Congratulations David Rudisha, you're a stud. 2 world records in a week, absolutely incredible! He is definitely the man to beat in next year's World Championships. Here's a nice touching story about a couple runner friends who have a "unique" similarity - one is 10, the other is 70, but are both amputees. Couldn't imagine having to work with that condition, but much admiration for both those two warriors to continue to live a normal life with this speedbump that has been put in front of them. Finally, a more scientific article that questions if the sub 2 hour marathon is attainable?
Well, have suffered through a pretty crappy training week, and there were many doubts to Saturday's scheduled long run workout which was hour easy, hour at marathon pace. Woke up early on Saturday and had a small breakfast of banana, yogurt, and trailmix. Weather was very cool and considerably less humid than in days past. Decided just to do and out and back on our long run route, and walk/jog in whatever we had extra. Got on the trail and started our "8 mile warmup". Felt pretty good and 100% better than I did in the last week, and we pretty much flew through the opening miles with a pretty decent pace. Got Crystal a little worked up through conversation which sped up the pace (we slowed it down), but still felt really easy. Got onto the Meridian uphill, still cruising. Was getting closer to the hour mark, so picked it up to transition to the marathon pace portion. Made our turnaround, pace still felt fine and was in total control. Hit the downhill coming back, was going a little faster than I thought and didn't want to get too out of control since the last part of the run is always the most difficult (uphill, uneven terrain, more sun) and crashing out on that would just kill the point of the workout. The trees were wreaking havoc on our GPS signals, so told Crystal we needed to lock in a pace since our watches weren't dependable for a few miles. Got locked in, kept cruising on while keeping my caged animal running partner in check since she was getting antsy and dropping surges. Saw Crystal's parents on the way back which was a nice pickmeup - in fact, we saw a ton of people on the trail that day which was pretty cool. Gave up on trying to slow down since we were hitting consistent splits, and focused on hitting right at marathon pace since we were going uphill. Well, we kept up the fast pace, and hammered it home. Last mile was a lot more tiring, but was more leg fatigue then breathing which was more tolerable than not being able to breath. Nailed the workout, pretty excited to hit that one since we had both circled this workout as the potentially most difficult one in her schedule. Crystal is looking stronger by the day, and I find I am working a lot harder to keep up with her than in training segments past. She will be ready to launch an all out assault in Indy in October. Total mileage: ~16 miles - first 7 were at 8-8:20 pace, last 9 were: 7:09, 7:04, 7:05, 7:03, 7:01, 6:57, 7:00, 7:00, 7:00.
Felt a lot more invigorated for redeeming myself after my last weekend meltdown, and I guess having an absolute perfect weather day didn't hurt things! Sunday, 0! Crapped out, no excuses other than general laziness, but it was nice to have the impromptu day off to rest my weary legs. Monday, had to go to the vet after work so missed Big River running group. Met Crystal up at the track, did miles and drills with her, and got in 25 minutes or so later on. Weather was hot and super humid, totally the opposite of Saturday. Drills felt ok, but my legs were still mushy. Did some light weights and corework at home, so got in some work. Total mileage: ~7 miles - ran anywhere from 7:20 to 9 minute pace.
Today, trackwork which hopefully won't be too bad since I am feeling pretty tired. Just officially signed up for the Lewis and Clark 1/2 Marathon which is in a little more than a month. I am curious to see what I hit there. We ran last year for Chicago Marathon prep, and hit 1:28 pretty comfortably. Starting to get into good shape, but the workouts we are doing seem harder which leads me to believe I'm stronger this time around, so I'm thinking 1:26 or 1:27 is very possible on a good day.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Battling Something
Well, last few weeks have been very on and off, and I have come to the conclusion that I am battling something which is either a upper respiratory tract infection, severe chest cold, bronchitis, or pneumonia which has affected my running on and off. On some massive drugs, hoping I can cure it myself and giving it another week to get better - otherwise I will be going to the doctor to fix me up. Really quick, found this super cool article online that shows how a marathon affects certain parts of the body - interactive and pretty awesome! Also, Deena is preggos!
Wednesday, got out to the track for my delayed track work. Had crashed out really hard after work and was really sluggish. Had mile repeats - weather was pretty cool and very nice. Pat and Crystal were out there doing their workouts, so was nice to have company. First repeat, thought I was going with decent effort but was surprised to see a 1:30 split - usually go out pretty hard and settle in, but today was obviously going to be different. Was battling, had to push to get in the rep at a decent pace. Quick break, onto the next one. Immediately, something was wrong and my breathing passages were pretty much closed. Struggled through half a rep before quitting - body was on fire from oxygen deprivation and I was coughing/wheezing like a 2-pack a day smoker. Jumped into Crystal's cooldown and struggled through to hit the 8:30 miles. Total mileage: ~3.5 miles - mile split(s) were: 5:59, 3:02 (half mile before I quit), 8:44, 8:22/
Was obviously not pleased with this effort, but impossible to fight when my body is not at 100%. Yesterday, got out after work for some light mileage. Wanted to push it a little to make up for my failed trackwork. Started a new medication which cleared up my breathing passages a little, so thought it might be safe to give it a go. Did an out and back on the trail - started out kind of hard, and was just struggling in general. Slowed it down to marathon pace for a few miles on the trail, then hit the last mile hard. Breathing was impaired but better than the night before. This workout was ok, but shouldn't have felt so hard especially considering I slowed it down for a couple miles. Usually with harder runs, it's my legs that impede my progress, not the cardiovascular portion - very strange to have my legs being totally fine and having my cardio tire me. Light stretching afterwards, felt like poop. Total mileage: 4 miles - splits were: 6:35, 7:15, 7:10, 6:18.
I am going to continue to monitor my body and run with the effort based on how I feel that day. I don't feel awful, but this breathing issue is a major problem that hopefully is getting corrected with medication, fluids, and what little rest I am getting.
Wednesday, got out to the track for my delayed track work. Had crashed out really hard after work and was really sluggish. Had mile repeats - weather was pretty cool and very nice. Pat and Crystal were out there doing their workouts, so was nice to have company. First repeat, thought I was going with decent effort but was surprised to see a 1:30 split - usually go out pretty hard and settle in, but today was obviously going to be different. Was battling, had to push to get in the rep at a decent pace. Quick break, onto the next one. Immediately, something was wrong and my breathing passages were pretty much closed. Struggled through half a rep before quitting - body was on fire from oxygen deprivation and I was coughing/wheezing like a 2-pack a day smoker. Jumped into Crystal's cooldown and struggled through to hit the 8:30 miles. Total mileage: ~3.5 miles - mile split(s) were: 5:59, 3:02 (half mile before I quit), 8:44, 8:22/
Was obviously not pleased with this effort, but impossible to fight when my body is not at 100%. Yesterday, got out after work for some light mileage. Wanted to push it a little to make up for my failed trackwork. Started a new medication which cleared up my breathing passages a little, so thought it might be safe to give it a go. Did an out and back on the trail - started out kind of hard, and was just struggling in general. Slowed it down to marathon pace for a few miles on the trail, then hit the last mile hard. Breathing was impaired but better than the night before. This workout was ok, but shouldn't have felt so hard especially considering I slowed it down for a couple miles. Usually with harder runs, it's my legs that impede my progress, not the cardiovascular portion - very strange to have my legs being totally fine and having my cardio tire me. Light stretching afterwards, felt like poop. Total mileage: 4 miles - splits were: 6:35, 7:15, 7:10, 6:18.
