Time To Run

The plan called for intervals today at 10k goal pace with recovery jogs of half the distance. Here's what I did: (on the mill with incline at 1.0)

1 mile warmup starting at 6.1 and working up to 7.0
400@8.1 (7:24 pace)
200@6.1 (9:50 pace)
800@8.1
400@6.1
1200@8.1
600@6.1
800@8.1
400@6.1
400@8.1
200@6.1
recovery mile starting at 7.1 and decreasing to 6.2
Total 5.38 miles in 45:40 (8.29 pace)

The intervals were tough. I would say they got to 9 out of 10 on the exertion scale toward the end of the last 3. The recoveries were ok I think as I usually felt ok at the start of the next one. At the completion of the recovery mile my HR was 138 so that seemed about right for a cool down. Now I don't see myself being able to keep that 7:24 pace for a full 10k right now. Is that how it is supposed to be? Hopefully I've set a good goal pace. By week 4 I have to be doing these intervals at 30 second faster than 10k goal pace. That will be the test.

Tomorrow is rest day and the weekend actually calls for less miles than I have been done so I should be ok to get ready for Week 2.

Posted by Jeff at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ok. I got my 30 miles in for the week last week and I have decided to run a 10k either the weekend before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving day. I'll decide on that as it gets closer and the families holiday plans get firmed up. I figure I can adjust the last few days as needed to fit.
For training I am using Your Ultimate 10k Training Plan (intermediate version) which is 6 weeks long and throws in some tempo runs and speedwork at goal race pace or faster during the week but is similiar to my current training in the 5 days a week and rest days sense. I actually have 8 weeks until the race but since I will be spending 2.5 weeks in Manila on business I plan on repeating the weeks where I will be traveling to adjust for the travel time/jet lag and still get the key workouts in. I'm using 7:24 as my 10k goal pace. That may be ambitious but we'll see...
Today I started the plan with 2 10 minute tempo sessions sandwiched between 2 mile warmups and cooldowns. The tempo was at 7:53 pace (7.6 on the mill) and might have been a little tough for tempo but I got through it. Maybe it was just an off day....

Posted by Jeff at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wednesday I decide to alter my routine of running before work and plan on going afterwards. My plan calls for my "Judgement Day" mile repeats which have now progressed to 7.0/7.5/8.0 mph on the treadmill (8:34/8:00/7:30) with 1/4 mile recoveries. I wonder how I will feel running later in the day compared to the morning. It was hard for me to tell but I think I might have been a little sluggish as the first 2 repeats seemed to be a little harder than they should have been. I got myself psyched up for the last one and was able to get through it though it was tough. One thing I am finding as I am running more is that I can maintain what I perceive to be a tough pace easier and longer. I don't know if that makes sense but it's like I can deal with discomfort when I push the pace better and maintain that pace. So I fought through the last lap and a half of the final mile where it started to get hard and even bumped up the pace to 8.5mph the last 200. I started walking to cool down and then for some unknown reason decided to join the spin cycling class that was just starting. Maybe I figured that I needed to get rid of lots of stress or something or I wanted to see what multi-sport athletes are up against. (Or I am an idiot for being a glutton for punishment)

I figure I had about a 2-3 minute transition while I adjusted the bike to fit my 6'5" frame and I lost myself in the music and the drill sergeant like instructors voice telling us to either pick up the tempo or to increase the resistance to simulate a hill. I was able to get through it though my right leg and calf felt like it was on the verge of cramping up and I had sweated so much that my shoes were soaked. Afterwards I weighed myself and came in at 240 compared to 245 before the run. I felt thoroughly drained but in a good way and felt accomplishment though I wondered how the next mornings 6 miles would go.

I got up the next morning and could feel it right away in the legs. As I increased speed each minute in warmup until I got up to 7.0 I could tell that my legs did not have the spring they normally had. My plan after the warmup for these Tuesday/Thursday runs is divide the remaining time of the run into 3 and increase the speed 0.1 each third. So as I ran 7.0 then 7.1 and 7.2 I found it getting tougher as my legs seemed heavy and it would have been real easy to cut it at 4 or 5 miles with the cycling from the day before. However, I know I wanted 30 miles this week so I made myself get through the whole 6. I do a fast lap for the 2nd to last one in line with the "to run fast your body needs to practice running fast" (or something like that) and did that at 8.2 for the first 200, 8.7 for the next 100, and 9.2 for the final 100 before settling back in at 7.2 to the finish. I was very glad to be finished and as I walked for my cool down noticed my HR didn't drop as much or as quickly as usual as I was really spent. 6 miles in 50:51 was the final total for the run and as I got through the day at work I was so glad that Friday is a rest day!

Posted by Jeff at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After compiling 15.5 miles during the week I decided since I was feeling good that I could shoot for 30 for the week. I had my 6.42 group run on Sunday so I would need 8.08 on Saturday. Saturday morning came around and I decided rather than leave the house in the dark to get it in before kids sports day I would go in the afternoon once it was done. Usually that is a time where we sit down and relax after running around all day to the various fields and the kids are content to do their own thing and unwind also. I figured I could go then and cleared it with my wife so she would know I had it planned. Then I got the idea that since it was looking to be a warm day, rather than running the neighborhood route I could go to the gym and watch what was being called the greatest college football Saturday of the year. I mapped out a plan that would have me doing 8.25 miles and got started.

