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!
Showing posts with label Speed Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speed Work. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, June 25, 2010
A Minor Training Setback
Everything was going so well just a few weeks ago. Then, with one telephone call, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, shifts in importance and priority. Vacations, training, racing, everything was thrown to the wind and left to land where they would.
Without getting into any detail, we had a family medical emergency arise on June 6 that had us cancelling work, school, and a trip to Colorado we'd been planning since January. That's life, I suppose.
The physically hard part for me now is to figure out how to get back into my training. The day before the phone call I completed a rocking bike/run brick in the Cuyahoga Valley. 41 miles touring The Valley with some serious climbs mixed in, followed by 15 miles of running on the Towpath. The day was warm, muggy, buggy, and GREAT!
Then came a week and a half of 0 swimming, biking, or running. I decided enough was enough and planned a long run for the morning of Thursday the 17. I was hoping for 20 to 26 miles but only managed 17. That was all I had. I was hurting and tired. The damp fog I was running in probably wasn't ideal, but the hours I was keeping and the diet I was eating were more so.
Hit the track Tuesday for a 5K in the 90 degree heat and sun. I didn't feel too bad, better than I expected, and finished in 21:40. Definitely great hot weather training!
Hoping to get back into the water this afternoon for a long swim. Something in the range of two miles. I'm also planning another bike/run brick for tomorrow. Maybe this time I will take the run to the trails!
Without getting into any detail, we had a family medical emergency arise on June 6 that had us cancelling work, school, and a trip to Colorado we'd been planning since January. That's life, I suppose.
The physically hard part for me now is to figure out how to get back into my training. The day before the phone call I completed a rocking bike/run brick in the Cuyahoga Valley. 41 miles touring The Valley with some serious climbs mixed in, followed by 15 miles of running on the Towpath. The day was warm, muggy, buggy, and GREAT!
Then came a week and a half of 0 swimming, biking, or running. I decided enough was enough and planned a long run for the morning of Thursday the 17. I was hoping for 20 to 26 miles but only managed 17. That was all I had. I was hurting and tired. The damp fog I was running in probably wasn't ideal, but the hours I was keeping and the diet I was eating were more so.
Hit the track Tuesday for a 5K in the 90 degree heat and sun. I didn't feel too bad, better than I expected, and finished in 21:40. Definitely great hot weather training!
Hoping to get back into the water this afternoon for a long swim. Something in the range of two miles. I'm also planning another bike/run brick for tomorrow. Maybe this time I will take the run to the trails!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
We Three Dans, The Triumvirate of Dans, Three Dan Night...
Whatever you want to call it, Dan H., Dan B., and myself hit the track Tuesday night for some speed work. It was dark, as seen by the photo below, where you can also make out some Christmas lights toward the right. What you can't see, and I wasn't able to get a good photo of, was the HUGE full moon in the cloudless sky. It really helped around the backside of the track where the light from the stands fails to reach.
We had a decent workout. After a nearly two mile warm-up we decided on alternating 400 and 800 meter repeats X three sets. With a mildly gusting breeze out of the south, it was a darn near as perfect a December night as we could hope for. Splits were: 1:36 / 3:13 / 1:34 / 3:02 / 1:24 / 3:09. I think I really could have busted out a nice final 800 except I had a tight hamstring and I didn't want to injure anything. Not with what I have planned for 4 weeks from today. Details to follow...
We had a decent workout. After a nearly two mile warm-up we decided on alternating 400 and 800 meter repeats X three sets. With a mildly gusting breeze out of the south, it was a darn near as perfect a December night as we could hope for. Splits were: 1:36 / 3:13 / 1:34 / 3:02 / 1:24 / 3:09. I think I really could have busted out a nice final 800 except I had a tight hamstring and I didn't want to injure anything. Not with what I have planned for 4 weeks from today. Details to follow...
Friday, November 27, 2009
Running Repeats With George Thorogood
Usually when you have "George Thorogood" in a sentence with the word "repeats" it means you're a frequent listener to an FM station that either A: is a not-so-classic classic rock station, or B: also plays too much Lynyrd Skynyrd and caters to the Budweiser drinking biker crowd. In this case (fortunately) it has nothing to do with the amount of times he still gets radio play, but may have everything to do with the result of listening to said radio stations over the course of 35 years.
