Monday is hill day, and we didn't have Core class due to the holiday. So I was on my own tonight, but that's OK.
I'm still a little tired from Saturday's 18+ miles, so I really didn't feel like the 45 second "sprints" up Yugo hill. So I went over to the park along Ford Road to do about 4 miles of hills. Right away I could tell that my legs were still sore from Saturday, but they felt better after a couple miles.
My stomach was reminding/punishing me from my Jimmy John's dinner a couple hours earlier (and a cookie). I kind of felt gross at the halfway point but gutted (pun intended) it out for a couple more miles.
I didn't feel like I had a lot of speed in my legs tonight, so I just tried to maintain a steady pace of about 8:30 miles. The usual workout calls for a 7:30/mile pace up the hill on Ford Road. Maybe next week.
I decided during the run today that I need some pictures of these regular running spots for the blog. Maybe sometime I'll bike around with my camera and take some shots. This blog looks a little boring without photographic documentation and pizazz.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Last long run of 2010! Well, until the marathon
Today's run was originally scheduled for four hours, but I managed to convince Bill to lower it to three. That last hour just killed me the two times before. But those runs were valuable so I can experience the pain and anguish that I'll certainly feel in Duluth once I have about 20 miles behind me.
So today was 3 hours, 5 minutes running @ 7:30/mile pace with a 3 mile walk/jog recovery.
It's a hot one in the Twin Cities today, so I made sure I got out there early. I arrived at the usual spot in Deephaven at 7am feeling ready and raring to go. After doing the half marathon at 9 minute miles and a bunch of quarter mile repeats at 6 minute miles, I had a little laugh when I realized that I literally had to split the difference in this workout (7:30/mile).
Once I got that in my head, it was pretty easy to maintain. As I've said many times before in this blog, the main point of this style of training is to run based on perceived pace and make adjustments. So my mindset this morning was a pace somewhere between half marathon and quarter mile run paces.
The first hour went very well. I'd guess it was in the high 60's and very sunny. There was a slight wind out of the south. I made sure I took the Endurolyte tablet (electrolyte replenishment) tablet before I got started, in addition to every hour of running. It really helps cut down on the salt and sweat that pours out of me on long runs (sorry for the visual).
At the end of the first hour, I felt warmed up and a little tired but not too bad. I took a short break at my car for water, a gel, and two more Endurolytes tablets. At the end of the second hour, I felt pretty tired but anxious to kick some butt in the third hour and be done!
It turned out I got back to my car at about the 2 hour 10 minute mark, so I was a little late for my usual water break. I was really thirsty, and the sun was getting higher and the temperature rising.
By the end of the workout, I was even more thirsty and it was a struggle to maintain the 7:30 pace. As usual, at about the 2:20 mark, it became very uncomfortable to start running after a walk. The upper leg/groin area really resisted the running process, but it felt ok after about a dozen steps. When I finished up, I was ready to be done. My legs were tight, I needed water, and I wanted to find some shade. As I sit here over three hours after finishing, my legs are still sore but getting better. Really looking forward to a nap.
Here are the splits (much more consistent than previous runs, woo hoo!):
1 - 7:28 minutes/mile
2 - 7:25
3 - 7:34 (I swear there's a hill here on the path)
4 - 7:29
5 - 7:24 (going down said hill)
6 - 7:36
7 - 7:25
8 - 7:28
9 - 7:28
10 - 7:28 (consistent!)
11 - 7:22
12 - 7:36
13 - 7:26
14 - 7:27
15 - 7:30
16 - 7:05 This was just a 2 minute run as I got back to my car. I was maybe going to meet Paul at the car and didn't want to blow by the area in case he was waiting in the shade off the parking lot. So while I stopped, I grabbed a gel, water, and electrolytes.
