Did a time trial this morning. Don't think I've ever done one in the past. Didn't really care to do one this time, but what the hell. Figured it would be a good check of the work in the last 6 weeks. Big plus would be someone to chase after. I had two rabbits in front to chase. The first youngster, no way in hell I could keep up with him. But, BQ2 damn sure thought I'd be able to hang with him, maybe even beat him.
It wasn't even close. I'd driven in on the road we would be doing the mile and a half time trail. Thought I'd be smart and pick out some land marks to break the distance up in to equal segments. My plan was to try and stay on his shoulder. That didn't last 20 yards. Next plan was to keep a manageable gap to try and close on the back stretch. That was an even bigger pipe dream. Ended up with a 9:57 for the distance and about 50 seconds behind BQ2. It wasn't even a race. Shit, I've run faster tempo runs than that. It equates out to a 47 VDOT. The same *&^%$ number I started with 6 weeks ago.
Thought I'd pretty much laid everything out there. Even wore the heart rate monitor to see what would happen. Strangely the numbers are almost exactly the same as the 5 mile worth of T pace work from last week. That was at an average pace of 7:12. Old age is taking its toll. Oh, I did decide short distances suck. I'm a marathon guy.
Showing posts with label speedwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speedwork. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Diggin' Jack
Jack workouts are coming around. Think this is week number 5 for the track workouts from the Jack plan. This mornings workout was 200 meters with a 200 meter recovery another 200 meters with 400 meter recovery and then 800 meters with a 400 meter recovery. Repeat 4 times.
Thought my fitness had improved enough to adjust my paces, but this workout confirmed I'm still not quite ready. The steady state runs are getting easier. The factor that really still impacts the workout is the temperature and humidity. No break from it this morning. 74 degrees and very humid. Paces came in where they should. Well except for the last 800 meters, my big toe was sore in the first 100 meters. Slowed the pace and completed the repeat. Hindsight probably dumb, but no harm.
Mileage has been in the mid 50's for the last eight weeks, with only a one week dip into the 40's when I took a couple of days off. Started another streak after that break. Still not committed to any attempt for a long term streak. Because, after all running streaks are stupid and selfish.
Really need to convince someone else to do these workouts so they can decipher some of the workouts. I've changed some of the steady state/T pace/whatever workouts to simplify the day. Last week it was 3 miles worth of work right around old marathon pace, just because I'd need to have the workout written out on paper to know what to do next. Plus it was hot. Kinda hard to pull off at 0' dark thirty in the morning before the sun is up.
I have started to take a Succeed cap before the track workout if the temps are above 70 degrees. This morning I also ate a banana. That's a first, usually it's only one cup of black coffee before every run. Only exception is on long runs. Anything over 12 miles and I'll eat a pop tart before the run. Stopped taking water on the long runs. Don't plan on doing any runs over 12 miles for a month or more any way. Seems to work well to teach the body it can do without water for the shorter distances. Not quite up to the daily 10 miles, but getting close.
Can't believe its July and I haven't even been on the bike yet. Gotta give that bike rider who shall remain unnamed credit for my distaste with cycling. Love to watch the Tour de France every year. Started looking for the channel on my tv almost 2 weeks ago. I'll guess it's only on one channel on a weekend wrap up show at some odd hour when no other "real" sporting events are being televised. Sad that one loser can leave such a disgust with the sport. Guess us Americans got spoiled with the daily live coverage and the nightly recaps in high definition. Can't blame the tv exec's, cycling was never enjoyed by the masses in America. Only got to a marketable level when the media made a promising rider into the all American dream. Really that's probably what lead to his downfall. Someone whispering in his ear for one more comeback. He should have just retired.
Thought my fitness had improved enough to adjust my paces, but this workout confirmed I'm still not quite ready. The steady state runs are getting easier. The factor that really still impacts the workout is the temperature and humidity. No break from it this morning. 74 degrees and very humid. Paces came in where they should. Well except for the last 800 meters, my big toe was sore in the first 100 meters. Slowed the pace and completed the repeat. Hindsight probably dumb, but no harm.
Mileage has been in the mid 50's for the last eight weeks, with only a one week dip into the 40's when I took a couple of days off. Started another streak after that break. Still not committed to any attempt for a long term streak. Because, after all running streaks are stupid and selfish.
Really need to convince someone else to do these workouts so they can decipher some of the workouts. I've changed some of the steady state/T pace/whatever workouts to simplify the day. Last week it was 3 miles worth of work right around old marathon pace, just because I'd need to have the workout written out on paper to know what to do next. Plus it was hot. Kinda hard to pull off at 0' dark thirty in the morning before the sun is up.
I have started to take a Succeed cap before the track workout if the temps are above 70 degrees. This morning I also ate a banana. That's a first, usually it's only one cup of black coffee before every run. Only exception is on long runs. Anything over 12 miles and I'll eat a pop tart before the run. Stopped taking water on the long runs. Don't plan on doing any runs over 12 miles for a month or more any way. Seems to work well to teach the body it can do without water for the shorter distances. Not quite up to the daily 10 miles, but getting close.
