My leg was much better this morning but not nearly good enough to run on. I wouldn't have made the appointment if it had felt like this yesterday. It's funny how making an appointment will heal you.
I saw the doctor and it went down like I thought it would. First, I'll say I liked the doctor. He was probably about my age (I'm getting older) and I'd bet money he was a runner based mainly on how thin he was. He also didn't bat an eye at things like 60 miles per week and speeding up on the downhills to work on turnover ("sure, sure"). I told him I was taking 600 mg 3 times a day and icing. "Perfect" he said, although he did say I could go to 800 mg.
So I got an x-ray and he didn't see anything although he did look puzzled and asked me if I ever had a stress fracture or problems with my shins before. "No," I said. He said I had unusually thick leg bones along the front. He thought it might be from running but wasn't sure and said it was pretty unlikely I'd break my leg. That's nice I guess.
The plan is to see if it still hurts in a week. If it does, then I should go for an MRI and follow up with him. If it doesn't then I should slowly mix running back in with the elliptical. Is 26.2 a week from Saturday slow enough? I didn't ask that. I did get one answer I wanted: "If it's not painful then you're not hurting yourself." The plan is vitamin I, elliptical, and ice and hope that I don't feel any pain in a week. I'll have to run some by late next week before I'd attempt a marathon. I'm not sure how many miles I'd need to be confident though. A lot of braggadocio from a guy who's walking with a limp!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Is sugar evil?
It's funny how I log a beautiful run around the lake as "Mo: 8.3 (8:57/138)," but will go on and on about injury and not being able to run. Human nature I guess. If I ever run again, I'll try to be more appreciative.
My hips were incredibly sore after only 33 minutes on the bike yesterday. I notice my quads were a little sore when I started the elliptical this morning.
I have a working theory that sugar is evil. After feeling kind of fried a week after the marathon I switched to slow running and looked to reduce other stress-inducers. I switched to the classical station in the car and stopped pounding the Halloween candy. The runs in the couple of days after I swore off sugar were noticeably better, but not enough to conclude anything. The other thing that happened was I slept through the night rather than waking up at 3am feeling hot, sweaty, and wide awake. Of course, I took my renewed health and blew it on a 13 mile progression run, 8 miles with strides, and 6 "easy" with some faster downhill stuff, which led to my current situation.
Last night we had "homemade" pizza (made from Trader Joe's dough) , which is basically like eating a loaf of wonderbread for dinner. I woke up again at 3am. This is starting to be a trend. My elliptical session much "slower" than Monday also. On Monday I did 2h50m at level 3.7-3.8 and 76-78 rpm, which put the watts in the low 80's. Today at the same heart rates I started at 3.8 and quickly went down to 3.0 at about 75-78 bpm, generating 65-70 watts. What a dramatic difference. I wonder if it could have been hotter in the gym.
Anyway, the results today were 2h0m on the elliptical and an appointment with the orthopedist (I see him tomorrow). I guess I want to rule a ruptured tendon or anything crazy. I know what will happen though (at least this is what I'm hoping for). x-ray negative. MRI says stuff is swollen (ya think?) and you ought not run. Rest, ice, and vitamin I.
My hips were incredibly sore after only 33 minutes on the bike yesterday. I notice my quads were a little sore when I started the elliptical this morning.
I have a working theory that sugar is evil. After feeling kind of fried a week after the marathon I switched to slow running and looked to reduce other stress-inducers. I switched to the classical station in the car and stopped pounding the Halloween candy. The runs in the couple of days after I swore off sugar were noticeably better, but not enough to conclude anything. The other thing that happened was I slept through the night rather than waking up at 3am feeling hot, sweaty, and wide awake. Of course, I took my renewed health and blew it on a 13 mile progression run, 8 miles with strides, and 6 "easy" with some faster downhill stuff, which led to my current situation.
Last night we had "homemade" pizza (made from Trader Joe's dough) , which is basically like eating a loaf of wonderbread for dinner. I woke up again at 3am. This is starting to be a trend. My elliptical session much "slower" than Monday also. On Monday I did 2h50m at level 3.7-3.8 and 76-78 rpm, which put the watts in the low 80's. Today at the same heart rates I started at 3.8 and quickly went down to 3.0 at about 75-78 bpm, generating 65-70 watts. What a dramatic difference. I wonder if it could have been hotter in the gym.
Anyway, the results today were 2h0m on the elliptical and an appointment with the orthopedist (I see him tomorrow). I guess I want to rule a ruptured tendon or anything crazy. I know what will happen though (at least this is what I'm hoping for). x-ray negative. MRI says stuff is swollen (ya think?) and you ought not run. Rest, ice, and vitamin I.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Ouch
I did 33 minutes on the stationary bike today. I planned to do 30 and then midway through thought I'd try for 40, but the boredom was too much. Plus, my butt hurt. How do people do this? I'm sitting there with my legs whirring around at 95-100 rpm and breathing fairly hard while a puddle of sweat pools below me. All the while, I'm going absolutely nowhere. The only saving grace was listening to Highway 61 revisited.
Anyway, my shin is still killing me. It hurts to walk. Pointing my toes is excruciating. The swelling has gone down some and there's actually bruising on the surface of my shin in a couple of places. What the hell did I do? It's not like I had shin splints that I was ignoring. This just came out of nowhere. My guess is that I pulled/strained something. I'd go to the doctor, but I'm 99% sure it's not a stress fracture. All he would do is x-ray (negative), MRI (gee some stuff is swollen), and tell me to rest, ice, compress, and elevate.
The plan is to alternate between the elliptical and the bike until I feel better. Hopefully that will be well before the marathon. If not, I'll just bag it. I wish I knew now if I wasn't going to make it though, because I'd just take a couple of weeks completely off.
Anyway, my shin is still killing me. It hurts to walk. Pointing my toes is excruciating. The swelling has gone down some and there's actually bruising on the surface of my shin in a couple of places. What the hell did I do? It's not like I had shin splints that I was ignoring. This just came out of nowhere. My guess is that I pulled/strained something. I'd go to the doctor, but I'm 99% sure it's not a stress fracture. All he would do is x-ray (negative), MRI (gee some stuff is swollen), and tell me to rest, ice, compress, and elevate.
The plan is to alternate between the elliptical and the bike until I feel better. Hopefully that will be well before the marathon. If not, I'll just bag it. I wish I knew now if I wasn't going to make it though, because I'd just take a couple of weeks completely off.