As I headed out the door for the track Tuesday night I didn't expect to see anyone else there. After all it's dark and cold now at 6:00 and who in their right mind would be out running in conditions like that? Well it wasn't so bad this week. Dark? Yes. Cold? No! It has still been very mild and Tuesday was no exception. A little chilly to start but soon it warmed up just fine.
No, my George Thorogood experience happened a little ways into the ladder workout I was running. For whatever reason, while running down the back straight of the track, his I Drink Alone song began playing inside my head, only with lyrics customized for running:
I run alone, yeah, with nobody else.
I run alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I run alone, I prefer to be by myself!
Well I thought it was humorous at the time. Until I realized that I couldn't get that song out of my head and I would have to run the rest of the night with it stuck there! Annoying song or not, I still had a pretty decent outing by myself in the dark. Splits were:
200 m - :40
400 m - 1:25
800 m - 3:09
1200 m - 4:59
1600 m - 6:34
1200 m - 4:53
800 m - 3:07
400 m - 1:24
200 m - :36
I was delighted to see that all the duplicate distances were faster the second time. And that wasn't because I sandbagged the first set! I just felt like pushing on my way back down. Add a mile warm-up and another to cool-down and I had just over 8 miles for a Tuesday night in November. Nice.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Speed Work, Solo Style
While I wasn't exactly "alone" at the track last night, I arrived after the ladies were already into their workout, so didn't join them. So I was running solo on the track, something I haven't done since last fall or winter. Maybe one of the snow runs in the dark in December or January. Either way, I wanted to get in a total of ten miles. So, as I'm doing my warm-up I try to do the math as to how many 800's I should do, combined with an adequate warm-up and cool-down. Oh, and don't forget the recovery laps!
So what I came with was a 2 mile warm-up, 8 X 800 meter repeats with 400 meter recoveries, and a 2 mile cool-down. I completed the slow warm-up in 19:09, which I thought was slow, but still caused me to get out of breath and begin sweating profusely. What I was to figure out eventually is that the humidity was about 70%! I just couldn't cool off last night.
The 800 repeats went well with times of: 3:13 / 3:16 / 3:09 / 3:06 / 3:09 / 3:10 / 3:12 / and 3:01. I put everything I had left into that last one. I didn't want anything coming home with me. And I felt it during the two mile cool-down. I was ready to stop after the first mile but pushed through to get my mileage in.
I'm looking to hit the trails again tonight, probably locally, just to get some off-road miles in. Then an off day tomorrow with runs of 10 and 20? this weekend. Just have to wait and see how those days shape up.
So what I came with was a 2 mile warm-up, 8 X 800 meter repeats with 400 meter recoveries, and a 2 mile cool-down. I completed the slow warm-up in 19:09, which I thought was slow, but still caused me to get out of breath and begin sweating profusely. What I was to figure out eventually is that the humidity was about 70%! I just couldn't cool off last night.
The 800 repeats went well with times of: 3:13 / 3:16 / 3:09 / 3:06 / 3:09 / 3:10 / 3:12 / and 3:01. I put everything I had left into that last one. I didn't want anything coming home with me. And I felt it during the two mile cool-down. I was ready to stop after the first mile but pushed through to get my mileage in.
I'm looking to hit the trails again tonight, probably locally, just to get some off-road miles in. Then an off day tomorrow with runs of 10 and 20? this weekend. Just have to wait and see how those days shape up.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Track and Trails
First, the track. Tuesday both Clagget and the high school were in use and we didn't want to drive to Root to check there, so we headed home. Mrs. P went out for a run and I tried to get caught up on stuff. Bummer. Wednesday I was able to meet up with a small group for some 800 repeats. They were doing 9, but started before I arrived so I only managed 5. I was worried about what kind of times I would be able to maintain after a long vacation and was pleasantly surprised to land 3 out of 5 under three minutes. My splits were: 3:14 / 2:55 / 2:58 / 3:05 / and 2:53. Not bad at all considering the time I had taken off and how hot and humid it was that night. I plan on getting in a longer workout next week.
After speed work was over, we met up at Fiesta Jalapenos for dinner and margaritas. I can't say no to margaritas right now. They're my new favorite drink. These were tasty, but a little too sweet. I might need to try the next level up next time. I can do without the sweet-and-sour mix. A good margarita shouldn't need any mix at all. Just juice and alcohol.