17 - 7:28
18 - 7:28
19 - 7:43 (that darn hill, I kicked myself when seeing this split. see next split)
20 - 7:19 (that's better)
21 - 7:38
22 - 7:30
Totals: 18.40 miles, 2:57:37, avg pace 9:39/mile, 2634 calories burned
I have to say as I look at these splits in total for the first time, I'm most proud of the final three. It would have been easy to say, "I'm almost done, slowing down a bit won't hurt anything. Besides, I'm tired." But I quickly got that out of my head, thinking "This is my last friggin' run before the marathon. I got this shortened by an hour, so I'd better EARN it and get my butt in gear. I feel much better at this point than in previous weeks, so go get 'em!"
So today was 3 hours, 5 minutes running @ 7:30/mile pace with a 3 mile walk/jog recovery.
It's a hot one in the Twin Cities today, so I made sure I got out there early. I arrived at the usual spot in Deephaven at 7am feeling ready and raring to go. After doing the half marathon at 9 minute miles and a bunch of quarter mile repeats at 6 minute miles, I had a little laugh when I realized that I literally had to split the difference in this workout (7:30/mile).
Once I got that in my head, it was pretty easy to maintain. As I've said many times before in this blog, the main point of this style of training is to run based on perceived pace and make adjustments. So my mindset this morning was a pace somewhere between half marathon and quarter mile run paces.
The first hour went very well. I'd guess it was in the high 60's and very sunny. There was a slight wind out of the south. I made sure I took the Endurolyte tablet (electrolyte replenishment) tablet before I got started, in addition to every hour of running. It really helps cut down on the salt and sweat that pours out of me on long runs (sorry for the visual).
At the end of the first hour, I felt warmed up and a little tired but not too bad. I took a short break at my car for water, a gel, and two more Endurolytes tablets. At the end of the second hour, I felt pretty tired but anxious to kick some butt in the third hour and be done!
It turned out I got back to my car at about the 2 hour 10 minute mark, so I was a little late for my usual water break. I was really thirsty, and the sun was getting higher and the temperature rising.
By the end of the workout, I was even more thirsty and it was a struggle to maintain the 7:30 pace. As usual, at about the 2:20 mark, it became very uncomfortable to start running after a walk. The upper leg/groin area really resisted the running process, but it felt ok after about a dozen steps. When I finished up, I was ready to be done. My legs were tight, I needed water, and I wanted to find some shade. As I sit here over three hours after finishing, my legs are still sore but getting better. Really looking forward to a nap.
Here are the splits (much more consistent than previous runs, woo hoo!):
1 - 7:28 minutes/mile
2 - 7:25
3 - 7:34 (I swear there's a hill here on the path)
4 - 7:29
5 - 7:24 (going down said hill)
6 - 7:36
7 - 7:25
8 - 7:28
9 - 7:28
10 - 7:28 (consistent!)
11 - 7:22
12 - 7:36
13 - 7:26
14 - 7:27
15 - 7:30
16 - 7:05 This was just a 2 minute run as I got back to my car. I was maybe going to meet Paul at the car and didn't want to blow by the area in case he was waiting in the shade off the parking lot. So while I stopped, I grabbed a gel, water, and electrolytes.
17 - 7:28
18 - 7:28
19 - 7:43 (that darn hill, I kicked myself when seeing this split. see next split)
20 - 7:19 (that's better)
21 - 7:38
22 - 7:30
Totals: 18.40 miles, 2:57:37, avg pace 9:39/mile, 2634 calories burned
I have to say as I look at these splits in total for the first time, I'm most proud of the final three. It would have been easy to say, "I'm almost done, slowing down a bit won't hurt anything. Besides, I'm tired." But I quickly got that out of my head, thinking "This is my last friggin' run before the marathon. I got this shortened by an hour, so I'd better EARN it and get my butt in gear. I feel much better at this point than in previous weeks, so go get 'em!"
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday track, quarter mile repeats
Today had me down for 14 x 400 @ 90 seconds. I went to Lindbergh to (hopefully) hit the track on a beautiful Wednesday evening. It was sunny and about 78 with a wind out of the north at about 10 mph.
There was a lacrosse game on the field at 7:30pm, and the teams were there early to warm up. The Lindbergh staff said we shouldn't be on the track, but I really wanted to get out there, so I adopted the old "easier to apologize than ask for permission" attitude.
