OBJECTIVE
10 mi. w/8 mi. @ 8:24-54/mi. & last 2 mi. @ 7:55/mi.
ACHIEVED
8.92 mi. (9:16/9:01/8:42/8:48/8:39/7:59/7:48/7:41/7:06 [.92 mi])
5:28 AM 72° 94% 0 mph
This run obviously didn't go as planned! Here's the explanation. Cameron had a doubleheader in Katy starting at 10 AM. Katy's an hour drive from the house and of course the players have to be there an hour early. This made for a less than leisurely morning. I checked the Spring Runners board last night and saw they were planning a 6 AM run. "They" being Bob Bond and anyone who chose to join him. Their plan was for 8 or 10 miles. That was too late of a start for me so I planned to drive to the 10-mile run turnaround point and start early enough to catch them when they started their run. Other than the fact I got a bit of a late start, everything was generally on schedule. I figured if I ran into them before I made it the their starting point, I'd just run with them and add on to the end of my run for 10 miles.
You can see from my splits, I was on schedule pace-wise over the first 4 miles. I met up with a huge group of ChampionsFit runners at the gate leaving the Y property so I just missed their start by about 300 yards. I'll call that perfect timing. Bob Bond was in the group along with a couple other Spring Runners. Bob broke with a couple other guys while I was still making my way through the group and talking with Stan (???). I caught Bob. He was talking to another guy I hadn't met. We stayed together and chatted as we pulled away from the group. Bob just ran the San Diego marathon two weeks ago. So we talked about his run there, about my physical condition, etc. I feel the pace is fast but I figured it was just relative to my slow start. Finally I can't deny the urge to look at my Garmin and we're clipping along under 8:00/mi. At that point, I decided to hold on as look as I could and just end the run when I got back to the car. Bob dropped off a little over 3 miles into his run. That left Sean and me. He talked small talk and maintained the pace. I didn't feel extremely pushed at the pace but I was working. I think this may have been an easy pace for Sean. I started connecting the dots of who this guy was. I'm fairly certain he's Sean Easton, the Head Coach of the ChampionsFit Green Group (8:30 pace and faster). His wife ran with us on a Saturday a month or two ago. Anyway once we made it to Spring Cypress Road where my car was. Sean took a couple minutes to show me a yoga-style stretch for my IT bands. Interesting that I hadn't seen this one before .... It seems to work. He suggested doing each leg for 5 minutes a night. I figure it's worth a try.
So that's how my run ended up shorter and faster than planned.
PRE RUN
ginger snaps & water
POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, 5-grain oatmeal w/skim milk, multivitamin & water
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
New Heart Rate Monitor
OBJECTIVE
5 mi. : EZ (8:24-54)
ACHIEVED
5.12 mi. @ 8:26/mi.
≈5:15 AM 77° 88% 0 mph
My legs are still sore and tight. I had hoped the condition was going to be short lived. It's not a big problem; just made it hard to get going this morning.
My Garmin pulled its mysterious "LOW BATTERY" routine again this morning. It hasn't done that for several weeks. So no GPS tracks for today's run. However, yesterday I received a new heart rate monitor that I ordered. So I had a toy to employ during the run. I didn't spend much time with it last night so I barely know how to use it. At this point, I can say it seems capable of many things. But there are only 4 buttons and if you punch them in the right sequence, you'll get the desired output. Let me just say that I haven't figured out how to play Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries with four notes yet!
Strapped on the monitor, hit start and ran. It was actually good not knowing my pace today. I should probably take this approach more often. When I'm doing easy or slow runs, I try not to look at my Garmin but it's habitual and I think I still focus on it a bit too much. Well, not having the Garmin today made the point as I caught myself looking at the heart rate monitor.
I ran the York Minster Loop so I know where the mile breaks are. I checked the monitor at those points and knew that I was around 8:45-50/mi. and just tried to hold it there.
The miles rolled by. I think I'm getting better at pushing my mental focal point out farther. Other than that the run was uneventful. The sun is coming up earlier and it gets lighter earlier now as we approach the longest day of the year next week.
