OBJECTIVE
2 mi. Jog
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (~24.26 sec. per 100 meter OR 6:31/mi. pace)
ACHIEVED
2.03 mi.@ 8:39/mi.
112 m. – 25.18 (6:01/mi.)
112 m. – 24.97 (5:58/mi.)
112 m. – 25.82 (6:11/mi.)
112 m. – 23.69 (5:40/mi.)
7:23 AM 45° 81% 0 mph
PRE RUN
weight = 160.0#
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/skim milk
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Game Over
Back on the bus for the return trip. The good news is I have a seat. The bad news is it's about 14 hours later.
Which leads me to more bad news. It doesn't look like the marathon is happening this weekend. Work has pretty much spin out of control (which I've come to expect this time of year) and the flights and hotels in Phoenix have been bought up at a crazy rate this week (thank you Cardinals for choosing now, after 62 years to make it to the conference championship). Rather than pout as I'm disposed to do, I think I'll try finding a bib for the half marathon in Houston. May as well not let this training cycle and taper go to waste. I can probably work in the half between stints at the office.
Yes, it is very disappointing but not altogether surprising.
Standing Room Only
Today's schedule calls for rest. So I've decided to stay off my feet as much as possible. At the moment - as luck would have it - I'm on a full bus where I'm one of the "standers". Not a good start.
I'm starting carbohydrate loading today. I didn't follow the carb depletion plan like I did for St. George. I've read enough on the topic in the meantime to think there's no benefit to depletion if you load properly 2-3 days prior to the event. My daily target for carb intake is 600 grams. The goal is to supersaturate with carbs so I step to the starting line with 800 grams of high octane fuel (carbs) on board. Of course there's no real way to know short of medical lab testing. I'll let how I'm feeling around Mile 20 be my indicator.
Phoenix is expecting a big turnout - something like 33,000 split evenly between the half and full. The weather is supposed to be excellent.
Houston is expecting around 25,000 this weekend. The weather may actually be better in Houston, probably cooler but most likely more humid. A high-powered field will be running in Houston so watch for some good times. The half has been designated a USA championship. Olympians Brian Sell and Dathan Ritzenhein will compete along with Meb Keflezighi and others. For the women, Kate O'Neill, Desiree Davila and Magdalena Lewy Boulet should be at or near the front.
Also in running news, Haile Gebrselassie will be running the Dubai marathon tomorrow. This will be his first major effort since breaking the world record last September in Berlin. His record time 2:03:59 - try wrapping your mind around that! I can't run a 4:44 mile let alone string 26 of them together back to back. The course has been set up favorably for him to break the record again and there's a $1 million bonus to anyone who breaks the record in tomorrow's event. Keep your eye on the sports ticker for the results on that one. I believe Haile has said he can go 2:03:20 - 2:03:30 on a perfect day. He has 6 pacesetters, the weather is supposed to be perfect, there are only 4 turns on the flat course, and the field includes a dozen runners who have run under 2:10.
Enough running news for now. I want to document of my state of mind and mental approach in a later blog entry. Stay tuned ....
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A First
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (~24.26 sec. per 100 meter OR 6:31/mi. pace)
ACHIEVED
3.04 mi.@ 8:25/mi.
112 m. – 24.05 (5:45/mi.)
112 m. – 24.09 (5:46/mi.)
112 m. – 23.85 (5:42/mi.)
112 m. – 23.22 (5:33/mi.)
5:47 AM 27° 93% 0 mph
For the first time since I got my Garmin (approximately 18 months ago), I completed a run without looking at it once. I know that may not sound like a big deal but that device has a certain control over me that REQUIRES me to look at it to get feedback and assess my runs while in progress. This morning was cold and I didn’t want to bother pulling my sleeve up with gloved hands to bother checking my pace. After all, pace doesn’t really matter today. The run just needed to be easy … and enough to stretch my legs. I just let my legs go and my mind wander. Whenever I even thought about pace, I just told myself “keep it easy”. At the end of the run, I was happy to see I was right in the range I planned to be.
I ran 4x100 meter strides after logging the 3-miler. After not feeling particularly great during the run, my legs felt okay during the strides. It felt good to “open it up”.
PRE RUN
weight = 161.0#
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, GrapeNuts w/skim milk
3 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (~24.26 sec. per 100 meter OR 6:31/mi. pace)
ACHIEVED
3.04 mi.@ 8:25/mi.