Last night was trail night and I was all ready to head up to Hinckley to run for a couple hours. The problem came in the afternoon when the line of storms finally arrived. I was watching it approach for a couple hours, but it really sped up around 5:30. It hit us pretty hard with driving rain and gusty winds. Fortunately not much lightning and no hail. Still, I was glad to be in the house and not caught outside in it.
So a change of plans was in order. Ladd and I decided to meet in town at Reagan Park and run the mountain bike trails there. I knew of their existence but never considered running them before. I'm glad I tried them out on foot first before hitting them with my bike. They are very advanced trails and have more ups, downs, and turns than the single track in Hinckley. They were also pretty slick in spots, making planting a foot in the turns hazardous at times.
I ran for about 20 minutes before Ladd arrived, getting in only about a mile and a half. Then we ran for over an hour and a half on both sides of Reagan Parkway, getting in a little over 9 miles. All told I had 10.8 miles in 2:02. Those were some hot, humid, and tough miles. My right foot began giving me some problems about an hour and a half in. I don't know if it was the socks, the shoes, or just not running on trails in a while. I also noticed my ankles were bothering me. Those trails were so rutty and hard, maybe I was just getting beat up a bit. Although, I'm not terribly fond of the Brooks Cascadias above a certain amount of mileage, so I may have to look into finding some trail shoes that feel more like my road shoes. And I'll need to do that before the Bobcat Marathon.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Oops, I Did it Again
I just registered for another marathon this year. But wait! This one's a little different. It's a trail marathon. It's also 3 weeks after Columbus. So, that will have me running 3 marathons within an eight week time span. Fun! Fun! Fun! This is the inaugural race and the field is limited to just 300 runners, so it should be a fun/different experience. Oh, did I mention the 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss throughout the course? I didn't? I must have forgotten about that. I'm looking forward to this race come November 8.
In other news, had a decent time at the pool last night. It was pretty crowded when I arrived so I shared a lane with someone else. That really kept me from feeling comfortable and kept my times slow. I swam a mile with the first half in 29:48 and the second half in 27:12. Not great times, but I was happy to swim faster on the second half.
Tuesday night's speed work at the track was great. Somehow I busted out some fast times again. We did 800's and 200's this time. My 800 splits were: 2:57 / 2:54 / 2:57 / and 2:50. I still need to check my old times, but that 2:50 is faster than my fastest split last week by two seconds! My 200 splits were: :36 / :36 / :36 / and :33. I'm going to have to check on that last split and see how it compares to my old track times as well. I don't know where they keep coming from!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Last Track Workout
Four more days till Rite Aid and another new item on the sidebar. Today I created a list which I will update after every race. It's a list tallying the number of races I've done, broken down into each individual type and distance. I may be the only one interested, but I'm putting it up none the less.
Last night was the final speed work session before race day and we took it easy this week. I had some mileage, but I took it easy. I ran to the track, warmed up, ran 4 X 400m repeats, did a half mile cool down, then ran home. Total mileage was 7.5 miles and we pegged each 400 right at 93 seconds. The first 200 built gradually, then the second 200 was hard, but not an all out sprint. It left us breathing hard, but not drained.
So far, race day weather is looking good. We'll see what they're calling for on Friday though.
Last night was the final speed work session before race day and we took it easy this week. I had some mileage, but I took it easy. I ran to the track, warmed up, ran 4 X 400m repeats, did a half mile cool down, then ran home. Total mileage was 7.5 miles and we pegged each 400 right at 93 seconds. The first 200 built gradually, then the second 200 was hard, but not an all out sprint. It left us breathing hard, but not drained.
So far, race day weather is looking good. We'll see what they're calling for on Friday though.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
(Not really) Speed Work
Headed up to the track last night for speed work as usual, but was surprised to find it empty. I knew Ladd wouldn't be able to make it, but didn't expect to find no one there. Heather even drove separately because I would be there longer than she needed to be. Oh well. Time for plan B.
Plan B ended up being a 5K for time. I did a mile warm-up and got started. Not too fast, which was nice, a 7:04 mile 1. I picked things up a tad for mile 2 at 6:57. I was finally warmed up and sweating when I ran a 6:26 mile 3. The final 200 meters passed in 44 seconds to give me a time of 21:11. Not too shabby for being by myself. After that I did a little cool-down with Heather and Bailey and it was time to head home. So it was speed work, but not the usual kind.