Monday, November 12, 2007
hours on the elliptical
I made an optimistic attempt at running and made it 1 minute 53 seconds before I realized I wouldn't be able to tolerate the pain and limped back to my car, wincing. Then I drove to the gym at work and attempted to do my long run there. I'm proud to say I did 2 hours 50 minutes in an empty gym. The last 20 minutes were tough and I started to slow down some. My heart rate slow ed down as well like at the end of a marathon where my legs give out before my lungs. I think it might be due to the resistance of the elliptical creating some muscle fatigue. Average heart rate was 145 bpm, which is a little lower than my usual 148-150 bpm average for a long run, but I'll take it.
My shin is so bad that I've taken to walking backwards downhill. It's hard to imagine how I'll be recovered in 12 days, but since I believe it's a muscle (and not a tendon), I think it's a possibility. I'm planning to elliptical until I can walk without pain.
My shin is so bad that I've taken to walking backwards downhill. It's hard to imagine how I'll be recovered in 12 days, but since I believe it's a muscle (and not a tendon), I think it's a possibility. I'm planning to elliptical until I can walk without pain.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
week of 5 November
Mo - 8.2 (9:31/136)
Tu - 8.2 (9:18/136)
We - 4.6 (8:53/140) - HRM messed up first mile, more like 138 avg
Th - 13.3 (8:19/151) - progression run, 6 ez then 7:59, 7:47, 7:34, 7:29, 7:15, 7:39, 8:18
Fr - 8.2 (9:06/142) - w/ 10 strides
Sa - 5.8 (8:53/142) - hurt right shin, very painful to walk home
Su - planned long run, but off for injury
Things were going pretty well until yesterday. I was trying to work on my turnover a little on the downhills on saturday and that, combined with the strides the day before, is what I think caused me to hurt my shin. I think I was overstriding on the strides and downhill running and the breaking action strained my shin muscle (tibialis anterior). The marathon is two weeks away and I was hoping to do a long run this weekend (say 18 miles). I only did 13 last week (the week after marine corps). I might be rationalizing, but I think running might be less painful than walking. The other option I can think of is trying to use the elliptical for a long run, but I can't imagine hours on that thing.
week 48 miles, 7h14m, 8:57 avg, 142 bpm avg
Tu - 8.2 (9:18/136)
We - 4.6 (8:53/140) - HRM messed up first mile, more like 138 avg
Th - 13.3 (8:19/151) - progression run, 6 ez then 7:59, 7:47, 7:34, 7:29, 7:15, 7:39, 8:18
Fr - 8.2 (9:06/142) - w/ 10 strides
Sa - 5.8 (8:53/142) - hurt right shin, very painful to walk home
Su - planned long run, but off for injury
Things were going pretty well until yesterday. I was trying to work on my turnover a little on the downhills on saturday and that, combined with the strides the day before, is what I think caused me to hurt my shin. I think I was overstriding on the strides and downhill running and the breaking action strained my shin muscle (tibialis anterior). The marathon is two weeks away and I was hoping to do a long run this weekend (say 18 miles). I only did 13 last week (the week after marine corps). I might be rationalizing, but I think running might be less painful than walking. The other option I can think of is trying to use the elliptical for a long run, but I can't imagine hours on that thing.
week 48 miles, 7h14m, 8:57 avg, 142 bpm avg
Sunday, November 04, 2007
week of 29 October
I'm signed up for another marathon on 11/24. Goal again is 3:15:59 (as it will be until I BQ). Realistically, I might back off earlier that 18 this time if I know it isn't going to happen.
(last Sunday was MCM)
M, Tu, We - Rest
Th - 6.6 (9:13mm/138bpm)
Fr - 8.2 (8:59/139)
Sa - 4.2 (9:30/139) - I'm always much slower on the treadmill
Su - 13.6 (8:42/150)
My pace/heart rate was bad all week. Hopefully it's just recovery. I feel like I lost my mojo and I'd like it back. I have the dumbest thing bothering me now: a blister/callus thingy on my right pinky toe. Ouchy.
32.6 miles, 4h53m, 8:58 avg pace, 143 bpm avg hr
(last Sunday was MCM)
M, Tu, We - Rest
Th - 6.6 (9:13mm/138bpm)
Fr - 8.2 (8:59/139)
Sa - 4.2 (9:30/139) - I'm always much slower on the treadmill
Su - 13.6 (8:42/150)
My pace/heart rate was bad all week. Hopefully it's just recovery. I feel like I lost my mojo and I'd like it back. I have the dumbest thing bothering me now: a blister/callus thingy on my right pinky toe. Ouchy.
32.6 miles, 4h53m, 8:58 avg pace, 143 bpm avg hr
Thursday, November 01, 2007
not hitting the wall
"... the marathon without hitting "the wall"-- I can tell you what it will take to get over that hump as I've been in that exact same boat as you but was able to figure out how to get out: (larger volume/base-- avg. 50-60 mpw for a few months, then Pfitz 70 mpw for 12 week program, add several miles of goal MP running into the mid-week med. long runs, run long runs on "empty", without carbo loading or caloric intake, just water, run easy on recovery days, be honest and do tempo effort the full 7 miles of the prescribed 12 mile workout that day, stay healthy, do approx. 1/2 of long runs finishing the last 3 miles at MP, 1/2 MP, 10k pace. Most long runs can be 17-20. Do one long run of about 22-23 one month prior to goal marathon). Carbo load appropriately (not too much to gain weight), and fuel pre race morning and during race appropriately."
Above is some from advice from an internet board. I've come to most of these conclusions on my own, but have yet to reach others. The 12 w/7 @ tempo just seems impossible for someone of my limited speed and I've never figured out how to "carbo load appropriately" or "fuel pre race morning."
Above is some from advice from an internet board. I've come to most of these conclusions on my own, but have yet to reach others. The 12 w/7 @ tempo just seems impossible for someone of my limited speed and I've never figured out how to "carbo load appropriately" or "fuel pre race morning."
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
training strategery
Well, I ran a marathon two days ago and my legs are still trashed. That didn't stop me from signing up for another in four weeks. What to do...
I did the same insanity last year, so let's look back at what I did for those four weeks
Week 1 - 0, 0, 6, 6, 8, 8, 18
Week 2 - 8, 8, 0, 9, 8 , 9, 20
Week 3 - 0, 9, 9 w/6@mp, 8, 9, 18, 0
Week 4 - 9, 7 w/ 2@mp, 5 w/strides, 5, 3, marathon, walk 3 miles
I blamed overtapering for the busted '06 MCM and went on an anti-taper with 18, 20, and 18 milers the 3 weeks between races.
Pfitz has a 4 weeks between marathon schedule that a 15 mile MLR 10 days out as the longest run in between and also has a VO2 max session 14 days out. Pfitz has the first run back as Wednesday (just like I did last year), but I don't think I'm going to run tomorrow.
