Well, I've obviously been really slack for the past 9 weeks. Posting wise, it's a big fat zero. Running wise was not much better. In the 67 days since I turned 44, I have run 43 days and missed 23 days. Heck, from April 8 to October 4, I went 180 days with only 11 days not run... So I had a bit of a post marathon burnout? Well sort of, but more accurately, from early November on, I had a terrible bout of ear, nose and throat discomfort. On the positive side, I actually have run more miles since October 1 this year than I did two years ago following my last marathon. of course, I had severe and dibilitating spasms that lasted for two weeks at the very end of the year... But I do feel better about my running, and am thinking about my 2007 results and where it leads me into 2008 goals.
My plans are more intrinsic than extrinsic. Translation: I have no idea what to shoot for...2007 was a pretty good year, with all time PR's for 1/2 marathon and total miles run for a calendar year. But I didn't race very many other times, so there was not much else to report on that front. The year focused on my TCM training. The marathon was a bit disappointing time-wise, but 80+ degree temps in Minnesota in October aren't usually the norm. I feel much more proud about running 3:15 in those conditions than my sub 3 from 2 years ago. C'est la vie. In all reality, I will be taking a far different approach this upcoming year. I will most likely log the same # or maybe a bit more miles (goal is 2400+), but I'll be running them at a slower overall pace. I am going to train by heart monitor in 2008, and wanting to maximize my potential abilities by putting my trust in a Hadd-type training system. If it works like I hope it will, then I will be shooting for Masters PR's later in the year on the order of:
5k - sub 18
8k - sub 29
10k- sub 37
15k- sub 57
10m- sub 61
13.1- sub 1:21
At age 44+, I realize I don't have a ton of time left to actually get faster, so I'm gonna try and do what it takes to be the best I can be... Then next year at this time, I can be focusing on what my training will be for Boston 2009... If I don't post anymore, have a great Christmas and Happy New Year!! I promise to post more consistently in 2008.
Peter
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Chip Off the Old Bolck
Well I've waited for a while to post this, but after yesterdy I couldn't wait anymore. I was a pretty good runner in H.S., with PR's of 4:26 for 1600m, 2:01 for 800m and 16:30 for 5K Cross Country. But I think my daughter might end up blowing me out of the water.This is her first year running cross country, and last night she ran her conference meet, and ended up in 4th place overall with a 4K time of 16:23. Her school ended up winning the team title too! She has basically gotten better as the season went on, and really only ran one bad meet where she got a sideache and still ran 16:40. I have deliberately stayed away from trying to coach her, b/c she really loves running and I didn't know how she'd react to her Dad telling her what or how to do something (She's at that age where her dad is really stupid). The only thing I told her before this race was that it was a really hilly course, and don't worry about your time, just think about the place (top 8 finishers were All-Conference). She responded by running a 9 second PR on a way harder course than before!Her coach told my wife last night after the meet that she really thinks the sky is the limit for her (she's a freshman who just turned 14 in June), and said if she gets more serious during practices (she basically goofs around and doesn't really push it during workouts), she could contend at state in the coming years. I do know that girls running ability can change as they develop, and that's another reason I've pretty much decided to stay on the sidelines and let what happens happen.She has one more meet this year for the team (district Sectional meet - very unlikely that she or the team would make it to state), and I'm toying around with the idea of having her run the Junior Olympic CC meet. The State JO meet is two weeks after their season ends, and if she finishes in the top 20 in the 13-14 AG, she would qualify to run in the National meet in Kansas on December 8. Last year only 22 girls ran in the state meet, so she'd almost for sure make the qualifying standard. We talked about it once, b/c she went to Suzy Favor-Hamilton's running camp and she knows Suzy ran the Foot Locker CC championships. She seemed intrigued, but again, I don't want to push it. None of her teammates are likely to run, b/c they'd be in different AGs running different distances and have other committments like basketball, Show Choir, etc. So she'd have to train by herself (running with dad is so not cool...)
As for me, today was the 3rd run, post-marathon. Ran 44 furlongs on my 44th birthday. Felt fine, with no leg soreness and only a little bit of left knee pain.
As for me, today was the 3rd run, post-marathon. Ran 44 furlongs on my 44th birthday. Felt fine, with no leg soreness and only a little bit of left knee pain.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Twin Cities Report
Considering where I have come from following my last marathon in 2005, I am so glad to be here. 22 months ago I had a series of debilitating spasms over the course of three weeks that were of unknown origin (after $1,000s of tests). 2006 was a disappointing year running wise, but I knew that I was an odd year runner, so I looked forward to what 2007 would bring. I trained diligently and set mileage personal bests throughout the year. In May I was confident enough to sign up to run the Twin Cities marathon. I missed the deadline for Chicago, and turned down the opportunity to run Milwaukee Lakefront for the 3rd time.
They say the 3rd time’s a charm, but that’s not entirely correct. After my two previous marathons in 2003 and 2005, I thought that I had the training figured out for my 2007 edition of marathon. What I found out is that the marathon is a totally different animal that doesn’t play by the same rules of normal (shorter) races. I thought that I had taken care of everything I could control. I trained hard, running 50, 60 and 70 mile weeks from May through September. I destroyed my previous half marathon PR three weeks ago running a 1:22 in beautiful, 40 degree weather (remember this sentence). I really felt I was ready to attack and surpass my 2:59 PR.
Then came the weather forecast for the upper Midwest for this past weekend. Record high temperatures abound, and predictions of carnage at the three Midwest marathons (Milwaukee, Chicago and Twin Cities) all being contested on the same day. What to do? Well, I paid my $90 entry fee, my brother lives in St. Paul, so I was definitely going to run. I kept hoping against hope that the temps wouldn’t be as bad as predicted, and my summer training would benefit and allow me to run a successful race.
So I got into my car and drove the 4+ hours to Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. Got to the expo and obtained my packet. My bro and I went to find some eats and when we got back I watched the weather and saw the weather reporting the record high of 87 on Saturday and the Sunday forecast of 72/82. By the way, that 72 degree low for Sunday was a record high for a low temperature for the date by 12 DEGREES! I went to bed planning on not wearing a shirt and figuring I still was in shape enough to give 2:59 a shot (5 minutes slower than my goal).
Sunday morning arrived, and Jon drove me downtown to the Metrodome, and I prepped for the start. Looked around for Butters and Cartman but never saw them. The warning to get to the start early did put my normal preparation a bit out of whack, so I started the race having to go pee, and did hit the porta potty around 4 miles. The race started and I really felt like I was running easy. My garmin beeped @ 1 mile and I saw 7:08. I was pleased that I had started nice and conservative, but my feelings changed 6 minutes later when the two mile mark came up and my watch showed 13:00!! I tried to relax, and saw HOF Minnesota Viking, State Supreme Court Justice and marathoner Alan Page playing the Tuba in mile three. Saw my friend Chad on his bike right afterwards, and tried to relax. Four miles @ 26:20 and I just figured that whatever would happen was going to happen. So relaxing meant don’t get bent out of shape on the time, and just enjoy the ride while it lasted. I saw Taylor (TeePee) and tried to enjoy myself. A steady stream of 6:50 miles followed, and I still felt pretty good. This would change.
I encountered a bunch of co-runners coming and going, including John who asked me if I was from Massachusetts, Mike from Wisconsin with whom I played a game of yo-yo for 10-12 miles (I’d pass him when he stopped at water stops, he’d pass me back about a mile down the road). Saw a set of male twin runners who told me they weren’t Cartman and Butters. The crowd support was awesome, and afterwards I figures that if I had the chance to sit out in the 75-80 degree weather and watch people run by and cheer for them, why not? But these people were not just fair weather cheerers; they were knowledgeable, supportive, and very helpful. I saw Taylor again around 7 miles, and couldn’t figure out why there was a person standing next to him at both places holding a Pillsbury Doughboy (more on that later). I hit the 10 mile mark in 67:50, and quickly figured that my 50 second cushion wouldn’t be enough to keep me under 3:00. The long straightaway bridge going over Lake Nokomis was enough to seal it, as my left knee started to have sharp pains (which has never happened to me before). The only question in my mind after reaching the half in 1:29:34 was how long will it take me to reach the finish?
I was able to keep a pace of 7:15-7:30 from miles 13 to 19, and made sure that at each water stop I grabbed 1-2 cups of water and poured it over my head and then drank plenty of water. They had 20 oz bottles of PowerAde that I tried to avoid since I hadn’t trained with it. At most stops they had ½ liter bottles of water, which were great to take and run with, even though they were warmer. At 15 miles I finally began to walk through the aid stations, but didn’t want to dawdle too much. The incline up to the Franklin Bridge @ mile 19 was the start of things to come. Into St. Paul I still felt ok, and the first uphill was ok as well. The 2nd hill @ mile 21 was where I really started to slow. I stopped at the top of the hill (a first for me), and gathered myself. Kept making deals with myself of trying to run the next mile, of not worrying about time, just about finishing. At one point I heard someone rattling off numbers and I thought I heard ‘168’. I figured that was my place, and I just wanted to keep in the top 200. But a funning thing was happening: unlike my 1st marathon when I really went backwards in the last 5 miles, people were not passing me at a steady clip. And for every person that passed me, I seemed to pass another runner. It was like everyone was either in the same survival mode I was, or experienced and even worse death march. How else to explain the last half taking almost 16 minutes more than the 1st, and me passing 20 more runners than passed me! The worst mile for me was somewhere about 22-23, when I stopped twice and really struggled. At the end of the mile, my split said 9:16. I figured that was the worst, but it felt like an 11 minute mile. So I willed myself to BQ – I really wanted 3:10:59, even though @ age 43 I only needed 3:20:59.
The last 4-5 miles along Summit Avenue in St. Paul is really pretty: A tree-lined boulevard with plenty of spectators who kept encouraging me “Let’s go blue, you’re looking great!” I was wearing blue shorts. Of course, there were more inclines that I really cared for, and all I wanted was this race to be over. Finally, it leveled off about 25 miles, and I passed the three hour mark with sore quads, chafed body, soaking wet shoes and shorts, and a realization that on this day I could not have done much better. The finish came into site, and the last ½ mile downhill was not a sprint for sure, but a somewhat pickup, as I looked at my watch and figured I could gut out a sub 3:15. I guess I was right, as the final tally showed 3:14:54. I crossed the line in 170th place out of 7200 finishers. Thank the lord my brother was there at the finish for me. I felt so good about this race that when by accident I cleared my watch and the splits, I shrugged and said ‘oh, well!’
