Monday, May 23, 2011
What a difference a day makes....
I love that song. There are so many different versions and performances, each and every one wonderful and moving. (That was Jamie Cullum.) What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours, brought the sun and the flowers, where there used to be rain.
Now, granted, in the Pacific Northwest, twenty-four little hours can take you from sun and flowers (last week), to rain and showers (this weekend), to sun and back to rain again (this week).
But a day can also take you from tired, beat up legs, to fresh, happy-to-run again legs, just like that!
Yesterday was a total rest day for me. Although I frequently have non-running days, I almost always fill in with some other kind of cross-training, and it is almost always on my legs. Yesterday I just took a completely lazy day.
Although I had a little bit of guilt about not working out (especially as there was a delicious pastrami Rueben sandwich lunch involved), I easily kept my total caloric consumption under 1800 even without burning any extra off. (And even with eating 3/4 of a Rueben sandwich and sweet potato fries for lunch!) That does lead me to believe that if there was some reason I could not exercise for a while (heaven forbid), I might be able to avoid eating everything in sight and gaining a ton of weight. Believe it or not (tongue in cheek here), when you are not exercising for hours at a time your body is less likely to demand massive amounts of food!
My heel had been hurting rather sharply (though sporadically) on Saturday and Sunday, so I thought the extra rest would be good for it too. I iced it with a cool pack on Sunday night and hoped for the best. Actually I wasn't especially worried, because sporadic heel, ankle, or achilles tendon pain is something I am used to, and it doesn't usually bother me when I am running. Running fast(er) seems to aggravate it a bit. (In contrast, I wasn't sore at all--in the heel or ankle that is--during or after the Boston Marathon!)
So after all this rest I gave myself on Sunday, I hoped to have fresh and happy legs this morning. And I did! Oh, getting out of bed was still a chore. That's probably as much psychological as physical. At about 5:30 I ran downstairs and grabbed some leftover coffee and a couple of Cookiehead mini cookies and brought them back up to eat in bed. I checked my email and looked at the weather forecast on my phone and on TV. It was actually a lovely morning! Mid-40s or so and lightly cloudy, but bright. I dressed in capris and my yellow Boston shirt. I put on a jacket and gloves, but ended up taking off the jacket after a mile and the gloves a few miles later.
Then I was off. My typical morning route these days takes me slightly uphill for the first couple miles, which I use as a warm-up, then back down again and onward. My legs felt springy and light. Mile 1 - 10:19 (unheard of for an early morning first mile!). I didn't see the actual split time on my watch, but glancing at it in mile 2 I thought that I might be able to get to two miles in 20 minutes, which would be a 10-minute pace in the first two miles--again, unheard of! Mile 2 - 9:43. So that was actually 20:02 for two miles, but still.
From there I cruised. Obviously I was going slightly downhill for a while, which is faster in any case, but I was genuinely running at an easy effort. Mile 3 - 9:30. Mile 4 - 9:28. Mile 5 - 9:38. Mile 6 - 9:34.
This was one of those morning when I really didn't have enough time for more than about six miles or 10K, but as usual once I get in the zone I hate to stop so soon. So I squeezed out another mile, this one with a little more than easy effort. I needed to get done and I wanted some speed! I was probably running the first half of the mile at the same easy effort and then picked up to around an 8-minute pace at the end. Mile 7 - 9:04. Finally, I ran around the block at QFC for another quarter mile at 9:33 pace.
Total 7.28 miles, 1:09:59, average pace 9:37.
I know that not every run is going to be this effortless. I am happy that my easy pace may be stepping back from 10:30 to 10:00, and any inroads toward 9:30 will be welcomed! If my easy pace gets faster, then my fast pace will get easier, right? I feel a lot like I did in the spring of 2009, where I came out of a dreary winter slump around about this time in the spring and went on to achieve PRs (as yet unbroken) in every distance in the fall of 2009. I would like to see some PRs again...but even if that does not happen, I want to run strong at a level that is right for me.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Two days, two 9-mile runs
Two days: yesterday and today (Friday and Saturday). Two runs: 9 miles easy (general aerobic run) and 9.36 miles in Seattle's Best 15K.
Other than the general similarity in distances (and my involvement), the two days had little in common. Although, I guess I could also say that both runs were a success for what they were.
Yesterday was the nicest spring weather we have had this year. It was actually the fourth sunny day in a row! (And last....)
I was able to take a late start and didn't head out until after 8:00. It was still cool, but very bright and sunny, so I was able to happily wear one of my NuuMuu sleeveless dresses (with capris) and, of course, sunglasses.
I had today's 15K on the schedule, so I just planned to take it easy and not stress about pace. After a 10:53 first mile and then 10:26, I was running easily at 10:08-10:21 (and everywhere in between). Obviously I was going to average over 10, but I didn't care. However, I did care about getting finished and getting ready for work. I had estimated that I could do about eight miles in the time I allotted myself. That was allowing for a bathroom break, but not for the time I frittered at a garage sale while checking and returning emails on my phone.