Can't believe its July and I haven't even been on the bike yet. Gotta give that bike rider who shall remain unnamed credit for my distaste with cycling. Love to watch the Tour de France every year. Started looking for the channel on my tv almost 2 weeks ago. I'll guess it's only on one channel on a weekend wrap up show at some odd hour when no other "real" sporting events are being televised. Sad that one loser can leave such a disgust with the sport. Guess us Americans got spoiled with the daily live coverage and the nightly recaps in high definition. Can't blame the tv exec's, cycling was never enjoyed by the masses in America. Only got to a marketable level when the media made a promising rider into the all American dream. Really that's probably what lead to his downfall. Someone whispering in his ear for one more comeback. He should have just retired.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Karma
She's a bitch or he's a bastard.
Looking through my log, 'cause that's what wannabe runners do. Entry below from 5 days before breaking my foot.
"still cold, still spitting rain. big group. supposed to be 3 miles at 5k pace plus a minute. fuck that. time for some marathon specific stuff. target 6:52 for the 3 miles. close enough, for the first attempt. finally a decent workout. hell, it took long enough. 14-15 weeks out. lots of time to build. plus did 4 x 30 second hill repeats off the hill on the square."
Didn't need my Garmin. Just went by effort, didn't look at the watch, until I downloaded it. Didn't need a heart rate monitor. Great to run with the group. Everyone doing their own thing. Some leading, some chasing.
I miss it.
Looking through my log, 'cause that's what wannabe runners do. Entry below from 5 days before breaking my foot.
"still cold, still spitting rain. big group. supposed to be 3 miles at 5k pace plus a minute. fuck that. time for some marathon specific stuff. target 6:52 for the 3 miles. close enough, for the first attempt. finally a decent workout. hell, it took long enough. 14-15 weeks out. lots of time to build. plus did 4 x 30 second hill repeats off the hill on the square."
| Mile 4 | 6:53 | ||||||||||||
| Mile 5 | 6:51 | ||||||||||||
| Mile 6 | 6:53 |
Didn't need my Garmin. Just went by effort, didn't look at the watch, until I downloaded it. Didn't need a heart rate monitor. Great to run with the group. Everyone doing their own thing. Some leading, some chasing.
I miss it.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Winter craptastic
Another day, another run in the rain. Think it's been 4-5 days straight of rain runs. Yesterdays was the worst. Only because of lack of preparation on my part. One particular spot went unlubed and it was painfully obvious within the first 2 miles. The combination of a steady rain, a shirt that must have been made of sandpaper and the up and down motion of said shirt removed half of my nipples. Or so it seemed.
Today was much better. Harder rain, but temperatures in the sixties. Isn't it supposed to be winter? But, I wisely chose a singlet with a better tech material. Plus, it stuck to my chest when it was soaked, so it didn't ride up and down with each foot strike. And, I lubed every potential rub spot generously.
Today's workout was 10 by 100 meters at 3k pace, with equal recovery. Luckily someone left the gate unlocked at the high school track. These are getting easier, especially since these were solo and I wasn't trying to keep up with the fast guys. Cool thing about this workout is that it's not really work, more of a shakeout/wake up the dead legs kind of thing. Makes the following days hard workout easier? At least able to get onto pace easier anyway.
Can't complain about the weather this winter. We're a little less than a third of the way into the winter. January and February are typically the coldest months of the year. We'll probably pay dearly for the mild fall and early winter in the coming months.
Oh yeah and that former Tour de France bike rider. What's his name? is going to be on Oprah. Whoopity shit. Won't be watching, won't watch the comeback, won't be interested in whatever angle he's trying to con/scam/be forgiven for, pffffffffffftt.
Today was much better. Harder rain, but temperatures in the sixties. Isn't it supposed to be winter? But, I wisely chose a singlet with a better tech material. Plus, it stuck to my chest when it was soaked, so it didn't ride up and down with each foot strike. And, I lubed every potential rub spot generously.
Today's workout was 10 by 100 meters at 3k pace, with equal recovery. Luckily someone left the gate unlocked at the high school track. These are getting easier, especially since these were solo and I wasn't trying to keep up with the fast guys. Cool thing about this workout is that it's not really work, more of a shakeout/wake up the dead legs kind of thing. Makes the following days hard workout easier? At least able to get onto pace easier anyway.
Can't complain about the weather this winter. We're a little less than a third of the way into the winter. January and February are typically the coldest months of the year. We'll probably pay dearly for the mild fall and early winter in the coming months.
Oh yeah and that former Tour de France bike rider. What's his name? is going to be on Oprah. Whoopity shit. Won't be watching, won't watch the comeback, won't be interested in whatever angle he's trying to con/scam/be forgiven for, pffffffffffftt.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Guest appearance
Yesterday's workout was a fail, initially. Set up the workout for 10 x 2 minutes with one minute recoveries. Did a 2 mile or so warmup and hit the lap button for the workout to start. I count down the seconds so I know about when the recovery piece should start, but it didn't. Kept going forever, or so it seemed, (2:57) I was running up a hill. Damn Garmin never beeped. Stopped and reprogrammed the workout that I did last week, 10 x 25 seconds with one minute recoveries. Think I must have picked the 3 x 2 mile workout. Damn, oh well still got a little bit of a workout.
Today I got back up at 0 dark thirty to meet the herd at Pittard. Couple of the guys had a serious half marathon workout and the others were going to hang on at their own paces. My plan was just to warmup with the guys, hadn't seen them in awhile. But, when the time came to go on, I went with them, just for grins. I'd already done my workout yesterday. Ended up running one mile at about my old marathon pace, 7:02. That was surprising and the heart rate was actually within a beat or two of those efforts as well. Sure couldn't pull off 26 miles worth of that, now. But, it was encouraging to see that I haven't completely lost what little speed I use to have. Even did four tenths of a mile worth of their 1,000 meter repeat. Still lots of work to keep up with these guys.
