Well...At least until tomorrow. That's because Saturday's run became increasingly more difficult when it was changed from a 30 minute Tempo run to a 3x2Mile adventure over the same course. Since this change added about 3 miles to the run (after warm up and cool down), I decided to sleep it in today and take that extra day of rest since I was only going to be out for 3 miles anyways. My target times are 8:05 according to Mamma Michele.....Well...We'll have to see about that. I think she just slapped me and called me a fatboy with that one. ;) Not exactly sure how to take that one yet. I'm thinking about 20 pounds ago that would have been a difficult pace to hold, but I've been running my easy days at an 8:45....So 8:05 just doesn't seem so hard.
I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out now won't we.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
1-2-3
Today's targeted session with the group was a 3 set series of intervals that consisted of 1 min, 2min and 3 min on times with a 1 min not so on pace in between. This is one of our typical post race workouts. The group this past weekend ran a very difficult 10K that consisted of some MONSTER hills. I did a base workout where I alternated 5 min sets of my 10K and HM paces for 30 minutes. Not nearly as difficult since mine was on a relatively flat course, but still a good workout nonetheless since I probably went at 5K and 10K pace after looking at the data. And the way my legs felt yesterday, nothing like a nice day to clean out the junk!
So when I got to the meeting point at Coyote Trail, I actually felt much better then the day before. As I posted yesterday, my legs were having an off day and just plain felt dead. Today, they felt crisp and ready for a good run. We took of as a single group today and did 2 sets out, and one set back, which left a nice miles and a half jog back to the car. The weather was absolutely PERFECT this morning. Shorts, short sleeve shirt, and glove to keep the hands warm weather. At the start I took off great, managed to run with Scott who kept about 5 yards ahead of me the first couple of sets on the way out. I totally boned up and hit the wrong button on my watch for the start, so I had to wait it out till the second set to start it....uggghhh. hat it when that happens. No wirries there though, I was boxed around by Scott in front and Butch right behind me, so I could hear the starts and stops. I have NO idea how fast I ran those first fet reps, but I'm guessing the were sub 7 since my second set was right at the 7 min/mile marker. I always run faster on the first set and get progressivley slower after settling into a comfortable pace. And when I looked at the 3 min average on the second set, that explains why Butch gained ground and passed me. No biggie there, the fact is....I'm running these workouts at a pace I've never been able to hold. Paul and I set out two sets of goals....Short term was to get to where we could last an entire workout with the Butch groupers. Long term goal, and a bit more lofty, hang with the Big Dogs.....Dave, Todd, Steve, Shawn....That's definitiely a long term route there. Those guys are in a totally different zip code when it comes to running. And they are runningn a totally crazy amount of miles right now. Something I would LOVE to be doing. I'm going to give myself 6-12 months to attain that one, and right now focus on hanging with Butch and Glenn (when he shows up), and get sub 3:30 on my marathon time. These I think are totally doable. And along the way, increase my base mileage to that 60-70 miles per week zone. Looking back in retrospect, getting to 60 should be NO PROBLEMO! Shoot, increase my long run to 22 miles that's 51 right there, then sprinkle in 9 miles over the other 5 days....that's less then 2 miles per day. And realistically, that's going to come on the Thursday workouts by itself. Eventually, I'll be running 10-12 miles on those workouts. I intend to start doing mile repeats on Thursdays. Start at five or 6, and work my way up to 10, all at my targeted marathon pace. I need to get my legs grinding that pace.....The over and over repetition of a single pace is what I need. It's going to make the day when the BIG day gets here in January.
So in the books right now, on this rest week, I've got 14.6 miles. Saturday is going to be at least 5, I may push it to 6 or 7 with the warm-up and cool down. It's a 30 minute tempo that I'm really going to PUSH HARD. I actually think instead of taking tomorrow off completely, I'll sleep in a bit till 5, get up, and go do a 3.5 miler. Nothing hard, but enough to keep the legs fresh for Saturday AM. That would put me at 18 plus the 5 on Saturday and I can end up with around 35ish after Sundays run. That is 6 less then the previous week. I'm just thinking that dropping back 11 miles in one week was a little too much, so 6 may be a better goal. That way, my ramp starts at 41 next week, and goes up from there.
