovery then run 3 x 1 mile alternating every 100m @ 10k effort and marathon goal pace w/2-3 min jog between reps

-- Picked the family up at the airport (in ATL seeing her sister's new baby) at 11pm and my daughter threw up at 1:30am (a little too much fun, food, and excitement), so I wasn't too chipper this morning.

-- 4.3 @ 8:57; 20' progression: 7:57/152bpm, 7:49/158, 4:35(7:22)/167; 8:33 @ 8:40 pace recovery (recovery was too long, but it was hard to work in 20' of clear running room for the progression and then get to track in under 5 minutes).

-- I figured I run 10k on the straights and MP on the curves. 24 sec per 100 happens to be 2400 per 10000m :-) 27 per 100 is 7:15 per mile. Avg should be 6:48 per 1600.

-- It was pretty windy. Wunderground.com show 13 gusting to 24 mph and the flag was pointed straight down the straights.

-- First 1600 was very slow -- 7:02/169. I had to dial it up to get to 10k pace and the first 800m was lots of 28s and 25s.

-- 3:15 rest -- 400m + short trip to porta-pottie :-)

-- 2nd 1600 was almost perfect -- 6:44/176. 24 seconds into the wind was probably pushing 5k pace though

-- 800m rest in 4:11

-- 3rd 1600 was 6:44/180 (max 185!). I hit 23 a few times and was probably too fast, especially in the wind. As the HR indicates this was pretty tough.

-- 1.2 home @ 9:16 pace

-- total: 13.0 @ 8:09

-- I was still feeling my abs (maybe it's psoas?). I can now tell it's mostly on the left side. I've been doing lunges (of sorts) to stretch my psoas before I run, which seems to have done wonders for my runners knee, but I can feel a strain on the left side when I do that now though.

-- Finally did the foam roller tonight.

Running-Specific Circuit Drills

My coach has an article in Running Times on circuit drills. These drills as well as more hill work are the main additions to my training and I think they've made a big difference.

How big a difference? Well, I think my recent PRs exaggerate my improvement a little because I didn't race last fall except the marathon and I was really off my peak fitness that day. (I'd guess I was in more like 1:30-1:31 HM and 67-68 10M shape in October versus 1:29 and 66 this spring.) HOWEVER, I was running low 70s mpw last Fall versus low 60s. The way I'm running is qualitatively different now. I don't have any VO2max test to point to but I'd guess my big improvement has been in efficiency.

I thought miles and weight were the only real variables I had to play with, but now I've PRd while running less miles and weighing more (probably because I'm running less miles). I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do once I'm ready for increased mileage (and lower weight!).

week of 30 March

MPW 41
-- did 38.

Monday, March 30
3-4 mile easy run
-- 3.2 @ 9:10. The second mile was 8:53 and I slowed down thinking that maybe my easy days haven't been easy enough. I didn't feel the hamstring at all.
2-3 sets max push ups
-- 35 and 6

Tuesday, March 31
5-6 mile easy run w/10 strides
-- 5.44 @ 8:58. I'm on auto-pilot with Tues easy runs and totally forgot the strides.
core plank
-- yep

Wednesday, April 1
6-7 mile moderate run including 3 x 1mile alternating every 400m between 10 mile goal pace and marathon goal pace. 2 min jog rest between reps. Full recovery then 4 x 200m @ 5k effort w/200m jog rests.
-- 7.8 miles. Couldn't get this under 7 with the track almost 1.5 from my house.
1.6 warmup
1:48/150 (perfect), 1:43/161 (slow!), 1:49/160 (good), 1:40/165 (perfect)
2:08 rest
1:46/156 (fast), 1:42/165 (slow again!), 1:46/165 (fast again), 1:40/170 (perfect)
2:02 rest
1:46/158 (fast), 1:40/167 (perfect), 1:47/166 (good), 1:39/169 (good)
2:05 rest -- suppose to be full rest. I would have done more, but I was already over 5 miles and I didn't feel like I need any more rest (hr got under 150).
:47/162 (perfect), 1:01 rest, :46/164, 1:02, :47/164, 1:05, :47/163
1.4 cooldown

Thursday, April 2
5-6 mile easy run w/5 x 30 sec’s @ 5k effort w/30 sec jog rests
-- 5.1 @ 8:54 (including the 5x30''). Went fine. I ran by a couple of bus stops at about 6:15 pace and felt like a lunatic.

Friday, April 3
3 mile jog w/6-8 strides
-- 3.2 @ 9:08. Could feel yesterday's 5x30'' a little bit in my calves.

