OBJECTIVE
Just run
ACHIEVED
8.35 mi.@ 8:15/mi.
8:54 8:42 8:39 8:30 8:22 8:06 7:48 7:30 2:28 (.35 mi.@ 6:59/mi.)
6:39 AM 69° 87% 8 mph
This was just supposed to be a mid-distance, easy Saturday run. The plan was to run the Faulkey Gully Trail out-&-back from the YMCA. I woke up early but got a late start due to lack of motivation and knowing no one was waiting for me. This would be a solo run. And that's how it changed from an easy Saturday run to Cory's patented Progressive 5-second Mile Cutdowns.
To occupy and motivate myself when I run alone, I usually have to play mental games with myself. Sometimes this is good; sometimes it's not. This is what it turned into today. Please do NOT rely on this workout for your own use. It has no basis in exercise physiology, sports training, or any other discipline that would give it credibility!
Here's how it works. Start running. The goal is to run the entire distance at negative splits - choose your distance. Today I chose one mile. So the first mile served as a warm up and was slow. You can obviously have a negative split run if you start slow enough, right? So start slow.
The next interval (mile in my case today) needs to be 5 seconds faster than the previous. No big deal, right? Well, here's the catch. If you go more than 5 seconds faster then the third interval still needs to be 5 seconds faster than the previous rather than the originally planned time.
So here's an example: Today my run started with an 8:54 mile and I was going 8 miles. Therefore, the expected splits were 8:54/8:49/8:44/8:39/8:34/8:29/8:24/8:19. But after the first mile, I got a bit giddy and ran a 8:42 over the second changing the target for Mile 3 from 8:44 to 8:37. And so it continued.
This approach punishes lack of early pace control by requiring faster splits at the end of the run when you're getting tired.
Somehow I convinced myself this was all pretty cool and occupied myself the entire run with the idea including coming up with the name. It seems all the "cool" published workouts have "cool" sounding names. I thought Progressive 5-Second Mile Cutdowns fit the bill.
Let me know if you've tried anything like this before or after reading my blog. I'm curious to know how it worked or works for you.
PRE RUN
water, GrapeNuts w/1% milk
POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, low-fat granola w/1% milk
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A Second Run & Reminiscing
OBJECTIVE
Run
ACHIEVED
3.02 mi.@ 8:00/mi.
7:03 PM 65° 73% 9 mph
I snuck in an extra run today. After working later, I went over the Memorial Park for a loop before going on to the airport to pick up my dad.
I had an intense head ache most of the afternoon. I've dealt with this enough times to know it's allergy related (self-diagnosed). This didn't help my run but my pace was first, as usual through the park. It's the energy of all the other people.
I saw Jonathan Bennett when I drove up and was looking for a parking place. He was leading a group of Power in Motion runners. This reminded me that it was almost exactly two years ago that I started running. That first night with Power in Motion, I seriously wondered if I could make it one mile. I met Jonathan and his wife, Julie, that night. I could have never imagined what that first night running in Memorial Park would have led to ... certainly not 4 marathons, 2 half marathons, dozens of 5K and 10K races and thousands of miles. It's all a good thing.
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
SlimFast, kid's hamburger, apple slices & chocolate milk
Run
ACHIEVED
3.02 mi.@ 8:00/mi.
7:03 PM 65° 73% 9 mph
I snuck in an extra run today. After working later, I went over the Memorial Park for a loop before going on to the airport to pick up my dad.
I had an intense head ache most of the afternoon. I've dealt with this enough times to know it's allergy related (self-diagnosed). This didn't help my run but my pace was first, as usual through the park. It's the energy of all the other people.
I saw Jonathan Bennett when I drove up and was looking for a parking place. He was leading a group of Power in Motion runners. This reminded me that it was almost exactly two years ago that I started running. That first night with Power in Motion, I seriously wondered if I could make it one mile. I met Jonathan and his wife, Julie, that night. I could have never imagined what that first night running in Memorial Park would have led to ... certainly not 4 marathons, 2 half marathons, dozens of 5K and 10K races and thousands of miles. It's all a good thing.
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
SlimFast, kid's hamburger, apple slices & chocolate milk
Change Up
OBJECTIVE
run
ACHIEVED
4.13 mi.@ 8:01/mi.
7:23 AM 55° 90% 5 mph
My run started later than usual. I've observed that I'm usually faster when my runs start later in the morning. I have no idea why this would be the case. I have a couple of theories but they're wholly undeveloped at this point.