So, to move things along, and also to approximate some "strides" in anticipation of the race on Saturday, in mile eight I picked up the pace in alternating blocks. That gave me a 9:31 mile.
A little math and my watch suggested that if I picked up the pace some more, I might be able to get to the 10-minute average. I was clearly going to top the original eight miles, and as I passed 8.5 I decided to make it nine. I ran around the block at QFC as fast as I could. I stopped my watch at 9.0 miles...and 1:30:09. Exactly 10:01 average pace. You can consider that either a victory or a failure! (That last mile was 8:16, and that was a victory for sure!)
That evening my mom and I went to Third Place Books to see Jen Lancaster. She's on tour for her new book, If You Were Here (a novel). She read a selection and then took questions from the audience. She's really funny and good at talking from the hip. She has very loyal fans, who read her blog and feel like they know her personally. It was a fun event!
Afterwards we ate at one of the food venues (Third Place has a sort of food court). I had pasta and salad in preparation for my race! Then we shared a piece of chocolate cake. ("Funny" story: When I brought back the cake and told my mom what it was, a woman at the next table whipped around and announced: "That cake is just awful!" We thought she was joking, and laughed, but she was dead serious, repeating it several times. It was quite disturbing, actually. But whatcha gonna do? We ate the cake. The frosting was kind of stiff, which is probably why she didn't like it, but it wasn't the worst thing ever.)
Morning was going to come VERY early. The race started at 7 am and I wanted to get there early enough to guarantee parking and warm up. My mom was going to come along and I told her to pick me up at 5:30.
I know lots of people get up at 3 or 4 a.m. to go to races but I typically don't. The 7 a.m. race I did a couple weeks ago was only a few miles from home. Last week's 10K started at 9:30. My alarm goes off at 5:15 on work days but I often hit snooze until 6.
Anyway, today 5 a.m. hurt. My body actually ached and it wasn't from running. But I forced myself out of bed by 5:15 and threw on my clothes. Wisely I had laid everything out and packed my gear the night before. I slapped together a couple of English muffins with almond butter and jam for my mother and me.
Friday's beautiful weather was gone. In its place we had heavy grey skies and drizzle, occasionally turning to rain. Nice.
With all these negatives, my heart and mind was not into running. As I pinned on my bib and attached my chip in the parking lot of Gasworks Park, I found myself almost dreading this race. Normally I love 15Ks. This one I didn't even want to do.
But I dragged myself out for a warm-up jog. I only had time to do .75 mile. Although I had used the porta potty twice already, I really felt like I had to go again, but feared there wasn't enough time in the five minutes remaining.
But the line was very short and I got in easily. This was a good sign, the first thing I really felt positive about today! Maybe things wouldn't go so badly after all....
When I came out I joined the crowd around the starting area and went about 2/3 forward. It was pretty tight. In fact, even after crossing the mats I felt a little held back. Mile 1 - exactly 9:00 (Garmin later updated to 8:59).
After that I was able to find my pace and hold steady at 8:40-8:45 for several miles.* A lot of the time I was around 8:30 mid-mile but without fail I popped out an 8:4x at the end. I tried using several people as pacers but most seemed to lose steam and I would pass them when the pace neared 9:00. Others, of course, left me behind.
I was wearing my yellow Boston shirt and gloves which I took off and carried after a few miles. I guess it was drizzling most of the time but I barely noticed. The temperature was probably in the 50s.
My plan was to pick up the pace in the final 5K. (That is always my plan.) Of course, as usual, that didn't quite happen. Mile 7 - 8:43 (at least I'm consistent).
It would have been nice to speed up in the next mile, but that's where the crazy little hills happened. Short, steep hills up with sort, steep downhills on the other side. Mile 8 - 8:58.
I was finally able to find my kick in mile 9. A moderate downhill stretch helped. 8:23. And then, .36 mile at 8:01 pace. I tore through the finishing area as fast as I could. I heard someone yell "go Boston!" hurrah for a clearly marked shirt. Final time 1:21:20. (Garmin pace 8:42, official pace 8:45.) In the training spectrum, I consider this a half-marathon pace run.
Amazingly, when I looked up the results this evening I was second in my age group! (Out of 17.) 35/253 females, 130/417 overall. I didn't have a clue that I would get an award so I left before they were announced.
Before we went to breakfast, I made myself run two more miles. I did this in 21 minutes, which wasn't too bad considering it was after a race.
My mom and I then drove up to Julia's in Wallingford for breakfast. I have a Living Social voucher for Julia's but we really needed three people to use $40, especially for breakfast. So we'll have to come back another time for that.
I couldn't resist ordering a cinnamon roll (to share), rationalizing that the 12+ miles I'd run was almost a half marathon! For the rest of my breakfast I had an egg white veggie omelet, toast (and jam), and fruit. The omelet was very white. I'd rather have it made into a scramble, I think. But it was good.