Saturday, April 4
2 mile jog
-- I expected to be jumping out of my shoes, but my legs were a little heavy. Still it was 2 @ 9:01, which is probably a little fast for a "jog." Winds were also 20-30 mph. Hopefully it will die down before tomorrow!

Sunday, April 5
2-3 mile warm up w/10 strides @ ten mile race effort then 10 mile race!! Short cooldown.
-- got in 1 mile with no strides. 10 miles in 66:43! 0.25 mile cooldown.

Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run

Here's the long race report for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler I ran today.

Left the house at 5:30 and got there around 6:30. It was 47 degrees when I left the house and I didn't detect any wind. No lines (like zero) at the porta-potties all the way up to start time, so thumbs up to the race director! I shivered in my long-sleeve shirt (should have brought a jacket) until the sun came out and I was instantly warmer. It was still 50 degrees or so -- perfect for a 10 miler. The wind was light too, so no excuses today!

I only got a 1 mile warmup in. I started jogging at 7:08 since the race was supposed to start at 7:40, but the announcer kept imploring everyone to get in the corral way early and after a couple of minutes of "final call to get in the corral," I did. Part of the reason for getting in early was that the elite females started at 7:30. You didn't need to get in before 7:30 because they marched everybody forward after the women started. Anyway, I stood there for 20+ minutes before the start.

So, we're off. The new route is the same as last years, but in reverse. This is *much* better because it avoids the funneling into a narrow street in the first mile that we did last year. I found a group to run with and just ran with minimal dodging. The HRM was way off (reading 190+) for the first mile plus. The garmin read ~6:50 at first but settled down and eventually wound down to 6:32 pace (which didn't seem right) by the time I hit the lap button. The was easy enough that I didn't think to look for a mile marker until 12+ minutes in and I looked up and saw mile 2 at the top of memorial bridge. 13:18. Goal pace was 6:42, so 6:39 per mile is pretty nice. I found a rhythm and was going along pretty well. The next split was 6:29. Was it short? No, I think I was going that fast. Looked at my watch at the 5k sign (no pad) -- 20:29. That wouldn't have been a PR this time last year. My heart rate was only 182. I ran the half in January at about that, so I didn't worry. I cruised along for another 6:34 mile and started to think, which probably isn't a good idea. I had an inkling of sub-66, but then I thought I wouldn't goober this up.

Just make sure I hit those 6:40s. 6:41 mile 5. 6:39 mile 6. I had a nice group running an even pace. It started (as it should) to get uncomfortable approaching mile 6. I looked at my watch at the 10k -- 41:10. An unofficial 10k PR. It was started to get harder and my legs were getting a little "lacticy" (to make up a word). It starts to get hard to feel your pace at this point in the race, but I was keeping up with the group and the garmin read 6:39.

Mile 7. 7:06. WTF? I knew it was long, so I say something to the guy next to me expecting an "oh yeah," but he says something like "why do you think so?" Uh, I went 6:40 to 7:06. This was on the spectator-free, lonely part called Hains Point where many a good Marine Corps Marathon race has died, so it was easy to question myself, but still I knew I didn't slow that much, but I figured I did slow and just didn't know how much.

Mile 8. 6:03. OK, mile 7 was long, but 7:06 + 6:03 = 13:09 ~ 6:35/mile. I don't think I sped up. Ah, I'm probably OK. 2 miles left. I decided to look at my elapsed time some time after the mile mark and say 53:35. I'm thinking 13:25 to run two miles. Ack that's 6:42 pace. I've been well under except that last suspect mile. What's going on here. In retrospect, I actually crossed mile 8 at 52:53. Huge difference! Don't try and estimate after you've passed a marker. 2 miles left. Just hang with the people in front of you.

Mile 9. There's a little breeze now as we head north on Hains Point, but not much. My pace reads 6:48 and I can't get it down without hurting more than I feel. I figure the markers were all just screwed and I haven't really slowed yet so I've got a bit of a cushion. Hit the mile marker at 7:00. What? I didn't drop 20 seconds. I now figure that both 7 and 8 were in the wrong place. 7 + 6:03 + 7:08 = 21:11 = ~6:44 pace, which I'll believe. The clock says 61:05 at the mile marker. My watch says 59:53 and I'm figuring if the last mile is reasonably close to a mile then I should make it.

