Posts Tagged ‘training’

Last week I was in the funkiest of funky moods. I refrained from talking about running as much as I could.

In addition to my mood, I wasn’t feeling all that great either. Combine those two things and I have what felt like a horrible week. Now that I’ve had a couple of days to bounce back, though, I realized that I let my mind and body settle into recovery week.

That’s not really a bad thing; I needed a cut-back week with my mileage and I needed rest. Tuesday’s post about ending my “do something” streak was only a hint at how tired I felt. Add a few nights of going to be earlier, a couple of weekend naps and considerably less running miles – and less intensity – and I’ve come to the conclusion that I was completely lacking respect for the recovery week.

Nothing I did last week was bad, but if I had a little bit of a different attitude about things, I wouldn’t have felt as miserable as I did. Yesterday’s 8.3-mile run — my longest non-long run in a while — and today’s core workout were good, but I also have felt like they took a little more effort than usual because I let myself slip into a low.

I’ve written a lot on here and on Twitter this summer about staying focused – these next few weeks are so important for that. The Baltimore Marathon is just a little more than 5 weeks away – I have my highest mileage weeks ever to go, a couple of 20-milers to knock out and I have to maintain quality runs to hit my goal.

Image: Boaz Yiftach / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve had such a solid string of good runs and good weeks that I forgot what it’s like to have bad feelings. This week, though, has been one of those weeks in which I haven’t had much good to say. So I’ve tried to say as little as possible besides my post about my August mileage.

With this being the final step-back week before a few more intense weeks of training for the Baltimore Marathon, I got it in my head early in the week that I was going to rest and take it easy on my runs. What I didn’t realize was the effort to take it easy would generate bad runs and bad thoughts.

I don’t want to complain too much about how I feel, both physically and mentally, but I’m ready to move beyond this weekend and focus on the rest of September. It’s crunch time — I need to screw my head on straight, get through a few more long runs and then I’m there.

It’s certainly not an easy task, but I’m ready for the challenge.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from last year was to not get too caught up in the “most ever” or “best ever” moments. While they’re great and worth celebrating, it’s very easy to lose focus if I dwell on them too much.

Today is one of those moments to celebrate, but I also need to quickly move on. I’ll talk about it now and drink a Magic Hat or two to celebrate, but tomorrow is September and there are still 45 days until the Baltimore Marathon. FOCUS.

So … what’s the big deal?

Today’s tired feeling 3.3-mile run puts me at 134.5 miles for August. It’s the most miles in a month ever, edging out 133 miles in October 2007. I actually fell about 6 miles shy of my goal, as well as not getting to 40 miles last week, but I knew ahead of time those were big miles for me. The 40 will come soon enough though.

Similar to how I felt a month ago, how I got to that number is what is important.

• 7 runs out of 22 were under a 9-minute pace. That’s not quite as good as July, but this month I had a few more shorter and slower (and very important) recovery runs.
• A solid effort in the Lynchburg Half Marathon.
• Breaking 22 minutes in the Fab 5k.
• I ran a mountain.

Thanks to Irene for the extremely overcast, humid day today.

Hurricane Irene tried to make my run miserable today, but I was having none of it. I’m far enough inland to not get impacted by heavy rain or wind, but the humidity she’s brought with it and slapped on most of Virginia was brutal this morning.

Sorry, but the weather wasn’t winning today.

Percival's Island bridge from Lynchburg into Amherst County.

I headed to Lynchburg for my 18 miler for a change of scenery — the plan was to run about 6 miles by myself, meet my friend Scott I met via Daily Mile a few months ago for about 7 miles, then finish the run off by myself.

What I didn’t anticipate was how dark it was just before 6 a.m. — I was a bit scared to park where I planned on parking and it was too dark to get on Percival’s Island for about 30 minutes.

So I parked near the downtown market where people were setting up for their busy morning, ran about a mile on the streets then headed down to my planned run along the bike path on the island.

The first 7 miles by myself were weird. I started intentionally slow — a 9:52 first mile — but gradually picked it up. I had that feeling of a good run on my hands. When I met Scott I was already drenched; the humidity was nuts. Where was Irene’s breeze?

Fortunately as Scott and I took off, we caught a few breaks with the wind. Our conversation was good and all over the place, but we had a nice pace throughout. I was not feeling tired at all.

When we separated, I still had about 3 miles to go. With no music like the first third of the run and no one to talk to, it was all about focusing on my breathing, my form and finishing the run strong.