I'm kind of glad no one else was there because I still felt a little tired from last weekend. That being said, I'm really looking forward to hitting the trails in Hinckley again tonight. I don't know how far we're going, but the weather is nice and it should be fun.
Plan B ended up being a 5K for time. I did a mile warm-up and got started. Not too fast, which was nice, a 7:04 mile 1. I picked things up a tad for mile 2 at 6:57. I was finally warmed up and sweating when I ran a 6:26 mile 3. The final 200 meters passed in 44 seconds to give me a time of 21:11. Not too shabby for being by myself. After that I did a little cool-down with Heather and Bailey and it was time to head home. So it was speed work, but not the usual kind.
I'm kind of glad no one else was there because I still felt a little tired from last weekend. That being said, I'm really looking forward to hitting the trails in Hinckley again tonight. I don't know how far we're going, but the weather is nice and it should be fun.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
April Fools Speed Work
April first or not, there was certainly no fooling around at the track last night. Having agreed to change things up a bit from 800 repeats, a ladder was in store for us at a slightly easier pace. I suppose that "slightly easier pace" part may have been fooling a bit, as we still pressed pretty hard. After a 2+ mile warm-up our splits were:
400m - 1:37
800m - 3:16
1200m - 4:57
1600m - 6:47
1200m - 4:36
800m - 3:08
400m - 1:30
All with a 400m recovery lap between and followed by a 1 mile cool-down for a total of 9 miles. A nice long speed work session at almost full effort. The part that's nice is the decrease in times from the first half to the second. No slouching at the end and no sandbagging at the beginning. Now I'm just hoping for my sore calf to recover in time for the Spring Classic Half Marathon this Saturday. Ladd and I are both hoping to set some new PR's.
400m - 1:37
800m - 3:16
1200m - 4:57
1600m - 6:47
1200m - 4:36
800m - 3:08
400m - 1:30
All with a 400m recovery lap between and followed by a 1 mile cool-down for a total of 9 miles. A nice long speed work session at almost full effort. The part that's nice is the decrease in times from the first half to the second. No slouching at the end and no sandbagging at the beginning. Now I'm just hoping for my sore calf to recover in time for the Spring Classic Half Marathon this Saturday. Ladd and I are both hoping to set some new PR's.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Here's One For...
... All you dream analysts out there. Last night I dreamt I was running in the Columbus Marathon. I knew I had a very good chance of achieving my goal of qualifying for Boston so I was running hard yet confidently. The interesting part was that the course had been changed to run through some of the buildings in downtown Columbus. One building included a McDonald's. A McDonald's with a play area. A GIANT play area. And the course had us climbing up the giant indoor jungle gym and sliding back down the huge slide. Being a good rule follower, I removed my shoes as you're supposed to do when playing in the playground. I made good time going up to the top and was able to make the return trip on the slide just fine. But when I reached the bottom I couldn't find my shoes anywhere. I thought for a brief instant about just forgetting them and running in my socks, but decided to search for my shoes instead. I looked all over the place but could not find them. By the time I gave up the search and decided to finish running, it was about 9 hours after the start and the race was over. Workers were dismantling all the fences and tearing down all the arches and banners and such. I never got to finish and I missed my BQ.
So I'll take from that either A) Avoid McDonald's on race day, B) don't be afraid to keep running if for some reason I lose my shoes on race day, or C) don't put too much pressure on myself to achieve a certain goal, because ANYTHING can happen on race day.
In other news, I have been very busy lately and haven't made the time to keep up with reports. So to catch everything up, last week saw back-to-back days at the track, as this week will as well. Last Tuesday I was running 2 mile repeats with Connie and some others at Clagget. Nothing terribly fast, just 7:30 per mile pace or faster. Then on Wednesday we did the heavy duty speed work at Root, 7 X 800m repeats. We had a fantastic head wind down the back side of the track which really added resistance to the training parachute Ladd brought. We took turns wearing it for an 800. The legs were burning and the lungs were screaming with that thing on. Wow!