Mile 10. Just hang with some folks and try and run it in. This mile has the only real hill in the course (and it's not *that* bad). It starts just before 800 meters to go. They have a *very* helpful sign there and I figured I could run a 7ish mile and make it at that point. Anyway, we ran up the hill and it hurt and you kind of wind your way to the right, so you get pretty darn close to the finish before you can actually see it. I think I finally saw the clock when it read 1:06:30. For once, I wanted to finish with the clock reading under my goal time (I ran 1:30:01 at carlsbad and 32:0something at the 8k. Anyway, I picked it up and saw 1:06:57 when I crossed. Unambiguous success. Yay, me! I also remembered to stop my watch, which I haven't done in the last two races. It read 1:06:43 (which also is my official chip time).

I planned to run 3 miles to a friend's house, but after stiffening up while waiting 15 minutes for my bag, I ended up taking the train. Here's a note to race organizers. If you assign numbers by projected order of finish and then group bags by bib numbers, you'll end up with a thousand people at two tables while the other 20 sit idle. How hard is this? They could have 10 tables arranged by the last digit of the bib number and serve 10 at a time instead of 2 at a time with half the number of volunteers.

I'm getting nearer one of my long term goals -- a sub-40 10k. If you believe the McMillan calculator this 10 miler was worth a 39:49.

Full splitsahol below.

| mile | split | dist | pace | Avg HR |
|    2 | 13:18 | 2.04 | 6:32 |    185 | -- HRM not working right
|    3 |  6:29 | 1.02 | 6:21 |    182 |
|    4 |  6:34 | 1.07 | 6:09 |    183 |
|    5 |  6:41 | 1.03 | 6:29 |    183 |
|    6 |  6:39 | 1.00 | 6:38 |    184 |
|    7 |  7:06 | 1.07 | 6:39 |    183 |
|    8 |  6:03 | 0.91 | 6:41 |    183 |
|    9 |  7:00 | 1.03 | 6:48 |    185 |
|   10 |  6:50 | 1.02 | 6:42 |    187 | 

last workout before Cherry Blossom

I can't let Mindi have all the have all the last-workout-before-the-big-race glory, can I? The plan today was 6-7 miles including 3 x 1 mile w/ 2 minute rest and pace alternating between marathon and 10-mile pace every 400m followed by full rest and then 4 x 200m @5k w/2oom rest. I shot for :47 per 200 for 5k (6:18 per mile), 1:40 per 400 for 10-mile (6:42 per mile), and 1:48 per 400 for MP (7:15). Here's how it went:

• 1.6 warmup
• 1:48/150 (perfect), 1:43/161 (slow!), 1:49/160 (good), 1:40/165 (perfect)
• 2:08 rest
• 1:46/156 (fast), 1:42/165 (slow again!), 1:46/165 (fast again), 1:40/170 (perfect)
• 2:02 rest
• 1:46/158 (fast), 1:40/167 (perfect), 1:47/166 (good), 1:39/169 (good)
• 2:05 rest -- suppose to be full rest. I would have done more, but I was already over 5 miles and I didn't feel like I need any more rest (hr got under 150).
• :47/162 (perfect), 1:01 rest, :46/164, 1:02, :47/164, 1:05, :47/163
• 1.4 cooldown

It didn't feel that hard at all (it should though since it's pretty low intensity and low volume) and the heart rates look good. I'm pretty confident for Sunday. My one worry is that my weight has ballooned. I'm at 165.5! I haven't touched 166 in maybe 3 years (after a year of running). Maybe I'll fly if I can dump some weight.

week of 23 March

MPW - Only 50.7.

Monday, March 23
Rest
-- check
2-3 sets max push ups
-- 30 and 6 again

Tuesday, March 24
5-6 mile easy run
-- went OK. Much better than last Tues (after the 8k)
core plank
-- check

Wednesday, March 25
9-10 mile easy run
-- 9.3 @ 8:31. On the quicker side of easy I guess, but it was Wednesday and I felt pretty good.
2-3 sets max body weight step- ups
-- check. I did 40 and 30 I think.

Thursday, March 26
5-6 mile easy run
-- 5.24 @ 9:06
Forearm Plank w/Alternating Leg Lifts
-- forgot

Friday, March 27
8-10 mile moderate run including Everest Hill drills and 10 x 30 sec
hills @ 3k effort w/jog back rests
-- 9.4 @ 9:06 pace. Did 1x Everest. Felt like doing another for the first time, but I had the hills, so I left it at 1 set. Did 10x30 hills. No clue what 3k effort is but just ran hard and under control.
2 -3 sets max body weight or light weight one leg squats
-- forgot again. Argh. I'm putting "exercise" on my calendar to try and stop this. It's easy for me to remember to run, but I forget about everything else.

