Wednesday, September 30, 2009
W23d3.
Ran for am hour and 10 minutes. started nice and easy and picked it up after I warmed up. It was 55 deg this evening when I headed our. Brrrrrrr!! I took the gloves just in case but I didn't need them. This week should turn out to be a good one for running. It is amazing how after about 45 to 50 minutes I really start feeling good and the legs come to life.
w23 d 2
Tuesday track workout.
3 miles to the track, 3.5 miles with the group for warm up.
The track fun consisted of 1000's with 400m recovery. I was a little concerned about doing these but we kept them under control so it wasn't so bad. Paces ranged from 327-335 and we completed 6. Then I did the 3 miles back to the house.
Total miles = 15.
3 miles to the track, 3.5 miles with the group for warm up.
The track fun consisted of 1000's with 400m recovery. I was a little concerned about doing these but we kept them under control so it wasn't so bad. Paces ranged from 327-335 and we completed 6. Then I did the 3 miles back to the house.
Total miles = 15.
Monday, September 28, 2009
w23 d1
I felt a bit tight this morning, but not near what I expected. I went for a slow 55 minute run this evening 15 minutes of which was with the weenies.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
D7w22
Nahant 30k. Started the first mile 650, second mile was 640 ish. Third was 635 then I decided to see what I coils do and ran on feel for about 6 miles. These were in the low 630 range with one or two 625-628's. By mile 8 my average pace was 635 and I planned to keep the pace in that range. With 3 miles left I decided to try to keep it in 625 range. This was tough and ended up running low 630 ish pace. At the end I hurt a bit but could have kept going at a 650 pace maybe even 640 ish. This helpede put my upcoming marathon in perspective. Probably going to plan to run 650 ish pace for the marathon.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
d5, d6
D5 ended up being a rest day.
D6 I went to the Cod Fish Bowl, a local DIII cross country meet that allows open entry. It was an 8k for the men. I did the warmup with some of the GBTC guys that were racing in it. Got in about 5 miles today. Should be able to give a good effort tomorrow.
D6 I went to the Cod Fish Bowl, a local DIII cross country meet that allows open entry. It was an 8k for the men. I did the warmup with some of the GBTC guys that were racing in it. Got in about 5 miles today. Should be able to give a good effort tomorrow.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
d2, w22
Tuesday track workout consisted of 3 miles WU run to the track, 3*200 build to fast end of a race closing pace but not an all out sprint (37 sec) with 200 recovery. 7*1000 (3:30) with 600 recovery. Then 3 miles home. Workout was great and I ran the 3 miles home in under 21 minutes but it hurt. "As it is supposed to"
I was talking to my our running coach after practice about the 30 k that is coming up and he had some good advice. Go out to run the race, don't worry about the marathon in 4 weeks run the race you in that day for those conditions. Race to win, if you can't try to place as high as possible. Tom has run a 2:19 marathon, so I have a tendency do as much of what he suggests as I can with out putting my self in a place to get injured. Tom wrote the book, literally, he wrote the book -The Boston Marathon- and couple others he coauthored. He has trained and run with many of the olympians of his day.
He asked me what my mileage had been for the past 5 weeks.
I told him about 60-65/wk with one or two 70-75. I justified this by saying, but only on 6 days of running. He kind of looked at me and said "why are you only running 6 days".
I said "well I like to take one day of recovery/ rest during the week".
He basically said that" I can't possibly reach my full marathon or racing potential on that kind of mileage. It does take time/ years to be capable of running huge mileage weeks but that is what it takes to truly maximize racing potential. That in combination with running fast and practicing to run fast, with racing being the best practice".
He noted that when he was in his prime he was always tired, most of his training runs were hard. Some of them were uncomfortable for the entire 2 hours of the run. "This is how we are supposed to feel during training".
----------------------------
This morning he emailed me this column he wrote a few years ago which I found to really put things into perspective.
------The Medicalization of the Marathon
You don’t climb mountains for your health. Yes, you have to be healthy to climb mountains, but you climb them for the challenge, because it is hard, because it is dangerous, and, of course, because they are there. Why should it be different for marathons? Mountains, marathons — same thing: because they are there.