Athlinks shows that I've run 12 half marathons. My PR is a 1:27 at Tom King. I'd really like to run a 1:25-26. That's about the shape I'd need to be in for a sub 3:00 marathon. My last race at the Middle Half was at a pace to run 1:30 (42:46 at the halfway point), but I failed miserably with a 1:33:51. I've only run the Middle Half one other time and that was the first year. This years race is on October 13th. Five more weeks to build strength. Won't have enough speed to make another crack at 1:25, but sure as hell would like to break 1:30. Goal race is still the Flying Monkey Marathon on November 18th. The half marathon will just be a fun race.
Today I got back up at 0 dark thirty to meet the herd at Pittard. Couple of the guys had a serious half marathon workout and the others were going to hang on at their own paces. My plan was just to warmup with the guys, hadn't seen them in awhile. But, when the time came to go on, I went with them, just for grins. I'd already done my workout yesterday. Ended up running one mile at about my old marathon pace, 7:02. That was surprising and the heart rate was actually within a beat or two of those efforts as well. Sure couldn't pull off 26 miles worth of that, now. But, it was encouraging to see that I haven't completely lost what little speed I use to have. Even did four tenths of a mile worth of their 1,000 meter repeat. Still lots of work to keep up with these guys.
Athlinks shows that I've run 12 half marathons. My PR is a 1:27 at Tom King. I'd really like to run a 1:25-26. That's about the shape I'd need to be in for a sub 3:00 marathon. My last race at the Middle Half was at a pace to run 1:30 (42:46 at the halfway point), but I failed miserably with a 1:33:51. I've only run the Middle Half one other time and that was the first year. This years race is on October 13th. Five more weeks to build strength. Won't have enough speed to make another crack at 1:25, but sure as hell would like to break 1:30. Goal race is still the Flying Monkey Marathon on November 18th. The half marathon will just be a fun race.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The treadmill sucks
I hate running on the treadmill. This morning was probably the 2nd time in the last 6 years or so. We got just enough snow, that turned into a solid sheet of ice on all of the roadways. This forced me indoors this morning. I could have waited until this evening to attempt a workout on the roads. But, the chances of it thawing enough and actually getting it done, weren't really in my favor. That and I had a speed workout scheduled for today. Didn't even try to do the planned workout, instead modified it and cut it in half. Still only ended up with 5 miles total on the treadmill. Time just stands still.
I guess the biggest thing about the treadmill is that its so warm inside. I start slinging sweat after 5 minutes. The little fans on the treadmill help some, but still way to warm for me. ('course this particular gym didn't even have that) Seemed like I was thirsty after only a mile or so. Must be the dry indoor air?
It is pretty nice to be able to dial up a pace, that's great for doing some speed workouts. I didn't even try to do that for the scheduled minute on/off workout. I bet it could be programmed into the treadmill, that would be cool. Manually increasing to the desired pace and then decreasing for the recovery just seems so awkward. I felt like I'm about to land on my face at any minute.
The gym I was at, only has 2 tiny TV's which are impossible to see. Perhaps at a nicer gym with lots of BIG tv's I could get into the treadmill. At least a distraction to make the time go by quicker. Thankfully I had my Ipod.
I'll be glad when this winter is over. Just a little bit to much snow this year for me.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
not on track
Crap. Chikin 10k is less than 3 weeks away. My speed isn't where it was at this point in my training in the spring. The track workout this morning was 6 x 1,000 meters at I pace. Should have been 3:45, but all came in several seconds slower. Just couldn't keep the rhythm going. Next set was 4 x 200 meters at :41, this actually came in easier than the 1,000's. I pace and the 1,000 meters just never have came very easy. This wasn't really an exceptionally difficult workout, just not quite where it should have been.
Perhaps the decision to trade one speed workout a week for a hill workout wasn't as smart as I thought. I've been to Percy Warner Park 3 times in as many weeks. This past Tuesday's 7.34 miles of trails was actually the toughest yet. Don't know if it's because EB pushed the pace more or if I was just tired from the long run on Sunday. It sure seemed warmer and more humid, plus the bugs were everywhere. The trail is still dry even with all of the rain.
I'm a big Lance Armstrong fan. How cool is it that he can send a tweet and get a group of 1,000 to ride with him. I've only been watching his tweets since the Tour de France. Interesting stuff.
Perhaps the decision to trade one speed workout a week for a hill workout wasn't as smart as I thought. I've been to Percy Warner Park 3 times in as many weeks. This past Tuesday's 7.34 miles of trails was actually the toughest yet. Don't know if it's because EB pushed the pace more or if I was just tired from the long run on Sunday. It sure seemed warmer and more humid, plus the bugs were everywhere. The trail is still dry even with all of the rain.
I'm a big Lance Armstrong fan. How cool is it that he can send a tweet and get a group of 1,000 to ride with him. I've only been watching his tweets since the Tour de France. Interesting stuff.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
well
Another warm morning. I should be getting used to it, but don't seem to be. Sweating buckets and chafing in all the wrong places. YUCK. This mornings workout was supposed to be 2 x 2 miles at T pace with 2 minute recovery followed by 3 x 800 meters with the same recovery and then 3 x 400 meters with the same recovery.