So, it does look like I'll be blogging tomorrow!! Until then, train hard and LIVESTRONG!
So when I got to the meeting point at Coyote Trail, I actually felt much better then the day before. As I posted yesterday, my legs were having an off day and just plain felt dead. Today, they felt crisp and ready for a good run. We took of as a single group today and did 2 sets out, and one set back, which left a nice miles and a half jog back to the car. The weather was absolutely PERFECT this morning. Shorts, short sleeve shirt, and glove to keep the hands warm weather. At the start I took off great, managed to run with Scott who kept about 5 yards ahead of me the first couple of sets on the way out. I totally boned up and hit the wrong button on my watch for the start, so I had to wait it out till the second set to start it....uggghhh. hat it when that happens. No wirries there though, I was boxed around by Scott in front and Butch right behind me, so I could hear the starts and stops. I have NO idea how fast I ran those first fet reps, but I'm guessing the were sub 7 since my second set was right at the 7 min/mile marker. I always run faster on the first set and get progressivley slower after settling into a comfortable pace. And when I looked at the 3 min average on the second set, that explains why Butch gained ground and passed me. No biggie there, the fact is....I'm running these workouts at a pace I've never been able to hold. Paul and I set out two sets of goals....Short term was to get to where we could last an entire workout with the Butch groupers. Long term goal, and a bit more lofty, hang with the Big Dogs.....Dave, Todd, Steve, Shawn....That's definitiely a long term route there. Those guys are in a totally different zip code when it comes to running. And they are runningn a totally crazy amount of miles right now. Something I would LOVE to be doing. I'm going to give myself 6-12 months to attain that one, and right now focus on hanging with Butch and Glenn (when he shows up), and get sub 3:30 on my marathon time. These I think are totally doable. And along the way, increase my base mileage to that 60-70 miles per week zone. Looking back in retrospect, getting to 60 should be NO PROBLEMO! Shoot, increase my long run to 22 miles that's 51 right there, then sprinkle in 9 miles over the other 5 days....that's less then 2 miles per day. And realistically, that's going to come on the Thursday workouts by itself. Eventually, I'll be running 10-12 miles on those workouts. I intend to start doing mile repeats on Thursdays. Start at five or 6, and work my way up to 10, all at my targeted marathon pace. I need to get my legs grinding that pace.....The over and over repetition of a single pace is what I need. It's going to make the day when the BIG day gets here in January.
So in the books right now, on this rest week, I've got 14.6 miles. Saturday is going to be at least 5, I may push it to 6 or 7 with the warm-up and cool down. It's a 30 minute tempo that I'm really going to PUSH HARD. I actually think instead of taking tomorrow off completely, I'll sleep in a bit till 5, get up, and go do a 3.5 miler. Nothing hard, but enough to keep the legs fresh for Saturday AM. That would put me at 18 plus the 5 on Saturday and I can end up with around 35ish after Sundays run. That is 6 less then the previous week. I'm just thinking that dropping back 11 miles in one week was a little too much, so 6 may be a better goal. That way, my ramp starts at 41 next week, and goes up from there.
So, it does look like I'll be blogging tomorrow!! Until then, train hard and LIVESTRONG!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
That Familiar Dead Leg Feeling
So today, as expected, my legs were out of any go go go.....Yesterdays workout was so good, that I was pretty much depleted. But, I still managed to get out of the door for my early morning run, although, the late start dictated that I cut it shorter then usual. Either way, I still managed to get in just over 30 mins of quality running in, and even though my legs didn't feel like they were moving properly, I still managed to end up with a 8:45 pace. Take the 'little' victories when you can, and I can use that term incredibly loosely.
