Mile Repeats

Just a quick one tonight. I had a decent outing back to the track last night. The running club was meeting for possibly a 15K relay but with Heather out of town, I had too much going on to spend that much time away from home. So... I went to the track instead.

It was still warm, about 80 degrees, full sun, but less humid than Tuesday. The run would still be a warm one though. As I arrived at the track I still wasn't decided on what workout to do. I had been toying with the idea of mile repeats on the drive over, and that's what I decided on.

There was a group of either USMC recruits or ROTC students having a workout on the field when I arrived. And let me just say, I was glad to be running. I don't think I would have lasted very long with the drills they were doing! After a mile warm-up I was ready to get started.

Cutting to the chase, I did 3 X 1 mile with 400 meter recovery between. I felt good, to a point, and pushed when I felt I could. I was hoping for sub 7 minute miles and that's what I hit: 6:42 / 6:37 / and 6:32. I wasn't planning on the progressively faster thing, but that's a good sign. With about a mile and a half cool-down, I was done in 46 minutes. Much faster than going to the club run.

Running fast mile repeats has nothing to do with Burning River. I'm thinking beyond already to Columbus. I was hoping to run super-fast there so I need to work some speed back into the high mileage base I have prepared. Running in the heat was good training though. It should still be hot at the end of the month.

Good luck to everyone running the Buckeye Trail 50K tomorrow!

46 Days and Counting

I haven't written as much as I thought I would regarding the lead-up to Ironman as others have or that I thought I would. I mean, this is a pretty big deal. In the words of Vice President Biden, "This is a big f***ing deal!"

It's pretty much all that's been occupying my mind lately, I just haven't found the need to go into detail about it here. I wonder why. Could it be I'm not intimidated by the distance? That because of what I've accomplished in training so far I know I can do it? Could it be that I hurt so much during that 24 hour run, and yet still kept pushing onward, that I'm not concerned about hurting in Wisconsin? Could it be that I am worried about what's ahead of me, I've just chosen not to write about it? Honestly, I'm not sure if it's any of those, all of those, or something else entirely.

So let's assess where I'm at in training. I'm not logging as many weekly miles on the bike as I would like, but I'm sticking to the long rides on the weekends. My weekly running mileage has been variable, but strong. My swimming mileage has dwindled somewhat due to the summer hours preventing me from swimming at lunchtime. And I'm not logging any open water time, which bothers me.

This past weekend was 7 weeks out from race day and I had the longest training brick scheduled: a 100 mile ride followed by 8 - 10 miles. I've only ever ridden that long many, MANY years ago, coming a few miles short of a full century. With my knee bothering me on the hills, I didn't know how it would go.

Well let me just say it went very well! I was able to get an early start on Saturday, which was good as Sunday morning turned out to be a windy wet mess, in the hopes I wouldn't be gone all day. I didn't get home until 5:30, but hey, it was a long workout.

Starting out of Buckeye Woods Park, I rode west first, doing a big 50+ mile loop of rolling to hilly roads. This route took me through three counties: Medina, Ashland, and Lorain. I passed three Amish buggies and one large wagon being pulled by two rather large horses. There were also a few Amish children out and about. I wonder what they were thinking when they saw me coming? Crazy! After re-fuelling at the car, I rode the south loop into Wayne County and back. The day was getting hotter and hotter with each passing hour. The only relief was the wind, which though cooling, provided added resistance and made the ride even tougher. There was a storm brewing as I was making my turn to head back and I knew there was nothing I could do to outrun it. I would just have to deal with whatever the weather dealt me. Which in the end was just wind. I was on the very western edge of the developing storm and only received a few drops of rain. The sun was back out just in time for my run.

Which was horribly hot! Possibly one of the hottest runs I've ever done. Right up there with the 2007 Caesar Creek Olympic Duathlon. But at least this time I had plenty of fluids to deal with it. Though unmercifully hot, humid, and buggy, I forced myself to run the 10 miles I had planned. They didn't feel too bad. I could have gone farther, especially if it had been a little cooler. Completing this workout left me with some huge confidence about doing a ride of that length and then running afterward. All the data for the ride and run can be found here (bike) and here (run).