Pulled into the parking lot to meet BQ1 and the whole herd was there. Kinda surprised me. We all started out together, but the fast guys went one way and BQ1 and I the other. BQ1 is coming off his second week back to running so wasn't sure how he'd do with the speed workout. He hung right with me for about 3 quarters of a mile and fell off. The first mile came easily enough, but the second was tough. The recovery went by way to quick and the first mile of the second set actually felt easier. The second mile was a struggle. May have been a little to optimistic with the VDOT table and may have to adjust downward one level. Splits were 6:31,6:34,6:38,6:42. Target was 6:32, probably should have been 6:38.
We ran our warmup out to MTSU and did the tempo workout around the campus, so we could do the other stuff on the track. Made it to the track without BQ1 and started the 800 repeats. The first 200 meters came in on target, but I couldn't hold it for 400 meters and stopped. Tried again with the same result and bagged the workout. Just couldn't get the legs to turn over quick enough. BLAH.
I'll need to either change my target paces or change my plans. May try and do a McMillan/Daniels speed workout, one of each per week with a long run on the weekend. Still have about 6 weeks to try and get some speed before the next race. I'm ready for some cooler weather.
Pulled into the parking lot to meet BQ1 and the whole herd was there. Kinda surprised me. We all started out together, but the fast guys went one way and BQ1 and I the other. BQ1 is coming off his second week back to running so wasn't sure how he'd do with the speed workout. He hung right with me for about 3 quarters of a mile and fell off. The first mile came easily enough, but the second was tough. The recovery went by way to quick and the first mile of the second set actually felt easier. The second mile was a struggle. May have been a little to optimistic with the VDOT table and may have to adjust downward one level. Splits were 6:31,6:34,6:38,6:42. Target was 6:32, probably should have been 6:38.
We ran our warmup out to MTSU and did the tempo workout around the campus, so we could do the other stuff on the track. Made it to the track without BQ1 and started the 800 repeats. The first 200 meters came in on target, but I couldn't hold it for 400 meters and stopped. Tried again with the same result and bagged the workout. Just couldn't get the legs to turn over quick enough. BLAH.
I'll need to either change my target paces or change my plans. May try and do a McMillan/Daniels speed workout, one of each per week with a long run on the weekend. Still have about 6 weeks to try and get some speed before the next race. I'm ready for some cooler weather.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
returning to Jack
This morning was the first speed workout in the 8 week cycle for the Chikin Run. I'm using the Jack Daniels program. This will be the first time I've used this program for the 10k distance, but I've used it successfully for 5 miles. This mornings session wasn't to bad, 3 x 1,200 meters at I pace and 3 x 800 meters at I pace.
First time using this program for more than 5 weeks. That's the buildup I've used in the past. One of these days I'll start at the beginning of the cycle. But, maybe that's why its worked so far. It just sharpens what ever speed I have at that point in my training.
Running streak is still intact at 161 days. I deleted the old counter on the blog because it started to run ads continually. The new counter is pretty simple. Got it here. It appears to be without any type of advertising or malicious content.
Tour de France is over. Pretty exciting tour this year, as compared with the last couple of years. Next year should really be a show. Lot's of new young talent and the old guard that continue to hang on and make it interesting.
First time using this program for more than 5 weeks. That's the buildup I've used in the past. One of these days I'll start at the beginning of the cycle. But, maybe that's why its worked so far. It just sharpens what ever speed I have at that point in my training.
Running streak is still intact at 161 days. I deleted the old counter on the blog because it started to run ads continually. The new counter is pretty simple. Got it here. It appears to be without any type of advertising or malicious content.
Tour de France is over. Pretty exciting tour this year, as compared with the last couple of years. Next year should really be a show. Lot's of new young talent and the old guard that continue to hang on and make it interesting.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
another rainy day
How about those abs?
Sure like to have abs like that when I'm 56 years old.
Looks like another rainy day. May set a record for the wettest month in 10 years or something. Even got rained on yesterday morning on the bike. Hate riding the bike in the rain. Radar showed the one little rain shower had moved out. Go figure.
Off schedule on speed workouts this week. Last night was the first speed workout of the week. EB and I did 16 x one minute at 3k pace with one minute recovery. Great workout. It was definitely hot and humid. Friday morning is the next scheduled speed workout, 40 minutes at adjusted tempo pace. I'll have to do that one alone. The guys did their tempo workout this morning.
Pet peeves. Nails and other sharp objects on the road. This mornings run was littered with sh*t on the road. First, right in our subdivision where they had just re roofed a house, a pile of staples. Then on the roadway, I picked up 2 handfuls of 16 penny nails from about the same spot on either side of the road. Jeez. I've gotten my fair share of flats on my bike from that crap.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
99 days
Longest running streak ever, I'm on day 99.(only running streak) This morning was tough getting out of bed at 3:30 am to meet the guys for a run a 4:30 am. Seems like everyone has a different goal for the summer, so lots of different training programs. Though I think at least 3 or 4 of us will be racing at Moon Pie.
Still doing speed work to get ready for Moon Pie. Last night was 2 x 3 miles at tempo pace with EB. (that's what made it so tough to get out of bed after 5 hours of sleep) Pretty hot and humid for the first repeat and then rain for the next repeat. Times came in about where we wanted them. We started each repeat a touch slow and then sped up with each mile.