Saturday, March 28
7-8 mile easy run including 3 strides then sprint training: 6 x 10 sec's w/60 sec rests
-- 7.0 @ 9:16. I was glad just to get through this. My legs were still sore from Friday
100 reps of abdominal exercises of your choice
-- check (finally remembered!)

Sunday, March 29
12-16 mile total moderate run including 4-6 x 1 mile @ GMP w/1-2 min jog rests then 2-4 x ½ mile @ 10 mile goal pace w/2 min jog rests. Finish run w/3 x 150m cutdowns.

-- I felt oddly stiff when I woke up, especially my calves. I thought I should feel great given the low mileage, but I didn't. It was 50 and "Mist" according to the weather -- like running in a cloud. I thought I'd be cold, but it felt steamy and I regretted my long sleeve shirt pretty quickly. Very strange weather today. The 12-16 scheduled range was a pretty big one. I decided to do 6 x 1 mile and 4x1/2 mile and try to hit 16. Looking at my schedule and seeing the last 20+ miler is 4 weeks from Boston is a little disconcerting and I guess I wanted to pad the mileage even though I know Cherry Blossom next weekend is my goal.

-- Did 5.1 @ 9:03 on the way to the track.
-- Splits were 7:14 (1600), 1:59 (400), 7:12 (1600), 1:58 (400). Then after maybe 200 meters into the next MP interval, my left hamstring started to tighten up and I kept running only to have a small pull after another 200 meters. I actually tried to start up again and realized that was a bad idea. The MP sections were pretty easy. I was hitting 166-167 bpm by the end of each rep.
-- Still determined to get some mileage, I jogged back the long way. 5.2 @ 9:08. My hamstring felt fine at this pace. I kind of slogged my way through though and was glad to be done. Total mileage was 14.44.
-- I did the foam roller later. I'm terrible about this. This is another thing I need to put on my calendar.

Well, one week until Cherry Blossom. I'm sure my hamstring will be
fine. I'm glad I stopped when I did, but 200m earlier would have been
better!

training - week of 2009.03.16

MPW 66

-- 63.5

Monday, March 16

rest

-- check

2-3 sets max push ups

-- 30 on the 1st and 6 on the 2nd. Pushed it to make to 30 (I like round numbers) and didn't have much left for the 2nd set

Tuesday, March 17

AM: 5-6 mile easy run

-- 5.4 @ 9:32

PM: 3-4 mile easy run

-- 3.2 @ 9:06

core plank
-- check

Wednesday, March 18

AM: 10-12 mile moderate run including 5 x 10 sec hill sprints and Everest Hill drills and 15 x 1 min hills @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests
-- 11.5 miles. My legs were sore, but this went fine. I'm not sure I can claim 5k effort though. I ran pretty hard, but my muscles didn't have the oomph to drive the heart rate up.

PM: 3 mile easy run w/last 10 min @ marathon effort

Wednesday – 2-3 sets max body weight step- ups

-- 3.4 miles. cursed my coach for the first mile, but was ready for marathon effort after the second. 10 minutes at about 7:15 on a 10 laps/mile gravel track
-- forgot step ups

Thursday, March 19

5-6 mile jog
-- slow, tired, sore, unpleasant, but done. 5.0 @ 9:50
-- did yesterday's step ups in AM

Forearm Plank w/Alternating Leg Lifts
-- did these in PM

Friday, March 20

7-8 mile total moderate run including 3 strides then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

3 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests

3 x 20 sec's w/75 sec rests

2 x 25 sec's w/90 sec rests

- 7.9 @ 8:23 including strides and sprints

Friday - 2 -3 sets max body weight or light weight one leg squats

- 40 left/40 right, 30 left/~10 right. I stopped on right for disturbing, but not painful, clicking sound

Saturday, March 21

4-5 mile easy w/4-6 strides

- 4.6 @ 8:54

100 reps of abdominal exercises of your choice

- forgot, but my excuse is being locked in a hotel room with crazy children

Sunday, March 22

HM workout

20-22 mile total moderate run including 5-7 miles easy before race then 5 miles @ 7:10-7:25 min pace then 3 miles @

6:42 pace then alternate the next 4 miles between 7:10-7:20 min and 6:42 pace. Run the last mile as hard as you desire. 2- 4 mile easy jog cooldown