I got up early to work from home (needed to get a few items in people's inboxes before they arrived at work). Once that was taken care of, I was out the door. It was a nice morning.
I worked an shortening my stride and increasing my turnover throughout the whole run. By the way, the barefoot running/training concept no makes a whole lot more sense to me. I think it must be very difficult to overstride when you're barefoot due the pounding your heels would take.
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, & Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk
run
ACHIEVED
4.13 mi.@ 8:01/mi.
7:23 AM 55° 90% 5 mph
My run started later than usual. I've observed that I'm usually faster when my runs start later in the morning. I have no idea why this would be the case. I have a couple of theories but they're wholly undeveloped at this point.
I got up early to work from home (needed to get a few items in people's inboxes before they arrived at work). Once that was taken care of, I was out the door. It was a nice morning.
I worked an shortening my stride and increasing my turnover throughout the whole run. By the way, the barefoot running/training concept no makes a whole lot more sense to me. I think it must be very difficult to overstride when you're barefoot due the pounding your heels would take.
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, & Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Another Day
OBJECTIVE
Run
Run
ACHIEVED
3.96 mi.@ 8:33/mi.
5:11 AM 41° 81% 4 mph
There should be a balance, right? Somewhere between being slave to a training schedule and being a living example of the concept that "failure to plan is a plan to fail."
I really like the certainty of having a set training schedule and being fully committed to it. Once I get going, I feel like I have to make the next scheduled run or else all the runs that came before it are wasted (I realize this is an extreme idea and that it's not actually true). I also strongly believe the training schedule is a recipe for success. But if you don't include an ingredient or if you make a substitute, it just doesn't come out like it's supposed to.
What am I getting at? A couple of things .... First, I'm running without a schedule this week. So far it's worked but I feel somewhat less committed. Second, there are dozens of different training plans and I'm not sure which is best for me. I need to pull the "right" recipe off the shelf. And finally, in what will become another day's topic ... what is my race calendar going to look like? I want to run a half marathon in May but it's already full. I might have a way in due to my amazing running resume (actually I'm going to need help from Brandon and Stephanie ... hint, hint ....) Stay tuned ....
PRE RUN
weight 161
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & 1% milk
Monday, March 2, 2009
Back at It
OBJECTIVE
Run
ACHIEVED
3.96 mi.@ 8:32
5:31 AM 31° 91% 0 mph
I thought I was going to have some sort of running epiphany once I finally got back on the road. But after my two-week layoff, nothing. It was just another run.
I didn't post a training schedule for this week because I'm just "winging it". No pressure to run specific mileage or pace; just trying to get a few miles on my legs and a few hours on my feet.
During my time off, I really let my body rest. As a result, I'm sure I've lost fitness. On top of that, I ate pretty much anything I wanted during the first week and only moderated my nutrition decisions slightly during the second week.
I read a little bit of running stuff. One of the points which kept coming up no matter what source I was relying on, was mechanical efficiency in running. I don't think my form is great but I don't think it's horrible either. But how would you know? Nobody is going to come up and say something like, "You run like a walrus."
One thing I've known for a long time (thanks to my friend Jonathan and my subsequent reading) is 180 foot strikes per minute is an efficient running cadence. I haven't ever really checked mine. Sure, I've counted strides for 15 seconds to get an idea. I think I was always short of 180. Well in my reading on mechanical efficiency, I came across the idea that approximately 80% of runners overstride. Interestingly. I've always felt like I really slow down while running downhill due to overstriding. With this 80% statistic, I wondered if I always overstride. Further reading from multiple sources, suggests that efficient running occurs when the ball of the foot does not extend beyond the hips. So I'm thinking, an efficient runner takes very small strides! Then the light bulb came on for me. In order to get 180 strides per minute, the strides necessarily need to be shorter. In addition, by keeping the ball of the foot directly under the hips, a natural forward lean results. So I'm noodling on these concepts.
Today over the last mile or so, I tried shortening my stride and keeping my feet under my hips. It really didn't feel like much except that I was taking quite a few more steps than usual. Well, guess what .... After uploading my run, I see that I covered the last mile in 7:45. This is very interesting to me because I didn't notice any more effort being expended than over the first 3 miles which averaged around 8:40. There just might be something to this running form and mechanical efficiency concept. Maybe this is the epiphany ....
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
weight = 160 (I'm surprised my weight held steady with my lack of dietary control the past 2 weeks!)
water, multivitamin, low-fat granola w/1% milk
Run
ACHIEVED
3.96 mi.@ 8:32
5:31 AM 31° 91% 0 mph
I thought I was going to have some sort of running epiphany once I finally got back on the road. But after my two-week layoff, nothing. It was just another run.