It's been almost 3 weeks since the marathon and my endurance seems to have disappeared. The tempo pace is coming easy enough. Tried to do a 13 mile long run in the hills on sunday but the last 3 miles were tough with the heat. Probably should have taken some water.
Still following the Giro on Velonews. Lance is getting stronger and Levi has slid back in the general classification. Next 5 days will be grueling mountain stages. Sure wish it was on TV. I'll have to watch some of the highlights on Universal Sports. Looks like even Lance is doing the compression socks for recovery.
Still doing speed work to get ready for Moon Pie. Last night was 2 x 3 miles at tempo pace with EB. (that's what made it so tough to get out of bed after 5 hours of sleep) Pretty hot and humid for the first repeat and then rain for the next repeat. Times came in about where we wanted them. We started each repeat a touch slow and then sped up with each mile.
It's been almost 3 weeks since the marathon and my endurance seems to have disappeared. The tempo pace is coming easy enough. Tried to do a 13 mile long run in the hills on sunday but the last 3 miles were tough with the heat. Probably should have taken some water.
Still following the Giro on Velonews. Lance is getting stronger and Levi has slid back in the general classification. Next 5 days will be grueling mountain stages. Sure wish it was on TV. I'll have to watch some of the highlights on Universal Sports. Looks like even Lance is doing the compression socks for recovery.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Anxious, perhaps..........
Heart rate and elevation profile from this mornings speed workout, above. This workout has become easier since we first started. We break it up into the A group with the fast guys and the B group, me and S. Stayed with the A guys for a couple steps this morning until S. told me to slow down. Almost felt to easy, but by the middle of the workout it becomes work. Especially when the wind is so strong running downhill feels like an uphill. On paper this seems like a simple workout, 20 x 1 minute hard with 1 minute recovery. Pace works out to be quicker than 5k pace, but not all out. The tricky part the first couple of times is getting the pace that can be sustained for a minute, 20 times. Great workout.
I would say this has to be the most anxious I've been this far out from the race in any training cycle. Most be the unknown. All of the training has been stepped up a notch, as well as the anticipated finish time. Really felt it the morning of the Yasso 800 workout. The only way I was able to finish the 10 reps at the desired pace was with S. pulling me. The laps where he didn't pull I would relax 3-4 seconds per lap. Same thing on this mornings workout. Sure is a tremendous help to have someone pulling or pushing the pace.
Yasso 800 article in runners world, discussion of this workout, old thread form cool running, thread from 1999.
Bottom line, everyone has to run what works for them. I've decided the Yasso 800's are a great workout once or twice in the latter stages of the training cycle as a indicator of my training to that point. I don't think I'll ever go back to building up to 10 x 800's by increasing a few a week. The other speed stuff we've been doing this cycle has worked better than the 800 meter repeats.
Friday, February 20, 2009
blue scrotums
Earlier this week someone’s pet monkey in Connecticut went ape sh*t and ripped off a woman’s face. The owner stabbed the monkey/chimpanzee repeatably and police shot the animal eventually. No laughing matter, deathly serious stuff. Yesterday, a monkey escaped from the Seattle zoo and Fox news had a news break regarding the incident. The Bob and Tom show this morning had audio of that report. Pretty funny stuff, not the news report so much but the ad lib they came up with afterwards. Look out for the monkey with the “blue scrotum”. Youtube had video earlier, but its gone now.
Cold this morning around 18 degrees but little to no wind (no blue balls) and a real big pack of runners showed up for the speed work. I overslept and forced the group to circle back to pick me up before the work started. We ended up doing a loop around the MTSU campus. This worked well, I actually prefer a closed loop for the speed work. It’s really nice not having to fight the cars and it’s also nice to have a well lit area. Only drawback to this location was the lack of any hills or change in elevation. The brothers W ran with me or should I say I tried to keep up with them. Worked really well, the younger W seemed to have more speed and the older W kept me honest and from fading in the final seconds of the intervals. Cool to watch the fast guys blast off seemingly effortlessly.
Only downside to the speed was the lack of splits. Earlier in the week we ran the same workout and I hit the lap button before each interval on my Garmin 305. I don’t know if it was the double layers of gloves, but for some reason I lost almost 2 miles of the workout and didn’t get any splits. Must have been hitting the stop button instead of the lap button. It just recorded the miles and one of them was a 6:04. That was the average pace for the workout on Tuesday, no way we ran a entire mile at that pace. Oh well, again I curse the Garmin, but I still love to have the data it gives me.
Easy day for me today, I only went to work for a couple of hours. Paula had her wisdom teeth extracted this morning, so I went with her to the oral surgeons office. Before I left the office, I was “forced” to fill my growler with some Dos Perros beer which was left over from a sales function the previous evening. Forgot how good beer tastes straight from the keg.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Beauty of the morning run
Thank a vet today.
Reminded this morning of one of the best benefits of the early morning run, sunrises. This mornings was spectacular. Almost missed it. I was headed home, with the sunrise off to my left. The reds against the almost complete cloud cover was amazing. The clouds had the swirly look of snow clouds. Not cold enough for that, but made for a great sunrise. Bet as a runner I've seen more sunrises than most people.
Got up at 3:30 this morning for my speed workout. Got distracted reading about tapers and didn't make it out the door until almost 5 am. Pulled out my log books from prior years to find what taper I used for my Boston qualifier at Rocket City in 2004. Two weeks, with lots of rest and not much running. I ran the Mid-South Marathon in Wynne, Arkansas 5 weeks earlier.