- Warmup was 6.07 @ 9:12 pace. I got there about 5:50, jogged, hit the porta-john, and jogged some more right up until race time. It was a nightmare getting in the corral, but I made it in 3 minutes before the gun and I ended up starting 20 feet behind the 1:45 pacer. Ugh. They didn't have any water out before the race and I forgot to bring a bottle. So much for the hydration plan

- below are the splits for the race. More babbling below that

Time Distance Split time Split distance Split pace Avg. HR
0:07:25 1.00 7:25 1.00 7:24 161 (81%)
0:14:44 2.00 7:19 1.00 7:19 161 (80%)
0:21:57 3.01 7:12 1.00 7:11 165 (83%)
0:29:09 4.01 7:12 1.00 7:11 166 (83%)
0:36:20 5.02 7:10 1.01 7:08 168 (84%)
0:43:01 6.03 6:41 1.02 6:35 178 (89%)
0:49:26 7.02 6:24 0.98 6:31 179 (90%)
0:56:05 8.02 6:38 1.00 6:38 182 (91%)
1:03:19 9.02 7:14 1.01 7:12 175 (87%)
1:09:58 10.02 6:39 1.00 6:40 180 (90%)
1:17:12 11.03 7:13 1.00 7:12 174 (87%)
1:23:59 12.03 6:46 1.01 6:44 178 (89%)
1:31:08 13.06 7:08 1.03 6:58 177 (89%)
1:31:53 13.18 0:45 0.12 6:24 184 (92%)

I weaved my way in and out of traffic for the first mile and actually hit the 7:25 for the first mile. I took splits at the mile markers. The "split time" column is the split time at the markers (didn't miss one!) and the "split pace" is Garmin pace. For the most part, they're very close. I was hitting the prescribed pace like a robot the first 6 miles. Right after mile 6 my shoe came spectacularly untied and I stopped to tie it. It took forever with my gloves on and then came untied again in 20 feet! I stopped my watch though both times out of instinct. I think I overcompensated running afterwards and was shocked by the 6:24. Looking at splits above though, it looks like mile 6 was long and mile 7 was short. I was pretty much on target the rest of the way.

I guess my legs were a little fatigued and the first minute or so of mile 12 was slow (maybe 7:00 pace) and then I picked it up, but only got down to 6:46 (missing the prescribed 6:42). I took a loophole on "run the last mile as hard as you desire" and went back to MP rather than pick it up. Here's my weeny excuse: I never completely shook the soreness from the 8k and I had a couple of niggles. Plus I really didn't want to push it that hard. I did pick up the pace down the homestretch though.

The clock time was about 1:33:00 when I croseed. My watch said 1:31:53 and I now know my chip was 1:32:34. Looking at my Garmin data, I was paused for 23 and 21 seconds on my shoe tieing events (yikes!), which roughly agrees with the watch versus chip. Yikes! Even with the fiasco and the fact it was a training run, this would have been a 53 sec PR before January.

I grabbed my schwag, including some food to eat after my cooldown and did 3.06 @ 9:29. The food wasn't great and I ate my banana, cookie, granola bar, and pretzels in the car. 22.3 total for the day! We stopped by Williamsburg on the way back and I got another 2+ hours of walking as a bonus :-)

This was way easier than I thought it was going to be. I guess the race magic carries over to a training run. It was a real PR day out there. Flat as a pancake course, 40 degrees, and no wind. I think I could have run a big PR today. Those 7:12's were not hard at the beginning and the heart rates are a little under my normal HR in a marathon.

My biomechanics are terrible. I felt pretty "smooth" at MP, but when I go lower than 7:00 pace, I start to feel like I'm galloping, dipping my shoulder and almost limping on my duck-footed right legs. I also walked around Williamsburg feeling like my hips were "twisted." Maybe I'm just self-conscious about this stuff.

I just did my makeup 100 reps of ab stuff. I still say "ouch."

Shamrock forecast - perfect

Of course since I've decided to do the Shamrock HM as a workout instead of my goal race, the weather forecast is perfect. 40 degrees and, most importantly for that race, no wind. The course is also absolutely pancake flat. On the other hand I don't have to endure the pain of a HM! Check out my workout though.