My route planned was the original 5.5 mile loop that I run with Paul. And since his wife was re-scheduled to have their baby this morning, he wasn't going to be able to make it. Go figya! So, out the door I headed at 5:15ish and headed on the same route. I did manage to still see Dave and Todd out for their run as they both get ready for the California International marathon coming up this December. They are at that final stage where the LONG LONG LONG runs come in. I think they still have a couple more 22 milers in store for their legs, and I know they've been regularly doing 100+ mile weeks. That's actually where I would love to be someday. It's just going to take time and a nice slow progression to get there. My upcoming weeks are looking something like this starting with this week:
10/27: 31
11/3: 38 ( 3 back from the high point)
11/10: 45
11/17: 50
11/24: 40 ( 2 plus my start of the last period)
12/1: 45
12/8: 50
12/15: 55
12/22: 45 (Drop)
12/29: 50
1/5: 60
Taper
Marathon Day: 1/18
I think this scedule is VERY doable. In fact, I think that the mileage may be a little low in some cases, as my long runs are going to be getting up to the 22 mile point as well. Heck, I may even add in some two-a-days in there.
So, until after tomorrows workout of 1/2/3s, train hard and LIVESTRONG!!
My route planned was the original 5.5 mile loop that I run with Paul. And since his wife was re-scheduled to have their baby this morning, he wasn't going to be able to make it. Go figya! So, out the door I headed at 5:15ish and headed on the same route. I did manage to still see Dave and Todd out for their run as they both get ready for the California International marathon coming up this December. They are at that final stage where the LONG LONG LONG runs come in. I think they still have a couple more 22 milers in store for their legs, and I know they've been regularly doing 100+ mile weeks. That's actually where I would love to be someday. It's just going to take time and a nice slow progression to get there. My upcoming weeks are looking something like this starting with this week:
10/27: 31
11/3: 38 ( 3 back from the high point)
11/10: 45
11/17: 50
11/24: 40 ( 2 plus my start of the last period)
12/1: 45
12/8: 50
12/15: 55
12/22: 45 (Drop)
12/29: 50
1/5: 60
Taper
Marathon Day: 1/18
I think this scedule is VERY doable. In fact, I think that the mileage may be a little low in some cases, as my long runs are going to be getting up to the 22 mile point as well. Heck, I may even add in some two-a-days in there.
So, until after tomorrows workout of 1/2/3s, train hard and LIVESTRONG!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Mile Repeats...
Today was an unscheduled group workout that involved some mile repeats. It's funny, every time we do mile repeats I can't help but think of the movie groundhog day....I have NO idea why, but I about 3/4 of the way through the first mile, I get that scene in my head when Bill Murray is driving the car with Phil and they're in the quarry...You know, the part where he tells him that he drives pretty good for a quadruped....and "Don't drive angry!". Then the next thing they show, is the truck going off the cliff and bursting into flames into a HUGENORMOUS fireball......and then BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP......His alarm goes off and it's ANOTHER groundhog day.....For me....The BEEP BEEP BEEP was us finishing the first set....
And what a great workout it was. 3x1mile and 4x400 back to the start. First off, I really need to check my watch. Because this is the second time in a row, where i thought I left with AMPLE time to get there, but they were starting the last group as I came up....It was Butch, Michele and I, but Mamma Michele was doing her own 30/30 workout. Butch and I ran the 1st mile together. That's kinda strange for me, because I'm used to being quite a bit behind him. Running with him is a new and exciting adventure. The first mile was at a nice 7:15. My legs felt GREAT! even better, we even caught up to the other groups that started in front of us. :) Set two, not as fast, but it is was the back of the first mile and slightly uphill. Came in a bit behind Butch at 7:30. I'm a little upset with myself on that one, because I allowed myself to lose focus somewheres areund the 3/4 mark. When I crossed the split I noticed the terrible quarter, got re-focused and then came back strong. That's definitely somethign I need to work on...FOCUS.