But every year we hear more jargon and medical terms applied to the marathon. I am afraid we have made the most simple of sports too complicated and frightening. It seems we have equated the marathon with a disease when we use the word “recover” to apply to the time a runner rests after a hard effort. Rest is a fine word. After a long, hard race, you rest, but after a disease, you recover.
Another obscure term to replace “rest” before a marathon has surfaced: taper. The jargon for resting on both sides of a marathon may be self-aggrandizing or may serve to intimidate those outside the sport. “Tapering” and “recovering” sound much more professional and serious than resting, which may be confused with laziness and goofing off. So regarding the terms “taper” and “recover,” let’s just let it rest.
In addition to resting, humans eat and drink. The new marathon lingo has elevated those historical human activities to “nutrition” and “hydration.” Michael Pollan, who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” keeps it simple as he sums up all the patter of nutritional counsel: “Eat food, mostly plants.” Other than in response to disease or deprivation, that advice is enough. Nutrition is an important field of study for scientific and health reasons, but the morbid need to fret about every vitamin, calorie, or electrolyte is unnecessary for people already healthy enough to be athletes. Yes, branded products proliferate: energy bars and energy drinks, for instance, are only over designed, overpriced food and somewhat salty, sugary water. The most important active ingredient in these sports drinks is water — the same stuff that flows from the tap at a tiny cost. The sugar and salt added are in your every bite of food. The advertising and promotion of such products does turn a profit, so the sellers keep pushing them, but you can get what you need in your own kitchen. Eat food. Drink water.
Gizmos make more profits than do specialty athlete foods. Beyond the silly sight of men with heart-rate monitors holding them tight to their chests with man-jog bras, they are expensive and unnecessary. It may be interesting to know your heart rate at a particular pace, but you can learn how to feel your heart rate with great accuracy and value by stopping while running a known pace and taking your pulse using a wristwatch. (I like wristwatches.) After doing this for a few runs and at different paces, you will be able to read your body and know your heart rate from the feel of it beating in your own chest and be able to correlate a number to it. That little biofeedback study can save you a lot of money with which you can buy food.
A runner I coach recently found that the beeping of a global positioning system strapped to a runner alongside indicating constant deviations from the programmed pace was annoying to almost homicidal limits. Do you really need to be attached to 24 orbiting satellites 12,000 miles up to tell you how to place your feet on planet earth?
From your feet to your nose — they want us to buy strips of tape to stick on our noses to flare our nostrils as we run. These may help old men who snore or make you look like a raging bull, but they won’t help you run faster. There seems to be no end to products or raging bull —.
There’s another way they want to tell you to get nutrition: without eating or drinking. A company sells a dual-layer strip that you place between your cheek and gum (like chewing tobacco?) to get electrolytes into your bloodstream faster so you can remain hydrated. It sounds good, but it is not necessary. Any well-trained athlete needs only water to produce sweat during a marathon (water being the active ingredient of sweat). Simplicity is the word: if you are thirsty, drink water. But don’t drink too much. The necessary electrolytes should already be stored in your body from previous meals.
The new emphasis of medicine and the marathon has produced hyponatremia, or water intoxication. Well-meaning nutritional and medical advisers told novice runners to drink lots of water during a marathon. But their poorly trained bodies sweat out too many electrolytes. Then the medical advice to drink diluted the electrolytes in their bodies and gained water weight as they ran. Medical advice was no replacement for training during which the body learns how to sweat. The excess water leaks into the brain. In the worst cases, their brains swell up, resulting in confusion, coma, and even death. Ironically, many of the people who suffer during a marathon run for a reason other than the challenge, such as to memorialize someone or to raise money for a cause, often of the medical variety, or to celebrate a personal recovery from a personal problem such as drug or alcohol abuse. Of course some just race to win.