I had no idea what my overall pace was. I knew that I set out with a goal of a 9-minute mile pace today, and in my head the only thing I could figure out was 162 minutes — 2 hours, 42 minutes. (I did the math as 9 times 9, then doubled it.) I looked at my watch with about a mile and a half to go and realized I could probably walk and hit that mark.

Besides a few glances at my watch after the first mile, I had no idea what I was doing. It turns out I was having the fastest long run beyond a half marathon that I’ve ever had and a negative split that I couldn’t even imagine.

My first half splits were: 9:52, 9:18, 9:12, 8:51, 8:51, 9:11, 9:22, 9:08 and 8:14 for a total of 1:21:59.

My second half splits were: 8:12, 8:36, 8:19, 8:27, 8:09, 8:20, 8:26, 8:39, 8:29 for a total of 1:15:37.

Really? A 6-minute difference? An 8:45 pace overall?

It’s such a different way of training for me, but I can’t help but like the feeling of a negative split. While today was a bit flatter than usual, I was intentional about doing something different and doing it faster.

The weather didn’t win and my mind didn’t win. It may have been the best long run I’ve ever had, but my focus is what lies ahead for the next 7 weeks before the Baltimore Marathon. My immediate focus is on a short recovery run tomorrow and a recovery week next week to give myself a break.

And then … my first 20 miler. After today, it’s a run I can’t wait to get to.

I haven’t done a “Making the commitment” post in a while. The idea of having the theme throughout the year seemed to fizzle once I got things back on track. While I have failed to blog with the title as much as I had hoped, the theme lives on. Everything I have done has been about making a commitment to getting back to full health when it comes to running.

A couple of months ago I talked about how this training session for the Baltimore Marathon was going to be different. Now that I’m halfway through training I thought it would be a good time to do a check-up.

Core

I’ve been able to get in a solid core workout once a week at work and have done a relatively good job at getting a second workout in at home. We shifted things up at work and I’m actually working out with our personal trainer on Mondays. In the past couple of weeks he’s added some weight training with the core work.

I know I should do more, but something is better than nothing, and what I’ve done this summer is far and away a lot more than I was doing a year ago. I can tell a difference when I run; I can’t pin-point exactly what it is, but I can tell that I’m more balanced and stronger.

Being visual

I’ve posted many more maps of my runs, which really helps give me a quick reference to look at what I’ve done. I look at my runs on Garmin Connect a lot more too. I like to see where I slow down or how hard I hit a hill.

Wednesday's elevation map

I’ve kept up with my spreadsheet regularly. My “non-plan plan” actually got a little more solid after a couple of weeks as I set goals for my long runs and weekly mileage for the rest of training. I set the bar high, but have adjusted the mileage a couple of times to better fit what I’m doing.

I’ve also added a column in the spreadsheet for notes when I’ve made adjustments and I added a column with last year’s mileage from the same time frame. It’s definitely too wide to post on here for it to make any sense.

Overall perspective

Training through 8+ weeks has been amazing. Aside from feeling a bit under the weather a couple of weeks ago, I’ve remained as consistent as ever and feel stronger each week. I really look forward to the long runs each weekend.

I don’t like to compare things from last year too much, but I had a great training session then until the very end. I don’t want to take away from last year, but the lessons learned in the last 4 weeks are what set the tone for this summer.

Adding the core work, more progressive runs and what I feel is an overall better attitude is making this a great summer for running.

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Coming off Saturday’s Lynchburg Half Marathon, I’ve been very happy with how my body has reacted.

• I had a nice 2+ mile recovery run with Duke on Sunday morning. It was a good way to cap off a week in which I really pushed myself with four runs in three days mid-week and the race. At 33.2 miles, it was the highest mileage week of the year and just less than 2 miles off my training peak from last year.
• I had a great core session on Monday, which included increasing my reps of squats I’ve been doing. I was worried initially about making that push, but my legs felt great.
• Today I continued my “push” theme and ran 4.7 miles in an 8:30 pace, which included a comfortable 8:19 middle mile. I initially felt like I started too fast, but I was able to maintain a good pace. The second mile, which was the hilliest, was 8:40.

Yesterday marked the two-months-to-go mark until the Baltimore Marathon. Two months? Really? That’s all?

I’m very happy with where I am in my training and the progress I continue to make with distance, speed and less worrying about my knee. The thought is still there quite a bit, but I can’t let it be a big distraction.

Next up in the journey is a big week with a goal of 36 miles this week, which will include a 5k on Saturday — the Fab 5k in Salem, Va. It’s a cross country style race.