I am going to continue to monitor my body and run with the effort based on how I feel that day. I don't feel awful, but this breathing issue is a major problem that hopefully is getting corrected with medication, fluids, and what little rest I am getting.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Chicago just got a lot more interesting...
Pretty awesome news - Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot and London Marathon Tsegaye Kebede have also entered the Chicago Marathon! People are calling it the Marathon of Champions, and this is one the strongest marathon fields ever!
Monday, got in a nice workout with Crystal over at the Big River Run. Ran a pretty slow 3.5 miles to the track, did another mile on the track while Crystal did form drills, then jumped in and did about 1.5 sets of circuit training before jogging it back in. Circuits felt pretty awful, especially the sprinting between stations. Legs were pretty fried, and it didn't feel too good. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - no idea of splits, but it was slow.
Tuesday, was supposed to do track work but my legs still felt like jello and opted to switch to something more low key. The weather has cooled down a bit, and the evenings are much more tolerable than before. Got out around 8 p.m., just did an out and back through town. Didn't push it at all, could feel myself starting to speed up towards the end but made it a point to stay relaxed and not push it at all. Felt pretty good - still a little worn out, but should be good to go again soon. Total mileage: 5 miles - ran for roughly 42-44 minutes.
Right I.T. Band is flaring up, but this could be because my shoes are about finished so need to order some more. Going to try for my trackwork tonight, so we'll see how it goes. Tim is going to be in town in a few weeks, and we found a fun local 5K to participate in so looking forward to the plethora of races that are approaching!
Monday, got in a nice workout with Crystal over at the Big River Run. Ran a pretty slow 3.5 miles to the track, did another mile on the track while Crystal did form drills, then jumped in and did about 1.5 sets of circuit training before jogging it back in. Circuits felt pretty awful, especially the sprinting between stations. Legs were pretty fried, and it didn't feel too good. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - no idea of splits, but it was slow.
Tuesday, was supposed to do track work but my legs still felt like jello and opted to switch to something more low key. The weather has cooled down a bit, and the evenings are much more tolerable than before. Got out around 8 p.m., just did an out and back through town. Didn't push it at all, could feel myself starting to speed up towards the end but made it a point to stay relaxed and not push it at all. Felt pretty good - still a little worn out, but should be good to go again soon. Total mileage: 5 miles - ran for roughly 42-44 minutes.
Right I.T. Band is flaring up, but this could be because my shoes are about finished so need to order some more. Going to try for my trackwork tonight, so we'll see how it goes. Tim is going to be in town in a few weeks, and we found a fun local 5K to participate in so looking forward to the plethora of races that are approaching!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Hecker Tiki Trot 5K Recap/Long Run Death
Kenyan David Rudisha is a stud -broke the world record in the 800 meters, running in 1:41:09 which is just INSANE! Also, Pikes Peak was this weekend - local runner Zac Freudenburg had some course issues which sucked, but still managed a respectable finish.
On to the weekend running. Friday after work, wanted to get in some easy miles. Was nasty and humid as usual, so laced up the shoes and jumped outside to get in a quick run. Did out and back - my typical G.C. route, then jumped on the trail for a little more. Trail was trapping in the heat, and made it even more humid. Weather was starting to get nasty, and started to storm hard about a quarter mile from home. The rain felt incredible, but made it in before it started to really dump. That storm actually killed the power for 30 minutes or so which wasn't ideal. Regardless, legs felt fine, a good, solid, uneventful run. Total mileage: ~4.5 miles - out there for 35-40 minutes I am guessing?
Race Morning/Afternoon
Saturday morning, woke up and did an easy group run for 20 minutes and got in roughly 2 miles. Did out and back, was hot on the trails but wanted to get a little movement in the legs in the morning. Got back home, napped on and off and just relaxed before getting ready to leave in the later afternoon. Drove out to Hecker, IL which is located a good 45 minutes or so away - Hecker is a small little town with a lot of country roads. Got out to the Community Center where the race was at, and was pleasantly surprised to see a huge turnout. We would find out later that a record number of people registered for this event, in fact over 900!
At the Start
Picked up our race packets, got changed and went for a shakeout run/warmup (~2 miles) and previewed the course. Pretty simple layout - you run on a road which weaves through a neighborhood, which straightens out for a while, make one turn, turn around some cones, and come back. Pretty flat in that area, so expected a faster race. The course is lined with lit tiki torches, and everyone was given a blinking L.E.D. light which had a magnet on it so was a pretty cool concept - even cooler to see when running back in the dark towards everyone and you see a sea of blinking lights surrounded by a firey path! This was the first nighttime race I had ever run, and was looking forward to the theoretical cooler nighttime temperatures. Weather was hot and sticky during the day, and was worried that it wouldn't cool down enough but it sort of did. Wasn't pleased to be almost drenched in sweat after our warmup, quite the menacing omen. Did some dynamic stretching and strides, and talked a little strategy with Crystal and Candace who was also running and was defending her title (3 times over). Ran into Larry Huffman, a stud local runner who was also 3 time defending champion, and caught up with him before the start. Lined up behind a group of kids, hoped to God that they would move out of the way quickly or get ran over by me. Gun went off, and away we went!
Mile by Mile Report
Mile 1 - Immediately, my worst fears were realized as I instantly caught up to those kids, who had formed their own little wall to get in the way of all the other runners behind them. I am going to try my best not to complain, but if you can't run a 5 minute mile you shouldn't be lining up in front of a large group of runners. Predictably, I stepped on one of their shoes - as he was falling, I grabbed his shirt from behind and caught him, then guided him out of the way and surged forward to get away a bit. Kind of an annoying way to start a race and lose some energy. Immediately a lead pack formed, and 5 guys started to break away on that first mile. Candace, another guy, and I pretty much settled into a quick pace and powered through. Saw my half mile split at 2:38, was a bit alarmed at that and tried to settle down a little. Followed the lead vehicle for a bit before Larry and the other lead runners broke away - it had a photographer in the back taking pictures ever 5 seconds, and I thought I was going to have an epileptic seizure from all the camera flashes. Continued to work with those two, was cruising and everything felt really easy. [Mile 1 - 5:34]
Mile 2 - Was mentally cursing myself for going out that fast, a common downfall in my recent races, but felt great and no signs of strain yet. Had slowed down a bit, reeled in 2 guys but were passed by 2 more guys. The guy that was with us fell off, so it was just Candace and I with the next guy a good distance ahead of us. Came to the turnaround, kind of screwed up the turn and had to come to almost a complete stop then restart which was annoying. Passed Crystal, who was looking very strong and in control, and holding strong as 2nd overall female. Turned back on the main road and was caught offguard by the sea of blinking lights streaming from the start of the race from all the runners/walkers in the back. Humidity/general stuffiness was starting to get me, as whatever slight breeze we had wasn't really there coming back. [Mile 2 - 6:09]
Mile 3 - Was still feeling pretty much in control, and debating what I should do - should I surge and make a move, or sit back and work off Candace? Well, I had no hopes of catching the next runner ahead of me, so just sat back and worked off her some more. Still felt ok, not the usual lungs on fire/legs completely shot feeling I normally have, so that was a good thing. She was throwing in some surges here and there, but I matched everything and stayed stride for stride. With a little over half a mile to go, started to tire a bit and the evil thoughts started to creep in if I could keep up, but dispelled them and focused on other things like getting to the next road, to the next tree, and zoned in on the endless chorus of encouragement that was coming in bunches for her which was just like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Ahhh, deja vu from the AOH race! Well, there is only so much I can take (about 1.5 miles of this) before I decided I wasn't going to lose, so just bided my time and waited to make my move. [Mile 3 - 6:21]
Finish - Stupidly, I wasn't monitoring behind us at all at any point on the last mile, and some guy kicked it into ludicrous speed and zoomed by us before the last turn. I awoke from my daze, started my kick early and went after him. Narrowed the gap, but just didn't have it and let him go right at the end. I hate getting outkicked like that at the end! [Finishing 5K time - 18:51]
Peter Kim M30
Chip Time: 18:51
Overall Place: 6/900+
Gender Place: 6/?