But elite athletes have their own demons of the medical variety in the pharmacopeias of performance-enhancing drugs and medical industrial devices, from ice tubs, to gravity-reduction treadmills, to massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, oxygen-reduction rooms, altitude training, or other products or techniques that in some cases work or may be cheating or are quackery. Or as someone else said, some are good, some are bad, and some are bogus.
Our sport is simple. It is beautiful because it is simple. If you want to get good, run a lot, eat food, and drink water, and when you get tired, rest.
I was talking to my our running coach after practice about the 30 k that is coming up and he had some good advice. Go out to run the race, don't worry about the marathon in 4 weeks run the race you in that day for those conditions. Race to win, if you can't try to place as high as possible. Tom has run a 2:19 marathon, so I have a tendency do as much of what he suggests as I can with out putting my self in a place to get injured. Tom wrote the book, literally, he wrote the book -The Boston Marathon- and couple others he coauthored. He has trained and run with many of the olympians of his day.
He asked me what my mileage had been for the past 5 weeks.
I told him about 60-65/wk with one or two 70-75. I justified this by saying, but only on 6 days of running. He kind of looked at me and said "why are you only running 6 days".
I said "well I like to take one day of recovery/ rest during the week".
He basically said that" I can't possibly reach my full marathon or racing potential on that kind of mileage. It does take time/ years to be capable of running huge mileage weeks but that is what it takes to truly maximize racing potential. That in combination with running fast and practicing to run fast, with racing being the best practice".
He noted that when he was in his prime he was always tired, most of his training runs were hard. Some of them were uncomfortable for the entire 2 hours of the run. "This is how we are supposed to feel during training".
----------------------------
This morning he emailed me this column he wrote a few years ago which I found to really put things into perspective.
------The Medicalization of the Marathon
You don’t climb mountains for your health. Yes, you have to be healthy to climb mountains, but you climb them for the challenge, because it is hard, because it is dangerous, and, of course, because they are there. Why should it be different for marathons? Mountains, marathons — same thing: because they are there.
But every year we hear more jargon and medical terms applied to the marathon. I am afraid we have made the most simple of sports too complicated and frightening. It seems we have equated the marathon with a disease when we use the word “recover” to apply to the time a runner rests after a hard effort. Rest is a fine word. After a long, hard race, you rest, but after a disease, you recover.
Another obscure term to replace “rest” before a marathon has surfaced: taper. The jargon for resting on both sides of a marathon may be self-aggrandizing or may serve to intimidate those outside the sport. “Tapering” and “recovering” sound much more professional and serious than resting, which may be confused with laziness and goofing off. So regarding the terms “taper” and “recover,” let’s just let it rest.
In addition to resting, humans eat and drink. The new marathon lingo has elevated those historical human activities to “nutrition” and “hydration.” Michael Pollan, who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” keeps it simple as he sums up all the patter of nutritional counsel: “Eat food, mostly plants.” Other than in response to disease or deprivation, that advice is enough. Nutrition is an important field of study for scientific and health reasons, but the morbid need to fret about every vitamin, calorie, or electrolyte is unnecessary for people already healthy enough to be athletes. Yes, branded products proliferate: energy bars and energy drinks, for instance, are only over designed, overpriced food and somewhat salty, sugary water. The most important active ingredient in these sports drinks is water — the same stuff that flows from the tap at a tiny cost. The sugar and salt added are in your every bite of food. The advertising and promotion of such products does turn a profit, so the sellers keep pushing them, but you can get what you need in your own kitchen. Eat food. Drink water.
Gizmos make more profits than do specialty athlete foods. Beyond the silly sight of men with heart-rate monitors holding them tight to their chests with man-jog bras, they are expensive and unnecessary. It may be interesting to know your heart rate at a particular pace, but you can learn how to feel your heart rate with great accuracy and value by stopping while running a known pace and taking your pulse using a wristwatch. (I like wristwatches.) After doing this for a few runs and at different paces, you will be able to read your body and know your heart rate from the feel of it beating in your own chest and be able to correlate a number to it. That little biofeedback study can save you a lot of money with which you can buy food.