I have my first physical therapy session this afternoon. I'm a bit apprehensive about it but I suspect it will turn out fine.
Tomorrow's run is 10 miles. I'll have to start early. Cameron has a baseball game at 10 on the other side of town.
Oh, about failed to mention my average heart rate for the run was 144. Not sure what that means since I have nothing to compare it to ....
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
SlimFast, water, multivitamin @ GrapeNuts w/skim milk
5 mi. : EZ (8:24-54)
ACHIEVED
5.12 mi. @ 8:26/mi.
≈5:15 AM 77° 88% 0 mph
My legs are still sore and tight. I had hoped the condition was going to be short lived. It's not a big problem; just made it hard to get going this morning.
My Garmin pulled its mysterious "LOW BATTERY" routine again this morning. It hasn't done that for several weeks. So no GPS tracks for today's run. However, yesterday I received a new heart rate monitor that I ordered. So I had a toy to employ during the run. I didn't spend much time with it last night so I barely know how to use it. At this point, I can say it seems capable of many things. But there are only 4 buttons and if you punch them in the right sequence, you'll get the desired output. Let me just say that I haven't figured out how to play Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries with four notes yet!
Strapped on the monitor, hit start and ran. It was actually good not knowing my pace today. I should probably take this approach more often. When I'm doing easy or slow runs, I try not to look at my Garmin but it's habitual and I think I still focus on it a bit too much. Well, not having the Garmin today made the point as I caught myself looking at the heart rate monitor.
I ran the York Minster Loop so I know where the mile breaks are. I checked the monitor at those points and knew that I was around 8:45-50/mi. and just tried to hold it there.
The miles rolled by. I think I'm getting better at pushing my mental focal point out farther. Other than that the run was uneventful. The sun is coming up earlier and it gets lighter earlier now as we approach the longest day of the year next week.
I have my first physical therapy session this afternoon. I'm a bit apprehensive about it but I suspect it will turn out fine.
Tomorrow's run is 10 miles. I'll have to start early. Cameron has a baseball game at 10 on the other side of town.
Oh, about failed to mention my average heart rate for the run was 144. Not sure what that means since I have nothing to compare it to ....
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
SlimFast, water, multivitamin @ GrapeNuts w/skim milk
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Standard 3
OBJECTIVE
3 miles : SLOW
ACHIEVED
3.03 mi @ 9:01/mi.
73° 89% 0 mph
This was a day that I easily could have missed my run. The justification that today called for a short, slow run flashed through my head when I woke up. It wouldn't be a big deal if I blew it off .... But I "flipped the script" on myself thinking, "if it's such a short, slow run - what's the big deal? Just get it done."
My legs were sore or tired ??? this morning ... I'm not exactly sure which. Yesterday was a Big Workout but I stretched well after the run. I did end up sitting in the bleachers for four hours through Cameron's doubleheader last doubleheader last night. Maybe I just tightened up during that stretch ... ???
Anyway rolled out the three miles. I started slowly then found myself picking it up about midway. I was getting faster than I wanted to be so I pulled it back and just eased it home. I wanted to be around 8:54-9:00/mi. For some reason, I've got it in my head that if I'm slower than 9:17/mi. the miles are being wasted and fall into the junk category. I'm not sure that's a true-ism but I think I read about the concept somewhere along the line.
Looking at 5 miles tomorrow.
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, Honey Nut Cheerios w/skim milk
3 miles : SLOW
ACHIEVED
3.03 mi @ 9:01/mi.
73° 89% 0 mph
This was a day that I easily could have missed my run. The justification that today called for a short, slow run flashed through my head when I woke up. It wouldn't be a big deal if I blew it off .... But I "flipped the script" on myself thinking, "if it's such a short, slow run - what's the big deal? Just get it done."