Division Place: 2/?
Pace: 6:05/Mile
Crystal finished very shortly after in 2nd, so we grabbed a ton of water and tried to cool off. Talked with some of the other runners, and the guy that got us good at the end. Turns out he was sitting on us before making his move, so I got a taste of my own medicine. We did a 10 minute cooldown afterwards, legs felt ok but was definitely tired. Crystal ended up winning 2nd Female Overall and a huge trophy! I won 2nd in my age group, so accomplished my goal of winning a prize.
Final Thoughts
Well, not my finest effort, but what can you do? Probably could have ran 10-15 seconds faster if I wasn't sitting on the last mile, but it wouldn't have been worth the pain. It was by far the easiest sub 19 minute 5K I have ever run, so the last few weeks of workouts are starting to kick in. Wish I would have run more even splits instead of the ridiculous inconsistency I had. There is a lot of work to be done, but this was a step in the right direction. Even though I ran a crappy time, it was still good speedwork and I will focus on setting the Italianfest 5K on fire next month.
Drove home, didn't get back till 11ish and had to be up pretty early for the long run - UGH Stumbled out of bed after a terrible night of sleep, and my stomach was a mess. Late night McDonalds was a terrible idea, but I had to get something to eat since I hadn't had anything since 4 p.m. on Saturday. Was running super late, so just swigged a 1/4 of a bottled water and ran to meet up with Crystal and Mike. Weather was humid and a little warm but not too bad. Did our usual out and back, and was pretty tired which isn't any different than any other long run morning. First few miles felt pretty rough, once again nothing out of the ordinary, and eagerly awaited for Meridian where I usually get into a good rhythm. Well, it wasn't happening that day, and just felt like garbage. Not good to be grinding 5 miles into an 18 mile run when you're already going slow and it's only going to get hot. Turned towards SIUE, and about 8 miles into it told Mike and Crystal I had to stop at the turn for a small rest break which I don't remember the last time we had to do that. Stopped for a few minutes, had a GU, then headed back. Not the best feeling to have to restart, but the break was nice and felt slightly better since we were downhill for a bit. Tucked in behind Mike and Crystal, and continued to count the steps till the big Meridian downhill. Felt ok, but was on empty and running on fumes using all upper body and gravity to keep going. Was just grinding and grinding, and it wasn't getting any better. I switched leads with them and tried to maintain a pace, but it didn't help. Made our way back on the last 4 mile uphill and hit a few sun patches which felt brutal. With a little under 3 miles to go, I pretty much suffered a horrible death on the trails and had to walk. Let Mike and Crystal go, and pretty much walked/ran it in from there. I haven't hit the wall since 2008 - not a good feeling at all. They were nice enough to wait for me to finish, then we walked back home. Had to stop a few times on the way back, was a little lightheaded and starting to see some spots so erred on the side of caution. Total mileage: 18 miles - splits were: 9:17, 8:43, 8:34, 8:41, 8:33, 8:36, 8:22, 8:27, 8:30, 8:28, 8:26, 8:22, 8:27, 8:35, 8:41, slow, slow, and more slow (turned watch off as soon as I had to stop).
Well, not a good way to end the week, but I am not overly discouraged since I know this was probably more of a product of lack of rest/food/water than lack of fitness. But a solid mileage week nonetheless (44 I think?), and getting closer to starting my 1/2 marathon segment. Tonight, Big River group run, then track work tomorrow!
On to the weekend running. Friday after work, wanted to get in some easy miles. Was nasty and humid as usual, so laced up the shoes and jumped outside to get in a quick run. Did out and back - my typical G.C. route, then jumped on the trail for a little more. Trail was trapping in the heat, and made it even more humid. Weather was starting to get nasty, and started to storm hard about a quarter mile from home. The rain felt incredible, but made it in before it started to really dump. That storm actually killed the power for 30 minutes or so which wasn't ideal. Regardless, legs felt fine, a good, solid, uneventful run. Total mileage: ~4.5 miles - out there for 35-40 minutes I am guessing?
Race Morning/Afternoon
Saturday morning, woke up and did an easy group run for 20 minutes and got in roughly 2 miles. Did out and back, was hot on the trails but wanted to get a little movement in the legs in the morning. Got back home, napped on and off and just relaxed before getting ready to leave in the later afternoon. Drove out to Hecker, IL which is located a good 45 minutes or so away - Hecker is a small little town with a lot of country roads. Got out to the Community Center where the race was at, and was pleasantly surprised to see a huge turnout. We would find out later that a record number of people registered for this event, in fact over 900!
At the Start
Picked up our race packets, got changed and went for a shakeout run/warmup (~2 miles) and previewed the course. Pretty simple layout - you run on a road which weaves through a neighborhood, which straightens out for a while, make one turn, turn around some cones, and come back. Pretty flat in that area, so expected a faster race. The course is lined with lit tiki torches, and everyone was given a blinking L.E.D. light which had a magnet on it so was a pretty cool concept - even cooler to see when running back in the dark towards everyone and you see a sea of blinking lights surrounded by a firey path! This was the first nighttime race I had ever run, and was looking forward to the theoretical cooler nighttime temperatures. Weather was hot and sticky during the day, and was worried that it wouldn't cool down enough but it sort of did. Wasn't pleased to be almost drenched in sweat after our warmup, quite the menacing omen. Did some dynamic stretching and strides, and talked a little strategy with Crystal and Candace who was also running and was defending her title (3 times over). Ran into Larry Huffman, a stud local runner who was also 3 time defending champion, and caught up with him before the start. Lined up behind a group of kids, hoped to God that they would move out of the way quickly or get ran over by me. Gun went off, and away we went!