In other Ironman news, after running with Brian from the club last Thursday night on the Hinckley trails, I decided to incorporate some changes. The first of which was to check for hotel rooms in downtown Madison, instead of staying 8 miles out of town. Someone must have been looking out for us because I found a very nice room only 5 blocks from the start and 3 to the finish! That should make everything at least a little easier on race weekend.

One more thing, last night was speedwork night at the track. I've been attending speedwork, but my speed has been something less than what it was last year. Last night felt really good though. The heat was tempered a bit, as well as the humidity. We ran 8 X 800 meter repeats with 400m recovery. My splits were: 3:13 / 3:15 / 3:08 / 3:06 / 3:05 / 2:57 / 3:01 / and 2:59. I felt very strong and am happy to be able to get down to the 3 minute mark and even dip below. I was told by JB to get slow for IM, and that's what I've been doing. But I'm still happy to know there's some speed in there somewhere!

P.S. I need to mention something about that heat on Saturday. It was HOT! By my estimation I drank somewhere in the neighborhood of 230 oz of fluid that day including Gatorade Endurance Formula with NUUN added, Powerbar Ironman Perform, a bottle of Coke, a bottle of cola NUUN, a half bottle of orange ginger NUUN, plus numerous bottles of plain water. It was a hot one!

Speedwork 7/13/10

We gathered at the track last night for our weekly attempt to run real fast in an oval-like direction. We were successful! Thankfully, the heat relented a bit this week, although the humidity was still very high. We were running 800m repeats, but most of what we talked about was how Connie was doing at Badwater. I'll post more on her feat later, but she was still running, closing in on the finish, as we were running our half miles.

6 X 800 was the order of the day and I must say that I was surprised to pull some of the splits I was. I expected to be dragging my butt around the track even though I had taken a rest day on Monday. My splits ranged from a high of 3:08 to a low of 2:59. Quite a good grouping! Of course, I would like to get them faster again, but right now I'm not training to be fast. I'm training to go really, really long!

The Track? The Track!

THE TRACK! I've forgotten all about the track. It's been so long since I've been there! But I was there last night and it was nice to be back.

I didn't expect to see anyone else up there so I wasn't disappointed when no one was there. With temperatures hovering right about 33 degrees or so, I wanted to get out for a few miles in the relatively "nice" weather. Speedwork is something I stopped doing as 24 hour training began ramping up last fall, and it's been calling my name for a while.

There were snowy spots, clear spots, and clear "wet" spots that began freezing once the sun went down. I wanted to get 5 miles total in with warm-up and cool-down. 800s were on tap. Five of them with 400 meter recovery. My times weren't great, but decent enough: 3:25 / 3:25 / 3:16 / 3:14 / and 3:18. With all things considered: my leave-of-absence from speedwork, the snow on the track, the cold temperature, and my persistent pain, I'm happy with the times. If anything, they will become a baseline for the rest of the year. Something to shoot for.

Only my left foot really bothered me. I needed to stop and loosen the laces on that shoe a couple times due to a pressure spot. I also wore an older set of shoes, the Scarlet and Gray Asics Gel Stratus Gen 1's, with approaching 400 miles on them. They felt light and fast, not at all like the Nimbus the other day.

I'm feeling a little under the weather today with a slight sore throat and a mild fever so I don't know if I'll do anything tonight or just take a rest day.

First Run of Summer

Last night's speed work was my first run this summer. And boy did it feel like summer! I think I even made that observation while we were running. It was HOT. Like 85 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, humid hot. Our workout was a little shorter due to the heat, but our times were still on the nice side. 8oo and 1200 meter repeats were on order with splits of: 3:09 / 4:59 / 3:06 / 5:01 / and 2:58. Add nearly 2.5 miles of warm-up (was a warm-up really necessary yesterday?) and just over a mile cool-down for a total of 7.8 miles. Good, solid heat miles. Those will come in handy later in the summer.