I haven't quite devised my schedule, but I a few ideas. I'll probably do 60 minutes or so on Thursday (90 was too much on Thursday after my May marathon); an 18 or 20 miler 2 weeks out; and a 13.5 mile progression run to work 9 days out (my marathon is on a Saturday). I probably won't do anything fast until a week from Thursday (maybe a 13.5 miler).
I did the same insanity last year, so let's look back at what I did for those four weeks
Week 1 - 0, 0, 6, 6, 8, 8, 18
Week 2 - 8, 8, 0, 9, 8 , 9, 20
Week 3 - 0, 9, 9 w/6@mp, 8, 9, 18, 0
Week 4 - 9, 7 w/ 2@mp, 5 w/strides, 5, 3, marathon, walk 3 miles
I blamed overtapering for the busted '06 MCM and went on an anti-taper with 18, 20, and 18 milers the 3 weeks between races.
Pfitz has a 4 weeks between marathon schedule that a 15 mile MLR 10 days out as the longest run in between and also has a VO2 max session 14 days out. Pfitz has the first run back as Wednesday (just like I did last year), but I don't think I'm going to run tomorrow.
I haven't quite devised my schedule, but I a few ideas. I'll probably do 60 minutes or so on Thursday (90 was too much on Thursday after my May marathon); an 18 or 20 miler 2 weeks out; and a 13.5 mile progression run to work 9 days out (my marathon is on a Saturday). I probably won't do anything fast until a week from Thursday (maybe a 13.5 miler).
Marine Corps Marathon
I ran the Marine Corps Marathon today. This was my third time at MCM and I've always fallen a little short of my expectations there for some reason. I'm not sure why. Maybe I build up expectations during the summer? Maybe I don't train effectively in the summer heat? Who knows. Anyway today was no different. My goal was to BQ (3:15:59, 7:28 min/mi), which I knew was a stretch based on my 1:33:27 half I ran 6 weeks ago. My marathon pace run (20 w/14 at MP) didn't really support it either, but I had some great long runs and interval sessions in the last few weeks that made me think I was in 3:15 shape.
The short story is that I held onto pace as long as I could even though my HRM and my senses told me it was going to cost me later. Then, I died on Hains Point like many a good man.
00:37:38 @ 5M, Pace 7:31, Predicted 03:17:04
-- hills early, I tried to be smart
01:37:57 @ Half, Pace 7:28, Predicted 03:15:45
-- at the half, I realized I had nothing in the bank, but I couldn't really go faster, so I just tried to run 7:27's as long as I could
01:52:05 @ 15M, Pace 7:28, Predicted 03:15:45
02:15:09 @ 18M, Pace 7:30, Predicted 03:16:38
-- 15 to 18 is hains point. Miles were 7:30, 7:31 (tailwind) and then 7:57 for mile 18 (headwind). A guy in a cow suit also passed me here, which was kind of demoralizing :-)
02:49:08 @ 22M, Pace 7:41, Predicted 03:21:26
-- I was bleeding fast and by 22 knew I had no chance, so I just wanted to finish and didn't really care about my time. Lots of thoughts in here like "Maybe I should race shorter distances for a while?"
03:27:34 @ Finish, Pace 7:54
-- I was done! One important note: I re-passed !#$#@% cow suit at mile 24. He had taken off his cow bell by then.
A little over 3 minutes slower than my PR in May. 29 minutes faster than last year's MCM, so that's something I suppose.
Despite the disappointing time, I had fun today. Mainly because I had my very own spectator! A childhood friend of mine (who's also a runner -- but *much* faster than me) was in town and came to see me. He couldn't have been a better spectator. He was at the start (didn't see him though), at Lincoln's left hand (Lincoln memorial) and then at his right hand -- saw him both times. Then (now this is a real friend), I unexpectedly saw him out on the 14th street bridge! (I thought he was going to be in Crystal City.)
A couple of notes on the new course: I don't like it. I felt like the stretch that replaced Rock Creek Parkway (under construction) was hillier, which delayed buying back time from Rosslyn hills. Also going past Iwo Jima and then having to double back sucks! Please, can I just make a left? You also go downhill on the out and have to go back up some ramp on the way back. You can look up at the runners ahead and know that you're going to have to get up there somehow. Geez.
I'm not sure what I'll do now. There's another marathon I like in four weeks that I did last year after MCM, but 1) I think I'm just not quite in shape to run a 3:15 right now; and 2) I feel like this race took more out of me than last year's. The early steep downhills did a number on my quads and both my calves cramped up in the last two miles (which was pretty uncomfortable!).
week of 22 Oct
Sunday, October 21, 2007
week of 15 Oct
- Mo: 4.5 (9:06/133) - grass
- Tu: 10.2 (8:47/146) - 6x0.5 w/ 0.5 rest: 3:17, 3:13, 3:11, 3:09, 3:11, and 3:11. Way, way faster than I've ever done them. Am I faster or is it just the weather (47 degrees)? I'm regretting that I didn't throw the Benji Durden switch earlier, but hopefully I'll peak for race day. I really felt like 3:15 shape. I still need to not get sick or injured and get lucky with the weather.
- We: 4.7 (8:46/138) - nbrhd loops
- Th: 13.4 (8:15/148) - Progression run to work. 6 @ 9:00/138bpm then 8:11/149, 7:49/152, 7:52/154, 7:34/157, 7:07/163 (downhill), 7:24/152 (downhill), 7:37/163 (big uphill).
- Fr: 4.2 (9:26/133) - grass
- Sa: 4.6 (8:56/138) - nbhrd loops
- Su: 13.5 (8:48/145) - lake loops. Bad run. I did exactly the pace I wanted. I planned to run 3 laps just under 40 minutes. They went 39:54, 39:33, and 39:36. My hr was much too high at the end for the pace. Mile 13 was 8:45/155 compared to 8:21/154 last week when it was cooler and 8:31/155 two weeks ago when it was warmer and *much* more humid. This is a reminder that I not only need to have good weather, but I also need to have a good day.
Looked great this week until today. I think I ate too much junk yesterday. Perhaps that had something to do with it?
week: 55.0 miles, 8h1m, 8:45 avg pace, 143 avg hr
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I'm in shape for 3:15
A rare, mid-week post to say I believe I'm good for 3:15 on a good day. The weather was 47 degrees this morning and I did my 6x0.5 miles in 3:17, 3:13, 3:11, 3:09, 3:11, and 3:11 with ease. These were around 3:20 last week (although it was *much* warmer) and weeks ago, I felt like I couldn't go faster than 3:19 if I fell off a cliff. Despite the slowish HM (1:33), I was still almost ready to declare myself fit after my long run last week. In the spring I thought that if I could do <40 minute laps on my long run at a normal effort, I'd be a shoe in. Last week I averaged a little over 38 minutes per lap at an average heart rate of 150. The lack of speed in my intervals was still a concern though until today.