A runner I coach recently found that the beeping of a global positioning system strapped to a runner alongside indicating constant deviations from the programmed pace was annoying to almost homicidal limits. Do you really need to be attached to 24 orbiting satellites 12,000 miles up to tell you how to place your feet on planet earth?
From your feet to your nose — they want us to buy strips of tape to stick on our noses to flare our nostrils as we run. These may help old men who snore or make you look like a raging bull, but they won’t help you run faster. There seems to be no end to products or raging bull —.
There’s another way they want to tell you to get nutrition: without eating or drinking. A company sells a dual-layer strip that you place between your cheek and gum (like chewing tobacco?) to get electrolytes into your bloodstream faster so you can remain hydrated. It sounds good, but it is not necessary. Any well-trained athlete needs only water to produce sweat during a marathon (water being the active ingredient of sweat). Simplicity is the word: if you are thirsty, drink water. But don’t drink too much. The necessary electrolytes should already be stored in your body from previous meals.
The new emphasis of medicine and the marathon has produced hyponatremia, or water intoxication. Well-meaning nutritional and medical advisers told novice runners to drink lots of water during a marathon. But their poorly trained bodies sweat out too many electrolytes. Then the medical advice to drink diluted the electrolytes in their bodies and gained water weight as they ran. Medical advice was no replacement for training during which the body learns how to sweat. The excess water leaks into the brain. In the worst cases, their brains swell up, resulting in confusion, coma, and even death. Ironically, many of the people who suffer during a marathon run for a reason other than the challenge, such as to memorialize someone or to raise money for a cause, often of the medical variety, or to celebrate a personal recovery from a personal problem such as drug or alcohol abuse. Of course some just race to win.
But elite athletes have their own demons of the medical variety in the pharmacopeias of performance-enhancing drugs and medical industrial devices, from ice tubs, to gravity-reduction treadmills, to massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, oxygen-reduction rooms, altitude training, or other products or techniques that in some cases work or may be cheating or are quackery. Or as someone else said, some are good, some are bad, and some are bogus.
Our sport is simple. It is beautiful because it is simple. If you want to get good, run a lot, eat food, and drink water, and when you get tired, rest.
Monday, September 21, 2009
w22d1
After taking off Sunday and only going for a leisure bike ride I felt pretty fresh during the late morning run. The plan was to get in about 10 miles. I ran 2.5 miles to the arboretum then ran on the trails in the arboretum for 5.5 miles then back to the house. It was one of those perfect runs, body, weather everything. I could pick it up at will, wasn't uncomfortable, and felt as if I could have run all day.
Ended up getting in 10.5 miles 718 pace. It was more of a progressive pace run which they all seem to be these days.
Ended up getting in 10.5 miles 718 pace. It was more of a progressive pace run which they all seem to be these days.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
D6 Last minute 5k race
I was planning to get in an easy 10 today and maybe do a long run Sunday but we had a 5k in the neighborhood that was a fund raiser for the local park. I decided that since I am a daily visitor of the park I could help support the cause. I ran the course as a warm up and it was a hilly one. So we toed the line at 10 am and began I was basically in 2nd place the entire race. The guy in first finished in 1620 and I finished in 1748. The 3rd place guy was about 45 seconds back of me. This ended up being a good effort run and I got in about 8 miles today with W/u and W/d.
My excuse for not winning this small and not very competitive race is the guy who won was a college student at Northeastern and I believe he runs for their team. I am pretty happy with the splits on the crazy hilly course though.
My excuse for not winning this small and not very competitive race is the guy who won was a college student at Northeastern and I believe he runs for their team. I am pretty happy with the splits on the crazy hilly course though.
Friday, September 18, 2009
D3d4d5
D3: rest
d4: ran for an hour, 6.5 miles total. FYI: don't eat pulled pork and potatoes 2 hrs before a run.
D5: 17 miles Prog Pace. Ending at 645 pace.
d4: ran for an hour, 6.5 miles total. FYI: don't eat pulled pork and potatoes 2 hrs before a run.