Since I've done two consecutive medium long runs, tomorrow will be a much anticipated non-running day!
Other than the general similarity in distances (and my involvement), the two days had little in common. Although, I guess I could also say that both runs were a success for what they were.
Yesterday was the nicest spring weather we have had this year. It was actually the fourth sunny day in a row! (And last....)
I was able to take a late start and didn't head out until after 8:00. It was still cool, but very bright and sunny, so I was able to happily wear one of my NuuMuu sleeveless dresses (with capris) and, of course, sunglasses.
I had today's 15K on the schedule, so I just planned to take it easy and not stress about pace. After a 10:53 first mile and then 10:26, I was running easily at 10:08-10:21 (and everywhere in between). Obviously I was going to average over 10, but I didn't care. However, I did care about getting finished and getting ready for work. I had estimated that I could do about eight miles in the time I allotted myself. That was allowing for a bathroom break, but not for the time I frittered at a garage sale while checking and returning emails on my phone.
So, to move things along, and also to approximate some "strides" in anticipation of the race on Saturday, in mile eight I picked up the pace in alternating blocks. That gave me a 9:31 mile.
A little math and my watch suggested that if I picked up the pace some more, I might be able to get to the 10-minute average. I was clearly going to top the original eight miles, and as I passed 8.5 I decided to make it nine. I ran around the block at QFC as fast as I could. I stopped my watch at 9.0 miles...and 1:30:09. Exactly 10:01 average pace. You can consider that either a victory or a failure! (That last mile was 8:16, and that was a victory for sure!)
That evening my mom and I went to Third Place Books to see Jen Lancaster. She's on tour for her new book, If You Were Here (a novel). She read a selection and then took questions from the audience. She's really funny and good at talking from the hip. She has very loyal fans, who read her blog and feel like they know her personally. It was a fun event!
Afterwards we ate at one of the food venues (Third Place has a sort of food court). I had pasta and salad in preparation for my race! Then we shared a piece of chocolate cake. ("Funny" story: When I brought back the cake and told my mom what it was, a woman at the next table whipped around and announced: "That cake is just awful!" We thought she was joking, and laughed, but she was dead serious, repeating it several times. It was quite disturbing, actually. But whatcha gonna do? We ate the cake. The frosting was kind of stiff, which is probably why she didn't like it, but it wasn't the worst thing ever.)
Morning was going to come VERY early. The race started at 7 am and I wanted to get there early enough to guarantee parking and warm up. My mom was going to come along and I told her to pick me up at 5:30.
I know lots of people get up at 3 or 4 a.m. to go to races but I typically don't. The 7 a.m. race I did a couple weeks ago was only a few miles from home. Last week's 10K started at 9:30. My alarm goes off at 5:15 on work days but I often hit snooze until 6.
Anyway, today 5 a.m. hurt. My body actually ached and it wasn't from running. But I forced myself out of bed by 5:15 and threw on my clothes. Wisely I had laid everything out and packed my gear the night before. I slapped together a couple of English muffins with almond butter and jam for my mother and me.
Friday's beautiful weather was gone. In its place we had heavy grey skies and drizzle, occasionally turning to rain. Nice.
With all these negatives, my heart and mind was not into running. As I pinned on my bib and attached my chip in the parking lot of Gasworks Park, I found myself almost dreading this race. Normally I love 15Ks. This one I didn't even want to do.
But I dragged myself out for a warm-up jog. I only had time to do .75 mile. Although I had used the porta potty twice already, I really felt like I had to go again, but feared there wasn't enough time in the five minutes remaining.
But the line was very short and I got in easily. This was a good sign, the first thing I really felt positive about today! Maybe things wouldn't go so badly after all....
When I came out I joined the crowd around the starting area and went about 2/3 forward. It was pretty tight. In fact, even after crossing the mats I felt a little held back. Mile 1 - exactly 9:00 (Garmin later updated to 8:59).
After that I was able to find my pace and hold steady at 8:40-8:45 for several miles.* A lot of the time I was around 8:30 mid-mile but without fail I popped out an 8:4x at the end. I tried using several people as pacers but most seemed to lose steam and I would pass them when the pace neared 9:00. Others, of course, left me behind.
I was wearing my yellow Boston shirt and gloves which I took off and carried after a few miles. I guess it was drizzling most of the time but I barely noticed. The temperature was probably in the 50s.
My plan was to pick up the pace in the final 5K. (That is always my plan.) Of course, as usual, that didn't quite happen. Mile 7 - 8:43 (at least I'm consistent).
It would have been nice to speed up in the next mile, but that's where the crazy little hills happened. Short, steep hills up with sort, steep downhills on the other side. Mile 8 - 8:58.
I was finally able to find my kick in mile 9. A moderate downhill stretch helped. 8:23. And then, .36 mile at 8:01 pace. I tore through the finishing area as fast as I could. I heard someone yell "go Boston!" hurrah for a clearly marked shirt. Final time 1:21:20. (Garmin pace 8:42, official pace 8:45.) In the training spectrum, I consider this a half-marathon pace run.
