Week 4 in Review.

Week 4 is in the books! After Monday nights track workout, I enjoyed my rest day on Tuesday and just did some weight/core training rather than a run. Wednesday, however, was my next shot at the weekly tempo-run. As I mentioned, due to poor planning, last week's was a disaster, so I was happy to go to an old familiar trail (Highline Canal Trail - which I used for much of my training during my 1st marathon effort, in 2011) to try to lay down a better effort.
The goal was 6-miles at 6:06 pace. This trail is packed gravel with rolling terrain. I got on it a little late again and only was in the light of day for the first 1.5 miles of the tempo, but this week, with my new headlamp, I was able to stay a little more consistent, producing the following splits:

5:56, 6:06, 5:56 out

6:11, 6:09, 6:12 back

6:05/mi average

I'm finding that the issue I am having mostly is my lack of endurance. It's just going to take some time to get that built back up. 

Ahh well, after that workout, the rest of this week was all easy running. 6 on Thurs, 8 on Fri, 8 on Sat and a final, easy, 6 today. All of these went fine, but I did go up to the mountains on Friday afternoon and had to do my 8-miles at 9200ft and 25 degree temps. It was pretty cold as the wind was blowing off of lake Dillon, and it certainly kicked my lungs' ass, but I was happy to get thru it at under 7:25 pace. 

Hard to believe that raceday is just 3 months from tomorrow! I'm excited, but have LOTS of work to do between now and then. Starting with tomorrow's track workout... Happy Training everyone! 

SOS Workout - Week 4

Week 4. Unbelievable. Time is flying and the workouts keep getting tougher! After wrapping up last week at 45-miles, my legs are feeling the mileage a little bit, but after a solid hour at the Denver Fuelary spending some time in the NormaTec boots and the ice bath on Sunday afternoon, they were feeling pretty good as the time approached for my next SOS 'speed' workout on the track.

Luckily, the weather in Denver has been holding out, so I once again headed to the track with footing clear of snow and ice. The conditions on Monday night were clear, cold (35 degrees) and windy, but at least I wasn't caught shoveling out lane 1!

I do have to say, it's been a long time since I felt nervous about an approaching track workout. This program definitely has me feeling that way though. Thinking about it while on the track, I think it's because of the pace that this speed work is to be performed at. It just feels SO fast to me! 5:20-pace at altitude is much faster than I typically run and yet every week my intervals are getting longer and holding onto the pace seems more and more impossible.

This week, however, the impossible happened again and somehow I was able to get 'er done!
Here's the workout:

6 x 800m on 2:40 w/400m jog recovery

2:33

2:40

2:38

2:40

2:42

2:40

11 pushups

Obviously on the first interval I didn't check splits and blew it out, but I learned that lesson quick and started adjusting at 600m, as needed, to try to lock in the pace. Not sure how I'm ever going to get through mile repeats at this pace but, for now, I'll just take it one week at a time. Next week is 5 x 1000m.If you're reading out there in internet-land and are training for something, that's the best advice I could give you too... just take each workout one step at a time. After all, they are the building blocks that take us to the higher levels of fitness that will get us through the longer, harder, workouts to come. Happy Training!

Poor Planning = Poor Performance

Have some catching up to do on here since I've had a pretty busy week of work and travel. After last weeks SOS 'speed' workout on Monday, I thoroughly enjoyed my day off on Tuesday although I did have to travel or work. On my way back to Denver (this was a driving trip), Ifinished my last appointment at about 4:30pm and wanted to hurry to try to get in as much of my first tempo run as possible before it got dark. Unfortunately, I was still out in rolling farm land and although I was greeted by this amazing view at the start of my warmup, it certainly wouldn't last...

I did about a 1.75mi warmup before doing some dynamic stretching and drills and getting into it. Unfortunately, by that point, I literally made all of about a quarter mile before the sun set behind the mountains leaving me in rapidly fading light on uneven, loose gravel farm roads. Whatever though, at this point I was commited...