D5: 17 miles Prog Pace. Ending at 645 pace.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
D2
South Boston track workout. Ran 3 miles to the track did 8*200 (37-39sec) with 200 recovery. Then 3 mile (530,540,530)repeats with 400 recovery. Was supposed to do 4 but kinda felt beat up and tight during the first lap of the 4th one. So I pulled out of the group and caught on to the back of a couple groups and did 2 800's. Then ran home on pretty tired legs until the last mile. I was able to pick up the pace and felt much better. Pretty sore this morning.
Total miles= 13
Total miles= 13
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
D1
Easy 10. Ran to and down the Dorchester bay. Our track practices are Noe in south Boston at a track that is exactly 3 miles from my apt. So, I can warmup and cool down from/ to home. I will save 30-40 minutes of my life each week doing this. It may not be such a benefit if I get mugged during the run home on the dark though.
In doing a recent crime search in the Boston area the majority of shootings and roberies are all along the road I take for the warmup cooldown. On the bright side their will be no stopping to walk during the cooldown. It may actually be faster than the track intervals.
In doing a recent crime search in the Boston area the majority of shootings and roberies are all along the road I take for the warmup cooldown. On the bright side their will be no stopping to walk during the cooldown. It may actually be faster than the track intervals.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
One more race
I'm planning to get in one last race before the Bay State marathon. It will be in 2 weeks, about 3 weeks out from the marthon.
The race is a 30k in a very hilly course. With warm up and cool down it should be about 22-23 miles.
I expect this to be a great opportunity to test out a tenative goal pace.
The race is a 30k in a very hilly course. With warm up and cool down it should be about 22-23 miles.
I expect this to be a great opportunity to test out a tenative goal pace.
d7
met up with a group this morning. The email said it was going to be a relaxed run and the pace wouldn't be faster that 7 min/mile. They were plannig to go for 15 so I figured I'd get in 10 of it then split off on my own.
We wasted no time settling right into the "relaxed" 7min pace. It felt fine until conversations began and before anyone knew it we were running 630's. I am the only one with a garmin so I didn't say anything and just kept on with the group to see what may happen. Well, what happened was after another mile we were clicking right along at 610's. At this point I decided to give in another half mile and let them have their fun. I was quite tired and the legs were beginning to feel the race the day before.
I headed home and called it a day at 8.5 miles.
Avg pace 7 min..
So the miles for the week are 60, not bad for 5 days
We wasted no time settling right into the "relaxed" 7min pace. It felt fine until conversations began and before anyone knew it we were running 630's. I am the only one with a garmin so I didn't say anything and just kept on with the group to see what may happen. Well, what happened was after another mile we were clicking right along at 610's. At this point I decided to give in another half mile and let them have their fun. I was quite tired and the legs were beginning to feel the race the day before.
I headed home and called it a day at 8.5 miles.
Avg pace 7 min..
So the miles for the week are 60, not bad for 5 days
Saturday, September 12, 2009
running is relative..part II
As I celebrate another P.R., I continue to strive for more/better. Today was the Ollie 5 miler in South Boston. I placed 103rd. The field was quite competitive with 23:53 winning the event, but I still can't settle as I know that this is just the begining. I expect to be running much faster next year barring the unexpected.
Nonetheless, I am happy with my 28:48 finish, this is an average of 5:46min/mile. Which brings me to the Mc Millan calculator and my theory that you let your training determine your goal paces. I know the website has a disclaimer. It does have its benefits, but I am becoming convinced of the fact that if you want to get good at racing you have to race and running fast you have to race.
The Mc Millan calculator is as much of an enabler as anything else. Had I used it I would have gone out much slower and placed and run much slower. The result would have been less than what I was capable of.
Lesson learned.
Lets run......
Nonetheless, I am happy with my 28:48 finish, this is an average of 5:46min/mile. Which brings me to the Mc Millan calculator and my theory that you let your training determine your goal paces. I know the website has a disclaimer. It does have its benefits, but I am becoming convinced of the fact that if you want to get good at racing you have to race and running fast you have to race.
