Today was my first time back on the track in months. Wasn't too bad of a workout, just 20min warmup, 4 x (1000m @ 3:25 (5:29 mile pace), 3 min ez recovery jog), 20min warm-down (10 miles total). After Monday's tough workout, my Piriformis was extremely upset with me yesterday and it let me know it. So, even though I just did a 5.25 mile ez jog, it still wasn't totally recovered today. It was a little better on this morning's 3.5 mile run, but I was definitely worried about it all day. Not knowing if it would cooperate for tonight's workout. Luckily for me it did. The intervals went well with me logging 3:24, 3:16, 3:25, 3:24 respectively.
The next two days will be easy days involving tons of stretching and foam rolling. The weekend will actually be pretty easy too as I get ready to do my first run-specific race since Rome back in March. If you're training too, I hope it's going well. I'm sure you'll welcome the start of September tomorrow (and hopefully cooler temperatures) as much as I will. :)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
It Just Got Real
Today was what I consider my first tough, Jack Daniel's-esque type of workout. The threshold work itself wasn't so bad, but the sheer volume of his workouts can certainly get intimidating. Earlier in the day I was paging through the workouts to come in the remaining weeks and I shudder to think that today's workout was one of the easier ones!! Ahh well, baby steps, right?!
So, I woke up this morning for my morning run, looked at my evening workout and decided against doing a double due to the length of the latter workout. Tonight's workout was my first foray in to running at my T-pace (5:59 mile). The workout itself was to go like this: 2 miles easy, 5 x (5-6minutes @ T-pace w/1minute recovery), 1hr easy. Since the T-pace was to be 5-6 minutes, I figured that I would just try to get in miles on the marked Highline Canal Trail. The trail is a rolling gravel path with markers every 1/2 mile.
I'm happy to say that the workout went great. I was aiming to just run steady and go as close as I could to 5:59s for the miles. I ended up going:
Mile 1: 5:54
Mile 2: 5:50
Mile 3: 5:50
Mile 4: 5:52
Mile 5: 5:53
I was legitimately trying to hit 5:59's for the repeats. I consciously tried to focus on slowing down throughout them but I felt like I was going easy and each time I came thru a bit fast. While it's not ideal, I am happy that I ran consistent and that I felt relaxed at this type of pace. I am trying to follow the J.D. plan as close as possible and according to him, the paces are set for a reason. If you're running faster than your designated paces than you are not doing yourself a favor but rather are hurting yourself for the week's later workouts.
I think that tonight's workout shows me one of two things; Either I'm working too hard and thus missing the point of the workout OR I'm in better shape than I think and should be moving my VDOT intensities up 1- to 2-levels from 59 to 60 or 61. All of my paces would be increased if I did this. The VDOT intensity is supposed to be based on most recent race results. Initially I thought that I should have been at 62, but I backed it way off due to the altitude that I'm training at. Since I'll be racing on Monday, I think I'll wait to see the result of that and then reevaluate whether I should increase the intensities or remain where I am.
All told, tonight's run was a lonely 14.5 miles with 5 of it at (or rather, below) T-pace. A solid workout for sure. Luckily tomorrow is an easy day before Wednesday's bout of 1,000m repeats. Happy Training!
So, I woke up this morning for my morning run, looked at my evening workout and decided against doing a double due to the length of the latter workout. Tonight's workout was my first foray in to running at my T-pace (5:59 mile). The workout itself was to go like this: 2 miles easy, 5 x (5-6minutes @ T-pace w/1minute recovery), 1hr easy. Since the T-pace was to be 5-6 minutes, I figured that I would just try to get in miles on the marked Highline Canal Trail. The trail is a rolling gravel path with markers every 1/2 mile.
I'm happy to say that the workout went great. I was aiming to just run steady and go as close as I could to 5:59s for the miles. I ended up going:
Mile 1: 5:54
Mile 2: 5:50
Mile 3: 5:50
Mile 4: 5:52
Mile 5: 5:53
I was legitimately trying to hit 5:59's for the repeats. I consciously tried to focus on slowing down throughout them but I felt like I was going easy and each time I came thru a bit fast. While it's not ideal, I am happy that I ran consistent and that I felt relaxed at this type of pace. I am trying to follow the J.D. plan as close as possible and according to him, the paces are set for a reason. If you're running faster than your designated paces than you are not doing yourself a favor but rather are hurting yourself for the week's later workouts.