Amazingly, when I looked up the results this evening I was second in my age group! (Out of 17.) 35/253 females, 130/417 overall. I didn't have a clue that I would get an award so I left before they were announced.
Before we went to breakfast, I made myself run two more miles. I did this in 21 minutes, which wasn't too bad considering it was after a race.
My mom and I then drove up to Julia's in Wallingford for breakfast. I have a Living Social voucher for Julia's but we really needed three people to use $40, especially for breakfast. So we'll have to come back another time for that.
I couldn't resist ordering a cinnamon roll (to share), rationalizing that the 12+ miles I'd run was almost a half marathon! For the rest of my breakfast I had an egg white veggie omelet, toast (and jam), and fruit. The omelet was very white. I'd rather have it made into a scramble, I think. But it was good.
Since I've done two consecutive medium long runs, tomorrow will be a much anticipated non-running day!
*8:42, 8:39, 8:43, 8:40, 8:44, 8:42
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Finally, a lovely day!
But don't blink, the sun might disappear.
Actually the forecast shows at least partly sunny for the rest of this week, through Sunday.
It's about time! The rain this weekend just about drowned us. Apparently both Saturday and Sunday had record amounts of rain. Even though it was actually pretty nice and dry on Saturday until late afternoon...the evening made up for it.
I did benefit from the decent weather Saturday morning for doing my 10K up in Mount Vernon, but no such luck on Sunday. My informal training schedule (currently making it up as I go) called for twelve miles. The half marathon last weekend was actually the longest I'd gone since Boston, but from now on out I plan on staying in the double digit long runs most weeks.
I didn't head out until 10 a.m. I had oatmeal for breakfast, and it probably would have been a good idea to have it a little earlier than I did (9:30). When I'm not racing I'm not so diligent about allowing time to digest before I run. That oatmeal sat pretty heavily in my stomach for the first few miles!
I started with music on the iPod. I figured I'd do that for about five miles, then switch to a podcast for another five or six miles, and finally switch back to music to finish whatever was left. I ended up keeping the music on until my bathroom stop at seven miles,* and the podcast took me the rest of the way to twelve.
I wanted to keep my pacing in the effortless range, which for me is still in the mid-10s. I guess that's about 90 seconds slower than goal marathon pace. I am hoping over the summer to see that effortless pace drop to about 9:45 (without making an effort to get it there). I'm not saying that my goal marathon pace is over going to be faster than nine-minute-miles, but I am also working on a goal half marathon pace, which is about 8:30 (or faster, but let's try for 8:30 first).
After my warm-up mile, my pace settled down nicely. Miles 1-7 - 10:46, 10:18, 10:14, 10:15, 10:21 (and that mile had a steep uphill in it), 10:00, 10:24 (fooling around trying to get to seven miles before stopping). The next few miles I was dragging a bit... Miles 8-10 - 10:34, 10:27, 10:40. I think I was a little bored. Oh, and it was raining quite hard and windy at this point. It did rain consistently throughout; lightly for the first few miles, then rather heavily, then lightly again at the end. Mile 11 I picked it up a little - 10:18.
At the point I reached my "finish" on Grove I was still only at 11.25 miles. I had no chance but run the rest of the way to Safeway (which brought me exactly to 12 miles) and get another Americano for the walk home. (I had gotten one earlier in the morning, and they gave me an extra espresso shot in it, so with the second coffee I was at seven shots for the day. Scary.) Mile 12 (before the second coffee!) - 9:48. Guess I was anxious to finish. That's the pace I would like all of my long runs to be!
My total for the day, 12.01 miles, 2:02:37, 10:21 average pace.
I postponed my Monday run to today, to take advantage of much nicer weather (yes, the weekend rained continued, heavily, through Monday). This morning it was a little foggy but much nicer for running. Unfortunately I was a little short on time (and didn't get up earlier to compensate), so I had to cut my run to six miles. Well, 10K. Actually 6.5. I stopped at 6.7. (And this, folks, is why I never have enough time to get ready for work!)
It was actually a very good recovery/easy run. I think I am going to rename these runs General Aerobic Runs (GAR). I have never really felt the "recovery" in a run, though I certainly have felt "easy"! My informal goal the last few weeks has been to do these GAR runs at a 10-minute pace or faster. It's a bonus if I can finish the first three miles under 30 minutes, because then I can cruise the remaining miles!
Getting the first three miles under 30 is a job, though, since at least the first mile is going to be slow while I warm up. (Sometimes it has taken four miles to get to a ten-minute average.) Today mile 1 was typically glacial - 10:55. Mile 2 was better - 9:40 without too much effort. Well, there was some effort...I was heading for a bathroom and time was of the essence! Mile 3 - 9:08! This was slightly downhill and made it easy to make my 10-minute average. The remaining splits were good, 9:19, 9:27, and .7 mile at 8:56. Total 6.7 miles, 1:04:18, 9:36 average pace.
