There are two times that I actually LOVE running.....besides the whole excitement of racing......It's the pre-race and post race weeks. One is designed designed to get you ready for the target event, the other......get you to the next target event. A good recovery week is so important after a brutal race like Sunday. Running towards a mountain, with the word Pass in it......never fun, but as a group we were all ready and well trained for the hills. That's a major reason we all did so well. This weeks recovery runs included the star step workout of 400m, 800m, 1200m, 800m 400m. We were instructed to take them nice and easy, which wasn't hard to heed that warning. My legs by Tuesday morning were sore. My quads were burning something fierce. But I made it through, and managed to hit all of my relaxed target times.
Today's workout was all about getting back up to speed. My soreness was gone, well, at least in my legs, but I'll get to that later.....and we had on the schedule a 12x400, progressively faster. Basically 4x400 in 1:45, 4x400 in 1:41, and 4x400 in 1:38. This allows a little bit of recovery at the start, but allows your legs to get cranking right up to speed! Why do that....The next race is right around the corner, a week from Sunday. It's the 5K super fast, and super flat course. It's were I am going to attempt to break the 21 minute barrier. It's what I've been training for. This Saturday, I will get a good guess as to where I stand. We have a 2 mile Time Trial, and I'm hoping that I will be able to run it in around 13:00 or a 6:30 pace. A 6:30 pace will give me a 10 sec/mile factor to allow me to run 6:40s in the 5K next sunday, and meet my goal.
So....back tot he soreness thang going on. I've actually started my summer 2 a day routine. In the evening, 6 days a week, I've managed to work in strength training. Monday was day #1, and it was a brutal chest workout. My schedule is going to look something kinda like this:
Mon - Chest/Shoulders Heavy (pm)
Tues - Group Run (am), Back/Bis Heavy (pm)
Wed - Legs Heavy (pm)
Thurs - Group Run (am) Chest Light High Reps (pm)
Fri - Back/Bis Light High Reps (pm)
Saturday - Group Run (am) / Legs Light high Reps(pm)
Sunday - Long Run
Eventually, every other Friday I'm going to start going on some long bike rides. Since I get every other Friday off, it will be nice to wake up, and get on the bike. Hopefully all this will eventually work off that extra 15 or so pounds I need to lose, and when that happens.....Look out age group....there's going to be a new Kid in town.........
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
New Cinco PR!
Well, it's official, I was able to set a new standard for my Cinco de Mayo 10K performances! Previously, my best time was run back in 2005 where I ran a 49:10. Each year that I've run since, my times have progressively get slower. Each year I go through a tough spot on the course where you hit the out and back segment. The out is a faily steep downhill, and at the 5K turnaround it's the massive climb back up that eventually takes you to an all downhill sprint finish.
Each and every year, I've had to walk a segment of the out and back. Last year, I did not, and whats funny, I actually thought I had a great race......right up to the point where I realized it was one of my worst performances on the course at 52:30. So this year, I had a plan, and i knew what my goal was. I wanted to run an average 7:30/mile and crush my 49:10.
The first mile started out very strong. I think I ran it in a 7:14, a little faster then goal pace, but I knew we had the tough up segments ahead, so I wanted to take advantage of the relatively flat rollers while I could. Mile 2 was where the hill really started getting steep, I just kept grinding it out and ran that in a 7:47, kind of what I expected, and on the 7:30 average for the first two miles. About a quarter into mile three is where the out and back segment of the turn is, and I pulled back into a nice 7:14 pace to roll with the downhill....at the turnaround it started getting hot, and I took some water to moisten my drying mouth and poured the rest over me to cool me down a bit....we hit the turn, but I didn't take a look at my watch so I'm not sure what my 5K time was, but I'm estimating it was in the 23ish time frame... about where i expected it to be at. Mile 4, was definitely my worst. Straining up that hill I had to make a crucial decision....blow out my legs or save some for the downhill finish. My legs just didn't have the gas to get up that steep hill.....so I managed to walk up art of it to the crest. once I crested I started running again, but my split really suffered with an 8:49. That's a full minute that I left on the course, but I knew if I wanted to succeed in getting a PR that turned out to be a crucial decision.
From there I started taking a mental note on the people that passed me. Me made the turn off the out and back, made it past the 4 mile mark, and the downhill started to kick in. At this point there was 2.2 miles to go, and I really wanted to shove it into over drive, and my legs absolutely RESPONDED! I really got back into race mode and started passing all the people who went by me during my recovery walk on the brutal uphill. One by one I picked them off and passed them like they were standing still. I would briefly look at my watch to see what kind of pace i was going, and at certain steep segments, I was down to a 6:20 pace. Mile 5 with the rollers clocked back in at a very respectable 7:14. With 1.2 miles to go, we came up on the final water station where a little hottie gave me a crucial cup of water to again wet my drying mouth and the cooling power to hammer it home. I just kept telling myself, it's just another 1 mile repeat....As I kept passing people, I got past my last competitor at the water station....From there there was a pretty significant gap between the next runner and myself, but I wasn't sure I could close it. Mile six came in around the 7:15ish range and I was still rolling strong with just under a quarter to go.....And so I decided to HAMMER IT HOME knowing that I had under 1:40 to go. And hammer it I did. Not sure what the file .2 split was, but the pace on Dr. Garmin said 5:59/mile, so it had to be significantly less then the 1:40 quarters I normally run in group workouts......As I came across the line, I stopped my watch with a NEW Cinco de Mayo Course PR of 47:29. Just shy of two minutes off my best time in 2005, but a full five minutes off my time from last year!!!!
