The most difficult part of my training plans for my last 3 races (half marathon, 10K, and another half marathon now) has been the speedwork. I've never been fast and really struggle to meet the training goals (which is exactly why I need the track work in my training plans). The plan for speedwork this week called for 8 miles, including 4 x 1600m @6:56 mpm and 800m jogs between repeats. The high school track, Godwin High School, is 2 miles from our house, so I did my warm up and cool down to and from the school.
The first two 1600m repeats went well. Then, I really struggled on the third repeat and ended up breaking it up into 3 segments with 200m jogs in between. However, I managed to complete the last repeat. It is amazing to me how much difference just a few seconds per mile makes in how I feel on these repeats.
REPEAT TIMES 1.7942 mi x 16:30.39 1600m x 7:03.52 (+7.52 seconds) 800m x 4:41.57 -- Jog 1600m x 6:53.47 (-2.53 seconds) 800m x 5:17.28 -- Jog 850m x 3:36.67 3rd repeat, segment 1 200m x 1:40.18 -- Jog 400m x 1:44.36 3rd repeat, segment 2 200m x 1:44.08 -- Jog 350m x 1:23.94 3rd repeat, segment 3 (-11.03 seconds total for the 3 segments) 800m x 5:37.54 -- Jog 1600m x 7:08.32 (+14.32 seconds) 1.7942 mi x 16:27.08
Glad those are behind me for the week. The rest of the week will be a couple of 4 mile runs, a 7 miler, and then an 8-12 miler on Saturday.
This kind of falls in the interesting things I found while surfing but should have been doing something else category.
One of the persistent bits of common health knowledge is the idea that one should drink 8 8-ounce glasses of water every day in order to be healthy (other iterations of this common knowledge say anywhere from 6-10 glasses or more). Another persistent bit of common knowledge is that caffeinated drinks don't count toward that total since they cause dehydration rather than prevent it.
One of the best books that I've read in a long time is Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Their blog, though not updated regularly, is a regular stopping point for me.
Granted, runners and others who exercise or sweat profusely, need to watch their fluid intake. But, it seems that what we have long taken as absolute truth (8 8-ounce glasses of water per day for everybody) is taken by many to be false -- an urban legend that has persisted for hundreds of years.
After my awful 13.1 mile run last week and then reading all the posts on the Runners' Lounge blog on the Tough Stuff, I made up my mind that I was going to do whatever it took to have a better run today -- scheduled 14.1 miler. So, I tried to hydrate well on Friday, get a decent night's sleep Friday night, focus on having a positive mental outlook, get a mantra, and run smart. It worked:
Hydration on Friday: at least 86 oz of liquids plus fruit Sleep: 7 hours Mental:I'm looking forward to this run. Mantra:Uwe hodari na moyo wa ushujaa (Swahili from Joshua 1:6-9, Be strong and courageous) Target pace was 8:47 and I ran at 8:49 and stayed with a group of 3 others
I felt very good through 11 miles -- in fact, I was surprised when we hit the 10 mile point. At mile 12, I was having to tell myself more often to be strong and courageous -- I really wanted to walk but decided that I had to run through the half marathon distance. Then, when we got to mile 13, there was only 1 mile remaining and I couldn't quit. I ran the full distance with the exception of the water stops. While I was as physically tired as last week, I felt so much better having gotten through the mental stuff that I don't feel nearly as badly.
So, out of the last 3 longer runs of 11, 13, and 14 miles, my mind has prevailed on the 11 and 14 mile runs. YES!!!
I actually ran 14.92 miles because I ran 0.75 miles to the start of the group run.
I hope your run today is just as good -- mind over body.
When it comes to running, I am a confirmed hater of heat and humidity. Trying to train over the last 2 months for an August 23 half marathon has been the most difficult period of running since I got serious about it 5 years ago. Frankly, it's been a little discouraging -- no, I'm not about to give up as I'm too mule-headed for that, but I think that's one reason I haven't posted a blog in about 2.5 weeks.