I didn't post a training schedule for this week because I'm just "winging it". No pressure to run specific mileage or pace; just trying to get a few miles on my legs and a few hours on my feet.
During my time off, I really let my body rest. As a result, I'm sure I've lost fitness. On top of that, I ate pretty much anything I wanted during the first week and only moderated my nutrition decisions slightly during the second week.
I read a little bit of running stuff. One of the points which kept coming up no matter what source I was relying on, was mechanical efficiency in running. I don't think my form is great but I don't think it's horrible either. But how would you know? Nobody is going to come up and say something like, "You run like a walrus."
One thing I've known for a long time (thanks to my friend Jonathan and my subsequent reading) is 180 foot strikes per minute is an efficient running cadence. I haven't ever really checked mine. Sure, I've counted strides for 15 seconds to get an idea. I think I was always short of 180. Well in my reading on mechanical efficiency, I came across the idea that approximately 80% of runners overstride. Interestingly. I've always felt like I really slow down while running downhill due to overstriding. With this 80% statistic, I wondered if I always overstride. Further reading from multiple sources, suggests that efficient running occurs when the ball of the foot does not extend beyond the hips. So I'm thinking, an efficient runner takes very small strides! Then the light bulb came on for me. In order to get 180 strides per minute, the strides necessarily need to be shorter. In addition, by keeping the ball of the foot directly under the hips, a natural forward lean results. So I'm noodling on these concepts.
Today over the last mile or so, I tried shortening my stride and keeping my feet under my hips. It really didn't feel like much except that I was taking quite a few more steps than usual. Well, guess what .... After uploading my run, I see that I covered the last mile in 7:45. This is very interesting to me because I didn't notice any more effort being expended than over the first 3 miles which averaged around 8:40. There just might be something to this running form and mechanical efficiency concept. Maybe this is the epiphany ....
PRE RUN
water
POST RUN
weight = 160 (I'm surprised my weight held steady with my lack of dietary control the past 2 weeks!)
water, multivitamin, low-fat granola w/1% milk
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Austin Marathon Pictures
Look here for my pictures from the Austin marathon
These weren't as bad as I envisioned they might be! Note my specialized racing facial hair. It was Paige's favorite part about this marathon ... NOT!
These weren't as bad as I envisioned they might be! Note my specialized racing facial hair. It was Paige's favorite part about this marathon ... NOT!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Christmas Eve on Antelope Island Revisited
The morning of Christmas Eve, I was in Utah visiting family for the holidays. My brother-in-law, Brandon, and I joined the Striders for a run on Antelope Island. I took a few pictures that didn't ever make it to the blog so here's a sampling of the day's sights.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
On Sabbatical
I'm taking two weeks off from running. My body and mind needs a rest. I started running almost two years ago and have only stopped or slowed down for injuries along the way.
I plan to post a couple things during my break ... maybe an assessment of my Austin marathon, some pictures from running on Antelope Island, and some philosophical thoughts about my running life.
... stay tuned ....
I plan to post a couple things during my break ... maybe an assessment of my Austin marathon, some pictures from running on Antelope Island, and some philosophical thoughts about my running life.
... stay tuned ....
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Slept well for the first 5 hours of the night. Not so great after that. On the "conveyor belt" to the start now.
A little worried about yesterday's nutrition. Not convinced I ate enough.
The start is lined up based on expected finish and is supposed to be enforced. Since I didn't register until yesterday, I'm concerned that they don't have my expected finish time coded on my bib and that I might be pushed to the back. Hope not. Don't want to be fighting all the crowds and may never catch the pace group.
Sent from my Palm Treo.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Shutting it down for the night. The forecast temperature for tomorrow has dropped. It's calling for 46F at the start and 54F around the time I plan to be finishing. Weather should be close to perfect. There could be some wind as it looks like a front is moving through.
I'm planning to start a bit slower over the first 2 miles. I'll use it as a warm up as I work my way through the crowds. I'll try to settle in around Mile 3. The course starts a downhill section somewhere around there. I figure I'll catch the 3:20 pace group around Mile 7 or 8. Once I catch them, I'm going to try to stay with them. From Mile 19 on, if I'm feeling good, I'll break from the group a bit in an effort to build a cushion.
My apprehension builds. It's hammer time!
Sent from my Palm Treo.
Made it to Austin. Thankfully, there were still entries available.
Saw Dick Beardsley and Bert Yasso at the Expo - a couple heavy hitters in the US running scene. Reminds me that I saw Jeff Galloway at the Ogden marathon last year.