112 m. – 24.05 (5:45/mi.)
112 m. – 24.09 (5:46/mi.)
112 m. – 23.85 (5:42/mi.)
112 m. – 23.22 (5:33/mi.)
5:47 AM 27° 93% 0 mph
For the first time since I got my Garmin (approximately 18 months ago), I completed a run without looking at it once. I know that may not sound like a big deal but that device has a certain control over me that REQUIRES me to look at it to get feedback and assess my runs while in progress. This morning was cold and I didn’t want to bother pulling my sleeve up with gloved hands to bother checking my pace. After all, pace doesn’t really matter today. The run just needed to be easy … and enough to stretch my legs. I just let my legs go and my mind wander. Whenever I even thought about pace, I just told myself “keep it easy”. At the end of the run, I was happy to see I was right in the range I planned to be.
I ran 4x100 meter strides after logging the 3-miler. After not feeling particularly great during the run, my legs felt okay during the strides. It felt good to “open it up”.
PRE RUN
weight = 161.0#
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, GrapeNuts w/skim milk
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Faith in the Taper You Must Have, Young Skywalker
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)
ACHIEVED
3.05 mi.@ 8:17/mi.
5:50 AM 43° 59% 9 mph
I focused on making today's run easy. After warming up at 8:42 over the first mile, I didn't realize my pace picked up much but the next two miles were 8:18 and 7:53. This has to be the tapering benefit kicking in. I felt good and the pace really felt easy.
The alternate title for today's blog is "Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge" (not sure what's with the movie references today ...???). The reason is because it seemed every car on the road was out to hit me this morning. Maybe it was my all-black "ninja" running attire in the pre-dawn darkness .... Probably not the best idea ....
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, vitamin C supplement & zinc supplement (yes, my urine will be radioactive today!)
3 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)
ACHIEVED
3.05 mi.@ 8:17/mi.
5:50 AM 43° 59% 9 mph
I focused on making today's run easy. After warming up at 8:42 over the first mile, I didn't realize my pace picked up much but the next two miles were 8:18 and 7:53. This has to be the tapering benefit kicking in. I felt good and the pace really felt easy.
The alternate title for today's blog is "Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge" (not sure what's with the movie references today ...???). The reason is because it seemed every car on the road was out to hit me this morning. Maybe it was my all-black "ninja" running attire in the pre-dawn darkness .... Probably not the best idea ....
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, vitamin C supplement & zinc supplement (yes, my urine will be radioactive today!)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Hitting My Marks
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. w/ 1 m. Easy; 1 m.@10K (6:45); 1 m. Easy
Easy = (8:08-38/mi.)
ACHIEVED
3.07 mi.
8:05/6:42/7:32
0:29 (356') (=7:16/mi.)
6:13 AM 29° 97% 0 mph
Cold morning. Good run. Still very busy at work.
PRE RUN
licorice
POST RUN
weight = 160.5#
SlimFast & multivitamin
3 mi. w/ 1 m. Easy; 1 m.@10K (6:45); 1 m. Easy
Easy = (8:08-38/mi.)
ACHIEVED
3.07 mi.
8:05/6:42/7:32
0:29 (356') (=7:16/mi.)
6:13 AM 29° 97% 0 mph
Cold morning. Good run. Still very busy at work.
PRE RUN
licorice
POST RUN
weight = 160.5#
SlimFast & multivitamin
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Training Schedule: January 11 - 17
SUN: Rest
MON: 3 mi. - 1 Easy, 1@10K (6:45), 1 Easy
TUE: 3 mi. Easy
WED: 3 mi. Easy & 4x100@5K (6:31)
THU: Rest
FRI: 3 mi. Jog
SAT: 2 mi. Jog & 4x100@5K (6:31)
MON: 3 mi. - 1 Easy, 1@10K (6:45), 1 Easy
TUE: 3 mi. Easy
WED: 3 mi. Easy & 4x100@5K (6:31)
THU: Rest
FRI: 3 mi. Jog
SAT: 2 mi. Jog & 4x100@5K (6:31)
If work cooperates, I'll fly to Phoenix Saturday morning for Sunday's marathon. If not, I'll recalibrate and possibily consider the Austin marathon next month.
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