Just a fer instance: last Saturday was a scheduled 13.1 mile run with the half marathon training team. I woke up feeling good -- looking forward to the run and thinking I would do well. Even 70° and 84% humidity seemed doable. But, from the moment we started running, I was sluggish. By the time we hit mile 8, I was in bad shape (I was hydrating and had ingested a couple of Gu's). Even shorter runs have been hard -- a 6-miler on Tuesday and 4.5 miles today.
The toughest of the tough stuff for me? -- Track repeats, especially 1600m repeats at 90-95% max. (I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam, I am. -- Not sure why, but that Seuss quote seemed appropriate.)
I've decided there are several factors that are probably a part of this and I'm going to try to work on them over the next 4 weeks before the actual race:
1. Heat and humidity: I have decided that some folks just handle it better than others. David, a college friend of mine, ran in temps that were upper 90's a few days ago. I've not even attempted anything over 80°. While I certainly can't control the weather, I am going to try to do a better job of hydrating well the day before a longish run. I already run early -- 5:15-5:30 AM start during the week and a 6:45 AM start on Saturday.
2. Overtraining: Coach Dean Hebert, blogger at Running Advice and News, posted a Q&A from a reader about hitting a plateau and digressing. The reader's symptoms were similar to mine (though I haven't struggled for 5 months) and one of Hebert's suggestions was that she was overtraining or that her training was stale, too consistent. I can implement some of the suggestions. In fact, I did that today -- I backed off the mileage a bit, ran 4.5 miles rather than 6, and I added several relatively short fartleks during the run to break the steady pace.
3. Mental stamina: Part of my difficulty is that discouragement can be a cyclical downslide. My pride makes me think that every run should at least be good and I really expect every run to be better than the previous one. I know better than that, so, in the words of my favourite TV psychologist, Bob Newhart, "Stop it -- S-T-O-P, new word, I-T -- STOP IT!" As Benjamin Cheever said in Strides: "The runner's high is built on a foundation of runner's lows. The joy is often paid for in advance."
(You HAVE to watch the Newhart video but don't have a mouth full of food or beverage when you do. Word to the wise.)
Today I completed 5 years of serious running. Mind you, by serious, I don't intend to give anyone even the faintest idea that I'm a good runner (I'm neither an elite runner nor the son of an elite runner). I simply mean that I've taken it seriously in terms of my own health and physical fitness -- I've run consistently (my wife would say obsessively) over a period of 60 months and have come to love it.
I began this journey on 9 July 2003 by walking, with my wife, 2.9 miles in 45 minutes. We gradually added a bit of jogging here and there. Eventually, we got to where we ran 2.5 miles together before I split off to do another 2+ and she ran a bit more and cooled off. I loved that time together and was very sorry for that time to end. Thankfully, it hasn't ended completely, though. My wife completed the Richmond 10K this year (You go, girl!) and I looped back after I finished and did the last half again with her. Notice -- the picture was taken right at 6 miles and she's smiling.
I almost always run in the early morning but I completed the 5 years this evening with a very rare evening run -- 6.3 miles in 51:15 (8:07 mpm). The temperature was 80° and the humidity was 80%. I do not like running in that kind of weather -- give me 50° any day -- but I woke up this morning to a severe lightening storm and couldn't run (I'm obsessive but not completely wacky). In that 5 year period, I have run 6008 miles.
2003: 557 miles (Jul-Dec) 2004: 837 miles 2005: 924 miles 2006: 1364 miles 2007: 1453 miles 2008: 872 miles (Jan-today)
It took a full year to get to the point before I could stop saying simply, "I like the results of running" and I could say "I like running." My absolute favourite run, besides the times with my wife, was Chapman's Peak in Nordhoek, South Africa.
I hope to be running for 30 more years (or more). By then, of course, the 30 year olds will have to dodge my cane (as they blow by me).
I had a one-week reprieve from the humidity and heat of Richmond. Spent a great vacation week in Highlands, NC. The temperature when I ran in the mornings was 49-54° and the humidity was around 54%. It was wonderful. The mountain roads were not conducive to running as they were narrow, had many blind curves, and no verges on which to escape the traffic, so I drove into town and ran Highlands' sidewalks -- still was able to do a 6-miler and two 5-milers, one of which included hill repeats. It was great!
