Saturday, June 13, 2009

NEWSFLASH!

Just like Happy Days spun off Joanie Loves Chachi, the Today I Run blog has spun off the non-running but very entertaining Original versus Cover blog.

For those interested it can be found here http://originalversuscover.blogspot.com/.

Now back to your previously interrupted "running stuff" ....

Small Group

OBJECTIVE
11 mi.@ 7:46-8:36

ACHIEVED
~11.2 mi.@ 8:24

~6:35 AM

The group was small today: Steph, Stacey and me. It was a good run. We went down to Rice University and back from Memorial Park. As the temperature pushed into the 80's, I was wearing down at the end. It was very warm by the time we finished. We did a nice job of holding the pace around 8:25-8:30 throughout the run.

PRE RUN
weight = 163
water & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, strawberry/1% milk smoothie & chicken fajita/grilled onion taco

Friday, June 12, 2009

Goodbye to a Trusted Friend

OBJECTIVE
dynamic stretching warm-up
6 mi.@ 7:46-8:36 w/6x2 min. intervals @ 6:11 "sprinkled in"

ACHIEVED
dynamic stretching
6.2 mi.@ 7:53 w/6x2 min. intervals

5:45 AM

I intended to run yesterday morning but after getting up and getting ready ... it didn't happen. My Garmin failed again before I even got going and in my determination to "fix" it, time slipped away from me and the run didn't happen. I figured I'd run after work. That didn't happen either as I got home around 9:30 pm. So no run yesterday.

I am now officially without my Garmin as I sent it for repair yesterday. I concluded it must be something to do with the rechargeable battery. The technician I spoke with reached the same conclusion. Since the battery is not accessible to the untrained, I had to send the device to Olathe, Kansas where it will be for "10-14 days". I didn't realize my dependence on that handy little unit until now ... when I don't have the option to use it. I suppose I'm addicted as it's been with me for almost every run over the past two years.

So this morning I ventured out with my trusty Ironman and relied on myself to recall where each of the "mile markers" along the way is. Needless to say, I don't really know how I did over the 6 2-minute intervals. I ran each of them hard but there's no way to know if I hit the 6:11 pace that was my goal. I tend to think I was generally a bit slow. But I got the workout in which is the big thing.

I may try to run tonight after work. Depending on how I feel and when I get away from the office. Tomorrow's run is 11 miles. I haven't heard if there's going to be a group run or not.

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Beat Up

OBJECTIVE
6 mi.@ 7:46-8:36

ACHIEVED
~6.1 mi.@ 8:24 (Garmin failed before starting the run.)

4:21 AM

My legs are feeling pretty beat up from yesterday's garage run. I also didn't get a good night's sleep last night. This led to a lackluster run.

My stomach was upset while running which is extremely rare for me.

Anyway at least the run is "in the books" and I'm on to my day ... which is going to be particularly busy.


PRE RUN


POST RUN
water, multivitamin @ Kashi GoLean cereal

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Houston Hills?

OBJECTIVE
dynamic stretching
Warm up 1.5 mi.@ 8:37-9:46
6x2 min. hill repeats @ 6:11 w/2 min. active recoveries
Cool down 1.5 mi.@ 8:37-9:46

ACHIEVED
dynamic stretching (partial 3 of 8 ... that's all I could recall!)
WU .87 mi.
8:11/7:18/7:52/7:39/7:43/8:20
CD 2.10 mi.

5:46 AM 75° 94% 0 mph

I got a lead on a place near home to do a "hill workout". The struggle of course is to find any terrain with a sustained grade here in Houston. I remembered some people that I occasionally ran with a couple years ago talked about running in a parking garage. At the time I thought it was ridiculous. I dropped a note over to someone in the group and she told me about the Chasewood Bank parking garage. That's where I ended up this morning to give it a go.

Running on the incline was what I needed. All of the turns were not ideal. I don't think GPS triangulation works well in a concrete structure. Therefore, I'm not sure about my splits and distances. By the time I was done, I was ready to get out of there. The air was heavy and wasn't moving ... kind of like running in a sauna. Other than that it was good. The garage was six levels. Disappointingly I never made it to the top in 2 minutes. I came the closest on my first by making it +5 floors. I didn't ever make it that far up again. Since my recovery time was the same two minutes of run time, I would go down one or two flights of stairs to get back down to the ground in time to start again. I didn't see any traffic in the garage at all.

All in all, this is a good "hill" alternative for me. It's only a couple miles from the house and I can stage from the YMCA. Even though I missed all my splits, I think I came closer to getting what I needed out of the run than my "hill" runs the past couple of weeks.

PRE RUN
weight=160
water

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin & frosted mini wheats w/1% milk

Monday, June 8, 2009

Under the Full Moon

OBJECTIVE
6 mi.@ 7:46-8:36
steep hill sprints 2x20 sec.
one-leg hop 2x20 sec.

ACHIEVED
6.18 mi.@ 8:08
one-leg hop 2x20 sec.
sprints 2x20 sec. (still looking for anything resembling a hill!)

4:58 AM 66° 100% 0 mph

I'm feeling confident about my running right now which is a really nice thing. I know this can be fleeting so I'm just trying to avoid my tendency of over analyzing. I'm just going to enjoy it while I've got it and keep on track with my training plan.

PRE RUN
weight = 161
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin @ oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Training Schedule: June 7 - 13

SUNDAY - Rest

MONDAY - Base Run + Drills
6 mi.@ base pace
steep hill sprints 2x20 sec.
one-leg hop 2x20 sec.

TUESDAY - Hill Repetitions
dynamic stretching warm-up
1.5 mi. warm-up @ recovery pace
6x2 min. hill repetitions @ 3K pace w/2 min. active recoveries
1.5 mi. cool-down @ recovery pace

WEDNESDAY - Base Run & Resistance Workout
6 mi.@ base pace

THURSDAY - Fartlek Run
dynamic stretching warm-up
6 mi.@ base pace w/6x2 min. intervals @ 3K pace "sprinkled in"

FRIDAY - Base Run & Resistance Workout
6 mi.@ base pace

SATURDAY - Endurance Run
11 mi.@ base pace


Base Pace = 7:46 - 8:36
3K Pace = 6:11
Recovery Pace = 8:37 - 9:47

Proprioceptive Cue: Driving the Thigh