Saturday we met at the Hinckley Reservation for a 20 mile group run. We ran trails. I wasn't expecting trails. Somehow I missed that part. It would have been nice to have a second pair of socks and shoes available seeing as how I had one foot miss a rock at a creek crossing and go into the water early on. But it dried out and there was no harm done. I didn't know about any of those trails we ran. The park is MUCH larger than I was aware of. We did two laps of what was supposed to be a 10 mile loop, but was probably just under. At least the Garmins registered it under. (Of course the Garmins were losing track of the satellites in the trees and weren't getting a good reading.) Then we did a loop on the all-purpose trail, another 3 miles. And then for good measure we did a loop on the gravel hiking trail around the lake for another 3 miles. We ran for 3:15 to 3:20 and covered about 23 miles. I believe it was more, but that's what I'm going to call it. What a great run that was. I definitely need to do that more often. There were so many hills! A perfect training course to get stronger on.
Sunday I made it back to the pool for the first time in what has been too long. I was tired from the long run, but not too sore. I was hoping to swim at least a mile. But after starting, I just was having such a hard time I thought about cutting it to a half mile. But at half a mile I decided to not cut it short yet and do another quarter mile. After those 16 laps I decided to just push myself to finish the final 16 laps. It was a weird swim. The pool was packed. There was a scuba diving class in the lane next to me and I could see them when I would be down on the deep end. That was different, looking down and seeing a group of people directly below me.
It's a nice sunny day today and we should have great weather to run tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice as well as it's back to the hard-core speed work.
So I'll take from that either A) Avoid McDonald's on race day, B) don't be afraid to keep running if for some reason I lose my shoes on race day, or C) don't put too much pressure on myself to achieve a certain goal, because ANYTHING can happen on race day.
In other news, I have been very busy lately and haven't made the time to keep up with reports. So to catch everything up, last week saw back-to-back days at the track, as this week will as well. Last Tuesday I was running 2 mile repeats with Connie and some others at Clagget. Nothing terribly fast, just 7:30 per mile pace or faster. Then on Wednesday we did the heavy duty speed work at Root, 7 X 800m repeats. We had a fantastic head wind down the back side of the track which really added resistance to the training parachute Ladd brought. We took turns wearing it for an 800. The legs were burning and the lungs were screaming with that thing on. Wow!
Saturday we met at the Hinckley Reservation for a 20 mile group run. We ran trails. I wasn't expecting trails. Somehow I missed that part. It would have been nice to have a second pair of socks and shoes available seeing as how I had one foot miss a rock at a creek crossing and go into the water early on. But it dried out and there was no harm done. I didn't know about any of those trails we ran. The park is MUCH larger than I was aware of. We did two laps of what was supposed to be a 10 mile loop, but was probably just under. At least the Garmins registered it under. (Of course the Garmins were losing track of the satellites in the trees and weren't getting a good reading.) Then we did a loop on the all-purpose trail, another 3 miles. And then for good measure we did a loop on the gravel hiking trail around the lake for another 3 miles. We ran for 3:15 to 3:20 and covered about 23 miles. I believe it was more, but that's what I'm going to call it. What a great run that was. I definitely need to do that more often. There were so many hills! A perfect training course to get stronger on.
Sunday I made it back to the pool for the first time in what has been too long. I was tired from the long run, but not too sore. I was hoping to swim at least a mile. But after starting, I just was having such a hard time I thought about cutting it to a half mile. But at half a mile I decided to not cut it short yet and do another quarter mile. After those 16 laps I decided to just push myself to finish the final 16 laps. It was a weird swim. The pool was packed. There was a scuba diving class in the lane next to me and I could see them when I would be down on the deep end. That was different, looking down and seeing a group of people directly below me.
It's a nice sunny day today and we should have great weather to run tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice as well as it's back to the hard-core speed work.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
3/18/09 Speed Work
Someone must have left a door open because all the warm air disappeared. It was there early in the day yesterday, but was gone by 6:00. I must be easily spoiled by nice weather to complain about running in 50 degree temps. It wasn't even raining. Just cloudy and very windy. And getting colder. It could have been worse. It could have been snowing. And I'm sure we're still in for more snow yet this season.
But for all the complaining, the speed session was great. I was the last one to arrive, so I got to choose the workout. 6 X 800 repeats with 400m rest. We intended to run 3:10 to 3:15 pace. Not only did we hit our splits, but we stayed below them and progressively got faster. The splits were: 3:12 / 3:13 / 3:06 / 3:06 / 3:10 / 2:57. "2:57"? Yeah, sub-three minute pace for the last one. It was hard, but worth it. I have to keep hammering out these 800's every week now. They're great training for a marathon, and Cleveland is quickly approaching.