In addition, we took in the waterfalls that are in the area. The best were Glen Falls -- the elevation change was 700'+/-. The literature said it was a 1.4 mile trail, each way, but I think it had to be farther. Whitewater Falls were also awesome -- with a 411' drop, they are the highest falls in the US east of the Mississippi River. Anyway, 3 hikes and 3 runs was pretty good.
I don't want to bore you with home slides, but here are a few from the hikes:
Whitewater Falls
Glen Falls, 3rd falls -- Bob and Linda
Glen Falls, 4th falls
Crocodile in the Water! :)
Glen Falls Trail
Today was my long run -- 11.2 miles @ 8:28 mpm. The run itself was hard but the soreness (OK, pain) afterwards is worse. I'm experimenting with Gu's, Shot Bloks, and Gatorade. I had a Gu before running, ate a Shot Blok every 3 miles, and drank 20 oz of Gatorade over the 11 miles. I think it helped but I'm going to try a Shot Blok every 2 miles to see if it's better.
Now, the part you've been waiting for -- Deux chats sur un tapis roulant (Cats on a Treadmill -- at least I think that's what the French says). Merry, who wrote Thursday's post at Cranky Fitness, found this one. Being the good blogger that I am, I stole, ah, referenced her find. This is pretty funny -- much more fun than actually running on a treadmill!
I'm having trouble getting my track work done in preparation for the half marathon. The training plan today called for 7 miles total with easy warm-up and cool downs, 1600 meters x 3 @7:00 and 800 meter jogs between. I managed 1600 meters x 2 @ 6:53 and 6:55, 800 meters x 1 @3:27, and 400 meters x 1 @1:42, all with 800 meter jogs in between. I couldn't sustain what was to have been the 3rd 1600 meters. Not quite sure why I can't do this. The heat was tolerable today -- 69° and 71% humidity. I was well hydrated, drank Gatorade during each job, and had downed a Gu (chocolate) prior to running.
Maybe it's a function of age -- but I could do this 6 months ago. Perhaps it's because I swapped the easy week this week for next week's harder week because of vacation in the mountains next week -- did my legs (or my brain) just need the break? One consolation -- 3 weeks ago when I was supposed to do the same workout, I only did 1 1600 meter repeat and 1/4 of a lap on the 2nd 1600 repeat. I did improve.
SPLITS: 1.9993 mi x 17:49.75 (easy warm-up) 1600 mt x 6:53.09 800 mt x 4:23.76 (jog) 1600 mt x 6:54.88 800 mt x 4:45.79 (jog) 800 mt x 3:26.86 400 mt x 2:47.15 (jog) 400 mt x 1:42.27 1.9993 mi x 17:36.24 (easy cool down)
Total run: 7.48 miles at an average pace of 8:52 mpm.
Wednesday evening, the Half Marathon Training Team sponsored an injury prevention clinic with a local sports doctor, Dr. Dec. She commented that "Running hurts. Did anyone tell you that?" We all chuckled but it was a knowing chuckle. Running is great -- I love it. There are huge physical and emotional benefits but one does have to endure a certain amount of discomfort. I'm finding that, even after almost 5 years of steady running and after having tamed the 10-mile barrier, that longer runs and faster runs do leave me with some aches.
Looking ahead to today's Mayor's Marathon, the Anchorage Daily News posted an article yesterday on this very topic. Here's a excerpt -- the full story can be read here:
Prepare for pain.
The forecast for many of you 26.2-mile first-timers is partly miserable with occasional periods of suffering and a mild chance of legitimate anguish. Doesn't matter if you're a lickety-split type or someone who gets passed on training runs by people pushing strollers -- the marathon does not discriminate.
Still, it's important to embrace your agony. You've worked hard for this day -- if not, big bummer for you -- and you've no doubt persevered through some difficult training, so you have experience with excruciation. You're going to endure some bad patches Saturday, sure, but you'll be in good company.
While this article is in reference to a full marathon, the same holds true for a half marathon (at least for us mere mortals) -- even a good, hard 10K leaves me with some pain.