20-22 mile total moderate run including 5-7 miles easy before race then 5 miles @ 7:10-7:25 min pace then 3 miles @ 6:42 pace then alternate the next 4 miles between 7:10-7:20 min and 6:42 pace. Run the last mile as hard as you desire. 2- 4 mile easy jog cooldown

Yikes! If you're running near me Sunday, I apologize in advance.

week of 9 March

Recover/race week -- total was 52.9

Monday, March 9
rest
-- I rested
2-3 sets max push ups
-- I did 27 (an improvement for me) and 10. If I really max the first
set, I'm never going to do a lot on the second. Am I doing this right
or should I shoot for even sets next time?

Tuesday, March 10
8-10 mile easy run including 6 x 10 sec hill sprints and Everest Hill
drills 1-2 x thru
core plank
-- Barely slept last night. Did 9.5. Did everest 1x thru. Almost
did another but checked my watch and I was late.

Wednesday, March 11
10-12 mile total moderate run over rolling hills w/ 45 sec @ 5k
effort/2 min jog rests x 15
-- Did 10.5 moderate and definitely over some hills. 15 x (45''
5k/120'' jog) went fine. There's no way to know the pace since the
Garmin doesn't work well enough over a 45 seconds period. That's
probably a good thing.
1 set max body weight step- ups
-- done

Thursday, March 12
5-6 mile jog
-- 5.1 @ 9:25 Again little sleep last night.
Forearm Plank w/Alternating Leg Lifts and 1 set max body weight or
light weight one leg squats
-- did the plank, but forgot the squats. I'll get this one day.

Friday, March 13
4-5 mile easy run including 10 strides
-- 5.2 easy (9:07) with 10 strides. I'm feeling rested!
100 reps of abdominal exercises of your choice
-- 20 x (crunch, rt oblique crunch, left oblique, reverse, and
bicycle). Easier this week, but man that's hard!

Saturday, March 14
3-4 mile easy run w/10 strides
-- 3.8 @ 8:50 w/ 10 strides. So rested, I'm about to come out of my shoes.

Sunday, March 15
AM: 10-12 mile total run including 10 strides and 8k race
- 4 mile wup w/8 strides (call me a rebel), 8k in 31:55, 3 mile cdn
PM: 6-8 miles easy
- 6.6 @ 8:51. This felt remarkably good! My HR was 145-150, but I
just ran a race 6 hours earlier! Total 18.7 for the day.

sub-32, but I'll get Fenty next time

I ran 31:55 today. I went out too fast chasing my arch nemesis, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty. I was a couple of meters behind His Excellency at about 3/4-mile before realizing I wasn't going to keep this up for 8k. He looked a lot smoother than I felt. The Garmin claims a 6:05 first mile, but I missed the actual mile marker and the Garmin was well long today so who knows.

Anyway, I ran pretty steady after the first mile and finally knew where I was when I saw 19:53 at the 5k split clock (my PR is 19:49 -- but no chip at that race and they famously started with a mis-firing gun). I faded a little and raced to beat 32. I saw 32:01 on the clock as I crossed. Argh. Well, with the miracle of chip timing, I checked the results and netted 31:55. My 5k split was 19:48. So two new PRs (one unofficial). I'll take it.

Mayor Fenty ended up running 30:12!!!!! Holy cow. The last three years he has run 33:49, 32:20, and now 30:12. Doesn't he have a city to run? Is there another big city mayor running these kinds of times? What is he on? Since I've beaten his prior year times the last two years, do I get a sub-30:12 next year? These are questions I want answers to.

I have to say I'm a little unhappy with myself for the effort I gave although I was pretty happy with the time. I just didn't push myself as hard as I could have. I never really decided that I was going to give 100% today and since Fenty blew my doors off, I ran to get the sub-32 I was looking for. My HR was a few beats lower and I definitely had something left. At one point in the last mile I decided to encourage a female runner next to me and said "let's go," to which she nodded determinedly, and then we proceeded to pass a couple of people. She seemed to be suffering a lot more than me but she still hung with me and then blew my doors off to the finish line. Today just wasn't a day I felt like suffering. I could tell on the cooldown I had a lot left. I didn't have that searing lung sensation or hamstring soreness. I actually didn't mind jogging after the race.

I think part of the reason for my mindset was the context of the whole running plan for the day made it seem like the 8k was just part of the puzzle. This morning was a 4 mile warmup with 8 strides (was supposed to do 10), 8k race, and 3 mile cooldown. Now I'm scheduled for 6-8 tonight! (No way I'm doing a step more than 6 -- more likely less.)

On the plus side, my running is just different now. My stride is more compact, but I guess longer (since I'm going faster). There's no way I could have run the first mile that fast that easily in the past. I'm not really used to going out too fast because I never had the speed to :-) This is probably an important point for (sub-)master runners. Doing hills plyometrics, etc. is probably important for those of us who don't remember how to run like a kid. If I can drop some weight and get my endurance up, I'll give it a good shot at Cherry Blossom.