Post Mortem: Kudos to Taylor (TeePee) for planning and organizing the FE dinner yesterday @ the Green Mill in St. Paul. I expected Cartman and Butters to be there (BTW, GREAT race Thomas, and you did well too, Justin), but the surprise was walking in and seeing Erik (Tidy B) who drove down from the Duluth area to spectate, as well as Eric (Eric1970) and Chris (Doughboy). The East Coasters had come in under the radar to run Personal Worsts as well, and we had a wonderful time commiserating. Of course my selfish self took one look at Chris and said “So, where are the baked goods?” Well he hemmed and hawed, but Erik pulled out some of the stash he had procured and shared. All I can say is any proclamations of how good Chris’s baked goods are severely understated: They are the BEST I have ever tasted. Dragging my non-running brother along with me was fine; b/c running was not the primary topic of conversation. FE’s are always the best part of any marathon, and this get together was exactly what I needed to deprogram.
I’ve had people tell me that my Personal Worst marathon was very well done considering all of the circumstances, especially given the conditions, which were not just unfavorable, but bad on a truly historical scale. Others shared with me the fact that I could have gone to Milwaukee or Chicago, and it might have been a far worse experience. In the results, I saw only one person who ran negative splits. If I’d run smarter I’m guessing I might’ve run 1:32/1:34 at the best. All I can say is, the marathon certainly can be a humbling experience, and even the best preparations are not always good enough. Will I run another one? Boston is out there, and 2009 is probably doable. Hey, it’s an odd year, so what else can happen that hasn’t already? Stay tuned….
They say the 3rd time’s a charm, but that’s not entirely correct. After my two previous marathons in 2003 and 2005, I thought that I had the training figured out for my 2007 edition of marathon. What I found out is that the marathon is a totally different animal that doesn’t play by the same rules of normal (shorter) races. I thought that I had taken care of everything I could control. I trained hard, running 50, 60 and 70 mile weeks from May through September. I destroyed my previous half marathon PR three weeks ago running a 1:22 in beautiful, 40 degree weather (remember this sentence). I really felt I was ready to attack and surpass my 2:59 PR.
Then came the weather forecast for the upper Midwest for this past weekend. Record high temperatures abound, and predictions of carnage at the three Midwest marathons (Milwaukee, Chicago and Twin Cities) all being contested on the same day. What to do? Well, I paid my $90 entry fee, my brother lives in St. Paul, so I was definitely going to run. I kept hoping against hope that the temps wouldn’t be as bad as predicted, and my summer training would benefit and allow me to run a successful race.
So I got into my car and drove the 4+ hours to Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. Got to the expo and obtained my packet. My bro and I went to find some eats and when we got back I watched the weather and saw the weather reporting the record high of 87 on Saturday and the Sunday forecast of 72/82. By the way, that 72 degree low for Sunday was a record high for a low temperature for the date by 12 DEGREES! I went to bed planning on not wearing a shirt and figuring I still was in shape enough to give 2:59 a shot (5 minutes slower than my goal).
Sunday morning arrived, and Jon drove me downtown to the Metrodome, and I prepped for the start. Looked around for Butters and Cartman but never saw them. The warning to get to the start early did put my normal preparation a bit out of whack, so I started the race having to go pee, and did hit the porta potty around 4 miles. The race started and I really felt like I was running easy. My garmin beeped @ 1 mile and I saw 7:08. I was pleased that I had started nice and conservative, but my feelings changed 6 minutes later when the two mile mark came up and my watch showed 13:00!! I tried to relax, and saw HOF Minnesota Viking, State Supreme Court Justice and marathoner Alan Page playing the Tuba in mile three. Saw my friend Chad on his bike right afterwards, and tried to relax. Four miles @ 26:20 and I just figured that whatever would happen was going to happen. So relaxing meant don’t get bent out of shape on the time, and just enjoy the ride while it lasted. I saw Taylor (TeePee) and tried to enjoy myself. A steady stream of 6:50 miles followed, and I still felt pretty good. This would change.
I encountered a bunch of co-runners coming and going, including John who asked me if I was from Massachusetts, Mike from Wisconsin with whom I played a game of yo-yo for 10-12 miles (I’d pass him when he stopped at water stops, he’d pass me back about a mile down the road). Saw a set of male twin runners who told me they weren’t Cartman and Butters. The crowd support was awesome, and afterwards I figures that if I had the chance to sit out in the 75-80 degree weather and watch people run by and cheer for them, why not? But these people were not just fair weather cheerers; they were knowledgeable, supportive, and very helpful. I saw Taylor again around 7 miles, and couldn’t figure out why there was a person standing next to him at both places holding a Pillsbury Doughboy (more on that later). I hit the 10 mile mark in 67:50, and quickly figured that my 50 second cushion wouldn’t be enough to keep me under 3:00. The long straightaway bridge going over Lake Nokomis was enough to seal it, as my left knee started to have sharp pains (which has never happened to me before). The only question in my mind after reaching the half in 1:29:34 was how long will it take me to reach the finish?
I was able to keep a pace of 7:15-7:30 from miles 13 to 19, and made sure that at each water stop I grabbed 1-2 cups of water and poured it over my head and then drank plenty of water. They had 20 oz bottles of PowerAde that I tried to avoid since I hadn’t trained with it. At most stops they had ½ liter bottles of water, which were great to take and run with, even though they were warmer. At 15 miles I finally began to walk through the aid stations, but didn’t want to dawdle too much. The incline up to the Franklin Bridge @ mile 19 was the start of things to come. Into St. Paul I still felt ok, and the first uphill was ok as well. The 2nd hill @ mile 21 was where I really started to slow. I stopped at the top of the hill (a first for me), and gathered myself. Kept making deals with myself of trying to run the next mile, of not worrying about time, just about finishing. At one point I heard someone rattling off numbers and I thought I heard ‘168’. I figured that was my place, and I just wanted to keep in the top 200. But a funning thing was happening: unlike my 1st marathon when I really went backwards in the last 5 miles, people were not passing me at a steady clip. And for every person that passed me, I seemed to pass another runner. It was like everyone was either in the same survival mode I was, or experienced and even worse death march. How else to explain the last half taking almost 16 minutes more than the 1st, and me passing 20 more runners than passed me! The worst mile for me was somewhere about 22-23, when I stopped twice and really struggled. At the end of the mile, my split said 9:16. I figured that was the worst, but it felt like an 11 minute mile. So I willed myself to BQ – I really wanted 3:10:59, even though @ age 43 I only needed 3:20:59.
The last 4-5 miles along Summit Avenue in St. Paul is really pretty: A tree-lined boulevard with plenty of spectators who kept encouraging me “Let’s go blue, you’re looking great!” I was wearing blue shorts. Of course, there were more inclines that I really cared for, and all I wanted was this race to be over. Finally, it leveled off about 25 miles, and I passed the three hour mark with sore quads, chafed body, soaking wet shoes and shorts, and a realization that on this day I could not have done much better. The finish came into site, and the last ½ mile downhill was not a sprint for sure, but a somewhat pickup, as I looked at my watch and figured I could gut out a sub 3:15. I guess I was right, as the final tally showed 3:14:54. I crossed the line in 170th place out of 7200 finishers. Thank the lord my brother was there at the finish for me. I felt so good about this race that when by accident I cleared my watch and the splits, I shrugged and said ‘oh, well!’
Post Mortem: Kudos to Taylor (TeePee) for planning and organizing the FE dinner yesterday @ the Green Mill in St. Paul. I expected Cartman and Butters to be there (BTW, GREAT race Thomas, and you did well too, Justin), but the surprise was walking in and seeing Erik (Tidy B) who drove down from the Duluth area to spectate, as well as Eric (Eric1970) and Chris (Doughboy). The East Coasters had come in under the radar to run Personal Worsts as well, and we had a wonderful time commiserating. Of course my selfish self took one look at Chris and said “So, where are the baked goods?” Well he hemmed and hawed, but Erik pulled out some of the stash he had procured and shared. All I can say is any proclamations of how good Chris’s baked goods are severely understated: They are the BEST I have ever tasted. Dragging my non-running brother along with me was fine; b/c running was not the primary topic of conversation. FE’s are always the best part of any marathon, and this get together was exactly what I needed to deprogram.
I’ve had people tell me that my Personal Worst marathon was very well done considering all of the circumstances, especially given the conditions, which were not just unfavorable, but bad on a truly historical scale. Others shared with me the fact that I could have gone to Milwaukee or Chicago, and it might have been a far worse experience. In the results, I saw only one person who ran negative splits. If I’d run smarter I’m guessing I might’ve run 1:32/1:34 at the best. All I can say is, the marathon certainly can be a humbling experience, and even the best preparations are not always good enough. Will I run another one? Boston is out there, and 2009 is probably doable. Hey, it’s an odd year, so what else can happen that hasn’t already? Stay tuned….
Friday, September 21, 2007
Where has the time gone?
Again I've slacked off in my blogging, but not so in my running. Nearing the end of the best stretch of training in my adult life, I feel ready to go for October 7. Two weeks ago, I completed a 71 mile week. Last week, I topped out @ 64 miles, with a half marathon race on Saturday. The tired legs excuse didn't wash, as I ran 1:21:21 for 3rd place. Some people said they thought the course was short, and I didn't wear a watch. But the effort was there, and I never felt like I was overextending myself. Exactly the way I wanted to complete this race - fast but not so much that it killed me. If I run nothing faster than 7:00 pace the rest of the way, I'll still be ready to go.
However, later in the week and now I'm feeling a bit tired, with sore legs and ready to taper. My program doesn't call for a long taper (only 10 days), so I have another 4-5 dyas of active training before the taper begins. One more long run on Sunday and a marathon pace workout next Tues or Wed and then I can relax...
Now the only real mystery left out there is what sort of pace should I shoot for? My pace runs have been 6:35-6:45 range, and my half race suggests that I should be able to handle 6:40s with no problem whatsoever. My rough goal is sub 2:55, and the hills in the last 5 miles indicate I need to be under 2:13 for 20 miles so I have a bit of a cushion for the last 10k. So 6:35-6:40 seems to be the target. The TCM course should pose no real problem with that type of pace, and I should have plenty of people to run with (2:55 is usually around 100th place).
I've decided not to run the Cross Country race next Saturday. Too close to the marathon, I don't want to worry about any injury I might suffer running over rough terrain. If it was a road race, then no problem. Besides, I can focus on watching and cheering for my daughter, who continues to improve and run really solid times for tough courses. Her 17:24 for 4k on the hardest course I've ever seen is right at 7:00 pace, and I think she could drop another minute before the end of the season. Her places have been really good too. 16th out of 80, 16th out of 42, 14th out of 70, and 6th out of 55 thus far, and 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, and 2nd for her team in the four races. She's got an excellent chance of getting in the top 10 this weekend in the Frosh/Soph race here in Janesville. This meet is on the same course where I ran my H.S. Cross PR of 15:58 for 3 miles. Can't wait!
However, later in the week and now I'm feeling a bit tired, with sore legs and ready to taper. My program doesn't call for a long taper (only 10 days), so I have another 4-5 dyas of active training before the taper begins. One more long run on Sunday and a marathon pace workout next Tues or Wed and then I can relax...