While doing a lap in 90 seconds is difficult, I couldn't help thinking how much easier it was this night versus a month ago doing the same workout. In last month's set of eight repeats, I could barely catch my breath between sets and needed a full lap to recover. Tonight's fourteen repeats just needed a 200 yard recovery and I felt tired but ready for the next one.
Here are the splits:
1 - 1:30.50
2 - 1:29.14
3 - 1:29.12
4 - 1:29.99
5 - 1:28.56
6 - 1:28.20
7 - 1:29.06
8 - 1:29.20
9 - 1:31.44 (think I lost focus a bit here)
10 - 1:28.14
11 - 1:28.03
12 - 1:27.44
13 - 1:28.57
14 - 1:25.09 (didn't leave anything on the track on the last one!)
Then went to the Spur and had a wonderful turkey burger with fries :)
There was a lacrosse game on the field at 7:30pm, and the teams were there early to warm up. The Lindbergh staff said we shouldn't be on the track, but I really wanted to get out there, so I adopted the old "easier to apologize than ask for permission" attitude.
While doing a lap in 90 seconds is difficult, I couldn't help thinking how much easier it was this night versus a month ago doing the same workout. In last month's set of eight repeats, I could barely catch my breath between sets and needed a full lap to recover. Tonight's fourteen repeats just needed a 200 yard recovery and I felt tired but ready for the next one.
Here are the splits:
1 - 1:30.50
2 - 1:29.14
3 - 1:29.12
4 - 1:29.99
5 - 1:28.56
6 - 1:28.20
7 - 1:29.06
8 - 1:29.20
9 - 1:31.44 (think I lost focus a bit here)
10 - 1:28.14
11 - 1:28.03
12 - 1:27.44
13 - 1:28.57
14 - 1:25.09 (didn't leave anything on the track on the last one!)
Then went to the Spur and had a wonderful turkey burger with fries :)
Tuesday 5/25 swim
Waking up at 4:30am, I was close to just rolling over and sleeping for another two hours before work. But I remained steadfast in my goal to do every scheduled workout until Grandma's on June 19th.
We did a few short, medium-paced repeats of 100 and 200 yards. Then we did long swims, mine in lane #1 was either 1200 or 1400 yards (can't remember). Then a couple of 100's and 200's and we were done. As usual, felt wonderful as I walked out of there.
We did a few short, medium-paced repeats of 100 and 200 yards. Then we did long swims, mine in lane #1 was either 1200 or 1400 yards (can't remember). Then a couple of 100's and 200's and we were done. As usual, felt wonderful as I walked out of there.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday 5/24 hills in the heat
Sunny and about 90 degrees tonight in beautiful Minnetonka MN. The workout tonight called for 16 repeats of Yugo Hill, at a fast pace I could maintain for the 16 reps.
I have a starting point of a manhole cover at the bottom of the hill, and a finishing point of a medium-sized rock at the top. I turn around and walk about 1/4 the way down the hill, jog the middle half, and walk the remaining quarter.
It's about a 150 yard trip, and I average about 46 seconds. It's interesting - if I really turn on the jets, the fastest I can make it has been about 44 seconds. If I lose a little focus and feel tired, the slowest I make it is about 48 seconds. So no matter what the case, I find myself being pretty consistent in my times.
Tonight was no different. Most of the splits were 46 or 47 seconds. After only 2-3 reps, I was a sweaty mess. I really wanted to make it the full 16 reps, which I did! After a couple workouts last week that fell short, there was no way I was going to not complete the goal today.
It felt good to finish in the heat, because if history repeats itself Grandma's Marathon will be a hot and humid event. Gotta get some warm weather practice in!
Now off to bed. I need to get up at 4:30 to go swimming. Whew!
I have a starting point of a manhole cover at the bottom of the hill, and a finishing point of a medium-sized rock at the top. I turn around and walk about 1/4 the way down the hill, jog the middle half, and walk the remaining quarter.