Tomorrow I have speed work on the docket. I am thinking of returning to the track, now that it has had a chance to dry up!
*Actually it was my second bathroom stop, but who's counting?
Actually the forecast shows at least partly sunny for the rest of this week, through Sunday.
It's about time! The rain this weekend just about drowned us. Apparently both Saturday and Sunday had record amounts of rain. Even though it was actually pretty nice and dry on Saturday until late afternoon...the evening made up for it.
I did benefit from the decent weather Saturday morning for doing my 10K up in Mount Vernon, but no such luck on Sunday. My informal training schedule (currently making it up as I go) called for twelve miles. The half marathon last weekend was actually the longest I'd gone since Boston, but from now on out I plan on staying in the double digit long runs most weeks.
I didn't head out until 10 a.m. I had oatmeal for breakfast, and it probably would have been a good idea to have it a little earlier than I did (9:30). When I'm not racing I'm not so diligent about allowing time to digest before I run. That oatmeal sat pretty heavily in my stomach for the first few miles!
I started with music on the iPod. I figured I'd do that for about five miles, then switch to a podcast for another five or six miles, and finally switch back to music to finish whatever was left. I ended up keeping the music on until my bathroom stop at seven miles,* and the podcast took me the rest of the way to twelve.
I wanted to keep my pacing in the effortless range, which for me is still in the mid-10s. I guess that's about 90 seconds slower than goal marathon pace. I am hoping over the summer to see that effortless pace drop to about 9:45 (without making an effort to get it there). I'm not saying that my goal marathon pace is over going to be faster than nine-minute-miles, but I am also working on a goal half marathon pace, which is about 8:30 (or faster, but let's try for 8:30 first).
After my warm-up mile, my pace settled down nicely. Miles 1-7 - 10:46, 10:18, 10:14, 10:15, 10:21 (and that mile had a steep uphill in it), 10:00, 10:24 (fooling around trying to get to seven miles before stopping). The next few miles I was dragging a bit... Miles 8-10 - 10:34, 10:27, 10:40. I think I was a little bored. Oh, and it was raining quite hard and windy at this point. It did rain consistently throughout; lightly for the first few miles, then rather heavily, then lightly again at the end. Mile 11 I picked it up a little - 10:18.
At the point I reached my "finish" on Grove I was still only at 11.25 miles. I had no chance but run the rest of the way to Safeway (which brought me exactly to 12 miles) and get another Americano for the walk home. (I had gotten one earlier in the morning, and they gave me an extra espresso shot in it, so with the second coffee I was at seven shots for the day. Scary.) Mile 12 (before the second coffee!) - 9:48. Guess I was anxious to finish. That's the pace I would like all of my long runs to be!
My total for the day, 12.01 miles, 2:02:37, 10:21 average pace.
I postponed my Monday run to today, to take advantage of much nicer weather (yes, the weekend rained continued, heavily, through Monday). This morning it was a little foggy but much nicer for running. Unfortunately I was a little short on time (and didn't get up earlier to compensate), so I had to cut my run to six miles. Well, 10K. Actually 6.5. I stopped at 6.7. (And this, folks, is why I never have enough time to get ready for work!)
It was actually a very good recovery/easy run. I think I am going to rename these runs General Aerobic Runs (GAR). I have never really felt the "recovery" in a run, though I certainly have felt "easy"! My informal goal the last few weeks has been to do these GAR runs at a 10-minute pace or faster. It's a bonus if I can finish the first three miles under 30 minutes, because then I can cruise the remaining miles!
Getting the first three miles under 30 is a job, though, since at least the first mile is going to be slow while I warm up. (Sometimes it has taken four miles to get to a ten-minute average.) Today mile 1 was typically glacial - 10:55. Mile 2 was better - 9:40 without too much effort. Well, there was some effort...I was heading for a bathroom and time was of the essence! Mile 3 - 9:08! This was slightly downhill and made it easy to make my 10-minute average. The remaining splits were good, 9:19, 9:27, and .7 mile at 8:56. Total 6.7 miles, 1:04:18, 9:36 average pace.
Tomorrow I have speed work on the docket. I am thinking of returning to the track, now that it has had a chance to dry up!
*Actually it was my second bathroom stop, but who's counting?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Blogging by iPad
I've been reading on other blogs that Blogger was down on Thursday and Friday. I wouldn't know about that as I haven't tried to post anything for a few days! Let's say I've been busy with work, shall we? Okay, also playing with my iPad, reading blogs, reading books on the Kindle app, and playing crack, I mean Bookworm.
Today I finally decided to write a blog post using the iPad. I'm just doing it with the regular blogger, not a special app, and it's working okay. A few quirky things, but probably due to user error.
