Saturday, September 19, 2009

Engaging My Brain

OBJECTIVE
2 mi. warm-up @ 8:37-9:47/
12 mi.@ 7:17/mi.
2 mi. cool-down @ 8:37-9:47/

ACHIEVED
dynamic stretch
12 mi.@ 7:14/mi.

5:48 AM 71° 93% 0 mph

I wasn't sure this run was even going to happen. Yesterday as the day progressed, I felt more and more like I was coming down with something. By the time it was 8:30 pm, I was running a low-grade fever and had a headache. The group was getting together this morning for a 21-miler. Knowing that I would be running shorter and not knowing my condition, I decided to stay closer to home and to my car in case I needed to bail out on this run. I didn't sleep well but when 5 AM rolled around I got up and felt like I'd give it a go. I drove over to the Y, stretched and started running. I skipped the 2 mi. warm up and 2 mi. cool down - frankly, because I forgot about them. But my mileage is already higher than scheduled so it's fine that I skipped it.

Over the first half mile, I was having some trouble finding the pace. Once I found it, I just figured I'd try holding it for as long as I could ... and see what happens. I was just on this same route on Thursday for an 8.5-mile tempo run that ended up being at 7:13 pace so I was really having a hard time imagining 12 miles at 7:17. I kept reminding myself to "stay in the mile". In other words, don't get ahead of myself thinking about how far I have left or how far I've been. This was good practice for the marathon. When I've had good marathons, it's because I've "stayed in the mile".

The miles rolled by. As long as I locked my mind in at 7:17, my brain knew exactly what to do. It's in charge on a subconscious level and is able to put my legs on the prescribed pace. I can't explain it any better than that. I'm sure there's a bunch going on but I don't know the details ....

I tried to break the run into segments like I will the marathon. The marathon breaks down to 10, 10 and 6.2 miles. The first segment I'll run "with my head" (in other words "don't go out too fast!"). The second segment I'll run "with my legs" - e.g., find a comfortable rhythm and stick with it. The third segment is racing time and is run with my heart. I tried to follow the same scale for today's run which meant the segments were roughly 5, 5, and 2 miles. I didn't blow out the last two miles because I am in taper mode.

Overall this is one of the best runs of the run. It was a real confidence booster and there's no way I could have anticipated that going in.

Now it's time to rest and fight whatever my body is trying to battle. Even though I logged this very solid run, I'm still not feeling quite right. Fortunately, it was never an issue during the run.

PRE RUN
weight=161.5
oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, chocolate milk (skim) & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

Friday, September 18, 2009

Milestone

OBJECTIVE
2-6 mi.@ 8:37-9:47

ACHIEVED
6.20 mi.@ 9:06/

4:57 AM 73° 92% 2 mph

My orange Mizuno Wave Rider 11's (volume 1) hit a milestone on today's easy, recovery run. They now have over 500 miles on them. This is the first pair that I've closely tracked the mileage on. They will now be retired. I have another pair (Mizuno Waver Rider 11 - orange vol. 2) which have about 100 miles to go before hitting 500. I want to compare the tread wear on them once they've each hit the +500 mile mark.

Today's run was okay. My glutes were quite sore from Wednesday's massage.

PRE RUN
weight=161
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & bran flakes w/skim milk

Thursday, September 17, 2009

OBJECTIVE
2 mi. warm-up
8.5 mi. tempo @ 6:59
2 mi. cool-down

ACHIEVED
2.0 mi. WU
8.5 mi. tempo @ 7:13/
2.0 mi. CD

5:48 AM 72° 85% 0 mph

What a difference a week makes! Last Thursday I ran an 8-mile tempo at 7:12 pace and felt really good about it. Today I ran an 8.5-mile tempo at 7:13 pace and was disappointed. Chalk that view of the world up to the fragility of my overall mental state going into this marathon ... I suppose.

Over the last few days I've been really positive about my overall fitness. Coming off the 20- and 22-mile long runs the past two Saturdays and the strong Yasso 800's on Tuesday. I've even gone so far as to pronounce myself in my best running shape ever to a few others who have asked about my conditioning and readiness for the marathon. A run like today is necessary maintain some humility.

I was struggling to stay on pace pretty much all of the way today. I didn't ever really feel like I had any spring in my step.