Well, the mills were against me! 2.75 miles into it as I went to hit the incline increase button to simulate a hill the machine shut down and went back to the entry screen. Ok, no problem, I noted my mileage and time to that point and restarted the machine and resumed the schedule. 2 miles later, it happened again! Fine, I hurriedly jumped over to the next treadmill and started that machine. Well after a little more than a mile, as I was decreasing the incline that machine did the same thing. Boy was I livid. I was ready to quit but then said nope I would restart the machine and not alter the incline, forget the rest of the plan, and just go at a steady pace. Well, as soon as I hit the incline button it shut down. That was it, I figured it wasn't meant for me to this run today and chalked up the 5.87 miles I did and called it a day. Besides, maybe I could make up the difference after the run tomorrow.

Sunday at 6:42 am I was the only runner at the meeting point as just about everyone else was running the Disneyland Half, cheering on someone running, or sleeping in. So I set off at an easy pace and without the rabbits pulling me ahead made the goal of keeping a comfortable "moderate exertion" pace and maybe do an additional 2.25 afterwards to get me over 30. The run went great. It was a beautiful cool and crisp morning without any of the SoCal haze due to the Santa Ana wind effect and I trudged along. I actually made pretty good time which was real encouraging as I monitored my time at a few checkpoints. Compared to the week before when I ran hard I was only a minute behind that pace as I reached the top of the hill but I decided I would not kick the last stretch so I maintained that "conversational" pace to the finish. Up to almost the end I was contemplating doing an additional 9 laps around the track where the run finished but decided not to. It had been such a good run and looking at the big picture didn't see the necessity of adding any more to it. So I finished the 6.42 at 22 seconds per mile slower than the week before but felt like I had a lot left in the tank running at an 8:50 pace. My treadmill run the day before ended up being at about that pace also and besides all the frustration with the mill the running part felt really comfortable so for me being able to run at that pace is really exciting.

I am planning to get my 30 next week!

Posted by Jeff at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Couldn't come up with a more creative title for the post...Here were my stats for the week.
Total Miles - 27.27
Average Pace - 8:48
Successfully completed treadmill mile repeats at 6.8/7.3/7.8 mph.

For the weekend, on Saturday I did a 6.6 mile run around the neighborhood to a reservoir trail, did 2 laps there and then returned. I did this at "LSD" pace holding back to make sure I could comfortably converse (if I had someone to talk to) and only pushed on the last 1.6 home which includes 2.5 minutes of hills. I started in the dark since we had a busy sports day with the kids and I needed to be home before 7 but daylight came about halfway through. Sunday, I joined the 6.42's and thought that they would be pretty slow since most are running the Disneyland Half Marathon this Sunday but Michele went out flying from the start and the rest went out to catch her so I got dragged along to finish in 54:24 (8:28) pace. Next week, it will be curious if anyone shows up so I may be doing it alone.

This week I am going to add a half mile to my Tuesday and Thursday runs, try the mile repeats on Wednesday at 6.9/7.4/7.9 mph and probably do the same Saturday and Sunday runs. The sports schedule is more forgiving this week but I do need to be home from my run by 8am on Saturday. Driving home from work last Friday (to get to baseball practice) I saw a license plate frame "I don't have a life, my kids play sports". I had to laugh. It does keep us busy but it is so rewarding and won't last forever as before we know it they will be grown up...

Posted by Jeff at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So when I started this running journey the main goal was to get in shape. I'm the type that thrives on numbers/stats (Besides blogging I also have a spreadsheet I made up which tracks my progress and if I knew how to post a file I would so maybe you are fortunate I don't. LOL ) and I have seen some good results. In August alone, I lost 6 pounds and in looking at my runs my pace improved almost 30 seconds per mile in my various runs. I don't have particular weight or pace goals in mind as I want to mainly stay focused on getting in better shape as I figure the weight will take care of itself. (though I do have some numbers in the back of my head that I think would be good).
When I started I had planned on getting to September and then finding a race to train for. This race would provide motivation and give me numbers to shoot for and help keep me going. Training wise I am very pleased at where I am but it looks like I am going to adjust my thinking on the race. This Saturday starts the fall sports season for my 3 boys which results in 4 games for my wife and I to get the kids to and from. She coaches my youngest' soccer team and I'm an assistant on my oldest' baseball team so that adds to our fun. The schedules are all in and basically Saturdays are out of the question for me as our day starts by 9am each week. There is also not much on Sundays coming up except for a few 5k's and I think I want to run something a little longer to start.
I also will be going on a 2-3 week trip to the Philippines for work the second half of October. From what I hear, the hotel has a nice gym with treadmills though it doesn't sound like there will be any outside running unless I want to take a 15-20 minute cab ride as traffic is very busy in downtown Manila. I believe I will have a lot of time to hit the gym when I am there as I will be primarily working on a night shift to equate to our day shift and there won't be much else to do.
So basically my plan will be to continue as I have been, increase my mileage to about 30 miles a week, continue to get faster, maintain my training during my trip and find a race in November to run and see what I can do.
If I happen to lose some more weight that will be a bonus!

September has been good so far. I ran a little less last weekend as we were in the desert heat and celebrated my 11th wedding anniversary with a big dinner but have done 14 miles this week and completed 3 x 1 mile repeats at 8:49/8:13/7:41 without too much trouble and was able to run at a comfortable (able to converse if I chose to) 8:34 pace the last mile of my 5.25 mile run today so I continue to get faster.

Posted by Jeff at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)