One more workout on Thursday (progression run to work) and then it's time to pray to the weather gods. They aren't being cooperative right now though projecting a high of 75 and sunny. Yesterday they said a high of 54 and raining though, so I'll hope for a better forecast tomorrow.
One more workout on Thursday (progression run to work) and then it's time to pray to the weather gods. They aren't being cooperative right now though projecting a high of 75 and sunny. Yesterday they said a high of 54 and raining though, so I'll hope for a better forecast tomorrow.
Friday, October 12, 2007
MCM pacing strategy
The world-famous PacerChris gave me this MCM strategy on coolrunning.com. I'm putting it here, before I can't find it there anymore.
Paced MCM last year - on a brutally windy day which ultimately caused me to miss my time (3:10:47 - still a BQ, but I wanted to be about a minute faster - had a BAD day!)
Paced MCM last year - on a brutally windy day which ultimately caused me to miss my time (3:10:47 - still a BQ, but I wanted to be about a minute faster - had a BAD day!)
Because MCM is a very popular (read:BIG) course with lots of first timers, if you start with 3:20 you may find yourself pretty far back. I'd position yourself in between 3:10 and 3:20, erring on the side of being too close to the 3:10 group before the cannon goes off.
3:15 is ~7:27/mile - last year I was right where I wanted to be through the early miles. My goal time was 7:15 and my first 3 miles up the hills averaged around 7:30 - take it easy up those hills! The 4th mile you'll make up a lot of that time - we made up half of the 45 seconds deficit in that one mile with no effort at all, and the 5th mile is also downhill. Miles 5-8 are less steep but generally uphill - by this time we were warmed up and ran them right around 7:10-7:20.
From 8-10 is a nice gentle downhill so try to get back onto your overall goal time during these 2 miles - you should be fairly close. It's time to start banking a little bit of time - if you're a minute slow at mile 8, you're in decent shape - it should feel easy, you've relaxed up the hills and you can make up most of that time from 8-10. Use that momentum off those hills to keep rolling from 10-20...if you can bank no more than 5-10 seconds per mile from 10-20, you'll have a nice 60-90 second cushion - the bridge to Crystal City is tough, and there's a climb from 25-26, plus the last little bit is uphill as well. If you can get to 20 with that banked time, try to squeeze 1 more mile out at 7:27, and then 1 more, and then another. If you can maintain most of your banked time through 23, you can slow down up those hills the last 2 miles and still make 3:15.
Summary - take the first hills easy, roll down the hill from 3-5, relax from 5-8, pick up the pace from 8-10, try to bank between 10 and 20, hold on as best you can 20-24, and be prepared to give back your banked time from 24 on to the finish. Then go home and fill out your Boston application and have a beer!
Monday, October 08, 2007
week of 8 Oct
Mo: 4.45 (8:53/136) -- on grass field temp/dp 69/67 and foggy. Strange October weather.
Tu: 10.01 (9:00/150) -- 30 min wup/30 min cdn on grass field. 6 x 0.5 miles w/ 0.25 rest on 10 laps per mile track: 3:21, 3:19, 3:18, 3:20, 3:21, and 3:21.
We: 4.67 (9:09/136) -- neighborhood loop. Sped up on downhills to work on turnover.
Th: 13.41 (8:18/149) -- Long route to work. Felt great! It was finally October. 61 degrees, but felt colder: very dry (dp 37) and windy (18mph). Easy first 6 miles (9:09/138), then 8:06/148, 8:04/149, 7:53/151, 7:25/160, 7:08/165 (downhill), 7:17/164 (down), 7:33/171 (*big uphill*), and 7:09/174 (0.41 miles). I was very happy to see paces below 7:25 (goal MP) and heart rates below 172 (expected avg marathon heart rate).
Fr: 4.4? (9:26/136) -- On grass field. Left FR305 at work and used Suunto T6. The distance is a guess. HRM didn't work well for first 5-10 minutes as usual (read high).
Sa: 4.08 (9:10/135) -- Up at 5am on a Saturday and did the 4.1 neighbordhood loop. Had to get up early to volunteer for a race. I strung tags off the bibs of ~750 K-6 graders pulling them out of their grimy hands. It will be a miracle if I don't get sick.
Su: 18 (8:28/150) -- GREAT RUN! 4 laps at lake B. Weather was perfect. 16 secs/mile faster than last week although my avg hr through 18 last week was ~147 bpm compared to 150 today and the weather was much worse then. My poor son was diagnosed with strep today. Did I say it would be a miracle if I didn't get sick?
I am in way better shape than I was in the spring. I'm not sure I'm in 20 sec/mile better shape and I still have a bunch of landmines to negotiate a lot of landmines even if I am. We enter the 15-day forecast from accuweather -- Sunny with a high of 73. I don't like that. Hopefully it will change. The average high for the day is 62 I think.
Totals: 59 miles, 8h35m, avg pace 8:43, avg hr 145 bpm
Tu: 10.01 (9:00/150) -- 30 min wup/30 min cdn on grass field. 6 x 0.5 miles w/ 0.25 rest on 10 laps per mile track: 3:21, 3:19, 3:18, 3:20, 3:21, and 3:21.
We: 4.67 (9:09/136) -- neighborhood loop. Sped up on downhills to work on turnover.
Th: 13.41 (8:18/149) -- Long route to work. Felt great! It was finally October. 61 degrees, but felt colder: very dry (dp 37) and windy (18mph). Easy first 6 miles (9:09/138), then 8:06/148, 8:04/149, 7:53/151, 7:25/160, 7:08/165 (downhill), 7:17/164 (down), 7:33/171 (*big uphill*), and 7:09/174 (0.41 miles). I was very happy to see paces below 7:25 (goal MP) and heart rates below 172 (expected avg marathon heart rate).
Fr: 4.4? (9:26/136) -- On grass field. Left FR305 at work and used Suunto T6. The distance is a guess. HRM didn't work well for first 5-10 minutes as usual (read high).
Sa: 4.08 (9:10/135) -- Up at 5am on a Saturday and did the 4.1 neighbordhood loop. Had to get up early to volunteer for a race. I strung tags off the bibs of ~750 K-6 graders pulling them out of their grimy hands. It will be a miracle if I don't get sick.
Su: 18 (8:28/150) -- GREAT RUN! 4 laps at lake B. Weather was perfect. 16 secs/mile faster than last week although my avg hr through 18 last week was ~147 bpm compared to 150 today and the weather was much worse then. My poor son was diagnosed with strep today. Did I say it would be a miracle if I didn't get sick?