Ran 10 miles today -- 7 with the training team and then 3 more on my own. Pace was good, actually a little fast for the training plan, at 8:18 mpm. I've ended up running with 3-5 "young" guys when the group runs and they took me to the cleaners on mile 7 today. I console myself with the excuse that they were heading for the barn and I still had 3 more miles to go -- it makes me feel better. (grin) These guys are fun to run with (thanks to you all -- Hank, Todd, John, Chris, Drew) and we push each other to do just a little better each time we run.
Andrew, at Andrew is Getting Fit, termed the 100 Pushup Challenge as not easy. That's an understatement. I think impossible is closer to the truth. I couldn't get through day 1!! (sad face) I did the first two sets (10 each set) and 2 pushups of the 3rd set with my arms and lats screaming at me the whole time -- still sore from the initial test. After the 2nd pushup of the 3rd set, I just collapsed. I'm a weak wimp -- oh, well, let's go for a long run.
Today was hill day (picture above is from the top looking down -- the white mailbox on the right is our finish line). Whoa! Pretty tough. Yeah, I know, it doesn't look that bad but that's the weakness of a 1-dimensional picture. Can a picture on a computer screen be 2-dimensional? Here are the results in order of fastest hill to slowest. Each uphill was about .13 miles with a climb of somewhere between 42' (gMap-Pedometer) and 60' (coach's Garmin) and was punctuated by a slow downhill:
I've got a sore patella tendon -- it's not bad but I'm icing and taking a low dosage of ibuprophen. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I'll have a Chopat strap (patella band) to use when I run for the next few weeks.
How many pushups can you do? Steve Speirs suggests that no matter how many you can do (or not do) now, you could be doing 100 consecutive pushups in 6 weeks. That's pretty impressive. Will it work? I don't know but I'm going to try. I started with the initial test last night and managed to do 15. Week 1 begins on Wednesday -- the program is about 10 minutes, 3 times per week for 6 weeks. We'll see. I must admit, I'm skeptical.
Yesterday's tempo run left me tired today. Following my Runner's World plan, I only ran 4.6 miles at 8:03 mpm but, wow, they were 4.6 tough miles.
Are you posting your miles in support of Ryan Hall? Click below, register, and post.
Tempo runs are so much more my "speed" than track work, either 800 meter or 1600 meter repeats. The one advantage of the track work is that I can pretty easily check my pace at short intervals -- every 100 meters or so. But, on the road, I am so bad at estimating my pace.
Today, I really wanted to stick closer to my target since I had 4 tempo miles to do. Oh, well. I guess if I can do them faster, it's not a real problem...
TEMPO SPLITS
1.00 x 8:51.33 (warm-up) 1.00 x 7:25.56 1.00 x 7:18.89 1.00 x 7:04.83 1.00 x 7:32.69 1.11 x 9:10.71 (cool down)
Even with the cooler temperature this morning, I finished absolutely drenched.
Today's 9-and-change was so much better than last week's 10 miler. The difference? I think it was the lower humidity -- rather than 86%, it was 66%. This was the Saturday group run and I ran most of the way with Hank and Chris (thanks, guys). I stopped my watch for the 2 hydration points because I wanted to know the actual running time. Total time was 1:16:11 -- a pace of 8:19.8 mpm.
We went to Dogwood Dell to start -- part of the downtown park complex that includes Dogwood Dell, Byrd Park, and Northbank Park -- and ran through some of the older, historic parts of Richmond. The course was relatively flat (well, except for the nasty hill when we went over I-195 at about mile 8.5).
Here's hoping that your run today is just as satisfying.
What a difference 10° makes. After months of 120° at 5:30 AM -- OK, no, hyperbole alert! -- let's try that again, it just felt like months of 120°. After 4+ days of 74° and 84%+ humidity at 5:30 AM, this morning it was 64° and 83% humidity. It felt so good and I was so glad. I was scheduled to do my first ever hill workout with the Patrick Henry Half Marathon training group and doing that in the heat/humidity combination of the last several days was not going to be pleasant.