Now the only real mystery left out there is what sort of pace should I shoot for? My pace runs have been 6:35-6:45 range, and my half race suggests that I should be able to handle 6:40s with no problem whatsoever. My rough goal is sub 2:55, and the hills in the last 5 miles indicate I need to be under 2:13 for 20 miles so I have a bit of a cushion for the last 10k. So 6:35-6:40 seems to be the target. The TCM course should pose no real problem with that type of pace, and I should have plenty of people to run with (2:55 is usually around 100th place).
I've decided not to run the Cross Country race next Saturday. Too close to the marathon, I don't want to worry about any injury I might suffer running over rough terrain. If it was a road race, then no problem. Besides, I can focus on watching and cheering for my daughter, who continues to improve and run really solid times for tough courses. Her 17:24 for 4k on the hardest course I've ever seen is right at 7:00 pace, and I think she could drop another minute before the end of the season. Her places have been really good too. 16th out of 80, 16th out of 42, 14th out of 70, and 6th out of 55 thus far, and 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, and 2nd for her team in the four races. She's got an excellent chance of getting in the top 10 this weekend in the Frosh/Soph race here in Janesville. This meet is on the same course where I ran my H.S. Cross PR of 15:58 for 3 miles. Can't wait!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Where did the time go...
Well, it's been 2 weeks since I've posted, and even though I've meant to write more often, it just kept being put aside. At least my running hasn't been put aside, and the last 15 days have been great! When I've needed to run long, I've done it (11, 18, 12, 11, 13, and 10 milers in the books). Hard workouts have been accomplished (2 MP workouts, a hard 10 miler, a 5K Cross Country race in 18:40, and this morning's 3x2 mile workout in 13:36, 12:24 and 12:08), and I've also been real good @ easy recovery runs. 177 miles in the last 19 days tells me I'm able to handle the high (for me) volume. So where am I at?
In the 3 remaining weeks of training I have left before my taper, I'd like to run a couple of 16 mile workouts, and also do a half marathon race. The half is 22 days before Twin Cities, and I'm planning to run hard but not all-out. My PR is so soft that if I run my planned MP for the 1/2, I'll best my existing PR by over a minute. Still keeping a watchful eye on my body, making sure the minor aches and pains don't turn major.
As for the non-personal stuff, my daughter has had two cross country races, and she continues to do well. She placed 16th out of 80 runners in her 1st race, run in 92 degree temps, and helped her school win the team title @ the invitational. This past Saturday she had another invitational, and the team got 3rd out of 7 teams, and she ran 10 seconds faster and got 16th out of 49 runners. She's currently the 2nd scoring runner on her team, and I'm getting such a kick out of watching her run. She also started high school classes yesterday. I feel so old!
My son's soccer team is also doing pretty well. They're currently undefeated, and beat their main conference rival last night 4-2. Mike is the first player off the bench, and usually gets 30-50 minutes of play time a game (games last 80 minutes). They have a home tournament this weekend, so they'll play 3-4 games. No conflicts w/ cross country, thankfully.
In the 3 remaining weeks of training I have left before my taper, I'd like to run a couple of 16 mile workouts, and also do a half marathon race. The half is 22 days before Twin Cities, and I'm planning to run hard but not all-out. My PR is so soft that if I run my planned MP for the 1/2, I'll best my existing PR by over a minute. Still keeping a watchful eye on my body, making sure the minor aches and pains don't turn major.
As for the non-personal stuff, my daughter has had two cross country races, and she continues to do well. She placed 16th out of 80 runners in her 1st race, run in 92 degree temps, and helped her school win the team title @ the invitational. This past Saturday she had another invitational, and the team got 3rd out of 7 teams, and she ran 10 seconds faster and got 16th out of 49 runners. She's currently the 2nd scoring runner on her team, and I'm getting such a kick out of watching her run. She also started high school classes yesterday. I feel so old!
My son's soccer team is also doing pretty well. They're currently undefeated, and beat their main conference rival last night 4-2. Mike is the first player off the bench, and usually gets 30-50 minutes of play time a game (games last 80 minutes). They have a home tournament this weekend, so they'll play 3-4 games. No conflicts w/ cross country, thankfully.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The Need For Speed
If there's one thing I've skimped on this training cycle, it's on my speed workouts. (OK, so I haven't done that well with my long runs either...) The Marathon pace runs have come along nicely, but the speed and strength workouts have been a struggle. Why? Well for the 1st half of the summer, the running club inhibited me from getting into a comfort zone, due to the lack of recovery after a double on Monday and Thursday. Still, I thought that since my speed is a strength of mine, I wouldn't worry about it. 2nd, the unbearable humidity and heat this summer have sapped my energy quite a bit more than I'd care to admit. So running hard on a morning when it's 70+ degrees and darn near the same dew point gets a bit ridiculous. So the past couple of days have seen a nice stretch for me in terms of consistency and hard work. On Wednesday I did a nice strong marathon pace workout of 7.2 miles @ 6:39 pace. This was b/c Tuesday was morning thunderstorms. Then after 8 easy miles each on Thurs and Fri, I managed an excellent 10 mile run on Saturday, w/ 8 miles @ 6:15 pace. That's what I'll call my lactate threshold pace, since I know I could probably keep that pace up for another ten minutes (I ran for 50 minutes @ that pace). Then after more rain (!) I ran 13 miles in the rain on Sunday, and anothe ho hum 8 miler on Monday. This morning called for 3x2 miles @ 6:20 pace, and I haven't done one of these workouts since May, so I was a bit apprehensive. The first one was a bit slow (12:58), and my 1st mile of the 2nd repeat (I do this on a measured road course in my neighborhood) was still 6:30 pace. The next three miles (minus the 1/2 mile jog recovery) made up for that... 6:09, 6:14 and 6:07. I still felt smooth, and was able to easily run a two mile recovery cool down afterwards @ 8:00 pace.
So what does this mean? I guess it means that I can go after the upcoming half marathon on 9/15 @ about a 6:20 pace and see for how long I can hold on. That pace would give me a 1:23 finish time, or a 5:30 PR. I'm not too worried about recovery, since it's 22 days before the marathon. So we'll just keep going, for 46 more days (but who's counting?)
So what does this mean? I guess it means that I can go after the upcoming half marathon on 9/15 @ about a 6:20 pace and see for how long I can hold on. That pace would give me a 1:23 finish time, or a 5:30 PR. I'm not too worried about recovery, since it's 22 days before the marathon. So we'll just keep going, for 46 more days (but who's counting?)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Transition time
Today is a time of transition on many fronts. I no longer am coordinating the summer running club, as the Cross Country team started their season today. So no more double runs for me, and likely no more afternoon running (YEAH!). So with 8 weeks left I can now focus on the remainder of my training program, and key in on the substance training. Mileage is fine, w/ an average of 58 miles for the past 11 weeks. Of course, in that time, I only took six days off. I need to make sure that I am balancing my recovery and rest days w/ my substance runs, b/c I want to stay and be healthy. Today was a nice and easy 5.4 miles, the same as Friday. These workouts were sandwiched around some more intense runs on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I ran 11+ miles, with the first 4 @ about 7:10 pace, and then with no rest commenced a 5k hard effort in 19:25, followed by a 4+ mile slower paced run back home. Sunday was a solid 10 miles, and the back to back 10+ milers felt pretty good, but I am tired. But it is a good kind of tired.
So now my schedule for the next few weeks will look like this...
Sun: Either 8-10 easy or 12-16 long, depending on race schedule
Mon: 5-7 recovery easy
Tue: 3x2 mile @ 6:20 pace, w/ 1/2 mile jog recovery
Wed: off or very easy recovery run
Thu: Marathon pace run of 6-10 miles
Fri: 7-9 miles easy
Sat: 12-16 mile long run or race+ w/u and c/d
Still shooting for 60 miles per week, and unless I run the Sunday and Saturday long runs in the same week, no plans to up the average miles significantly. Just want to focus on the substance workouts and long runs. I still want to run the 1/2 marathon on Sept 15, and will shoot for about 6:25-6:30 pace.
So now my schedule for the next few weeks will look like this...
Sun: Either 8-10 easy or 12-16 long, depending on race schedule
Mon: 5-7 recovery easy
Tue: 3x2 mile @ 6:20 pace, w/ 1/2 mile jog recovery
Wed: off or very easy recovery run
Thu: Marathon pace run of 6-10 miles
Fri: 7-9 miles easy
Sat: 12-16 mile long run or race+ w/u and c/d
Still shooting for 60 miles per week, and unless I run the Sunday and Saturday long runs in the same week, no plans to up the average miles significantly. Just want to focus on the substance workouts and long runs. I still want to run the 1/2 marathon on Sept 15, and will shoot for about 6:25-6:30 pace.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Better than before
Yes, I'm thinking and hoping that the pain I experienced last week is a thing of the past. I still experience some pain in my left hip but usually only when I make sudden movements when sitting or lying down. Everything else is fine.
The weather is still oppressive, with really high humidity levels. Even morning runs are a wet sweaty mess, with temps in the 70's and dewpoints virtually the same. Yesterday's marathon pace run caused my MP3 to short out b/c it got so wet w/ sweat. Next time I will leave it at home. Can't wait for cooler temps next month. I actually took Tuesday off, the 1st off day I've had in a month. The thunder, lightning and tornado warnings in my county made that decision quite easy. I responded by doubling up yesterday and will run twice today as well. Even with the off day I should get 60-65 miles in this week.
The running club season is winding down, and we finish up on Saturday with a 5K fun run. I will most likely run the course beforehand, b/c we don't have enough adults to give out splits and finish times. I have to remind myself that I'm not competing against these young men and women, but I'm always curious how I stack up against them time-wise. I joke that I still have a year of high school eligibility left (didn't run my senior year when I was an exchange student), but the state federation most likely frowns upon 43 year olds competing...
But the kids did well this summer. Since they graduated only one boy from last year's varsity team (and no girls), I think they have a real shot at winning their conference and maybe even advancing to state. Both teams have 10-12 runners that can challenge for varsity spots, so that ought to keep them on their toes. If they have a successful season, I'd like to think that I played a small part in helping them get ready for it this summer. But they're the ones that have put in the miles, and need to continue to train and run the races, so all the credit goes to them as individuals and as a team. Can't wait to watch them run. Now, if I could light a fire under my daughter... but I'm just going to sit back and watch (and cheer). If my wife thinks I can be loud and obnoxious @ soccer games, wait til' she sees me @ Cross Country meets. Good thing there's not a referee!
The weather is still oppressive, with really high humidity levels. Even morning runs are a wet sweaty mess, with temps in the 70's and dewpoints virtually the same. Yesterday's marathon pace run caused my MP3 to short out b/c it got so wet w/ sweat. Next time I will leave it at home. Can't wait for cooler temps next month. I actually took Tuesday off, the 1st off day I've had in a month. The thunder, lightning and tornado warnings in my county made that decision quite easy. I responded by doubling up yesterday and will run twice today as well. Even with the off day I should get 60-65 miles in this week.