In all, I'm incredibly happy with that result, even with the trouble spot where I had to make the tough choice to walk a portion. In the end, that minute that I left on the hill wouldn't have advanced my place any in the standings since I finished about a 1;30 from the guy in front of me.....and it may have not allowed me to CRUSH the downhill segment home. Tactically, it was totally the right thing to do!
That's not the last race of the season before we hit the Summer push to Labor Day (another course where I need to exorcise some daemons)....In less then two weeks I'm going to make my final attempt at a 5K PR by going under 21 for the first time ever. With all these hills I've been running as of late, I'm thinking that should be very doable!!! Look out Flat and fast 5K course..... HERE I COME!!!!
Until then, train hard and LIVESTRONG!
Each and every year, I've had to walk a segment of the out and back. Last year, I did not, and whats funny, I actually thought I had a great race......right up to the point where I realized it was one of my worst performances on the course at 52:30. So this year, I had a plan, and i knew what my goal was. I wanted to run an average 7:30/mile and crush my 49:10.
The first mile started out very strong. I think I ran it in a 7:14, a little faster then goal pace, but I knew we had the tough up segments ahead, so I wanted to take advantage of the relatively flat rollers while I could. Mile 2 was where the hill really started getting steep, I just kept grinding it out and ran that in a 7:47, kind of what I expected, and on the 7:30 average for the first two miles. About a quarter into mile three is where the out and back segment of the turn is, and I pulled back into a nice 7:14 pace to roll with the downhill....at the turnaround it started getting hot, and I took some water to moisten my drying mouth and poured the rest over me to cool me down a bit....we hit the turn, but I didn't take a look at my watch so I'm not sure what my 5K time was, but I'm estimating it was in the 23ish time frame... about where i expected it to be at. Mile 4, was definitely my worst. Straining up that hill I had to make a crucial decision....blow out my legs or save some for the downhill finish. My legs just didn't have the gas to get up that steep hill.....so I managed to walk up art of it to the crest. once I crested I started running again, but my split really suffered with an 8:49. That's a full minute that I left on the course, but I knew if I wanted to succeed in getting a PR that turned out to be a crucial decision.
From there I started taking a mental note on the people that passed me. Me made the turn off the out and back, made it past the 4 mile mark, and the downhill started to kick in. At this point there was 2.2 miles to go, and I really wanted to shove it into over drive, and my legs absolutely RESPONDED! I really got back into race mode and started passing all the people who went by me during my recovery walk on the brutal uphill. One by one I picked them off and passed them like they were standing still. I would briefly look at my watch to see what kind of pace i was going, and at certain steep segments, I was down to a 6:20 pace. Mile 5 with the rollers clocked back in at a very respectable 7:14. With 1.2 miles to go, we came up on the final water station where a little hottie gave me a crucial cup of water to again wet my drying mouth and the cooling power to hammer it home. I just kept telling myself, it's just another 1 mile repeat....As I kept passing people, I got past my last competitor at the water station....From there there was a pretty significant gap between the next runner and myself, but I wasn't sure I could close it. Mile six came in around the 7:15ish range and I was still rolling strong with just under a quarter to go.....And so I decided to HAMMER IT HOME knowing that I had under 1:40 to go. And hammer it I did. Not sure what the file .2 split was, but the pace on Dr. Garmin said 5:59/mile, so it had to be significantly less then the 1:40 quarters I normally run in group workouts......As I came across the line, I stopped my watch with a NEW Cinco de Mayo Course PR of 47:29. Just shy of two minutes off my best time in 2005, but a full five minutes off my time from last year!!!!
In all, I'm incredibly happy with that result, even with the trouble spot where I had to make the tough choice to walk a portion. In the end, that minute that I left on the hill wouldn't have advanced my place any in the standings since I finished about a 1;30 from the guy in front of me.....and it may have not allowed me to CRUSH the downhill segment home. Tactically, it was totally the right thing to do!
That's not the last race of the season before we hit the Summer push to Labor Day (another course where I need to exorcise some daemons)....In less then two weeks I'm going to make my final attempt at a 5K PR by going under 21 for the first time ever. With all these hills I've been running as of late, I'm thinking that should be very doable!!! Look out Flat and fast 5K course..... HERE I COME!!!!
Until then, train hard and LIVESTRONG!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)