It's about a 150 yard trip, and I average about 46 seconds. It's interesting - if I really turn on the jets, the fastest I can make it has been about 44 seconds. If I lose a little focus and feel tired, the slowest I make it is about 48 seconds. So no matter what the case, I find myself being pretty consistent in my times.
Tonight was no different. Most of the splits were 46 or 47 seconds. After only 2-3 reps, I was a sweaty mess. I really wanted to make it the full 16 reps, which I did! After a couple workouts last week that fell short, there was no way I was going to not complete the goal today.
It felt good to finish in the heat, because if history repeats itself Grandma's Marathon will be a hot and humid event. Gotta get some warm weather practice in!
Now off to bed. I need to get up at 4:30 to go swimming. Whew!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
2010 Maple Grove Half Marathon
The big day! For anyone who reads this who does not know me, I am one of the founders of the Maple Grove Half Marathon and 5K. We had full races again this year, with over 1000 runners.
I had a blast leading the 2 hour pace group last year, and signed on to do it again this year.
The day before wasn't the typical day-before-race routine. I was on my feet for most of the day to help set up the course and running various errands for the race. I didn't sleep too well on Friday night with a million details going through my head. But I did have a good night's sleep on Thursday which I've heard is very important.
The forecast all week called for temps in the 80's, but luckily is wasn't quite that hot. It was humid with mostly cloudy skies. I had an excellent race, it actually felt like a medium-paced jog. We walked through all water stops because of the heat, I wanted all the runners to stay hydrated.
Here are the splits, actually the pace per mile because some mile markers were short/long:
Mile 1 - 8:48
2 - 8:55
3 - 9:03
4 - 8:59 (water stop)
5 - 8:59
6 - 9:02 (water stop)
7 - 9:04
8 - 8:51 (water stop)
9 - 8:57
10 - 9:14 (water stop)
11 - 9:16
12 - 9:29 (water stop, slowed to help last people in pace group finish)
13 - forgot to stop watch :)
Summary: Chip time 2:00:09, 10K split 1:04:25
Glad to see Coach Bill out there, it was an honor to have him in our field!
I had a blast leading the 2 hour pace group last year, and signed on to do it again this year.
The day before wasn't the typical day-before-race routine. I was on my feet for most of the day to help set up the course and running various errands for the race. I didn't sleep too well on Friday night with a million details going through my head. But I did have a good night's sleep on Thursday which I've heard is very important.
The forecast all week called for temps in the 80's, but luckily is wasn't quite that hot. It was humid with mostly cloudy skies. I had an excellent race, it actually felt like a medium-paced jog. We walked through all water stops because of the heat, I wanted all the runners to stay hydrated.
Here are the splits, actually the pace per mile because some mile markers were short/long:
Mile 1 - 8:48
2 - 8:55
3 - 9:03
4 - 8:59 (water stop)
5 - 8:59
6 - 9:02 (water stop)
7 - 9:04
8 - 8:51 (water stop)
9 - 8:57
10 - 9:14 (water stop)
11 - 9:16
12 - 9:29 (water stop, slowed to help last people in pace group finish)
13 - forgot to stop watch :)
Summary: Chip time 2:00:09, 10K split 1:04:25
Glad to see Coach Bill out there, it was an honor to have him in our field!
Wednesday 4/19 track, core
The plan for today called for 12 x 400 @ 1:30. So I got to the track around 6pm, and found out that there was a lacrosse game at 6:30pm, and the coach wanted the track clear by 6:30. No other teams have had a problem with us being out there, but I guess the teams/schools paid to be out there, so I don't have issues with this.
So I only had half an hour to get warmed up and get as many quarter miles in as possible in 30 minutes. I managed to get six or seven reps in before the time expired (there was literally a countdown on the scoreboard). I trimmed down the usual recovery from a full lap to half a lap.
With a maintainable effort (one that I could hold for about 10-12 reps) I was able to achieve an average of about 1:27 per repeat. There was a definite difference between today and about a month ago when I started these quarter mile repeats. With the same level of effort, maybe a little less, I'm trimming 3-4 seconds off my splits. Good confidence builder!