We had a great turnout too. Tons of people. Some I've never met before. I hope it stays like that all the way into the fall. A nice turnout helps keep motivation up while training for fall marathons. Did I say marathons? I guess I did. I'm considering adding the Erie Marathon in mid-September to my schedule as a tune-up for Columbus in mid-October. I'll be sure to update when I make a decision.

4 Days and Counting

Wendy's has really snuck up on me. I can't believe Tri number one is this weekend. So for a final week of preparation I hit the pool Monday night for a half mile with a short warm-up and even shorter cool-down. The summer hours at the Rec. are bad. Where I would have had up to two hours of pool time available, I only have one with the new hours. Oh well, I do what I can do. It went alright, for me anyway. I think my swimming ability is OK, but my breathing messes everything up. I'm going to try to work on that when I head back up there tonight.

I'm also awaiting delivery (I hope) of my wetsuit today. I need to check in on the UPS page to make sure it's still on time.

Last night was speed work night and what a turnout we had. That may have been the biggest showing since I started going last June. We ended up breaking into two groups. I think it worked out well. Our group did alternating 200 and 400 meter repeats. It was hot and humid and a tough workout. My splits were: :38 / 1:28 / :39 / 1:28 / :38 / 1:27 / :38 / 1:21 / :35. The 200 meter recovery between each repeat offered just enough time to catch my breath. We were pushing pretty hard! I could barely muster any strength at all for the cool down even. I was done. What a great workout! 6 miles total with warm-up and cool-down.

It should be a busy end of the week with hopefully 2 more trips to the pool, some trail running, getting the bike ready, getting the new wetsuit, and packing everything up to head down to Columbus this weekend.

Back to the Track

I finally made it back to the track last night after missing two weeks in a row. And it didn't hurt as much as I expected it to. I actually felt pretty good during a couple of the repeats. But not the last one.

After running 1.5 miles to the track, I joined the warm-up, already in progress, for nearly a mile more. Then it was time for 1,000 meter repeats with 200 meters recovery. The splits were: 3:57 / 4:02 / 4:01 / 3:58 / 3:48 / 3:44. I felt really good on the 5th repeat, finishing fast after a slow first lap. But that caught up to me on the final repeat, where I felt horrible but still managed to come in a little faster. My cool-down was running back home, another 1.5 miles. All told I logged 8.3 miles for the night. Which is good because now that I'm concentrating on bike/run bricks on the weekends, my long runs are going to have to come during the week.

Only 11 days until Wendy's!

Trying to Get Caught Up

It has been brought to my attention that I have been neglecting my blogging duties. This is correct and I was aware of the problem. I will now try to get caught up.

Last Thursday I once again joined the Thursday night group for some mighty fine trail running in the Hinckley Metropark. We had a much smaller group this time with Roy, Shannon, Frank, and myself. Frank had to leave early and Shannon was running slower, so it was just Roy and me for most of the run. I found out that there are indeed coyotes in the park and that was probably what we heard the previous week. I had another great time thanks to wonderful spring weather and my new trail shoes. That's right, I couldn't bear running off road without the proper shoes so I'm now doing my trails in Brooks Cascadias. They're mighty fine! I was almost sad when I landed in that first muddy patch. Almost. It was great plowing through the mud and charging through creeks without worrying about how wet or dirty my shoes were getting. Thanks to Dan at Second Sole for helping me decide on the Brooks!

Saturday I was under the weather and not able to leave the house for the first part of the day. And that's all I'm going to go into on that. I was feeling better by the afternoon. Which was good because Bailey was having his birthday party at the Rec. Center. Pool party! Everything went well and the kids had fun.