My I-can't-believe-I'm-saying-this-out-loud goal for CB is sub-67. This is quite a stretch and will require real suffering come race day, but it's a worthy goal I think.

I love recovery weeks

Off day on Monday, 9.5 w/ hills Tues, 10.5 Wed with an easier than normal workout and no double. Usual 5.2 on Th and then only 5 this morning (instead of 8-10). I'm feeling positively fresh. Tomorrow is only 3-4 miles instead of 10. I should be running out of my shoes tomorrow before the 8k on Sunday.

The forecast is nearly perfect -- ~40 and light winds -- but light rain. The course is very fast. I'm hoping both Fenty and sub-32 are going down.

The one negative right now is my weight. I stopped weighing myself for about 3 weeks and suddenly I'm up a couple of pounds!

week of 2 March

Weekly Exercise Routine Monday – 2-3 sets max push ups 21 first set and 10 second set.  Sad, but this is way better than I could have done before the rock circuit! Tuesday – core plank done Wednesday – 2-3 sets max body weight step- ups I think I did the forearm plank on Wed for no apparent reason (forgot which one) Thursday –  Forearm Plank w/Alternating Leg Lifts Totally forgot to do step ups Friday -  2 -3 sets max body weight or light weight one leg squats completely forgot again Saturday – 100 reps of abdominal exercises of your choice Did this 9:30 am after my run.  20 crunches, 20 right oblique crunches, 20 left oblique crunched, 20 reverse crunches, and 20 "bicycles."  Ouch! Did 2 sets max step ups on Sat night at 6pm to try and make up. Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week 5 Weeks to goal 10 mile race MPW 68 (62.2) Monday, March 2 rest Tuesday, March 3 8-10 mile total easy run including 5 x 10 sec hill sprints and Everest Hill drills 1 x thru We went from 60+F on Friday to 8'' of snow on Sunday and 14F on Tuesday morning.  Anyway, it was too icy to run outside. I did 8.0 w/ 5x10 sec hills, but Everest didn't work on the treadmill.  I even tried to throw a jacket on and do Everest in the front yard, but it didn't work when I was calf-deep in snow. Wednesday, March 4 AM: 10-12 mile total moderate run including 8 strides and 8- 10 x 3 min hills @ 10k effort (not harder)w/ 2 min jog rests. Finish run w/ 3 x 100m cutdowns Another day on the treadmill.  Got everything done except the cutdowns were scary (that fast on the treadmill) and I cut off the last one.  10.7 total. PM: 4 mile jog 4.00 at about 9:40 on the treadmill. Thursday, March 5 5-6 mile jog Finally outside!  Felt great.  5.02 at 9:17 pace, 133 bpm average. Friday, March 6 7-8 mile total moderate run including 3 strides then sprint training: Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form 2 x 15 sec’s w/75 sec rests 1 x 20 sec's w/75 sec rest 1 x 25 sec's   7.9.  Went well.  Effort was moderate.  Sprints went well.  I thought I was faster on the last one. Saturday, March 7 7-8 mile moderate run including Everest Hill drills 7.3 miles.  HR was about 140 so more on the upper end of easy than moderate.  Hills went well.  It was 65 degrees by the time I finished and got to 71.  It's strange to see residual snow on the ground when it's 70 degrees. Sunday, March 8 AM: 15-16 mile moderate run including 15 min run down a slight grade hill (try to run down the same grade as Boston) @ marathon effort then 45 min run up a hill @ LT effort Finish run w/10 strides I hate doing this run since it means running on the treadmill, but I did it.  Did 7.1 outside and then 8.2 on the treadmill.  The 15 minutes downhill is pretty tough on my runner's knee.  You'd have heard a couple of audible "argh"s if you were there.  I didn't push it so much on the uphill as last time when I only made it 30'.  Today my hr steadily rose to 172 by the end of the 45'.  I did the 10 "strides" on the treadmill which is a bit tricky and maybe not such a good idea.  I punch 9mph and then hit 6 again by the time it gets up to speed, just hoping I don't go shooting off the back. PM: 4 mile jog It was *hot* outside -- 70+ degrees.  Combined with the fact that I run terribly in the afternoon, in the heat, and on the second run of the day and it was unpleasant.  Miles were 10:20, 9:40, 9:13, and 9:00.  I think I sped up to get it over with.

week of 23 February

Below is my schedule in black with my execution in red.

training - week of 2002.02.23

Hill Phase

1-2x this week – Core Plank - Begin face down elbows bent, lift entire body off ground in a pushup position except for hand to elbow touching ground. Hold position for up to 2 minutes. Back should not slouch. Suck in your abdominal muscles. If you start slouching immediately stop!