Mile by Mile Report
Mile 1 - Immediately, my worst fears were realized as I instantly caught up to those kids, who had formed their own little wall to get in the way of all the other runners behind them. I am going to try my best not to complain, but if you can't run a 5 minute mile you shouldn't be lining up in front of a large group of runners. Predictably, I stepped on one of their shoes - as he was falling, I grabbed his shirt from behind and caught him, then guided him out of the way and surged forward to get away a bit. Kind of an annoying way to start a race and lose some energy. Immediately a lead pack formed, and 5 guys started to break away on that first mile. Candace, another guy, and I pretty much settled into a quick pace and powered through. Saw my half mile split at 2:38, was a bit alarmed at that and tried to settle down a little. Followed the lead vehicle for a bit before Larry and the other lead runners broke away - it had a photographer in the back taking pictures ever 5 seconds, and I thought I was going to have an epileptic seizure from all the camera flashes. Continued to work with those two, was cruising and everything felt really easy. [Mile 1 - 5:34]
Mile 2 - Was mentally cursing myself for going out that fast, a common downfall in my recent races, but felt great and no signs of strain yet. Had slowed down a bit, reeled in 2 guys but were passed by 2 more guys. The guy that was with us fell off, so it was just Candace and I with the next guy a good distance ahead of us. Came to the turnaround, kind of screwed up the turn and had to come to almost a complete stop then restart which was annoying. Passed Crystal, who was looking very strong and in control, and holding strong as 2nd overall female. Turned back on the main road and was caught offguard by the sea of blinking lights streaming from the start of the race from all the runners/walkers in the back. Humidity/general stuffiness was starting to get me, as whatever slight breeze we had wasn't really there coming back. [Mile 2 - 6:09]
Mile 3 - Was still feeling pretty much in control, and debating what I should do - should I surge and make a move, or sit back and work off Candace? Well, I had no hopes of catching the next runner ahead of me, so just sat back and worked off her some more. Still felt ok, not the usual lungs on fire/legs completely shot feeling I normally have, so that was a good thing. She was throwing in some surges here and there, but I matched everything and stayed stride for stride. With a little over half a mile to go, started to tire a bit and the evil thoughts started to creep in if I could keep up, but dispelled them and focused on other things like getting to the next road, to the next tree, and zoned in on the endless chorus of encouragement that was coming in bunches for her which was just like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Ahhh, deja vu from the AOH race! Well, there is only so much I can take (about 1.5 miles of this) before I decided I wasn't going to lose, so just bided my time and waited to make my move. [Mile 3 - 6:21]
Finish - Stupidly, I wasn't monitoring behind us at all at any point on the last mile, and some guy kicked it into ludicrous speed and zoomed by us before the last turn. I awoke from my daze, started my kick early and went after him. Narrowed the gap, but just didn't have it and let him go right at the end. I hate getting outkicked like that at the end! [Finishing 5K time - 18:51]
Peter Kim M30
Chip Time: 18:51
Overall Place: 6/900+
Gender Place: 6/?
Division Place: 2/?
Pace: 6:05/Mile
Crystal finished very shortly after in 2nd, so we grabbed a ton of water and tried to cool off. Talked with some of the other runners, and the guy that got us good at the end. Turns out he was sitting on us before making his move, so I got a taste of my own medicine. We did a 10 minute cooldown afterwards, legs felt ok but was definitely tired. Crystal ended up winning 2nd Female Overall and a huge trophy! I won 2nd in my age group, so accomplished my goal of winning a prize.
Final Thoughts
Well, not my finest effort, but what can you do? Probably could have ran 10-15 seconds faster if I wasn't sitting on the last mile, but it wouldn't have been worth the pain. It was by far the easiest sub 19 minute 5K I have ever run, so the last few weeks of workouts are starting to kick in. Wish I would have run more even splits instead of the ridiculous inconsistency I had. There is a lot of work to be done, but this was a step in the right direction. Even though I ran a crappy time, it was still good speedwork and I will focus on setting the Italianfest 5K on fire next month.
Drove home, didn't get back till 11ish and had to be up pretty early for the long run - UGH Stumbled out of bed after a terrible night of sleep, and my stomach was a mess. Late night McDonalds was a terrible idea, but I had to get something to eat since I hadn't had anything since 4 p.m. on Saturday. Was running super late, so just swigged a 1/4 of a bottled water and ran to meet up with Crystal and Mike. Weather was humid and a little warm but not too bad. Did our usual out and back, and was pretty tired which isn't any different than any other long run morning. First few miles felt pretty rough, once again nothing out of the ordinary, and eagerly awaited for Meridian where I usually get into a good rhythm. Well, it wasn't happening that day, and just felt like garbage. Not good to be grinding 5 miles into an 18 mile run when you're already going slow and it's only going to get hot. Turned towards SIUE, and about 8 miles into it told Mike and Crystal I had to stop at the turn for a small rest break which I don't remember the last time we had to do that. Stopped for a few minutes, had a GU, then headed back. Not the best feeling to have to restart, but the break was nice and felt slightly better since we were downhill for a bit. Tucked in behind Mike and Crystal, and continued to count the steps till the big Meridian downhill. Felt ok, but was on empty and running on fumes using all upper body and gravity to keep going. Was just grinding and grinding, and it wasn't getting any better. I switched leads with them and tried to maintain a pace, but it didn't help. Made our way back on the last 4 mile uphill and hit a few sun patches which felt brutal. With a little under 3 miles to go, I pretty much suffered a horrible death on the trails and had to walk. Let Mike and Crystal go, and pretty much walked/ran it in from there. I haven't hit the wall since 2008 - not a good feeling at all. They were nice enough to wait for me to finish, then we walked back home. Had to stop a few times on the way back, was a little lightheaded and starting to see some spots so erred on the side of caution. Total mileage: 18 miles - splits were: 9:17, 8:43, 8:34, 8:41, 8:33, 8:36, 8:22, 8:27, 8:30, 8:28, 8:26, 8:22, 8:27, 8:35, 8:41, slow, slow, and more slow (turned watch off as soon as I had to stop).
Well, not a good way to end the week, but I am not overly discouraged since I know this was probably more of a product of lack of rest/food/water than lack of fitness. But a solid mileage week nonetheless (44 I think?), and getting closer to starting my 1/2 marathon segment. Tonight, Big River group run, then track work tomorrow!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Loooong Update
Been derailed this week on my attempts to blog, so a long update is in order. Has been super busy, so I will try my best to remember everything. But before I get to my running, found some cool stuff in the world of running. Sammy Wanjiru is coming back to Chi to defend his title, which means he will be toeing it up with Ryan Hall in October!!! Hall is pretty psyched about the prospects and I suspect this will be an awesome race as Hall has raced well with Wanjiru in the past (2008 London Marathon P.R.). Here is a cool article on Shalane and her marathoning training - if she can reign it in and be patient, there is no reason to think she can't win in NYC. Runners World released their fall shoe guide. And finally, a awesome flotrack video of Oregon Elite stud Galen Rupp and a workout he did over in Europe.
Wow just flipped back to see where I left off, so it's been a while. Last Wednesday, got out after work and did a quick run. Weather was hot and sticky, and did this run early evening. Purposely didn't look at time, and just tried to keep an "easy" pace. Drove up to the track afterwards - did 10 minutes of drills with Crystal, and ran a few laps with Pat. Pretty solid day if I must say so. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - ran 31:52 for 4 miles (faster than I wanted given the conditions, but felt very good), 1 mile really easy, ran a couple 400's with Pat on the track - no idea of time.
Thursday, the heat just made it too difficult to do my scheduled workout outside, so treadmilled it at Pat and Crystal's. Had really been suffering through a bad chest cold or something that was causing my breathing to be rough in general, so was hoping to get in a bit extra. Hopped on the treadmill in my attempts to hit 2 miles at race pace, then 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster. Blazed through mile 1 of the 2 mile portion, but just started to really struggle and basically suffered a horrible death on the treadmill. Seconds felt like hours, and I kept falling further and further back and would have to sprint up before almost falling off the treadmill end (this happened many times). My lungs and legs were on fire and it was just pure agony, worse than 5K race burn. Walked a very short distance to cooldown, this workout was done and I was on empty. Total mileage: ~2.1 miles - mile splits were: 6:00, 6:00.