While it’s promised to be flat, I’m looking at it as a speed workout. I’m not going to set a specific goal for this one. My long run goal is 16 miles on Sunday.

As I enter the second half of my training, I’m really setting my sites on a “first ever” moment of hitting 40 miles in a few weeks. It’s a distance out there that I’ve never been able to hit.

My previous two marathon attempts had too many things happen, but as of right now I’ve put it on my plan to hit 40 or more a few times before the taper begins. This will be the year it finally happens.

Somewhere along the way this week I let my mind take over. It’s a big fear I think most runners have — losing mental toughness. On the way to the Lynchburg Half Marathon this morning, I realized (again) that I’ve been letting my mind take over and I didn’t like it. I used that half hour or so to refocus on today’s race.

I hit the start line — after warming up in a steady run — with these thoughts:

• Don’t let the hill win.
• Finish stronger than I start it, carrying the theme of my main goal for 2011.
• Don’t look at my watch — just run by feel.
• Don’t worry about my time goal.
• Be able to honestly answer this question: can I double my effort?

Funny thing about my time goal is I couldn’t remember what I wrote the other day. I had shifted my focus since that post that I really didn’t care what my overall time was. If I did these things, I would have a solid training race, not a race race. And if I did these things I should be happy with my day no matter what.

After a steady rain for my warm-up, I almost put my Garmin away. The only reason I kept it on was to see the massive hill in my data, and I wanted to see how I handled it. While I was happy with last year’s race, it was THE hill that stuck out in my mind.

So with a different mindset than just 12 hours earlier, I had my most solid long run ever that just happens to fall smack in the middle of all my half marathon times.

It may sound crazy, but I really didn’t look at my watch until the 8th mile. I glanced at it a couple of times to do a mileage check, but in the first half of the race I didn’t check my mile times or look at my pace. It was quite refreshing.

I finished today in 1:51:31, more than 4 minutes faster than a year ago. Had it not been so humid after some overnight rain and the shower before the race, I probably could have knocked a couple of minutes off this. I was very pleased to set a course record on the “new” course for this race, as well as setting out everything I really wanted to accomplish.

• I beat the hill. I did miles 4 and 5 in 9:07 and 9:15; those two miles had elevation gains of 153 and 160 feet. Not that there’s anything wrong with walking hills, I remember last year feeling defeated when I had to. Today that thought never crossed my mind.

Lynchburg Half Marathon elevation

• The second 6 full miles were more than 3:30 faster than the first 6 miles. I’m very happy with that negative split.
• I actually didn’t make up that much time when I came down the hill. The mile with the most elevation loss — between 9 and 10 — was 8:03, and wasn’t my fastest mile. The next one was at 8:02. I lost something between mile 11 and 12 (8:26), but finished strong in the final full mile at 8:04. The last tenth or so (I say “or so” because my Garmin measure a tenth of a mile long) was in a 7:30 pace.
• So … can I double this effort? I know I have a lot of work left to do, but at the half way point of my training I am very confident that I can double this effort for the Baltimore Marathon.

I apologize for the headline that seems like a bunch of mumbled, jumbled words … as well as for the rest of this post.

I’ve had a hard time writing this week — if it weren’t for my Twitter Q&A and my monthly 11 things posts, I probably wouldn’t have written anything else.

I thought it was writer’s block, but truth be told, it’s me avoiding setting a goal for this weekend’s Lynchburg Half Marathon — a race that I’m not approaching as a “big” race, but instead focus on it being a training race.

In the past I’ve called it a “non-race race,” but those aren’t the right words anymore. “Training race” has a better ring to it.

This race fits in perfectly with my training schedule for the Baltimore Marathon. It’s exactly at the halfway point of my training — it’s a big test of where I am fitness-wise for a speedier long run. It’s about putting enough on the line to “race” it without being sore for 3 days after and messing up next week that should be even higher mileage. There is a fine line here with how hard to run this race.

Ideally, I’d like to run this slightly faster than my marathon goal of 3:45. An 8:36 pace — a time of about 1:52 — for a half marathon seems too slow of a goal. I think — and I say think because I may change my mind as soon as I wake up — that a goal of 1:49 is realistic for this race.

Last year the one major hill in this race — probably about 3/4 of a mile long — zapped me coming down. Yes, down, but knowing the course better will help this year. The weather is also supposed to much nicer than a year ago and considerably cooler than the past few weeks.

One thing about this race is that I’m realizing how important it is for me to do this. Otherwise I feel like I could fall into this cycle of “just another long run.” I have to push myself to set the tone for the second half of training. I’ve had an unbelievable first 8 weeks of training and I want the next 8 to be even better.