The goals was a 6-mile tempo at 6:06 mile-pace. I didn't come anywhere close:

6:20, 6:20, 6:27, 6:18, 6:15, 6:18 (6:19 avg pace)

Almost the entire workout was run in the pitch black (no I didn't have a headlamp) on extremely hilly, loose gravel roads at 6,000ft elevation. That's about all that I can take any solace in from the shitty result of this workout. Lesson learned though: In the future, regardless of work, I will plan better for where, and when, I will be doing these workouts. In the Hanson's plan, SOS workouts are the focus of the week and when you come up short on one of them IT SUCKS! 

The rest of the week was fine with some easy runs and a long run of a whopping 10-miles on Saturday. Ended out the week at 45-miles and am feeling pretty good. Next week I'll be making better decisions when it comes to planning and I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

SOS Workout, Week 3

Week 3 has just begun and I got lucky and once again had good weather for my first SOS workout of the week... about 45 degrees with lite wind. Unfortunately, it is now dark extremely early here and due to bad timing I got to the track well before the lights kicked on at 5:45pm. That said, my first 5 intervals were run in almost pitch black... ahh well, helps you get used to adversity, right?!

Tonight's workout was 8 x 600m on 1:59 (5:20 mile pace) w/ 400m jog recovery. I don't check splits while doing these and simply go by feel. That said, I went pretty well after I found my rythm. Still ended up doing pushups though!

8 x 600m on 1:59

2:01, 2:01, 2:00, 1:58

1:58, 1:58, 1:59, 2:01

10 pushups

Felt pretty good throughout and tomorrow is my day off of running, before Wednesdays 6-mile tempo run... first tempo since August, ouch, this could hurt! 

Happy training to all of you out there!

In Full Effect!

That's right, training is on! Just getting started in my third week of the 'Hanson's Marathon Method' advanced Training program and although it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride so far, I feel like I am starting to settle in. Let me explain; The first week of the program isn't even a full week. It's a low mileage week of easy running with no workouts. Unfortunately for me, my timing was bad and that first week was also Thanksgiving week. I spent that week in Beaver Creek, CO, so I got to do the miles on a treadmill at almost 10,000ft elevation. While I was there I must have caught a cold too because heading into the second week I had developed a pretty bad sore throat. After a 6-mile easy effort on Monday night, I already had to change up 'the plan' and took two days completely off. By Thursday I was starting to feel a little better though and decided to give my first track workout a go.

The dumbed-down way the Hanson's plan works is through the 'overload principle', "The idea that regular exposure to a specific exercise will enhance certain physiological functions and therefore induce a training response." Their 18-week program is made up of 9-weeks of Speed Training followed by 7 weeks of Strength Training and a 2-week Taper. Each week is comprised of what they have dubbed Something of Substance (SOS) Workouts (Speed, Strength, Tempo and/or Long runs) as well as Easy Mileage. In the first stage, Speed Training, SOS workouts begin in the second week with one speed workout and no tempo run that week. The workout for this week was 12 x 400m at a pace that you can identify in their tables, based on recent race times, race goal times, etc.

Much like in the Jack Daniels program, there still leaves one void that has gone unaddressed and is likely a stumbling point for anyone who, like me, is actually doing their training at altitude. Each program addresses the benefits of training at altitude, but NOONE has yet addressed how to adjust your training paces if you are training at say, 5200-5300ft and planning to run a target time that will take place at sea-level. The Hansons Marathon Method just started a Facebook page, which will be moderated by one of the authors of the book, Luke Humphrey, so I hope to ask him there and get a response later. For now, since my goal race time is about 2:37:30 and the only paces given with splits in the book are 2:35 and 2:40, I have simply decided to follow the paces for 2:40 and hope that if I can hit those, I can run at least my target time when at sea-level. The only problem is... that's still DAMN hard for me at this elevation!

Back to last week... the workout was to be 12x400m on 1:20 (5:20 mile pace) w/400m jog recovery. As a funny sidenote, Mr. Humphrey mentions that either as truth, or rumor, it has been said that the Hanson's runners used to have to do pushups for every second that they were off of their goal-interval. I decided to do this too. :)

12x 400m (1:20 goal pace)

1 - 1:20, 1:22, 1:22, 1:20

2 - 1:18, 1:19, 1:20, 1:22

3 - 1:20, 1:22, 1:21, 1:20

12 pushups total

Given the still lingering sickness, I was pleased with this effort, but a little shocked at how tough that pace was to hold. These workouts will keep getting longer until I reach 3 x 1600m at the same pace in weeks 7 and 9. Hopefully my body will adapt and I can swing it. 