Googled "best marathon taper" and got Runners World, Ten Things to Avoid in a taper, McMillan, Pfitzinger , and Letsrun. I'm going with 2 weeks of taper. I've tried 3 weeks in the past and thats way to long. Really like the idea of running the day before the marathon, its worked for me in the past. Typically only a couple of miles. Just enough to loosen up the legs.
This mornings workout is a modification of the speed workout from the Rocket City training. It was 3 x 800, 600, 600 at 5k pace. I did 6 x 800 meters instead with equal recovery a little quicker than 10k pace. Pretty easy workout and total of 7.1 miles for the morning.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
falling back
One of my favorite times of year. The leaves are falling, the mornings are cool, sunrises are awesome and the colors just seem brighter. But, the whole spring forward, fall back with the clocks is a pain in the ass. First 2 days at work going home when its dark are difficult. The mornings aren't that big of deal, just seems like forever for the sun to come up.
Took Monday as a scheduled off day from running. Did my regular weight workout instead. Tuesday it was time for another speed workout. Planned to do 8 of the Yasso repeats. Ran down to the greenway, which gives me a 2.5 mile warmup and 2.5 mile cooldown. First repeat was to conservative, but did dial in the rest, at or under target. Number 5 was a little hot, thought I was letting up, and then number 6 came in at 3:06. Sheeeit. Little to quick, took way to long to recover and then started number 7, but caved after a 100 meters. Slogged it back home for about 9 miles worth of work for the morning. Don't know if its the recovery is to short, 1:30 versus equal recovery per Yasso, or I'm just chicken shit. Felt a twinge in my plantar on the warmup and the achilles felt a little tight. Everything felt good during the speed work and on the way home.
Glad the election if finally over. Flipped the channels for awhile last night and the same crap on every channel. Watched the Green Mile instead. Going to be a very interesting next four years. Hate to even bring it up, but big pet peeve. Double Standard. Notice any of the tip toeing around issues or comments from the different broadcasters or news channels? Seriously doubt any of the mud slinging that has been directed at Bush over the last year, will be any kind of news fodder for our new president elect. Take the typical shot of the radicals shooting their weapons into the air in other countries. We had that right here in Nashville last night, would have made a great news clip. Didn't see it anywhere.
This mornings workout is 5 miles of easy on the MTSU gravel loop from the house. Loaded up Dylan's Ipod, mine keeps crashing, probably just about dead. It's the first generation shuffle. I'd like one of the bigger Ipods, but that wouldn't work for running. The new shuffle, like Dylan has is perfect. It holds twice as much music as the old shuffle and is about half the size.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Titans fan, yes: tights, not so much
Slept in on Monday, it was a scheduled day off. Went back out to the gravel on the new Barfield connector trail, on Sunday. They have gravel from the start all the way to the bridge. It's the smooth gravel, pea size or smaller and packed down with the heavy rolling machine. I wouldn't mind having about 10 miles worth of this kind of trail, but it's only 2 miles worth so far. Tried to run some of the trail, way to muddy. Took a half mile to get the extra 20 pounds off my shoes.
I'm pretty much a fair weather Titans fan. I watch most of the games. Stayed up and watched the entire Monday night game, that's a first.(least in the last year, since I've been getting up at 3:30 am to get in my runs). Titans didn't look bad, couple of dropped passes, never did get the running game going. Had just enough for the Colts.
Sure made getting up the next morning difficult. Knew it was going to be cold, around 38 degrees and windy. Finally got out of bed at 5:30 am. Started out the door so late, the roads were clogged with rush hour traffic. Ran down to the greenway for my workout. Did the second set of Yasso 800's. Hadn't really planned on using them this cycle. It was just a last second change of plan last week. I didn't get on the track, so decided to do 4 x 800 meters on the road instead. This week I did 6 x 800 meters, I only used a 1:30 recovery. Kinda gun shy of this workout. I got achilles tendonitis 7-8 years ago on repeat #8 about 6 weeks out from my goal marathon. (DNF at Wichita at mile 16) Split times were surprising. I was targeting 3:15 and the first came in at 3:08. The greenway is only marked every quarter, so I wasn't watching my time, just hitting the button at the end. Typically when I look at the watch at 400 meters, I'll slow or speed up to much. Times held between 3:08 and 3:10 for the remaining 800's. The last came in at 3:15, just about the right number of repeats. Next week I'll go for 8, with maybe a little more recovery.
My rule of thumb in the past has been the tights don't come on until the temperature gets below 32 degrees. I've relaxed that the last couple of years to factor in the wind. I've got 2 different types of tights, the loose fitting and the skin tight. Tuesday morning I went with the skin tight. Glad I had them on, comfortable for the warmup and cooldown and not unbearably warm for the speed work. The thing about the tights is the chafing on the inner leg. Usually just on long runs, not on issue on Tuesday. I did pick the wrong gloves, they were to warm for the speed work. Almost should have had 2 pairs, a lighter pair for the speed workout and the heavier pair for the warmup and cooldown.
Looking at the log for the year and I'm trending towards 2,700 miles for the year. That's quite a jump in mileage from previous years. Most miles in a year was 1,913 in 2001. That was one of my big Boston qualifying pushes. Didn't make it. Pretty certain I've been pretty smart about the increased miles this year. I've backed off when something hurts. The soft surface runs are a tremendous help. This marathon cycle I've completed 2, 18 mile runs and 4, 20 mile runs. Next weekend is a 14 miler at real marathon pace and then a final 20 miler or 18 miler the following week. 18 miles two weeks out and then taper, sounds like a good plan. After all I'm not racing the monkey, just participating. Should I still feel the urge for a fast marathon, Rocket City is a short drive and 3 weeks later.