So, let's see, what's been going on. I've been running since Bloomsday on May 1. I may have already written about some of this, I can't remember. Both last week and the week before, I've tweaked my schedule a little bit to accommodate post-race legs, iffy weather, and a weak character (early morning laziness). Still, I've managed to follow the general weekly plan of one easy run, one speed/tempo run, one goal pace rn (meaning a few miles at marathon, or better yet half marathon, goal pace effort), and one long run at an easy pace. On non-running days I fill in with cross training on the elliptical and an occasional rest day. So the last two weeks have looked like this:
Monday, May 2 - Elliptical, yoga
Tuesday, May 3 - Elliptical in the morning in lieu of running, 9.34 miles in the evening (9:53 avg pace)
Wednesday, May 4 - 7.75 miles evening, with 3.1 at tempo pace (8:22/mi)
Thursday, May 5 - Elliptical, yoga
Friday, May 6 - 7.5 miles easy
Saturday, May 7 - Rest
Sunday, May 8 - Heroes Half Marathon, 1:55:10 (plus 1.3 miles warm-up). This race combined my long run and Pace run, hence the two easy runs earlier in the week.
Monday, May 9 - Elliptical, yoga
Tuesday, May 10 - Elliptical in morning, 8.78 miles after work, <10 pace
Wednesday, May 11 - Elliptical, plus a massage
Thursday, May 12 - 7.27 miles (morning!) with four miles at marathon/half pace (8:51, 8:55, 9:00, 8:43, plus a half mile at the end at 8:25 pace)
Friday, May 13 - Elliptical, plus six miles walking in the afternoon (I walked home from work, then did a 3.25 mile neighborhood loop, then walked to Gordito's to get a burrito for dinner).
Saturday, May 14 - Have a Heart 10K, 52:51 (plus 1.5 mi WU and about .3 after).
Tomorrow should be my long run.
Even though my half marathon time was just so-so (but definitely my best this year), I ended up winning second in my age group! Actually I was third, but the first placer won an overall award, so dropped out of the AG awards. I never expected to win anything with a time over 1:50! I left before awards, but dropped by on my way to brunch to pick up my sweet red ribbon. The two ahead of me were sub-1:40, which is more like it!
My 10K today was another solid but not spectacular finish time. My average pace was 8:30...I would have liked to see 8:15-20, but it was not to be. The race started at Edgewater Park in Mount Vernon and the first two miles were on a gravel trail along the dike. It was nice for running but not a fast surface for me. Then we moved onto paved roads for a couple miles, which I liked. Finally we were back on the dike to finish. That kind of put a damper on my big "push" in the last two miles. But I was okay with my time. I felt like I ran hard without killing myself. There weren't too many females ahead of me. I might have won an AG prize had the been tracking ages. Oh well.
So that was it for the last two weeks. we are finally getting some sporadic spring weather here. Some of those runs were in the sunshine! I'm hoping for more of that in the weeks to come!
Today I finally decided to write a blog post using the iPad. I'm just doing it with the regular blogger, not a special app, and it's working okay. A few quirky things, but probably due to user error.
So, let's see, what's been going on. I've been running since Bloomsday on May 1. I may have already written about some of this, I can't remember. Both last week and the week before, I've tweaked my schedule a little bit to accommodate post-race legs, iffy weather, and a weak character (early morning laziness). Still, I've managed to follow the general weekly plan of one easy run, one speed/tempo run, one goal pace rn (meaning a few miles at marathon, or better yet half marathon, goal pace effort), and one long run at an easy pace. On non-running days I fill in with cross training on the elliptical and an occasional rest day. So the last two weeks have looked like this:
Monday, May 2 - Elliptical, yoga
Tuesday, May 3 - Elliptical in the morning in lieu of running, 9.34 miles in the evening (9:53 avg pace)
Wednesday, May 4 - 7.75 miles evening, with 3.1 at tempo pace (8:22/mi)
Thursday, May 5 - Elliptical, yoga
Friday, May 6 - 7.5 miles easy
Saturday, May 7 - Rest
Sunday, May 8 - Heroes Half Marathon, 1:55:10 (plus 1.3 miles warm-up). This race combined my long run and Pace run, hence the two easy runs earlier in the week.
Monday, May 9 - Elliptical, yoga
Tuesday, May 10 - Elliptical in morning, 8.78 miles after work, <10 pace
Wednesday, May 11 - Elliptical, plus a massage
Thursday, May 12 - 7.27 miles (morning!) with four miles at marathon/half pace (8:51, 8:55, 9:00, 8:43, plus a half mile at the end at 8:25 pace)
Friday, May 13 - Elliptical, plus six miles walking in the afternoon (I walked home from work, then did a 3.25 mile neighborhood loop, then walked to Gordito's to get a burrito for dinner).
Saturday, May 14 - Have a Heart 10K, 52:51 (plus 1.5 mi WU and about .3 after).
Tomorrow should be my long run.
Even though my half marathon time was just so-so (but definitely my best this year), I ended up winning second in my age group! Actually I was third, but the first placer won an overall award, so dropped out of the AG awards. I never expected to win anything with a time over 1:50! I left before awards, but dropped by on my way to brunch to pick up my sweet red ribbon. The two ahead of me were sub-1:40, which is more like it!
