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.
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