I am in way better shape than I was in the spring. I'm not sure I'm in 20 sec/mile better shape and I still have a bunch of landmines to negotiate a lot of landmines even if I am. We enter the 15-day forecast from accuweather -- Sunny with a high of 73. I don't like that. Hopefully it will change. The average high for the day is 62 I think.
Totals: 59 miles, 8h35m, avg pace 8:43, avg hr 145 bpm
Sunday, October 07, 2007
week of 1 Oct
The plan was to maximize my rest between workouts to help my foot and calf, so I went back to the Benji way of doing very easy easy days (jog ~40 minutes) and I did it on grass to help my legs.
Mo - 4.2 (9:40/131) on grass field
Tu - 11.1 (8:42/147)
31 min wup on grass field, 6x0.6 mile w/ .2 mile rest (10 laps per mile track). Intended to run 6:40 pace (4:00 per .6). Did 4:08, 4:00, 3:57, 3:59, 3:58, 3:59. First was done without looking at my watch (too dark). I felt like I found my form on the third one. Max HR was 181 and I seemed to recover better than normal. 31 min cdn.
We - 4.3 (8:59/134) on grass field
Th - 13.5 (8:30/146)
Ran to work. This is the route what I was calling 13.35 before I got the FR305. A progression run of sorts. 1st 6+ miles at 9:20, then following miles at 8:03 (147), 8:03 (153), 7:40 (158), 7:36 (163), 7:37 (163), 7:28 (158, -58ft), 7:56(169, +156ft). The plan was to do the last mile at tempo, which I did (or close to it), but it was up a big hill so it was slower. I hit 178 at the end.
Fr - 4.5 (8:57/134) on grass field
Sa - 4.2 (9:29/135)
Field was occupied so ran around the nbhrd. Discovered a new trail along the creek that went for about a mile. Trail was OK, but not all that runnable.
Su - 20.0 (8:42/149) (this is what garmin calls it. Used to call 20.3)
I was smart and got out early before it got too hot. It was still pretty warm though, especially for Oct. Run went just great. I start slow and progressively sped up. My best 20M run in the spring on this exact route was 3:05:23 @148bpm average heart rate. Today was 2:54:19 @ 149 which is 6.0% faster and only 1 bpm higher. Temps then were in the upper 30s compared to 60 warming to 76 degrees todays. 5M splits were: 45:41 (9:08), 43:59 (8:48), 43:00 (8:36), 41:50 (8:22). Calf hurt a good bit throughout. I could feel my foot as well.
Week: 62 miles, 9:06:29, avg pace 8:50, avg hr 143 bpm
Mo - 4.2 (9:40/131) on grass field
Tu - 11.1 (8:42/147)
31 min wup on grass field, 6x0.6 mile w/ .2 mile rest (10 laps per mile track). Intended to run 6:40 pace (4:00 per .6). Did 4:08, 4:00, 3:57, 3:59, 3:58, 3:59. First was done without looking at my watch (too dark). I felt like I found my form on the third one. Max HR was 181 and I seemed to recover better than normal. 31 min cdn.
We - 4.3 (8:59/134) on grass field
Th - 13.5 (8:30/146)
Ran to work. This is the route what I was calling 13.35 before I got the FR305. A progression run of sorts. 1st 6+ miles at 9:20, then following miles at 8:03 (147), 8:03 (153), 7:40 (158), 7:36 (163), 7:37 (163), 7:28 (158, -58ft), 7:56(169, +156ft). The plan was to do the last mile at tempo, which I did (or close to it), but it was up a big hill so it was slower. I hit 178 at the end.
Fr - 4.5 (8:57/134) on grass field
Sa - 4.2 (9:29/135)
Field was occupied so ran around the nbhrd. Discovered a new trail along the creek that went for about a mile. Trail was OK, but not all that runnable.
Su - 20.0 (8:42/149) (this is what garmin calls it. Used to call 20.3)
I was smart and got out early before it got too hot. It was still pretty warm though, especially for Oct. Run went just great. I start slow and progressively sped up. My best 20M run in the spring on this exact route was 3:05:23 @148bpm average heart rate. Today was 2:54:19 @ 149 which is 6.0% faster and only 1 bpm higher. Temps then were in the upper 30s compared to 60 warming to 76 degrees todays. 5M splits were: 45:41 (9:08), 43:59 (8:48), 43:00 (8:36), 41:50 (8:22). Calf hurt a good bit throughout. I could feel my foot as well.
Week: 62 miles, 9:06:29, avg pace 8:50, avg hr 143 bpm
Monday, October 01, 2007
week of 24 Sep
Mo - 10.5 easy (9:30 min/mi) - unplanned run to work b/c of car trouble
Tu - 9.7 - Intervals on a 10 laps per mile track. 45 min wup, 6 x 0.4 w/0.2 jog - 2:43, 2:40, 2:39, 2:40, 2:41, 2:39, 15 min cdn
We - Rest
Th - 4.9 easy (9:45 min/mi) -- evening run during daughter's soccer practice
Fr - 7.6 easy (9:21 min/mi) -- nbhrd roads
Sat - 4.5 (9:12 min/mi) -- grass field at elementary school
Su - 6 mile wup at 9:00, 14 miles at marathon pace
Total - 57 miles
Because of traveling for work and a desire to take it a little easier with my aching foot an calf, I ended up coming into the Sunday 20-miler with a semi-taper.
The Sunday run was run in a 20 mile race. I was hoping to see 7:27 per mile (BQ pace) at my normal marathon heart rates (~170-172 until ~15 miles in). Here are the splits of the MP: 7:26 (163), 7:25 (168), 7:14 (170), 7:32( 168), 7:19 (170), 7:14(170), 7:19(171), 7:27 (172), 7:27 (172), 40 (171), 8:00 (172), 7:47 (172), 8:03 (173), 7:31 (177). You have to add 5 secs to each of these. I had a consistent, accumulating error at each mile marker and ended up with an extra 95 seconds. When I ran the 7:14 (really 7:19) at 170 on a flat section, I thought I might just have a chance to qualify. Then it fell apart in the end. The first 8:00 came climbing up a big hill that I had run down with the second 7:14 (170). Not even hitting BQ pace on a flat section at the end despite a heart rate near 180 was somewhat demoralizing.
Looking back to my MP run in the spring though, I think this was better, but it's hard to tell since the pace was so different. Sunday was 7:36 pace @ 171 avg. The spring was 7:26@177 avg. I guess 6 bpm is worth more than 10 sec/mile, so I'd have to say it was an improvement. Conditions were very similar and this was definitely a harder course.