The running club season is winding down, and we finish up on Saturday with a 5K fun run. I will most likely run the course beforehand, b/c we don't have enough adults to give out splits and finish times. I have to remind myself that I'm not competing against these young men and women, but I'm always curious how I stack up against them time-wise. I joke that I still have a year of high school eligibility left (didn't run my senior year when I was an exchange student), but the state federation most likely frowns upon 43 year olds competing...
But the kids did well this summer. Since they graduated only one boy from last year's varsity team (and no girls), I think they have a real shot at winning their conference and maybe even advancing to state. Both teams have 10-12 runners that can challenge for varsity spots, so that ought to keep them on their toes. If they have a successful season, I'd like to think that I played a small part in helping them get ready for it this summer. But they're the ones that have put in the miles, and need to continue to train and run the races, so all the credit goes to them as individuals and as a team. Can't wait to watch them run. Now, if I could light a fire under my daughter... but I'm just going to sit back and watch (and cheer). If my wife thinks I can be loud and obnoxious @ soccer games, wait til' she sees me @ Cross Country meets. Good thing there's not a referee!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Dog Days?
Well August is here, and I feel like I've hit a wall in my training. Reached 257 miles for the month of July, but I feel sore and beat up. Sore hip, sore Achilles, legs feel dead, and my back is sore too. Am I training for soccer or a marathon? Add to all that is the hot and muggy weather, which saps my strength quite easily. So how do I adjust?
By taking it really easy this week. I may still get 50-55 miles in, but they're going to be slow. I dropped the double workout for today, b/c I want to feel better at the end of the week, not worse. Miles are still my friend - they're not the enemy. So running 8-9 minute pace is fine, don't let anyone tell me any differently.
Ok, I'm really rambling here. Just need to get out of the funk and on with the training. I'm 1/2 way there, so it's downhill from here, right? Oh that sounds soooo cliched, is that a real word?
I'll write more when I feel better....
By taking it really easy this week. I may still get 50-55 miles in, but they're going to be slow. I dropped the double workout for today, b/c I want to feel better at the end of the week, not worse. Miles are still my friend - they're not the enemy. So running 8-9 minute pace is fine, don't let anyone tell me any differently.
Ok, I'm really rambling here. Just need to get out of the funk and on with the training. I'm 1/2 way there, so it's downhill from here, right? Oh that sounds soooo cliched, is that a real word?
I'll write more when I feel better....
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Don't be stupid
That's the feeling I'm currently having, after nearly breaking my elbow this morning. Bounding up the stairs from the basement, I slammed my right elbow up into the basement ceiling, and had massive pain and a very swollen knot right above the elbow. Ibuprofen and ice have helped, so I don't believe it's any worse than a cuntusion. The moral of the story is, one stupid accident can screw up all I've worked for in the past 15 weeks.
BTW, in the past 15 weeks, I've averaged 54 miles per week. The last 7 weeks I've managed to bump that up to 58/week. Still trying to get 60/week average, which considering I've yet to run more than 13 miles in a day yet this year is pretty amazing. So my consistency has been the key. Only 7 days off in the last 14 weeks. Nine doubles in the last 6 weeks. But running club is due to end in 2 weeks time, and I've got to chart out a weekend schedule that will get me to the line on October 7 fit and ready. Last week I had a nice series of runs Thurday thru Sun, w/ 8.5, 9.6, 10.5 and 9 miles. I like the concept of 30 miles in 3 runs on a 3 day weekend, so that's what I'm going to strive for here on out. If I get 16 in on a Saturday, I need to surround it w/ 14 miles on the other 2 days. If I do 10,10 and 10, that'd be good too. The plan would be to do something like this:
July 27-29 : 8, 15, 7
Aug. 3 - 5 : 9, 10, 11
Aug 10-12 : 9, 10, 12 (5K race Sat)
Aug 17-19 : 8, 15, 8
Aug 24-26 : 8, 17, 8
8/31 - 9/2 : 9, 10, 12 (5K race Sat)
Sept. 7 - 9 : 8, 17, 8
Sep 14-16 : 7, 16, 7 (1/2 marathon Sat)
Sep 21-23 : 9, 11, 10
Sep 28-30: 7, 9, 6 (5K race Sat)
Oct. 5 - 7 : 5, 3, 27
I'm racing more than I have in the past, but I've not done as much speedwork this training cycle, so I want to stay sharp. Plus, the 5Ks are all low key (2 are cross country races), and the 1/2 Marathon won't be done all out. Just have to relax and not do anything too stupid.
BTW, in the past 15 weeks, I've averaged 54 miles per week. The last 7 weeks I've managed to bump that up to 58/week. Still trying to get 60/week average, which considering I've yet to run more than 13 miles in a day yet this year is pretty amazing. So my consistency has been the key. Only 7 days off in the last 14 weeks. Nine doubles in the last 6 weeks. But running club is due to end in 2 weeks time, and I've got to chart out a weekend schedule that will get me to the line on October 7 fit and ready. Last week I had a nice series of runs Thurday thru Sun, w/ 8.5, 9.6, 10.5 and 9 miles. I like the concept of 30 miles in 3 runs on a 3 day weekend, so that's what I'm going to strive for here on out. If I get 16 in on a Saturday, I need to surround it w/ 14 miles on the other 2 days. If I do 10,10 and 10, that'd be good too. The plan would be to do something like this:
July 27-29 : 8, 15, 7
Aug. 3 - 5 : 9, 10, 11
Aug 10-12 : 9, 10, 12 (5K race Sat)
Aug 17-19 : 8, 15, 8
Aug 24-26 : 8, 17, 8
8/31 - 9/2 : 9, 10, 12 (5K race Sat)
Sept. 7 - 9 : 8, 17, 8
Sep 14-16 : 7, 16, 7 (1/2 marathon Sat)
Sep 21-23 : 9, 11, 10
Sep 28-30: 7, 9, 6 (5K race Sat)
Oct. 5 - 7 : 5, 3, 27
I'm racing more than I have in the past, but I've not done as much speedwork this training cycle, so I want to stay sharp. Plus, the 5Ks are all low key (2 are cross country races), and the 1/2 Marathon won't be done all out. Just have to relax and not do anything too stupid.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Where have I been?
OK, so I haven't posted for a while. Part of that is I've been busy working. Another reason is that I've been busy running (326 miles in the last 40 days). But most likely, the fact that I got a new laptop @ work where I post my blogs and for some reason the url was lost off of my favorites and I had to retrieve it through my google account. Anyway, enough about that.
So apparantly I recovered fine from my neck/upper back strain, and my running has gone very well since then. The past 5 weeks have seen 56, 59, 59, 56 and 49 mile weeks, and I'm @ 29 miles in 3 days this week. I've managed to incorporate the summer running club schedule of M, W and R afternoon runs into my normal morning runs with no real hiccups. For 3 weeks I ran once on Sun, Tues, Wed (pm), Fri and Sat, and twice on Mon and Thurs. On July 4th I managed a 37:53 for 10k that effort and execution wise, I'd rate a 7.5 out of 10, with the only real disappointment being a slowdown in miles 5 and 6. Still, I finished 11th overall and 1st in the always tough 40-44 AG, making it 3 consecutive AG wins for this race (+ 2 AG wins for the mile as well).
My running in relation to the training for Twin Cities seems to be going just fine as well. I sometimes wonder if I'm getting enough long runs in, but I still have 11+ weeks to go, so I feel pretty good about where I'm at. I should hit 60+ miles this week, and I'd like to average 60 for the 16 weeks proir to taper (currently @ 56/week for 6 weeks). Two years ago when I trained and ran 2:59, I averaged 54 mpw. But I am 2 years older, and the plan is to get this 43 year old to the start line healthy and in shape to run (I hope) a PR, in that order.
So I will try and post more regularly, and we'll see how it goes.
So apparantly I recovered fine from my neck/upper back strain, and my running has gone very well since then. The past 5 weeks have seen 56, 59, 59, 56 and 49 mile weeks, and I'm @ 29 miles in 3 days this week. I've managed to incorporate the summer running club schedule of M, W and R afternoon runs into my normal morning runs with no real hiccups. For 3 weeks I ran once on Sun, Tues, Wed (pm), Fri and Sat, and twice on Mon and Thurs. On July 4th I managed a 37:53 for 10k that effort and execution wise, I'd rate a 7.5 out of 10, with the only real disappointment being a slowdown in miles 5 and 6. Still, I finished 11th overall and 1st in the always tough 40-44 AG, making it 3 consecutive AG wins for this race (+ 2 AG wins for the mile as well).
My running in relation to the training for Twin Cities seems to be going just fine as well. I sometimes wonder if I'm getting enough long runs in, but I still have 11+ weeks to go, so I feel pretty good about where I'm at. I should hit 60+ miles this week, and I'd like to average 60 for the 16 weeks proir to taper (currently @ 56/week for 6 weeks). Two years ago when I trained and ran 2:59, I averaged 54 mpw. But I am 2 years older, and the plan is to get this 43 year old to the start line healthy and in shape to run (I hope) a PR, in that order.
So I will try and post more regularly, and we'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Part time blogger...
Since I haven't posted anything for the past 19 days, it's catching up time. My mileage has been pretty steady, and I finished off May w/ 235 miles on 28 runs. June has started off well with 41 miles in 5 runs so far. The only negative is that I strained something in my upper back/right neck the past sunday that's just really painful. Running doesn't really make it any worse, but I'm not enjoying it or running with reckless abandon. I ran very easy on Sunday and Tuesday, and this morning let loose so to speak w/ a hard effort of 5.8 miles @ marathon pace (6:32). Ok, maybe that's fast for MP, but it's too slow for LT or tempo pace, so I'm sticking to it.
Weather has been really weird, with lots of rain, but generally cooler weather but high humidity. Tomorrow we're supposed to get hurricane force winds (70-90 mph) w/ a storm that will change temps from 90 to 60 after it comes through in the afternoon. This is Wisconsin where I'm living, right? Sounds like a good day to run in the morning, I believe.
The neck strain comes at a poor time, as this week is the 1st week of my 18 week training plan for the Twin Cities Marathon. The good news is that for the past seven weeks I've averaged 52 mpw, so if I drop back a bit until this thing subsides, I'll be just fine. I've tweaked my plan a bit, owing to the fact that for 8 weeks I'm leading the afternoon/evening session of the community running club. So for those 8 weeks, my schedule will look something like this (2 week grouping)
S - 10 am
M- 5-6 am, 5-6 pm
T- 8-10 (speed workout)
W- 6 pm
R- 6 am, 6 pm
F- 7-8 am
S- 12-15 am............65-70 for the week
S- 7-8 am
M- 6 pm
T- 10-11 am (strength)
W- 6 pm
R- 7 am, 6 pm
F- 8 am
S- 10-12 am...........60-65 for the week
I need to figure out how to work my normally scheduled Thursday marathon pace runs in. I think I'll most likely forego them in favor of the higher mileage I'll get from the doubles, and run a significant portion of my Saturday or Sunday runs @ MP. Quality is not something that I'm too worried about. Plus, I'll have 6 weeks after running club has finished to work in the MP runs. Time to start making hay...