Going to find something to eat now. Looking for some carbs and plenty of liquids.
Sent from my Palm Treo.
Counting Down
OBJECTIVE
2 mi. jog
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (6:31/mi.)
ACHIEVED
2.03 mi.@ 8:42/mi.
112 m. 22.45 (5:22/mi.)
112 m. 24.67 (5:54/mi.)
112 m. 23.81 (5:42/mi.)
112 m. 23.90 (5:43/mi.)
My legs felt good this morning. However, I'm feeling a bit bloated from 2 days of carbo loading.
I studied the course yesterday and this morning. It looks challenging with some pretty good up's and down's in the 300 to 400' range. It levels out through the middle then climbs until Mile 19 before dropping to the finish. It's going to be a lot more hilly than anything I run on around here. I'm guessing it will be somewhat like the hills in Conroe. (My last run there was a strong one.)
The issue at the moment is that there are only 300 marathon entries remaining to be sold at the Expo. I don't really think there are that many runners going to jump into the marathon. But I am concerned that there are that many who may buy up the remaining entries with the intention of just dropping out and running the half. Stayed tuned ....
I'm having some negative thoughts .... Just the same old stuff .... How can I run that far? How can I run that fast? How can I run that fast that far? It's hard to imagine .... etc etc. So I'm combating those thoughts with the Billy Mills clip and just a general reality check. Over the past four months I have set PR's at the following distances:
marathon - St. George
10 mile - Ten for Texas
10K - Dana Point Thanksgiving Day Run
half marathon - Houston
The conversion tables for my last three race finishes put my marathon potential at 3:15-16. In addition, this has been a very good training cycle for me. I am fit and I'm ready.
Stay tuned. I'm planning to blog remotely so I'll probably have a bunch of short entries over the next day.
PRE RUN
weight = 158
apple juice & multivitamin
POST RUN
water, oatmeal w/brown sugar, flax & skim milk
2 mi. jog
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (6:31/mi.)
ACHIEVED
2.03 mi.@ 8:42/mi.
112 m. 22.45 (5:22/mi.)
112 m. 24.67 (5:54/mi.)
112 m. 23.81 (5:42/mi.)
112 m. 23.90 (5:43/mi.)
My legs felt good this morning. However, I'm feeling a bit bloated from 2 days of carbo loading.
I studied the course yesterday and this morning. It looks challenging with some pretty good up's and down's in the 300 to 400' range. It levels out through the middle then climbs until Mile 19 before dropping to the finish. It's going to be a lot more hilly than anything I run on around here. I'm guessing it will be somewhat like the hills in Conroe. (My last run there was a strong one.)
The issue at the moment is that there are only 300 marathon entries remaining to be sold at the Expo. I don't really think there are that many runners going to jump into the marathon. But I am concerned that there are that many who may buy up the remaining entries with the intention of just dropping out and running the half. Stayed tuned ....
I'm having some negative thoughts .... Just the same old stuff .... How can I run that far? How can I run that fast? How can I run that fast that far? It's hard to imagine .... etc etc. So I'm combating those thoughts with the Billy Mills clip and just a general reality check. Over the past four months I have set PR's at the following distances:
marathon - St. George
10 mile - Ten for Texas
10K - Dana Point Thanksgiving Day Run
half marathon - Houston
The conversion tables for my last three race finishes put my marathon potential at 3:15-16. In addition, this has been a very good training cycle for me. I am fit and I'm ready.
Stay tuned. I'm planning to blog remotely so I'll probably have a bunch of short entries over the next day.
PRE RUN
weight = 158
apple juice & multivitamin
POST RUN
water, oatmeal w/brown sugar, flax & skim milk
Friday, February 13, 2009
My Mind is Working Against Me
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. jog
ACHIEVED
3.03 mi.@ 9:04/mi.
PRE RUN
Weight = 159.5
POST RUN
Apple juice, multivitamin, zinc, GrapeNuts w/skim milk
3 mi. jog
ACHIEVED
3.03 mi.@ 9:04/mi.
PRE RUN
Weight = 159.5
POST RUN
Apple juice, multivitamin, zinc, GrapeNuts w/skim milk
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Takin' It Easy
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Easy
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K
ACHIEVED
3.02@ 8:32/mi.
23.77
24.83
25.64
24.31
5:13 AM 50° 77% 5 mph
I bit cooler than the past couple of mornings. I'm feeling okay.