Tu - 9.7 - Intervals on a 10 laps per mile track. 45 min wup, 6 x 0.4 w/0.2 jog - 2:43, 2:40, 2:39, 2:40, 2:41, 2:39, 15 min cdn
We - Rest
Th - 4.9 easy (9:45 min/mi) -- evening run during daughter's soccer practice
Fr - 7.6 easy (9:21 min/mi) -- nbhrd roads
Sat - 4.5 (9:12 min/mi) -- grass field at elementary school
Su - 6 mile wup at 9:00, 14 miles at marathon pace
Total - 57 miles
Because of traveling for work and a desire to take it a little easier with my aching foot an calf, I ended up coming into the Sunday 20-miler with a semi-taper.
The Sunday run was run in a 20 mile race. I was hoping to see 7:27 per mile (BQ pace) at my normal marathon heart rates (~170-172 until ~15 miles in). Here are the splits of the MP: 7:26 (163), 7:25 (168), 7:14 (170), 7:32( 168), 7:19 (170), 7:14(170), 7:19(171), 7:27 (172), 7:27 (172), 40 (171), 8:00 (172), 7:47 (172), 8:03 (173), 7:31 (177). You have to add 5 secs to each of these. I had a consistent, accumulating error at each mile marker and ended up with an extra 95 seconds. When I ran the 7:14 (really 7:19) at 170 on a flat section, I thought I might just have a chance to qualify. Then it fell apart in the end. The first 8:00 came climbing up a big hill that I had run down with the second 7:14 (170). Not even hitting BQ pace on a flat section at the end despite a heart rate near 180 was somewhat demoralizing.
Looking back to my MP run in the spring though, I think this was better, but it's hard to tell since the pace was so different. Sunday was 7:36 pace @ 171 avg. The spring was 7:26@177 avg. I guess 6 bpm is worth more than 10 sec/mile, so I'd have to say it was an improvement. Conditions were very similar and this was definitely a harder course.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
week of 17 Sep
Mo -4.68
1.5 nbhrd laps. wp7-3?
Tu - 13.35
Ran to work the long way. wp7-1?
We - 11.7
This was tough. Flew to the west coast this morning and ran at 3:30 in the afternoon, but the temp was great. Winds were 20 mph, gusting to 30 though. Did 52:44 warmup. Uncertain of the distance, but for the part was on a marked trail, I was hitting the half mile markers right at 9:10 pace. I figure the first 10 minutes were maybe 10 min/mi. Best geuss is 5.5 miles for that warmup. Then did 6x880 on the track (someone said it was a quarter mile track) shooting for 3:20 per half mile. Did quarter mile rests (2:13 to 2:21). I faded in the intervals: 3:20, 3:19, 3:22, 3:23, 3:23, 3:23. Pretty bummed, especially since Yasso says I should be able to do 3:15 to run a 3:15. Of course, I flew cross country and there were sustained 20mph winds down the straightaway. Jogged ~2 miles for cooldown. 5.5 + 4800m + 2000m + 2 = 11.7. wp7-2
Th - Rest
Should have run in the morning when I had a chance.
Fr - 11.25
8.3 lake a loop, plus 0.02, plus 2.93 nbhrd loop. First run with my shiny new forerunner 305. Distances were spot on with what I've been using. Traveled back from the west coast today and ran at night, which I never do. Averaged 159 bpm for the last 1.1 miles. wp7-2
Sa - 8.3
VERY HUMID. Dew point of 70. I debated doing 1) 40 min easy, 2) lake A loop easy, or 3) lake A loop w/ tempo. I unwisely chose 3. Did first 10 minutes at tempo bagged the second 10 minutes about a minute in. Walk, jogged home. Felt fried. #1 would have been the right choice. wp7-2
Su - 13.56?
I planned to do 20, but after 3 laps felt like crap and wanted to quit, so I did. Nice day. Low humidity and no real weather excuses. The half marathon last sunday, travel, and a string of pretty hard runs left me out of gas I guess. Qualifying is looking very unlikely. gps said 4.52 per lap. A friend biked this and got 4.57 and folklore is it was wheeled as 4.60. I've always used 4.6 before. I can believe the GPS is off because there are some windy parts that I'm sure it cuts through. Close enough though. wp7-3
week
63 miles, 9h42m
wp7-1: 384 + 13 = 397
wp7-2: 357 + 31 = 388
wp7-3: 261 + 19 = 280
1.5 nbhrd laps. wp7-3?
Tu - 13.35
Ran to work the long way. wp7-1?
We - 11.7
This was tough. Flew to the west coast this morning and ran at 3:30 in the afternoon, but the temp was great. Winds were 20 mph, gusting to 30 though. Did 52:44 warmup. Uncertain of the distance, but for the part was on a marked trail, I was hitting the half mile markers right at 9:10 pace. I figure the first 10 minutes were maybe 10 min/mi. Best geuss is 5.5 miles for that warmup. Then did 6x880 on the track (someone said it was a quarter mile track) shooting for 3:20 per half mile. Did quarter mile rests (2:13 to 2:21). I faded in the intervals: 3:20, 3:19, 3:22, 3:23, 3:23, 3:23. Pretty bummed, especially since Yasso says I should be able to do 3:15 to run a 3:15. Of course, I flew cross country and there were sustained 20mph winds down the straightaway. Jogged ~2 miles for cooldown. 5.5 + 4800m + 2000m + 2 = 11.7. wp7-2
Th - Rest
Should have run in the morning when I had a chance.
Fr - 11.25
8.3 lake a loop, plus 0.02, plus 2.93 nbhrd loop. First run with my shiny new forerunner 305. Distances were spot on with what I've been using. Traveled back from the west coast today and ran at night, which I never do. Averaged 159 bpm for the last 1.1 miles. wp7-2
Sa - 8.3
VERY HUMID. Dew point of 70. I debated doing 1) 40 min easy, 2) lake A loop easy, or 3) lake A loop w/ tempo. I unwisely chose 3. Did first 10 minutes at tempo bagged the second 10 minutes about a minute in. Walk, jogged home. Felt fried. #1 would have been the right choice. wp7-2
Su - 13.56?
I planned to do 20, but after 3 laps felt like crap and wanted to quit, so I did. Nice day. Low humidity and no real weather excuses. The half marathon last sunday, travel, and a string of pretty hard runs left me out of gas I guess. Qualifying is looking very unlikely. gps said 4.52 per lap. A friend biked this and got 4.57 and folklore is it was wheeled as 4.60. I've always used 4.6 before. I can believe the GPS is off because there are some windy parts that I'm sure it cuts through. Close enough though. wp7-3
week
63 miles, 9h42m
wp7-1: 384 + 13 = 397
wp7-2: 357 + 31 = 388
wp7-3: 261 + 19 = 280
Sunday, September 16, 2007
parks half marathon
I went in thinking I had a shot at 7 min/mi pace. It's a bit of a stretch since my 10-mile PR from the spring is 6:59 per mile and this is a harder course, but I'm counting on improving if I'm going to run 3:15 at MCM and qualify. A 1:10:49 10-miler projects to 7:05 per mile half according to McMillan.