The Mc Millan calculator is as much of an enabler as anything else. Had I used it I would have gone out much slower and placed and run much slower. The result would have been less than what I was capable of.
Lesson learned.
Lets run......
Thursday, September 10, 2009
D4
After 2 days in a row of hard running I decided to rest on day 3.
Today I procrastinated for 2 hrs before getting out of the door for the run. I got in an easy 10. Sometimes getting out of the door is the hardest part.
Today I procrastinated for 2 hrs before getting out of the door for the run. I got in an easy 10. Sometimes getting out of the door is the hardest part.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
w 20 d2- Tuesday track workout
I really enjoy the track workouts. They are a nice break from pounding the pavement or running on the local trails. Today was a day of mile repeats with 400m recovery. It began with the standard progressive pace warm up that always seems to start easy enough but ends at a casual 645 pace.
The repeats began with a 540 mile. Then the next 3 were 537. I called it a day after 4 because I raced yesterday. These repeats are getting easier and easier. Finished the work out with a 2 mile warm down.
That's 10 miles if my math is correct.
The repeats began with a 540 mile. Then the next 3 were 537. I called it a day after 4 because I raced yesterday. These repeats are getting easier and easier. Finished the work out with a 2 mile warm down.
That's 10 miles if my math is correct.
What's in the shoes?
Well, the answer is feet?
But the real question I am asking is trainers or racing flats?
I guess the shoes are not near as important as the person wearing them. However, during the recent 25 k I wore my Mizuno Wave Ronin, it was something I had been debating but made the decision at the last moment. I have no way of knowing if the race would have turned out differently in my trainers.
I felt much more responsive in the lighter, less cushioned racing flat. The down side is the physical damage done by the impact. Is it worth the sacrafice? Not sure.
I haven't made a shoe decision for the upcoming marathon but I am leaning toward the racing flat. Regardless of which type of shoe I choose, it will be a Mizuno I love their running shoes.
But the real question I am asking is trainers or racing flats?
I guess the shoes are not near as important as the person wearing them. However, during the recent 25 k I wore my Mizuno Wave Ronin, it was something I had been debating but made the decision at the last moment. I have no way of knowing if the race would have turned out differently in my trainers.
I felt much more responsive in the lighter, less cushioned racing flat. The down side is the physical damage done by the impact. Is it worth the sacrafice? Not sure.
I haven't made a shoe decision for the upcoming marathon but I am leaning toward the racing flat. Regardless of which type of shoe I choose, it will be a Mizuno I love their running shoes.
Monday, September 7, 2009
D1week20......cape Ann 25k
Placed19th overall. Avg pace for the run was 637 pace. Same as the avg pace of the 10 mile race I ran a month ago. I ran 650's for the first 5 miles. Then dropped to 630 ish. At this point people were dropping like flies. This made me happy in a sick enjoying their pain kind of way. Thehen by mile 10, having only 5 miles left I cranked it down And ran 615's for a couple miles the. Ran 605ish to the finish.
It was a good run.
With warm up and cool down I had 22 miles for the day..
It was a good run.
With warm up and cool down I had 22 miles for the day..
Saturday, September 5, 2009
d6
Easy 10. I rested Friday because I planned to do a long run today but made the late afternoon decision to race Monday. I headed out and it is amazing how good I felt during this run. The day off yesterday made a big difference. I settled in to what seemed like a faster but seemingly easy pace after 3.5 miles. Ran a few 650's and then I made a conscious effort to slow down as to preserve my efforts until Monday.
Ran 10.5 miles at an avg of 714's.
Ran 10.5 miles at an avg of 714's.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Upcoming race
Just registered for the Race around Cape Ann on Monday 9-7. This is a 25k race, so I guess I'll forgo the planned weekend long run.
Based on the McMillan calculator I should be able to run around 648's for the 25k. I guess we will see about that as it is supposed to be a challenging course. The bright side is that the weather for race day is supposed to call for a high of 71 deg and a morning temp of 58 degrees. Love it!!