Friday, day off! Saturday, woke up bright and early for the long run. Waited a little bit to go over to Crystal's because of storms (much to Crystal's chagrin) and it was pretty nasty on the trails. Ran through some massive puddles, thus soaking my feet immediately, and making the next few miles very uncomfortable. Took a small detour to get around the mess, but quickly got back on the trail. Trail was really stuffy (mostly from rain and sun starting to come up making it really humid), and I was having major breathing issues. Got onto the climb at Meridian where it opens up a bit, and felt a lot better. Settled into a good pace and felt really good at the turn around. My Garmin was jumping around a bit, so was difficult for me to pace since we started to accelerate a bit to ease into the last 4 at race pace, unlike what we had done in the past where we just dropped into race mode (very painful). Sun was out in full force at this point, and was definitely feeling the heat. Struggled a bit on the last 4, and had to work to hit pace. Didn't help that both our Garmins were jumping around giving us weird splits, but was most likely from the trees and bridges coming back. Really was regretting starting 15 minutes later than usual - was pretty hot when we were done, amazing how much difference it made and we were just BEAT. Regardless, nailed the workout and was nice to be done with it. Total mileage: 16 miles - don't have the splits on hand, but averaged 8:07 overall. 7:11, 7:14, 7:15, 7:08 on the last 4 I believe.
Sunday, slept in, got in my run later in the day/evening. Didn't go too hard, hit 5 easy. I think it was 42-45 minutes. Monday, did the group run over at Big River on a hot day. Crystal and I ran 3 up to the track, then did drills. Was a pretty warm day, but hammered through everything pretty well. Jogged 1 easy back to the store and headed home. Felt good, but tired. Total mileage: ~4 miles - first 3 were low 8 minute average, last mile was prob 8:30-9 I am guessing.
Tuesday - 0! Was really hurting from being sick, and consequently slept away most of the evening. Wednesday, took a monster nap after work, then dragged my sorry carcass to the track to get in my missed workout. Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts, as well as a few others, so was nice to have company. Was hot and sticky outside, and got right into my workout (2 miles at pace, 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster than pace). Zoomed through the first lap a little fast (1:24), but slowed it down and surprisingly maintained pace pretty well the rest of that segment. Felt pretty good after the first mile, and kept it up through the next mile hitting even splits. Was a lot easier than it should have been, which was an aesome feeling. Highlight was Crystal reprimanding a couple walkers that were hogging the fast lane. The looks on their faces was priceless, but it needed to be done :) Wouldn't have been that big of a deal if I literally didn't pass them on every single turn of the track, which was a slight pain. Took a 5 minute break, then jumped into the mile. Really was getting tired right from the start and had some evil thoughts of breaking it into 2-800's, but dispelled those bad notions quickly. Pushed through that mental barrier which was nice, given I have succumbed to it a little too often recently, and hit a split I was satisfied with. Contemplated another hard mile, but my legs were toast and was just pooped in general. Did a 25 minute cooldown, stretched hard and felt considerably better afterwards. Total mileage: 5-6 miles - 2 mile split was 11:52 (5:54, 5:58), 1 mile spit was 5:49.
Yesterday, took an impromptu vacation day - played golf in the late morning/early afternoon with Pat, then snuck in a quick 3 miler nice and slow. Was pretty beat down from being outside all day, legs felt like crap. Going to try to squeeze in some cheap miles today, then racing tomorrow night over in Hecker, IL for the Tiki Trot 5K! Run at night, the course is lit up by tiki torches on the sides of the road, and supposed to be a pretty fast course. Over 670 have preregistered, so should be pretty fun! Feeling pretty good about nailing my workout on Wednesday, and using this as a hard tempo run/workout so looking forward to seeing where I am at. Sunday, long run with Mike and Crystal, so should be another solid running week...
Wow just flipped back to see where I left off, so it's been a while. Last Wednesday, got out after work and did a quick run. Weather was hot and sticky, and did this run early evening. Purposely didn't look at time, and just tried to keep an "easy" pace. Drove up to the track afterwards - did 10 minutes of drills with Crystal, and ran a few laps with Pat. Pretty solid day if I must say so. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - ran 31:52 for 4 miles (faster than I wanted given the conditions, but felt very good), 1 mile really easy, ran a couple 400's with Pat on the track - no idea of time.
Thursday, the heat just made it too difficult to do my scheduled workout outside, so treadmilled it at Pat and Crystal's. Had really been suffering through a bad chest cold or something that was causing my breathing to be rough in general, so was hoping to get in a bit extra. Hopped on the treadmill in my attempts to hit 2 miles at race pace, then 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster. Blazed through mile 1 of the 2 mile portion, but just started to really struggle and basically suffered a horrible death on the treadmill. Seconds felt like hours, and I kept falling further and further back and would have to sprint up before almost falling off the treadmill end (this happened many times). My lungs and legs were on fire and it was just pure agony, worse than 5K race burn. Walked a very short distance to cooldown, this workout was done and I was on empty. Total mileage: ~2.1 miles - mile splits were: 6:00, 6:00.
Friday, day off! Saturday, woke up bright and early for the long run. Waited a little bit to go over to Crystal's because of storms (much to Crystal's chagrin) and it was pretty nasty on the trails. Ran through some massive puddles, thus soaking my feet immediately, and making the next few miles very uncomfortable. Took a small detour to get around the mess, but quickly got back on the trail. Trail was really stuffy (mostly from rain and sun starting to come up making it really humid), and I was having major breathing issues. Got onto the climb at Meridian where it opens up a bit, and felt a lot better. Settled into a good pace and felt really good at the turn around. My Garmin was jumping around a bit, so was difficult for me to pace since we started to accelerate a bit to ease into the last 4 at race pace, unlike what we had done in the past where we just dropped into race mode (very painful). Sun was out in full force at this point, and was definitely feeling the heat. Struggled a bit on the last 4, and had to work to hit pace. Didn't help that both our Garmins were jumping around giving us weird splits, but was most likely from the trees and bridges coming back. Really was regretting starting 15 minutes later than usual - was pretty hot when we were done, amazing how much difference it made and we were just BEAT. Regardless, nailed the workout and was nice to be done with it. Total mileage: 16 miles - don't have the splits on hand, but averaged 8:07 overall. 7:11, 7:14, 7:15, 7:08 on the last 4 I believe.
Sunday, slept in, got in my run later in the day/evening. Didn't go too hard, hit 5 easy. I think it was 42-45 minutes. Monday, did the group run over at Big River on a hot day. Crystal and I ran 3 up to the track, then did drills. Was a pretty warm day, but hammered through everything pretty well. Jogged 1 easy back to the store and headed home. Felt good, but tired. Total mileage: ~4 miles - first 3 were low 8 minute average, last mile was prob 8:30-9 I am guessing.