So the third set, I set that as my goal...FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS. And I kept it nice and even through each split and ran a 7:18. Very consistent with my first split, only 3 seconds slower. I'm very happy with that result. That led into the quarters. Those are a more up tempo pace, more like your 5K grind 'em out, with a much smller rest in between (45 seconds). And grind them out consistent I did: 1:44, 1:43, 1:43, and 1:43. BAM BAM BAM BAM! That put a huge victory stamp of approval on theworkout. To be able to run a consistent sub 7 pace was GREAT!
Whats even better is that I had several members of the group tell me that they had to do a double take to see who that "skinny" guy was running with Butch! YEAH BABY!!!! Just 12 short weeks ago, I was running with the group, not on a consistent basis, and I weighed in at a miserable 206 pounds. Today, I've been able to take over 25 pounds off that number. I credit that with a LOT of will power, and a major change in eating habits....And a nice bout of dedication to running and staying fit. Meeting my goal and breaking through 40 miles last week was a HUGE accomplishment. This week, may be considered a rest week, but it's not really a rest from running, it's just allowing for my body some extra recovery time while I change my focus from miles to speed. 3 of my 5 workouts are dedicated to SPEED. Todays, Thursday, and Saturday. Tomorrow I will get in a 6.5 miler and Sunday I'm planning on doing 9-10. On paper that's about 30-32 miles. We'll see how it shakes out. I'm feeling great and running strong, aand I have to hold back the urge to run long this week. It's ALL about performance. My progress report comes on Saturday with the 30 minute tempo run. That's where I get to see the real progress!
So, untill tomorrows post I'll reminisce a little bit about my trip to NYC last year. This weekend last year, I was getting ready to make the long trip to Manhattan. Talk about a great time....I had a blast....I'm really kinda bummed i'm not running it this year, but I will say...that was one expensive TRIP! Until tomorrow....LIVESTRONG and Train HARD!
And what a great workout it was. 3x1mile and 4x400 back to the start. First off, I really need to check my watch. Because this is the second time in a row, where i thought I left with AMPLE time to get there, but they were starting the last group as I came up....It was Butch, Michele and I, but Mamma Michele was doing her own 30/30 workout. Butch and I ran the 1st mile together. That's kinda strange for me, because I'm used to being quite a bit behind him. Running with him is a new and exciting adventure. The first mile was at a nice 7:15. My legs felt GREAT! even better, we even caught up to the other groups that started in front of us. :) Set two, not as fast, but it is was the back of the first mile and slightly uphill. Came in a bit behind Butch at 7:30. I'm a little upset with myself on that one, because I allowed myself to lose focus somewheres areund the 3/4 mark. When I crossed the split I noticed the terrible quarter, got re-focused and then came back strong. That's definitely somethign I need to work on...FOCUS.
So the third set, I set that as my goal...FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS. And I kept it nice and even through each split and ran a 7:18. Very consistent with my first split, only 3 seconds slower. I'm very happy with that result. That led into the quarters. Those are a more up tempo pace, more like your 5K grind 'em out, with a much smller rest in between (45 seconds). And grind them out consistent I did: 1:44, 1:43, 1:43, and 1:43. BAM BAM BAM BAM! That put a huge victory stamp of approval on theworkout. To be able to run a consistent sub 7 pace was GREAT!
Whats even better is that I had several members of the group tell me that they had to do a double take to see who that "skinny" guy was running with Butch! YEAH BABY!!!! Just 12 short weeks ago, I was running with the group, not on a consistent basis, and I weighed in at a miserable 206 pounds. Today, I've been able to take over 25 pounds off that number. I credit that with a LOT of will power, and a major change in eating habits....And a nice bout of dedication to running and staying fit. Meeting my goal and breaking through 40 miles last week was a HUGE accomplishment. This week, may be considered a rest week, but it's not really a rest from running, it's just allowing for my body some extra recovery time while I change my focus from miles to speed. 3 of my 5 workouts are dedicated to SPEED. Todays, Thursday, and Saturday. Tomorrow I will get in a 6.5 miler and Sunday I'm planning on doing 9-10. On paper that's about 30-32 miles. We'll see how it shakes out. I'm feeling great and running strong, aand I have to hold back the urge to run long this week. It's ALL about performance. My progress report comes on Saturday with the 30 minute tempo run. That's where I get to see the real progress!