I’m probably no more clear about this than I was went I first started this post. Honestly I’m eager to get out there and see what happens. And, more importantly, to have fun.

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I think a week ago when I knew I was cutting my miles back this week, I put myself in a frame of mind of just getting through the week. Then when I started feeling bad it seemed like everything got worse.

That led to almost turning my alarm off this morning and sleeping in. I briefly thought I could just sleep for another hour or so and then get in my 10 miles tonight. One bad thought leading to another.

When I finally got out of bed and started my run with my dog, I felt miserable. The humidity was even worse than the past few weeks after rain last night. I was having a hard time breathing even though I was intentionally going slower than usual.

After dropping my dog off at home after a few miles and then running a few more, I snapped out of it. After my post the other day about bouncing back after a bad run, I realized I wasn’t practicing my own advice.

While I was still struggling a bit with the humidity, the second half of today’s 10 miles was definitely better — both physically and mentally. It wasn’t that big of a negative split, but the second 5 miles were about 30 seconds faster than the first 5. I also played this well with the first mile being the slowest (9:45) and the final mile being the fastest (9:11).

I started thinking at the end of my run how I could do with humidity about half of what it was today, and I really think I can drop these times significantly both on a normal long run and in a race condition. With my 3:45 goal time for Baltimore, I like where I am pace wise on these long runs, especially with this weather. Today’s long run was a 9:26 pace, only 50 seconds off my marathon goal pace.

Today's elevation. Hilly as always.

It’s rare that I say I’m glad a week is over, but I’m really glad to move on to next week. I’m looking forward to higher mileage, slightly cooler conditions and the Lynchburg Half Marathon on Saturday. As I wrote the other day, it’s time to get the hell over it and move on. This time I mean it.

After having some good and unique runs this week, I think I was more and more critical of last week’s long run that really wasn’t all that bad. That said, I learned a lot of lessons last week that I had to apply to the next long run to get over it and move on with my Baltimore Marathon training.

When the alarm went off at 5 a.m. today I was hating life. I didn’t sleep much and it had already been a long week — I was letting self-doubt enter my mind before I even got out of the door. As soon as I starting running with Duke, though, I was fine and very happy that I was out before the sun. The weather was a bit cooler than last week, but still very humid.

After less than a half mile, we almost got sprayed by a skunk — what I thought was a cat hanging out on the side of the road was a skunk that puffed up and hissed as we neared it. I shouted “GO DUKE” and we took off through someone’s yard. That woke me up, and I immediately started thinking about my goals for this run. Like my overarching goal is for 2011 is, today’s frame of mind was to finish it stronger than I started it.

I did exactly that. Here are the highlights of today’s 14.5-mile run, with lessons learned and many other miscellaneous things:

• Don’t eat buffalo chicken wraps the day before a long run. I had a much-needed pit stop when I dropped Duke off about 5 miles into the run, but that wasn’t a bad thing. I realized I had forgotten to apply my Mission Skincare Anti-Chafe Balm before starting, something I failed to do last week.
• After the brief stop, I took a frozen water bottle with me. It lasted several miles, keeping me cool and relaxed. After getting so hot last week, I needed this relief, especially in the middle miles.
• While my route doesn’t look planned, I made sure I would be in some shadier spots when the sun came up.
• Speaking of the sun, I made sure I had my sunglasses with me today. As soon as the sun peered over the trees, I put on my sunglasses. As weird as this sounds, this may have been the best decision of all today. There’s a lot to be said for not squinting in the final hour of the run. I was able to keep my face relaxed and focus on other things. Who knew squinting took so much effort?
• I was able to put my phone in a good spot so I didn’t have to hold it. My playlist was a little more singer-friendly too.
• I ran through some parking lots to break up a few continuous hills.
• I was able to refill my water about 9 miles in and get me through about mile 12 — that left me completely hands free for the final push.
• After starting slow — a 9:44 first mile — I finished strong with a next to last mile in 8:40. The second 7 miles were a little more than a minute and a half faster than the first 7 miles. My overall pace was 9:25, which I am very happy with.
• This run sticks out in my mind like a 16-mile run last September, when the conditions were actually much cooler and less humid. I’m excited beyond words about that. This weather is tough no matter how much I talk about running in it.
• I did my first-ever ice bath following the run. Long story short, I learned some lessons and didn’t last long. Two hours later, though, my legs feel great.
• Today’s run puts me at 30+ miles for the week, the first 30-mile week in 41 weeks.