I think that tonight's workout shows me one of two things; Either I'm working too hard and thus missing the point of the workout OR I'm in better shape than I think and should be moving my VDOT intensities up 1- to 2-levels from 59 to 60 or 61. All of my paces would be increased if I did this. The VDOT intensity is supposed to be based on most recent race results. Initially I thought that I should have been at 62, but I backed it way off due to the altitude that I'm training at. Since I'll be racing on Monday, I think I'll wait to see the result of that and then reevaluate whether I should increase the intensities or remain where I am.
All told, tonight's run was a lonely 14.5 miles with 5 of it at (or rather, below) T-pace. A solid workout for sure. Luckily tomorrow is an easy day before Wednesday's bout of 1,000m repeats. Happy Training!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
HIGH Altitude Training
What a GREAT Weekend! The US Pro Cycling Challenge was finishing up it's tour of Colorado this weekend and it provided some great opportunities to get out and do something out of the ordinary! Stage 5 of the race was from Steamboat to Breckenridge and lots of people I knew were going to try to make it up there to watch the finish on Saturday afternoon. I had gotten in an easy 8.5 miles on Friday and had made plans to go up there on Saturday morning to knock out my long run before heading into town for the race. As luck would have it though, my friend and former Riptide teammate, Pete Mallett was in town and was actually staying out in Boulder on Friday with another former teammate, Tate Behning. In addition, one of my good friends from Wisconsin, Jake Rhyner, had put me in touch with his former roommate, and new Colorado resident, Craig Schmidt. All 4 of us had it in mind to get in a long run that morning followed by the race finish in Breck that afternoon so we decided to meet up there and knock it out. We really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into though. The run was much hillier than expected and actually turned out to be at about 1,000ft higher elevation than I had expected! Here is a profile of the run:
Craig had added on an easy 2 miles before the group started, while Pete & Tate turned around a little early, finishing out somewhere around 11-12 miles. Craig and I ran 14.5 miles together and averaged about 7:16 pace throughout. Considering how bad I felt on my Thurs/Fri runs, I'm super happy with how it went. A big part of it was probably the fact that I hadn't run with anyone on a run since starting this training 4 weeks ago, so the time flew by. Well, that, and the fact that we all knew that we had an awesome day of Mexican food, beers and cycling waiting for us after the run.
So, while the guys headed back to the city later that afternoon, Becky and I had rented a condo in Breck for the night and stayed up there. In the morning I was able to get in another (short) hilly run before heading back to the city to catch the end of the tour.
All-in-all it was a great weekend and rounded out my 4th solid week of training. This coming week will be a little different as I shift things around so that I can be a little more rested for next Monday's 'Park-to-Park 10 Miler'.
So, while the guys headed back to the city later that afternoon, Becky and I had rented a condo in Breck for the night and stayed up there. In the morning I was able to get in another (short) hilly run before heading back to the city to catch the end of the tour.
All-in-all it was a great weekend and rounded out my 4th solid week of training. This coming week will be a little different as I shift things around so that I can be a little more rested for next Monday's 'Park-to-Park 10 Miler'.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Shuffling on
Mid-week check-in: Looking back on Monday night's workout, I think Amy's comment was right; I don't think that the miles were marked correctly. Maybe the overall distance was about right, but the individual miles didn't seem to make sense based on my effort. To further justify this, I had another workout on Wednesday night consisting of 5 reps of (4min hard, 3min recovery jog). I did a 20 min warmup over to Wash Park and then went into it. It went very well in comparison with 2 days earlier. I ran very even for all 5 of the reps averaging 5:53-:55 pace for the hard parts and probably 7:10-15 pace for the recovery.
The challenging part this week has, as always, been dealing with my bodies nagging pains. The Achilles is doing a bit better since my buddy Jordan Jones showed me a great eccentric exercise last Saturday to strengthen it. The exercise is quite literally working a miracle for me! Unfortunately, the Piriformis Syndrome issues are only getting worse in my left side. Regardless of any of the stretching and foam rolling that I do it just keeps tightening up more and more. So much so that it has now tightened up my left Hamstring incredibly. It's shortening up the left side of my stride (turning my run into a sort of shuffle) and I'm worried that it made lead to another, greater, injury if I don't figure out a solution soon. If anyone out there in Blog-land knows any great resources, please let me know! For today, I resorted to visiting one of my clients, an acupuncturist, and giving that a go. It was a really unique experience, which I hadn't had before. Not painful, but definitely created some interesting sensations that are not experienced in everyday life. It remains to be seen whether any solid effects will come out of it, but it definitely did seem to release some tension in my lower back, at least for the short-term.