PRE RUN
weight = 159
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, zinc, oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk
3 mi. Easy
4 x 100 meter strides @ 5K
ACHIEVED
3.02@ 8:32/mi.
23.77
24.83
25.64
24.31
5:13 AM 50° 77% 5 mph
I bit cooler than the past couple of mornings. I'm feeling okay.
PRE RUN
weight = 159
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, zinc, oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Slow Run & Commentary
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Easy
ACHIEVED
3.01 mi.@ 8:30/mi.
4:36 AM 70° 83% 11 mph
It was warm again this morning. I wore my old Mizuno Wave Rider 10’s that carried me to a 3:27 on the rainy course in St. George. I rarely wear those shoes anymore as I think they’re close to the end of their useful life.
I’m really quite nervous about this weekend. I think I’m ready physically but perhaps not mentally. Work and life in general has been stressful lately and even though I’ve been getting my runs in, I’m not yet feeling that hungry, killer instinct that I hoped to have at this point. After all, this is the first time I will be stepping to the line and “going for it”. No more just having fun on a marathon run …. Something like that. I think part of my problem is, in the words of Jack Bauer (I’m a big 24 fan), “This is going to hurt.” I saw it on the faces of my friends as I watched them finish the Houston marathon a few weeks ago. Knowing that I’ve got those joyous sensations to look forward to seems to be traumatizing me a bit.
Another important note, the Austin marathon stopped taking online registration yesterday morning … as I was online trying to sign up. So now I’ve got to sign up at the expo. Their website says the marathon is 83% full which, if my calculations are correct, means there are still about 1,000 entries available.
Well, better get back to my brooding cynicism!
PRE RUN
Weight = 159
POST RUN
Water, multivitamin, zinc, Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk
3 mi. Easy
ACHIEVED
3.01 mi.@ 8:30/mi.
4:36 AM 70° 83% 11 mph
It was warm again this morning. I wore my old Mizuno Wave Rider 10’s that carried me to a 3:27 on the rainy course in St. George. I rarely wear those shoes anymore as I think they’re close to the end of their useful life.
I’m really quite nervous about this weekend. I think I’m ready physically but perhaps not mentally. Work and life in general has been stressful lately and even though I’ve been getting my runs in, I’m not yet feeling that hungry, killer instinct that I hoped to have at this point. After all, this is the first time I will be stepping to the line and “going for it”. No more just having fun on a marathon run …. Something like that. I think part of my problem is, in the words of Jack Bauer (I’m a big 24 fan), “This is going to hurt.” I saw it on the faces of my friends as I watched them finish the Houston marathon a few weeks ago. Knowing that I’ve got those joyous sensations to look forward to seems to be traumatizing me a bit.
Another important note, the Austin marathon stopped taking online registration yesterday morning … as I was online trying to sign up. So now I’ve got to sign up at the expo. Their website says the marathon is 83% full which, if my calculations are correct, means there are still about 1,000 entries available.
Well, better get back to my brooding cynicism!
PRE RUN
Weight = 159
POST RUN
Water, multivitamin, zinc, Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk
Monday, February 9, 2009
Mixing in a Little Speed to An Easy Run
OBJECTIVE
3 mi. w/ 1 mi. EZ; 1 mi.@ 10K (6:45); 1 mi. EZ
ACHIEVED
3.01 mi. w/ 8:12/6:40/7:42
5:02 AM 66° 88% 9 mph light rain
Good run this morning. It was warm and I ran without my shirt for the first time in a long time. The middle mile - fastest - felt okay
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, zinc, oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk
3 mi. w/ 1 mi. EZ; 1 mi.@ 10K (6:45); 1 mi. EZ
ACHIEVED
3.01 mi. w/ 8:12/6:40/7:42
5:02 AM 66° 88% 9 mph light rain
Good run this morning. It was warm and I ran without my shirt for the first time in a long time. The middle mile - fastest - felt okay
PRE RUN
nothing
POST RUN
water, multivitamin, zinc, oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Training Schedule: February 8 - 14
Sun - Rest
Mon - 3 mi. incl. 1 Easy; 1@10K pace (6:45); 1 Easy
Tue - 3 mi. Easy
Wed - 3 mi. Easy & 4x100@5K
Thu - Rest
Fri - 3 mi. Jog
Sat - 2 mi. Jog & 4x100@5K
Mon - 3 mi. incl. 1 Easy; 1@10K pace (6:45); 1 Easy
Tue - 3 mi. Easy
Wed - 3 mi. Easy & 4x100@5K
Thu - Rest
Fri - 3 mi. Jog
Sat - 2 mi. Jog & 4x100@5K
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