On the positive side, I did get a massage yesterday which seemed to iron out a bunch of kinks in my legs. My body was still a bit sore from the process but overall it seems to have helped. I scheduled another one for the Tuesday before the marathon.

PRE RUN
weight=160
water & ginger snaps

POST RUN
SlimFast, water & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Whoa

OBJECTIVE
2-6 mi.@ 8:37-9:47

ACHIEVED
6.09 mi.@ 9:25/

5:51 AM 71° 89% 1 mph

My legs were feeling pretty shredded today. I suppose I can thank yesterday's track work and 49 miles over the last 96 hours. Glad it was an easy recovery run.

PRE RUN
weight=159
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/flax, almonds & brown sugar

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Change Up

OBJECTIVE
dynamic stretching warm-up
1-mi. warm-up @ recovery pace
1x3K @ half-marathon pace, 90-second active recovery
1x2K @ 10K pace, 90-second active recovery
1x1K @ 5K pace, 90-second active recovery
1x800m @ 3K pace
1-mi. cool-down @ recovery pace

Revised Objective
warm up
dynamic stretch
10x800 @ 3:11 w/3:11 min. active recoveries
cool down

ACHIEVED
1.80 mi. WU
10x800 (3:09/3:04/3:07/3:06/3:07/3:08/3:09/3:09/3:08/3:05)
1.78 mi. CD

total time = 1:36:43
total distance = 11.17

5:16 AM 79° 89% 2 mph

Realizing this would be my last chance to run Yasso 800's before the marathon without screwing up my taper, I changed up the plan today. Instead of mixed intervals I went to the track for Yasso's.

Of course the idea is to run them at the same speed as your goal marathon time. Since my training objectives have my marathon goal time slightly faster than 3:11, I set my Yasso objective at 3:11. I was very happy to hit every single one of them and only had a 5 second variation between my fastest and slowest 800. I jogged during every recovery segment (except after the fifth 800 I stopped to drink for about 30 seconds). The deeper I got into the workout the harder they became but at the same time it was a confidence booster because I knew I could do it. I'm sure I was helped by the fact that ChampionsFit ATP group was on the track running mixed intervals. A couple of the guys there are quite a bit faster than me so I had a bit of a competitive boost to "show them what I had".

I've found myself and subsequently read that the predictive accuracy of Yasso's for your marathon time are a bit optimistic. But that's okay. Today gave me confidence about my overall conditioning and fitness. And I won't be stepping to the marathon starting line trying to run a 3:11 anyway ....

PRE RUN
weight=161
water & ginger snaps

POST RUN
weight=157
SlimFast, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

Monday, September 14, 2009

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

ACHIEVED
10.35 mi.@ 8:25/
one-leg hop 2x20 sec.
stiff-legged running 2x20 sec.
running no arms 1x20 sec.

5:16 AM 72° 96% 1 mph

Up until the last third of this run, I felt pretty good ... especially given my 22-miler on Saturday. However with a little over 3 miles to go, it all seemed to catch up with me. My legs just felt heavier and heavier; tired. I still managed 8:08/8:08/7:56 over the last 3 miles but it was more of an effort than it seems like it should have been.

I got a lot of rest over the weekend with good nights of sleep and a bit of napping. Now that the taper is on I really just need to focus on rest and nutrition. The training for the marathon is essentially done at this point. It's just a matter of putting myself in the best possible condition to let it all pay off on October 3.

PRE RUN
weight=161.5
water & ginger snaps

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Training Schedule: September 13 - 19

Proprioceptive Cue: Feeling Symmetry

SUNDAY - Rest

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

TUESDAY - Mixed Intervals
dynamic stretching warm-up
1-mi. warm-up @ recovery pace
1x3K @ half-marathon pace, 90-second active recovery
1x2K @ 10K pace, 90-second active recovery
1x1K @ 5K pace, 90-second active recovery
1x800m @ 3K pace
1-mi. cool-down @ recovery pace

WEDNESDAY - Recovery Run
2-6 mi.@ recovery pace

THURSDAY - Tempo Run @ Half-Marathon Pace
2 mi. warm-up @ recovery pace
8.5 mi.@ half-marathon pace
2 mi. cool-down @ recovery pace

FRIDAY - Recovery Run
2-6 mi.@ recovery pace

SATURDAY - Marathon Pace Run
2 mi. warm-up @ recovery pace
12 mi.@ marathon pace
2 mi. cool-down @ recovery pace