I finished the workout by joining the Core group for the final two circuits, without the running. I was still pretty winded. Then we went off to the Spur for a great dinner of wings :)
So I only had half an hour to get warmed up and get as many quarter miles in as possible in 30 minutes. I managed to get six or seven reps in before the time expired (there was literally a countdown on the scoreboard). I trimmed down the usual recovery from a full lap to half a lap.
With a maintainable effort (one that I could hold for about 10-12 reps) I was able to achieve an average of about 1:27 per repeat. There was a definite difference between today and about a month ago when I started these quarter mile repeats. With the same level of effort, maybe a little less, I'm trimming 3-4 seconds off my splits. Good confidence builder!
I finished the workout by joining the Core group for the final two circuits, without the running. I was still pretty winded. Then we went off to the Spur for a great dinner of wings :)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tuesday 5/18 swim
Just got back from the pool after a week hiatus. As usual, it felt great. I recently graduated to lane #2 and had to work extremely hard to keep up. This morning I went back to lane 1 since I missed the previous week and I'm still getting over the last stages of a cold.
We did a couple of 100's, 200's, 300's, and 400's at a moderate pace. I hit all the splits and felt good. Glad to be back on track!
We did a couple of 100's, 200's, 300's, and 400's at a moderate pace. I hit all the splits and felt good. Glad to be back on track!
Monday 5/17 hills
I had a dinner party on Monday night, so I cut out of work a little early to head to Yugo hill for some repeats. It was sunny and hot, and I was feeling much better than the previous few days.
Nothing special to report, I hit the splits around the usual 46-47 seconds and did a jog/walk on the way down.
Nothing special to report, I hit the splits around the usual 46-47 seconds and did a jog/walk on the way down.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
1 hour, 5/2/1, 6:30 pace
Just got back from Deephaven where the scheduled workout was one hour with 5 minute runs at 6:30/mile pace, 2 minute walk, 1 minute jog. Note that my PR for the mile is 6:35.
So I went into the workout with that mentality - try to hit the pace of a mile for time. It would be eight reps of this.
I went down to the usual Deephaven location this morning around 10am. It was already sunny and about 60, a beautiful day.
I hate making excuses, I really do. But on Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat and it progressed into a pretty brutal cold on Friday and Saturday. My nose was continually running, my voice was extremely hoarse, and when I stood up I had some dizzy spells. So I skipped the Thursday swim and Friday easy 2-3 miles.
When I started my first run this morning, I felt ok at first, but the last minute was a struggle. Breathing was difficult as my throat is still sore from being sick. I nailed the split at 6:28, and thought there was a chance I could still keep it up, just seven more reps to go. Maybe I was just getting warmed up. The second rep was labored the entire way. I did a 6:18 pace, but felt similar to the end of the two-hour workout a few weeks ago where my body abruptly stopped the workout on its own.
I turned around to do the third split, thinking that it'd be ok to slow down a bit so I could complete the workout. I went down to a 7:18 and felt even worse at the end of this. I checked my pulse and felt 28 beats in 10 seconds, translating to 168 bpm.
While I knew this was an intense workout, that didn't feel healthy to me. This training regimen is all about getting to know myself and making adjustments, so I thought hard about what to do at this point. I wasn't even halfway through the workout, and my body was clearly telling me that it needed a break. I noticed my walking was zig-zagging a little and my throat was very dry.
I decided to take an extra-long recovery walk, do one more rep where I'd have a couple gears left, and call it a day and live for a good week of workouts. The last running rep was 5 minutes at 7:47/mile. The pulse rate was still way up there and I felt slightly nauseous, so I felt good about my decision to call it a day.
Time to rest up and nail every scheduled workout this week. I have a half marathon next weekend where I am pacing the 2 hour group. I'm really looking forward to it - it should be a nice relaxed pace and I can see where I am distance-wise.
So I went into the workout with that mentality - try to hit the pace of a mile for time. It would be eight reps of this.
I went down to the usual Deephaven location this morning around 10am. It was already sunny and about 60, a beautiful day.