Tuesday - 0! Was really hurting from being sick, and consequently slept away most of the evening. Wednesday, took a monster nap after work, then dragged my sorry carcass to the track to get in my missed workout. Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts, as well as a few others, so was nice to have company. Was hot and sticky outside, and got right into my workout (2 miles at pace, 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster than pace). Zoomed through the first lap a little fast (1:24), but slowed it down and surprisingly maintained pace pretty well the rest of that segment. Felt pretty good after the first mile, and kept it up through the next mile hitting even splits. Was a lot easier than it should have been, which was an aesome feeling. Highlight was Crystal reprimanding a couple walkers that were hogging the fast lane. The looks on their faces was priceless, but it needed to be done :) Wouldn't have been that big of a deal if I literally didn't pass them on every single turn of the track, which was a slight pain. Took a 5 minute break, then jumped into the mile. Really was getting tired right from the start and had some evil thoughts of breaking it into 2-800's, but dispelled those bad notions quickly. Pushed through that mental barrier which was nice, given I have succumbed to it a little too often recently, and hit a split I was satisfied with. Contemplated another hard mile, but my legs were toast and was just pooped in general. Did a 25 minute cooldown, stretched hard and felt considerably better afterwards. Total mileage: 5-6 miles - 2 mile split was 11:52 (5:54, 5:58), 1 mile spit was 5:49.
Yesterday, took an impromptu vacation day - played golf in the late morning/early afternoon with Pat, then snuck in a quick 3 miler nice and slow. Was pretty beat down from being outside all day, legs felt like crap. Going to try to squeeze in some cheap miles today, then racing tomorrow night over in Hecker, IL for the Tiki Trot 5K! Run at night, the course is lit up by tiki torches on the sides of the road, and supposed to be a pretty fast course. Over 670 have preregistered, so should be pretty fun! Feeling pretty good about nailing my workout on Wednesday, and using this as a hard tempo run/workout so looking forward to seeing where I am at. Sunday, long run with Mike and Crystal, so should be another solid running week...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I love Heat Advisories
It makes the runs so much tougher and miserable. We were spoiled with such a mild summer last year that it is only fitting we are getting killed this year. But, it has helped morale a bit when hitting a hard workout under said crappy conditions, and hopefully the worst is behind us after this week (all week heat advisory - heat indexes up to 115!). Before I jump into my uber-update, Chris Solinsky continues to amaze - 12:55 in Stockholm, yikes! And Ryan Hall blogs about his diet and constant snacking. Something I need to pay closer attention to myself - you don't fuel a high performance vehicle with junk and expect it to perform at an optimal condition...
Saturday, got up pretty darn early for the long run. Met with Crystal, did our customary out and back. Weather was surprisingly not awful, and we got a slightly later start because it wasn't light out yet. Felt somewhat decent, and it was getting warm as the sun came out. Made a couple bathroom pitstops on the run, but didn't affect anything and the small breaks were fine. Somewhere on the trail, looked at my watch to see how far along we were - saw 6.66 on the mileage, which was the 3rd consecutive weekend that had happened, not the greatest omen. Anyways, never really pushed the pace, which was nice. Ran into Pat the last mile and was nice to have a third out there to finish it off. Total mileage: 16 miles - splits were: 9:13, 8:47, 8:33, 8:35, 8:46, 8:34, 8:33, 8:33, 8:33, 8:43, 8:38, 8:34, 8:36, 8:32, 8:14, 9:22.
Sunday morning, woke up a little later and immediately regretted not getting the run in earlier. Was pretty warm and sunny, but had a decent amount of shade so wasn't too unbearable. Did out and back on the trail towards Glen Carbon - felt tired, and my knees were a little sore. Could feel the pace picking up, but tried to control it. Coming back, could feel that we just wanted to get the run over with and jacked the pace up. Both of us were getting tired and didn't want to overwork, so made it a point to slow down/cool down the last mile. Looked down at my watch at some point to see where we were at, and saw the dreaded 6.66 yet again! Probably not the best idea to tinker with an easy/recovery run, but we never pushed it to the point we were out of control. Glad that was over with. Total mileage: 8 miles - splits were: 8:47, 7:52, 8:24, 7:54, 8:01, 7:53, 7:28, 7:56. Hit close to 40 for the week and was disappointed I cheated away some easy miles, but hit some key workouts.
Monday, forgot to pack shoes and clothes for group run, so completely crapped out on that. The weather was pretty atrocious, so waited until really late to get in a run. Felt really lethargic, and it was just thick outside. Got a couple miles into my easy run (not pushing the pace at all), and just didn't feel right. Actually started to dry heave at some point, and decided to lean on the side of caution and cut my easy run short. Drank about a gallon of water, passed out shortly afterwards. Total mileage: 3 miles - total time out was ~25 minutes
Tuesday, waited until really late for my track work. Tried to think of every possible excuse in the book to not do this workout (20X400), but ultimately got myself out the door and on the track. Helped a ton that Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts. It was just nasty outside, but there was a slight hint of a breeze which helped a little. Completely crapped out on the warmup/cooldown since I wanted to get out of outside as soon as possible, and also didn't jog in between reps like I was supposed to - instead took 45-75 second breaks, and 2-3 minute breaks in between sets (5 reps). The plan was to start at 10K pace, then gradually speed up each set, trying to hit 2-3 seconds faster per set. Blazed through the first couple sets fine, but had a lot of trouble keeping the slower pace - almost every single rep, I went through the 200 at 40-42 seconds which is just way too fast if I'm trying to hit 1:30-1:32. So I ended up slowing down substantially on the home stretch, almost jogging it in. Pat and Crystal left after 11 reps, so I was on my own to finish it out. Hammered through the 3rd set, but the heat started to get to me and really had to work the last set. Legs were tired on the last few reps and was using arms a lot - felt like my body was overheating, but just willed it out. Temperature was still 90 when I was finished (after 9 p.m.), and the humidity was almost overbearing - not the best conditions to do 400 meter repeats, but pretty proud of myself that I stuck with it and nailed the workout. Total mileage: 5 miles - 400 meter splits were: 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:29, 1:28, 1:28, 1:30, 1:27, 1:29, 1:29, 1:30, 1:27, 1:26, 1:25, 1:24, 1:23, 1:23, 1:22, 1:18, 1:16.
Crapped out yet again on the morning workout, but will get in mileage and some drills tonight with Crystal. Tomorrow, some speedwork, then a much deserved offday on Friday! Gearing towards running a 5K next weekend over in Hecker, IL. Billed as a tiki-torch run, this particular 5K is run at night with tiki-torches lighting the way. Should be a fun time!
Saturday, got up pretty darn early for the long run. Met with Crystal, did our customary out and back. Weather was surprisingly not awful, and we got a slightly later start because it wasn't light out yet. Felt somewhat decent, and it was getting warm as the sun came out. Made a couple bathroom pitstops on the run, but didn't affect anything and the small breaks were fine. Somewhere on the trail, looked at my watch to see how far along we were - saw 6.66 on the mileage, which was the 3rd consecutive weekend that had happened, not the greatest omen. Anyways, never really pushed the pace, which was nice. Ran into Pat the last mile and was nice to have a third out there to finish it off. Total mileage: 16 miles - splits were: 9:13, 8:47, 8:33, 8:35, 8:46, 8:34, 8:33, 8:33, 8:33, 8:43, 8:38, 8:34, 8:36, 8:32, 8:14, 9:22.