About 12 of us met up and did an easy 1 mile warm-up (9:42) and then began our hill workout. The hill was 0.13 miles with an elevation gain of roughly 60'. Based on the pace chart that had been distributed and my goal for the half, I was counting on doing the repeats at 1:16.4. But, having no idea how fast that really was, I just followed the coach. When we turned around at the top, we had done the hill in 53.16 -- hard but not a killer. I ended up doing 5 repeats and was tired but not totally exhausted. It was fun doing that with a group, too -- much better than it would have been by myself.
We ended with a .71 mile cool down. When I got home, I did an additional 2 miles to get a total of 4.9 miles at an overall average pace of 8:26 mpm.
After all my moaning yesterday, it looks like at least most of the bad of the last couple of weeks has been, in fact, the weather. I'm just no acclimated to summer mornings, yet.
I hope it's just this awful heat wave that's hit Virginia and surrounding states, but the last 10 days of running have been mostly awful. It's not really that my times have been bad -- yesterday, for instance, I did a 3 mile tempo run and averaged 7:11 mpm -- it's just that it's been really hard. These high temps and humidity did come on quickly, so maybe I just haven't acclimated, yet. Still, on Saturday, while trying to do 10 miles, I wasn't sure if I could keep this up.
I have tried to change my hydration to meet the heat challenge. For Saturday's 10-miler, I packed Gatorade -- 20 oz of Glacier Freeze (I guess -- it was pale blue) in a used (but clean) water bottle. The training team directors had also put out 2 water/gatorade (red) stops on the route and had water/gatorade at the finish. I still walked 2-3 times in the last mile. Maybe it's just mental.
Anyway, **if** anyone has been looking for a post from me since last Saturday (1 June), I was just too bummed about running to write.
I'm training for the Ashland (VA) Patrick Henry Half Marathon in late August (that should be a cool run -- NOT!). Here are my runs for the last 10 days:
Tuesday, 3 June: 6.4 miles @ 8:07 mpm Wednesday, 4 June: 6.6 miles @ 8:03 mpm Thursday, 5 June: 5.8 miles @ 8:55 mpm (was supposed to be 1600 m repeats @ 7:05) Saturday, 7 June: 10.3 miles @ 8:41 mpm Monday, 9 June: 5.3 miles @ 7:51 mpm
Tempo Splits: 1.00 x 8:41.73 1.00 x 7:15.08 1.00 x 7:13.05 1.00 x 7:05.98 1.26 x 10.59.49
Tuesday, 10 June: 4.6 miles @ 8:14 mpm
And, yes, I'm a wimp about heat. The morning figures when I've run have been 73-74° with 81-88% humidity -- even to me, that doesn't sound blistering. I come in the house, though, looking like I've been swimming and forgot to take a towel!
Yesterday was my first run with the local YMCA training group for the Patrick Henry Half Marathon in late August. The group was running 6.1 miles and it was a good run (8:11 mpm pace) -- I enjoyed the miles and the conversations. I met a group of guys who run on Wednesday mornings at 5:30 and they invited me to join them. That should be just the motivation I need to get over my "Wednesday 'Don't-Wanna's'".
After I ran with the group, I headed out for an additional 4 miles (my Runner's World training plan called for a 10 mile long run). Whoa! Summer is here. The first couple of miles of the extra weren't bad but by the time I hit mile 3, I was wiped out. I ended up with a pace of 8:44 mpm for that 4 miles and walked a couple of times.
I think I just hadn't drunk enough water for the weather (75° or so by that time and 80%+ humidity) and probably was low on sodium and electrolytes. Yeah, I know, 75° is not hot for many folks, but it is for me. "Perfect", for me, is 45-55° and I even like running when it's 30-45°. I think I'm going to have to carry something like Gatorade or Powerade for my longer runs for the next few months. I felt drained all day and I've been doing 10-mile runs for a number of months.
Viv at the blog, I'm Not Fit to Run, is sponsoring an Independence Weight Loss Challenge. I need to get rid of 5-10 pounds and thought this might be just the thing to spur me on. If a little virtual competition would help you, check it out. The deadline for sending in your initial weight is today, Sunday, 1 June.