I hate making excuses, I really do. But on Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat and it progressed into a pretty brutal cold on Friday and Saturday. My nose was continually running, my voice was extremely hoarse, and when I stood up I had some dizzy spells. So I skipped the Thursday swim and Friday easy 2-3 miles.
When I started my first run this morning, I felt ok at first, but the last minute was a struggle. Breathing was difficult as my throat is still sore from being sick. I nailed the split at 6:28, and thought there was a chance I could still keep it up, just seven more reps to go. Maybe I was just getting warmed up. The second rep was labored the entire way. I did a 6:18 pace, but felt similar to the end of the two-hour workout a few weeks ago where my body abruptly stopped the workout on its own.
I turned around to do the third split, thinking that it'd be ok to slow down a bit so I could complete the workout. I went down to a 7:18 and felt even worse at the end of this. I checked my pulse and felt 28 beats in 10 seconds, translating to 168 bpm.
While I knew this was an intense workout, that didn't feel healthy to me. This training regimen is all about getting to know myself and making adjustments, so I thought hard about what to do at this point. I wasn't even halfway through the workout, and my body was clearly telling me that it needed a break. I noticed my walking was zig-zagging a little and my throat was very dry.
I decided to take an extra-long recovery walk, do one more rep where I'd have a couple gears left, and call it a day and live for a good week of workouts. The last running rep was 5 minutes at 7:47/mile. The pulse rate was still way up there and I felt slightly nauseous, so I felt good about my decision to call it a day.
Time to rest up and nail every scheduled workout this week. I have a half marathon next weekend where I am pacing the 2 hour group. I'm really looking forward to it - it should be a nice relaxed pace and I can see where I am distance-wise.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday Core, recovery
It's been 48 hours since the 4 hour run, and I'm feeling much better. The first few hours were brutal, with very stiff/sore quads. But the more I walk around the better I feel.
Last night I led an indoor session of Core due to the rain. There was a good sized group and we divided into two groups. I led the exercises but skipped all of the stairs and most of the laps in between.
I didn't get the hill workout in that was on the schedule, there was no way I could do Ford's yesterday. Maybe I'll try to get some in tonight since I don't have any plans this evening.
I skipped swimming this morning as well, but I'll get in my weekly swim on Thursday morning.
Last night I led an indoor session of Core due to the rain. There was a good sized group and we divided into two groups. I led the exercises but skipped all of the stairs and most of the laps in between.
I didn't get the hill workout in that was on the schedule, there was no way I could do Ford's yesterday. Maybe I'll try to get some in tonight since I don't have any plans this evening.
I skipped swimming this morning as well, but I'll get in my weekly swim on Thursday morning.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday 5/9 four hour run
Today's scheduled run was for four hours, 5 minutes running, 2 walking, and 1 slow jogging. It was a beautiful day, sunny and clear with little to no wind. I went back to Deephaven to the regular spot.
Before I get to the splits, I'll describe today's approach. I really wanted to avoid looking at my pace during the running portions. Back to what Bill and I talked about, it's more a perceived effort than a particular pace - although we have target pace levels. For a four hour run, I wanted to find a pace that I could maintain that long and feel ok at the end.
After a few hours of that, my legs started to get extremely tired and tight. It became difficult to start running after a couple minutes of walking. Actually, the most difficult/painful moments of the run were the first couple of seconds after running, and the first couple of steps while beginning the running portions.
Turns out I slowed down fairly dramatically after about 3 hours. The fatigue was almost completely in my leg muscles. I did not have labored breathing at any point today. Mentally I felt fine too. My legs just didn't want to maintain the pace for 4 hours.
I was happy to complete the four hour workout after cutting the last two runs a bit short for various reasons.
I never felt like I hit "the wall" today. Yes, I slowed down considerably but never felt like I completely crashed. I'm thinking I may need to slow things down on the front end so I can maintain consistency on the back end of these long runs. The 1 minute of jogging also added a lot of running time to the workout. Perhaps that contributed to the fatigue as well. Looking forward to talking to Bill about this.