Sunday morning, woke up a little later and immediately regretted not getting the run in earlier. Was pretty warm and sunny, but had a decent amount of shade so wasn't too unbearable. Did out and back on the trail towards Glen Carbon - felt tired, and my knees were a little sore. Could feel the pace picking up, but tried to control it. Coming back, could feel that we just wanted to get the run over with and jacked the pace up. Both of us were getting tired and didn't want to overwork, so made it a point to slow down/cool down the last mile. Looked down at my watch at some point to see where we were at, and saw the dreaded 6.66 yet again! Probably not the best idea to tinker with an easy/recovery run, but we never pushed it to the point we were out of control. Glad that was over with. Total mileage: 8 miles - splits were: 8:47, 7:52, 8:24, 7:54, 8:01, 7:53, 7:28, 7:56. Hit close to 40 for the week and was disappointed I cheated away some easy miles, but hit some key workouts.
Monday, forgot to pack shoes and clothes for group run, so completely crapped out on that. The weather was pretty atrocious, so waited until really late to get in a run. Felt really lethargic, and it was just thick outside. Got a couple miles into my easy run (not pushing the pace at all), and just didn't feel right. Actually started to dry heave at some point, and decided to lean on the side of caution and cut my easy run short. Drank about a gallon of water, passed out shortly afterwards. Total mileage: 3 miles - total time out was ~25 minutes
Tuesday, waited until really late for my track work. Tried to think of every possible excuse in the book to not do this workout (20X400), but ultimately got myself out the door and on the track. Helped a ton that Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts. It was just nasty outside, but there was a slight hint of a breeze which helped a little. Completely crapped out on the warmup/cooldown since I wanted to get out of outside as soon as possible, and also didn't jog in between reps like I was supposed to - instead took 45-75 second breaks, and 2-3 minute breaks in between sets (5 reps). The plan was to start at 10K pace, then gradually speed up each set, trying to hit 2-3 seconds faster per set. Blazed through the first couple sets fine, but had a lot of trouble keeping the slower pace - almost every single rep, I went through the 200 at 40-42 seconds which is just way too fast if I'm trying to hit 1:30-1:32. So I ended up slowing down substantially on the home stretch, almost jogging it in. Pat and Crystal left after 11 reps, so I was on my own to finish it out. Hammered through the 3rd set, but the heat started to get to me and really had to work the last set. Legs were tired on the last few reps and was using arms a lot - felt like my body was overheating, but just willed it out. Temperature was still 90 when I was finished (after 9 p.m.), and the humidity was almost overbearing - not the best conditions to do 400 meter repeats, but pretty proud of myself that I stuck with it and nailed the workout. Total mileage: 5 miles - 400 meter splits were: 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:29, 1:28, 1:28, 1:30, 1:27, 1:29, 1:29, 1:30, 1:27, 1:26, 1:25, 1:24, 1:23, 1:23, 1:22, 1:18, 1:16.
Crapped out yet again on the morning workout, but will get in mileage and some drills tonight with Crystal. Tomorrow, some speedwork, then a much deserved offday on Friday! Gearing towards running a 5K next weekend over in Hecker, IL. Billed as a tiki-torch run, this particular 5K is run at night with tiki-torches lighting the way. Should be a fun time!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Hall begins
his Chicago Marathon training officially. Can't wait to see him on 10/10/10 for his quest at a World Marathon Major! Speaking of Chi, the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon was there this previous weekend - Patrick Rizzo and Tera Moody won their respective titles. And finally, the future of American running - German Fernandez is healthy and ready to tear it up at OSU this upcoming season!
On to my running week - Monday, did easy 50-55 minutes outside late at night. Weather has been a significant factor this week, and has taken a turn for the worse with some bad conditions and major heat advisories, so has been a struggle to schedule in workouts. Felt pretty good - just did a loop around the streets of Glen Carbon. Nothing much to report, sweated a good 5 lbs. away (seriously). Total mileage: ~5.5-6 miles - total time out was 50-55 minutes.
Tuesday, got up to the track pretty late and did my scheduled track workout. Pat and Crystal joined me to do their respective workouts, so was nice to have company. Because of the conditions, I modified my workout slightly and didn't jog in between reps basically because I was having trouble breathing through the heat/humidity. Thought I would place more emphasis on trying to hit my splits and really rest up in between, so walked 200 meters in between reps. So the workout was 7X600 - kind of eased into the first rep, but immediately got into a good groove. The majority of my workout felt surprisingly easy, which was awesome given the conditions. Hit the splits I wanted (around 5K pace), had a little fun on the last one and took off. Cooled down with Pat afterwards. Total mileage: 4 miles - 600 meter splits were: 2:09, 2:05, 2:04, 2:05, 2:06, 2:03, 1:58.
Wednesday, was just killed at work and so was my motivation. Was wanting to get out after work to run, but it was just nasty outside and ended up completely crapping out on my run. Planned on switching off days with Friday. Thursday, ended up working late, was dead when I got home and decided to switch my workout of 2X2 miles at race pace with 2X2 glasses of wine at dinner. Crap, move this to Friday morning. Woke up this morning and was for some reason unbeknownst to me really sore in my left knee. Dragged my sorry carcass outside, where it was absolutely gorgeous and felt a lot more cool than it has been. Because of time constraints, just started the workout immediately and took off. Felt pretty lethargic and had trouble finding the pace, but settled in ok. Ran towards the trail and the hills kind of beat me up, but really pushed through to finish the first set. Felt like garbage, and didn't want to kill myself with tomorrow's long run so improvised the workout and did a fartlek back home (1 minute on, 1 minute off). Not very pleased with myself for that, but I guess it was better than nothing. Total mileage: 4 miles - first (and only) split was 12:07 (6:03, 6:04).
Well it has been a bad running week to say the least, and I hope a solid weekend will round things out. Still will hit close to 40 which isn't bad, but in a sense still easing into this aggressive session so I am not too discouraged yet!
On to my running week - Monday, did easy 50-55 minutes outside late at night. Weather has been a significant factor this week, and has taken a turn for the worse with some bad conditions and major heat advisories, so has been a struggle to schedule in workouts. Felt pretty good - just did a loop around the streets of Glen Carbon. Nothing much to report, sweated a good 5 lbs. away (seriously). Total mileage: ~5.5-6 miles - total time out was 50-55 minutes.
Tuesday, got up to the track pretty late and did my scheduled track workout. Pat and Crystal joined me to do their respective workouts, so was nice to have company. Because of the conditions, I modified my workout slightly and didn't jog in between reps basically because I was having trouble breathing through the heat/humidity. Thought I would place more emphasis on trying to hit my splits and really rest up in between, so walked 200 meters in between reps. So the workout was 7X600 - kind of eased into the first rep, but immediately got into a good groove. The majority of my workout felt surprisingly easy, which was awesome given the conditions. Hit the splits I wanted (around 5K pace), had a little fun on the last one and took off. Cooled down with Pat afterwards. Total mileage: 4 miles - 600 meter splits were: 2:09, 2:05, 2:04, 2:05, 2:06, 2:03, 1:58.