As for mileage, I did a very easy day of 6 miles on Tuesday. Got in 11.25 in my workout last night and then got in another easy 9 miles today. Another easy day tomorrow before my long run on Saturday!
The challenging part this week has, as always, been dealing with my bodies nagging pains. The Achilles is doing a bit better since my buddy Jordan Jones showed me a great eccentric exercise last Saturday to strengthen it. The exercise is quite literally working a miracle for me! Unfortunately, the Piriformis Syndrome issues are only getting worse in my left side. Regardless of any of the stretching and foam rolling that I do it just keeps tightening up more and more. So much so that it has now tightened up my left Hamstring incredibly. It's shortening up the left side of my stride (turning my run into a sort of shuffle) and I'm worried that it made lead to another, greater, injury if I don't figure out a solution soon. If anyone out there in Blog-land knows any great resources, please let me know! For today, I resorted to visiting one of my clients, an acupuncturist, and giving that a go. It was a really unique experience, which I hadn't had before. Not painful, but definitely created some interesting sensations that are not experienced in everyday life. It remains to be seen whether any solid effects will come out of it, but it definitely did seem to release some tension in my lower back, at least for the short-term.
As for mileage, I did a very easy day of 6 miles on Tuesday. Got in 11.25 in my workout last night and then got in another easy 9 miles today. Another easy day tomorrow before my long run on Saturday!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Boom.
Today was an unexpected one. Got up early and got in my short 3.5 mile morning run and intended on a full day of appointments up in Idaho Springs for work. Unfortunately, due to some computer issues on the work laptop that did not happen. As 11am approached and I saw that I was getting nowhere with work, I decided that I would make the trek down to Colorado Springs to catch the Prologue to the US Pro Cycling Tour. Met some friends and got some riding in while spectating. Turned out to be a great (if not HOT) afternoon. Luckily it did cool off a little (to about 83 deg) so that by about 4:30 I could get out on my run.
I know Colorado Springs is only about 1,000ft higher in elevation (~6,200ft) than Denver but I swear I feel it everytime that I run down there!
I got started with a couple of miles really easy before rolling into my 40min tempo which was supposed to have been at 6:11 pace. As the rolling gravel trail that I was running on was marked every 1/2 mile, it quickly became apparent that this was going to be a tough run. I was all over the place with my pace and didn't ever really feel like I got into a groove with my breathing or muscles. Mile 1: 6:24. crap. Mile 2: 6:19. crap. Speed up... Mile 3: 6:03. CRAP! Mile 4: 5:58. seriously? Mile 5: 6:15. After this total inconsistency and newly getting back to running anything under about 7:15 pace in 3 weeks, I gave up. and called the tempo run at roughly 31 minutes (5miles) instead of 40 minutes. The total run this afternoon turned out to be a 9.5mile run putting me at 13 miles total for the day.
The speed work absolutely dominated me and honestly left me questioning the training a bit... I mean, I haven't run that bad of a tempo run in years! ugh. I think this only solidifies the fact that I need to suck it up and throw down the $200 to get the Garmin that I need so that I can more closely monitor my pace.
Finished out the day with a total feast on pizza with my parents and some recovery for tomorrow's easy run. Hopefully Wednesday's workout will go a little better. If any of you had workouts today, I hope that they went well! Happy Training.
I know Colorado Springs is only about 1,000ft higher in elevation (~6,200ft) than Denver but I swear I feel it everytime that I run down there!
I got started with a couple of miles really easy before rolling into my 40min tempo which was supposed to have been at 6:11 pace. As the rolling gravel trail that I was running on was marked every 1/2 mile, it quickly became apparent that this was going to be a tough run. I was all over the place with my pace and didn't ever really feel like I got into a groove with my breathing or muscles. Mile 1: 6:24. crap. Mile 2: 6:19. crap. Speed up... Mile 3: 6:03. CRAP! Mile 4: 5:58. seriously? Mile 5: 6:15. After this total inconsistency and newly getting back to running anything under about 7:15 pace in 3 weeks, I gave up. and called the tempo run at roughly 31 minutes (5miles) instead of 40 minutes. The total run this afternoon turned out to be a 9.5mile run putting me at 13 miles total for the day.