My mindset in the last hour was not to nail the pace, but keep my best effort going despite my extremely tight quads. I think my feet were swelling up pretty good too because my shoes felt tighter at the run went on. I adjusted the laces and things felt much better :)
Here are the splits:
1 - 7:22 / mile
2 - 7:27
3 - 7:28
4 - 7:23
5 - 7:28
6 - 7:27
7 - 7:24
8 - 7:33
*extended break at car* (3:56)
Hour 2-
9 - 7:34
10 - 7:27
11 - 7:36
12 - 7:44
13 - 7:22
14 - 7:21
15 - 7:34
16 - 7:41
*extended break at car* (4:53)
Hour 3-
17 - 7:50
18 - 7:58
19 - 7:57
20 - 7:57
21 - 8:20
22 - 8:26
23 - 8:47
24 - 9:04
*extended break at car* (6:30) - legs were killing me, actually started "hour 4" at about 3 hr 19 min mark
25 - 9:46
26 - 9:47
27 - 10:25
28 - 11:39
29 - 11:37
30 - 10:42
Total: 23.67 miles, 4:06:32 (includes all breaks), average pace 10:25/mile, calories 3377
Before I get to the splits, I'll describe today's approach. I really wanted to avoid looking at my pace during the running portions. Back to what Bill and I talked about, it's more a perceived effort than a particular pace - although we have target pace levels. For a four hour run, I wanted to find a pace that I could maintain that long and feel ok at the end.
After a few hours of that, my legs started to get extremely tired and tight. It became difficult to start running after a couple minutes of walking. Actually, the most difficult/painful moments of the run were the first couple of seconds after running, and the first couple of steps while beginning the running portions.
Turns out I slowed down fairly dramatically after about 3 hours. The fatigue was almost completely in my leg muscles. I did not have labored breathing at any point today. Mentally I felt fine too. My legs just didn't want to maintain the pace for 4 hours.
I was happy to complete the four hour workout after cutting the last two runs a bit short for various reasons.
I never felt like I hit "the wall" today. Yes, I slowed down considerably but never felt like I completely crashed. I'm thinking I may need to slow things down on the front end so I can maintain consistency on the back end of these long runs. The 1 minute of jogging also added a lot of running time to the workout. Perhaps that contributed to the fatigue as well. Looking forward to talking to Bill about this.
My mindset in the last hour was not to nail the pace, but keep my best effort going despite my extremely tight quads. I think my feet were swelling up pretty good too because my shoes felt tighter at the run went on. I adjusted the laces and things felt much better :)
Here are the splits:
1 - 7:22 / mile
2 - 7:27
3 - 7:28
4 - 7:23
5 - 7:28
6 - 7:27
7 - 7:24
8 - 7:33
*extended break at car* (3:56)
Hour 2-
9 - 7:34
10 - 7:27
11 - 7:36
12 - 7:44
13 - 7:22
14 - 7:21
15 - 7:34
16 - 7:41
*extended break at car* (4:53)
Hour 3-
17 - 7:50
18 - 7:58
19 - 7:57
20 - 7:57
21 - 8:20
22 - 8:26
23 - 8:47
24 - 9:04
*extended break at car* (6:30) - legs were killing me, actually started "hour 4" at about 3 hr 19 min mark
25 - 9:46
26 - 9:47
27 - 10:25
28 - 11:39
29 - 11:37
30 - 10:42
Total: 23.67 miles, 4:06:32 (includes all breaks), average pace 10:25/mile, calories 3377
Tuesday-Saturday summary
It was a very busy week with work and evening meetings, therefore I didn't get to do all the scheduled workouts for the week. Hopefully this'll be the last time this happens before the marathon.
I usually have a swimming workout on Tuesday mornings, but didn't make it this week because Monday got late. I went straight from work to a meeting on Wednesday, so didn't get to work out that day - and the exact same thing happened on Thursday. However, I did get in a great swimming workout on Thursday morning before work.