Wednesday, was just killed at work and so was my motivation. Was wanting to get out after work to run, but it was just nasty outside and ended up completely crapping out on my run. Planned on switching off days with Friday. Thursday, ended up working late, was dead when I got home and decided to switch my workout of 2X2 miles at race pace with 2X2 glasses of wine at dinner. Crap, move this to Friday morning. Woke up this morning and was for some reason unbeknownst to me really sore in my left knee. Dragged my sorry carcass outside, where it was absolutely gorgeous and felt a lot more cool than it has been. Because of time constraints, just started the workout immediately and took off. Felt pretty lethargic and had trouble finding the pace, but settled in ok. Ran towards the trail and the hills kind of beat me up, but really pushed through to finish the first set. Felt like garbage, and didn't want to kill myself with tomorrow's long run so improvised the workout and did a fartlek back home (1 minute on, 1 minute off). Not very pleased with myself for that, but I guess it was better than nothing. Total mileage: 4 miles - first (and only) split was 12:07 (6:03, 6:04).
Well it has been a bad running week to say the least, and I hope a solid weekend will round things out. Still will hit close to 40 which isn't bad, but in a sense still easing into this aggressive session so I am not too discouraged yet!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Week 1 Done
Blazed through a solid first week of training. Weekend running was a bit hectic, but got in some solid mileage. So without further adieu...
Saturday morning, woke up bright and early to do long run with Crystal. Was pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep all week/Friday night, and dragged myself to the trail. We delayed the run for 15 minutes to wait for it to get a little lighter outside, because it was so overcast/dark. Started out on the trail, and felt pretty decent. Weather was very overcast and damp from the previous night's rainfall. Usually, I am dying early then get my second wind, but felt good going out. Made our way out to Meridian, and still felt ok. Coming back, had to keep ourselves in check and not get too carried away. Last 2 miles were scheduled at race pace, so tried to ease into it by gradually speeding up with about 3.5 miles to go. Started getting pretty tired with 2 miles left, and kind of had to pull it together. Could tell Crystal wanted to take off the last mile, so kept her reigned in as long as I could. Took off the last half mile or so, was pretty tired when we were done. Total mileage: 14 miles - don't have splits on hand, but averaged 8:14 overall. Started at 9:14, then basically negative split going in. Last 3 were 7:33, 7:14, 6:57.
Went to the new Big River Store in O'Fallon, MO to do the Mizuno foot analysis. The new store is pretty awesome, and a must-see for any O'Fallon/St. Charles runner. We did this last year, and not much had changed from my analysis. Got to try on some shoes, and really liked a few different pairs but sizing is always an issue because of my wide feet. Did a treadmill running analysis at the store - they hook up a slow motion camera to your feet, and you can analyze your stride. Mine is basically all jacked up - I pronate inwards, run with my feet pointed outwards, but at the point of foot strike manage to rotate slightly outwart, thus correcting the motion. Well, no major injuries thus far (knock on wood), but will make some effort to work on pointing my toes more inward to promote a more efficient running stride.
Sunday morning, got out on the trail with Mike and Crystal. We started a little later, and went a different direction on the trail. Mike was sporting his new Mizuno Wave Elixir performance racing shoes, so was eager to get out there. Weather was sunny and warm. Did an out and back, and kept it pretty conservative. Coming back with about 2.5 miles to go, saw a runner dart in front of us. Well, Crystal and I are pretty territorial about having people pass us, so we quickly strategized to catch him. The guy was about 30 seconds ahead of us, so we started an indian run impromptu (indian run is where one runner will lead the pack for 1 minute, then the person in the back catches up and takes the lead for a minute, etc.). Eased into it, but before we knew it were hitting 6:40's pace. Started to make a little ground, and the guy saw us and we could see him straining to pick up the pace. Realized after a mile or so it wasn't going to happen - he was motoring along pretty quickly. And it looked like he did at least 5 miles at this pace, so he earned it. Slowed down, cooled down the last mile and cruised in. Total mileage: 8 miles - no idea the splits, but was somewhere in the 8-8:20 range overall.
So a solid running week (36 miles I think?). Lost 5-10 miles here and there, but got in all my major work which I am pleased about. Heat advisory the first part of this week, so will be hydrating like mad for a while. Easy run tonight, then track work tomorrow!
On a side note, picked up my new kitten (named "Franklin" by the kids, because they found him on "Franklin Street) yesterday, and got to introduce him to his new home. He was pretty scared at first, but eventually relaxed a bit and did quite a bit of exploring. Very cute, and I think he is enjoying his time so far :)
Saturday morning, woke up bright and early to do long run with Crystal. Was pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep all week/Friday night, and dragged myself to the trail. We delayed the run for 15 minutes to wait for it to get a little lighter outside, because it was so overcast/dark. Started out on the trail, and felt pretty decent. Weather was very overcast and damp from the previous night's rainfall. Usually, I am dying early then get my second wind, but felt good going out. Made our way out to Meridian, and still felt ok. Coming back, had to keep ourselves in check and not get too carried away. Last 2 miles were scheduled at race pace, so tried to ease into it by gradually speeding up with about 3.5 miles to go. Started getting pretty tired with 2 miles left, and kind of had to pull it together. Could tell Crystal wanted to take off the last mile, so kept her reigned in as long as I could. Took off the last half mile or so, was pretty tired when we were done. Total mileage: 14 miles - don't have splits on hand, but averaged 8:14 overall. Started at 9:14, then basically negative split going in. Last 3 were 7:33, 7:14, 6:57.
Went to the new Big River Store in O'Fallon, MO to do the Mizuno foot analysis. The new store is pretty awesome, and a must-see for any O'Fallon/St. Charles runner. We did this last year, and not much had changed from my analysis. Got to try on some shoes, and really liked a few different pairs but sizing is always an issue because of my wide feet. Did a treadmill running analysis at the store - they hook up a slow motion camera to your feet, and you can analyze your stride. Mine is basically all jacked up - I pronate inwards, run with my feet pointed outwards, but at the point of foot strike manage to rotate slightly outwart, thus correcting the motion. Well, no major injuries thus far (knock on wood), but will make some effort to work on pointing my toes more inward to promote a more efficient running stride.
Sunday morning, got out on the trail with Mike and Crystal. We started a little later, and went a different direction on the trail. Mike was sporting his new Mizuno Wave Elixir performance racing shoes, so was eager to get out there. Weather was sunny and warm. Did an out and back, and kept it pretty conservative. Coming back with about 2.5 miles to go, saw a runner dart in front of us. Well, Crystal and I are pretty territorial about having people pass us, so we quickly strategized to catch him. The guy was about 30 seconds ahead of us, so we started an indian run impromptu (indian run is where one runner will lead the pack for 1 minute, then the person in the back catches up and takes the lead for a minute, etc.). Eased into it, but before we knew it were hitting 6:40's pace. Started to make a little ground, and the guy saw us and we could see him straining to pick up the pace. Realized after a mile or so it wasn't going to happen - he was motoring along pretty quickly. And it looked like he did at least 5 miles at this pace, so he earned it. Slowed down, cooled down the last mile and cruised in. Total mileage: 8 miles - no idea the splits, but was somewhere in the 8-8:20 range overall.
So a solid running week (36 miles I think?). Lost 5-10 miles here and there, but got in all my major work which I am pleased about. Heat advisory the first part of this week, so will be hydrating like mad for a while. Easy run tonight, then track work tomorrow!
On a side note, picked up my new kitten (named "Franklin" by the kids, because they found him on "Franklin Street) yesterday, and got to introduce him to his new home. He was pretty scared at first, but eventually relaxed a bit and did quite a bit of exploring. Very cute, and I think he is enjoying his time so far :)
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