My 10K today was another solid but not spectacular finish time. My average pace was 8:30...I would have liked to see 8:15-20, but it was not to be. The race started at Edgewater Park in Mount Vernon and the first two miles were on a gravel trail along the dike. It was nice for running but not a fast surface for me. Then we moved onto paved roads for a couple miles, which I liked. Finally we were back on the dike to finish. That kind of put a damper on my big "push" in the last two miles. But I was okay with my time. I felt like I ran hard without killing myself. There weren't too many females ahead of me. I might have won an AG prize had the been tracking ages. Oh well.
So that was it for the last two weeks. we are finally getting some sporadic spring weather here. Some of those runs were in the sunshine! I'm hoping for more of that in the weeks to come!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Win a pair of shoes with Mom vs. Marathon!
Kerrie at Mom vs. Marathon has a sweet giveaway for Merrill Barefoot Running shoes. Go to her blog here to enter and reduce my chances of winning! :)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The in-between time
Now that Boston has come and gone, I am in between marathon training cycles. I am figuring to start training for Portland at the end of June. That will leave July, August, and September (plus a week in October) for a 12+ week training cycle. I don't see any need to restart a 16-18 week plan, as long as I keep myself in good shape and continue to do medium long runs (before increasing to "long" runs).
The question is, what to do over the next few weeks? Actually, I know what I want to do, the question is how to accomplish it. I probably won't set up a formal plan (though putting things on paper is always fun, and it might be a good idea just to keep track of races and not miss any or double-schedule myself).
My focus is going to be working on getting my half marathon pace back to where I was last year, hopefully so I can work toward a PR, as well as doing a few speedy short races (5K and 10K). I will continue to work on those goals when I return to marathon training, since I don't expect to accomplish them in just two months. This will also hopefully help toward speeding up my marathon pacing abilities.
I have been reading Mastering the Marathon by Don Fink, which is geared toward athletes over 40. The basic premise is that you can improve your marathon performance and time by including three key runs in your week: a marathon-pacing run, higher-intensity repeats, and a long run. He also suggests how you can fill in with other runs or cross-training, and how you can substitute cross-training for some of the key runs as well, particularly if you are injured.* He also discusses the importance of rest and recovery, and includes anecdotes about runners who have done well after 40. He goes into specifics about how to do these runs to work toward a specific marathon finish time.
His premises are actually similar to how I structure my training already, but I am enjoying the book (reading it on my iPhone during down times in court), and I think I can use it to fine tune my training program.
My training plan for the next few weeks will include:
This will probably be the same when I resume marathon training, actually...except that the length of the long runs will increase, of course.
I have a few half marathons either on the books or in my head...one reason to make up a written training plan would be to get them on a calendar! I also want to do some shorter races for sharpening and working on my cardio ability. (Sucking air is great for your lungs, right?) I tend to consider races to be a good variation on tempo runs.
This week I've had two good runs so far on our two sunny afternoons (Tuesday and Wednesday). I will admit that the reason for the afternoon runs rather than my usual mornings was pure laziness and reluctance to face the weather! On Tuesday morning it was raining, but the forecast promised sun by 5:00 (which arrived, though it was windy!). That day was an easy run, but I did push myself just a bit after the early warm-up miles to get my average pace under 10-minutes...9.34 miles at 9:53 average pace.
Yesterday the weather was dry but a little cold in the morning, and my legs were still a litte tired from the night before, so I put off my tempo run until after work. I was able to go out in a sleeveless top! I started with 2.2 miles easy warm-up, then launched into 3.1 miles tempo (8:29, 8:16, 8:22, .1 at 7:57 pace). I finished with another 2.44 miles easy (though faster than the first two miles). Total distance 7.75 miles. Average overall pace 9:28.
Today was an off day from running, thank goodness. I have felt so tired today. I went to the Y before work and did 70 minutes on the elliptical plus 15 push-ups, but I did not feel up to par at all. I've just been lethargic all day. The weather has gone back to gloomy and dark, although not rainy. I will probably go to yoga tonight (I've missed my Thursday night class through most of April due to my travels), but I might take a little nap at home first!
*Although in my opinion if you are so injured or so prone to injury that you are trying to use cross-training for all of your runs, perhaps you should reconsider marathon training for a while!
The question is, what to do over the next few weeks? Actually, I know what I want to do, the question is how to accomplish it. I probably won't set up a formal plan (though putting things on paper is always fun, and it might be a good idea just to keep track of races and not miss any or double-schedule myself).
My focus is going to be working on getting my half marathon pace back to where I was last year, hopefully so I can work toward a PR, as well as doing a few speedy short races (5K and 10K). I will continue to work on those goals when I return to marathon training, since I don't expect to accomplish them in just two months. This will also hopefully help toward speeding up my marathon pacing abilities.