Friday was very busy as well for the entire day so I didn't get a workout. But I did go to ALARC Core to do two circuits in the Lindbergh Center. I haven't done circuits in a couple weeks, rather I have been doing the running portions of our regular workouts. I only did a partial workout that day because I was getting ready for a four-hour run on Sunday morning.
I usually have a swimming workout on Tuesday mornings, but didn't make it this week because Monday got late. I went straight from work to a meeting on Wednesday, so didn't get to work out that day - and the exact same thing happened on Thursday. However, I did get in a great swimming workout on Thursday morning before work.
Friday was very busy as well for the entire day so I didn't get a workout. But I did go to ALARC Core to do two circuits in the Lindbergh Center. I haven't done circuits in a couple weeks, rather I have been doing the running portions of our regular workouts. I only did a partial workout that day because I was getting ready for a four-hour run on Sunday morning.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday 5/3 hills
I had to squeeze a hill workout in today because I worked until 3:30 and was going to the Twins' game at around 6. So I jumped over to Yugo hill to do 16 repeats like I did a few weeks ago.
Sixteen repeats, running up the hill at a perceived 1 mile pace.
Splits:
1 - 48
2 - 48
3 - 46
4 - 46
5 - 46
6 - 45
7 - 46
8 - 47
9 - 46
10 - 46
11 - 46
12 - 45
13 - 44
14 - 47
15 - 46
16 - 45
Sixteen repeats, running up the hill at a perceived 1 mile pace.
Splits:
1 - 48
2 - 48
3 - 46
4 - 46
5 - 46
6 - 45
7 - 46
8 - 47
9 - 46
10 - 46
11 - 46
12 - 45
13 - 44
14 - 47
15 - 46
16 - 45
Saturday, windy Saturday
One hour today, 5 run 3 walk, run @ 6:55. I went to the Lakes for this one, my first straying from the comforts of Deephaven.
I quickly discovered that there was a huge 5K walk at Lake Calhoun precisely at the time I wanted to start running. So I worked my way over to Lake of the Isles, which typically offers peaceful tranquility. Turns out there was another walk over there involving those afflicted with blindness. So I found myself having to dodge some people and dogs throughout the run - but that's ok, Grandma's will be full of people too.
Wind was another factor. There were gusts out of the south at about 30 mph.
I ended up doing only about 53 minutes of the hour-long workout. I tried to complete the run by going back to Lake Calhoun and finishing up. But again I ran straight into the 5K walkers who occupied 110% of the trails and were completely oblivious to others using the paths. I was about 2 minutes into a run and just threw up my hands.
Here are the splits:
1 - 6:38/mile
2 - 6:46
3 - 6:50
4 - 6:44
5 - 7:00
6 - 6:59
7 - 7:19 (dodging people, running directly into wind, gave up after 2 min)
The fast pace certainly wasn't comfortable, it took a lot of work to get under 6:50/mile. After doing the 3 or 4 hour runs, I thought this'd be a walk in the park. But the speedwork definitely got my attention!
I quickly discovered that there was a huge 5K walk at Lake Calhoun precisely at the time I wanted to start running. So I worked my way over to Lake of the Isles, which typically offers peaceful tranquility. Turns out there was another walk over there involving those afflicted with blindness. So I found myself having to dodge some people and dogs throughout the run - but that's ok, Grandma's will be full of people too.
Wind was another factor. There were gusts out of the south at about 30 mph.
I ended up doing only about 53 minutes of the hour-long workout. I tried to complete the run by going back to Lake Calhoun and finishing up. But again I ran straight into the 5K walkers who occupied 110% of the trails and were completely oblivious to others using the paths. I was about 2 minutes into a run and just threw up my hands.
Here are the splits:
1 - 6:38/mile
2 - 6:46
3 - 6:50
4 - 6:44
5 - 7:00
6 - 6:59
7 - 7:19 (dodging people, running directly into wind, gave up after 2 min)
The fast pace certainly wasn't comfortable, it took a lot of work to get under 6:50/mile. After doing the 3 or 4 hour runs, I thought this'd be a walk in the park. But the speedwork definitely got my attention!
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