Weather has been really weird, with lots of rain, but generally cooler weather but high humidity. Tomorrow we're supposed to get hurricane force winds (70-90 mph) w/ a storm that will change temps from 90 to 60 after it comes through in the afternoon. This is Wisconsin where I'm living, right? Sounds like a good day to run in the morning, I believe.
The neck strain comes at a poor time, as this week is the 1st week of my 18 week training plan for the Twin Cities Marathon. The good news is that for the past seven weeks I've averaged 52 mpw, so if I drop back a bit until this thing subsides, I'll be just fine. I've tweaked my plan a bit, owing to the fact that for 8 weeks I'm leading the afternoon/evening session of the community running club. So for those 8 weeks, my schedule will look something like this (2 week grouping)
S - 10 am
M- 5-6 am, 5-6 pm
T- 8-10 (speed workout)
W- 6 pm
R- 6 am, 6 pm
F- 7-8 am
S- 12-15 am............65-70 for the week
S- 7-8 am
M- 6 pm
T- 10-11 am (strength)
W- 6 pm
R- 7 am, 6 pm
F- 8 am
S- 10-12 am...........60-65 for the week
I need to figure out how to work my normally scheduled Thursday marathon pace runs in. I think I'll most likely forego them in favor of the higher mileage I'll get from the doubles, and run a significant portion of my Saturday or Sunday runs @ MP. Quality is not something that I'm too worried about. Plus, I'll have 6 weeks after running club has finished to work in the MP runs. Time to start making hay...
Friday, May 18, 2007
Consistency is the key
OK, I continue to be happy with my running progress, with the past 7 days workouts are as follows:
5/12 - 9
5/13 - 5
5/14 - 8.7
5/15 - off
5/16 - 8.3
5/17 - 7.85
5/18 - 8.2
All the miles were run between 7:00 and 8:00 pace. I've now run 215 miles in the last 30 days, 28 of them days I ran. It's time to really start prepping for June 3, when the 18 week program rolls out. I'm a little disappointed not to be running Syttende Mai tomorrow, but I wasn't ready for 20 miles yet. So I'll try and run 12 tomorrow, and see how I feel.
It was great fun watching my daugher run two meets this week. She ran the 1600 and 800 meters at both meets, and her performances were outstanding. On Monday, with the temperatures in the mid-80s and 20-30 mph winds, she ran 6:13 for the 1600 and 2:49 for the 800. Then on Tursday she followed that up w/ a 5:59 and 2:45, both PR's, at the conference meet. She got 3rd and 4th, and ran really good races. She did let one girl pass her on the inside at the end of the 1600, but she's only 13, so she still is on a steep learning curve. Yep, I'm proud!
5/12 - 9
5/13 - 5
5/14 - 8.7
5/15 - off
5/16 - 8.3
5/17 - 7.85
5/18 - 8.2
All the miles were run between 7:00 and 8:00 pace. I've now run 215 miles in the last 30 days, 28 of them days I ran. It's time to really start prepping for June 3, when the 18 week program rolls out. I'm a little disappointed not to be running Syttende Mai tomorrow, but I wasn't ready for 20 miles yet. So I'll try and run 12 tomorrow, and see how I feel.
It was great fun watching my daugher run two meets this week. She ran the 1600 and 800 meters at both meets, and her performances were outstanding. On Monday, with the temperatures in the mid-80s and 20-30 mph winds, she ran 6:13 for the 1600 and 2:49 for the 800. Then on Tursday she followed that up w/ a 5:59 and 2:45, both PR's, at the conference meet. She got 3rd and 4th, and ran really good races. She did let one girl pass her on the inside at the end of the 1600, but she's only 13, so she still is on a steep learning curve. Yep, I'm proud!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Starting to come together...
OK, I'm very happy with the past 7 days, where the workouts are as follows:
5/5 - 10.7
5/6 - 3.5
5/7 - 7.1
5/8 - 9.4
5/9 - 7.8
5/10 - 6
5/11 - 10.4
55 miles, and with the exception of Sunday, met or exceeded all of my goals going in. On Sunday, I decided to wear a new pair of trainers (Adidas Supernova Classics), and they made my feet feel pain I've rarely experienced. Absolute torture! Well maybe not that bad, but it certainly wasn't good. So I will try and work them into warm-ups, cooldowns or just walking in them to try and break them in a bit. Not giving up on them just yet. Wednesday's run was the only fast one of the past week, with a nice 19:30 ish 5k near the end. Still no real speed workouts yet, just some MP type efforts, but I really like my fitness level, and feel very confident that I'll be able to handle the greater volume as well as a bit more intensity that this summer's plan will entail.
Yes, this summer. I had my meeting w/ the H.S. Cross Country Coach and her assistant yesterday, and will be working with the kids through their volunteer summer running program. I'll help with the evening runs (M,T & R @ 6:00 pm), and also lead a Saturday trail run. They don't want the kids running any more than 8 miles per day. That's fine, and since the trail runs would start 2.5 miles from my house, there's no way I shouldn't be able to run the extra 5 there-back. So I guess I'll be doing some doubles this summer, no biggie. I'm looking forward to running with the kids and helping the team out. They also have 5k races for parents @ two of the meets this fall, on Sept 1 and the 29th. Again, that should fit into my schedule no problem.
Other good news - the Janesville 1/2 marathon has been moved back this year to it's traditional date of mid-September, 22 days before TCM, so running it should provide no problems for me. As for the TCM, I signed up for it last Sunday, and just need to get my time from Lakefront 2005 faxed to the TCM folks so I can get a preferred starting spot.
5/5 - 10.7
5/6 - 3.5
5/7 - 7.1
5/8 - 9.4
5/9 - 7.8
5/10 - 6
5/11 - 10.4
55 miles, and with the exception of Sunday, met or exceeded all of my goals going in. On Sunday, I decided to wear a new pair of trainers (Adidas Supernova Classics), and they made my feet feel pain I've rarely experienced. Absolute torture! Well maybe not that bad, but it certainly wasn't good. So I will try and work them into warm-ups, cooldowns or just walking in them to try and break them in a bit. Not giving up on them just yet. Wednesday's run was the only fast one of the past week, with a nice 19:30 ish 5k near the end. Still no real speed workouts yet, just some MP type efforts, but I really like my fitness level, and feel very confident that I'll be able to handle the greater volume as well as a bit more intensity that this summer's plan will entail.
Yes, this summer. I had my meeting w/ the H.S. Cross Country Coach and her assistant yesterday, and will be working with the kids through their volunteer summer running program. I'll help with the evening runs (M,T & R @ 6:00 pm), and also lead a Saturday trail run. They don't want the kids running any more than 8 miles per day. That's fine, and since the trail runs would start 2.5 miles from my house, there's no way I shouldn't be able to run the extra 5 there-back. So I guess I'll be doing some doubles this summer, no biggie. I'm looking forward to running with the kids and helping the team out. They also have 5k races for parents @ two of the meets this fall, on Sept 1 and the 29th. Again, that should fit into my schedule no problem.
Other good news - the Janesville 1/2 marathon has been moved back this year to it's traditional date of mid-September, 22 days before TCM, so running it should provide no problems for me. As for the TCM, I signed up for it last Sunday, and just need to get my time from Lakefront 2005 faxed to the TCM folks so I can get a preferred starting spot.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Been a while (again)
Ok, I've gone two weeks without writing anything, which isn't good. The good news is, in the last 14 days, I've run 106.5 miles, easily my best two week total of the past 18 months. Of course, I haven't taken an off day in that time either, but the consistency and my not feeling the need to take a day off are all good things, I'm sure.
Here's the summary...
4/20 - 5.75 fast
4/21 - 10 steady
4/22 - 5.2 easy
4/23 - 8.2
4/24 - 8.9 w/ last 5 in 32:21
4/25 - 6.4 quick afternoon run
4/26 - 6.8 steady
4/27 - 6.6 steady
4/28 - 8.2 w/ a 40:00 10k in the middle
4/29 - 6.7 easy
4/30 - 7.8 easy
5/1 - 10.8 steady
5/2 - 6.8 easy
5/3 - 8.4 miles w/ a 41:00 10k within
So I am running some faster workouts, but still nothing planned or organized. I had a chance to run Crazylegs, but Mike's soccer game in Platteville caused my to bypass it. I may not run a race until July 4 now, but I do feel like I'm right where I need to be. Twin Cities registration opens up next week, so I need to pull the trigger pretty quickly, since it fills up in 2 weeks or so. I believe that an 18 week program starting June 3 will be in the cards, with more focus on mileage and less on running fast. The marathon pace workouts are good indicators, but I want to be able to throw in a mid-week 11-13 mile run to make sure I have the mileage base where I want it to be. So I'll likely put in place a plan like this:
S1: recovery 6-8 miles S2: 10-12 miles steady
M1: 8-10 miles steady M2: 6-8 recovery
T1: 11-13 miles T2: speed/strength workout
W1: 4-5 recovery or rest W2: rest or 4-5 recovery
R1: MP workout, 8-12 total R2: MP workout, 8-12 total
F1: 6-8 recovery F2: 6-8 recovery
S1: 10-12 miles steady S2: 12-18 miles
Week 1 total: 55-60m Week 2 total: 60-65m
There will be 3-4 weeks in there where I'll be helping out with a summer running club for Jr and Sr high kids from our school district. This will be M, W and R early evenings. For Mon I'll double if it's a W1, and run as a recovery if it's W2. For Wed I'll run it as my recovery run, and for Thurs I'll probably flip-flop the speed/strength and MP workouts, so I'll stick to fast workouts in the A.M, and easy ones in the P.M. -- Note: I run 99% of my runs before 7:00 am, so that's why I'm not looking for anything fast during those running club runs. It's just to help the kids with their conditioning base for fall sports like soccer and cross country.
Ok, enough for this week.
Here's the summary...