The speed work absolutely dominated me and honestly left me questioning the training a bit... I mean, I haven't run that bad of a tempo run in years! ugh. I think this only solidifies the fact that I need to suck it up and throw down the $200 to get the Garmin that I need so that I can more closely monitor my pace.
Finished out the day with a total feast on pizza with my parents and some recovery for tomorrow's easy run. Hopefully Wednesday's workout will go a little better. If any of you had workouts today, I hope that they went well! Happy Training.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
1 Phase down. 3 Harder Phases To Go!
Solid weekend of training here. Got in a 14.25mi run yesterday morning followed by a 4.5 mile (2.5hr) hike at about 8,000ft elevation. I don't really see hiking as 'exercise' since you're basically just walking for hours up a hill. So I usually only count 1/2 the distance hiked as actual training 'mileage'. That 2.25mi added to my 14.25 made for a pretty solid 16.5 mile day.
Today was just an easy shake out run of 6 miles to round out the week at 70 miles and finish up Phase I of training. Tomorrow starts with a double including my first threshold work in weeks. 40min tempo run at 6:11 pace is the goal... I'll let you know how that goes! I'm really just hoping that the Achille's issue stays under control. If it flairs at all I will be putting the brakes on the workout!
And I guess the real big news is that the pain, which I thought was a pulled muscle in my back, has actually turned out to be Shingles. I had chicken Pox when I was 3 and apparently that virus remains with you throughout your entire life. It essentially lies dormant in your nerves and in times of stress, or when your immune system is down, it can result in Shingles. Shingles is essentially a terrible throbbing pain that runs the length of your ribs from your back to your front. It makes the skin tingle, feel numb and hurts all the way down in the nerve endings. In short, it sucks. I've separated my ribs multiple times growing up while snowboarding but Shingles has made it feel as if I had completely broken about 4 of my ribs. There's not really pain from deep breathing or twisting but any pressure on the skin can result in pain. Additionally it causes really severe pain/aching in the upper part of my abdomen than can feel like a horrible cramp. Now the bumps are also starting to appear in patches and apparently will turn into oozing blisters before this whole thing is over. Luckily, running is one of the only times when the pain goes unnoticed. So although this is a bit uncomfortable I'm hoping to be able to train right through this. Dr. says that it usually runs a 2-3 week course. Started Wednesday... so I guess I'm screwed for the next while at least. Whatever doesn't kill ya, right?
Looking forward to seeing if I have any speed left in my legs this week and lowering the mileage a bit for the week. Happy Training!
Today was just an easy shake out run of 6 miles to round out the week at 70 miles and finish up Phase I of training. Tomorrow starts with a double including my first threshold work in weeks. 40min tempo run at 6:11 pace is the goal... I'll let you know how that goes! I'm really just hoping that the Achille's issue stays under control. If it flairs at all I will be putting the brakes on the workout!
And I guess the real big news is that the pain, which I thought was a pulled muscle in my back, has actually turned out to be Shingles. I had chicken Pox when I was 3 and apparently that virus remains with you throughout your entire life. It essentially lies dormant in your nerves and in times of stress, or when your immune system is down, it can result in Shingles. Shingles is essentially a terrible throbbing pain that runs the length of your ribs from your back to your front. It makes the skin tingle, feel numb and hurts all the way down in the nerve endings. In short, it sucks. I've separated my ribs multiple times growing up while snowboarding but Shingles has made it feel as if I had completely broken about 4 of my ribs. There's not really pain from deep breathing or twisting but any pressure on the skin can result in pain. Additionally it causes really severe pain/aching in the upper part of my abdomen than can feel like a horrible cramp. Now the bumps are also starting to appear in patches and apparently will turn into oozing blisters before this whole thing is over. Luckily, running is one of the only times when the pain goes unnoticed. So although this is a bit uncomfortable I'm hoping to be able to train right through this. Dr. says that it usually runs a 2-3 week course. Started Wednesday... so I guess I'm screwed for the next while at least. Whatever doesn't kill ya, right?
Looking forward to seeing if I have any speed left in my legs this week and lowering the mileage a bit for the week. Happy Training!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Where does the time go?!