I'm pretty much a fair weather Titans fan. I watch most of the games. Stayed up and watched the entire Monday night game, that's a first.(least in the last year, since I've been getting up at 3:30 am to get in my runs). Titans didn't look bad, couple of dropped passes, never did get the running game going. Had just enough for the Colts.
Sure made getting up the next morning difficult. Knew it was going to be cold, around 38 degrees and windy. Finally got out of bed at 5:30 am. Started out the door so late, the roads were clogged with rush hour traffic. Ran down to the greenway for my workout. Did the second set of Yasso 800's. Hadn't really planned on using them this cycle. It was just a last second change of plan last week. I didn't get on the track, so decided to do 4 x 800 meters on the road instead. This week I did 6 x 800 meters, I only used a 1:30 recovery. Kinda gun shy of this workout. I got achilles tendonitis 7-8 years ago on repeat #8 about 6 weeks out from my goal marathon. (DNF at Wichita at mile 16) Split times were surprising. I was targeting 3:15 and the first came in at 3:08. The greenway is only marked every quarter, so I wasn't watching my time, just hitting the button at the end. Typically when I look at the watch at 400 meters, I'll slow or speed up to much. Times held between 3:08 and 3:10 for the remaining 800's. The last came in at 3:15, just about the right number of repeats. Next week I'll go for 8, with maybe a little more recovery.
My rule of thumb in the past has been the tights don't come on until the temperature gets below 32 degrees. I've relaxed that the last couple of years to factor in the wind. I've got 2 different types of tights, the loose fitting and the skin tight. Tuesday morning I went with the skin tight. Glad I had them on, comfortable for the warmup and cooldown and not unbearably warm for the speed work. The thing about the tights is the chafing on the inner leg. Usually just on long runs, not on issue on Tuesday. I did pick the wrong gloves, they were to warm for the speed work. Almost should have had 2 pairs, a lighter pair for the speed workout and the heavier pair for the warmup and cooldown.
Looking at the log for the year and I'm trending towards 2,700 miles for the year. That's quite a jump in mileage from previous years. Most miles in a year was 1,913 in 2001. That was one of my big Boston qualifying pushes. Didn't make it. Pretty certain I've been pretty smart about the increased miles this year. I've backed off when something hurts. The soft surface runs are a tremendous help. This marathon cycle I've completed 2, 18 mile runs and 4, 20 mile runs. Next weekend is a 14 miler at real marathon pace and then a final 20 miler or 18 miler the following week. 18 miles two weeks out and then taper, sounds like a good plan. After all I'm not racing the monkey, just participating. Should I still feel the urge for a fast marathon, Rocket City is a short drive and 3 weeks later.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cigars
Big cigar fan. Doesn't help my running. Actually can tell the effects of the cigar on my speed workouts. Yet, I can't resist a good cigar. Most training cycles I abstain from smoking. Smoked 2 cigars on the cruise vacation. One in each of the ports of call. Supposedly they were "Cubans", no big deal, smoked the same as any other good cigar. One great thing about smoking a cigar is the buffer zone it creates. Most people are offended by the cigar smoke, thus the buffer.
Didn't get any pictures of myself or the cigars, but my sister law did. Sure looked liked I was enjoying myself. Must have been the rum. As an ex-smoker, cigarette smoke really bothers me. Really was bothersome in the on board casino of the cruise ship. Seems like everyone was smoking.
Can't blame the cigars on my pitiful speed workout this morning. Think it was more likely due to no speed work last week and the lack of miles and only 4 runs. Ran a total of 8 miles, all before sun up. Speed workout was the usual 12 x 200 meters with 200 meters of rest. Times were 2-3 seconds off of my last effort.
Incident in our neighborhood(Man injured when dragged by truck), got me thinking about early morning runs. I use to always wear a reflective vest when I ran before sun up. It hasn't been but the last couple of years that I stopped and only because the vest had become so threadbare. So, this morning I carried my red blinky light from the bike. Seen another runner the last few weeks with one on the back of his hand, with some kind of strap. I've also seen someone else wear one on the back of their shorts.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
4:44 pace for 26.2 miles
New world record for the marathon. Holy crap. Started calc'ing that pace for 200 meters while I was doing my speed workout this morning. 71 seconds per 400 meters or 35.5 for 200 meters. I was able to run 1, 35 second 200 meters. The last one, almost completely all out. "The bending over I'm going to barf, all out effort". Freakin' amazing someone can keep that going for a marathon. No one even runs that kind of pace for a 5k around here, or even a mile.
Geb pulled out of the Olympic marathon because of concerns about the pollution in Beijing. He won the gold medal for the 10,000 meters. Actually, sixth. The winning time for the Olympic marathon of 2:06 with temperatures in the 80's equates to a 2:01:36 at temperatures below 60 degrees. Damn.