I've had back to back 7 mile days and I think I'm feeling it this morning. My right knee, which I've never had problems with, is stiff and sore this morning. The stairs really aggravated it so I'm glad I don't have any of those to deal with at work. A couple days off are in store.
But for all the complaining, the speed session was great. I was the last one to arrive, so I got to choose the workout. 6 X 800 repeats with 400m rest. We intended to run 3:10 to 3:15 pace. Not only did we hit our splits, but we stayed below them and progressively got faster. The splits were: 3:12 / 3:13 / 3:06 / 3:06 / 3:10 / 2:57. "2:57"? Yeah, sub-three minute pace for the last one. It was hard, but worth it. I have to keep hammering out these 800's every week now. They're great training for a marathon, and Cleveland is quickly approaching.
I've had back to back 7 mile days and I think I'm feeling it this morning. My right knee, which I've never had problems with, is stiff and sore this morning. The stairs really aggravated it so I'm glad I don't have any of those to deal with at work. A couple days off are in store.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday Night Speed Work
We went fast on Wednesday instead of Tuesday this week. It just worked out better. And we finally had a group involved. Much better than going solo. A group of five of us met at Root Middle instead of Claggett. The weather was drier and sunnier but also windier and colder than it was on Tuesday, but that didn't seem to hurt the splits too much. Neither did whatever I've been coughing on since waking up on Monday. I thought for sure I would experience some breathing problems. But that was not the case.
We had a fun workout that began with me joining Frank for some warm-up miles. Ladd and Marsha arrived shortly after me with Chuck running the anchor leg as he arrived last. 3.76 miles of warm-up including some 100m sections of bounding, butt-kickers, karaoke twists, and backward running. Then it was off for the fast stuff:
200m - :45
200m - recovery
400m - 1:31
200m - recovery
800m - 2:59
400m - recovery
400m - 1:31
200m - recovery
800m - 2:59
400m - recovery
400m - 1:28
200m - recovery
800m - 3:00
200m - recovery
1.06 mile cool-down
The workout lasted an hour and eleven minutes, which is longer than any I've done since last fall. Also, the recoveries were shorter than what we've been doing, so it felt like we were really pushing hard. Which we were! All three 800s at 3:00 or below. That's a great grouping. And the 400s were on the same pace as well. Now if I could just begin stringing the three minute half miles into six minute miles, and string those miles together for a full race. The possibilities...
What I need to focus on now is getting over whatever I'm fighting off right now. I've had a minor sore throat since waking up this morning, I'm still coughing a little, and my nose is getting runny. The St. Malachi races are Saturday and I'd like to not feel too horrible running them. I say "them" because I'm running the 2 Miler with Bailey and then running the 5 Miler. Looks like I've got some hill work coming up Saturday!
We had a fun workout that began with me joining Frank for some warm-up miles. Ladd and Marsha arrived shortly after me with Chuck running the anchor leg as he arrived last. 3.76 miles of warm-up including some 100m sections of bounding, butt-kickers, karaoke twists, and backward running. Then it was off for the fast stuff:
200m - :45
200m - recovery
400m - 1:31
200m - recovery
800m - 2:59
400m - recovery
400m - 1:31
200m - recovery
800m - 2:59
400m - recovery
400m - 1:28
200m - recovery
800m - 3:00
200m - recovery
1.06 mile cool-down
The workout lasted an hour and eleven minutes, which is longer than any I've done since last fall. Also, the recoveries were shorter than what we've been doing, so it felt like we were really pushing hard. Which we were! All three 800s at 3:00 or below. That's a great grouping. And the 400s were on the same pace as well. Now if I could just begin stringing the three minute half miles into six minute miles, and string those miles together for a full race. The possibilities...
What I need to focus on now is getting over whatever I'm fighting off right now. I've had a minor sore throat since waking up this morning, I'm still coughing a little, and my nose is getting runny. The St. Malachi races are Saturday and I'd like to not feel too horrible running them. I say "them" because I'm running the 2 Miler with Bailey and then running the 5 Miler. Looks like I've got some hill work coming up Saturday!
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