Forearm Plank w/Alternating Leg Lifts – Same position as above but lift one leg up off the ground approx. 1 1/2 foot or until it is level with your head. Hold for 30 sec, place foot back down and repeat with opposite leg.

I did this Wed and I think Friday but can't remember.

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Once on Sunday. I was traveling for work didn't have a foam roller.

3 Weeks to goal Half Marathon race

MPW 74 (68.9)

Monday, Feb 23 - rest

rest

Tuesday, Feb 24 - 8-10 mile easy run including Everest Hill drills

9.1 including 1 set of Everest hill drills. Single leg hops are tough! I sort of had that efficient feel, but I still had soreness in spots. I definitely wasn't as rested as the previous Tuesday.

Wednesday, Feb 25

AM: 10-12 mile total moderate run including 2 x 3 miles alternating every 400m between GMP and GHMP. 3-5 min jog rests between reps

2.1 warmup to the track. I was planning on 7:20 (55 per 200)/6:48 (51 per 200). It was pretty cold (low 20s I think) and I eased into the miles. The first 3 miles were 7:14, 6:59, and 6:55. Again, the MP was more like 7:10. 800 m rest (4:03). Next three were 7:01, 7:00, and 7:00. The 2x3 miles was not hard at all. I only averaged 170 bpm on the last interval. I think I did some strides on the way back because it always seems like those are tacked on. 10.75 total.

PM: 4 mile easy including 10 min @ LT effort

I flew to Atlanta for work around 2pm and did this from my hotel at 5. This went strangely well. I made a google map and found a 2 mile route from my hotel to a bike path by the Chatahooche river. Turned around and did the 10 min @ LT up a big hill out of the valley. The pace was only about 7:40 but I hit 174 bpm by the time I reached the top of the hill.

Thursday, Feb 26 - 5-6 mile jog

Another out and back to the bike path. I was feeling Wednesday's double and took it very easy. How's this for a jog? 10:33 pace and about 126 bpm average. It was 60+ degrees and very humid. Strange.

Friday, Feb 27

AM: 8 mile moderate run over rolling hills including 10 x 20 sec @ 800m race effort w/ 1 min recoveries

Only did the 10 this time! This was between easy and moderate except for the 10x20''.

PM: 4 mile easy run

Flew back from Atlanta on the noon flight and got a run in about 4pm. 4.15 at 9:17 min/mi. It was 60+ at home, too!

Saturday, Feb 28 - 7-8 mile moderate run including Everest Hill drills

7.1 miles total. This was a legitimate moderate run with the middle miles ~145 bpm and a 150bpm mile 7. I did the Everest Hills in front of a school in full view of a major road. Maybe I can be the crazy hopping guy!

Sunday, March 1

20-22 mile total moderate run including 8-10 x 6 min @ LT effort w/1 min jog rests. Full recovery then 3 x 30 sec’s hills @ mile effort w/full recoveries. Finish run w/10 strides. Run over rolling hills

I did this on my lake trail, so I have the rolling hills covered. I wasn't feeling great and my legs felt heavy. I eased into a 9:00 pace for about 9.5 before I started doing the LT intervals. I have to learn to ignore the paces when I run this trail. It rained and the ground was soft and for some reason I just run slow here. One nice part was there was a race going on that I was in the middle of. Some guy must have thought I was in it because he yells "2nd" as I go by. I made it a game to hold off the leader. I made it a couple of intervals before 6th place passed me and we parted ways. Anyway, the interval pace/avg bpm/max bpm were 7:34/159/171, 7:27/163/173, 7:16/172/178, 7:23/172/175, 7:57/171/176, 7:28/171/176, 7:50/170/174, and 7:47/173/177. The times were slow but the effort was there, I think. I jogged some 10 minute miles and thought my coach a sadist as I contemplated the 3x30'' hills. The hills were actually a relief from the relentless plodding. I jogged another mile and then did the strides, such as they were, on the way back for 20.1 miles total. By far the hardest part of the run was just jogging those miles after the tempo intervals. I actually found it hard just to finish like doing my first 20 miler. Overall only 8:57 pace. Yikes!