To anyone following this blog, I've got to apologize for being so absent this week. Things have been very busy at work, which has made training, puppy ownership and everything else come first before getting this updated. Not to worry though! Training is still ongoing and although I feel like I've been hit by a truck nearly everyday at this point, things are going (relatively) well.
As I've mentioned before, this will be my last week of Phase 1 training before starting to include rep & interval training next week. My body is STILL adjusting to this mileage and the constant stress.... sore right Achilles, left hip/sciatic issues and now possibly a pulled muscle in my back... but I'm getting through it with a huge focus on recovery. As I have been really busy this week I think my mileage will be a little bit down this week (like around 65 miles) but it's probably needed anyway.
Next week I will lower to 55-60 miles while I adjust to the introduction of this speedwork again. That's when this blog will start to get interesting as I give greater details on the hard workouts that are happening and hopefully the results that I see from them.
Here's what I've gotten done this week:
Monday: 13.5 mi (double)
Tuesday: 8.25 mi
Wednesday: 10.5mi
Thursday: 6.25mi (short on time)
Friday: 9.25mi (double)
Happy training!
As I've mentioned before, this will be my last week of Phase 1 training before starting to include rep & interval training next week. My body is STILL adjusting to this mileage and the constant stress.... sore right Achilles, left hip/sciatic issues and now possibly a pulled muscle in my back... but I'm getting through it with a huge focus on recovery. As I have been really busy this week I think my mileage will be a little bit down this week (like around 65 miles) but it's probably needed anyway.
Next week I will lower to 55-60 miles while I adjust to the introduction of this speedwork again. That's when this blog will start to get interesting as I give greater details on the hard workouts that are happening and hopefully the results that I see from them.
Here's what I've gotten done this week:
Monday: 13.5 mi (double)
Tuesday: 8.25 mi
Wednesday: 10.5mi
Thursday: 6.25mi (short on time)
Friday: 9.25mi (double)
Happy training!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
week 2 = done
Easy 5.75mi run this morning. Felt pretty horrible due to the previous nights festivities but survived. Ran through the fountains at the Natural History museum. Good week in the books! 69.25mi. Feeling good!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Another one down
This week was a tricky one. It's only the second week in and already I'm seeing how training like a triathlete over the past 7 years has kept me injury free. All of the cross-training just reduces the pounding on the body and allows it to recover while still undergoing other types of stress.... with running, it's the same beating everyday... and it really takes it out of you.
Early in the week my right Achilles was acting up while later in the week it was my left hip/piriformis (thanks in part to my ongoing Sciatic issues) but today on my long run they both seemed to hang in there pretty well. My hope is that all of these little things are just my bodies way of adjusting to the increased stress from the higher volume. I'm hoping that in week 3 these things begin to fall away so that as I enter week 4 and Phase II, I will be primed for the harder interval and rep training.
To round out most of the week I had an easy day of 5.25mi on Thursday, 9mi on Friday, which I split into two shorter runs and then a 14.25mi long run this morning. I made sure to get up and out early to get the long run done and I'm happy to say that it went really well! I brought an old gel flask (really small) that I used to use on the run in long-distance Tri's and filled it with a super-concentrated Gatorade mix (it holds about 8oz of fluid). I just held it in my hand for the duration of the run, which helped me focus on staying relaxed (i.e. when you squeeze the bottle, you're going to hard), and I drank about 2oz off of it every 25 minutes or so. I went out shooting to run 1:45 at 7:28 pace and actually went 1:46:21 at 7:27 pace, so although it's a slow pace, it does seem to be about what my body can handle at this volume and I feel better post-run than I have all week! Short run tomorrow and I'm done with week 2!!
Early in the week my right Achilles was acting up while later in the week it was my left hip/piriformis (thanks in part to my ongoing Sciatic issues) but today on my long run they both seemed to hang in there pretty well. My hope is that all of these little things are just my bodies way of adjusting to the increased stress from the higher volume. I'm hoping that in week 3 these things begin to fall away so that as I enter week 4 and Phase II, I will be primed for the harder interval and rep training.