Weighty Matters is a good, general health blog written by a Canadian physician, Yoni Freedhoff, who wants to ferret out the truth about weight and health. He's a good blogger -- entertaining and unafraid to speak his mind about health.
In today's blog, he spotlights Baskin-Robbins' (large -- 32 oz) Heath® Shake. Check out that monster! A single serving (32 fl. oz.) contains 2310 calories, 2.5g trans fat, 1560mg sodium, and 266g sugar (Freedhoff says that's 66.5 teaspoons or 1.5 cups of sugar). Check the ingredients' list -- sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are featured multiple times.
When I read that to my wife, her comment was, "That much sugar in a milk shake would kill you!" Yeah, eventually that much sugar could well do it.
Reid, blogging at Life Strides, is trying to collect a group of blogging runners who would report their miles as a group in support of Ryan Hall (no money involved). If interested, click on over to his blog, Life Strides, and leave a comment.
We also need a lot more runners to sign up for the campaign. The current stats are below but expecting to get 5 miles per day (35 miles per week) from each runner is unrealistic since the current average miles per day per participant is less than 1. Consider clicking on the banner above and joining this effort.
CURRENT MOVE A MILLION MILES STATISTICS:
Total Miles Moved: 201,096 Total Current Participants: 1628 Average Miles per Day per Current Participant: 0.85 Top Group: BBHS Track Team, 8,828 mi. Total Miles Remaining: 798,904 Number of Days Remaining: 90 Average Miles Remaining per Day: 8,877 Necessary Miles per Day per Current Participant: 5
Ben, running blogger at The Audacity of Marathoning, asked about how I do tempo runs. I'm not an expert runner by any stretch of the imagination but perhaps what I've learned will be helpful for someone else. I've used Runner's World Smart Coach to train for my last 3 races (half-marathon and 2 10K's) and that plan had me do the following for a "tempo run" -- my goal pace for the 10K was 7:25 mpm:
1 mile warm-up -- I ran at an easy run pace, about 90 seconds per mile slower than my goal 10K pace or about 8:55 mpm.
3-5 miles tempo -- about 10 seconds per mile slower than my goal 10K pace or about 7:35 mpm.
1 mile cool-down -- again, I aimed to run about 8:55 mpm but it was usually closer to 8:15 mpm.
Tempo Run distances for an 11 week 10K training program:
Weeks 1 and 3 were 3 miles @ 7:36 Weeks 4 and 7 were 4 miles @ 7:40 & 7:35 Weeks 8 and 10 were 5 miles @ 7:40 & 7:35
Weeks 2, 5 and 9 were speedwork -- 800 meter repeats on a local high school track at about 45 seconds per mile faster than my goal 10K pace, about 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down, and 400 meter easy jogs between repeats:
Weeks 6 and 11 were easy weeks so no tempo runs or speedwork runs.
I normally end up running the tempo runs a bit faster than the suggested goal. They are hard but satisfying. The speedwork repeats were usually right on target. The repeats are real killers and I hate doing them, but they do seem to help.
My virtual friend, Paul Merrill, has tagged me asking what impossible dream I have. I have spent long, tortuous hours given it some thought off and on. Like Paul, I have lofty desires -- ending poverty would be great; seeing Christ reign in every heart; simple decency in politics, on TV/radio, between neighbors. But, like Paul, I'll be a bit more mundane. I'd like to run a half marathon with Ryan Hall, with his fluidity, and at his speed (less than an hour).
Now to pass on the favor: I'm tagging Non-Runner Nancy and my college friend, David H -- tell us your impossible dream.
BTW -- a nice run this morning. It started gently raining about halfway through a 5.9 miler and with the temperature at about 55°, it felt good. I did the run in 46:34.
The most difficult part of my training plans for my last 3 races (half marathon, 10K, and another half marathon now) has been the speedwork. I've never been fast and really struggle to meet the training goals (which is exactly why I need the track work in my training plans). The plan for speedwork this week called for 8 miles, including 4 x 1600m @6:56 mpm and 800m jogs between repeats. The high school track, Godwin High School, is 2 miles from our house, so I did my warm up and cool down to and from the school.