Pretty tired this morning. Didn't get in bed until 11:30. 3:30 am came to quick. Didn't seem to sleep very well last night. Probably because Monday was a off day and the 2 extra cups of coffee at work didn't help any. Really tempted to skip the speed workout this morning. Went ahead and knocked out the 12 x 200 meters. 8 miles of total running. Need to get all of my workouts in this week because, I may not be able to get them done on the ship while we're on vacation. One week break from running isn't going to set me back to far. Just makes that 20 miler I need to do on the 12th tougher.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
skunked
Well, almost anyway. Closest I've ever been to a skunk. Heading out of the neighborhood this morning, I slowed for a car coming down the road. It's lights spotlighted the skunk that was standing 5 feet from me on the corner. YIKES!
Sunday, I finished watching the Titans game and started to watch the Colts. I only was going to watch to see if they could be beat. Decided I didn't give a rats ass about the Colts and went for a bike ride.(even more over all of the Tennessee fans, who watch the Colts because of Peyton, glad to see TN get clobbered by the Gators) I've been wanting to get in a half way long ride before "back to jack" anyway. Headed out towards Lascassas and did the Lascassas loop, plus alittle of Browns Mill where I took a wrong turn. Got up to 35 mph coming down one hill. That's a blast. Ended up with 32 miles in roughly the same time it'd taken me to run 14 miles that morning. 1:47 on the bike and 1:44 on the run.
Bike took more out of me. Quads were sore coming home and even more so over the next 2 days. They were even sore this morning in my 3 point stance during my warmup this morning. Still sore after I finished my speed workout. I almost didn't run the intervals, but WH had the track open. Jeez, if he can be out there running the stairs after racing on Saturday, I could run a few 200's. I just broke up the 200's into sets of 3, only break was after the first 6, but mentally easier to think of it as 3 intervals. First 2 were off, but nailed the rest. A little more work, maybe because of the sore quad?
Speed Queen has trashed her plantar. It was sore after she did the relay. But, instead of resting it, she did some trails over the weekend and can hardly walk. She goes in to the doctor today. Probably end up with a boot. Hopefully she hasn't screwed it up badly enough to need surgery. I can't say much, I tend to push when I should rest. Also, I messed up the date for "back to Jack". It's the weekend I'll be working on Saturday for an accelerated close, because we head out of town at o'dark thirty for Tampa and our cruise. Budget time as well, so this weekend is toast as well. Sheeeeeeeeeeeit.
Sunday, I finished watching the Titans game and started to watch the Colts. I only was going to watch to see if they could be beat. Decided I didn't give a rats ass about the Colts and went for a bike ride.(even more over all of the Tennessee fans, who watch the Colts because of Peyton, glad to see TN get clobbered by the Gators) I've been wanting to get in a half way long ride before "back to jack" anyway. Headed out towards Lascassas and did the Lascassas loop, plus alittle of Browns Mill where I took a wrong turn. Got up to 35 mph coming down one hill. That's a blast. Ended up with 32 miles in roughly the same time it'd taken me to run 14 miles that morning. 1:47 on the bike and 1:44 on the run.
Bike took more out of me. Quads were sore coming home and even more so over the next 2 days. They were even sore this morning in my 3 point stance during my warmup this morning. Still sore after I finished my speed workout. I almost didn't run the intervals, but WH had the track open. Jeez, if he can be out there running the stairs after racing on Saturday, I could run a few 200's. I just broke up the 200's into sets of 3, only break was after the first 6, but mentally easier to think of it as 3 intervals. First 2 were off, but nailed the rest. A little more work, maybe because of the sore quad?
Speed Queen has trashed her plantar. It was sore after she did the relay. But, instead of resting it, she did some trails over the weekend and can hardly walk. She goes in to the doctor today. Probably end up with a boot. Hopefully she hasn't screwed it up badly enough to need surgery. I can't say much, I tend to push when I should rest. Also, I messed up the date for "back to Jack". It's the weekend I'll be working on Saturday for an accelerated close, because we head out of town at o'dark thirty for Tampa and our cruise. Budget time as well, so this weekend is toast as well. Sheeeeeeeeeeeit.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
full moon
Big full moon this morning for my speed workout. Ended up with 3.5 miles of warmup. Went by Siegel HS, hoping WH had the track open, nope. Ended up out on the road with my marked 1,400 meters. First set of 6 x 200 meters, I couldn't get the pace dialed in, ranged from 41 to goal of 39. Took a 3 minute rest and then 6 more, 200 meter recovery between each. These were better, 37, 37, 36, 39, 39, 39. Mile and a half cool down home, real slow. Nice and cool, around 58 degrees with a little breeze.
Monday was a off day. Didn't sleep in though. Didn't even do any weights or bike.
Pet Peeve. Garbage and litter. You'd think with all of the hype about going green, we'd have less trash and litter. Someone threw 10-20 used diapers on the roadway right in front of the high school. What a scum bucket, least they could have done was swing into the school parking lot and throw it in a dumpster. Reminded me of the old Tennessee Trash commercials from 1976. Also, with the push to make everything cheaper, most products are throw away. Nothing is built to last anymore. Plastic and more plastic, cheap and flimsy products.
Monday was a off day. Didn't sleep in though. Didn't even do any weights or bike.
Pet Peeve. Garbage and litter. You'd think with all of the hype about going green, we'd have less trash and litter. Someone threw 10-20 used diapers on the roadway right in front of the high school. What a scum bucket, least they could have done was swing into the school parking lot and throw it in a dumpster. Reminded me of the old Tennessee Trash commercials from 1976. Also, with the push to make everything cheaper, most products are throw away. Nothing is built to last anymore. Plastic and more plastic, cheap and flimsy products.
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