I have been reading Mastering the Marathon by Don Fink, which is geared toward athletes over 40. The basic premise is that you can improve your marathon performance and time by including three key runs in your week: a marathon-pacing run, higher-intensity repeats, and a long run. He also suggests how you can fill in with other runs or cross-training, and how you can substitute cross-training for some of the key runs as well, particularly if you are injured.* He also discusses the importance of rest and recovery, and includes anecdotes about runners who have done well after 40. He goes into specifics about how to do these runs to work toward a specific marathon finish time.
His premises are actually similar to how I structure my training already, but I am enjoying the book (reading it on my iPhone during down times in court), and I think I can use it to fine tune my training program.
My training plan for the next few weeks will include:
- 4 (sometimes 5) runs a week: easy/recovery, speed work (track or tempo), medium-long run with goal pace miles (half marathon effort), and a long run. Long runs will not exceed 15 miles until after the end of June. The fifth run might be the odd 5K now and then.
- Yoga about twice a week. I may consider adding a third yoga class, if I can manage it. Meaning if I can make myself drive to Monroe an extra evening in the week....
- Cross training on non-running days (mostly elliptical).
- Figure out a plan for weights and strength training.
- Continue to work on achieving a more desirable racing weight.
This will probably be the same when I resume marathon training, actually...except that the length of the long runs will increase, of course.
I have a few half marathons either on the books or in my head...one reason to make up a written training plan would be to get them on a calendar! I also want to do some shorter races for sharpening and working on my cardio ability. (Sucking air is great for your lungs, right?) I tend to consider races to be a good variation on tempo runs.
This week I've had two good runs so far on our two sunny afternoons (Tuesday and Wednesday). I will admit that the reason for the afternoon runs rather than my usual mornings was pure laziness and reluctance to face the weather! On Tuesday morning it was raining, but the forecast promised sun by 5:00 (which arrived, though it was windy!). That day was an easy run, but I did push myself just a bit after the early warm-up miles to get my average pace under 10-minutes...9.34 miles at 9:53 average pace.
Yesterday the weather was dry but a little cold in the morning, and my legs were still a litte tired from the night before, so I put off my tempo run until after work. I was able to go out in a sleeveless top! I started with 2.2 miles easy warm-up, then launched into 3.1 miles tempo (8:29, 8:16, 8:22, .1 at 7:57 pace). I finished with another 2.44 miles easy (though faster than the first two miles). Total distance 7.75 miles. Average overall pace 9:28.
Today was an off day from running, thank goodness. I have felt so tired today. I went to the Y before work and did 70 minutes on the elliptical plus 15 push-ups, but I did not feel up to par at all. I've just been lethargic all day. The weather has gone back to gloomy and dark, although not rainy. I will probably go to yoga tonight (I've missed my Thursday night class through most of April due to my travels), but I might take a little nap at home first!
*Although in my opinion if you are so injured or so prone to injury that you are trying to use cross-training for all of your runs, perhaps you should reconsider marathon training for a while!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A few more things I forgot...
Sorry about the lack of paragraphs in the earlier post. I really do put them in. First blogger failed me, now the iPhone is ignoring my hard returns as well. :( (Although the paragraph spaces worked here. It's a mystery to me!)
The variation in pic size is also an unintended consequence. Of course the homely self portraits are gigantic and the nicer ones are tiny. :( again. (I fixed this later, now they are the same size, hopefully!)
Despite the cold morning it was not cold for running. My gloves came off in mile 2. Yes, of course I carried them the rest of the way. I have never yet thrown away a pair of $1 gloves! I also determined within a few miles that I would have done fine in a sleeveless top. I have determined this every single year and have not yet gone sleeveless in Bloomsday!
I saw two people in my general vicinity wearing the yellow Boston tops and walked through the finish area with a woman who had been there with three family members (though didn't run herself). I saw a couple of people afterward walking around in Boston finishers jackets (yes, I put mine on later after I changed clothes). I also saw several people in Portland marathon shirts, Seattle marathon shirts, etc. It's like we all wanted to prove that we could run further than 12K.
We are going to have the hotel $15 early bird dinner. So it's time for me to go eat.
The variation in pic size is also an unintended consequence. Of course the homely self portraits are gigantic and the nicer ones are tiny. :( again. (I fixed this later, now they are the same size, hopefully!)
Despite the cold morning it was not cold for running. My gloves came off in mile 2. Yes, of course I carried them the rest of the way. I have never yet thrown away a pair of $1 gloves! I also determined within a few miles that I would have done fine in a sleeveless top. I have determined this every single year and have not yet gone sleeveless in Bloomsday!
I saw two people in my general vicinity wearing the yellow Boston tops and walked through the finish area with a woman who had been there with three family members (though didn't run herself). I saw a couple of people afterward walking around in Boston finishers jackets (yes, I put mine on later after I changed clothes). I also saw several people in Portland marathon shirts, Seattle marathon shirts, etc. It's like we all wanted to prove that we could run further than 12K.
We are going to have the hotel $15 early bird dinner. So it's time for me to go eat.
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