To round out most of the week I had an easy day of 5.25mi on Thursday, 9mi on Friday, which I split into two shorter runs and then a 14.25mi long run this morning. I made sure to get up and out early to get the long run done and I'm happy to say that it went really well! I brought an old gel flask (really small) that I used to use on the run in long-distance Tri's and filled it with a super-concentrated Gatorade mix (it holds about 8oz of fluid). I just held it in my hand for the duration of the run, which helped me focus on staying relaxed (i.e. when you squeeze the bottle, you're going to hard), and I drank about 2oz off of it every 25 minutes or so. I went out shooting to run 1:45 at 7:28 pace and actually went 1:46:21 at 7:27 pace, so although it's a slow pace, it does seem to be about what my body can handle at this volume and I feel better post-run than I have all week! Short run tomorrow and I'm done with week 2!!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Wednesday
Did a double today. 3.5 miles in the morning and another 11.5 this evening. Right Achilles was acting up in the last 2.5-3 miles of the second run but I made it thru. Looking to get an ultrasound machine so that I can take care of little problems like this when they arise; hopefully soon. Easy day tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Week 2
Starting week 2 the weather has decided not to cooperate at all. All of my miles this week have been done in over 90 deg temps. Luckily it's still Phase I and not one of the later phases when the tough interval work is present. Hopefully by then it will have cooled down a bit!
Had a bit of a close call yesterday. Right Achilles was a bit sore on the run and was absolutely killing after it. I broke out the ice, rollers, warm Epsom salt soaks and Ibuprofen to deal with it. Also threw on the compression socks and luckily by today's run I was feeling almost normal. By no means is it perfect yet, but I am being as cautious as I can with it. This shift back to becoming 'a runner' from my years of triathlon training is tough. On the one hand I have tons more free time, but on the other I feel so much more beat up everyday and need so much more recovery. I'm running the highest mileage weeks that I have run since college now and I'm hoping that this old body adjusts quickly.
Tomorrow's a big day with a double including (hopefully) a longer 11-12-ish mile run in the evening. Hopefully it won't be 95 degrees when I head out the door this time! Goodnight.
Had a bit of a close call yesterday. Right Achilles was a bit sore on the run and was absolutely killing after it. I broke out the ice, rollers, warm Epsom salt soaks and Ibuprofen to deal with it. Also threw on the compression socks and luckily by today's run I was feeling almost normal. By no means is it perfect yet, but I am being as cautious as I can with it. This shift back to becoming 'a runner' from my years of triathlon training is tough. On the one hand I have tons more free time, but on the other I feel so much more beat up everyday and need so much more recovery. I'm running the highest mileage weeks that I have run since college now and I'm hoping that this old body adjusts quickly.
Tomorrow's a big day with a double including (hopefully) a longer 11-12-ish mile run in the evening. Hopefully it won't be 95 degrees when I head out the door this time! Goodnight.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Weekend Training
The heat is back in Denver and it was very apparent on my runs. Ugh! Got up early on Saturday and got in 13.25 miles at a nice 7:30pace running on grass for about 7miles of the way. Then this morning got out the door a bit later in the 90+ degree heat for an easy 4.25mi.
I don't know about you, but whenever I do a workout in the heat it just makes me CRAVE food and liquid as soon as I walk in the door. My solution over the years has always been a giant fruit/veggie smoothie. Here's a shot of yesterday's:
This one included: 1 can of pineapple chunks, 1 mango, 1 orange, handful of blueberries, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cranberry grape juice, handful of spinach, 1/2 cup strawberry yogurt, lots of ice and about a 1/2 cup of water. Made about 60oz, which disappeared within minutes. yum!
I don't know about you, but whenever I do a workout in the heat it just makes me CRAVE food and liquid as soon as I walk in the door. My solution over the years has always been a giant fruit/veggie smoothie. Here's a shot of yesterday's:
This one included: 1 can of pineapple chunks, 1 mango, 1 orange, handful of blueberries, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cranberry grape juice, handful of spinach, 1/2 cup strawberry yogurt, lots of ice and about a 1/2 cup of water. Made about 60oz, which disappeared within minutes. yum!
So, now week 1 of 15 of training is over. Finished out with a solid 64.75 miles this week. Next week I'll be looking to stay right in the same ballpark with 66-68 miles. Here we go.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wrappin' Up the Work Week
Two more days of 8.25 miles each rounded off the work week to put mileage at 46.5 heading into the weekend. This is right around my typical mileage for an entire week when swimming & cycling are added to the mix so all of the pounding is usually spread over 7 days. My body is def noticing the adjustment. Hopefully next week it begins to feel a bit more natural. If not, maybe I'll do some elyptical or pool running on my short/easy days in order to relieve the joints a little. On the positive side, it is naturally slowing my pace on these easy runs. Was at about 7:15's today. Not quite 7:28's yet, but getting closer.