I started out the race with the 7:00-7:15 pacer to make sure I didn't go out too fast. We hit the first mark at 7:13 and I thought it felt slow. I wanted to take advantage of the downhill (he was running even splits off his garmin), so I left him and ran 6:46 on the next downhill mile. Mile 3 was 7:03 -- good -- and then miles 4 and 5 were 7:15 and 7:09 -- not so good. Then I hit a groove: 7:00, 7:00, 6:59, 6:59, 6:53, and 7:03. I was at 1:10:25 at mile 10 (25 secs behind 7mm pace), thinking maybe by some miracle I could speed up and recover the time. Then the steep hill just before 11 broke me and I started to fade (the rest of the course being uphill didn't help). 10-12 was 14:48 or 7:24 per mile (missed mile 11). Last 1.1 was 8:14 (7:24 pace). Well the end of the story is the 7:00-7:15 pacer passed me in the last quarter mile. Ugh.
Heart rates/splits were 174 (7:13 -- HRM was way off for the first mile), 173 (6:46), 7:03 (178), 7:15 (177), 7:09 (178), 7:00 (178), 7:00 (179), 6:59 (179), 6:53 (180), 7:02 (180), 14:48 (7:24, 180), 8:14 (7:25, 180). Somehow the software calls the average 180? I think the HRM's trouble in the first mile screwed up the averaging. My math from the splits says ~178. I averaged 180 and 182 in my previous halfs. I averaged 180 at the 10-miler in the spring though.
It's looking pretty grim for 3:15. 1:33:27 is slower than a 1:09:49 10 miler. Am I really in worse shape? Well, it was a harder course and I didn't push myself quite as hard, but I expected to be farther along. McMillan puts me at 3:17 based on the half, but other calculators still say 3:14-3:15. It looks like there's a good chance I'll finish just out of the money. I'm thinking of going back to what I was doing in the spring -- intervals on Tues and tempo on Thursday -- instead of what I'm doing now -- more mileage but only doing intervals or tempo once a week. With 6 weeks left though, maybe I should just dance with the one (Pfitz 70mpw) that brung me though.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
week of 10 Sep
Mo - Rest
Tu - 8.7
HRM reading looked solid, so I guess I just ran that badly over the weekend. It ran out of memory in the near the end of the warmup though and I had to delete 9/8 (43:28/152) and restart. Ugly humid. At 6am, 73.2 degrees with a dew point of 72.5 (98% humidity). I went to the elem school 0.1-mile track and did a lap. (2.93 + 1.8 + 0.1 = 4.83). Then I did 3 laps for each interval with 1.5 laps jog in between. I couldn't read my watch for the first 2 until I hit the lap button. (5 * 0.3 + 4 *0.15 = 2.1) I was aiming for 2 minutes (6:40 pace). They went: 2:04 (173), 2:02 (178), 1:58 (182), 2:01 (181), and 2:00 (184). The number in parentheses is the bpm at the lap mark. Overall they were pretty easy, but I think they should have been. Did the half nbrhd lap to cool down (1.75). Total 4.83 + 2.1 + 1.75 = 8.68. Unbelievably humid. Temp 73.2. Dew pt 72.5.
wp7-2
We - 13.35
58 degrees!!!!!! Turns out it was still 97% humidty, but 58 degrees! I had to take advantage of this, so I planned to do something like the Pfitz medium long run I was supposed to do. It was dark and I was running with a headlamp, so keeping my pace up early on the trail was tough. I also stopped my watch at the traffic lights, which I don't normally do. Splits were
wp7-3
Th - 5.86 am; 4.11 pm
AM - Did two laps in the neighborhood. 9:02 min/mi @141 (HRM read way high first 5 minutes). PM - slogged around in the afternoon heat. wp7-2?
Fr - 4.68
I feel pretty beat up (but not injured) after the last three days. Only doing 5 today and tomorrow before the half marathon. wp7-2?
Sa - 4.68
1.5 nbhrd loops. Felt slow for the HR. HRM was off again for first 8-10 minutes. Last half loop was 16:02/139 compared to yesterday 16:10/136. wp7-3
Su - 1 mile w/up, half marathon 1:33:27
separate post for the race. wp7-3
wp7-3
week
55.5 miles, 8h1m
shoes
wp 7-1: 384
wp 7-2: 333 + 24 = 357
wp 7-3: 229 + 32 = 261
Tu - 8.7
HRM reading looked solid, so I guess I just ran that badly over the weekend. It ran out of memory in the near the end of the warmup though and I had to delete 9/8 (43:28/152) and restart. Ugly humid. At 6am, 73.2 degrees with a dew point of 72.5 (98% humidity). I went to the elem school 0.1-mile track and did a lap. (2.93 + 1.8 + 0.1 = 4.83). Then I did 3 laps for each interval with 1.5 laps jog in between. I couldn't read my watch for the first 2 until I hit the lap button. (5 * 0.3 + 4 *0.15 = 2.1) I was aiming for 2 minutes (6:40 pace). They went: 2:04 (173), 2:02 (178), 1:58 (182), 2:01 (181), and 2:00 (184). The number in parentheses is the bpm at the lap mark. Overall they were pretty easy, but I think they should have been. Did the half nbrhd lap to cool down (1.75). Total 4.83 + 2.1 + 1.75 = 8.68. Unbelievably humid. Temp 73.2. Dew pt 72.5.
wp7-2
We - 13.35
58 degrees!!!!!! Turns out it was still 97% humidty, but 58 degrees! I had to take advantage of this, so I planned to do something like the Pfitz medium long run I was supposed to do. It was dark and I was running with a headlamp, so keeping my pace up early on the trail was tough. I also stopped my watch at the traffic lights, which I don't normally do. Splits were
- 21:05/~130 (HRM messed up early)/9:22 per mile, 2.25
- 30:53/145/9:13 (trail, mostly with headlamp), 3.35
- 21:12/148/8:35, 2.47
- 23:20/153/8:01, 2.91 (rolling, net dowhill)
- 3:31/152/:35, 0.41 (half up a steep hill)
- 16:25/159/8:20, 1.97 (down and up huge hill)
wp7-3
Th - 5.86 am; 4.11 pm
AM - Did two laps in the neighborhood. 9:02 min/mi @141 (HRM read way high first 5 minutes). PM - slogged around in the afternoon heat. wp7-2?
Fr - 4.68
I feel pretty beat up (but not injured) after the last three days. Only doing 5 today and tomorrow before the half marathon. wp7-2?