My legs were sore or tired ??? this morning ... I'm not exactly sure which. Yesterday was a Big Workout but I stretched well after the run. I did end up sitting in the bleachers for four hours through Cameron's doubleheader last doubleheader last night. Maybe I just tightened up during that stretch ... ???
Anyway rolled out the three miles. I started slowly then found myself picking it up about midway. I was getting faster than I wanted to be so I pulled it back and just eased it home. I wanted to be around 8:54-9:00/mi. For some reason, I've got it in my head that if I'm slower than 9:17/mi. the miles are being wasted and fall into the junk category. I'm not sure that's a true-ism but I think I read about the concept somewhere along the line.
Looking at 5 miles tomorrow.
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, Honey Nut Cheerios w/skim milk
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
"Big Workout" 8 from Y
OBJECTIVE
8 mi. w/5x2 min.@CV (6:40) & 2 min. active recovery (non speed miles @ EZ pace 8:24 - 8:54/mi.)
8 mi. w/5x2 min.@CV (6:40) & 2 min. active recovery (non speed miles @ EZ pace 8:24 - 8:54/mi.)
ACHIEVED
8.02 mi. @ 8:29/mi. - broken down as follows:
2.43 mi. @ 8:50/mi.
2:03 @ 6:52/mi.
1:56 recovery
2:02 @ 6:32/mi.
1:57 recovery
2:00 @ 6:30/mi.
2:59 recovery
2:00 @ 6:27/mi.
1:59 recovery
1:59 @ 6:24/mi.
2:03 recovery
3.00 @ 8:31/mi.
5:26AM 73° 93% 0 mph
Good run this morning. It felt like the pace for the speed sections was better dialed in than last week. I missed the split on the first rep but once I got going I was under for the remaining 4 reps. I wondered how this was going to impact my 3-mile return but I was able to increasingly pick up the pace to finish the run. I seemed to notice a pronounced recovery over the last 3 miles. This made me wonder about my heart rate. I haven't ever monitored my heart rate during training but something was going on this morning over the final 3 miles that I think could only be quantified by a heart rate monitor. What I suspect happened is the speed sections took my heart rate up and the recovery sections were too short - by design - to fully recover. By the time I finished my fifth speed section, I needed time for my heart rate to come down. As I continued running at a slower pace, my heart rate dropped. As my heart rate dropped, I felt better and was able to gradually pick up the pace to the finish without going into oxygen deficit or overtaxing my heart. That's my theory. As I've said before, I'm not a doctor or a scientist but that doesn't stop me from spouting physiological theory about myself or the human body in general. I'm sure someone has already figured all of this out. I just need to find the source and read up on it.
Slow 3 miles tomorrow.
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, Kahsi GoLean cereal w/skim milk, apple juice & multivitamin
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Easy 6 Miles on the Wimbledon Forest Loop
OBJECTIVE
4 - 6 mi. EZ (8:24 - 8:54)
ACHIEVED
6.15 mi. @ 8:48/mi.
5:09 AM 76° 87% 3 mph
Started out too slow and ended too fast today. I wanted to be around 8:50/mi. for the run which I did but the range was a bit wider than I had hoped. I wasn't running fast at the end to make the time. I was feeling pretty good and just let the pace come to me. I took the Wimbeldon Forest Loop which seemed to have a lot of traffic this morning for some reason.
Two thoughts occurred to me this morning. First, my current training approach seems better than my past ones. Previously, while only running 3 times a week, I felt like I was always "racing mentally". It wasn't that I was necessarily running fast but in my mind I was always trying to hit a certain time. In the current approach there are 4 runs each week where I'm either running "slow" or "easy". Pace isn't critical here only the miles are. It's the concept of "getting faster by training slower". Hopefully I feel the same way in a few months as the mileage piles up.
The other thought was prompted by a Runners' World article. This is going to sound odd but there have been several times over the past year+ of running when I get in the shower, there has been a strong odor of ammonia. At first, I thought maybe Paige had just cleaned the shower that day. Later, I wondered if somehow my running clothes were transferring residual laundry detergent into my skin. Failing to reach a viable explanation, I just disregarded it even though I still noticed it after runs occasionally. Well, there's an answer. So I'm taking this to be an indication that I didn't have enough carbohydrates to burn as fuel during the run AND I didn't drink enough to flush the nitrogen byproduct the "normal" way.