4/20 - 5.75 fast
4/21 - 10 steady
4/22 - 5.2 easy
4/23 - 8.2
4/24 - 8.9 w/ last 5 in 32:21
4/25 - 6.4 quick afternoon run
4/26 - 6.8 steady
4/27 - 6.6 steady
4/28 - 8.2 w/ a 40:00 10k in the middle
4/29 - 6.7 easy
4/30 - 7.8 easy
5/1 - 10.8 steady
5/2 - 6.8 easy
5/3 - 8.4 miles w/ a 41:00 10k within
So I am running some faster workouts, but still nothing planned or organized. I had a chance to run Crazylegs, but Mike's soccer game in Platteville caused my to bypass it. I may not run a race until July 4 now, but I do feel like I'm right where I need to be. Twin Cities registration opens up next week, so I need to pull the trigger pretty quickly, since it fills up in 2 weeks or so. I believe that an 18 week program starting June 3 will be in the cards, with more focus on mileage and less on running fast. The marathon pace workouts are good indicators, but I want to be able to throw in a mid-week 11-13 mile run to make sure I have the mileage base where I want it to be. So I'll likely put in place a plan like this:
S1: recovery 6-8 miles S2: 10-12 miles steady
M1: 8-10 miles steady M2: 6-8 recovery
T1: 11-13 miles T2: speed/strength workout
W1: 4-5 recovery or rest W2: rest or 4-5 recovery
R1: MP workout, 8-12 total R2: MP workout, 8-12 total
F1: 6-8 recovery F2: 6-8 recovery
S1: 10-12 miles steady S2: 12-18 miles
Week 1 total: 55-60m Week 2 total: 60-65m
There will be 3-4 weeks in there where I'll be helping out with a summer running club for Jr and Sr high kids from our school district. This will be M, W and R early evenings. For Mon I'll double if it's a W1, and run as a recovery if it's W2. For Wed I'll run it as my recovery run, and for Thurs I'll probably flip-flop the speed/strength and MP workouts, so I'll stick to fast workouts in the A.M, and easy ones in the P.M. -- Note: I run 99% of my runs before 7:00 am, so that's why I'm not looking for anything fast during those running club runs. It's just to help the kids with their conditioning base for fall sports like soccer and cross country.
Ok, enough for this week.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Better just in time
Well I finally got my orthodics adjusted this week, and it's about time. I had been suffering with a variety of minor ailments to me feet, knees, legs and hip, mostly on the left side, that I attribute to A) shoes getting old and B) inserts needed to be adjusted. Luckily my podiatrist has a son that plays soccer w/ Mike, so I gave them to him at the soccer game on Sunday, and had them back on Tuesday. Yesterday when I went out, it seemed like the change was really a lot. I didn't feel comfortable, so I stopped after 1/2 mile and walked home. Then I spent the day walking with the inserts in my work shoes to get used to it before running. This morning I ran 7 miles and everything felt fine.
2nd, I got my new watch yesterday, and was excited about running with it for the 1st time in 2 weeks this morning. Unfortunately, the battery appeared to die, so I had no mile splits. I think its just the indiglo light doesn't work well, and if you try to do the stopwatch while the light's engaged, it sucks it down, b/c the watch came back after a while, and is working fine right now. If worse comes to worse, I'll just by a watch battery.
So my running for the past week was like this:
4/12 - 7 mile fartlek run
4/13 - 5 easy miles
4/14 - off
4/15 - 6.6 easy miles
4/16 - 7.7 easy
4/17 - 9 miles with a lot of tempo surges
4/18 - off
4/19 - 7.1 miles
Oh, Mike had his 1st track meet on Tuesday. He ran the 400 in the distance medley relay, and did very well, running a 58.9 leg, which is his best time so far. They got 3rd as a relay team, and the team won the meet! He runs another 400 on a relay tommorow, but I'll be missing it, b/c megan has a meet at the same time. She's running the 800 and the 400 in relays at a Boy-Girl team event. They should do pretty well. It'll be fun to watch, and I promised to behave!
2nd, I got my new watch yesterday, and was excited about running with it for the 1st time in 2 weeks this morning. Unfortunately, the battery appeared to die, so I had no mile splits. I think its just the indiglo light doesn't work well, and if you try to do the stopwatch while the light's engaged, it sucks it down, b/c the watch came back after a while, and is working fine right now. If worse comes to worse, I'll just by a watch battery.
So my running for the past week was like this:
4/12 - 7 mile fartlek run
4/13 - 5 easy miles
4/14 - off
4/15 - 6.6 easy miles
4/16 - 7.7 easy
4/17 - 9 miles with a lot of tempo surges
4/18 - off
4/19 - 7.1 miles
Oh, Mike had his 1st track meet on Tuesday. He ran the 400 in the distance medley relay, and did very well, running a 58.9 leg, which is his best time so far. They got 3rd as a relay team, and the team won the meet! He runs another 400 on a relay tommorow, but I'll be missing it, b/c megan has a meet at the same time. She's running the 800 and the 400 in relays at a Boy-Girl team event. They should do pretty well. It'll be fun to watch, and I promised to behave!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Been a while...
Last week I was traveling to the Twin Cities area on business, and had my wife and daughter with me who went to the Mall of America. It was 13 degrees both mornings we were up there. One day I ran on the treadmill in the Hotel, the other day I didn't run. I forgot how much I really don't like running on a treadmill. Adding insult to injury was jumping in the pool after my run, and forgetting that my watch was on. So now my battery fried, and a new battery won't bring it back to life. So I bought the same watch I had on ebay for $19, or $12 less than I could get it at Wal-Mart. Still waiting to get it.
So my runs this week have had the interesting phenomenon of running by feel, and estimating pace. I really didn't realize what a slave I was to the watch. Every time I'd get to a marker I would either look to my wrist or make an attempt to catch the split where the imaginary watch was. Either I am a creature of habit or a bit pathetic. Probably both.
On top of all that, we go 3-4 inches of snow yesterday. My son's 1st track meet was cancelled today, and his soccer games this weekend don't look too good at the moment. I am hoping this disappears quickly, b/c I'd like to start some regimented training - I will as soon as I get my watch....
So my runs this week have had the interesting phenomenon of running by feel, and estimating pace. I really didn't realize what a slave I was to the watch. Every time I'd get to a marker I would either look to my wrist or make an attempt to catch the split where the imaginary watch was. Either I am a creature of habit or a bit pathetic. Probably both.
On top of all that, we go 3-4 inches of snow yesterday. My son's 1st track meet was cancelled today, and his soccer games this weekend don't look too good at the moment. I am hoping this disappears quickly, b/c I'd like to start some regimented training - I will as soon as I get my watch....
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Another week...
Well I think I've resigned myself to the fact that my wrist is probably broken. If Greg Oden took 5-6 months before he could even play basketball after having wrist surgery, then I wonder how long it'll be before I'm fully healed. You just do not realize all of the things you do with your dominant hand/wrist until you are hurting, then you really notice them, b/c the pain will just shoot out through my hand. It bugs me that the x-ray didn't pick anything up, but that's life I guess. My running has been ok I suppose. I'm able to run a bit faster in my workouts like today, where I ran the last 3.7 miles @ 6:30 pace. I still feel the aches and pains like my left ankle, left hip flexor, wrist and also my right big toe, which is all red and looks infected. I've been soaking it for the past 2 days and that seems to have helped.
Since my last posting, I've done the following:
R 3/22 7.7 miles quickish
F 3/23 6.5 easy
S 3/24 10.2 @ 7:14 pace
S 3/25 5 very easy
M 3/26 8.2 steady
T 3/27 6.4 quickish
W 3/28 off
R 3/29 7.1 w/ 3.5 Tempo near end
So I'm still not doing anything real formal, and keeping up my 40 or so each week.
Since my last posting, I've done the following:
R 3/22 7.7 miles quickish
F 3/23 6.5 easy
S 3/24 10.2 @ 7:14 pace
S 3/25 5 very easy
M 3/26 8.2 steady
T 3/27 6.4 quickish
W 3/28 off
R 3/29 7.1 w/ 3.5 Tempo near end
So I'm still not doing anything real formal, and keeping up my 40 or so each week.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
weekly report
For work every Friday I have to publish a weekly report on Excel of my activities for the week. So I guess I'll do that here documenting my running activities for the past 8 days.
R 3/15-Another Thursaday Day off
F 3/16-3 neighborhood loops, 7:30 pace
S 3/17-10 miles in about 80 minutes, got really cold @ the end (19 degrees)
N 3/18-3 miles, didn't feel like doing any more
M 3/19-7.6 miles, ran 1st 5 miles in slightly under 7:00 pace
T 3/20-6.8 miles easy
W3/21-cold rain, so took the day off
R 3/22-7.7 miles, w/ 1st 5 miles in 6:44 pace
So while I'm still doing rather unstructured types of runs, I'm getting out there and doing some tempo type runs, and trying to get some long runs in. I think we may be done with the tights and hat and gloves weather, so this is indeed a good thing. In fact, it was 57 degrees this morning @ 5:30, and I almost went without a shirt. Good thing it's still dark at that time of day...
I'm averaging exactly 40 miles per week since the 1st of the year, and have taken 14 days off in 12 weeks. Syttende Mai is now 58 days away, so I want to make sure I get some 12-15 mile runs in on upcoming Saturdays. Once the 1st of April comes around, I plan on a more structured form of training, that would mimic the Hanson's marathon training plan that I'll begin in June, but not as intense or as high mileage. I'm thinking the following:
Sun - easy recovery run 6-7 miles
Mon- steady run 7-8 m
Tue- tempo workout, 8 miles total - build tempo from 20 minutes up to 30-35
Wed- off or easy and short recovery run
Thu- marathon pace workout, 7-9 miles total (my MP is.... 6:40/mile)
Fri - easy recovery 6-7 m
Sat - long run 10-15 miles
So if I can get this down, I'm looking @ 45-50 mpw, and the three SOS (something of substance) workouts that are the foundation of the Hanson's plan are being built in. Then after a small recovery period following the race May 19, I'll be ready to go June 3rd. I wantto average 55-60 mpw for this training plan, so I need to be hitting 50 pretty regularly in April and May.
R 3/15-Another Thursaday Day off
F 3/16-3 neighborhood loops, 7:30 pace
S 3/17-10 miles in about 80 minutes, got really cold @ the end (19 degrees)
N 3/18-3 miles, didn't feel like doing any more
M 3/19-7.6 miles, ran 1st 5 miles in slightly under 7:00 pace
T 3/20-6.8 miles easy
W3/21-cold rain, so took the day off
R 3/22-7.7 miles, w/ 1st 5 miles in 6:44 pace
So while I'm still doing rather unstructured types of runs, I'm getting out there and doing some tempo type runs, and trying to get some long runs in. I think we may be done with the tights and hat and gloves weather, so this is indeed a good thing. In fact, it was 57 degrees this morning @ 5:30, and I almost went without a shirt. Good thing it's still dark at that time of day...