Sa - 4.68
1.5 nbhrd loops. Felt slow for the HR. HRM was off again for first 8-10 minutes. Last half loop was 16:02/139 compared to yesterday 16:10/136. wp7-3
Su - 1 mile w/up, half marathon 1:33:27
separate post for the race. wp7-3
wp7-3
week
55.5 miles, 8h1m
shoes
wp 7-1: 384
wp 7-2: 333 + 24 = 357
wp 7-3: 229 + 32 = 261
Friday, September 07, 2007
week of 3 Sep
Mo - Rest
Tu - 13.35
Schedule for 15. I just ran the long way to work. Held a pretty strong pace the whole way. Stopped my watch at most of the lights so I could figure out my pace. Squeaked in under 2 hours (1:59:48). 8:58 pace. 147 bpm average. With the weather improving, I'm able to get in more strong runs. Hopefully it will be in time to get ready for the marathon.
wp7-3
We - recovery 5.86 am, recovery 4.11 pm
Two nbrhd loops in the morning. One and the short half loop in the afternoon.
wp7-3
Th - recovery 6.0
Did an out and back to the lake, because I'm sick of the nbhrd loop. Ran to the lake (including >2 minutes at the light), ran about 7 minutes clockwise, then doubled back home. It's two and a quarter to the lake, so I'm calling this 6 miles.
wp7-2
Fr - 10.45 w/ 2x16 minute tempo
The schedule called for the infamous 12 w/7 @tempo. No way was I doing that. I had in my mind that I'd do at most 40 minutes at tempo. I couldn't do it all at once because of traffic lights, etc. I did a straight in run to work (10.45) in 1:29:32 (8:34 pace), stopping my watch if the lights were too long (which I normally don't do). The first tempo portion was 15:56/168 in 2.21 (7:13) pace. I felt like I couldn't get my heart rate up to where it should be. During the second one I felt like did a little better. I didn't really feel I picked it up until the second half though. I was surprised to see 8:05 at a familiar point during the interval, because I remembered that it meant I was on about 7:00 pace (7:03 actually). Overall the second interval was 16:49/176 for 2.39 miles (6:59 pace). It was probably a little better as I kept having to run around cars at the intersection. It happened at least 3 times (all in the second half). Temperature was pretty constant. 69 degrees, 65 dew point (88% humidity). At times it felt like I had a good "swing" going where my arms were smoothly in rhythm with me legs. They probably swung farther in front of me than usual though and I assume that means I was heel striking more? I'm not sure. I think smooth is a good thing though and I'll try to get in that mode again. Perhaps I can increase my cadence and avoid the heel striking.
wp7-3
Sa - 4.68
The HRM reading were way off at the beginning and even after I broke a sweat they seemed wrong. About 5 bpm too high and went way up on small hits (hit 160 jogging). I thought my battery might be going. 43:28/152. wp7-1.
Su - 20.3
Holy cow that was ugly. My heart rate was high, but I ignored it because I thought the HRM was running out of batteries. Now I'm pretty sure it was me. Still at 4 laps (18.4 miles) I was a little ahead of my pace last weak, but it was way harder (and my heart rate was much higher). I stopped at the bathroom though to wash up. (I had a spectacular fall on lap 4 and scraped my knee and hands a little.) After that I didn't have any will except to very slowly trot the last two miles. Overall average was 158 bpm or something crazy.What doesn't kill us makes us stronger? It was about the same temp as last week, but much, much more humid.
wp7-3.
week
65 miles, 9h46m
shoes
wp 7-1: 379 + 5 = 384
wp 7-2: 327 + 6 = 333
wp7-3: 185+ 54 = 229
Tu - 13.35
Schedule for 15. I just ran the long way to work. Held a pretty strong pace the whole way. Stopped my watch at most of the lights so I could figure out my pace. Squeaked in under 2 hours (1:59:48). 8:58 pace. 147 bpm average. With the weather improving, I'm able to get in more strong runs. Hopefully it will be in time to get ready for the marathon.
wp7-3
We - recovery 5.86 am, recovery 4.11 pm
Two nbrhd loops in the morning. One and the short half loop in the afternoon.
wp7-3
Th - recovery 6.0
Did an out and back to the lake, because I'm sick of the nbhrd loop. Ran to the lake (including >2 minutes at the light), ran about 7 minutes clockwise, then doubled back home. It's two and a quarter to the lake, so I'm calling this 6 miles.
wp7-2
Fr - 10.45 w/ 2x16 minute tempo
The schedule called for the infamous 12 w/7 @tempo. No way was I doing that. I had in my mind that I'd do at most 40 minutes at tempo. I couldn't do it all at once because of traffic lights, etc. I did a straight in run to work (10.45) in 1:29:32 (8:34 pace), stopping my watch if the lights were too long (which I normally don't do). The first tempo portion was 15:56/168 in 2.21 (7:13) pace. I felt like I couldn't get my heart rate up to where it should be. During the second one I felt like did a little better. I didn't really feel I picked it up until the second half though. I was surprised to see 8:05 at a familiar point during the interval, because I remembered that it meant I was on about 7:00 pace (7:03 actually). Overall the second interval was 16:49/176 for 2.39 miles (6:59 pace). It was probably a little better as I kept having to run around cars at the intersection. It happened at least 3 times (all in the second half). Temperature was pretty constant. 69 degrees, 65 dew point (88% humidity). At times it felt like I had a good "swing" going where my arms were smoothly in rhythm with me legs. They probably swung farther in front of me than usual though and I assume that means I was heel striking more? I'm not sure. I think smooth is a good thing though and I'll try to get in that mode again. Perhaps I can increase my cadence and avoid the heel striking.
wp7-3
Sa - 4.68
The HRM reading were way off at the beginning and even after I broke a sweat they seemed wrong. About 5 bpm too high and went way up on small hits (hit 160 jogging). I thought my battery might be going. 43:28/152. wp7-1.
Su - 20.3
Holy cow that was ugly. My heart rate was high, but I ignored it because I thought the HRM was running out of batteries. Now I'm pretty sure it was me. Still at 4 laps (18.4 miles) I was a little ahead of my pace last weak, but it was way harder (and my heart rate was much higher). I stopped at the bathroom though to wash up. (I had a spectacular fall on lap 4 and scraped my knee and hands a little.) After that I didn't have any will except to very slowly trot the last two miles. Overall average was 158 bpm or something crazy.What doesn't kill us makes us stronger? It was about the same temp as last week, but much, much more humid.
wp7-3.
week
65 miles, 9h46m
shoes
wp 7-1: 379 + 5 = 384
wp 7-2: 327 + 6 = 333
wp7-3: 185+ 54 = 229
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)