Based on the McMillan calculator I should be able to run around 648's for the 25k. I guess we will see about that as it is supposed to be a challenging course. The bright side is that the weather for race day is supposed to call for a high of 71 deg and a morning temp of 58 degrees. Love it!!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
d4
Wasn't sure what kind of workout I wanted to do today. All I knew was I wanted to run around 14-15 miles. I was torn between a moderately paced run or some type of tempo workout. I decided to do a type of tempo workout. Ran an easy 2 for warmup. Then did a mile at tempo effort, ran a mile of recovery (730-715 pace), Then did 2 mile tempo effort and 1 mile recovery, then 3 mile tempo. By the end of the 3 mile tempo I was face to face with the Newton Hills so I recovered up heart break hill's then moseyed back to the house. I ran the last 2 miles of the run at tempo effort and had a half mile easy easy effort home.
Total miles 15.
Tempo efforts varied between 630 and 645 depending on hills. It was a good workout and now I need a nap.
Total miles 15.
Tempo efforts varied between 630 and 645 depending on hills. It was a good workout and now I need a nap.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
W19d2
The educational lesson from Tom today was, the important part of distance running is to teach your body to run a long way without getting tired.
Now that sounds silly, actually simple may be a better word. It is the truth though. Running is real simple, so simple that people often tend to over think it.
Today was 8 sprints on a 50 meter grass hill, then to the track for 4* 1200 and 2 * 1600. we did an 800m recovery ( under 4 min) between.
The intervals were run between 530-540/mile pace. I had a good workout. Never felt strained or out of breath during the workout. I could have done the workout again if I had to. It would have sucked but I could have done it, which was the idea.
Then 5 striders on the field ending at a sprint.
Total miles= 12
Now that sounds silly, actually simple may be a better word. It is the truth though. Running is real simple, so simple that people often tend to over think it.
Today was 8 sprints on a 50 meter grass hill, then to the track for 4* 1200 and 2 * 1600. we did an 800m recovery ( under 4 min) between.
The intervals were run between 530-540/mile pace. I had a good workout. Never felt strained or out of breath during the workout. I could have done the workout again if I had to. It would have sucked but I could have done it, which was the idea.
Then 5 striders on the field ending at a sprint.
Total miles= 12
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
I guess it's all relative...
I started running with the GBTC group in June. I was in what I considered to be decent shape, 178 lbs, running 50-60 miles a week with the occasional 18-20 mile run every other saturday.
The first track workout with them was mile repeats. The first one I ran in 6 min and the other 2 were 615 and 630. Now it is 2 full months of training later and I am in what I would call better that decent shape but still at a place where great improvement is possible.
I am still running 50-60-70 mile weeks but they seem to be faster and easier at times. The track workouts are certainly much easier. Nonetheless my improvements are only based on where I was in June. Everyone else in the group is maintaining or getting better/faster as well. So, in reality I still have an uphill battle.
The only reason I am getting better is because I am training with people who are better/ faster than I am so I can't settle for my current fitness level because I will simply get left behind. This is my motivation. Surround your self with people who are good or better that you and you will eventually reach that level. I literally have something to chase after...
When I look at some of my recent race times they are PR's, but that doesn't even put me close to age group contention for races in the area. That is the gap that needs to be closed. In due time....
The first track workout with them was mile repeats. The first one I ran in 6 min and the other 2 were 615 and 630. Now it is 2 full months of training later and I am in what I would call better that decent shape but still at a place where great improvement is possible.
I am still running 50-60-70 mile weeks but they seem to be faster and easier at times. The track workouts are certainly much easier. Nonetheless my improvements are only based on where I was in June. Everyone else in the group is maintaining or getting better/faster as well. So, in reality I still have an uphill battle.
The only reason I am getting better is because I am training with people who are better/ faster than I am so I can't settle for my current fitness level because I will simply get left behind. This is my motivation. Surround your self with people who are good or better that you and you will eventually reach that level. I literally have something to chase after...
When I look at some of my recent race times they are PR's, but that doesn't even put me close to age group contention for races in the area. That is the gap that needs to be closed. In due time....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