I'm averaging exactly 40 miles per week since the 1st of the year, and have taken 14 days off in 12 weeks. Syttende Mai is now 58 days away, so I want to make sure I get some 12-15 mile runs in on upcoming Saturdays. Once the 1st of April comes around, I plan on a more structured form of training, that would mimic the Hanson's marathon training plan that I'll begin in June, but not as intense or as high mileage. I'm thinking the following:
Sun - easy recovery run 6-7 miles
Mon- steady run 7-8 m
Tue- tempo workout, 8 miles total - build tempo from 20 minutes up to 30-35
Wed- off or easy and short recovery run
Thu- marathon pace workout, 7-9 miles total (my MP is.... 6:40/mile)
Fri - easy recovery 6-7 m
Sat - long run 10-15 miles
So if I can get this down, I'm looking @ 45-50 mpw, and the three SOS (something of substance) workouts that are the foundation of the Hanson's plan are being built in. Then after a small recovery period following the race May 19, I'll be ready to go June 3rd. I wantto average 55-60 mpw for this training plan, so I need to be hitting 50 pretty regularly in April and May.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Weekly Report
I seem to be posting every 6-7 days now. The running has still been up and down. My ankle feels fine, but my wrist is giving me fits. It doesn't really bother me when I run, but throughout the rest of the day it aches and if I move it just so, I have shooting pain. Good thing running doesn't involve intricate use on your wrist.
I actually feel like I've turned a corner this week with the running. Sunday found me running a solid 5 miles at 6:30 pace, and yesterday I ran 9 miles and this morning 7+, with 5 @ MP (6:47). It sure is nice running in 40 degree weather and not having to worry about the snow and ice. As long as we get no major storms, we should be fine for 8 months or so...
So I guess that I haven't forgotten how to run fast, and all of those slow miles the past 3 months have done me some good. I know better, and if and when my wrist does heal, I'd like to start doing some lifting to get stronger. I got the online application for Syttende Mai yesterday, so now I have to see what I'm planning on doing in the next 66 days. I should be ready by then, and running a pace somewhere between my two fast workouts this week seems about right. That would work out to a 2:12 for 20 miles. I'd be very happy with that. I also got online and saw that registration for the Twin Cities Marathon starts online on May 4. The website says that the field fills in about 15 days, so I'll need to register before I actually run Syttende Mai on the 19th. I am looking forward to training this summer.
Track practice started for my son's HS team this week, and he seems to be enjoying it. My daughter hasn't started middle school workouts yet, but I hope she'll start running on her own this weekend. Mustn't push things with her, let her do it on her own.
I actually feel like I've turned a corner this week with the running. Sunday found me running a solid 5 miles at 6:30 pace, and yesterday I ran 9 miles and this morning 7+, with 5 @ MP (6:47). It sure is nice running in 40 degree weather and not having to worry about the snow and ice. As long as we get no major storms, we should be fine for 8 months or so...
So I guess that I haven't forgotten how to run fast, and all of those slow miles the past 3 months have done me some good. I know better, and if and when my wrist does heal, I'd like to start doing some lifting to get stronger. I got the online application for Syttende Mai yesterday, so now I have to see what I'm planning on doing in the next 66 days. I should be ready by then, and running a pace somewhere between my two fast workouts this week seems about right. That would work out to a 2:12 for 20 miles. I'd be very happy with that. I also got online and saw that registration for the Twin Cities Marathon starts online on May 4. The website says that the field fills in about 15 days, so I'll need to register before I actually run Syttende Mai on the 19th. I am looking forward to training this summer.
Track practice started for my son's HS team this week, and he seems to be enjoying it. My daughter hasn't started middle school workouts yet, but I hope she'll start running on her own this weekend. Mustn't push things with her, let her do it on her own.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Is anybody out there?
I'm really not writing this for anyone else to read, but I'd like to try and figure out how to maybe get someone to comment once and a while - without going to other people's sites and saying "Come read my blog!" If anyone is reading, just say hi and I'll feel better!
Anyways, my ankle sprain was both better and worse than I thought it was. I was able to baby it and not do a whole lot of walking/running throughout the weekend, and was able to resume normal running on Monday. However, half way through my run this morning, it really started bothering me, so much so I almost considered just stopping. Since I run loops and was only 2-3 blocks from home, it would have been real easy to do that. Instead I slowed down a bit, and resumed running, and actually ran 8.2 miles, which is just about as long as I've run all year. It's weird that I'm averaging 7 miles a day, but my longest run thus far is only 8.25 miles. I guess that means I am really consistent. The weather is still a bit iffy. Not nearly as cold as it's been (though yesterday morning it was 4 degrees), but still snowy and slick ice spots are all around. I go really slow as I go around corners and approach intersections. Relief is supposed to be in site, with temps getting into the low 50s next week. That means 30 degree temps for my morning runs, which I can handle, as long as the melting snow doesn't create too many icy spots.
Still waiting for a bit before I begin the faster tempo workouts. My son has started track practice, and the middle distance runners are doing 3-4 mile runs that are probably too fast, but I'm not going to get into it. I will have my daughter start her workouts this weekend by running 2-3 miles nice and easy. She's got 4+ weeks before her middle school track starts, so she's got plenty of time to get in shape.
Anyways, my ankle sprain was both better and worse than I thought it was. I was able to baby it and not do a whole lot of walking/running throughout the weekend, and was able to resume normal running on Monday. However, half way through my run this morning, it really started bothering me, so much so I almost considered just stopping. Since I run loops and was only 2-3 blocks from home, it would have been real easy to do that. Instead I slowed down a bit, and resumed running, and actually ran 8.2 miles, which is just about as long as I've run all year. It's weird that I'm averaging 7 miles a day, but my longest run thus far is only 8.25 miles. I guess that means I am really consistent. The weather is still a bit iffy. Not nearly as cold as it's been (though yesterday morning it was 4 degrees), but still snowy and slick ice spots are all around. I go really slow as I go around corners and approach intersections. Relief is supposed to be in site, with temps getting into the low 50s next week. That means 30 degree temps for my morning runs, which I can handle, as long as the melting snow doesn't create too many icy spots.
Still waiting for a bit before I begin the faster tempo workouts. My son has started track practice, and the middle distance runners are doing 3-4 mile runs that are probably too fast, but I'm not going to get into it. I will have my daughter start her workouts this weekend by running 2-3 miles nice and easy. She's got 4+ weeks before her middle school track starts, so she's got plenty of time to get in shape.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Monthly review
Well the month of February is over, and what a crazy month it was in terms of weather. I just missed my goals of 24 days run and 168 miles with totals of 23 and 166.5 miles. I was very pleased with the mileage total, as it represented my most miles in February ever. Since my longest run of the month was today at 8.25 miles, I was very consistent with my 7.25 mile average per run. Now for March I know I need to start running some longer runs, especially if I am going to do Sytennde Mai (20 Mile race on May 19).
Like January, my February total was mostly base miles, with no real fast stuff. I probably ran 5 miles at or faster than 7:00 pace. I also want to start incorporating tempo workouts for March.
Since the 1st two months have gone so well, it's time to get serious in planning for some later races. I will approach Sytennde Mai like a 1/2 marathon, but will pace it slower obviously. I'd like to try and run sub 6:40 pace (2:12-2:13). Before that, I have to make a decision on whether to try and get into a big fall marathon. I still don't want to do Chicago (maybe next year), but I am looking really serious at Twin Cities. I can go and stay with my brother in Saint Paul and even have the trip paid for by going to Hudson for work the following day. So I'll have to check when they take applications (pretty sure it's late April or early May). maybe Zeke can pace me...
Goals for March are 26-7 runs (6 day weeks), 200 or more miles, and incorporating tempo and longer (10+ mile) runs. Certainly acheivable, and will set me up well for the months to come. Oh one final thing, I need to try and avoid slipping and falling on ice. Did so twice this month, once last Wednesday and the other this morning. Luckily nothing serious, just some scraped legs and a sprained wrist. STAY WELL.....
Like January, my February total was mostly base miles, with no real fast stuff. I probably ran 5 miles at or faster than 7:00 pace. I also want to start incorporating tempo workouts for March.
Since the 1st two months have gone so well, it's time to get serious in planning for some later races. I will approach Sytennde Mai like a 1/2 marathon, but will pace it slower obviously. I'd like to try and run sub 6:40 pace (2:12-2:13). Before that, I have to make a decision on whether to try and get into a big fall marathon. I still don't want to do Chicago (maybe next year), but I am looking really serious at Twin Cities. I can go and stay with my brother in Saint Paul and even have the trip paid for by going to Hudson for work the following day. So I'll have to check when they take applications (pretty sure it's late April or early May). maybe Zeke can pace me...
Goals for March are 26-7 runs (6 day weeks), 200 or more miles, and incorporating tempo and longer (10+ mile) runs. Certainly acheivable, and will set me up well for the months to come. Oh one final thing, I need to try and avoid slipping and falling on ice. Did so twice this month, once last Wednesday and the other this morning. Luckily nothing serious, just some scraped legs and a sprained wrist. STAY WELL.....
Friday, February 23, 2007
Nothing broken...
Yes I am still here. After a week of mostly uninspired running, I had a little too much excitement this week. The weather finally got warmer, and I managed to get out of the neighborhood for runs on three consecutive days this week. Monday I ran down Wright Road, Tuesday up Town Hall Road (lots of traffic @ 6:00 am), and Wednesday Milton Avenue towards downtown. We had a bit of a thaw, so the melting and subsequent refreezing of sidewalks made the Wednesday run a bit dicey. In spite of that, I had a great run, and was running at a 7:10 clip when I slipped on a patch of black ice and went down. I had a nasty dirt streak on the left leg of my tights, and some bleeding, but everything appeared OK, and I ran the last two miles of my 8 mile run under 7:00 pace. Then about 5 hours after I ran, I noticed my left wrist hurt like crazy. I must have put it out as I was falling and it absorbed some of the impact. I had it checked out at work (my office is in the medical department at the General Motors plant) and the Nurse said it doesn't look broken, but you may want to get x-rays. She gave me a wrist support, and by the end of the day I was really hurting. I'm left handed, so writing was sheer agony. On Thursday I decided to have it looked at. The Dr said the x-rays were negative, and it's most likely just a sprain. I've been icing it like crazy and taking lots of ibuprofen. This morning I wore the support while I ran (kept my notorious left hand/wrist from getting cold!) and everything seems all right.
So, I'm still on track for my monthly goals. Hanging out at 40-45 mpw. We are supposed to get a monster snow storm this weekend, with anywhere from 8-15 inches of snow and lots of wind. Sunday could be a fun day to run...
So, I'm still on track for my monthly goals. Hanging out at 40-45 mpw. We are supposed to get a monster snow storm this weekend, with anywhere from 8-15 inches of snow and lots of wind. Sunday could be a fun day to run...
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Groundhog Day
Now I know that was 2 weeks ago (my son's birthday, btw), but it seems like my morning runs are taking a rather repetitive posture, as in deja vu type of familiarity. I ran 7.5 miles this morning, as I did the past 2 mornings, doing the same 3x2.5 mile neighborhood loop. On Tuesday for some reason in the blizzard I ran pretty quick. Yesterday was slow, probably b/c the freshly plowed roads had that layer of glaze ice and snow and was really slippery. Today was a bit better, but there still were some slick spots. And the temperature the last two days was at or below zero, with the wind chill definitely below zero. I probably could've used an extra layer of shorts, b/c I was pretty red and raw there when I finished.