The rest of the week wrapped up without any surprises and I finished week 2 out with 36 miles of running in 5 days of running.

Denver Track Club

Randomly jumped on the track tonight. This year I have been racing for the Runner's Roost and a couple of our other members formed a USATF sanctioned track club with a focus on post-collegiate athletes. They just launched their website (http://www.denvertrackclub.com/) last week and the turnout is growing! Tonight I met up at the Roost for our Wednesday night run and decided to head down there with the boys to see where my fitness is at after just 4 weeks of running again. We did the following workout and here are my splits:

3 x 1000m on 3 mins rest: 3:22, 3:18, 3:15 

3 x 200m (full recovery): 31.5, 29.1, 29.8

Pretty pumped about my results and excited to get rolling with training again in the beginning of December! If you are in Denver and are looking for a good group to train with, look at the clubs site above and come join us (it's FREE)! 

Happy Training!

Back to Basics

Here I am, almost a year to the day from my disastrous attempt at the marathon in San Antonio and finally I'm feeling ready to give it another go. After last year's failed endeavor, followed closely by a broken foot, I started training again on February 1st and managed to build back in to reasonable shape so that I could get through tri season. While it was a bit of a lackluster season for me, only racing three times... I did manage to find my passion for training again. Although I don't feel the need to train (for tri's) at the intense level that I used to, I do feel that setting a goal, or two, each year and attacking it is a way that I can better balance my career, personal life and athletic drive.

In 2012, my goal for the year was qualifying for, and racing at, the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I qualified in Boise and went on to train throughout the summer for what would be a hot, grueling course in the Las Vegas heat. I got through training mostly on my own but enjoyed the times when my buddies, Dr. Ryan Gebhardt and Craig Schmidt would join me on rides. With them I managed to rediscover my passion for road biking and get in the miles for Vegas.

While Vegas wasn't a screaming success; I had one of my slowest 70.3 finishing times ever. I am proud of the fact that I made it to the finish line in the 98+ degree heat and survived one of the toughest (hilly & hot) 70.3 courses in existence. I didn't have what I would consider a great swim, bike or run in Vegas, but luckily, due to the heat, I was able to outlast enough people to finish fairly well. The athlete manual at the race said that over 60,000 (amateur) athletes around the world vied for a spot at the start line of the race. 2,200 qualified. Of those, I managed to keep it together enough to squeeze into the top 100 (95th). Having only "run" something like a 1:36 half marathon there, it's funny to think that I still placed that high, but I guess it just goes to show how tough that beast of a course was.

Now... now, I'm done with the heat. I grew up in Alaska and I thrive in cooler conditions.

Having finished the season, taken 5 weeks completely off of training and traveled Europe, I'm now ready to get back to it. I started with weight training and low-mileage running in the last week or two of October. I'm currently still hitting the weights 2-4 times a week and have built up to about 30 miles per week of running.  I also, recently got a new book...

As anyone who reads/read this BLOG would know, my last marathon attempt was based around a training plan from the Jack Daniels book, 'Daniels' Running Formula'. While that plan could/does work for some, it simply wore my body out. It doesn't include any time for rest throughout the plan (or I missed that chapter) and after 10+ weeks in a row of 70-80 miles per week and huge intense workouts, it broke me down.

I am only about 50 pages into the Hanson's Marathon Method so far, but their training seems to take a more strategic approach and is based on the fundamental principle of Cumulative Fatigue. I'll write more about this as the start of my training plan gets closer, but for now, I'm just writing this BLOG to announce that I am back to training and am tentatively (at this point) planning to begin full-scale marathon training in early December. If injuries, sickness and winter weather don't hamper me too much this time around, I will hope to race the 1/2 in Austin in mid-February and then shoot for a sub-2:40 (ideally 2:37) marathon at the L.A. Marathon on St. Patrick's Day (3/17), 2013!!

Until my next update... Happy Training and thanks for taking the time to stop-by!