Tomorrow I'm shooting for an easy 13 miles or so in the morning followed by a very easy short run on Sunday afternoon. Week 1 of 15 is close to over!
Tomorrow I'm shooting for an easy 13 miles or so in the morning followed by a very easy short run on Sunday afternoon. Week 1 of 15 is close to over!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Day 2 & 3
Nothing too exciting to report yet. Knocked out 8 miles yesterday and another 10 tonight. Trying to slow down to (E) pace still and making some progress. Have managed to get the average pace back to about 7:10's so far. It just feels so slow that it makes the runs seem much longer and makes me super bored. If I'm running 10+ hours a week, I think I'm going to need to find a new hobby (like a language) to learn and practice while out on the runs. I did that in college with German and it helped my fluency tremendously.
I'm aiming to hit somewhere between 60-65 miles this week, all of it at (or nearing) E pace (7:28). I'll probably only post every couple days for these first 2-3 weeks because I foresee most of the training being pretty uneventful as I simply build volume. If any of you reading this are training too, I hope it's going well!
I'm aiming to hit somewhere between 60-65 miles this week, all of it at (or nearing) E pace (7:28). I'll probably only post every couple days for these first 2-3 weeks because I foresee most of the training being pretty uneventful as I simply build volume. If any of you reading this are training too, I hope it's going well!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 1
Got in 12 miles today. 3.5mi easy run in the morning and another 8.5mi at around 5:30pm. It was 87 degrees and humid when I headed out tonight but as luck would have it, it started to rain on me within about 1 minute after leaving my door. I love running in the rain so I took this as a good omen for the start of my training!
It's all Easy (E) Pace running for these first couple weeks of Phase I training. Going to be a bit boring but I need to get training volumes up to somewhere in the 65-80mi a week range before the real work will start.
Running at 7:28/mi pace for all of these runs seems like it will be nearly impossible as on tonight's run I felt like I was crawling and I was going 7:00-:05 pace. I really need to get to Boulder Running Company to pick-up the Garmin or Nike GPS watch that I've been planning on getting. Off to bed now!
It's all Easy (E) Pace running for these first couple weeks of Phase I training. Going to be a bit boring but I need to get training volumes up to somewhere in the 65-80mi a week range before the real work will start.
Running at 7:28/mi pace for all of these runs seems like it will be nearly impossible as on tonight's run I felt like I was crawling and I was going 7:00-:05 pace. I really need to get to Boulder Running Company to pick-up the Garmin or Nike GPS watch that I've been planning on getting. Off to bed now!
Jack Daniels' Running Formula
Jack Daniels' book, "Daniels' Running Formula" is without a doubt the best book about running and training that I have ever read. He has thought of, and addressed, nearly every question that a reader could have about training and attempted to make the book easy to use in the development of a training plan for anyone. Whether you are a collegiate 400m runner, a 10-minute mile 10K-er or a world-class marathoner his plans are adaptable to your individual needs and he shows you step-by-step how to build a plan that'll work for you.
All of that said, his outlook on training is a bit different that what I have been used to from years of triathlon training. To follow this plan I will be running significantly higher mileage than my body is used to and will be varying the training paces significantly. Daniels actually developed a VDOT table based on times that you have recently run in distances from 1,500m to the marathon. A reader is to plot out the distances that they have recently run and, assuming they don't all fall under the same VDOT value, pick out the VDOT value corresponding to their best recent performance. For me, his table gives me a range of VDOT's from 63-59. According to the book I should therefore pick the training paces corresponding to a VDOT of 63 and base my marathon training around it. (THIS IS THE ONE CHANGE THAT I AM MAKING TO HIS PLAN) I have looked at these paces and although I could hold them for training at sea level I am fairly confident that they would destroy me while training at 5,280 ft elevation. So, since this is the one area of the book that I think is lacking (he talks about the benefits of training at altitude, but not how to adjust training paces when living at altitude), I will make my own educated decision and alter my VDOT to use the lower-end of the range rather than the higher. That said, my training paces are going to take some getting used to. For example, over the past few years my typical easy run training pace has been somewhere in the 6:45-6:55 range. Tempo runs have been at 6:00-:10 pace and races (up to 10K) have been at 5:40-:50 pace, 1/2 marathons at 5:55-6:05 pace (all of this at altitude). My paces for this marathon training plan will instead be:
Daniels indicates that as training progresses and an athlete has better performances, they should feel comfortable increasing their VDOT respectively and taking on quicker training paces. I expect to see these results and be able to increase my VDOT up to 62 by mid- to late-September. My resulting Marathon (M) pace would then be 6:04 pace (at altitude). By November I should then be comfortable running just under this pace at sea-level, with the increased amount of oxygen there.