I've found that if the temp is below 15 degrees, I really can't use my MP3 player. I also discovered that if I run w/ the mp3 for 2 or more days in a row, I develop an earache, esp in my right ear. So I don't obsess over it.
What I am obsessing a little bit about is my attempts to coordinate a training plan for the Milton Boys High School Cross Country team. I have spoken to 9 of the boys, and they all seem enthused about the prospect of training spring and summer to get a solid base in for next fall's season. I just don't see them getting that from there coach, so since many of them went to my son and asked if I'd help out with the team, I said I'd do what I could. I'm not planning anything fancy, just a program to get them to 40-50 mpw by mid August, when their CC team practices begin. I figure 6 days a week (2 steady, 2 hard-long run and tempo run, and 2 recovery runs) ought to do it, and I'll try to organize it so that 2-3 times a week the bulk of the boys are running together. They want to go to state and I think if 8-9 of the 12 returning runners (10 were under 19 minutes for 5K last season) do the work, they have a real shot at it. Heck, I never got to go to state, so I'd like to see somebody I know do it!
I've found that if the temp is below 15 degrees, I really can't use my MP3 player. I also discovered that if I run w/ the mp3 for 2 or more days in a row, I develop an earache, esp in my right ear. So I don't obsess over it.
What I am obsessing a little bit about is my attempts to coordinate a training plan for the Milton Boys High School Cross Country team. I have spoken to 9 of the boys, and they all seem enthused about the prospect of training spring and summer to get a solid base in for next fall's season. I just don't see them getting that from there coach, so since many of them went to my son and asked if I'd help out with the team, I said I'd do what I could. I'm not planning anything fancy, just a program to get them to 40-50 mpw by mid August, when their CC team practices begin. I figure 6 days a week (2 steady, 2 hard-long run and tempo run, and 2 recovery runs) ought to do it, and I'll try to organize it so that 2-3 times a week the bulk of the boys are running together. They want to go to state and I think if 8-9 of the 12 returning runners (10 were under 19 minutes for 5K last season) do the work, they have a real shot at it. Heck, I never got to go to state, so I'd like to see somebody I know do it!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Old Man Winter...
Well I still am doing well for the winter, having run 38 out of 44 days. I'm averaging 7 miles a day, not that spectacular, but pretty good considering all of my runs have been outside... in Wisconsin. Last week the average temperature at 6:00 am when I was running was -9 F. This week it has warmed up considerably, but there's been a lot of snow.
Saturday was a nice run, and the -5 temps didn't seem that bad due to little wind. What really worked well is that my hands finally stayed warm. I use cotton/poly gloves, and put an old pair of socks over my hands/wrists. But instead of taking the socks off when I got too warm, and then putting them back on when the wind picked up, I left them on the whole time. i think if you monkey with it too much you get freeze/thaw type of deal, and that makes me more likely to get cold hands and wrists. I finished up 7.8 miles for Saturday. On Sunday I thought it was warmer (10), so I wore less clothes and pretty much was cold for the whole 7 miles. Monday brought 3-4 inches of snow, so I slogged through 5 miles knowing I'd need to shovel the driveway when I got home. Then Cathy decided to yell at me b/c I didn't get Mike up to shovel before school. Sometimes you just can't win...
Today it was almost 20 degrees, but very windy, and the snow started up again. So when I ran North or East, I was met with a stinging spray of snow pellets. I stopped after 1 loop (2.5 miles to put on shorts that would repel the snow. Only problem is they were lighter and shorter than the 1/2 sweats I was wearing over my tights, so the tights were more exposed and they got wet. I was cold and wet after the 3rd loop. So 7.5 miles this morning, and I'm 5 weeks ahead of the mileage pace I set last year. Considering I only ran an average of 28 mpw last year, it's not saying much. A better example might be to look at 2005, when I set my mileage best. I only ran 84 miles in February that year, so by tomorrow I'll already be ahead for the month.
Now I need to find a way to publicize my blog. Guess I'll get ahold of Chad.
Saturday was a nice run, and the -5 temps didn't seem that bad due to little wind. What really worked well is that my hands finally stayed warm. I use cotton/poly gloves, and put an old pair of socks over my hands/wrists. But instead of taking the socks off when I got too warm, and then putting them back on when the wind picked up, I left them on the whole time. i think if you monkey with it too much you get freeze/thaw type of deal, and that makes me more likely to get cold hands and wrists. I finished up 7.8 miles for Saturday. On Sunday I thought it was warmer (10), so I wore less clothes and pretty much was cold for the whole 7 miles. Monday brought 3-4 inches of snow, so I slogged through 5 miles knowing I'd need to shovel the driveway when I got home. Then Cathy decided to yell at me b/c I didn't get Mike up to shovel before school. Sometimes you just can't win...
Today it was almost 20 degrees, but very windy, and the snow started up again. So when I ran North or East, I was met with a stinging spray of snow pellets. I stopped after 1 loop (2.5 miles to put on shorts that would repel the snow. Only problem is they were lighter and shorter than the 1/2 sweats I was wearing over my tights, so the tights were more exposed and they got wet. I was cold and wet after the 3rd loop. So 7.5 miles this morning, and I'm 5 weeks ahead of the mileage pace I set last year. Considering I only ran an average of 28 mpw last year, it's not saying much. A better example might be to look at 2005, when I set my mileage best. I only ran 84 miles in February that year, so by tomorrow I'll already be ahead for the month.
Now I need to find a way to publicize my blog. Guess I'll get ahold of Chad.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Wow, 1st time for everything!
Ok, so I'm really new at this. But after reading blogs of many other people who are runners, I felt compelled to create one of my own. Many thanks to Chad, whose blog (i'd post the link but not sure how to) I read pretty regularly, for inspiring me to do this. And since we're early into the year, and I'm running fairly well, I thought I'd take the plunge.
Now I have no idea who is going to read this, so I'll write an intro that tells you a little bit about myself. After a few days, I'll assume if you want to know soemthing, you'll ask.
INTRO
My name is Peter, and I've been running since I was 10 or 11 I suppose. I had two older runners that ran track and cross country in H.S. and College, so I figured it must be fun. They are also 7 and 8 years older than me, so it was easy to idolize what they did. I did run a bit of age group races back in the running boom era of the 1970's, but did not get serious or realize I had any talent until I was 14. That is when I ran in the summer to get ready for High School Cross Country. I ran 3 years of track and cross country in Madison, WI from 1978 to 1981. I ran some pretty decent times, but also against very stiff opposition. My PR for the 1600 meters was run in a race where I was 20 seconds behind the winning time of 4:06! After a long period of hit or miss running from age 18 to 30, I began running in earnest again when I moved back to Wisconsin 10 years ago. After finally figuring out what made a middle aged person improve (run more miles, stupid), I trained and ran a marathon (3:07) in 2003 at age 39. Another 2 years went by before I was able to complete another marathon in 2:59:13.
It seems like the even numbered years I am hurt or distracted and my running suffers, while the odd years work better for me. Hmm, 2007 is an odd year, right? Ok, so I've braved the elements here in Janesville, WI to run pretty consistently this year, averaging seven miles a day, six days a week thus far. I hope to build on that to give the marathon another go this fall.
Personal stuff - I am married for almost 20 years to Cathy, a wonderful non-runner, and have two kids who might be runners yet. Mike is 16 and only runs to get/stay in shape for soccer, and Megan is 13 and could be better than I ever was as a runner. The most important thing is she really enjoys it!! I will offer advice to her if asked, but mostly i plan to stay out of the way and watch her learn and grow as a runner. She'll be running Cross Country this fall as a frosh, I can't wait! We live in Janesville, WI, and I am a Human Resources Specialist for an Insurance Company that does Disability Management for General Motors.
I call this blog Run For Your Life because when I moved back to Wisconsin I decided that was what I wanted to do. I had started and stopped too many times, and made a ton of mistakes in training and racing, but through it all I really love everything about long distance running. Even though my wife says I'm too skinny and have no butt, I like the way I feel when I'm in shape and can eat anything I want. I don't race very often, I run 99% of my workouts by myself, in the morning usually before the sun is up.
So I hope that eventually someone might actually read my writing. But if not, I'm going to do it for me, to getsome thoughts down beyond "7.4 miles in 59 minutes,' which is what I did this morning, btw. So if you read this, make sure you stop and say hello. Thanks,
Peter
Now I have no idea who is going to read this, so I'll write an intro that tells you a little bit about myself. After a few days, I'll assume if you want to know soemthing, you'll ask.
INTRO
My name is Peter, and I've been running since I was 10 or 11 I suppose. I had two older runners that ran track and cross country in H.S. and College, so I figured it must be fun. They are also 7 and 8 years older than me, so it was easy to idolize what they did. I did run a bit of age group races back in the running boom era of the 1970's, but did not get serious or realize I had any talent until I was 14. That is when I ran in the summer to get ready for High School Cross Country. I ran 3 years of track and cross country in Madison, WI from 1978 to 1981. I ran some pretty decent times, but also against very stiff opposition. My PR for the 1600 meters was run in a race where I was 20 seconds behind the winning time of 4:06! After a long period of hit or miss running from age 18 to 30, I began running in earnest again when I moved back to Wisconsin 10 years ago. After finally figuring out what made a middle aged person improve (run more miles, stupid), I trained and ran a marathon (3:07) in 2003 at age 39. Another 2 years went by before I was able to complete another marathon in 2:59:13.
It seems like the even numbered years I am hurt or distracted and my running suffers, while the odd years work better for me. Hmm, 2007 is an odd year, right? Ok, so I've braved the elements here in Janesville, WI to run pretty consistently this year, averaging seven miles a day, six days a week thus far. I hope to build on that to give the marathon another go this fall.
Personal stuff - I am married for almost 20 years to Cathy, a wonderful non-runner, and have two kids who might be runners yet. Mike is 16 and only runs to get/stay in shape for soccer, and Megan is 13 and could be better than I ever was as a runner. The most important thing is she really enjoys it!! I will offer advice to her if asked, but mostly i plan to stay out of the way and watch her learn and grow as a runner. She'll be running Cross Country this fall as a frosh, I can't wait! We live in Janesville, WI, and I am a Human Resources Specialist for an Insurance Company that does Disability Management for General Motors.
I call this blog Run For Your Life because when I moved back to Wisconsin I decided that was what I wanted to do. I had started and stopped too many times, and made a ton of mistakes in training and racing, but through it all I really love everything about long distance running. Even though my wife says I'm too skinny and have no butt, I like the way I feel when I'm in shape and can eat anything I want. I don't race very often, I run 99% of my workouts by myself, in the morning usually before the sun is up.
So I hope that eventually someone might actually read my writing. But if not, I'm going to do it for me, to getsome thoughts down beyond "7.4 miles in 59 minutes,' which is what I did this morning, btw. So if you read this, make sure you stop and say hello. Thanks,
Peter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)