So, untill tomorrows post I'll reminisce a little bit about my trip to NYC last year. This weekend last year, I was getting ready to make the long trip to Manhattan. Talk about a great time....I had a blast....I'm really kinda bummed i'm not running it this year, but I will say...that was one expensive TRIP! Until tomorrow....LIVESTRONG and Train HARD!
Monday, October 27, 2008
41!
And who said 40 was a barrier?!?!?!?!?! If anything it was all mental, because this week I CRUSHED through that wall with an explosion! Saturday I set out on a session that was a 1 mile warm up, 3 sets of 5mins 10K pace, 5 mins HM pace and finished with a nice easy 1 mile cool down jog. Before the run, I had setup "goal" paces in my Garmin 305, and hoped to keep up the pace. I set up 7:30-7:45 for the 10K pace, and 7:45-8:15 for the HM pace. Needless to day, I BLEW those right out of the water. That added into the annoyance factor of the Garmin. If your going to fast, it incessantly beeps at you to tell you to slow down.....But my body was having none of that. And I knew it was going to be a fast day. I did my warm up jog at an 8:30 pace. But I felt good, and I wanted to get a QUALITY speed work session in, because I knew my group was running hard in the Oracle 10K, and the thought of them getting one on me, made me push even harder, especially towards the end of the run when it became more difficult to push that final pace. But the key was, I DID IT! And I did it so much, that by the end of my 1 mile cool down run, I was at the turnaround point of what I like to call "extra" credit time on the morning run with Paul. Adding in that little extra credit session allowed me to have a nice half mile jog back home afterwords. And the nice thing, another 6.5 miles in the book. That took me to 29.5 by the end of Saturday!
So starting Sunday, I was ready to run. I woke up BEFORE my alarm clock for the first time in a very long time. I was really looking forward to the solitude of a Sunday outing. I am becoming addicted to my Sunday runs. Knowing that 40 was well in reach, I decided to modify my long run from last week a bit, and add in a little challenge of going to the TOP of Wade road, instead of turning 1/4 of the way, and heading through Continental Reserve. Going to the top meant heading up one of the toughest hills in the area. It's STEEP! It looks like a wall as you approach it, but I have run up it many times before, and to put it mildly, we know each other pretty well. Once I got to the top, I could see that stop sign which has always signified the downhill is here! But I decided to modify the route a bit more, and take the HARD way out. Instead of making the usual left had turn, I turned right, and took the roller coaster adventure. Straight down, the straight back up. So much so, that you can see the marks on the road where cars bottom out as they scrape the pavement. Once the rollers are over, it's a nice easy downhill that ends up at a usual point and I'm back in Continental Reserve. In all, it added an nice and challenging two miles to the journey. 2 miles where I easily maintained a 9:15 pace. I continued on and continued clipping off the miles: 6, 7, then 8! In my head I kept doing a little mental countdown. I get to 11, I've got 40 in the books! And so my mental focused turned to Pat Tillman. The great number 40 that played for the Arizona Cardinals, and left his lucrative NFL contract to go fight for his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was accidentally killed by friendly fire in an amazingly tragic accident of miscommunication. I kept saying to myself, what would Pat do! And from there, I kept increasing the pace.....9:00, 8:55, and then finally 8:40....And the miles kept clicking off at 9, 10, and finally I was on that home stretch towards 11. I made the right turn through the retirement community of Sunflower, and I was headed for home, and my legs just kept getting stronger and stronger. When finally my watch went off to signify the end of mile 11.