All of that said, his outlook on training is a bit different that what I have been used to from years of triathlon training. To follow this plan I will be running significantly higher mileage than my body is used to and will be varying the training paces significantly. Daniels actually developed a VDOT table based on times that you have recently run in distances from 1,500m to the marathon. A reader is to plot out the distances that they have recently run and, assuming they don't all fall under the same VDOT value, pick out the VDOT value corresponding to their best recent performance. For me, his table gives me a range of VDOT's from 63-59. According to the book I should therefore pick the training paces corresponding to a VDOT of 63 and base my marathon training around it. (THIS IS THE ONE CHANGE THAT I AM MAKING TO HIS PLAN) I have looked at these paces and although I could hold them for training at sea level I am fairly confident that they would destroy me while training at 5,280 ft elevation. So, since this is the one area of the book that I think is lacking (he talks about the benefits of training at altitude, but not how to adjust training paces when living at altitude), I will make my own educated decision and alter my VDOT to use the lower-end of the range rather than the higher. That said, my training paces are going to take some getting used to. For example, over the past few years my typical easy run training pace has been somewhere in the 6:45-6:55 range. Tempo runs have been at 6:00-:10 pace and races (up to 10K) have been at 5:40-:50 pace, 1/2 marathons at 5:55-6:05 pace (all of this at altitude). My paces for this marathon training plan will instead be:
Easy (E) Pace: 7:28
Marathon (M) Pace: 6:19
Threshold Pace: 5:59
Interval Pace: 1200m - 4:07
1000m - 3:25
400m - 1:22
Daniels indicates that as training progresses and an athlete has better performances, they should feel comfortable increasing their VDOT respectively and taking on quicker training paces. I expect to see these results and be able to increase my VDOT up to 62 by mid- to late-September. My resulting Marathon (M) pace would then be 6:04 pace (at altitude). By November I should then be comfortable running just under this pace at sea-level, with the increased amount of oxygen there.
At the start of this plan (8/1/11) I weigh 170.2 lbs with 6.6% body fat. I expect that come late September or early October I'll be much closer to my goal race weight of 164 lbs and a body fat around 4.5%. Here we go!
A Little Background
I'm a 31-year-old man living in Denver, CO. I started running competitively during my freshman year of high school in 1994. I eventually captained both the Cross-Country Running and Track & Field teams. When I headed off to college, I continued to run and was a C-team member of the Men's Cross-Country team at The University of Portland. In college, I just really enjoyed the experience and didn't take running too seriously. My best 8K time was somewhere around 28:30 (5:40-ish mile pace) and honestly I spent more time studying abroad, snowboarding or going to parties with friends than what I would call a real 'focused runner' would have. None-the-less I ran every season that I was there and even began doing some marathon running while studying abroad in Europe.
I ran my first marathon in October, 2000 in Venice, Italy. I ran a 3:11. I followed that race up with 2 more 3:11's in 2001 (Vienna & CIM) and a horrible 3:36 (or so) in Los Angeles in 2003 while in Grad school. Eventually though I had a breakthrough while training for my first triathlon (Ironman Germany 2004) and wound up running a 3:02 in Salzburg in April, 2004. Later I would run the Boston marathon in '05 as well as another Ironman and finally a 2:54 at the Chicago marathon in late '05.
After that, I hung up the marathon shoes and pursued the triathlon lifestyle. I was much better at triathlon than I ever was at running as a stand-alone sport. I went on to race triathlon for the next 6 years, going to multiple national championships, world championships and even trying to give the ITU-format a shot. Near the end of last season, however, I started to have a lot of issues with my Sciatic nerve and Piriformis, which kept me from creating much power on the bike. Due to this I decided that I needed a goal to get me motivated again throughout the winter. So, I comitted to racing the Rome marathon this past March. Training went well, but in the end, I fell short of my goal of going sub-2:40 in Rome (more on that experience later). I came away with an 8:32 PR but was dissapointed by the outcome.
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