PRE RUN
apple juice & 1 mini powdered donut
POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, @ oatmeal w/skim milk
4 - 6 mi. EZ (8:24 - 8:54)
ACHIEVED
6.15 mi. @ 8:48/mi.
5:09 AM 76° 87% 3 mph
Started out too slow and ended too fast today. I wanted to be around 8:50/mi. for the run which I did but the range was a bit wider than I had hoped. I wasn't running fast at the end to make the time. I was feeling pretty good and just let the pace come to me. I took the Wimbeldon Forest Loop which seemed to have a lot of traffic this morning for some reason.
Two thoughts occurred to me this morning. First, my current training approach seems better than my past ones. Previously, while only running 3 times a week, I felt like I was always "racing mentally". It wasn't that I was necessarily running fast but in my mind I was always trying to hit a certain time. In the current approach there are 4 runs each week where I'm either running "slow" or "easy". Pace isn't critical here only the miles are. It's the concept of "getting faster by training slower". Hopefully I feel the same way in a few months as the mileage piles up.
The other thought was prompted by a Runners' World article. This is going to sound odd but there have been several times over the past year+ of running when I get in the shower, there has been a strong odor of ammonia. At first, I thought maybe Paige had just cleaned the shower that day. Later, I wondered if somehow my running clothes were transferring residual laundry detergent into my skin. Failing to reach a viable explanation, I just disregarded it even though I still noticed it after runs occasionally. Well, there's an answer. So I'm taking this to be an indication that I didn't have enough carbohydrates to burn as fuel during the run AND I didn't drink enough to flush the nitrogen byproduct the "normal" way.
PRE RUN
apple juice & 1 mini powdered donut
POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, @ oatmeal w/skim milk
Monday, June 9, 2008
Slow 3-Miler
OBJECTIVE
3 miles : slow
ACHIEVED
3.03 mi. @ 8:34/mi.
5:11 AM 79° 79% 5 mph
Stretched out over an easy three miles this morning. The run was uneventful except at the end of two miles my left IT band flared up in a big way! Oddly, the pain subsided shortly after it started. That hasn't happened before. My legs felt good and my cardio felt untested this morning. I was a bit faster than I wanted to be but I think that's due to yesterday's rest and an eagerness to get the week's running underway.
Tomorrow is 4-6 miles. I'm thinking I'll go 6.
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, GrapeNuts w/skim milk
3 miles : slow
ACHIEVED
3.03 mi. @ 8:34/mi.
5:11 AM 79° 79% 5 mph
Stretched out over an easy three miles this morning. The run was uneventful except at the end of two miles my left IT band flared up in a big way! Oddly, the pain subsided shortly after it started. That hasn't happened before. My legs felt good and my cardio felt untested this morning. I was a bit faster than I wanted to be but I think that's due to yesterday's rest and an eagerness to get the week's running underway.
Tomorrow is 4-6 miles. I'm thinking I'll go 6.
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, GrapeNuts w/skim milk
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Training Schedule: June 8 - 14
Sun = Rest
Mon = 3 mi. slow
Tue = 6 mi. EZ (8:24 - 8:54)
Wed = 8 mi. w/5x2 min. CV (6:50) then 2 min. jog
Thu = 3 mi. slow
Fri = 5 mi. EZ
Sat = 10 mi. w/8 mi. EZ & last 2 mi. MP (7:55)
Mon = 3 mi. slow
Tue = 6 mi. EZ (8:24 - 8:54)
Wed = 8 mi. w/5x2 min. CV (6:50) then 2 min. jog
Thu = 3 mi. slow
Fri = 5 mi. EZ
Sat = 10 mi. w/8 mi. EZ & last 2 mi. MP (7:55)
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