At this point I stopped and took a little break. I wasn't home, but I knew that I had completed something that I figured mentally would have broken me. But my mind stayed strong, and I only got stronger as I finished! I took the moment to enjoy the victory, polish off that last bit of water I had, and get back running and jog it back in, nice and easy, with a HUGE smile on my face. That was the best half mile I think I've ever run. I was pumped for the entire DAY. Even a Cardinals loss in Carolina couldn't take that grin off my face! I was so pumped up!
Needless to say, my legs earned their rest week. Today was a complete day of rest. No running. I got to sleep in until 6am, and give the motor the day off. I plan on cutting back the miles to about 30 this week. 2 FULL days off, today and Friday. But the workouts are going to target speed. Short, but fast! I'll get in at least 2 six and a half milers with Paul, a group workout....And then Saturday is a TIME TRIAL! It's that 30 minute tempo that I use to gauge my success. 3.9 miles is the distance to beat. I want to go out and absolutely CRUSH it!
Until tomorrow, LIVESTRONG and Train Hard!
So starting Sunday, I was ready to run. I woke up BEFORE my alarm clock for the first time in a very long time. I was really looking forward to the solitude of a Sunday outing. I am becoming addicted to my Sunday runs. Knowing that 40 was well in reach, I decided to modify my long run from last week a bit, and add in a little challenge of going to the TOP of Wade road, instead of turning 1/4 of the way, and heading through Continental Reserve. Going to the top meant heading up one of the toughest hills in the area. It's STEEP! It looks like a wall as you approach it, but I have run up it many times before, and to put it mildly, we know each other pretty well. Once I got to the top, I could see that stop sign which has always signified the downhill is here! But I decided to modify the route a bit more, and take the HARD way out. Instead of making the usual left had turn, I turned right, and took the roller coaster adventure. Straight down, the straight back up. So much so, that you can see the marks on the road where cars bottom out as they scrape the pavement. Once the rollers are over, it's a nice easy downhill that ends up at a usual point and I'm back in Continental Reserve. In all, it added an nice and challenging two miles to the journey. 2 miles where I easily maintained a 9:15 pace. I continued on and continued clipping off the miles: 6, 7, then 8! In my head I kept doing a little mental countdown. I get to 11, I've got 40 in the books! And so my mental focused turned to Pat Tillman. The great number 40 that played for the Arizona Cardinals, and left his lucrative NFL contract to go fight for his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was accidentally killed by friendly fire in an amazingly tragic accident of miscommunication. I kept saying to myself, what would Pat do! And from there, I kept increasing the pace.....9:00, 8:55, and then finally 8:40....And the miles kept clicking off at 9, 10, and finally I was on that home stretch towards 11. I made the right turn through the retirement community of Sunflower, and I was headed for home, and my legs just kept getting stronger and stronger. When finally my watch went off to signify the end of mile 11.
At this point I stopped and took a little break. I wasn't home, but I knew that I had completed something that I figured mentally would have broken me. But my mind stayed strong, and I only got stronger as I finished! I took the moment to enjoy the victory, polish off that last bit of water I had, and get back running and jog it back in, nice and easy, with a HUGE smile on my face. That was the best half mile I think I've ever run. I was pumped for the entire DAY. Even a Cardinals loss in Carolina couldn't take that grin off my face! I was so pumped up!
Needless to say, my legs earned their rest week. Today was a complete day of rest. No running. I got to sleep in until 6am, and give the motor the day off. I plan on cutting back the miles to about 30 this week. 2 FULL days off, today and Friday. But the workouts are going to target speed. Short, but fast! I'll get in at least 2 six and a half milers with Paul, a group workout....And then Saturday is a TIME TRIAL! It's that 30 minute tempo that I use to gauge my success. 3.9 miles is the distance to beat. I want to go out and absolutely CRUSH it!
Until tomorrow, LIVESTRONG and Train Hard!
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