Sunday I was all better and headed out to get a 12 to 15 mile run in. I stayed around town, heading through Reagan Park on my way south and into the hilly part. I went down the trail at the frisbee golf park and climbed my way into the Lexington Ridge development where I proceeded to climb to one of the higher points in Medina County. As it was mostly downhill from there, I maintained a nice pace all the way back home. 15 miles total for Sunday's run.

Monday I hit the pool again for a half Iron swim trial. I swam the full mile and a quarter in an hour and fifteen minutes. I felt strong at times and went too fast at times. But the most important thing I noticed was that I wasn't developing too much congestion in my lungs the way I did over the winter. Maybe my body is finally adapting to breathing with a little extra pressure pushing on it.

Last night saw the return of Tuesday night speed work. We had a huge turnout of 3 runners: Connie, JB, and myself. JB is a full Iron veteran and had some good advice for me. Some things I might not have thought of. We did 10 X 400 meter repeats with 200 meters rest between. Splits were as follows: 1:30 / 1:31 / 1:31 / 1:30 / 1:30 / 1:26 / 1:26 / 1:26 / 1:26 / and 1:17. Connie told me just to go and run the fastest 400 I could on that last one. Let me just say that I was spent afterward. I couldn't breathe as I was finishing the last 75 meters and my hands and feet were getting tingly the way they would when I ran track when I was younger. I Didn't like that feeling then and I don't like it now. But it sure feels good to stop. All told, 7 miles for the night.

In case you might not have noticed, there is a new race added to my 2009 race list on the right. Heather and I are going to race the Buzzard Duathlon as a team this Sunday. She's going to do the two 3 mile runs and I'm going to do the 15 mile bike leg. This race is unique in that it's all hills. There isn't a flat section anywhere on either the run or bike course. I would consider doing the entire duathlon solo, but the team will work out much better. Bailey can stand with whomever isn't competing at the time, plus I'm doing my last long marathon training run on Saturday and I won't be in any condition to be running hills. I'm afraid my bike time is going to be horrible as it is. At least I have some downhill coasting to look forward to!

3/31/09, Tuesday Night Track Work

Went to the track last night to enjoy some nice 57 degree weather. Frank was already there about 2 miles into his first 3 mile set when I joined him. As we were running though, all these kids began arriving. As it turns out, St. Francis' track team was meeting for a workout. It was a bit busy, but we all managed just fine.

I ended up doing nearly 5 before Heather and Bailey left for home. Just mile repeats at 7:30-ish pace but sometimes faster. Scott and Katie were there again this week and I joined them for two 800s after Frank left. After that I was off for a mile and a half run home in a light drizzle. It actually felt really good. I was hoping for around 10 total but it looks more like only 8. On the down side, I arrived home with a sore left calf and suffered from a horrible hamstring cramp last night in bed. Ouch!

Back to the track for speed work tonight. If this rain clears out it should be nice.

St. Patrick's Day 10K

Not a "real" 10K, as in an official race. But a 10K I ran on the track while Heather was doing her 5 miles this evening, on St. Patrick's Day. Originally, I was planning on doing my speed work tonight, but I decided to save it for tomorrow when there will be others to run with.

When I started running the first mile tonight I didn't have any plans in mind. I knew about how long it would take her and it just kind of came to me. The weather was amazing today for March 17 in Cleveland, 67 and sunny! It's always cold and rainy for the parade. Not this year. I am still a little sore from Saturday so I took it easy the first mile. But each mile after kept getting faster, except for one. Here are the splits: 7:38 / 7:20 / 7:23 / 7:04 / 7:00 / 6:36 / and 1:36 for the final quarter mile. A three quarter mile cool-down gave me 7 total miles tonight in 50:47.

So I have another round of speed work tomorrow, a 5K race on Saturday, and a 19 mile run for Sunday. I think Thursday and Friday will be off days with some low impact cross training. Lots of miles now. I'm in the thick of marathon training. I started breaking in my 2nd pair of shoes tonight. They felt great. I wonder if Second Sole still has Gel Stratus in my size?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!